I’m (happily) at a point in my life when a video from Tristan and a cup of coffee is the ideal Friday night. Cheers guys, hope y’all are reading some good stuff
Exactly… I started reading couple of months back and while browsing through TH-cam for recommendations I came across Tristan and that’s it… Your presentation is absolutely fantastic, and I love the way you talk… your pronunciations are 🫀🫀🫀🫀
I’m 77 and have been fortunate to have read all these wonderful novels. My favorite, read four times, is Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo “. Last month I read the first five of Shakespeare’s historical plays while listening to it enacted on TH-cam. What a most enjoyable way to do this. By the way, I really enjoyed this video and several others of yours.
Tristan, you are such a wonderful and enthusiastic teacher. Listening to you is like being in a college classroom with your favorite professor of all time! thank you for all you do; you educate, encourage and stimulate our reading.
Thank you so much for your advocacy for literature. It often feels like there are just a few of us left who love books, ideas, learning and discussing these texts in an educators and collegial manner. Your authentic passion for the value of reading is a light.
Right?! I have searched in vain for decent local book clubs, but they are dominated by people reading ditzy and trendy garbage from the NYT Bestseller list. Typically after trying a few pages I have an impulse to throw the book across the room.
I just read Anna Karenina for the first time and WOW. I was left speechless at the end. I don’t know why I was intimidated by such a lengthy novel. What a beautiful, life-changing story.
@Tristanandtheclassics, Have you read "The Anna Karenina Fix" by Viv Groskop ? She wrote about most famous Russian writers and when it comes to Anna Karenina and War and Peace, it will have you in stitches. Poor Leo Tolstoy who turned his back on his two great masterpieces !
1) Don Quixote 2)Women in White by W.Collins 3) The Mill in the Floss, G.Eliot 4) Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas 5) Anna Karenina 6) Vanity Fair, Thackeray 7) The Idiot, Dostoevsky 8) Moby Dick, Melville 9) Nicholas Nickleby, Dickens 10) Shakespeare's Histories
My favourite big books: 🤎 Les Misérables 🤎 Notre-Dame de Paris 🤎 The Count of Monte Cristo 🤎 Anna Karenina 🤎 War & Peace 🤎 Don Quixote Love the topic & video! Can't wait to read more big books in 2024.
Lots of meanderings and descriptions that go on FOREVER. But I did end up enjoying it, in the end. It's one of those that I need to reread, now that I know what to expect.@@tristanandtheclassics6538
I’m reading War & Peace in Volume IV. Absolutely astonishing how much love I have for it. I already know I’ll read it again and again. Will most likely finish today. Do you have a recommendation on which to read next?
So many great gems here! Some I’ve read, others are waiting on my shelves. I’m so glad you started with the Don! He’s a New Year’s resolution of mine for 2024.
@@todesque It was the first modern novel and introduced many elements we still see today: comedic sidekick, buddy cop stories, meta fiction, etc. For that, I personally give it greatest novel status.
@@todesque I just got into the Russians the last 2 years and haven’t taken the W&P challenge yet. Can’t wait. Checkov is my favorite short story author.
Thank you for crafting this exceptional video celebration of timeless literary classics! Your astute commentary and passionate presentation have rekindled my passion for these enduring masterpieces. Your skillful storytelling breathed new life into the authors' words, inspiring me to revisit beloved favorites and discover new treasures. Your infectious enthusiasm for literature is a gift, and I'm grateful for the effort you've invested in sharing it with us. Please continue to illuminate the world of literature and inspire book lovers everywhere! Thank you so much 😊 ❤💫
Wow that is the best book review of all book tube you are clearly a master .thank you so much for this amazing list of great literary works .you inspire so much with so much enthusiasm and clearly love of literature I want to go read them all.
I have disregarded Anna Karenina before, when others have mentioned it. When I heard the excerpt, it took my breath away. It’s now next on my list. Thanks.
Tristan, I got started on big classics when I worked night shift and needed a way to sleep during the day. This was efore internet. I found that War and Peace was awesome and did not put me to sleep. Same with The Pickwick Papers. And A Cofederacy of Dunces.
I love love love Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White. I find myself taking it down from my bookshelf over and over again. I also love The Moonstone (and the Robinson Crusoe references … chef’s kiss) 😂❤❤
@rachelmarks, I absolutely agree re: The Woman in White. It is now in my top ten books of all time. Anna Karenina on my TBR list and I am looking forward to it.
I'm on my road to reading all the classics. I'm on 100 years of solitude, and I have 4 of these in my queue. Now I have a good reference.point. Thank you.
After I read through Anna Karenina, I got the impression that the main character was not Anna nor Vronsky, but Levin! And I also got the impression that Levin was really Leo Tolstoy himself. Tolstoy was inserting himself as a character in the novel, writing about his own personality, his thoughts and feelings.
What a book! Apart from a short lull in the middle (which is necessary), it rattles along at a incredible pace. I love Dantes time imprisoned in Château d'If. 😀❤️
I recommend “Wuthering Heights”. It lingers, as does Hardy’s “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. I’ve only read “Tess” once, and I both LOVE & LOATHE it! Highly recommend! I still shudder 25-years later at how emotionally evocative it is.
I usually can’t stand it when booktubers read excerpts from the books they recommend, but I really enjoyed your readings. I’m also interested in the books you recommended and added a few of them to my TBR. You have a new subscriber.
If anyone could get me to read Shakespeare besides Kenneth Branagh, it would be you. You should be doing audio books. Your voice and inflections are perfect for that. I would listen forever.
