2 years ago I dicided I couldn't die without doing an in-dept reading of the Divine Comedy. It took me one year and a half to achieve this (reading other books at the same time). When I finished I was so happy I cried, and I felt a sense of relief for days. It was a great achievement for me, and it was so worth it, one of the most beautiful books I read in my life.
I read Dante’s Divine Comedy in about three days as a required reading assignment in college. As history I found it a fascinating contrast between the world view of the early Middle Ages and modernity. It was to that eras world view like the Periodic Table of Elements would be today.
Great list. Agree with Wuthering heights and B. Karamazov being great. But the latter is very challeging, I almost gave up. I waited half the book to see the father getting killed....
So glad you are still making videos. Coziest youtuber out there! I've decided all of life can be fundamentally reduced to two states of being: cozy or anti-cozy. Winter and Autumn are cozy; summer is anti-cozy. Fireplaces are cozy; televisions are anti-cozy. 70s horror comics are cozy; manga is anti-cozy. Detective stories, gothic, pulp and vintage are all cozy; modern mass consumerist reboots and reimaginings are anti-cozy. Etcetera. This channel is cozy!
I was telling someone recently that if you stated that "The Brother Karamazov" was the greatest novel ever written you'd get no argument from me. " Don Quixote" is a strong contender too in my opinion. Also " Bleak House" is my favorite by Dickens. Good job, thanks !!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 why isn't he bible on the list? So many of the classic novels make better sense knowing the bible. If a person just wants to read it as mythology they will even understand our legal system a little more by reading it. Can you take the bible out of the Brothers Karamazov? I agree Don Quixote should be on the list. It's the classic that is the most fun as well, isn't it? Good recommendation of Wuthering Heights. I don't want to read a romance novel. Hearing you say it's not a romance novel helps. I have a really nice copy of the book.
I too am a big fan of Dostoevsky…Thank you for mentioning The Brothers Karamazov…It’s such an underrated and under appreciated classic novel…This classic book needs more exposure so I appreciate that you brought it up in this video… Most know the big well known classics such as War and Peace, Moby Dick, Tale of Two Cities etc…The Brothers Karamazov is just as good as those books and in some ways better…More people should read The Brothers Karamazov… The only book I would have put on this list that you didn’t mention was The Count of Monte Cristo… It’s a great revenge and rags to riches story… A couple of modern movies basically steal the plot of this book such as Shawshank Redemption and V for Vendetta to name a few…It is a timeless classic and on top of that it’s an easy and delightful read…Without a doubt one of the best novels ever written…I recommend it to all who have not had the pleasure of yet reading this book… I agree in the encouraging of people to try and read more of the classics…There’s a reason why they are called classics…I enjoyed this video keep up the good works…
I second that opinion on Dostoevsky. But, I have to say, I did not first meet Dostoevsky with the Brothers. Honestly, I do not know if I would have persevered with Fydor if I started with Karamazov. My journey started with Crime and Punishment, then Notes from the Underground, then Demons, then, finally, Karamazov. The characters that Dostoevsky painted in Crime and Punishment really drew my heart to pursue him. When I finally did get to Karamazov I was able to really appreciate how Fydor refined so many of the themes present in his previous works and sculpted them into a true masterpiece. Read on my friend, read on.....
Maybe in popularity it isn't talked much about because it wasn't as successfully adapted to screen and it's too deep for lots of people to read today. But it is probably the most admired and appreciated work of literature ever. Definitely not underrated. Except by Harry Potter readers. So happy you love Dostoevsky!
V for Vendetta is no Count of Monte Cristo reskin, but you might have to read the original to get what’s unique about it. The movie simplified it greatly and even changed the core message fundamentally (I know, you’re shocked a Hollywood movie would do this 😄).
Good list and good comments. I know it is so hard to have a perfect list, but I would also add: - Don Quixote by Cervantes - Ulysses by James Joyce - Anna Karenina by Tolstoy - The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald - Middlemarch by Marian Evans (George Eliot)
The books are always better than the movie. Always interesting to see how Hollywood changes and or omits things for the big screen. Of course, somethings could not b filmed due to the era the film was shown. From Here to Eternity and The Grapes of Wrath are to that come immediately to mind.
absolutely love Frankenstien, Great Expectations and Moby Dick and already have several of the others on my increasingly crammed TBR shelf. Thanks for another great video Michael!
The real tragedy of Karamazov is that it's only the first volume of a projected two volume work. Dostoevsky died before he even began work on the second. I think you're absolutely right about Fagles translations. So beautifully written that they'll be considered classics in their own right.
I really enjoy the Fagles Iliad and Aeneid, but his translation of the Odyssey is deeply flawed. The orginal Greek and most of the English translations of the Odyssey are deeply ambiguous in a number of important places (such as when Penelope discovers that the begger is actual Odysseus). Fagles' trabslation lacks much of Homer's subtlety (and as a result, his Penelope is kind of an idiot and is not able to go head to head with her husband).
@@ethanclark4116 He did mention in his Introduction that Alyosha's status as the hero of the novel would be made much more clear in the second volume. I believe he also referenced a second volume several times in his notebooks.
@@lock67ca Alyosha is 20 years old, the second volume has to describe his life in 13 years (Dostoevsky mentioned that in the introduction). So it's a book about 33 years old "positively beautiful" man. I think we all know such a book. In "From the author" Chapter Dostoevsky talks only about Alyosha and calls him exclusively Alexei Fyodorovich (5 times), both names are Greek (Dostoevsky knew this language) and in translation mean "defender of the God's gift". In other chapters the author calls him mostly Alyosha. Also in the introduction he says "the main novel is the second one - about the activities of my hero". Activities (деяния) is very specific word in Russian which is mostly used in the context of holy deeds, like "Деяния святых апостолов" (The Acts of the Apostles).
War and Peace was amazing and surprisingly easy to read too. I decided to read 20 pages a day during 2020 as a distraction from studying for uni finals and it was one of the best decision I made tbh. Often found myself reading about 100 pages and even though it took time away studying, I found having W&P to look forward to actually helped me focus more when I did study. Highly recommend the Anthony Briggs translation (Penguin Classics) - it flowed so well and was very easy to understand.
1. Maude Translation was approved by Tolstoy and works well. 2. The key to reading war and peace is to have a printout of all the characters and their names. This is important since characters go by 2-3 names which can be confusing.
Here is an interesting take on War and Peace. After World War Two, the Russian journalist/author Vassily Grossman wrote a two-volume 'update' of War and Peace. They are now available in English translation as Stalingrad and Life and Fate. Grossman was an ardent admirer of Tolstoy and he unapologetically set out to write a twentieth-century novel in the same style as War and Peace and he has the literary chops to pull it off. The cast of characters is huge, there are many plot lines, some run through both of the volumes, some only last a chapter or two. The one big difference is that Grossman actually lived through the events he describes rather than hearing them second-hand. This is a large work -- two 800+ page novels not counting notes -- but it moves along and is well worth the effort. It is also not a 'fun' read. He tackles many difficult issues, and the 'good guys' don't always win. This is a book where the 'six-fingered man' often lives to be an old man.
Shocking that Crime and Punishment is not on the list, the way Michael describes The Brothers Karamazov is the way I feel about Crime. I would have also included Oscar Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Grey in the list; some have remarked that it's the most beautifully written book in English.
