A Hero of Our Time (Lermontov) said to be an early depiction of an anti-hero One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn) Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck) and important to include a black writer : Giovanni's Room (Baldwin) and another female writer : O Pioneers (Cather) who wrote several books of manageable length and is a personal favourite. I'm very happy that you highly recommended Fathers and Sons, it's one of the first novels I thought of when I saw your title. What's interesting to me is that the seeds of the Russian Revolution are on full display here, and as such packs in more to its slender size more per page than any other Russian novel.
1) The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West 2) Passing, Nella Larsen 3) A Lost Lady, Willa Cather 4) The Awakening, Kate Chopin 5) Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (might be a smidge over 200)
@@tonybennett4159 "and important to include a black writer : Giovanni's Room (Baldwin) and another female writer : " Why? Skin tone and sex are irrelevant to whether someone can write a good book. How that "woke" nonsense drives me nuts.
@@Yesica1993 "Skin tone and sex are irrelevant", which is exactly why I am pointing out where Tristan's list is lacking. He lists 5 English men, 3 English women, one American man, one Frenchman, one Brazilian man and one Russian man in the list, all great writers, yet there is a broad range of superb writing out there, worthy of being included in such august company. Your meaningless "woke" doesn't address that at all.
“ lightness of touch that is so singular to her” this is how you can tell. The guy actually reads these books. Having read a few Jane Austin books at this point that was a beautiful moment.
Patty- I am so glad you expounded more on Agnes Grey. I love that story. People who skim over this book in favor of TWH don't realize what they are missing in this book. I confess that Anne is my favorite of the sisters. Thank you for giving "Agnes" her due. ❤️
1. Room with a View - read, great novel, outstanding film adaption (Ivory) 2. A Month in the Country - read, worth reading, very subtle 3. Under the Greenwood Tree - sounds interesting, never read Hardy, only the Woodlanders are sitting on my shelf 4. Agnes Grey 5. The 39 Steps - not my taste - but next year I'm going to Scotland, perhaps I will reread it 6. Eugene Grandet - good idea for a start with Balzac 7. Mrs Dalloway - read, fantastic - even more so, because I am at the same age as the protagonist 8. The Warden - very, very readable, at times very funny, very modern in way 9. Persuasion - read, a great book, very fine film adaptation (with Ciaran Hinds starring) 10. Epitaph of a Small Winner - never heard of, sounds absolutely intriguing! 11. Fahrenheit 451 - would like to get to it next year 12. Fathers and children - would like to know to which character I'm drawn 😃 Great, inspiring video, Tristan! Looking forward to your next video! Merry Christmas to you!
We did Room with a View for our English literature O level at school. The film was outstanding, for the atmosphere and capturing what the book was about, and also the humour. Felt very sad about Julian Sands death last year. One of our other books was 20th Century Short Stories. The authors included Katherine Masefield, DH Lawrence and a horrible story by Graham Greene. It also included EM Forsters ' The Machine Stops', who was also the author of Room with a View. It has always stayed with me. Set in the future it was about mankind's dependence on a machine that provided everything, as mankind now lived in individual rooms underground. They just pressed buttons for whatever they wanted, food, culture, music, friendships, ordering things. Does it sound a bit familiar?! I thought what an amazing author to write 2 so very different works, and to predict so clearly much of our modern world with increasing dependence on technology.
Oh No, Tristan! what have you done! Now I have 12 more books on my 'want to read' list. I will definitely read them all. I'm starting with Mrs Dalloway. Thank you for another fantastic video!!👏👏👏
Another great video! Thank you Tristan. Have just searched my bookshelves and have six of these titles and now have an excuse to visit my favourite secondhand book shops to collect the rest ... much to the consternation of my son!! 'Don't you have enough books? ... Have you read what you already have?'. He just doesn't understand! Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and, as always, look forward to more wonderful content in 2023. I hail from Adelaide, Australia.
Yeah! There's a nice mix of classics for me! I've only read Persuasion on this list, but most of the others are on my TBR, with only a few that I will now add! Thank you Tristan! Happy Holidays!
Great video - thank you. I have read most of these but really enjoyed your enthusiasm. “Epitaph…” has been on my TBR for a while now but you have convinced me to get a copy ASAP.
The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. I had a first American but gave it to a writer Godson, it had belonged to his Grandmother. Now, I have a first English edition, sans jacket. I so love The Thirty-nine Steps. I have discovered the comfy books of O. Douglas, John Buchan's sister. I enjoyed your reading of The Thirty-nine Steps. I loved Candide in school, "the best of all possible worlds."
I must say, Sus, it sounds like you have a beautiful library of books. Steinbeck is certainly someone I want to read more of. I also need to read Candide again. It's not a favourite of mine but I must dip back into it again.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 It helped to be a collector before the internet, when you had to rely on printed sources for book collecting, now every reseller with a phone can access points of issue and find out about book club editions with a blind stamp on the back cover being pretty much worthless in American book collecting, with very few exceptions. At the end of video you say only up to end of 19th century, so Steinbeck et al., are non-starters. Book collecting was a safe addiction and estate sales were amazing (before the internet).
This list is awesome, i discovered your channel recently, with this list i can tell we read similar books and enjoy also similar classics, i'm missing 2,3 books from this list but you convinced me to pick up books like Agnes Grey, or to start the saga of Trollope.
Great list! To it, I will add The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder -- a big punch packed into a very small package. Also, I'd urge anyone who reads Mrs. Dalloway to follow it up with The Hours by Michael Cunningham. A great, contemporary refraction of the story. And also very short. Cheers!
