Hi, Connor! So I have some reccomendations for you. I'll just list them. 1. Russian Literature Because you have enjoyed "The Brothers Karamazov", I strongly reccomend Dostoievsky's other works, such as "The Idiot" and "The Demons". If you want to start reading Tolstoy and don't want to take the huge commitment that is "War & Peace", he has written short stories and novellas too. "The Death of Ivan Ilych" is a great start. 2. French literature "The Stranger" was one of the best books I have read last year and I am told that "The Plague" is also very very good(my father is a huge fan of the author and he suggested me this one). Another great writer is Andre Gide, and "The Counterfeiters" is my personal favourite. If you haven't read it yet, also try "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is my favourite book of all times. 3. Other reccomendations By Dickens, I strongly reccomend you read "A Christmas Carol", "David Copperfield" and "Oliver Twist". Also, "Bleak House" has in its center a litigation. If you want to start with Steinbeck, try "East of Eden". Don't start with "Of Mice and Men". "East of Eden" is by far the best choice. That book is simply fascinating. "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy is another great classic.
Woah! Thank you!! I heard the Idiot is very good! I still need to read The Little Prince. I think that is one of the top selling books of all time, so I should give it a go. I actually just read a Christmas Carol for the first time. It was good, but subtly different than I expected. I thought Tiny Tim would be a bigger part that he was. I'll go with East of Eden then! I've heard great things about Tess of the D'Urbevilles! I think Lucy from Lucythereader really loves that one!
I personally fell in love with the Penguin English Library edition of classics, both the spines and the covers always look great yet very simple and I just love floppy paperbacks so much haha
Morgane KRAUTH Oh I didn’t realize they were floppy! Most UK paperbacks I’ve picked up in the past have all been on the stiff side which I don’t love. Have you had a hard time finding any books you want? I saw someone say some of the books have gone out of print and have become harder to get ahold of.
@@ConnorOBrien Me too, which is why I was equally surprised that they were floppy when I saw them in the bookstore but that was a nice surprise and I've been collecting them ever since! :) I haven't had a hard time finding them so far but I still have a long way to go to get the whole collection, I try to pick up any I can find in used bookstores and pick up others either from my usual bookstore or from Book Depository
I read The Scarlet Letter back in high school! I don't remember if I enjoyed it though. I might have to re read it one day. I want to read more classics.
It's a good one to dip back into classics with because although I found the language a little more difficult to read, it was a pretty quick and interesting read.
I think I read a tiny portion of The Trial when I was in school, but I think I should go back and read the whole thing. Ditto Scarlet Letter. I'm so late to this video - hope your classes are going well!
Meh lol I didn’t end up enjoying the trial very much in the end. It was way out there and just not my cup of tea. I did like The Scarlet Letter though! Classes are going lol law school is so much dense reading.
Connor O'Brien Hmm.. You should ask Sam's Nonsense. She read it in english and maybe can recommend something. Because I read it in lithuanian language. :)
I love the Everyman's Library Classics, but because of price I went with the Penguin English Library (I love their spines) as well as Word Cloud Classics (nice and simple but gorgeous) and then randomly got Jane Austen's works in the Vintage Classics editions. Bit of a mish-mash but like you said, there's so many good-looking editions out there! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all of these, I don't think I've read any of the ones you hauled. Some of my favourite classics are The Three Musketeers, Jane Austen's works, The War of the Worlds, Far from the Madding Crowd and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, just to name a few! :)
I'm keeping my eye out for when the Everyman's Library editions drop in price every once in a while. I think that's how I'll collect them and maybe at used book shops and library sales. I got one earlier this year at a Friends of the Library book sale. I like the word cloud classics as well. Tony has that edition of Peter Pan, and I like that they're sturdy and flexible. I haven't read any of the ones you've recommended, so I've got a lot of reading to do as well!
I love Russian literature! Constance Garnett is my favorite translator :) Most Russian Literature is intense but you can try Tolstoy's short stories, Gogel Dead Souls, Crime and Punishment is a little lighter in my opinion. Dostoevsky wrote a book about his days in prison which is shorter, Notes from the Underground. Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternack is a normal sized novel and really good. Pushkin writes plays so those would read faster. I'll stop now lol. I actually have a quote by Tolstoy about vegetarianism tattooed in Russian on my arm :) It's an obsession.
I absolutely love Russian literature as well! I would agree with these recommendations, you can also try Anton Chekov. Some great plays, however, he has a great short story collection. Maybe try Ward #6 and other stories!