What a video, what a channel! ❤ this brought peace to my soul that I needed so much. You made me question what videos are showing up on my feed. In the TH-cam world of sarcasm, complaining, fighting little ideological wars, this is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for your enthusiasm, I absolutely love this video and I’m looking forward to seeing more on your channel. 🎉❤🎉❤🎉
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 yeeey, thank you for commenting back :) we are so lucky be able to watch you! Happy New Year and wishing you joy in making videos in 2024 and in all other aspects of your life. Thank you 😊
I am subscribing to as many channels like yours, which is superb. And I am trying to avoid anything pertaining to the nightmare that is america. Both for my mental health. Thank you so much Tristan. People like you make this world a better place.
I discovered your channel only yesterday. As soon as I heard you read aloud, I knew you were the Booktuber for me and I had to subscribe! I've been watching/listening to your videos for hours now and the house I meant to tidy is still in ruins, the shortbread has not been made ,and I could not be happier. Your enthusiasm and lack of pretension is inspiring. Just how did you know that I actually have ALL of those on my bookshelf (and have for years) and yet have only managed to read The Count of Monte Cristo? (Am presently reading Anna Karenina). All of these long classics appeal to me, but I think The Idiot will be next on my list to read.(I just checked and I actually have 2 copies of it).
You mentioned The Mill on the Floss in another video. I found an old copy of it in a charity shop a couple weeks ago and am on page 301 today. Beautiful writing. A lovely read. Thank you!
Everything by Eliot is worth reading, read everything else before taking on her masterpiece, "Middlemarch". She is a wonderful writer for us fans of the big book. Enjoy your last pages of "The Mill on the Floss".
Thank you, Clare! This year I'm trying to read mostly classics. Some will be rereads, but mostly new reads. I believe I tried to read Middlemarch decades ago, but I think I was "too young" and was reading "more exciting" books. I'm really enjoying what I think you all call "slow" reads. Funny, I knew that Maggie would fall in love with Philip.....I can't wait too read what happens!@@battybibliophile-Clare
I read the Count of Monte Cristo in 6th grade … in French! Took us all year. BTW I lived in Illinois, U.S.A. and only had one year of French at that time. Great list, plus some of the commenters added more….plan to start reading today!
Woman in White! Soooo good. It’s a mystery, a romance, a thriller. My dog-eared copy has been passed on to multiple friends. I always have them sign the inside cover afterward. It’s fun to look back at who’s read it. It got me hooked on Collins and I’ve read several, but this one remains my favorite of his.
Spot on about Shakespeare’s histories and the music of his language. Richard II is my absolute favorite of all his plays: For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground And tell sad stories of the death of kings- How some have been deposed, some slain in war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed, Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed- All murdered: for within the hollow crown That rounds the mortal temples of a king Keeps Death his court; and there the antic sits, Mocking his state and grinning at his pomp, Allowing him a space, a little scene To monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks, Infusing him with self and vain conceit, As though this flesh which walls about our life Were brass impregnable; and humored thus, Comes at the end, and with a little pin Bores through his castle wall, and-farewell, King!
I like this list. I'm glad you included "The Mill on the Floss" instead of say, "Middlemarch." Although I like Eliot's other works, "The Mill on the Floss" is my absolute favorite of hers, particularly because of its ending. In fact, you include another book on this list that I rank with "The Mill on the Floss" as containing what I consider one of the most memorable endings ever, and that is "Moby Dick." Another novel in which its ending has forever haunted me is Hermann Hesse's "The Glass Bead Game." I love great books with stories that stay with me, but ones with endings that take me by surprise are the best. Thanks for sharing, Tristan!
I just happened upon this video and feel I have found a kindred spirit. I have read several of your recommendations while at university, but now that I have more time to devote to truly enjoying them, I'm planning a re-read. Thank you for inspiring me.
I wish I had any other plays by our Bard for 'O' and 'A' levels. For the former it was Romeo and Juliet and for the latter it was Anthony and Cleopatra. Weird but after so many years the only thing I remember from A&C is "Age cannot wither her nor stale her infinite vatiety" 😅 Wish we had my favourite: Hamlet.
I loved this video as I am a great advocate of the big, chunky book, novel, book of poems, plays or nonfiction. I haven't read The Idiot, but have recently read The Brothers Karamazov and am half way throught Crime and Punishment. I have put the Idiot on my TBR now. I realised that it is decades since I read any Thackeray, so shall revisit his novels in 2024. You managed to cover all my favourites, including Shakesperare. My 2023 reading project was reading all the plays of Shakespeare in the order they were written. It was enlightening to see how Shakespeare grew as a playwright. I think some of his history plays are amongst his best work. I love your edition of Sgakespeare.
Was happy to see Dostoyevsky on the list and 'The Idiot' deserves all the recognition as a classic however The Brothers Karamazov I'd honestly say was his masterpiece!
The Idiot is the only Dostovesky novel I have not read, but it is on my TBR list for this year. Goodness knows why I missed The Idiot because I do have it on my shelves.
The Mill on the Floss is a beautifully crafted novel. I would happily read it again. Middlemarch and Silas Marner are excellent too. You have great taste in books! The Count of Monte Cristo and Vanity Fair are classics, I thoroughly enjoyed them. I’ve read Dickens and Dostoevsky but not the titles mentioned here (crime and punishment & great expectations were the ones I read) 😊
What a wonderful channel! Absolutely inspiring, comforting and uplifting. Thank you for the work you put into it. You’re quite eloquent in speaking of literature, and you would be perfect for any audiobook narration! I might even learn to like audiobooks, if you were to do so.
As an Italian, I wasn't familiar with a couple of books in the list. Though, the Count of Montecristo was the most impressive and shocking book I read in high school to the point that I still remember the main events of the plot. Nice list and awesome video!
Count of Monte Crisco is one of my favs. Imagine my surprise when I picked up "Camille" Hard to believe the same author wrote BOTH. Camille is short and easy to read.
