# A classic read only by you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292 "2005-09-19T00:37:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/41 "2005-09-19T17:51:19Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > _Jekyll and Hyde_. I read that in eighth grade English, and loved it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/42 "2005-09-19T17:55:37Z")
_The Sea of Fertility_ tetralogy by Yukio Mishima. It’s a good read, though his philosophy makes Nietzche look calm and bourgeois. I’ve read _Ulysses_ five times, for some reason. Never tried the _Wake_, though, and probably never will. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/43 "2005-09-19T18:10:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Read Hard Times for high school sophomore English. I read it as a freshman in high school. Awful book. After I’d read the wonderful **Christmas Carol** and **A Tale of Two Cities** , I couldn’t believe the same guy had written **Hard Times** , truly a hard slog. I mentioned this once before on a SDMB thread as one of my least favorite novels, and was told that Dickens hadn’t much liked writing it, either. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/44 "2005-09-19T18:22:05Z")
I’ve read quite a few of the books in this thread. (FWIW, _Three Men on the Bummel_ isn’t a patch on its predecessor; _Dracula_ may start slow, but it’s definitely worth sticking with it; _Frankenstein_ or Algernon Blackwood I can take or leave, but _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ is first-rate stuff.) I don’t think many people have read the whole of _The Faerie Queene_. I did. I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/45 "2005-09-19T18:23:00Z")
Does Tolstoy’s _Anna Karenina_ count? Probably not, since I can think of two friends who also have read it. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/46 "2005-09-19T18:55:25Z")
I’ve read most of the books mentioned, some for school and some not. The ones I don’t share with anyone IRL: Boccaccio’s _The Decameron_, Spenser’s _The Faerie Queene_, Vergil’s _Aeniad_, or Ovid’s _The Metamorphoses_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/47 "2005-09-19T19:04:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Vergil’s Aeniad, or Ovid’s The Metamorphoses. I’ve read these, and much of The Decameron. But I’ve never even truied The Faerie Queene, mentioned a couple of times now. I was told it was incredibly dull and boring. Have I been misinformed? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/48 "2005-09-19T19:38:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve read these, and much of The Decameron. But I’ve never even truied The Faerie Queene, mentioned a couple of times now. I was told it was incredibly dull and boring. Have I been misinformed? That’s a hard question to answer. Spenser is very descriptive, very sensuous, and extremely long-winded. If you like the sound of poetry, enjoy reading it aloud, I think Spenser is a delight. If you want to get on with the plot, I wouldn’t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/49 "2005-09-19T19:42:48Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > The Divine Comedy. > > All three parts. Can I ask you if it’s worth it? I am having a really hard time with the Purgatory - it’s so boooooring. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/50 "2005-09-19T19:55:36Z")
All of you out there who have read Giants in the Earth, raise your hand! Now let’s hear from all you Nicholas Nickleby fans! A little louder, please. We can’t hear you… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/51 "2005-09-19T19:58:17Z")
> [@CBCD](#): > > Now let’s hear from all you Nicholas Nickleby fans! A little louder, please. We can’t hear you… Woo hoo! Count me in on the **Nicholas Nickleby** love. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/52 "2005-09-19T20:02:06Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Can I ask you if it’s worth it? I am having a really hard time with the Purgatory - it’s so boooooring. Yes, it is _definitely_ worth it. First, whose translation are you reading? Second, if you don’t really have a background in classical and medieval poetry, it really does help to have some lit-crit at your disposal or at the very least a good commentary. The Divine Comedy makes rather more sense if you are aware of the politics of Florence, ecclesiastical controversy over Aristotle, and the reception of classical poetics in the 13th century. Without some background, it is not an easy work to make heads or tails of. If you have access to nothing else, at least try to read Erich Auerbach’s essay on Dante in _Mimesis_. It is pretty accessible and should at least help you to appreciate why Dante is so amazing. If you are a little more committed, look at Dante’s _Vita Nuova_ for insights into Dante’s life and times and his _de Vulgari Eloquentia_ for his analysis of vernacular poetry in general. It is very rewarding stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/53 "2005-09-19T20:05:07Z")
I am reading John Ciardi’s translation, and it is very good. There’re lots of detailed descriptions and commentaries, and I had a great time with Inferno, but I am having an enormously hard time having any interest in this one. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/54 "2005-09-19T20:09:30Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Woo hoo! Count me in on the **Nicholas Nickleby** love. Alright Twickster! Now let’s hear it for The Last of the Mohicans. Shout it out! ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/55 "2005-09-19T20:12:16Z")
> [@CBCD](#): > > All of you out there who have read Giants in the Earth, raise your hand! I was force fed that one in High School. I did not enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/56 "2005-09-19T20:12:53Z")
Now I feel like I have to come up with something that will stump everybody. Okay, how about this? _Romany Rye_ and _Lavengro_, by George Borrow _The Old Wives’ Tale_, by Arnold Bennett _A Laodicean_, by Thomas Hardy _One of Ours_, by Willa Cather _A Sentimental Education,_ by Flaubert Lots more where that came from. This seems to be a particular deviance of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/57 "2005-09-19T20:46:57Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Herodotus. Read that at school. Much of it in the original. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten just about all of it. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/58 "2005-09-19T21:14:58Z")
> [@CBCD](#): > > All of you out there who have read Giants in the Earth, raise your hand! > > Now let’s hear from all you Nicholas Nickleby fans! A little louder, please. We can’t hear you… I’ve read both. I chose to read the Dickens book, and many others by him. _Giants_ was a 10th grade reading assignment, I’ve read _The Song Of Roland_ but, sadly not in the original French. I’ve also read Howard Pyle’s _Robin Hood_. I’ve never met anyone else who has. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/59 "2005-09-19T21:20:18Z")
**No Coins, Please** by Gordon Korman is a children’s book that REALLY think they should make a movie out of. Until a few years ago when an online friend said she enjoyed it, I had never met a single human being who had ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292/60 "2005-09-19T21:29:08Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I had a great time with Inferno, but I am having an enormously hard time having any interest in this one. I read all three way back when. Inferno is the only one I’ve ever re-read. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-classic-read-only-by-you/322292.md?page=4)