Woah you two are great! I’ll be checking these all out to see which ones to start off with! I remember being forced to watch Dr. Zhivago in school, but I don’t remember much about it. I’ll definitely check out Dostoevsky‘s Notes from the Underground.
I really enjoyed The Scarlet Letter when I read it in high school! I actually want to reread it sometime, I just bought a copy that includes commentary at Friends of the Library. I had to read Antigone in undergrad, and I thought it was alright at the time. Animal Farm was decent (read it last year).
You always find great stuff at the sale lol I ended up having a document get corrupted, so I didn't end up reading Antigone after all. Oops. Animal Farm was concerning to read (I read it since this haul) because dang. It's timely.
Derek Thank you! I had no idea how it is meant to be pronounced. I’ll say it correctly next time. I’ll be reading The Stranger in a couple of weeks. I have The Trial for next week and The Chronicle of a Death Foretold the week after that. If I don’t LOVE The Stranger, I’ll be sure to seek out The Fall anyway to see how that one is!
I haven’t read most of those either, except animal farm. When you have the time though, war and peace is well worth it. So is Le morte d’Arthur, if you like Arthurian legends.
I've heard some great things about Animal Farm even from people who didn't love 1984. I do plan to give War and Peace a shot down the line when I'm not in school and have the time. I actually haven't much on the Arthurian legends yet, so it may be good to read that one too.
I liked Animal Farm; I thought it was an interesting and entertaining way to present the idea. Fair enough. :) War and Peace is not something to read in law school! (I read Le Morte d'Arthur my first year; not great.) For Arthurian, the Once and Future King might be an easier start since Le Morte is from 11th/12th century. Depends on how much you love reading antiquated language. :)
Crime and punisment by Dostoevski. War and peace by Tolstoi. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. And anything from Chekhov, he doesnt feel like a typical russian writer. I guess those are my fav from russian literature. Others i loved so much: Divine comedy by Dante, The name of the rose by Umberto Eco, Hundred years of solitude by Garcia Marquez, anything from Dumas (the father), The greek treasure and Agony and extasy from Irving Stone, Quo vadis from Sienkiewicz.
I love the Russian authors, so Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are amazing (Crime and Punishment is my favorite, loved W&P, but it is hefty). I'd also recommend Victor Hugo (Hunchback of Notre Dame/Les Miserables) and Alexandre Dumas. I'd recommend the d'Artagnan Romances (starts with Three Musketeers, the last part of the last book is The Man in the Iron Mask...there's quite a bit in between that most people never read) and The Count of Monte Cristo. But, also hefty reads.
@@ConnorOBrien I think they were all new translations! I read A Hunger Artist, The Castle and Metamorphosis, which is my favorite so far :)) I actually need to reread them because I barely remember anything 😅
Those Juniper covers are $$$$ :O if you do purchase anything, I'd love to see what you think of them they're gorgeous - especially those lovely Bronte purple editions. Wish they had North and South by Gaskell but it's awesome to see they'll do a custom order for you. Don't know if I'll ever order from them tho lol too poor for life
If you haven't read Much Ado About Nothing, you need to! It's amazing. Also, if you don't know about them, the No Fear Shakespeare editions are so great! Original text next to modern translation and it's so helpful!
I haven't yet!! I think my copy of Hamlet was the No Fear Shakespeare edition. It made it a lot easier to read, so we'll see if I can handle some of these without the modern version of the text.
Connor O'Brien yeah I try to see how much of it I can understand at first and then look at the modern. But they make them really accessible! I don’t know how much you are wanting to read short stories, but if you haven’t read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wild it’s thoroughly delightful 🤗
Connor O'Brien 🤦🏼♀️ it’s been a few days since I watched the video lol I just got one of the Barnes&Noble classics addition of that story and like 4 other of his short stories 🤙🏼
oh, sadly I don't know, I haven't read the Idiot yet, but Crime and Punishment was absolutely great, and I think you would love it. It's a bit chunky book, but it could be interesting for your Law & Lit class too :)
My professor mentioned Crime and Punishment yesterday, and recommended it as additional reading as well! So after The Master and Margarita, that might be where I go next.
