Weekly Geek
For your assignment this week, choose two or more of the following questions:
1) How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it? Not sure because you never actually tried it? Don't get why anyone reads anything else? Which classics, if any, have you truly loved? Which would you recommend for someone who has very little experience reading older books? Go all out, sell us on it!
2) A challenge, should you choose to accept it: Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you're not familiar with. Did you know you can find lots of classics in the public domain on the web? Check out The Popular Classic Book Corner, for example. Write a mini-review based on this chapter: what are your first impressions? Would you read further? (For a larger selection of authors, try The Complete Classic Literature Library).
3) Let's say you're vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book. The two of you venture into the hip independent bookstore around the corner, where she primly announces that she only reads classic literature. If you don't find her a book, she'll never let you get any reading done! What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull off the shelf for her?
4) As you explore the other Weekly Geeks posts: Did any inspire you to want to read a book you've never read before—or reread one to give it another chance? Tell us all about it, including a link to the post or posts that sparked your interest. If you end up reading the book, be sure to include a link to your post about it in a future Weekly Geeks post!
1) I am not at all intimidated by the classics but I do find I have very strong feelings about them. I either love them or hate them, I have very little gray area. My favorites are anything Jane Austen and I really, really love House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. My favorite is Henry James, though. Daisy Miller and Washington Square are basically the best things ever written.
Oh yeah, and Shakespeare. Love it! Especially the comedies, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Taming of the Shrew. I also really love Merchant of Venice. Everyone should read Shakespeare, I recently read Mindy Klasky's A Girls Guide to Witchcraft and there were so many Shakespeare references that made the text that much richer because I understood the references.
3) After I slapped her for forgetting a book, because who really forgets books?? Anyway, I would sell her on one of the many modern twists on the classics like The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde because I thinks it a really fun genre. I love the classics redone like that.
OK there is my first weekly geek, I look forward to many more.
8 comments:
Erika, welcome to Weekly Geeks. I had forgotten about Henry James, although I always enjoyed what I read by him, and I've never heard of Jasper Fforde, but it sounds interesting.
Henry James wrote some gorgeous prose so I am right there with you on that count. And Jasper Fforde is a lot of fun!
Welcome to Weekly Geeks Erika. Hope to see you on the list again sometime
Late last year Reginald Hill wrote A CURE FOR ALL DISEASES in which he completed Jane Austen's unfinished novel SANDITON. Perhaps Myrtle would like that
Welcome to Weekly Geeks. Henry James is one classic author who I do feel a bit intimidated by. I think perhaps because I have read a couple of books that are supposed to be written in a Jamesque kind of way, and I didn't really enjoy them at all.
Perhaps the original will be the best in this case!
I like Henry James, but not love. :) The Eyre Affair I should be reading..
Welcome to Weekly Geeks, I'm glad you joined in! I had forgotten that I was going to add Daisy Miller to my reading list--thanks for the reminder.
hey another first time geek. Cool. :) Thanks for dropping by and Myrtle totally deserved that slap!
Daisy Miller has been on my TBR list for quite a while. Perhaps I should consider moving it to the front of the line.
Post a Comment