My grandmother's favourite book was Camille and she adored the film adaptation with Robert Taylor and Great Garbo. Personally, I never read the book or saw the film on TV (if it was shown) at point !
@@apollonia6656 I had only seen the film until I actually read the book. The book is written in a somewhat journal type of entry. The basic facts are in the film but the film is really foreign (to me) after you read the book. Interesting that a "remake" has never been done.
Happiest that I found your channel!! I had these books described by so many booktubers and articles on Google, that I lost count. Yours, though, are filled with magic! This is why I love youtube. I can stumble upon gems like your channel.
Tristan,Thoroughly enjoying your 'Classics' videos: so many here, missing the point of this one; conflating 'greatest in order' with simply your encouraging the reading (in no particular order) great 'big/long/tomes Classical novels . Thank you,Tristan.
They are all appealing to me worth re-reading, as I read the big novels when I was very young and books were our entertainment. I so enjoy your videos and advocacy for reading great books.
Downloaded The Woman in White to my Kindle after watching this video and I have been reading it all day. You'r assessment is accurate. This book hooked me from the first page.
Fantastic. I've read most of your top 10. The Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby is possibly my favorite in the Dickens canon (Tale of Two Cities close behind). Vanity Fair is one of my all-time favorite novels and no one ever discusses it. And Mill on the Floss--a perfect novel. That final scene is so cinematic for a time when movies didn't exist! To make it a dozen, I would add: Les Miserables and Middlemarch.
I like the addition of reading excerpts from the books mentioned. It gives me a sense of the author's voice and taste of their prose and/or dialogue, which can make or break a novel for me. Having that small taste of, say, Shakespeare's Histories, I definitely am more interested in reading them (when I catch up with my other reading). But as far as those on this list that are the most immediately appealing, Moby Dick wins. Have only read the opening chapter a few months ago, and about every other line in it is better than the one before. "(...) Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul (...)" "This is my substitute for pistol and ball." "Were Niagara but a cataract of sand, would you travel your thousand miles to see it?" "The act of paying is perhaps the most uncomfortable infliction that the two orchard thieves entailed upon us." And other longer passages just as good. And that just within 4 pages. I'm gonna like this book once I get around to it.
I have just discovered your channel and am hooked! I know there will be much to live in delving into your backlist of posts. Your love of reading shines through and is inspiring.
You are so right on Moby Dick. I had to battle through that book but the last 100 pages flew by and I really did feel something profound when I finished it. Great channel.
What a beautiful video of the evening sea. It makes want to jump the corner bus to the Ocean! Where I did see, alas, my only whale, dead on the beach, years ago.
Ah, I have the Mollneax (?) and I didn't finish it. Must get the pb Grossman translation even though it is one of a few DQs in my parents library.....I wouldn't dare use that because of my habit of scribbling annotations....my books become virtually unreadable when I finish them 😮
Even though I am far from a child, my parents have a large sign on their library door that say:WELCOME TO USE ANY BOOK TO READ BUT DO NOT USE ANNOTATIONS OF ANY SORT ON THE PAGES . Well, that leaves me out ! 😅 Pity, because most are first edition or leather bound .....gorgeous but beyond my reach ! My "library" for want of a better word, consist of unreadable books....annotations on nearly every page. My books are books within books .
Thank you so much for your channel! It makes me feel excited to read! Would love if you would recommend a specific edition/translation of the translated books.
In my youth, I read and re-read many times some scenes of the Comte de Monte-Cristo (in particular all the dialogues between Edmond Dantés and the Abbé Faria), but from a French perspective, I believe two huge Himalayas of our literature are to be added to this list : Les Misérables of course, and A la recherche du temps perdu, both classics, both very long, both mesmerizing… And if I may, also Les Essais from Montaigne.
I have read all of these (sometimes few times) except that I have never managed to get all the way through Moby Dick or Don Quixote. I am putting them on my 2024 list and will see if I can push my way through Don Quixote and Moby Dick. Thanks for great suggestions! I read all of thee Shakespeare plays during two semesters of seminars at University, but not since. I am looking forward to reading or listening to them again.
Moby Dick does make you work. I find that the trial it puts you through gives you a sympathy of state with the crew of the Pequod. Whether Melville meant to do this, I don't know, but the effect is remarkable. Shakespeare's works are always new. Every time I read them I feel a sense of wonder at how much more beautiful the speech is compared to how I remembered it.
Moby Dick has defeated me several times. I once got about 1/3 or 1/4 through. I'm so mad at myself that I chose to give up. I could've been done with it. Instead, it haunts me. I have got to conquer that darned book before I die!@@tristanandtheclassics6538
I'm surprised that you didn't include Les Misérables, as it's one of the greatest, if not the greatest books of all time. It's my personal favourite, and for a good reason. Would recommend to anyone 👍
Today, I completed my acquisition of the 10 greatest books of literature! Of the 10, I owned 3, borrowed 1 from the library and bought the others. Don Quixote is my favorite, but I look forward to enjoying the others! I have heard you speak of Middlemarch and Ulysses so I decided to add those to the group. As we are expecting a big snow here in New York, I will have plenty to read! Thank you for the interesting videos and happy reading!
Hi, Tristan! Thank you for another great video. I'm so glad you started with Don Quixote. I've had an unread copy sitting on my bookshelves for years, and now you've got me thinking that perhaps 2024 will be the year I finally pick it up. I also want to say thank you for reigniting my interest in reading the classics. I've just launched a BookTube channel, and I mention your channel as a new favorite discovery. Your content is greatly appreciated!