Have put Agnes Grey on my TBR especially since I enjoyed Tenant of Wildfell Hall very much. Made several attempts at Mrs Dalloway, likewise To the Lighthouse, but got lost within the first 20 pages or so. Her stream of consciousness style is rather hard for me; the writing gets in the way of the story. But not giving up; will try again. Perhaps will read A Room of One’s Own instead; maybe essay would be easier to follow, and then I would have bagged at least one Virginia Woolf. Room with a View and Under the Greenwood Tree and Persuasion are definitely great reads. One short classic that stood out for me is Henry James’ Washington Square. It’s dialogue that mainly carries the story forward. The sheer brilliance of the dialogue, the tight writing, blew me away. Turn of the Screw is great too but for different reasons. Thank you for your recommendations, Tristan. Merry Christmas to you and the family!
Wow, Sumathi, I almost put Washington Square into this list. The final few sentences of that book left me speechless. I wasn't expecting it to have such a physical effect on me. Room With A View is a treasure.
I love Washington Square. I personally know someone just like Catherine, with a similar parent, and nefarious love interest. Makes the reading even more powerful knowing what a sweet girl she is. I would love to see Scorsese make a film based on it or do his own production of The Heiress
Thanks so much for recommending A Month in the Country. Simply brilliant. It’s got to be one of the most underrated books of all times … ASFarroco 2/23/23
Hello Tristan!! I'm Juan Andrés from Barcelona (Spain). I'm just starting to learn English and, for this reason, I've found out your channel. I really love your channel and, although I can't still understand you perfectly, I enjoy it very much. After listen you, i really want to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Thanks for your wonderful videos and confratulations for your fantastic channel!!!
Another wonderful video Tristan - thank you! I have read and enjoyed Agnes Grey, The Warden & Persuasion (personally my favourite Austen). In the middle of A Month In The Country - taking my time to savour it. To your list I would add Silas Marner by George Eliot, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. All the best to you & my fellow readers
Love Historial romance novels by Stanley Weyman but hardly ever hear reviews on his novels Could you enlighten your patrons on one of my favourite writers .Keep up the great work you are enthusiasm personified
A few more suggestions for the interested: The Old Man and the Sea A Chess Story by Stefan Zweig Pnin by Nabokov Pedro Paramo by Juan Ralfo Battles in the Desert by Jose Pacecho
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Epitaph was a great pick btw, there’s an expanded version sold as Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas which you might be aware of.
I just finished Mrs. Dalloway and I didn't care for it too much. it has good moments but having to look at the index to know what Woolf is talking about every couple of pages was annoying. Also apparently that modernist style of stream of consciousness is not for me. Great list though, will follow your recommendations. F 451 and Eugene Grandet i loved. Take care.
I love this, Tristan! 👏🏻 I have only read 4 of these books (Agnes Grey, The Warden, Persuasion and Fathers & Sons) and I have 2 of them on my shelf (Mrs. Dalloway and Fahrenheit 451), so I need to get busy! 😆 A few short Classics that I would recommend would be: Frankenstein, The Hound of the Baskervilles and A Christmas Carol. 🤓 Thank you for sharing and thank you for the link to The 39 Steps audiobook! 📚
Good choices. Thank you. I was very surprised you had "Eugenie Grandet" on your list - not a well known Balzac book. I read it for French A level over 40 years ago now - time for a reread in English! Another good novella is Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice" . I've subscribed, as I really enjoy your style of presentation.
When you were showing us the Everyman’s Library edition I thought: a video about different book editions would be nice. Which ones do you prefer, how is the paper quality, which editions are “floppy” etc As someone who can only rely on visual experience I’d highly appreciate your opinion. My German bookstores have a very limited range of English classics and almost never any hardbacks, so I have to order online.
Love Fahrenheit 451 and The Warden. I'm growing to love Persuasion. The first time I had read it I thought it was just, but I reread it twice more and I've liked a lot better. Hearing people talk about how much they love has "persuaded" (pun intended) me to look at the novel in new ways. I liked Agnes Grey, but Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are still my favorites of any of the Brontes work.
I recently re-read Thurber's amazing "The 13 Clocks." It's only 124 pages, with illustrations on every page. But what writing, full of alliteration and internal rhymes. The story itself is a classic fairy tale, full of familiar tropes, but the story's not the main reason to read it. "I am the Gollux, and not a mere device." If you love language for its own sake, treat yourself to an hour and read this, preferably out loud.
1. Ethan Frome (Wharton) 2. Summer (Wharton) 3. Animal Farm (Orwell) 4. Fathers and Sons (Turgenev) 5. Eugenie Grandet (Balzac) 6. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) 7. The Dead (Joyce, yes I know it's technically a novella/long short story) 8. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Bassani) 9. Norwegian Wood* (Murakami) -- 296 pages 10. A Lost Lady (Cather)
I've read three of the books on this list. I have tried to read Ray Bradbury and did not get far. The book I tried was Dandelion Wine. I found the approach to the subject matter to be inauthentic, geared towards purposefully provoking an emotional response. With all the books around I haven't yet read, I don't see me returning to Bradbury as an author to read in the near future. I very much want to read A Month in the Country. I saw the film and was touched by its quietness and portrayal of a certain person in a certain place at a certain time. Under the Greenwood Tree was a slyly funny novel. Hardy is a favorite writer for me. I've read the Return of the Native multiple times. Mrs. Dalloway is superb. I prefer To the Lighthouse but Virginia Woolf is an amazing writer. Lastly, I read Turgenev's Fathers and Sons a few years ago and really liked it. It was not rotted with the typical Russian attitude of superiority one finds in so much 19th century Russian literature. The Brothers Karamazov almost turned me against ever reading anything by a Russian author again. But, then I discovered Mikhail Shishkin and read his Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories and returned back to another modern Russian writer with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle.