It’s also important to know that books back then were longer mostly because many of the authors especially the more well known ones who wrote back in those days were actually paid by the word hence the 800-1500 page tomes…this is just an FYI for those who were not aware of that fact…Doesn’t bother me I Like Big Books…The bigger the better…Thank You Michael you certainly hit on most of the legendary classics and there are so many more it’s hard to narrow a list to just 12 but this was an excellent list…Love the channel keep up the good works…
True, and there was no competition for entertainment. No radio even. Pretty sure they didn’t have streaming services with thousands of options in every genre conceivable.
@@Kormac80 Yes but what was the same was the need for money…it ruled the day then and rules the day now…and it was absolutely the main reason for 800-1500 page book tomes back in those days…if the same principle was applied today you would have nothing but 800+ page books today…So yes they had less distractions back then but they also had less ideas to steal from so their imaginations, personal experiences and the real world events happening around them is all they had to write from…unlike today’s authors who steal every idea and every style that these authors set for them…That’s why these books will always be deemed the best books ever written period!!! Hence the term Classic!!! Making a living and making money will always be the first and foremost motivation for everything everybody does… Whether it’s 2000 years ago or the year 2022 it’s all about money…Money rules the day and when you are contracted back in those days to be paid by the word and you want to write books and be an author and you want to live and survive then you write 800-1500 page books…Period!!!
@@UncleMonk23 You seem to misunderstand the economics at play. If there were any kind of competition in the entertainment space the publishers wouldn't pay by the word bc they wouldn't be able to sell long rambling books bc people would be inclined to opt out of that option. Competition forces adjustments. You also misunderstand how to use exclamation marks. But you do you man.
Currently reading the Brothers Karamasov and randomly stumbled upon this video!! What an awesome coincidence. Look forward to seeing where the story goes.. :)
I recommend Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. And Goethe's Faust, at least the 1st volume and of course the Gretchen story. Thanks for the Gilgamesh recommendation ... I must look that up.
I'm with you on TBRs. I need to just stop with them since I never stick to them anyway. And as long as you keep making comicbook content, I'll keep watching. Thanks, Michael! 👍
I wouldn't leave Don Quixote off a list of necessary reads. It's considered to be the first modern novel, and the first work of metafiction. It's absolutely brilliant
@@johncooper8537 Metafiction is when the literary layers (Writer/ narrator/character) overlap. In part two of DQ, for example, Quixote meets a student from Salamanca University who has somehow found and read part one of Don Quixote, and is very excited to meet him. The student idolizes Quixote. Another example, and my favorite actually, is from an early 19th century Spanish novel, Niebla (Fog) by Miguel de Unamuno. In this novel, a character from the story finds out that he is going to get killed off, so he travels to Unamuno's house and begs the writer not to kill him.
Good list, there is 4 books on it I have not yet read. As a seaman I totally agree about Moby Dick- " Hand me yon topmaul Mr. Starbuck". When I first went to sea the there was no films, television or internet, one of the ways to pass the time was reading, so I decided I might as well read something worth reading as a load of rubbish and have been well rewarded everv since.
I really got into reading at the start of the year. My grandma is an avid reader and I always admired just how much she read, and she read many classics so that’s what I decided to start getting into as well. I recently picked up The Illiad and Frankenstein (the 1818 text too actually) and I was happy to see them in the video. I think I’ll pick up War and Peace next after I’m done with them, and Homer’s Odyssey too. Thanks for the video !
I haven't read all of those, but I've read several. And you're right. They ARE all classics! I wish more people would look back to the classics. A lot of times on TH-cam I see people talking about how they don't want to read classics because anything over ten years old isn't "pertinent." If anything, it's the opposite. A fantasy author everyone is gaga over today may be never thought about after tomorrow. But classics are "classic" because the stories have universal themes. They're not about which characters in the love triangle hook up or how the big bad of the trilogy is thwarted. They're about emotions and experiences that have been so well explored that they're still just as powerful today as when they were written. Not to say that a new book won't become a classic. They regularly do. And some will involve love triangles and Big Bads. But those old books that are loved are so for a reason. I'm glad to see younger people reading again, but it may be time some took a deep dive and don't just read fun books that will be fodder for future Garbaugusts. Pretty much everything I HAVE read this month falls right in that category, but I always look forward to reading a classic. Especially one I haven't gotten around to yet.
@@ethanclark4116 That’s a good question. It’s been a few years since I read them, and thinking upon that I’m half inclined to reverse that. When I finished BK I was patting myself on the back for doing it, and I admired the audacity of the undertaking. But even at the time there were more things about it that I _didn’t_ like, and I can’t recall any from C&P.
Hey there, just found your channel. I love the book shelf collection in the background. And the video is great. I love some of your choices here. I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan as well as of reading Dostoevsky and Dickens. Les Miserables was wonderful, and have always loved Frankenstein. I want to read War and Peace one of these days, but have read other Tolstoy novels.
This is a great list! As a lover of classic literature, I have read almost all of them (save Ovid and War & Peace--I keep putting that one off) and have enjoyed them all. What you said about people's problem with Moby Dick, one of my personal favorites, (too much whaling info) is the problem I had with Les Miserables (more info than I ever needed about French War). I cannot encourage people enough to read Dickens. I think people don't realise how funny he can be. My favorite Dickens' novels are 1. A Tale of Two Cities 2. Oliver Twist 3. Great Expectations. Read everything you can. There are hundreds of books out there that need reading to keep them "alive"! Edit: I think you would be hard pressed to find an author more brilliant at naming characters than Charles Dickens.
I read Moby Dick, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights and Les Miserables. I have read many other classica as well, especially Dickens. I have several on this list and many more on my shelves to be read and you gave me a couple more to think of adding to might shelves.
As a teenager, one of my guides into literature really urged me to read the short stories of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, and I think this is not only sound advice for those daunted by the larger projects, but also deserve to be on "can't miss" literature series. And so I wanted to share a short list as a kind of introduction or corollary to yours: 1. Two or three letters or essays of Seneca, whichever catch your eye. 2. Two poems by Alexander Pope: An Essay on Criticism, and An Essay on Man 3. Odes of John Keats: Nightingale, Autumn, Grecian Urn, Melancholy 4. Shakespeare's Sonnets (60, 62-68, 71, 73) A deep dive into Shakespeare contending with Time. 5. If it doesn't offend, the short epistle of the New Testament, 1 John, to see the devotion, highest aspiration and seeming contradiction of Christianity crystallized.
I had a professor in school who believe you should read Great Expectations in your 20s, and then again in your 40s. Of course, I only read once, a very long time ago 😜
Life is too short for Dickens. I have read about 13 Dickens novels. I really shouldn't have done. Two Cities is still one of my favourite novels though, but the thought of reading a Dickens twice turns my stomach. There are too many other books to make that a wise idea. However, I do get the intention of what your Prof. suggested.
I've always been fascinated and intrigued by the questions of fate, destiny and free will. One of the most memorable descriptions I've, read comes from Melville's "Moby Dick" (Chapter 1). I thought I'd share it with you all. "But wherefore it was that after having repeatedly smelt the sea as a merchant sailor, I should now take it into my head to go on a whaling voyage; this the invisible police officer of the Fates, who has the constant surveillance of me, and secretly dogs me, and influences me in some unaccountable way - he can better answer than any one else. And, doubtless, my going on this whaling voyage, formed part of the grand programme of Providence that was drawn up a long time ago. It came in as a sort of brief interlude and solo between more extensive performances. fate, destiny amd free will … Though I cannot tell why it was exactly that those stage managers, the Fates, put me down for this shabby part of a whaling voyage, when others were set down for magnificent parts in high tragedies, and short and easy parts in genteel comedies, and jolly parts in farces - though I cannot tell why this was exactly; yet, now that I recall all the circumstances, I think I can see a little into the springs and motives which being cunningly presented to me under various disguises, induced me to set about performing the part I did, besides cajoling me into the delusion that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment."