Great choice! And I think you'll love The Master and Margarita too, that was definitely a weird but interesting book, and I'll might just reread it now that you mentioned it :)
Those editions are BEAUTIFUL. You should def check out Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, Cannery Row... they're all so good. Oh! Moby Dick. Must read. Crime & Punishment is great too. I really enjoyed The Stranger by Albert Camus, I read it earlier this year. I'll be reading another one of his works, The Plague, very soon. Oh oh also, have you read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson yet? That's my favorite classic :)
Right! They're awesome! Which Steinbeck should I start off with ? lol Moby Dick. Isn't that book really, really long? I just watched someone's review of the plague soon, so I hope you enjoy it! I'm really behind in classics! I haven't ever read Treasure Island although I always meant to!
If you want Russian Recs, Go check out A Book Olive's channel. She loves Russian Lit! Your classics edition choice is great! The 2 that I purchase from are the Penguin English Library, and the Word Cloud editions. Shakespeare is amazing! I own his complete works! 💖💖💖 Enjoy the classics rabbit hole! I have enjoyed them more as an adult than I ever did in school.
Haha yeah I know Olive reads about Russia a lot, but she doesn’t read much classics from Russia as of yet. I think she has The Master and Margarita on her most recent TBR though. I guess I’m in the same boat, because I didn’t looove classics as a kid, but I’m enjoying them now!
Yay! I fellow newly gained classics lover! What made you go with those? I’ve seen a couple of videos where the covers start to wear off. Have you had any issues?
Janneke Priem A lot of schools only offer it certain semesters, so I jumped on this one to serve as my seminar class and to fulfill my writing requirement. People have mixed feelings about it. Like, Posner was not a fan besides it serving as an additional professional responsibility class.
@@ConnorOBrien What do you think about this class? It is always usefull to read these kind of books, in my opinion. I hope you liked the classics and will read more. Those books are worth it! :) I am collecting the Penguin English library editions. My favorite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. If you like Russian Authors, try Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
So far, I'm loving it. It's quite curious how literature really reflects law of the time period. As changes in law occur, they're reflected and/or criticized in literature. Anna Kerenina is super intimidating because of it's size. Someone said that audible has a fantastic audio version which I may have to give a go. I still need to read something by any of the Brontes.
@@ConnorOBrien Literature is a great reflection of life in general. That is why I love it so much :) Anna Karenina looks like a massive book but it is written in a fast and entertaining way. I still like to read Crime and punishment too, another russian novel. It looks like a very interesting read for law students as well. If you ever want to discuss law or (classic) literature I would gladly volunteer for that. In the meantime, Good luck and I hope you will finish this class!
The Every Man's library editions are so pretty. I like the word cloud editions but I actually also like the English Library editions, even if they are just paperbacks. I think if I ever want to collect classics it would be in one of those 2 editions. Also because they're not as expensive. I'm not sure but for Russian authors. Isn't Leo Tolstoy Russian?
They're great, and they open up a lot very easily which makes reading them nice. I beat up paperbacks, so I wouldn't want to just have a lot of tattered classics after reading them lol Leo Tolstoy is Russian! He wrote a lot, and many of them are gigantic.
Jacqueline McMenamin I’ve never heard about that one! Hah it came out this year, so no wonder it’s anonymous. I’ll have to keep an ear out for anyone talking about it. It looks like it could be really interesting.
If you are looking for shorter Russian novels, you could try Dostojewski's 'The Gambler' it's so much shorter than the Karamasovs or Crime and Punishment.
Thank you for correcting my mispronunciation! I’ll be certain to get it correct when I read and review it. I’m not great at pronunciation obviously lol Fee-unn. Thank you so much! I hope I’ve steered you toward some favorite books.
@@ConnorOBrien Honestly irish is a complex language. Spelling my name is shops is a disaster 😂😂 you sure did! Wonderful to hear some recs for fantasy that I wouldnt usually consider ☺
I'm also in law school and that class sounds incredible! I love classics so it would be right up my alley and I hope you end up enjoying it. Also that version of the Lightning Thief is gorgeous and I really like that series a lot as well. The other books you hauled/received look like really cool as well and I hope you enjoy them. The Master and Margerita is definitely by a Russian author and I've heard its great (I've heard it described as a Russian Alice in Wonderland) and I'm planning on getting to that soon. Shakespeare is great and I loved the Merchant of Venice and I hope you do too. I also really liked the Scarlet Letter. Also we have a lot in common! I was a double major in ancient studies and medieval studies and took a ton of classes in the Class department. The Picture of Dorian Gray is also fantastic. And Oscar Wilde is very sly with LGBT things and I love him for it (and other reasons, but you know what I mean). Imw not a Gabriel Garcia Marquez fan at all, but I'll be curious to hear what you have to say. Animal Farm is one of my favorites but 1984 wasn't my favorite either. Both Camus and Kafka are strange. Word Cloud classics are cool because they're incredibly colorful. I can recommend you tons of classics but I don't want to ovoverwhelm you so I can wait a bit. Also YOUR DOG IS SO PRECIOUS! Anyway...I hope you enjoy all of those and have a great semester!