You can talk about books in such a passionate way, it is much appreciated 😊! The woman in white was one of my favorites this year and I want to reread it ever since. The same goes for The count. All the other ones are one my tbr, so I can’t wait to read them. The first big one will be Les Miserables though. I heard such great things about it!
thank you for this wonderful video and for taking the time to read excerpts. I'm often intimidated by classics, thinking I will get lost in the language, times, and characters, but your video makes these so inviting. Will definitely pick one of these up and go from there!
I just found you and have been binging your videos. I adore classic literature and I love your channel.I am disappointed that you didn't include Les Miserables in this list or any of the other lists I've watched on your channel yet. Such a beautiful, important novel.
I think any of Dostoevsky's great novels could have made this list, but I'm overjoyed to see The Idiot getting some well deserved love, what a perfect novel! Anna Karenina, The Count of Monte Christo and Don Quixote are all favourites of mine too! ☺️
I've only read two of these, Anna Karenina and Moby Dick. I enjoyed them both. Tolstoy 's writing was sublime. In Moby Dick, the scene of the many whales in the ocean was mesmerizing. Thanks for the other recommendations.
Hi Tristan. I have never heard you mention the Elena Ferrante quadrology My Brilliant Friend. This is a modern classic I would hate you to miss out on. Once the characters get into your heart they’ll never let go.
Loved this video. Several of my all time favourites are on here; Count of Monte Cristo, Woman in White, Nicholas Nickelby and Vanity Fair. Anna Karenina is on my tbr list for sure and I read Mill on the Floss many years ago (maybe I should read again)but I’d always considered Don Quixote and Moby Dick as very challenging-you make me think again.
Fantastic recommendations! I recently got the second of the Doubleday Complete Works of Shakespeare and you really inspired me to crack it open to some of the histories. Also: the passages you read from each book were just fantastic and clearly chosen with great care; absolutely wonderful :3
Love how the first book is Don Quijote. I did a screenplay transporting it from 16th century Spain to 18th American-Mexican border as a western. One of my favorite books.
I'm going to read Bleak House this winter for the first time, as I suspect that's another Dickens classic that is sadly relevant today. And I've heard Donna Tartt (who is obsessed with detail) rave about its portrayal of London at the time. Funny, I had just added Vanity Fair to my winter reading list. Now I'm going to get The Mill on the Floss as well. New to your channel here and enjoying it immensely, especially at bedtime once I'm too tired to read anymore!
Nice to make your acquaintance, Patricia. Bleak House is an excellent book. London is the main character in Dickens' works. Hope you enjoy it, as well as The Mill on the Floss.
Bleak House has everything in it. Great characters, social commentary, a mystery and the first great detective Bucket. Humor, great descriptions, and an ending to remember.
I’m (happily) at a point in my life when a video from Tristan and a cup of coffee is the ideal Friday night. Cheers guys, hope y’all are reading some good stuff
That's the cheesiest thing I've heard all week. Thanks, Severian. I wish you a joyous weekend. 😊
@@tristanandtheclassics6538😊
Lol 😂 a great transition from my virtual workplace on the computer to the weekend and quality reading time.
Exactly… I started reading couple of months back and while browsing through TH-cam for recommendations I came across Tristan and that’s it… Your presentation is absolutely fantastic, and I love the way you talk… your pronunciations are 🫀🫀🫀🫀
Well said!
I love listening to a person talking elegantly about books that they adore. Thank you for this.
I’m 77 and have been fortunate to have read all these wonderful novels. My favorite, read four times, is Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo “.
Last month I read the first five of Shakespeare’s historical plays while listening to it enacted on TH-cam. What a most enjoyable way to do this.
By the way, I really enjoyed this video and several others of yours.
Tristan, you are such a wonderful and enthusiastic teacher. Listening to you is like being in a college classroom with your favorite professor of all time! thank you for all you do; you educate, encourage and stimulate our reading.
Thank you so much for your advocacy for literature. It often feels like there are just a few of us left who love books, ideas, learning and discussing these texts in an educators and collegial manner. Your authentic passion for the value of reading is a light.
Right?! I have searched in vain for decent local book clubs, but they are dominated by people reading ditzy and trendy garbage from the NYT Bestseller list. Typically after trying a few pages I have an impulse to throw the book across the room.
Your reading is simply mesmerizing! You've got the best voice for an audio book. I could listen to you for hours 😊
I thought that myself as I heard the readings of the different books.
Exactly! He would make an excellent audiobook reader!
I just read Anna Karenina for the first time and WOW. I was left speechless at the end. I don’t know why I was intimidated by such a lengthy novel. What a beautiful, life-changing story.
It's spectacular, isn't it!
@@willieluncheonette5843 Small?
@Tristanandtheclassics,
Have you read "The Anna Karenina Fix" by Viv Groskop ? She wrote about most famous Russian writers and when it comes to Anna Karenina and War and Peace, it will have you in stitches. Poor Leo Tolstoy who turned his back on his two great masterpieces !
Spectacular, indeed! So happy you mentioned it! Tolstoy is a master!
Anna Karenina breaks my heart.
I couldn't be happier that youtube put your channel on my recommended!
1) Don Quixote
2)Women in White by W.Collins
3) The Mill in the Floss, G.Eliot
4) Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas
5) Anna Karenina
6) Vanity Fair, Thackeray
7) The Idiot, Dostoevsky
8) Moby Dick, Melville
9) Nicholas Nickleby, Dickens
10) Shakespeare's Histories
Thanks for the written list.
A long book doesn’t seem long if it’s interesting while a 200 page book can seem interminable if it’s boring.
Ha! Truer words were never spoken.
Yes. I’ve DNF’d more shorter books than longer books.
Amen!
I’m 72. My time is limited. If the book is boring, I pitch it.