I think Don Quixote should probably make such a classics list too! 😀 People make Moby Dick sound lame the way they discuss it. It is such a surprisingly easy book to enjoy. It is fun, funny and captivating and I highly recommend it! It is an adventure! I loved it. There's a reason it consistently makes everyone's "must-read classics" list.
Excellent presentation! 1) You were dead on with your assessment of _Moby Dick_ , half the book was intended to be the story of the hunt for the white whale and the other half was a primer on whaling in general. Melville himself worked on a whaler for a time and I'm sure, as you said, he was trying to convey the sense of being on a whaling ship and the whaling experience. 2) I would strongly, strongly, STRONGLY recommend substituting _David Copperfield_ for _Great Expectations_ . Both are excellent books but _Copperfield_ is far more entertaining and satisfying in my opinion. _David Copperfield_ is a much longer book, which I feel is why most people avoid it, but in doing so they have done themselves a great injustice.
I think it took me about 10 years to read Moby Dick. So deadly dull. I actually experienced more than half of it as an audiobook. That helped. I was always interested in great expectations… And I also experienced that as an audiobook it was terrific. David Copperfield is in my future.
@@JohnnyArtPavlou As we all know art is subjective and not everyone agrees on what is good or bad, but after reading both _Copperfield_ and _Expectations_ at least four times, for my money, _David Copperfield_ is the clear winner. Dickens himself considered it his masterpiece. I truly hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
Thanks for this selection. I've read some of these (and have just started Wuthering Heights, in fact), but as someone who always has a book on the go, I've tended to steer clear of classics. Not out of dislike, it's just that other subjects interest me more. I'm trying to make up for that in my later years.
Wonderful selections ~~ I would add (in the time of Ovid) Vergil's Aeneid, Some modern historians muse that if it were not for these 2 epoch poems affirming Roman culture at the time of 1st Emperor Augustus, Rome would have never flourished in the manner it did for the next 200 years. . . . I would add just about anything by Jane Austen. Written at the time of a growing and prospering middle class that emulated the culture of aristocrats, the challenges to young women fitting in to a new social order.
Very ambitious read! I'm afraid of getting bogged down on the Greeks but I still would like to read them. Once you get past 100 pages, it goes pretty steady after that. The challenge is those pages.
Lol. The first classic is The First Classic. Gilgamesh ftw. When it comes to detectives, for me there are three: Holmes, Poirot, and Columbo. Granted, one isn't a read, but the other two are must reads. I like how you are recommending literal classics, like Ovid and Homer. I read Great Expectations in high school and was surprised how much I liked it.
I recently finished Moby Dick. And I agree with you about the whale facts. It adds a lot to the world and atmosphere of the novel. Because of this, it demands patience and attention, while reading. But it's worth it.
the red badge of honor, the bass and the flute by Chekhov, the oddessey by Homer, Oronooko by Aphra Behn, Phaedra by Jean Racine, Antigone by Sophokles and then there were none by Agatha Christie and the burning court by John Dickson Carr
I need to read The Brothers Karamazov. I have that edition and it’s staring at me from my TBR. 😳 Great video. I probably need to give Weathering Heights another try. I’d probably feel differently about it now. Jane Eyre was a masterpiece though.
I have read Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. I didn't have a theatrical background, so it was a daunting task. What helped was listening to an audio dramatization of each play, so I could "hear" in my mind what the words on the page should sound like. It worked!
One thing that I remember from “Moby Dick” that impressed me (though I didn’t finish it) was referencing Tyre and Sidon to describe a relationship between two characters in the novel.
Suggestions: Nordhoff and Hall's Bounty Trilogy, Joseph Conrad's The *black guy* of the Narcissus, Bernal Diaz' Conquest of Mexico, The Heimskringla, The Once and Future King (White), and of course Cervantes (Don Quixote) and Grimmelshausen (Simplicissimus) to fill your picaresque needs. My dad would add Wodehouse in here, too.
I read the Wordsworth classics Frankenstein when I was a teenager. Still one of the only books ever to make me cry! Great book. Now I know there’s an earlier version I’m going to have to read it
I found Gilgamesh a really fun and fast read. Of your list, I had a 100% read rate until I saw Les Miserables. I've read six of the twelve books mentioned here (the first five, and then Frankenstein), and another two (The Peloponnesian warand The Brothers Karamazov) were on my to-read list, but I will definitely add the others to the list. As for War and Peace, when you first size it up, it looks like it will be a struggle, but it's a real page-turner. All the characters are fascinating. I've read that book four times!
From an American, I expected a list of Hemingways, Twains, Fitzgeralds etc, so was pleasantly surprised. I have read a lot of those, but will probably try some of the ones I haven't. Moby Dick -- there's an interesting idea. I have to admit to having always avoided it because of my abhorrence of whaling.
But Moby Dick is far more than just a story about Whaling. I’m a biologist and find whaling unconscionable. I can promise you when early on in the Novel when Ishmael meets Quig-Quig you will be hooked (no pun intended).
Sorry to disagree strongly, but The Sound and the Fury is the absolute worst novel I have ever read. Because of my OCD, I must finish any book that I start, otherwise I would have thrown that terrible book into my fireplace after the first chapter.
#1 The Count Of Monte Cristo #2 Ivanhoe #3 Atlas Shrugged #4 Shane #5 Murder In The Rue Morgue #6 1984 #7 Bless Me Ultima #8 Carrie #9 The Octopus #10 The Pit #11 Moll Flanders #12 Call Of The Wild #13 Interview With A Vampire #14 Dracula #15 The Jungle #16 The Island Of Dr Moreau #17 Henry The 5th parts 1& 2 #18 The Good Earth #19 Don Juan (Lord Byron) #20 East Of Eden......................
After listening to you I out of curiosity tried to make a list of the 12 classics you recommended. I came up with only 11. I'm very disappointed with myself. But I liked your show. Wuthering Heights Frankenstein War and peace Brothers Karazamof Ovid Heroditus Great Expectations Ilyad Gilgamesh Moby Dick Sherlock Holmes
As the only kid at my grand parents' on Sundays, I got into the habit of watching Family Classics and one of my favorites was Moby Dick. So when the opportunity to read the book presented itself, no one had convince me. But I could never get past the first few pages because of the way it was written. I tried again a couple of decades later with the same result. I have no doubt that it is an excellent read, if one can get past that issue.
Happily, I have read _The Complete Sherlock Holmes_ and _Frankenstein._ The only other of the twelve that I have at home is _The Metamorphoses,_ but that is not the next classic I will read. I want to get to _The Two Towers,_ as I have read _The Fellowship of the Ring_ earlier this year. It is not as old as those other classics, but I have got to get to it.