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov. It is my favorite classic of all time. I have re-read it around 12 times already and i love it with all my heart. But, it is a very unique book and people react very differently to it, you gonna love it or hate it, but I gonna say that every time I read it, it feels different. I have read it in Russian, so unfortunately I can't recommend "the right" translator for this book.
Posted it before the end of the video. :) btw, his name Mikhail would be easier to read if you pronouns letters "kh" in it as a letter "h" in a word "hand".
Oh so it may be similar to the X in Greek. Thanks for the tip! I’m now even more curious to read The Master and Margarita since it seems like it has a great rereadability!
@@ConnorOBrien Yes, probably that's the same as Greek "x", it is even written the same as in Russian, his name in Cyrillic looks like that "Михаил" and according to Google, both "x" have a similar sound. Anyway, enjoy your read and be patient, cuz at the beginning it might seems a bit confusing and chaotic. :)
Have you mentioned favorite classical (greek/Roman/Latin) literature? I’m just getting into them. Good luck with chronicle of a death foretold, it is very classic Latin American magical realism, I remember it having a lot to do with machismo. It was not for me! Really interested in your classics taste, I want to read a lot of the ones you chose too!
I haven't really talked out my favorite Ancient greek/roman literature. I actually have quite a lot I still need to read. As for plays, I enjoyed the Orestia tro of plays by Aeschylus for the drama. I also think that Ovid's love advice is ridiculous and entertaining. I also enjoyed Euripides' plays. They're also very entertaining. We'll see how I feel about Chronicle of a Death Foretold! Hopefully I enjoy it a little more than you did lol
@@ConnorOBrien It really is a fantastic book. I read it myself when I was in Highschool. My teachers only wanted to talk about this book and didn't care about any of the other books I read for school😋😂. I loved it and I still felt like a lot of things went right over my head. I will have to re-read it someday.
I know you said you didn’t want to read Anna Karenina yet, but, audible has it narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and it’s fantastic. When you are ready, you should check it out!
Margoe Littlepants Oh wow! So I may need to do one of those free trial months and use it to read Anna Karenina when I’m ready for it! That sounds really good!
A Russian classic author I recommend is Gogol. I’ve read some short stories by him and can’t wait to get to Dead souls. And everymans library is definitely worth collecting.
What would you recommend reading by Gogol first? I know Everyman's Library has his collected stories in one volume. Is that where you started with him?
Connor O'Brien I read The Nose and The Carriage. They were weird and whacky and great fun. If you feel up for longer Russian reads Crime and punishment and Anna Karenina are worth a read. I’ve just recently started reading Russian classics myself, so my recommendations list is unfortunately not longer than this ☹️ I’m looking forward to hear your thoughts about The brothers Karamazov and Master and Margarita. Both are on my santa wish list 😇
@@ConnorOBrien Ball Lightning was a little flat, I'd say. I kept reading because the science and the theories were incredibly interesting, but I wasn't exactly invested in the characters or plot so much. I think his 3 body series was better, but I still enjoyed ball lightning because it was fascinating
“I know there’s a talking cat at some point.” Well sign me the eff up. Also, I’ve heard The Idiot by Dostoyevsky is very good. I’ve been meaning to read that. Nanook signing off is life.
Hahaha I think the devil is a main character in The Master and Margarita as well. I'm debating whether to pick up the Idiot or Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky next (for him). I loove that Nook learned how to wave/sign off pretty easily lol
FromTheDustyBookshelf Thank you!! I know nothing about French, so I’ll get it right next video I mention him in. It seems like the consensus is that The Stranger is not his best lol I won’t judge him off of it if I don’t absolutely love it.
I do know that The Master and Margarita is one of Stephen Fry's favourite books. You cannot go wrong with Oscar Wilde he is one of the best writers in the english language, his letter De Profundis he wrote in prison to his lover is very moving.