Truer words haven't been spoken
I can literally read LOTR in 3 days, but not a 300 page geography academic book
My favourite big books:
🤎 Les Misérables
🤎 Notre-Dame de Paris
🤎 The Count of Monte Cristo
🤎 Anna Karenina
🤎 War & Peace
🤎 Don Quixote
Love the topic & video! Can't wait to read more big books in 2024.
Oh, forgot The Lord of the Rings! ;)
That's a strong list. Though I've never actually read Les Miserables. Shocking, I know, but I hope to rectify that this year. 😀❤️
Lots of meanderings and descriptions that go on FOREVER. But I did end up enjoying it, in the end. It's one of those that I need to reread, now that I know what to expect.@@tristanandtheclassics6538
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Ah, my heart 🫣 Haha. I hope you'll be able to read it one day.
I’m reading War & Peace in Volume IV. Absolutely astonishing how much love I have for it. I already know I’ll read it again and again. Will most likely finish today. Do you have a recommendation on which to read next?
So many great gems here! Some I’ve read, others are waiting on my shelves. I’m so glad you started with the Don! He’s a New Year’s resolution of mine for 2024.
Don Quixote is not only worth reading, it’s worth RE-reading! Greatest book of all time.
Very true 👍
@BigPhilly15 Certainly the funniest book of all time. The greatest? That's a tough sell.
@@todesque It was the first modern novel and introduced many elements we still see today: comedic sidekick, buddy cop stories, meta fiction, etc. For that, I personally give it greatest novel status.
@@BigPhilly15 I hear you, my good man, and you're making very valid points. To me, however, WAR AND PEACE is greater and deeper.
@@todesque I just got into the Russians the last 2 years and haven’t taken the W&P challenge yet. Can’t wait. Checkov is my favorite short story author.
Wuthering Heights has a special place in my heart.
Thank you for crafting this exceptional video celebration of timeless literary classics! Your astute commentary and passionate presentation have rekindled my passion for these enduring masterpieces. Your skillful storytelling breathed new life into the authors' words, inspiring me to revisit beloved favorites and discover new treasures. Your infectious enthusiasm for literature is a gift, and I'm grateful for the effort you've invested in sharing it with us. Please continue to illuminate the world of literature and inspire book lovers everywhere! Thank you so much 😊
❤💫
So engaging I just jumped from the free tier on Patreon to Adventuring into Literature 😊 Excited to dig into all the videos and chat!
Wow that is the best book review of all book tube you are clearly a master .thank you so much for this amazing list of great literary works .you inspire so much with so much enthusiasm and clearly love of literature I want to go read them all.
❤I love Don Quixote! I cried at the end, too. Listened to Man of La Mancha and sang along 🎶
Tristan, your videos are such a salve for my knackered old soul!
I have disregarded Anna Karenina before, when others have mentioned it. When I heard the excerpt, it took my breath away. It’s now next on my list. Thanks.
Mine, too 🙂
read war and peace too
Tristan, I got started on big classics when I worked night shift and needed a way to sleep during the day. This was efore internet. I found that War and Peace was awesome and did not put me to sleep. Same with The Pickwick Papers. And A Cofederacy of Dunces.
I love love love Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White. I find myself taking it down from my bookshelf over and over again. I also love The Moonstone (and the Robinson Crusoe references … chef’s kiss) 😂❤❤
The Woman in White does not get enough love!! So good! I'm currently just about halfway through Anna Karenina and loving it.
@rachelmarks,
I absolutely agree re: The Woman in White. It is now in my top ten books of all time.
Anna Karenina on my TBR list and I am looking forward to it.
You're an excellent presenter. I'm challenging myself to read more classics in 2024 and you've given me a great starting point.
I'm on my road to reading all the classics. I'm on 100 years of solitude, and I have 4 of these in my queue. Now I have a good reference.point. Thank you.
After I read through Anna Karenina, I got the impression that the main character was not Anna nor Vronsky, but Levin! And I also got the impression that Levin was really Leo Tolstoy himself. Tolstoy was inserting himself as a character in the novel, writing about his own personality, his thoughts and feelings.
You speak about them with such passion I want to read them all!
I'm relatively new to classics, The Count of Monte Cristo is definitely top of my tbr.
What a book! Apart from a short lull in the middle (which is necessary), it rattles along at a incredible pace. I love Dantes time imprisoned in Château d'If. 😀❤️
I am enjoying the Count in bite sized readings. 😊
Oh yes, one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I enjoy rereading it every now and then :)
Happy reading, and I love your user-name! The Outsiders is one of my favourite books 😊👌
I recommend “Wuthering Heights”. It lingers, as does Hardy’s “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”. I’ve only read “Tess” once, and I both LOVE & LOATHE it! Highly recommend! I still shudder 25-years later at how emotionally evocative it is.
You should literally become an audiobook reader. Your voice is soothing 😊
I usually can’t stand it when booktubers read excerpts from the books they recommend, but I really enjoyed your readings. I’m also interested in the books you recommended and added a few of them to my TBR. You have a new subscriber.
If anyone could get me to read Shakespeare besides Kenneth Branagh, it would be you. You should be doing audio books. Your voice and inflections are perfect for that. I would listen forever.
Yes, please do Tristan 👏
So glad you mentioned Vanity Fair- it needs more love!! ❤ thank you for your video as always.
I wholeheartedly agree 👍
What a video, what a channel! ❤ this brought peace to my soul that I needed so much. You made me question what videos are showing up on my feed. In the TH-cam world of sarcasm, complaining, fighting little ideological wars, this is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for your enthusiasm, I absolutely love this video and I’m looking forward to seeing more on your channel. 🎉❤🎉❤🎉
Wow! Thank you Lenka. I can't tell you how appreciative I am of such a lovely comment. Encouragement like yours keeps me going.😀❤️
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 yeeey, thank you for commenting back :) we are so lucky be able to watch you! Happy New Year and wishing you joy in making videos in 2024 and in all other aspects of your life. Thank you 😊
I am subscribing to as many channels like yours, which is superb.