My 12: The Iliad - Homer The Odyssey - Homer The Divine Comedy - Dante Canterbury Tales - Chaucer Le Morte d'Arthur - Malory The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoevsky Moby Dick - Melville Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman First Men in the Moon - H.G. Wells The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame Kim - Kipling Four Quartets - T.S. Eliot
I have most of these, they look great on my wall, culture up the joint and I hold them regularly - I greatly enjoyed what I got through osmosis, I think I got the gist of these classic stories. No I go back to reading dragonlance again! Yeha! :P
Professor Tolkien's LOTR is my favorite work of fiction. I do notice not everyone can read the multiple layers of depth...and therefore are unable to fully appreciate it.
I was on the edge of my seat and ready to fire off a sarcastic comment but then you came up trumps. "Wuthering Heights" is perhaps one on the greatest novels ever. Not the easiest read but still a classic in all senses.
Love your vibe and am hoping to tackle many of the books on your list. I personally think The Master and Margarita may be the most necessary read for young Westerners right now looking to spread their wings for its commentary on art and society alone.
Crime and Punishment ...Paradise Lost , Book of Job , Gospel of Mark , Prometheus Bound , Dante Commedia , Blake poetry , Sherlock Holmes full cannon , etc etc....
Wuthering Heights is a romance where everyone hates each other, and it's also a ghost story where the ghost never shows up. Brilliant, twisted book. I avoided it for years and then kicked myself for not having read it sooner.
A good list but a little too heavily inclined towards novels. Not one drama. What about Shakespeare ???? Ibsen ? Sophocles? Wilde ? Shaw ? O'Neill ? and dozens of others. The only book I haven't read on your list is Ovid's Metamorpheses. I think maybe I'd go with Dante's Divine Comedy over the Ovid, or perhaps the Odyssey. As for Dostoevsky, I agree eh should be on the list but my personal preference would be for the Idiot. But that's just me. I once read critic who said that the two books that have the greatest impact on you as a person are Moby Dick and Wuthering Heights. I think I agree although I might add Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe in my own case and also War and Peace. . Other books I think should be included would be Plato's dialogues on the life and death of Socrates. They are short but can be read together. Also, the Symposium. I would also suggest Machiavelli's Prince as a good modern supplement to Thucydides. And in modern times we need some Nietzsche maybe Beyond Good and Evil and Freud The Interpretation of Dreams and Civilization and its Discontents.
"The only book I haven't read on your list is Ovid's Metamorphoses. I think maybe I'd go with Dante's Divine Comedy over the Ovid" I'm interested in how you make this judgement if you haven't read Ovid. Metamorphoses and the Comedia are both enormously influential works, both good candidates for a list like this.
@@frankmorlock9134 I agree Dante belongs in a list like this. I only read Metamorphoses for the first time this year and strongly recommend it. Dante himself recommends reading Ovid in De vulgari eloquentia: “And perhaps it would be most useful, in order to make the practice of such constructions habitual, to read the poets who respect the rules, namely Virgil, the Ovid of the Metamorphoses, Statius, and Lucan, as well as others who have written excellent prose…” It's also likely that Ovid was one of Dante's main sources for the Greek and Roman mythology that appears in the Comedia.
@@czgibson3086 Right now I am reading Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and not wildly enthusiastic about it. Once I finish that I may try Ovid. I tried to read Ovid's Heroides a couple years ago but didn't like the translation which I thought was awkward.
@@frankmorlock9134 Orlando Furioso is on my list if I ever get out of the ancient world. I predict that I will continually get Bradamante and Brandimarte confused even though one is male and one is female! Hope you enjoy Metamorphoses once you get to it.
Thanks for this! Moby Dick for the win!!!! Also, Team Gilgamesh! "For with little external to constrain us, the innermost necessities in our being, these still drive us on."
A dirty dozen of classics. I read Silverberg's Gilgamesh the King. I best not say too much about the whaling book... My choice for Dickens would have been David Copperfield, but Great Expectations was the book that got me back into Dickens after school turned me off his work. Great video.
Each year I choose 2 books (one fiction, one non-fiction) to take the whole year to read…1/365th per day. I do this for books that are too long, difficult, etc., to read in a month. For example, my copy of Moby Dick is read in a year by reading 1.5 pages per day. Easy. This is how I read many of the books you just mentioned, and so many more.
2 years ago I dicided I couldn't die without doing an in-dept reading of the Divine Comedy. It took me one year and a half to achieve this (reading other books at the same time). When I finished I was so happy I cried, and I felt a sense of relief for days. It was a great achievement for me, and it was so worth it, one of the most beautiful books I read in my life.
I was fascinated when a scholar said it was a political comment of the times.
That's so wonderful! Thanks for sharing this because I feel encouraged to read it myself now.
I read Dante’s Divine Comedy in about three days as a required reading assignment in college. As history I found it a fascinating contrast between the world view of the early Middle Ages and modernity. It was to that eras world view like the Periodic Table of Elements would be today.
Congratulations on your achievement in scaling this mountain - it's a truly beautiful work, one of the center-pieces of Western culture -
@@cyirvine6300 weird
Don Quixote and Brothers Karamazov are, by far, the two best novels I’ve ever read.
I like batman.
Great list. Agree with Wuthering heights and B. Karamazov being great. But the latter is very challeging, I almost gave up. I waited half the book to see the father getting killed....
You have a good taste sir
@@casterofnotas the only verse I read is Snyderverse
@@casterofnotasBatmans my fav comic character
So glad you are still making videos. Coziest youtuber out there! I've decided all of life can be fundamentally reduced to two states of being: cozy or anti-cozy. Winter and Autumn are cozy; summer is anti-cozy. Fireplaces are cozy; televisions are anti-cozy. 70s horror comics are cozy; manga is anti-cozy. Detective stories, gothic, pulp and vintage are all cozy; modern mass consumerist reboots and reimaginings are anti-cozy. Etcetera. This channel is cozy!
What’s the best detective/pulp/noir books, in your opinion?
I’m also a believer in cozy!
Well put Ficheetah…
I was telling someone recently that if you stated that "The Brother Karamazov" was the greatest novel ever written you'd get no argument from me. " Don Quixote" is a strong contender too in my opinion. Also " Bleak House" is my favorite by Dickens. Good job, thanks !!
Don Quixote probably should have been on this list. I should have made it 13!
Don Quixote for SURE
Dickens never disappoints.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 why isn't he bible on the list? So many of the classic novels make better sense knowing the bible. If a person just wants to read it as mythology they will even understand our legal system a little more by reading it. Can you take the bible out of the Brothers Karamazov?
I agree Don Quixote should be on the list. It's the classic that is the most fun as well, isn't it?
Good recommendation of Wuthering Heights. I don't want to read a romance novel. Hearing you say it's not a romance novel helps. I have a really nice copy of the book.
I found don quixote impenetrable but read it all, brothers karamazov is probably best book ever, crime and punishment not far behind
I too am a big fan of Dostoevsky…Thank you for mentioning The Brothers Karamazov…It’s such an underrated and under appreciated classic novel…This classic book needs more exposure so I appreciate that you brought it up in this video…
Most know the big well known classics such as
War and Peace, Moby Dick, Tale of Two Cities etc…The Brothers Karamazov is just as good as those books and in some ways better…More people should read The Brothers Karamazov…
The only book I would have put on this list that you didn’t mention was The Count of Monte Cristo…
It’s a great revenge and rags to riches story…
A couple of modern movies basically steal the plot of this book such as Shawshank Redemption and
V for Vendetta to name a few…It is a timeless classic and on top of that it’s an easy and delightful read…Without a doubt one of the best novels ever written…I recommend it to all who have not had the pleasure of yet reading this book…
I agree in the encouraging of people to try and read more of the classics…There’s a reason why they are called classics…I enjoyed this video keep up the good works…
I second that opinion on Dostoevsky. But, I have to say, I did not first meet Dostoevsky with the Brothers. Honestly, I do not know if I would have persevered with Fydor if I started with Karamazov. My journey started with Crime and Punishment, then Notes from the Underground, then Demons, then, finally, Karamazov. The characters that Dostoevsky painted in Crime and Punishment really drew my heart to pursue him. When I finally did get to Karamazov I was able to really appreciate how Fydor refined so many of the themes present in his previous works and sculpted them into a true masterpiece. Read on my friend, read on.....