Jordan Cooper I hope that letter is included in the edition of Oscar Wilde’s works I got! I’ll check when I get home after class. That’s cool about the Master and Margarita being on of Fry’s favorites! I hope it becomes one of mine as well!!
Connor O'Brien I hope so that letter is one of his best writings, Wilde’s life is an incredible and tragic story you should watch the movie where Stephen Fry plays him, it’s called Wilde. Really hope you like your classics Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of my favourites, great story about love and revenge. I really liked the Brothers Karamazov, great philosophical discussions in that. I had to listen to that on audiobook because I couldn’t get the names right haha. You are an awesome booktuber I can’t wait to hear your reviews on the classics 😁
Jordan Cooper The Letter is in it! After I read that and The Picture of Dorian Gray, I’ll seek out the film Wilde to see what it’s all about. Thank you for giving these recommendations! I probably would have put them off otherwise.
I hope you follow Jeans bookish thoughts if you like classics. Plus, Leanne Rose . Slap on the wrist for not knowing about Oscar Wilde with a surname like O'Brian. Camus= Calm-moo
Jacqueline McMenamin Oh lol I thought maybe he had a main character names O’Brien in one of his works. 🤦🏻♂️ My name makes me seem more Irish than I actually am. I did the ancestry test and it turns out that my most recent non-American ancestors are all Scandinavian. Fun fact lol
Jane Austen's books are all comedies of manners so they're all generally really fun and light reads. She's one of my favorite authors so I definitely recommend her! Especially if you're wanting something easy between denser books. Are you only interested in older classics right now or are you interested in modern classics too? If you are I'd highly recommend Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison or There Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston.
What is your favorite Austen novel? Or which do you think is the funniest? I'm really open to any classics at this point, so thank you for the recommendations! They both sound so good! I think Bastard Out of Carolina might be really gripping. I'll keep my eye out for a copy!
My favorite is definitely Pride and Prejudice. I can pick up that book any time and it will make me smile because of her sarcasm and general sense of humor. Emma and and then Mansfield Park are also very funny. The only real outlier is Northanger Abbey but that's just because it was written before she'd figured out her voice and it's actually a satire of gothic literature, not a comedy of manners. It's hard to go wrong with her books, in my opinion, but I'll usually suggest Pride and Prejudice first simply because it's the most popular so the one you're most likely to enjoy.
Crime and Punishment!! For sure!
Master and Margarita is russian as well. Recommend it too!
Hi, Connor! So I have some reccomendations for you. I'll just list them.
1. Russian Literature
Because you have enjoyed "The Brothers Karamazov", I strongly reccomend Dostoievsky's other works, such as "The Idiot" and "The Demons".
If you want to start reading Tolstoy and don't want to take the huge commitment that is "War & Peace", he has written short stories and novellas too. "The Death of Ivan Ilych" is a great start.
2. French literature
"The Stranger" was one of the best books I have read last year and I am told that "The Plague" is also very very good(my father is a huge fan of the author and he suggested me this one). Another great writer is Andre Gide, and "The Counterfeiters" is my personal favourite.
If you haven't read it yet, also try "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is my favourite book of all times.
3. Other reccomendations
By Dickens, I strongly reccomend you read "A Christmas Carol", "David Copperfield" and "Oliver Twist". Also, "Bleak House" has in its center a litigation.
If you want to start with Steinbeck, try "East of Eden". Don't start with "Of Mice and Men". "East of Eden" is by far the best choice. That book is simply fascinating.
"Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy is another great classic.
Woah! Thank you!! I heard the Idiot is very good! I still need to read The Little Prince. I think that is one of the top selling books of all time, so I should give it a go.
I actually just read a Christmas Carol for the first time. It was good, but subtly different than I expected. I thought Tiny Tim would be a bigger part that he was.
I'll go with East of Eden then!
I've heard great things about Tess of the D'Urbevilles! I think Lucy from Lucythereader really loves that one!
I personally fell in love with the Penguin English Library edition of classics, both the spines and the covers always look great yet very simple and I just love floppy paperbacks so much haha
Morgane KRAUTH Oh I didn’t realize they were floppy! Most UK paperbacks I’ve picked up in the past have all been on the stiff side which I don’t love.
Have you had a hard time finding any books you want? I saw someone say some of the books have gone out of print and have become harder to get ahold of.