Fantastic list and brilliant summaries to peak our interest. I've read 10 of these and loved 9 (couldn't get on with Mrs Dalloway). The Austen, Hardy, Trollope and Carr novels are in my top favorites of all time. I have not read Eugenie or Epitaph, but they're on my Wishlist now. FYI: The newest Oxford Edition of The Warden has an excellent Appendix article explaining the Church and the various positions and hierarchy in Trollope's time. I read The Warden years ago without this background and it was enjoyable, but re-reading with this extra resource enhanced my understanding of both The Warden and Barchester Towers. Do you have any Trollope reviews? He's my favorite after Austen.
This is a great list. I have read 39 steps, watched lots of films of it and even a play which was a comedy. You reminded me that I have read Persuasion. I have that on my kindle. Books I have bought recently that are short reads are Frankenstein (175 pages) and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with The Merry men and other stories. The whole book is 223 pages but Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is only 52 pages. I have seen the film and really liked it and not sure how I can be so short a story but I'll see as not read it yet. I have just bought A room with a view from your list. The title rings a bell from somewhere.
Very well done, Tristan. I love the short novel! No disagreement here. I'm not familiar with several of these volumes so I can't comment on them. I'm sure they are outstanding. I will say I'm surprised Anthony Trollope is on here! In my experience of him, he is rather long-winded, so his inclusion is a surprise. Thank you for Fahrenheit 451. I like short-novel sci-fi. To all readers: Don't shy from classic sci-fi. Check out the fine English author John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Awakes, The Chrysalids). Finally (then I'll shut up) detective and mystery: Christie, Doyle, Rex Stout (one of P. G. Wodehouse's favorite writers) -- all have produced great short novels. Peace, my friends. Thanx again Tristan!
Hey Tristan! New subscriber here and loving your content. Could you please do a review of Tess of the D'urbevilles? Especially as how the themes compare to The Mayor of Casterbridge? Keep up the great content!
Thanks for the sub, SL! I think I already have a video on Tess if you are interested. But a comparison of themes with the Mayor of Casterbridge sounds fascinating. Thanks for the idea.😀
There are many modern classics I would include in the list. Much of Yukio Mishima is short (although, for example, Confessions of a Mask is not a great translation). Shirley Jackson also writes shorter fiction. And almost any play could be included. I read The Importance of Being Earnest myself this year and what a RIOT!
Great suggestions Shivangi. I have put a Mishima in my Amazon shopping cart. Thank you. As for The Importance of Being Earnest, I agree with you wholeheartedly. What a RIOT indeed. Have you seen the movie adaptation with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett?
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 The Warden.....sorry i broke off watching the vid to make the comment. I also picked up from The Warden..."Let Sleeping Dogs Lie".
Two Austrian writers I cannot praise enough and who wrote so many great things, some made into movies. If the ones I mention aren't for you, try another. Stefan Zweig. "Amok", " Letter from an Unkown Woman". Autobiography, "The World of Yesteryear"--fantastic. Several biographies of famous people. The lyrics to Richard Strauss' opera "The Silent Woman", banned by Hitler. Arthur Schnitzler. Plays and books. " Fraulein Else", "Dream Story"(made into a bad movie by Kubrick. A novel which reads like a history " The Road Into The Open". Freud was an admirer. Bonus: Aleksis Kivi from Finland, "The Seven Brothers".
Tristan What is the difference between the 1818 text of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and the other version? And which would you recommend someone relatively new to Classics read?
You are overthinking this. The idea is to help build up experience with different authors-today, Notes from Underground; tomorrow- Crime and Punishment, and it’s all good.
Hullo Tristan I won't let you know every time I read a book. I just have to mention the ceid by cornelle. I loved it very dramatic though. I'm about to read Figaro's Marige by Beaumarchais and Phaedra by Jean Racine. I'll tell you what I think of them peace Lara.
Interesting list. I've read 5 of these without realizing their length. I read Eugenie Grandet in an effort to expand beyond Pere Goriot, but didn't find it especially memorable. The translation of Turgenev I read in HS called it Fathers and Sons.
Interesting that you think F451 is less calamitous than 1984. I’m pretty sure I disagree. Hard to explain without going deep into spoilers, but just think what happens at the end of F451, and Bradbury’s idea that it is inevitable. List overall is good, though I would have chosen many others. Two on here I haven’t read and might pick up this year.
Hi Duffy!😀 As for the ending I take your point. For me, the oppressive weight of the dystopia of 1984 felt more terrifying and malevolent. While I enjoyed Fahrenheit 451, the atmosphere was only a shade of the authoritarian nightmare of Big Brother's political nightmare. It's in this respect that I find 1984 more monstrous than 451. Ad for other books you are right, there could be so many others. Are there any that you would particularly choose? 😀
Since you ask, here’s are the ones I rated highly on Goodreads, all under 200 pages in my editions: Ethan Frome, Alice in Wonderland, A Study in Scarlett, Adolphe by Benjamin Constant, Candide, Notes from Underground, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Utopia, Daisy Miller, Washington Square, Beowulf, Heart of Darkness, and The Awakening. Those are the ones I came up with quickly. There are lots more, and I shied away from anything distinctly modern.
@duffypratt great list! I haven't read Adolphe, which is now in my amazon shopping cart. Nor have I read the Awakening, but that is on my bookshelf and is soon to be read. I have to ask, Duffy, do you have a background in literature? Perhaps a Dr or Prof ? I ask because your comments are so good and thoughtful, lace elegantly with point of view and vigour. I do enjoy it when you say something. It keeps me on my toes 😀
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 No background in lit. I have an MFA in Screenwriting/Directing and I'm a lawyer. Been reading all my life, so I have a pretty wide range. Favorite writers are Trollope and Austen. These days, I tend to read fantasy more than anything else.