And I am trying to avoid anything pertaining to the nightmare that is america.
Both for my mental health.
Thank you so much Tristan. People like you make this world a better place.
I discovered your channel only yesterday. As soon as I heard you read aloud, I knew you were the Booktuber for me and I had to subscribe! I've been watching/listening to your videos for hours now and the house I meant to tidy is still in ruins, the shortbread has not been made ,and I could not be happier. Your enthusiasm and lack of pretension is inspiring. Just how did you know that I actually have ALL of those on my bookshelf (and have for years) and yet have only managed to read The Count of Monte Cristo? (Am presently reading Anna Karenina). All of these long classics appeal to me, but I think The Idiot will be next on my list to read.(I just checked and I actually have 2 copies of it).
You mentioned The Mill on the Floss in another video. I found an old copy of it in a charity shop a couple weeks ago and am on page 301 today. Beautiful writing. A lovely read. Thank you!
Everything by Eliot is worth reading, read everything else before taking on her masterpiece, "Middlemarch". She is a wonderful writer for us fans of the big book. Enjoy your last pages of "The Mill on the Floss".
Thank you, Clare! This year I'm trying to read mostly classics. Some will be rereads, but mostly new reads. I believe I tried to read Middlemarch decades ago, but I think I was "too young" and was reading "more exciting" books. I'm really enjoying what I think you all call "slow" reads. Funny, I knew that Maggie would fall in love with Philip.....I can't wait too read what happens!@@battybibliophile-Clare
@@straycat4427 I'm sure you will like it on your next reread.
I read the Count of Monte Cristo in 6th grade … in French! Took us all year. BTW I lived in Illinois, U.S.A. and only had one year of French at that time.
Great list, plus some of the commenters added more….plan to start reading today!
Woman in White! Soooo good. It’s a mystery, a romance, a thriller. My dog-eared copy has been passed on to multiple friends. I always have them sign the inside cover afterward. It’s fun to look back at who’s read it. It got me hooked on Collins and I’ve read several, but this one remains my favorite of his.
Spot on about Shakespeare’s histories and the music of his language. Richard II is my absolute favorite of all his plays:
For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground
And tell sad stories of the death of kings-
How some have been deposed, some slain in war,
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed,
Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping killed-
All murdered: for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king
Keeps Death his court; and there the antic sits,
Mocking his state and grinning at his pomp,
Allowing him a space, a little scene
To monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks,
Infusing him with self and vain conceit,
As though this flesh which walls about our life
Were brass impregnable; and humored thus,
Comes at the end, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and-farewell, King!
ThankU How inspiring! Your love for literature comes through. I have a lot of catching up to do
Your passion is contagious. Will get some of them for sure.
Thanks, Sylvain. I hope you enjoy them.
I like this list. I'm glad you included "The Mill on the Floss" instead of say, "Middlemarch." Although I like Eliot's other works, "The Mill on the Floss" is my absolute favorite of hers, particularly because of its ending. In fact, you include another book on this list that I rank with "The Mill on the Floss" as containing what I consider one of the most memorable endings ever, and that is "Moby Dick." Another novel in which its ending has forever haunted me is Hermann Hesse's "The Glass Bead Game." I love great books with stories that stay with me, but ones with endings that take me by surprise are the best. Thanks for sharing, Tristan!
I just happened upon this video and feel I have found a kindred spirit. I have read several of your recommendations while at university, but now that I have more time to devote to truly enjoying them, I'm planning a re-read. Thank you for inspiring me.
I love all 10 of the books you recommend.
YAAAS King! I am so happy that one of my favorite Dickens novels made your list, since it seems to be often overlooked!
And take that, Bleak House!
Poooor Smike!
Your reading is great! None of that stiff weird affectation of so many audio books. Great stuff! 👍
Steinbeck’s East of Eden is on my big book list. Absolutely perfect in my eyes. I do love Shakespeare’s Henry V and Julius Caesar, too.
I wish I had any other plays by our Bard for 'O' and 'A' levels. For the former it was Romeo and Juliet and for the latter it was Anthony and Cleopatra.
Weird but after so many years the only thing I remember from A&C is "Age cannot wither her nor stale her infinite vatiety" 😅
Wish we had my favourite: Hamlet.
I loved this video as I am a great advocate of the big, chunky book, novel, book of poems, plays or nonfiction. I haven't read The Idiot, but have recently read The Brothers Karamazov and am half way throught Crime and Punishment. I have put the Idiot on my TBR now. I realised that it is decades since I read any Thackeray, so shall revisit his novels in 2024. You managed to cover all my favourites, including Shakesperare. My 2023 reading project was reading all the plays of Shakespeare in the order they were written. It was enlightening to see how Shakespeare grew as a playwright. I think some of his history plays are amongst his best work. I love your edition of Sgakespeare.
Your channel just makes me happy!
Aw thank you Helen. 😊 ❤️
Was happy to see Dostoyevsky on the list and 'The Idiot' deserves all the recognition as a classic however The Brothers Karamazov I'd honestly say was his masterpiece!
The Idiot is the only Dostovesky novel I have not read, but it is on my TBR list for this year.
Goodness knows why I missed The Idiot because I do have it on my shelves.
I love your passion for language!
The Mill on the Floss is a beautifully crafted novel. I would happily read it again. Middlemarch and Silas Marner are excellent too. You have great taste in books! The Count of Monte Cristo and Vanity Fair are classics, I thoroughly enjoyed them. I’ve read Dickens and Dostoevsky but not the titles mentioned here (crime and punishment & great expectations were the ones I read) 😊
I think I have a new favorite book tube channel! Don Quixote was a great book. I enjoyed your reading.