@@ConnorOBrien Me too, which is why I was equally surprised that they were floppy when I saw them in the bookstore but that was a nice surprise and I've been collecting them ever since! :)
I haven't had a hard time finding them so far but I still have a long way to go to get the whole collection, I try to pick up any I can find in used bookstores and pick up others either from my usual bookstore or from Book Depository
I read The Scarlet Letter back in high school! I don't remember if I enjoyed it though. I might have to re read it one day. I want to read more classics.
It's a good one to dip back into classics with because although I found the language a little more difficult to read, it was a pretty quick and interesting read.
I think I read a tiny portion of The Trial when I was in school, but I think I should go back and read the whole thing. Ditto Scarlet Letter. I'm so late to this video - hope your classes are going well!
Meh lol I didn’t end up enjoying the trial very much in the end. It was way out there and just not my cup of tea. I did like The Scarlet Letter though! Classes are going lol law school is so much dense reading.
My summer favorite is The Count Of Montecristo by Alexandre Duma
Oooo talk about a chunky book! Which translator do you recommend?
Connor O'Brien Hmm.. You should ask Sam's Nonsense. She read it in english and maybe can recommend something. Because I read it in lithuanian language. :)
I love the Everyman's Library Classics, but because of price I went with the Penguin English Library (I love their spines) as well as Word Cloud Classics (nice and simple but gorgeous) and then randomly got Jane Austen's works in the Vintage Classics editions. Bit of a mish-mash but like you said, there's so many good-looking editions out there! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all of these, I don't think I've read any of the ones you hauled. Some of my favourite classics are The Three Musketeers, Jane Austen's works, The War of the Worlds, Far from the Madding Crowd and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, just to name a few! :)
I'm keeping my eye out for when the Everyman's Library editions drop in price every once in a while. I think that's how I'll collect them and maybe at used book shops and library sales. I got one earlier this year at a Friends of the Library book sale. I like the word cloud classics as well. Tony has that edition of Peter Pan, and I like that they're sturdy and flexible. I haven't read any of the ones you've recommended, so I've got a lot of reading to do as well!
I love Russian literature! Constance Garnett is my favorite translator :) Most Russian Literature is intense but you can try Tolstoy's short stories, Gogel Dead Souls, Crime and Punishment is a little lighter in my opinion. Dostoevsky wrote a book about his days in prison which is shorter, Notes from the Underground. Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternack is a normal sized novel and really good. Pushkin writes plays so those would read faster. I'll stop now lol. I actually have a quote by Tolstoy about vegetarianism tattooed in Russian on my arm :) It's an obsession.
I absolutely love Russian literature as well! I would agree with these recommendations, you can also try Anton Chekov. Some great plays, however, he has a great short story collection. Maybe try Ward #6 and other stories!
Woah you two are great! I’ll be checking these all out to see which ones to start off with! I remember being forced to watch Dr. Zhivago in school, but I don’t remember much about it. I’ll definitely check out Dostoevsky‘s Notes from the Underground.
I really enjoyed The Scarlet Letter when I read it in high school! I actually want to reread it sometime, I just bought a copy that includes commentary at Friends of the Library. I had to read Antigone in undergrad, and I thought it was alright at the time. Animal Farm was decent (read it last year).
You always find great stuff at the sale lol I ended up having a document get corrupted, so I didn't end up reading Antigone after all. Oops. Animal Farm was concerning to read (I read it since this haul) because dang. It's timely.
I absolutely love classics.
Camus is great, it's pronounced Cam-moo. His best book is The Fall, in my opinion. The stranger is really good though.
Derek Thank you! I had no idea how it is meant to be pronounced. I’ll say it correctly next time. I’ll be reading The Stranger in a couple of weeks. I have The Trial for next week and The Chronicle of a Death Foretold the week after that. If I don’t LOVE The Stranger, I’ll be sure to seek out The Fall anyway to see how that one is!
I haven’t read most of those either, except animal farm. When you have the time though, war and peace is well worth it. So is Le morte d’Arthur, if you like Arthurian legends.
I've heard some great things about Animal Farm even from people who didn't love 1984. I do plan to give War and Peace a shot down the line when I'm not in school and have the time. I actually haven't much on the Arthurian legends yet, so it may be good to read that one too.
I liked Animal Farm; I thought it was an interesting and entertaining way to present the idea.
Fair enough. :) War and Peace is not something to read in law school! (I read Le Morte d'Arthur my first year; not great.) For Arthurian, the Once and Future King might be an easier start since Le Morte is from 11th/12th century. Depends on how much you love reading antiquated language. :)
Chronicle of a death foretold is pretty awesome. BUT of all the books I read of Gabriel Garcia Marquez I love One Hundred Years of Solitude the most.