Well I’d written off trying to read any of the Russian greats - too much of the ‘wolf in the dark woods’, too heavy… but the enthusiastic recommendation of Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Children changes all that… we’ll see how it goes😀👍
I just read one that I hadn’t heard of and enjoyed immensely. James Malcolm Rymer’s The String Of Pearls. The Sweeney Todd penny dreadful. It’s switched me on to wanting to check out some more Serial fiction from that period. It’s 250 pages but is short enough and addictive reading . It’s not heavy it’s lots of fun.
been watching all your videos ..thought I'd comment... Actually I hae a story to tell... Mine... I am from a really faraway broken place where I had to enroll into an educational institution where there were neither teachers present nor books... I got the degree but I know nothing.... of ENglish LIterature.... I wanted to write.. I wanted to become a writer, I still do but Now I find myself without havig read any books...having wasted my 7 years in the institution...So I was hoping you could help me... where do I start? I want to cover all my degree and also began reading the books that I should have...so any suggestions?
...but I love long books. There's nothing so disappointing to me than coming the end of a good book. These characters are abandoning me, after I've made this immersing connection with them. Short books do that faster.
In almost all your videos, you seems to place mike very far away from where you stand, the audio in the videos is very very low and I have to always increase volume to maximum and then listen very carefully to understand what you are saying, please bring mike closer
Most novels are TOO LONG. They developed as popular entertainment in the 18th and esp 19th cent when there was basically nothing much to do at night so books that took a long time to slog through were desirable.
While I appreciate the intention behind this video, measuring books by page count is worthless as the number of words per page can vary wildly depending on font size, margins, page size, and the formatting of the prose. Dense paragraphs of description will contain as much as double the word count when compared to the same page with dialogue on it. I did basically the same video a few days ago, only I used word count; an actual metric of length for books that no-one but me seems to bother using. Word count is useful and can actually give you an idea of reading length. Page count is worthless and tells you nothing.
Dude, I like yu and I like this video, but for the love of Pete, please enunciate. I had to replay yu apparently saying "Amundaduh Kundy" several times before I could finally discern yu trying to say "A Month in the Country." Don't make your audience work this hard.
Thank you for the feedback. It's very valuable😅👍. I can talk very quickly, too. I'm guessing from your user name that you are from Cleveland. I have an element of West Midlands accent, which may account for some of the lack of clarity. There are so many accents in the British Isles that we frequently have difficulty understanding each other.😅 Once, on the news, they were interviewing a person from Northern England, and they had to use subtitles, even though they were English. 🤣🤣🤣
What classic book of around 200 pages or less would you recommend?
I suspect it is more than 200 pages, but I would love to see you do Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell.
A Hero of Our Time (Lermontov) said to be an early depiction of an anti-hero
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn)
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
and important to include a black writer : Giovanni's Room (Baldwin) and another female writer : O Pioneers (Cather) who wrote several books of manageable length and is a personal favourite.
I'm very happy that you highly recommended Fathers and Sons, it's one of the first novels I thought of when I saw your title. What's interesting to me is that the seeds of the Russian Revolution are on full display here, and as such packs in more to its slender size more per page than any other Russian novel.
1) The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West 2) Passing, Nella Larsen 3) A Lost Lady, Willa Cather 4) The Awakening, Kate Chopin 5) Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (might be a smidge over 200)
@@tonybennett4159
"and important to include a black writer : Giovanni's Room (Baldwin) and another female writer : "
Why? Skin tone and sex are irrelevant to whether someone can write a good book. How that "woke" nonsense drives me nuts.
@@Yesica1993 "Skin tone and sex are irrelevant", which is exactly why I am pointing out where Tristan's list is lacking. He lists 5 English men, 3 English women, one American man, one Frenchman, one Brazilian man and one Russian man in the list, all great writers, yet there is a broad range of superb writing out there, worthy of being included in such august company. Your meaningless "woke" doesn't address that at all.
I love your genuine excitement and love for books; it is contagious!
Oh thank you! That's so kind of you to say. Books are wonderful things, aren't they?
I’ve always loved literature but in my old age, I’d stopped reading. Your excitement has encouraged me to start again. Thank you!
I always love when a new Tristan and the Classic drops. Long live the classics!
Thanks Chris, I appreciate it
I'm going to add A Month in the Country to my pile. Persuasion and A Room with a View are two of my favorites.
“ lightness of touch that is so singular to her” this is how you can tell. The guy actually reads these books. Having read a few Jane Austin books at this point that was a beautiful moment.
Would love a part 2 based on the recommendations I’m seeing in the comment section
Patty- I am so glad you expounded more on Agnes Grey. I love that story. People who skim over this book in favor of TWH don't realize what they are missing in this book. I confess that Anne is my favorite of the sisters. Thank you for giving "Agnes" her due. ❤️
Thanks for saying that. About to read Agnes Gray myself
I cannot Read a book if it has animal cruelty eg: Agnes Grey and Moby Dick.
Same goes for films,videos, photos etc.😥
1. Room with a View - read, great novel, outstanding film adaption (Ivory)
2. A Month in the Country - read, worth reading, very subtle
3. Under the Greenwood Tree - sounds interesting, never read Hardy, only the Woodlanders are sitting on my shelf
4. Agnes Grey
5. The 39 Steps - not my taste - but next year I'm going to Scotland, perhaps I will reread it
6. Eugene Grandet - good idea for a start with Balzac
7. Mrs Dalloway - read, fantastic - even more so, because I am at the same age as the protagonist
8. The Warden - very, very readable, at times very funny, very modern in way
9. Persuasion - read, a great book, very fine film adaptation (with Ciaran Hinds starring)
10. Epitaph of a Small Winner - never heard of, sounds absolutely intriguing!
11. Fahrenheit 451 - would like to get to it next year
12. Fathers and children - would like to know to which character I'm drawn 😃
Great, inspiring video, Tristan! Looking forward to your next video! Merry Christmas to you!