Maybe in popularity it isn't talked much about because it wasn't as successfully adapted to screen and it's too deep for lots of people to read today. But it is probably the most admired and appreciated work of literature ever. Definitely not underrated. Except by Harry Potter readers. So happy you love Dostoevsky!
I gotta agree with Ibrahim. BK is not underrated. Many many consider it the greatest book ever
Underrated? Never!Though I prefer his Devils.
V for Vendetta is no Count of Monte Cristo reskin, but you might have to read the original to get what’s unique about it. The movie simplified it greatly and even changed the core message fundamentally (I know, you’re shocked a Hollywood movie would do this 😄).
Good list and good comments.
I know it is so hard to have a perfect list, but I would also add:
- Don Quixote by Cervantes
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
- The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
- Middlemarch by Marian Evans (George Eliot)
Anyone who mentions Ulysses by James Joyce is an enemy to literature. Sorry.
@@jeremydrake332 So T. S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E. Hemingway, J. L. Borges, V. Nabokov, A. Burgess, S. Fry are all enemies of literature?
@@DATo_DATonian We don't agree then.
@@jeremydrake332 I totally agree. Joyce is WAY overrated in my opinion.
@@czgibson3086 I'm sorry you were inconvenienced by the notification. My reply was meant for Jeremy Drake. I have corrected the error as you can see.
The ending of Les Miserables is one of VERY few novels that brought me to tears. This book is much better than the musical or the movie; believe me.
The books are always better than the movie.
Always interesting to see how Hollywood changes and or omits things for the big screen. Of course, somethings could not b filmed due to the era the film was shown. From Here to Eternity and The Grapes of Wrath are to that come immediately to mind.
absolutely love Frankenstien, Great Expectations and Moby Dick and already have several of the others on my increasingly crammed TBR shelf. Thanks for another great video Michael!
The real tragedy of Karamazov is that it's only the first volume of a projected two volume work. Dostoevsky died before he even began work on the second. I think you're absolutely right about Fagles translations. So beautifully written that they'll be considered classics in their own right.
I really enjoy the Fagles Iliad and Aeneid, but his translation of the Odyssey is deeply flawed. The orginal Greek and most of the English translations of the Odyssey are deeply ambiguous in a number of important places (such as when Penelope discovers that the begger is actual Odysseus). Fagles' trabslation lacks much of Homer's subtlety (and as a result, his Penelope is kind of an idiot and is not able to go head to head with her husband).
How do we know he was planning to write second volume? I know he kind of eluded to it in the book but
@@ethanclark4116 He did mention in his Introduction that Alyosha's status as the hero of the novel would be made much more clear in the second volume. I believe he also referenced a second volume several times in his notebooks.
@@lock67ca Alyosha is 20 years old, the second volume has to describe his life in 13 years (Dostoevsky mentioned that in the introduction). So it's a book about 33 years old "positively beautiful" man. I think we all know such a book.
In "From the author" Chapter Dostoevsky talks only about Alyosha and calls him exclusively Alexei Fyodorovich (5 times), both names are Greek (Dostoevsky knew this language) and in translation mean "defender of the God's gift". In other chapters the author calls him mostly Alyosha.
Also in the introduction he says "the main novel is the second one - about the activities of my hero". Activities (деяния) is very specific word in Russian which is mostly used in the context of holy deeds, like "Деяния святых апостолов" (The Acts of the Apostles).
Which is the best translation of Brothers Karmazov...? Appreciate if you can let me know...
War and Peace was amazing and surprisingly easy to read too. I decided to read 20 pages a day during 2020 as a distraction from studying for uni finals and it was one of the best decision I made tbh. Often found myself reading about 100 pages and even though it took time away studying, I found having W&P to look forward to actually helped me focus more when I did study. Highly recommend the Anthony Briggs translation (Penguin Classics) - it flowed so well and was very easy to understand.
The right translation can be a big help to reading a book not written in english
1. Maude Translation was approved by Tolstoy and works well. 2. The key to reading war and peace is to have a printout of all the characters and their names. This is important since characters go by 2-3 names which can be confusing.
I did a similar thing. I wish I'd read it earlier. Amazing work. Loved it. My number 1, even if people believe I'm lying/bragging.
Here is an interesting take on War and Peace. After World War Two, the Russian journalist/author Vassily Grossman wrote a two-volume 'update' of War and Peace. They are now available in English translation as Stalingrad and Life and Fate. Grossman was an ardent admirer of Tolstoy and he unapologetically set out to write a twentieth-century novel in the same style as War and Peace and he has the literary chops to pull it off. The cast of characters is huge, there are many plot lines, some run through both of the volumes, some only last a chapter or two. The one big difference is that Grossman actually lived through the events he describes rather than hearing them second-hand. This is a large work -- two 800+ page novels not counting notes -- but it moves along and is well worth the effort. It is also not a 'fun' read. He tackles many difficult issues, and the 'good guys' don't always win. This is a book where the 'six-fingered man' often lives to be an old man.
Im in! i Hope there Is a spanish version
I agree with The Brothers Karamazov. You could also put The Idiot on the same list.
I subscribed to this chanel a year ago because The Karamazovs were on top of your list of 20 greatest novels ever written!
Shocking that Crime and Punishment is not on the list, the way Michael describes The Brothers Karamazov is the way I feel about Crime. I would have also included Oscar Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Grey in the list; some have remarked that it's the most beautifully written book in English.
The battle of Waterloo in "les misérables" is one of the greatest pieces of writing I've ever read.
you should read tolstoi writing on napolean's invasion of russia in war and peace.
It’s also important to know that books back then were longer mostly because many of the authors especially the more well known ones who wrote back in those days were actually paid by the word hence the 800-1500 page tomes…this is just an FYI for those who were not aware of that fact…Doesn’t bother me I Like Big Books…The bigger the better…Thank You Michael you certainly hit on most of the legendary classics and there are so many more it’s hard to narrow a list to just 12 but this was an excellent list…Love the channel keep up the good works…
True, and there was no competition for entertainment. No radio even. Pretty sure they didn’t have streaming services with thousands of options in every genre conceivable.
@@Kormac80 Yes but what was the same was the need for money…it ruled the day then and rules the day now…and it was absolutely the main reason for 800-1500 page book tomes back in those days…if the same principle was applied today you would have nothing but 800+ page books today…So yes they had less distractions back then but they also had less ideas to steal from so their imaginations, personal experiences and the real world events happening around them is all they had to write from…unlike today’s authors who steal every idea and every style that these authors set for them…That’s why these books will always be deemed the best books ever written period!!! Hence the term Classic!!! Making a living and making money will always be the first and foremost motivation for everything everybody does…
Whether it’s 2000 years ago or the year 2022 it’s all about money…Money rules the day and when you are contracted back in those days to be paid by the word and you want to write books and be an author and you want to live and survive then you write 800-1500 page books…Period!!!