I'll be certain to grab up One Hundred years of Solitude after I check out Chronicle of a Death Foretold! I hope I love both of them!
Crime and punisment by Dostoevski. War and peace by Tolstoi. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. And anything from Chekhov, he doesnt feel like a typical russian writer. I guess those are my fav from russian literature. Others i loved so much: Divine comedy by Dante, The name of the rose by Umberto Eco, Hundred years of solitude by Garcia Marquez, anything from Dumas (the father), The greek treasure and Agony and extasy from Irving Stone, Quo vadis from Sienkiewicz.
I love the Russian authors, so Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are amazing (Crime and Punishment is my favorite, loved W&P, but it is hefty). I'd also recommend Victor Hugo (Hunchback of Notre Dame/Les Miserables) and Alexandre Dumas. I'd recommend the d'Artagnan Romances (starts with Three Musketeers, the last part of the last book is The Man in the Iron Mask...there's quite a bit in between that most people never read) and The Count of Monte Cristo. But, also hefty reads.
I love Kafka but still need to read The Trial! those classics editions are really pretty ^^
What’s your favorite from him?! Did you read the newer translations as well? Or did you read and like the older ones?
@@ConnorOBrien I think they were all new translations! I read A Hunger Artist, The Castle and Metamorphosis, which is my favorite so far :)) I actually need to reread them because I barely remember anything 😅
Those Juniper covers are $$$$ :O if you do purchase anything, I'd love to see what you think of them they're gorgeous - especially those lovely Bronte purple editions. Wish they had North and South by Gaskell but it's awesome to see they'll do a custom order for you. Don't know if I'll ever order from them tho lol too poor for life
If you haven't read Much Ado About Nothing, you need to! It's amazing. Also, if you don't know about them, the No Fear Shakespeare editions are so great! Original text next to modern translation and it's so helpful!
I haven't yet!! I think my copy of Hamlet was the No Fear Shakespeare edition. It made it a lot easier to read, so we'll see if I can handle some of these without the modern version of the text.
Connor O'Brien yeah I try to see how much of it I can understand at first and then look at the modern. But they make them really accessible! I don’t know how much you are wanting to read short stories, but if you haven’t read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wild it’s thoroughly delightful 🤗
jaziybabe The Importance of Being Earnest is in the Oscar Wilde book I bought, so I’ll definitely be checking it out!!
Connor O'Brien 🤦🏼♀️ it’s been a few days since I watched the video lol I just got one of the Barnes&Noble classics addition of that story and like 4 other of his short stories 🤙🏼
if you liked Dostoevsky, try his other famous novel, Crime and Punishment :)
I’ve got my eye on that one for my next Dostoyevsky or maybe the Idiot. Which one is better?
oh, sadly I don't know, I haven't read the Idiot yet, but Crime and Punishment was absolutely great, and I think you would love it. It's a bit chunky book, but it could be interesting for your Law & Lit class too :)
My professor mentioned Crime and Punishment yesterday, and recommended it as additional reading as well! So after The Master and Margarita, that might be where I go next.
Great choice! And I think you'll love The Master and Margarita too, that was definitely a weird but interesting book, and I'll might just reread it now that you mentioned it :)
I read Dracula and i really loved it, you should give it a try .
I just finished Dracula! It was well worth the read. Didnt think I would like it that much. Do you know any books that are like Dracula?
@@smileygirl301 try the picture of dorian gray and Frankenstein
Those editions are BEAUTIFUL. You should def check out Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, Cannery Row... they're all so good. Oh! Moby Dick. Must read. Crime & Punishment is great too. I really enjoyed The Stranger by Albert Camus, I read it earlier this year. I'll be reading another one of his works, The Plague, very soon. Oh oh also, have you read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson yet? That's my favorite classic :)
Right! They're awesome! Which Steinbeck should I start off with ? lol Moby Dick. Isn't that book really, really long? I just watched someone's review of the plague soon, so I hope you enjoy it! I'm really behind in classics! I haven't ever read Treasure Island although I always meant to!
If you want Russian Recs, Go check out A Book Olive's channel. She loves Russian Lit! Your classics edition choice is great! The 2 that I purchase from are the Penguin English Library, and the Word Cloud editions. Shakespeare is amazing! I own his complete works! 💖💖💖
Enjoy the classics rabbit hole! I have enjoyed them more as an adult than I ever did in school.