Thank you , Sabine. I really enjoyed reading this. Any books you would add?
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust. 😀
Under the Greenwood Tree is TERRIBLE! The rest of this list is good.
Thanks for making the list...it is easier for me to find the books😊😊👍👍😅😅
We did Room with a View for our English literature O level at school. The film was outstanding, for the atmosphere and capturing what the book was about, and also the humour. Felt very sad about Julian Sands death last year. One of our other books was 20th Century Short Stories. The authors included Katherine Masefield, DH Lawrence and a horrible story by Graham Greene. It also included EM Forsters ' The Machine Stops', who was also the author of Room with a View. It has always stayed with me. Set in the future it was about mankind's dependence on a machine that provided everything, as mankind now lived in individual rooms underground. They just pressed buttons for whatever they wanted, food, culture, music, friendships, ordering things. Does it sound a bit familiar?! I thought what an amazing author to write 2 so very different works, and to predict so clearly much of our modern world with increasing dependence on technology.
Oh No, Tristan! what have you done! Now I have 12 more books on my 'want to read' list. I will definitely read them all. I'm starting with Mrs Dalloway. Thank you for another fantastic video!!👏👏👏
Another great video! Thank you Tristan. Have just searched my bookshelves and have six of these titles and now have an excuse to visit my favourite secondhand book shops to collect the rest ... much to the consternation of my son!! 'Don't you have enough books? ... Have you read what you already have?'. He just doesn't understand! Wishing you a Blessed Christmas and, as always, look forward to more wonderful content in 2023. I hail from Adelaide, Australia.
Is there anything better than a book shop! I think not. Maybe one day your son will understand. Then he will have achieved true enlightenment. 😅
Tristan, I just came here to say your channel brings me immense pleasure and knowledge! Thank you!
A month in the country is one of my absolute favourite books...was so glad to see it on your list....thank you for the great video
I was going to say the same thing! A beautiful book.
Yeah! There's a nice mix of classics for me! I've only read Persuasion on this list, but most of the others are on my TBR, with only a few that I will now add! Thank you Tristan! Happy Holidays!
Hi, Christine! I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did. A Month In The Country, especially.
Wonderful list.
Thanks 😀
Great video - thank you. I have read most of these but really enjoyed your enthusiasm. “Epitaph…” has been on my TBR for a while now but you have convinced me to get a copy ASAP.
Such a good book.
The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. I had a first American but gave it to a writer Godson, it had belonged to his Grandmother. Now, I have a first English edition, sans jacket. I so love The Thirty-nine Steps. I have discovered the comfy books of O. Douglas, John Buchan's sister. I enjoyed your reading of The Thirty-nine Steps. I loved Candide in school, "the best of all possible worlds."
I must say, Sus, it sounds like you have a beautiful library of books. Steinbeck is certainly someone I want to read more of.
I also need to read Candide again. It's not a favourite of mine but I must dip back into it again.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 It helped to be a collector before the internet, when you had to rely on printed sources for book collecting, now every reseller with a phone can access points of issue and find out about book club editions with a blind stamp on the back cover being pretty much worthless in American book collecting, with very few exceptions. At the end of video you say only up to end of 19th century, so Steinbeck et al., are non-starters. Book collecting was a safe addiction and estate sales were amazing (before the internet).
This list is awesome, i discovered your channel recently, with this list i can tell we read similar books and enjoy also similar classics, i'm missing 2,3 books from this list but you convinced me to pick up books like Agnes Grey, or to start the saga of Trollope.
So happy to Anthony Trollope mentioned, I absolutely love his work and he’s so prolific and engaging.
Thank you! I will be reading many of these.
Great list! To it, I will add The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder -- a big punch packed into a very small package. Also, I'd urge anyone who reads Mrs. Dalloway to follow it up with The Hours by Michael Cunningham. A great, contemporary refraction of the story. And also very short. Cheers!
Thanks for the further recommendations, Troy. I will be hunting those out.
Excellent call Troy! I came across this book by chance some years ago and it has stayed with me.
Have put Agnes Grey on my TBR especially since I enjoyed Tenant of Wildfell Hall very much.
Made several attempts at Mrs Dalloway, likewise To the Lighthouse, but got lost within the first 20 pages or so. Her stream of consciousness style is rather hard for me; the writing gets in the way of the story. But not giving up; will try again. Perhaps will read A Room of One’s Own instead; maybe essay would be easier to follow, and then I would have bagged at least one Virginia Woolf.
Room with a View and Under the Greenwood Tree and Persuasion are definitely great reads.
One short classic that stood out for me is Henry James’ Washington Square. It’s dialogue that mainly carries the story forward. The sheer brilliance of the dialogue, the tight writing, blew me away. Turn of the Screw is great too but for different reasons.
Thank you for your recommendations, Tristan. Merry Christmas to you and the family!
Wow, Sumathi, I almost put Washington Square into this list. The final few sentences of that book left me speechless. I wasn't expecting it to have such a physical effect on me.
Room With A View is a treasure.
I love Washington Square. I personally know someone just like Catherine, with a similar parent, and nefarious love interest. Makes the reading even more powerful knowing what a sweet girl she is. I would love to see Scorsese make a film based on it or do his own production of The Heiress
Thanks so much for recommending A Month in the Country. Simply brilliant. It’s got to be one of the most underrated books of all times … ASFarroco 2/23/23
I just finished reading A Month in the Country. Blew me away. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Hello Tristan!! I'm Juan Andrés from Barcelona (Spain). I'm just starting to learn English and, for this reason, I've found out your channel. I really love your channel and, although I can't still understand you perfectly, I enjoy it very much. After listen you, i really want to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Thanks for your wonderful videos and confratulations for your fantastic channel!!!