@@UncleMonk23 You seem to misunderstand the economics at play. If there were any kind of competition in the entertainment space the publishers wouldn't pay by the word bc they wouldn't be able to sell long rambling books bc people would be inclined to opt out of that option. Competition forces adjustments. You also misunderstand how to use exclamation marks. But you do you man.
Currently reading the Brothers Karamasov and randomly stumbled upon this video!! What an awesome coincidence. Look forward to seeing where the story goes.. :)
Thanks Alexa!
Wuthering Heights rocks!
Am so glad you didn't quit, love these lists.
Me too. What a loss it might have been had he left us all alone on book tube!
You have described these classics eloquently and with fashionable attire! Thanks.
I recommend Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. And Goethe's Faust, at least the 1st volume and of course the Gretchen story. Thanks for the Gilgamesh recommendation ... I must look that up.
Fantastic video. I discovered your channel only today, and I'm very happy that I did.
I'm with you on TBRs. I need to just stop with them since I never stick to them anyway. And as long as you keep making comicbook content, I'll keep watching. Thanks, Michael! 👍
I am now reading my third novel from Larry McMurtry. I never expected to enjoy Lonesome Dove so much.
I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed Lonesome Dove. I shouldn’t have been. Everyone told me how great it was.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I am now keen to find the 1818 Frankenstein. Thanks.
This inspires me to read some classics that I haven't yet read and re-read some that I have read. Excellent!
I wouldn't leave Don Quixote off a list of necessary reads. It's considered to be the first modern novel, and the first work of metafiction. It's absolutely brilliant
What the heck is metafiction. Not mocking you, just curious what meta means.
@@johncooper8537 Metafiction is when the literary layers (Writer/ narrator/character) overlap. In part two of DQ, for example, Quixote meets a student from Salamanca University who has somehow found and read part one of Don Quixote, and is very excited to meet him. The student idolizes Quixote. Another example, and my favorite actually, is from an early 19th century Spanish novel, Niebla (Fog) by Miguel de Unamuno. In this novel, a character from the story finds out that he is going to get killed off, so he travels to Unamuno's house and begs the writer not to kill him.
Great list, and very eloquently expressed. Wish I'd have watched this before my classics one, I would have just said, 'hi, please see Michael' 😂
Still my favorite book tuber
Love your content
Keep em coming
Good list, there is 4 books on it I have not yet read. As a seaman I totally agree about Moby Dick- " Hand me yon topmaul Mr. Starbuck".
When I first went to sea the there was no films, television or internet, one of the ways to pass the time was reading, so I decided I might as well read something worth reading as a load of rubbish and have been well rewarded everv since.
Some great choices. Just found Turgenev. Sportsman's Sketches is fantastic. Best wishes.
I have read 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' years ago. Took me a year to read it all.
That is a great list for classics. Love that...can't stand to read Hugo, but love that list. I will have to reread many of those. Thank you.
I liked "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky too !
Yes! The ending messed me up though. I wasn't the same for several days.
I really got into reading at the start of the year. My grandma is an avid reader and I always admired just how much she read, and she read many classics so that’s what I decided to start getting into as well.
I recently picked up The Illiad and Frankenstein (the 1818 text too actually) and I was happy to see them in the video. I think I’ll pick up War and Peace next after I’m done with them, and Homer’s Odyssey too. Thanks for the video !
The Brothers Karamazov is a great read.
I haven't read all of those, but I've read several. And you're right. They ARE all classics! I wish more people would look back to the classics. A lot of times on TH-cam I see people talking about how they don't want to read classics because anything over ten years old isn't "pertinent." If anything, it's the opposite. A fantasy author everyone is gaga over today may be never thought about after tomorrow. But classics are "classic" because the stories have universal themes. They're not about which characters in the love triangle hook up or how the big bad of the trilogy is thwarted. They're about emotions and experiences that have been so well explored that they're still just as powerful today as when they were written. Not to say that a new book won't become a classic. They regularly do. And some will involve love triangles and Big Bads. But those old books that are loved are so for a reason. I'm glad to see younger people reading again, but it may be time some took a deep dive and don't just read fun books that will be fodder for future Garbaugusts. Pretty much everything I HAVE read this month falls right in that category, but I always look forward to reading a classic. Especially one I haven't gotten around to yet.
Of the two novels that I’ve finished by Dostoevsky, I prefer BK; but I’d consider _Crime and Punishment_ the indispensable work.
Yeah those are the only two I've read as well (just finished BK), can I ask what about BK made you like it more than crime and punishment?
@@ethanclark4116 That’s a good question. It’s been a few years since I read them, and thinking upon that I’m half inclined to reverse that. When I finished BK I was patting myself on the back for doing it, and I admired the audacity of the undertaking. But even at the time there were more things about it that I _didn’t_ like, and I can’t recall any from C&P.
BK = Burger King!
Hey there, just found your channel. I love the book shelf collection in the background. And the video is great. I love some of your choices here. I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan as well as of reading Dostoevsky and Dickens. Les Miserables was wonderful, and have always loved Frankenstein. I want to read War and Peace one of these days, but have read other Tolstoy novels.
This was great……….my first time here. Classics are my favorite…….and occupy a lot of space on my bookshelves! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Interesting list! I must get to Brothers Karamazov!
Sir! What a wonderful and fascinating presentation! I will begin to tackle the series. Thank you so much! Truly, I am excited to read these!
This is a great list! As a lover of classic literature, I have read almost all of them (save Ovid and War & Peace--I keep putting that one off) and have enjoyed them all. What you said about people's problem with Moby Dick, one of my personal favorites, (too much whaling info) is the problem I had with Les Miserables (more info than I ever needed about French War).
I cannot encourage people enough to read Dickens. I think people don't realise how funny he can be. My favorite Dickens' novels are 1. A Tale of Two Cities 2. Oliver Twist 3. Great Expectations.
Read everything you can. There are hundreds of books out there that need reading to keep them "alive"!
Edit: I think you would be hard pressed to find an author more brilliant at naming characters than Charles Dickens.
Absolutely concur with you on Dickens and his character's names. There is none that I know of to emulate him.
Great list Michael. War and Peace is probably something I’ll never read lol. I do want to read more Dickens.
“he’s written some good stuff, charles dickens” is such a funny thing to say
Thanks Michael for the recommendations! I have read most of these books.
I like your presentations.
Thanks! I try.
I read Moby Dick, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights and
Les Miserables.
I have read many other classica as well, especially Dickens. I have several on this list and many more on my shelves to be read and you gave me a couple more to think of adding to might shelves.
I love this. Very good recommendations that I will check out.
As a teenager, one of my guides into literature really urged me to read the short stories of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, and I think this is not only sound advice for those daunted by the larger projects, but also deserve to be on "can't miss" literature series. And so I wanted to share a short list as a kind of introduction or corollary to yours:
1. Two or three letters or essays of Seneca, whichever catch your eye.
2. Two poems by Alexander Pope: An Essay on Criticism, and An Essay on Man
3. Odes of John Keats: Nightingale, Autumn, Grecian Urn, Melancholy
4. Shakespeare's Sonnets (60, 62-68, 71, 73) A deep dive into Shakespeare contending with Time.
5. If it doesn't offend, the short epistle of the New Testament, 1 John, to see the devotion, highest aspiration and seeming contradiction of Christianity crystallized.
