Jump to content

“Classic” books/novels you’ve loved or hated


Billy Pilgrim

Recommended Posts

Interested in reading: Grapes of Wrath, The Old Man and the Sea, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, 1984


I have since read:

The Old Man and the Sea - loved it

1984 - great book but scary shit that seems inevitable

Anna Karenina - thought it was good despite being a little long and Russian high society isn’t my favorite subject
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Every classic story from elementary school. I had the ability to read at a high level, but none of the books we had to read interested me in the least. You name it and I did not enjoy having to read it. I loved books about actual history, but that was not on the agenda at that age.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I need to sprinkle some classics into my non-fiction. I don't know that it's fair to mention any that I particularly hated, since they were primarily in high school and I was "forced" to read them. I have tried to start The Sound and the Fury a couple of times without picking up much steam.

Top 3 are...

1. 100 years of Solitude- It's been a decade since I read this, and I'm hopefully going to Colombia in a couple months, so due for a re-read.

2. 1984- I'm a glutton for punishment I guess, because well-done books/shows/movies that are terrifying and depressing are often my favorites. 

3. East of Eden- My now-wife gave me this to read when we first started dating, so fortunately I loved it just as much as she did. Multi-gemerational stories seem to capture my attention (see #1).

Catch-22 and A Brave New World probably round out the top 5. Man, I really need to read more.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think I've read any of these since I turned 26 (36 now), so it would definitely be interesting to see what I get out of a lot of these books now that I've been out in the real world for a while.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

I don't think I've read any of these since I turned 26 (36 now), so it would definitely be interesting to see what I get out of a lot of these books now that I've been out in the real world for a while.

Same for a lot of works.  Even re-reading Cormac McCarthy, looks way different now in my twilight years, than it did in my late 20s....

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Same for a lot of works.  Even re-reading Cormac McCarthy, looks way different now in my twilight years, than it did in my late 20s....

Good old man books:

The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler (not sure why this is one of my favorite books - just very old school style story, but the way he looks back on his life was very affecting)

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Cormac McCarthy (no way she was 23 - pure southern gothic, lots of sad wisdom)

Train Dreams - Denis Johnson (this was frighteningly depressing - novella)

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
On 5/22/2024 at 2:24 PM, The Original Greaser Bob said:

Good old man books:

The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler (not sure why this is one of my favorite books - just very old school style story, but the way he looks back on his life was very affecting)

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Cormac McCarthy (no way she was 23 - pure southern gothic, lots of sad wisdom)

Train Dreams - Denis Johnson (this was frighteningly depressing - novella)

Train Dreams was.....interesting. This was the one with F-head right? I could be confusing it with other DJ, though I never read tree of smoke but thought Largesse of the Sea Maiden (I think is the title) was awesome and he didn't lose much off his fastball.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/22/2024 at 11:43 AM, hookem2010 said:

I need to sprinkle some classics into my non-fiction. I don't know that it's fair to mention any that I particularly hated, since they were primarily in high school and I was "forced" to read them. I have tried to start The Sound and the Fury a couple of times without picking up much steam.

Top 3 are...

1. 100 years of Solitude- It's been a decade since I read this, and I'm hopefully going to Colombia in a couple months, so due for a re-read.

2. 1984- I'm a glutton for punishment I guess, because well-done books/shows/movies that are terrifying and depressing are often my favorites. 

3. East of Eden- My now-wife gave me this to read when we first started dating, so fortunately I loved it just as much as she did. Multi-gemerational stories seem to capture my attention (see #1).

Catch-22 and A Brave New World probably round out the top 5. Man, I really need to read more.

I have also been meaning to re-read 100 years, it's on my desk collecting dust.

I re-read 1984 back during Trump's first term around 2016-2017 and thought it was just okay. When I was a teenager I thought it was amazing. Like Clockwork Orange amazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)
Spoiler

Books I love but aren't 'classics'

Horse Latitudes - Ferrigno  Dark PI thriller.  Unsettling and raw

71JzWGAVbYL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

Blue Meridian - Matthiessen  Science nerds just beginning the research on Great Whites.  I still think about the stories told by the Whalers in the Indian Ocean

81zULVmogqL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

Great Gatsby - you already know

81QuEGw8VPL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

 

Worst book ever...

King Rat.  I read the whole thing thinking it'd get better.  I was wrong.

61uFzmIRdkL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

 

Edited by locodos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Confederacy of Dunces was recommended to me a few years back and I had forgotten about it.  Upon a few folks mentioning it here, I gave it a whirl and borrowed the audiobook and listened as I walked.  Story is brilliant and the audio was great.  The reader, Barrett Whitener, did a wonderful job at the accents, intonation, etc.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

 

Confederacy of Dunces is an all time favorite. I literally laugh out loud every time I read it. 

 

Catcher in the Rye- Loved it as a teen. Reread it and thought damn, this Holden dude is a fucking dipshit asshole. 

That's the brilliance of the book, imo. You identify with Holden as a yout, you can't stand him as an adult. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...