Another wonderful video Tristan - thank you! I have read and enjoyed Agnes Grey, The Warden & Persuasion (personally my favourite Austen). In the middle of A Month In The Country - taking my time to savour it. To your list I would add Silas Marner by George Eliot, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. All the best to you & my fellow readers
Some superb recommendations here, Angela. Ivan Illyich is a winning pick.😀
I second Agnes Grey!
Yay Turgenev. Fabulous book
I have read some of these and really enjoyed them. I will definitely take your advice on the rest.
Fantastic list! My personal favorites when it comes to short novels are Too Loud a Silence, Pedro Paramo, The Clockwork Orange, and The Lost Steps.
Nice! I keep meaning to read Pedro Paramo.
Love Historial romance novels by Stanley Weyman but hardly ever hear reviews on his novels Could you enlighten your patrons on one of my favourite writers .Keep up the great work you are enthusiasm personified
Great list! I must say that I loved Fahrenheit 451 but you can’t go wrong with any of these classics.
A few more suggestions for the interested:
The Old Man and the Sea
A Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
Pnin by Nabokov
Pedro Paramo by Juan Ralfo
Battles in the Desert by Jose Pacecho
Thanks for adding these, Rishabh. 😀👍
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Epitaph was a great pick btw, there’s an expanded version sold as Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas which you might be aware of.
I am in the middle of A month in the country and it is marvelous 😊
You convinced me! I will start fathers and sons soon!
I just finished Mrs. Dalloway and I didn't care for it too much. it has good moments but having to look at the index to know what Woolf is talking about every couple of pages was annoying. Also apparently that modernist style of stream of consciousness is not for me. Great list though, will follow your recommendations. F 451 and Eugene Grandet i loved. Take care.
I love this, Tristan! 👏🏻 I have only read 4 of these books (Agnes Grey, The Warden, Persuasion and Fathers & Sons) and I have 2 of them on my shelf (Mrs. Dalloway and Fahrenheit 451), so I need to get busy! 😆 A few short Classics that I would recommend would be: Frankenstein, The Hound of the Baskervilles and A Christmas Carol. 🤓 Thank you for sharing and thank you for the link to The 39 Steps audiobook! 📚
Excellent recommendations, Lu. The 4 that you have read are so good. I highly recommend A Month In The Country.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 It's in my Amazon cart right now! 😉
Just recently stumbled upon Month in the Country (huge Colin Firth fan) and absolutely loved it...utterly sublime! Now have to read the book!
Good choices. Thank you. I was very surprised you had "Eugenie Grandet" on your list - not a well known Balzac book. I read it for French A level over 40 years ago now - time for a reread in English! Another good novella is Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice" . I've subscribed, as I really enjoy your style of presentation.
When you were showing us the Everyman’s Library edition I thought: a video about different book editions would be nice. Which ones do you prefer, how is the paper quality, which editions are “floppy” etc
As someone who can only rely on visual experience I’d highly appreciate your opinion.
My German bookstores have a very limited range of English classics and almost never any hardbacks, so I have to order online.
That would be a great idea, Sabine. I'll see what I can do.
Love Fahrenheit 451 and The Warden. I'm growing to love Persuasion. The first time I had read it I thought it was just, but I reread it twice more and I've liked a lot better. Hearing people talk about how much they love has "persuaded" (pun intended) me to look at the novel in new ways. I liked Agnes Grey, but Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are still my favorites of any of the Brontes work.
I recently re-read Thurber's amazing "The 13 Clocks." It's only 124 pages, with illustrations on every page. But what writing, full of alliteration and internal rhymes. The story itself is a classic fairy tale, full of familiar tropes, but the story's not the main reason to read it. "I am the Gollux, and not a mere device." If you love language for its own sake, treat yourself to an hour and read this, preferably out loud.
@tristanandtheclassics,
I am glad that you have better audio now because I have difficulty with this video 😥
i loved this vid. would love to see a vid on reading dense texts.
new subscriber here.
Great suggestion! I will have to give that one some thought. Thank you.
Excellent presentation, engaging and accessible, thanks.
1. Ethan Frome (Wharton)
2. Summer (Wharton)
3. Animal Farm (Orwell)
4. Fathers and Sons (Turgenev)
5. Eugenie Grandet (Balzac)
6. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
7. The Dead (Joyce, yes I know it's technically a novella/long short story)
8. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Bassani)
9. Norwegian Wood* (Murakami) -- 296 pages
10. A Lost Lady (Cather)
I love your voice. It’s so soothing. ❤🎉
A week without reading? Impossible! ;-)
It would be bordering on villainy wouldn't it?😅
I've read three of the books on this list. I have tried to read Ray Bradbury and did not get far. The book I tried was Dandelion Wine. I found the approach to the subject matter to be inauthentic, geared towards purposefully provoking an emotional response. With all the books around I haven't yet read, I don't see me returning to Bradbury as an author to read in the near future. I very much want to read A Month in the Country. I saw the film and was touched by its quietness and portrayal of a certain person in a certain place at a certain time. Under the Greenwood Tree was a slyly funny novel. Hardy is a favorite writer for me. I've read the Return of the Native multiple times. Mrs. Dalloway is superb. I prefer To the Lighthouse but Virginia Woolf is an amazing writer. Lastly, I read Turgenev's Fathers and Sons a few years ago and really liked it. It was not rotted with the typical Russian attitude of superiority one finds in so much 19th century Russian literature. The Brothers Karamazov almost turned me against ever reading anything by a Russian author again. But, then I discovered Mikhail Shishkin and read his Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories and returned back to another modern Russian writer with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle.