I had a professor in school who believe you should read Great Expectations in your 20s, and then again in your 40s. Of course, I only read once, a very long time ago 😜
Life is too short for Dickens. I have read about 13 Dickens novels. I really shouldn't have done. Two Cities is still one of my favourite novels though, but the thought of reading a Dickens twice turns my stomach. There are too many other books to make that a wise idea. However, I do get the intention of what your Prof. suggested.
@@douglasfreeman3229 Agreed! I almost never reread anything 😊
I only got into literature fairly recently so I haven't read the majority of these but they have all been added to my TBR. Awesome stuff!
Love the list and your reviews, great work!
So glad I found your channel! Interesting, I look forward to catching up with some of your older videos.
Thanks!
I've always been fascinated and intrigued by the questions of fate, destiny and free will. One of the most memorable descriptions I've, read comes from Melville's "Moby Dick" (Chapter 1). I thought I'd share it with you all.
"But wherefore it was that after having repeatedly smelt the sea as a merchant sailor, I should now take it into my head to go on a whaling voyage; this the invisible police officer of the Fates, who has the constant surveillance of me, and secretly dogs me, and influences me in some unaccountable way - he can better answer than any one else. And, doubtless, my going on this whaling voyage, formed part of the grand programme of Providence that was drawn up a long time ago. It came in as a sort of brief interlude and solo between more extensive performances. fate, destiny amd free will
…
Though I cannot tell why it was exactly that those stage managers, the Fates, put me down for this shabby part of a whaling voyage, when others were set down for magnificent parts in high tragedies, and short and easy parts in genteel comedies, and jolly parts in farces - though I cannot tell why this was exactly; yet, now that I recall all the circumstances, I think I can see a little into the springs and motives which being cunningly presented to me under various disguises, induced me to set about performing the part I did, besides cajoling me into the delusion that it was a choice resulting from my own unbiased freewill and discriminating judgment."
I think Don Quixote should probably make such a classics list too! 😀
People make Moby Dick sound lame the way they discuss it. It is such a surprisingly easy book to enjoy. It is fun, funny and captivating and I highly recommend it! It is an adventure! I loved it. There's a reason it consistently makes everyone's "must-read classics" list.
Yes, you are certainly right about Don Quixote.
In Star Trek: First Contact, they take a detour from ST's usual Shakespeare fixation, and go into Moby-Dick.
Excellent presentation! 1) You were dead on with your assessment of _Moby Dick_ , half the book was intended to be the story of the hunt for the white whale and the other half was a primer on whaling in general. Melville himself worked on a whaler for a time and I'm sure, as you said, he was trying to convey the sense of being on a whaling ship and the whaling experience. 2) I would strongly, strongly, STRONGLY recommend substituting _David Copperfield_ for _Great Expectations_ . Both are excellent books but _Copperfield_ is far more entertaining and satisfying in my opinion. _David Copperfield_ is a much longer book, which I feel is why most people avoid it, but in doing so they have done themselves a great injustice.
It was a tough call for me between Great Expectations and David Copperfield. It could have gone either way.
I think it took me about 10 years to read Moby Dick. So deadly dull. I actually experienced more than half of it as an audiobook. That helped.
I was always interested in great expectations… And I also experienced that as an audiobook it was terrific. David Copperfield is in my future.
@@JohnnyArtPavlou As we all know art is subjective and not everyone agrees on what is good or bad, but after reading both _Copperfield_ and _Expectations_ at least four times, for my money, _David Copperfield_ is the clear winner. Dickens himself considered it his masterpiece. I truly hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
@@DATo_DATonian Okay! 🙏🌼🍀
Thanks for this selection. I've read some of these (and have just started Wuthering Heights, in fact), but as someone who always has a book on the go, I've tended to steer clear of classics. Not out of dislike, it's just that other subjects interest me more. I'm trying to make up for that in my later years.
You have gone on... but it was worth it! Great video.
Well, you included War and Peace and the Brothers...so you are OK in my book.
Wonderful selections ~~ I would add (in the time of Ovid) Vergil's Aeneid, Some modern historians muse that if it were not for these 2 epoch poems affirming Roman culture at the time of 1st Emperor Augustus, Rome would have never flourished in the manner it did for the next 200 years. . . . I would add just about anything by Jane Austen. Written at the time of a growing and prospering middle class that emulated the culture of aristocrats, the challenges to young women fitting in to a new social order.
Very ambitious read! I'm afraid of getting bogged down on the Greeks but I still would like to read them. Once you get past 100 pages, it goes pretty steady after that. The challenge is those pages.
Lol. The first classic is The First Classic. Gilgamesh ftw.
When it comes to detectives, for me there are three: Holmes, Poirot, and Columbo. Granted, one isn't a read, but the other two are must reads.
I like how you are recommending literal classics, like Ovid and Homer.
I read Great Expectations in high school and was surprised how much I liked it.
Finally a list of books that don't contain self help titles
I recently finished Moby Dick. And I agree with you about the whale facts. It adds a lot to the world and atmosphere of the novel. Because of this, it demands patience and attention, while reading. But it's worth it.
What puts me off from reading Moby Dick I can't even watch it in films as I don't like cruelty too animals
"You should read it. You should read the whole thing."
"Why?"
"Because you must."
Thank you for sharing.
the red badge of honor, the bass and the flute by Chekhov, the oddessey by Homer, Oronooko by Aphra Behn, Phaedra by Jean Racine, Antigone by Sophokles and then there were none by Agatha Christie and the burning court by John Dickson Carr
Frankenstein was required reading in one of my grad school classes, Ethics and Technology. Excellent book!
Love your energy bro!
Faulkner, "as I lay dying" Mccarthy, "blood meridian" Italio calvino "invisible city's" just three of my favorites.
I need to read The Brothers Karamazov. I have that edition and it’s staring at me from my TBR. 😳 Great video. I probably need to give Weathering Heights another try. I’d probably feel differently about it now. Jane Eyre was a masterpiece though.
I have read Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. I didn't have a theatrical background, so it was a daunting task.
What helped was listening to an audio dramatization of each play, so I could "hear" in my mind what the words on the page should sound like. It worked!
One thing that I remember from “Moby Dick” that impressed me (though I didn’t finish it) was referencing Tyre and Sidon to describe a relationship between two characters in the novel.
I was with you up until Les Miserables. As Martin Short says, all this over a loaf of bread?
This was a great video! Fantastic list otherwise 🙂
Suggestions: Nordhoff and Hall's Bounty Trilogy, Joseph Conrad's The *black guy* of the Narcissus, Bernal Diaz' Conquest of Mexico, The Heimskringla, The Once and Future King (White), and of course Cervantes (Don Quixote) and Grimmelshausen (Simplicissimus) to fill your picaresque needs. My dad would add Wodehouse in here, too.
I read the Wordsworth classics Frankenstein when I was a teenager. Still one of the only books ever to make me cry! Great book. Now I know there’s an earlier version I’m going to have to read it
I found Gilgamesh a really fun and fast read. Of your list, I had a 100% read rate until I saw Les Miserables. I've read six of the twelve books mentioned here (the first five, and then Frankenstein), and another two (The Peloponnesian warand The Brothers Karamazov) were on my to-read list, but I will definitely add the others to the list. As for War and Peace, when you first size it up, it looks like it will be a struggle, but it's a real page-turner. All the characters are fascinating. I've read that book four times!