What a wonderful channel! Absolutely inspiring, comforting and uplifting. Thank you for the work you put into it. You’re quite eloquent in speaking of literature, and you would be perfect for any audiobook narration! I might even learn to like audiobooks, if you were to do so.
As an Italian, I wasn't familiar with a couple of books in the list. Though, the Count of Montecristo was the most impressive and shocking book I read in high school to the point that I still remember the main events of the plot. Nice list and awesome video!
You've convinced me to read the woman in white. If it's anything like Christie's work, I'm in for a treat.
A couple of my personal favourites:
• The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
• Middlemarch by George Eliot
Mrs Cadwallader!!
Count of Monte Crisco is one of my favs. Imagine my surprise when I picked up "Camille" Hard to believe the same author wrote BOTH. Camille is short and easy to read.
My grandmother's favourite book was Camille and she adored the film adaptation with Robert Taylor and Great Garbo.
Personally, I never read the book or saw the film on TV (if it was shown) at point !
@@apollonia6656 I had only seen the film until I actually read the book. The book is written in a somewhat journal type of entry. The basic facts are in the film but the film is really foreign (to me) after you read the book. Interesting that a "remake" has never been done.
Happiest that I found your channel!! I had these books described by so many booktubers and articles on Google, that I lost count. Yours, though, are filled with magic! This is why I love youtube. I can stumble upon gems like your channel.
Tristan,Thoroughly enjoying your 'Classics' videos: so many here, missing the point of this one; conflating 'greatest in order' with simply your encouraging the reading (in no particular order) great 'big/long/tomes Classical novels . Thank you,Tristan.
Robertson Davies’ The Deptford Trilogy is stunning. It changed Canadian literature forever
Liked it very much
They are all appealing to me worth re-reading, as I read the big novels when I was very young and books were our entertainment. I so enjoy your videos and advocacy for reading great books.
Whoah, chills as you described Shakespeare and language at the end -- so glad I found your channel!
He's just the best, isn't he?
Lovely! Your reading of excerpts so well done!
Downloaded The Woman in White to my Kindle after watching this video and I have been reading it all day. You'r assessment is accurate. This book hooked me from the first page.
Fantastic. I've read most of your top 10. The Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby is possibly my favorite in the Dickens canon (Tale of Two Cities close behind). Vanity Fair is one of my all-time favorite novels and no one ever discusses it. And Mill on the Floss--a perfect novel. That final scene is so cinematic for a time when movies didn't exist! To make it a dozen, I would add: Les Miserables and Middlemarch.
I too am a fan of Vanity Fair.
I like the addition of reading excerpts from the books mentioned. It gives me a sense of the author's voice and taste of their prose and/or dialogue, which can make or break a novel for me. Having that small taste of, say, Shakespeare's Histories, I definitely am more interested in reading them (when I catch up with my other reading).
But as far as those on this list that are the most immediately appealing, Moby Dick wins. Have only read the opening chapter a few months ago, and about every other line in it is better than the one before.
"(...) Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul (...)"
"This is my substitute for pistol and ball."
"Were Niagara but a cataract of sand, would you travel your thousand miles to see it?"
"The act of paying is perhaps the most uncomfortable infliction that the two orchard thieves entailed upon us."
And other longer passages just as good. And that just within 4 pages.
I'm gonna like this book once I get around to it.
I enjoyed this video so much.Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thank you for sharing your love of these beautiful classics
I agree.
Have come back three times in one month !
I always enjoy Tristan reading aloud. 😊
I have just discovered your channel and am hooked! I know there will be much to live in delving into your backlist of posts. Your love of reading shines through and is inspiring.
Oops! Meant ‘love’ of course, but perhaps ‘live’ is also apt.
You are so right on Moby Dick. I had to battle through that book but the last 100 pages flew by and I really did feel something profound when I finished it. Great channel.
Had a fun time trying to guess the next book as soon as possible from your descriptions. Great list.
What a beautiful video of the evening sea. It makes want to jump the corner bus to the Ocean! Where I did see, alas, my only whale, dead on the beach, years ago.
Anna Karenina - my favorite book of all time!
I’m so glad I got recommended this Video
Thanks, Baz, I'm pleased you enjoyed it 😀
Don Quixote is my nemesis. I’ve tried several translations. Eventually, I read the children’s board book and called it finished.😂
Not sure if you've tried the Edith Grossman version, but it's what my professor selected for us, and it was so lively without sounding too modern.
Edith grossman’s is the best translation I’ve read
Ah, I have the Mollneax (?) and I didn't finish it.
Must get the pb Grossman translation even though it is one of a few DQs in my parents library.....I wouldn't dare use that because of my habit of scribbling annotations....my books become virtually unreadable when I finish them 😮
Me too 😂!!! Tried time and time again. To no avail 😅
Even though I am far from a child, my parents have a large sign on their library door that say:WELCOME TO USE ANY BOOK TO READ BUT DO NOT USE ANNOTATIONS OF ANY SORT ON THE PAGES .
Well, that leaves me out ! 😅 Pity, because most are first edition or leather bound .....gorgeous but beyond my reach !
My "library" for want of a better word, consist of unreadable books....annotations on nearly every page. My books are books within books .
Thank you so much for your channel! It makes me feel excited to read! Would love if you would recommend a specific edition/translation of the translated books.
In my youth, I read and re-read many times some scenes of the Comte de Monte-Cristo (in particular all the dialogues between Edmond Dantés and the Abbé Faria), but from a French perspective, I believe two huge Himalayas of our literature are to be added to this list : Les Misérables of course, and A la recherche du temps perdu, both classics, both very long, both mesmerizing…
And if I may, also Les Essais from Montaigne.