Great selection Tristan ! I would add Treasure Island, which is also a short one if I remember correctly. Merry Christmas to you 😊
Well I never! Do you know I was within a whisker of choosing Treasure Island. I've just started reading it to my son at bedtime.
Awesome
Great job! A couple of other short classics: Animal Farm and The Old Man And The Sea
Two masterpieces. There's such good literature out there.
Machado de Assis is our best author ever! His book "Dom Casmurro" is my favorite romance, and the favorite here in Brazil!
I love classics too!!
Fantastic list and brilliant summaries to peak our interest. I've read 10 of these and loved 9 (couldn't get on with Mrs Dalloway). The Austen, Hardy, Trollope and Carr novels are in my top favorites of all time. I have not read Eugenie or Epitaph, but they're on my Wishlist now. FYI: The newest Oxford Edition of The Warden has an excellent Appendix article explaining the Church and the various positions and hierarchy in Trollope's time. I read The Warden years ago without this background and it was enjoyable, but re-reading with this extra resource enhanced my understanding of both The Warden and Barchester Towers. Do you have any Trollope reviews? He's my favorite after Austen.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway is short and has some good thoughts on writing plus a truly hilarious drunken road trip:)
This is a great list. I have read 39 steps, watched lots of films of it and even a play which was a comedy.
You reminded me that I have read Persuasion. I have that on my kindle.
Books I have bought recently that are short reads are Frankenstein (175 pages) and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with The Merry men and other stories. The whole book is 223 pages but Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is only 52 pages. I have seen the film and really liked it and not sure how I can be so short a story but I'll see as not read it yet.
I have just bought A room with a view from your list. The title rings a bell from somewhere.
Top notch suggestions there, Jane. I'd love to see 39 steps as a comedy. I can see how it has the potential to 'spoofify.'
Mrs Dalloway is just 140 pages but can be read and re-read almost endlessly.
Very well done, Tristan. I love the short novel! No disagreement here. I'm not familiar with several of these volumes so I can't comment on them. I'm sure they are outstanding. I will say I'm surprised Anthony Trollope is on here! In my experience of him, he is rather long-winded, so his inclusion is a surprise. Thank you for Fahrenheit 451. I like short-novel sci-fi. To all readers: Don't shy from classic sci-fi. Check out the fine English author John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Awakes, The Chrysalids). Finally (then I'll shut up) detective and mystery: Christie, Doyle, Rex Stout (one of P. G. Wodehouse's favorite writers) -- all have produced great short novels. Peace, my friends. Thanx again Tristan!
Hey Tristan! New subscriber here and loving your content. Could you please do a review of Tess of the D'urbevilles? Especially as how the themes compare to The Mayor of Casterbridge? Keep up the great content!
Thanks for the sub, SL! I think I already have a video on Tess if you are interested. But a comparison of themes with the Mayor of Casterbridge sounds fascinating. Thanks for the idea.😀
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Found it and watched it! Thanks! Great analysis! The more Hardy the better:)
@@SL-qu3rx so good to meet a fellow Hardy fan.
There are many modern classics I would include in the list. Much of Yukio Mishima is short (although, for example, Confessions of a Mask is not a great translation). Shirley Jackson also writes shorter fiction. And almost any play could be included. I read The Importance of Being Earnest myself this year and what a RIOT!
Great suggestions Shivangi. I have put a Mishima in my Amazon shopping cart. Thank you.
As for The Importance of Being Earnest, I agree with you wholeheartedly. What a RIOT indeed. Have you seen the movie adaptation with Colin Firth and Rupert Everett?
I bought that copy from a Salvation Army second hand shop about 30 years ago on a whim for about 20p.....best 20p i ever spent......
Which book was that? A Month In The Country?
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 The Warden.....sorry i broke off watching the vid to make the comment. I also picked up from The Warden..."Let Sleeping Dogs Lie".
Fahrenheit 451 - reminds me of the TV series *The Prisoner* -"Questions are a burden to others, a prison for oneself."
Two Austrian writers I cannot praise enough and who wrote so many great things, some made into movies. If the ones I mention aren't for you, try another.
Stefan Zweig. "Amok", " Letter from an Unkown Woman". Autobiography, "The World of Yesteryear"--fantastic. Several biographies of famous people. The lyrics to Richard Strauss' opera "The Silent Woman", banned by Hitler.
Arthur Schnitzler. Plays and books. " Fraulein Else", "Dream Story"(made into a bad movie by Kubrick. A novel which reads like a history " The Road Into The Open". Freud was an admirer.
Bonus: Aleksis Kivi from Finland, "The Seven Brothers".
Tristan What is the difference between the 1818 text of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and the other version? And which would you recommend someone relatively new to Classics read?
Can I suggest for inclusion on an extended list George Eliot's Silas Marner and H G Wells' The Wheels of Chance?
This is a great list! We studied Fathers and Chidlren at school and I found it extremely boring at the time. It's time to reread :)
You are overthinking this. The idea is to help build up experience with different authors-today, Notes from Underground; tomorrow- Crime and Punishment, and it’s all good.
Hullo Tristan I won't let you know every time I read a book. I just have to mention the ceid by cornelle. I loved it very dramatic though. I'm about to read Figaro's Marige by Beaumarchais and Phaedra by Jean Racine. I'll tell you what I think of them peace Lara.
Hi Dawn. I don't mind at all if you tell me every book you read. I'd love to know your thoughts on Racine, as I've never read anything by them.