From an American, I expected a list of Hemingways, Twains, Fitzgeralds etc, so was pleasantly surprised. I have read a lot of those, but will probably try some of the ones I haven't. Moby Dick -- there's an interesting idea. I have to admit to having always avoided it because of my abhorrence of whaling.
completely agree on Moby Dick. 💯👋👋
But Moby Dick is far more than just a story about Whaling. I’m a biologist and find whaling unconscionable. I can promise you when early on in the Novel when Ishmael meets Quig-Quig you will be hooked (no pun intended).
Only Hemingway I read was The Old Man and the Sea.
The sound and the Fury is one of my favorites
😂😂😂
Reading Faulkner is like trying to finish an artichoke.
Sorry to disagree strongly, but The Sound and the Fury is the absolute worst novel I have ever read. Because of my OCD, I must finish any book that I start, otherwise I would have thrown that terrible book into my fireplace after the first chapter.
Great John Lovitz impersonation during your intro.
#1 The Count Of Monte Cristo
#2 Ivanhoe
#3 Atlas Shrugged
#4 Shane
#5 Murder In The Rue Morgue
#6 1984
#7 Bless Me Ultima
#8 Carrie
#9 The Octopus
#10 The Pit
#11 Moll Flanders
#12 Call Of The Wild
#13 Interview With A Vampire
#14 Dracula
#15 The Jungle
#16 The Island Of Dr Moreau
#17 Henry The 5th parts 1& 2
#18 The Good Earth
#19 Don Juan (Lord Byron)
#20 East Of Eden......................
After listening to you I out of curiosity tried to make a list of the 12 classics you recommended. I came up with only 11. I'm very disappointed with myself. But I liked your show.
Wuthering Heights
Frankenstein
War and peace
Brothers Karazamof
Ovid
Heroditus
Great Expectations
Ilyad
Gilgamesh
Moby Dick
Sherlock Holmes
As the only kid at my grand parents' on Sundays, I got into the habit of watching Family Classics and one of my favorites was Moby Dick. So when the opportunity to read the book presented itself, no one had convince me. But I could never get past the first few pages because of the way it was written. I tried again a couple of decades later with the same result. I have no doubt that it is an excellent read, if one can get past that issue.
Great list. I agree that it's a good thing to read some classics. The best books do more than entertain, they change us.
Happily, I have read _The Complete Sherlock Holmes_ and _Frankenstein._ The only other of the twelve that I have at home is _The Metamorphoses,_ but that is not the next classic I will read. I want to get to _The Two Towers,_ as I have read _The Fellowship of the Ring_ earlier this year. It is not as old as those other classics, but I have got to get to it.
My 12:
The Iliad - Homer
The Odyssey - Homer
The Divine Comedy - Dante
Canterbury Tales - Chaucer
Le Morte d'Arthur - Malory
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoevsky
Moby Dick - Melville
Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
First Men in the Moon - H.G. Wells
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Kim - Kipling
Four Quartets - T.S. Eliot
I have most of these, they look great on my wall, culture up the joint and I hold them regularly - I greatly enjoyed what I got through osmosis, I think I got the gist of these classic stories. No I go back to reading dragonlance again! Yeha! :P
Professor Tolkien's LOTR is my favorite work of fiction. I do notice not everyone can read the multiple layers of depth...and therefore are unable to fully appreciate it.
Which one should I read first? I will have to stack them up and use a random number generator. I could read the Dicks, Moby-Dick and Dickens.
I was on the edge of my seat and ready to fire off a sarcastic comment but then you came up trumps. "Wuthering Heights" is perhaps one on the greatest novels ever. Not the easiest read but still a classic in all senses.
good list, I read a lot of these but the ones I haven't I will surely try
Nice Job , Thanks 👍
Love your vibe and am hoping to tackle many of the books on your list. I personally think The Master and Margarita may be the most necessary read for young Westerners right now looking to spread their wings for its commentary on art and society alone.
Crime and Punishment ...Paradise Lost , Book of Job , Gospel of Mark , Prometheus Bound , Dante Commedia , Blake poetry , Sherlock Holmes full cannon , etc etc....
Wuthering Heights is a romance where everyone hates each other, and it's also a ghost story where the ghost never shows up. Brilliant, twisted book. I avoided it for years and then kicked myself for not having read it sooner.
That’s a great way to describe it.
I didn’t know Mary Shelley revised Frankenstein years later to tone it down. Great video!
I'm going to read all of these and get back to you on it
A good list but a little too heavily inclined towards novels. Not one drama. What about Shakespeare ???? Ibsen ? Sophocles? Wilde ? Shaw ? O'Neill ? and dozens of others.
The only book I haven't read on your list is Ovid's Metamorpheses. I think maybe I'd go with Dante's Divine Comedy over the Ovid, or perhaps the Odyssey. As for Dostoevsky, I agree eh should be on the list but my personal preference would be for the Idiot. But that's just me.
I once read critic who said that the two books that have the greatest impact on you as a person are Moby Dick and Wuthering Heights. I think I agree although I might add Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe in my own case and also War and Peace.
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Other books I think should be included would be Plato's dialogues on the life and death of Socrates. They are short but can be read together. Also, the Symposium. I would also suggest Machiavelli's Prince as a good modern supplement to Thucydides. And in modern times we need some Nietzsche maybe Beyond Good and Evil and Freud The Interpretation of Dreams and Civilization and its Discontents.
"The only book I haven't read on your list is Ovid's Metamorphoses. I think maybe I'd go with Dante's Divine Comedy over the Ovid"
I'm interested in how you make this judgement if you haven't read Ovid. Metamorphoses and the Comedia are both enormously influential works, both good candidates for a list like this.
@@czgibson3086 No disrespect to Ovid is intended. While I haven't read Ovid, I have read Dante, and I think Dante belongs on any top ten list.
@@frankmorlock9134 I agree Dante belongs in a list like this. I only read Metamorphoses for the first time this year and strongly recommend it. Dante himself recommends reading Ovid in De vulgari eloquentia: “And perhaps it would be most useful, in order to make the practice of such constructions habitual, to read the poets who respect the rules, namely Virgil, the Ovid of the Metamorphoses, Statius, and Lucan, as well as others who have written excellent prose…” It's also likely that Ovid was one of Dante's main sources for the Greek and Roman mythology that appears in the Comedia.
@@czgibson3086 Right now I am reading Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and not wildly enthusiastic about it. Once I finish that I may try Ovid. I tried to read Ovid's Heroides a couple years ago but didn't like the translation which I thought was awkward.
@@frankmorlock9134 Orlando Furioso is on my list if I ever get out of the ancient world. I predict that I will continually get Bradamante and Brandimarte confused even though one is male and one is female! Hope you enjoy Metamorphoses once you get to it.
Thanks for this! Moby Dick for the win!!!! Also, Team Gilgamesh! "For with little external to constrain us, the innermost necessities in our being, these still drive us on."
A dirty dozen of classics. I read Silverberg's Gilgamesh the King. I best not say too much about the whaling book... My choice for Dickens would have been David Copperfield, but Great Expectations was the book that got me back into Dickens after school turned me off his work. Great video.
Each year I choose 2 books (one fiction, one non-fiction) to take the whole year to read…1/365th per day. I do this for books that are too long, difficult, etc., to read in a month. For example, my copy of Moby Dick is read in a year by reading 1.5 pages per day. Easy. This is how I read many of the books you just mentioned, and so many more.