Some of Guy De Maupassant short stories are good,too.
Thank you for another great video. My reading list keeps growing! So many great classics to explore.
I have read all of these (sometimes few times) except that I have never managed to get all the way through Moby Dick or Don Quixote. I am putting them on my 2024 list and will see if I can push my way through Don Quixote and Moby Dick. Thanks for great suggestions! I read all of thee Shakespeare plays during two semesters of seminars at University, but not since. I am looking forward to reading or listening to them again.
Moby Dick does make you work. I find that the trial it puts you through gives you a sympathy of state with the crew of the Pequod. Whether Melville meant to do this, I don't know, but the effect is remarkable. Shakespeare's works are always new. Every time I read them I feel a sense of wonder at how much more beautiful the speech is compared to how I remembered it.
Moby Dick has defeated me several times. I once got about 1/3 or 1/4 through. I'm so mad at myself that I chose to give up. I could've been done with it. Instead, it haunts me. I have got to conquer that darned book before I die!@@tristanandtheclassics6538
I'm surprised that you didn't include Les Misérables, as it's one of the greatest, if not the greatest books of all time. It's my personal favourite, and for a good reason. Would recommend to anyone 👍
A few tears often appear on a male face when reading LM.and rightly so.
Today, I completed my acquisition of the 10 greatest books of literature! Of the 10, I owned 3, borrowed 1 from the library and bought the others. Don Quixote is my favorite, but I look forward to enjoying the others! I have heard you speak of Middlemarch and Ulysses so I decided to add those to the group.
As we are expecting a big snow here in New York, I will have plenty to read! Thank you for the interesting videos and happy reading!
Hi, Tristan! Thank you for another great video. I'm so glad you started with Don Quixote. I've had an unread copy sitting on my bookshelves for years, and now you've got me thinking that perhaps 2024 will be the year I finally pick it up. I also want to say thank you for reigniting my interest in reading the classics. I've just launched a BookTube channel, and I mention your channel as a new favorite discovery. Your content is greatly appreciated!
Great idea man. I read it this year and it was just amazing
@@danielsatvati8666 Started reading it this morning, and so far I'm loving it! Can't believe I waited so long to pick up this incredible story.
You can talk about books in such a passionate way, it is much appreciated 😊! The woman in white was one of my favorites this year and I want to reread it ever since. The same goes for The count. All the other ones are one my tbr, so I can’t wait to read them. The first big one will be Les Miserables though. I heard such great things about it!
les miserables will tug at your heart. read stendal' s charter house of parma and be surprised
Thank you very much. Your enthusiasm is very infectious. I have bought now all the books and am now embarking on my literary journey
thank you for this wonderful video and for taking the time to read excerpts. I'm often intimidated by classics, thinking I will get lost in the language, times, and characters, but your video makes these so inviting. Will definitely pick one of these up and go from there!
Congratulations on passing 20k-and well on our way to 21,000 already!
Thank you so much.
I just found you and have been binging your videos. I adore classic literature and I love your channel.I am disappointed that you didn't include Les Miserables in this list or any of the other lists I've watched on your channel yet. Such a beautiful, important novel.
I think any of Dostoevsky's great novels could have made this list, but I'm overjoyed to see The Idiot getting some well deserved love, what a perfect novel!
Anna Karenina, The Count of Monte Christo and Don Quixote are all favourites of mine too! ☺️
crime and punishment is definitely worth the read...also really enjoyed brothers
What a timely presented🎉 channel. Thank you so much. Enjoying the right books makes life quite livable 🙂
I've only read two of these, Anna Karenina and Moby Dick. I enjoyed them both. Tolstoy 's writing was sublime. In Moby Dick, the scene of the many whales in the ocean was mesmerizing. Thanks for the other recommendations.
Hi Tristan. I have never heard you mention the Elena Ferrante quadrology My Brilliant Friend. This is a modern classic I would hate you to miss out on. Once the characters get into your heart they’ll never let go.
Loved this video. Several of my all time favourites are on here; Count of Monte Cristo, Woman in White, Nicholas Nickelby and Vanity Fair. Anna Karenina is on my tbr list for sure and I read Mill on the Floss many years ago (maybe I should read again)but I’d always considered Don Quixote and Moby Dick as very challenging-you make me think again.
😍Cute guy. Thanks never tackled a long classic. Nice to hear about these.
Fantastic recommendations! I recently got the second of the Doubleday Complete Works of Shakespeare and you really inspired me to crack it open to some of the histories.
Also: the passages you read from each book were just fantastic and clearly chosen with great care; absolutely wonderful :3
Love how the first book is Don Quijote. I did a screenplay transporting it from 16th century Spain to 18th American-Mexican border as a western. One of my favorite books.
I found out your channel a few days ago. Congratulations, Tristan.
I'm going to read Bleak House this winter for the first time, as I suspect that's another Dickens classic that is sadly relevant today. And I've heard Donna Tartt (who is obsessed with detail) rave about its portrayal of London at the time. Funny, I had just added Vanity Fair to my winter reading list. Now I'm going to get The Mill on the Floss as well. New to your channel here and enjoying it immensely, especially at bedtime once I'm too tired to read anymore!
Nice to make your acquaintance, Patricia. Bleak House is an excellent book. London is the main character in Dickens' works. Hope you enjoy it, as well as The Mill on the Floss.
Bleak House has everything in it. Great characters, social commentary, a mystery and the first great detective Bucket. Humor, great descriptions, and an ending to remember.
I’m reading “the old curiosity shop” by Charles Dickens at the moment. Really enjoying it.
I have only read The Woman in White, and loved it, but NN by Dickens and Mill on Floss are on the tops of my list.
Love big books. Love this list. Moby, Anna, The Idiot and of course Shakespeare - just sublime.