Interesting list. I've read 5 of these without realizing their length. I read Eugenie Grandet in an effort to expand beyond Pere Goriot, but didn't find it especially memorable. The translation of Turgenev I read in HS called it Fathers and Sons.
Thanks, although the volume is quite low. I can tell because when the ads come on, those are super- loud.
I cried for hours at the ending of Month in the Country!😫😭
The Bridge at San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder. Approx. 235 pages and well worth reading.
I am just finishing Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize, under 150 pts. Incredible prose
I’d love to see a list of your favourite classics of French literature
Interesting that you think F451 is less calamitous than 1984. I’m pretty sure I disagree. Hard to explain without going deep into spoilers, but just think what happens at the end of F451, and Bradbury’s idea that it is inevitable.
List overall is good, though I would have chosen many others. Two on here I haven’t read and might pick up this year.
Hi Duffy!😀 As for the ending I take your point. For me, the oppressive weight of the dystopia of 1984 felt more terrifying and malevolent. While I enjoyed Fahrenheit 451, the atmosphere was only a shade of the authoritarian nightmare of Big Brother's political nightmare.
It's in this respect that I find 1984 more monstrous than 451.
Ad for other books you are right, there could be so many others. Are there any that you would particularly choose? 😀
Since you ask, here’s are the ones I rated highly on Goodreads, all under 200 pages in my editions: Ethan Frome, Alice in Wonderland, A Study in Scarlett, Adolphe by Benjamin Constant, Candide, Notes from Underground, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Utopia, Daisy Miller, Washington Square, Beowulf, Heart of Darkness, and The Awakening. Those are the ones I came up with quickly. There are lots more, and I shied away from anything distinctly modern.
@duffypratt great list! I haven't read Adolphe, which is now in my amazon shopping cart. Nor have I read the Awakening, but that is on my bookshelf and is soon to be read.
I have to ask, Duffy, do you have a background in literature? Perhaps a Dr or Prof ? I ask because your comments are so good and thoughtful, lace elegantly with point of view and vigour. I do enjoy it when you say something. It keeps me on my toes 😀
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 No background in lit. I have an MFA in Screenwriting/Directing and I'm a lawyer. Been reading all my life, so I have a pretty wide range. Favorite writers are Trollope and Austen. These days, I tend to read fantasy more than anything else.
Well I’d written off trying to read any of the Russian greats - too much of the ‘wolf in the dark woods’, too heavy… but the enthusiastic recommendation of Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Children changes all that… we’ll see how it goes😀👍
I just read one that I hadn’t heard of and enjoyed immensely. James Malcolm Rymer’s The String Of Pearls. The Sweeney Todd penny dreadful. It’s switched me on to wanting to check out some more Serial fiction from that period. It’s 250 pages but is short enough and addictive reading . It’s not heavy it’s lots of fun.
Another short classic which deserves adoration is C S Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters!
"Usher II" in The Martian Chronicles is a sort of sequel to Fahrenheit 451.
It was made into an episode of "The Ray Bradbury Theater" TV Series that originally aired Aug 17, 1990 th-cam.com/video/WZQgaxOLxaY/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/WZQgaxOLxaY/w-d-xo.html
been watching all your videos ..thought I'd comment... Actually I hae a story to tell... Mine... I am from a really faraway broken place where I had to enroll into an educational institution where there were neither teachers present nor books... I got the degree but I know nothing.... of ENglish LIterature.... I wanted to write.. I wanted to become a writer, I still do but Now I find myself without havig read any books...having wasted my 7 years in the institution...So I was hoping you could help me... where do I start? I want to cover all my degree and also began reading the books that I should have...so any suggestions?
If you follow any of his suggestions you cannot go wrong..
What kind of plot are you looking for? That would help us to help you. Take care.
Not trying to be critical just want to know why you left out Of Mice and Men. Did you mean to? Short and powerful story.
What actually constitutes a classic? Is there a solid definition?
Did people name their sons Septimus if he was the seventh son, or the seventh child, or if he was born in September?
I think you are right about the seventh child.
...but I love long books. There's nothing so disappointing to me than coming the end of a good book. These characters are abandoning me, after I've made this immersing connection with them. Short books do that faster.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
200 pages, a book a month 😂 😂 that’s a weekend!
In almost all your videos, you seems to place mike very far away from where you stand, the audio in the videos is very very low and I have to always increase volume to maximum and then listen very carefully to understand what you are saying, please bring mike closer
Most novels are TOO LONG. They developed as popular entertainment in the 18th and esp 19th cent when there was basically nothing much to do at night so books that took a long time to slog through were desirable.
The Great Gastby or you've failed the topic.
While I appreciate the intention behind this video, measuring books by page count is worthless as the number of words per page can vary wildly depending on font size, margins, page size, and the formatting of the prose. Dense paragraphs of description will contain as much as double the word count when compared to the same page with dialogue on it.
I did basically the same video a few days ago, only I used word count; an actual metric of length for books that no-one but me seems to bother using. Word count is useful and can actually give you an idea of reading length. Page count is worthless and tells you nothing.
Dude, I like yu and I like this video, but for the love of Pete, please enunciate. I had to replay yu apparently saying "Amundaduh Kundy" several times before I could finally discern yu trying to say "A Month in the Country." Don't make your audience work this hard.
Thank you for the feedback. It's very valuable😅👍. I can talk very quickly, too.
I'm guessing from your user name that you are from Cleveland. I have an element of West Midlands accent, which may account for some of the lack of clarity. There are so many accents in the British Isles that we frequently have difficulty understanding each other.😅 Once, on the news, they were interviewing a person from Northern England, and they had to use subtitles, even though they were English. 🤣🤣🤣
Old is NOT Classic!
You are absolutely correct. Couldn't agree more.