Haha yeah I know Olive reads about Russia a lot, but she doesn’t read much classics from Russia as of yet. I think she has The Master and Margarita on her most recent TBR though. I guess I’m in the same boat, because I didn’t looove classics as a kid, but I’m enjoying them now!
I recently got into classics as well :D I went with the penguin cloth bound ones. Great video!
Yay! I fellow newly gained classics lover! What made you go with those? I’ve seen a couple of videos where the covers start to wear off. Have you had any issues?
@@ConnorOBrien I just like the way they look😅 I haven't had any issues with the covers yet, so here's hoping they don't fall apart !
I am also a law student. Wish I had these kind of classes with English literature! :o
Janneke Priem A lot of schools only offer it certain semesters, so I jumped on this one to serve as my seminar class and to fulfill my writing requirement. People have mixed feelings about it. Like, Posner was not a fan besides it serving as an additional professional responsibility class.
@@ConnorOBrien What do you think about this class? It is always usefull to read these kind of books, in my opinion. I hope you liked the classics and will read more. Those books are worth it! :) I am collecting the Penguin English library editions. My favorite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. If you like Russian Authors, try Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.
So far, I'm loving it. It's quite curious how literature really reflects law of the time period. As changes in law occur, they're reflected and/or criticized in literature. Anna Kerenina is super intimidating because of it's size. Someone said that audible has a fantastic audio version which I may have to give a go. I still need to read something by any of the Brontes.
@@ConnorOBrien Literature is a great reflection of life in general. That is why I love it so much :) Anna Karenina looks like a massive book but it is written in a fast and entertaining way. I still like to read Crime and punishment too, another russian novel. It looks like a very interesting read for law students as well. If you ever want to discuss law or (classic) literature I would gladly volunteer for that. In the meantime, Good luck and I hope you will finish this class!
The Every Man's library editions are so pretty. I like the word cloud editions but I actually also like the English Library editions, even if they are just paperbacks. I think if I ever want to collect classics it would be in one of those 2 editions. Also because they're not as expensive.
I'm not sure but for Russian authors. Isn't Leo Tolstoy Russian?
They're great, and they open up a lot very easily which makes reading them nice.
I beat up paperbacks, so I wouldn't want to just have a lot of tattered classics after reading them lol
Leo Tolstoy is Russian! He wrote a lot, and many of them are gigantic.
Have you heard about The Secret Barrister ? A Book written anonymously about English legal system
Jacqueline McMenamin I’ve never heard about that one! Hah it came out this year, so no wonder it’s anonymous. I’ll have to keep an ear out for anyone talking about it. It looks like it could be really interesting.
Connor O'Brien there's also a twitter account called Secret Barrister
If you are looking for shorter Russian novels, you could try Dostojewski's 'The Gambler' it's so much shorter than the Karamasovs or Crime and Punishment.
Fionn is pronounced Fee-unn here in Ireland. Love your channel, your dogs are a joy and your recs are fab! 😁
Thank you for correcting my mispronunciation! I’ll be certain to get it correct when I read and review it. I’m not great at pronunciation obviously lol Fee-unn. Thank you so much! I hope I’ve steered you toward some favorite books.
@@ConnorOBrien Honestly irish is a complex language. Spelling my name is shops is a disaster 😂😂 you sure did! Wonderful to hear some recs for fantasy that I wouldnt usually consider ☺
I'm also in law school and that class sounds incredible! I love classics so it would be right up my alley and I hope you end up enjoying it. Also that version of the Lightning Thief is gorgeous and I really like that series a lot as well. The other books you hauled/received look like really cool as well and I hope you enjoy them. The Master and Margerita is definitely by a Russian author and I've heard its great (I've heard it described as a Russian Alice in Wonderland) and I'm planning on getting to that soon. Shakespeare is great and I loved the Merchant of Venice and I hope you do too. I also really liked the Scarlet Letter. Also we have a lot in common! I was a double major in ancient studies and medieval studies and took a ton of classes in the Class department. The Picture of Dorian Gray is also fantastic. And Oscar Wilde is very sly with LGBT things and I love him for it (and other reasons, but you know what I mean). Imw not a Gabriel Garcia Marquez fan at all, but I'll be curious to hear what you have to say. Animal Farm is one of my favorites but 1984 wasn't my favorite either. Both Camus and Kafka are strange. Word Cloud classics are cool because they're incredibly colorful. I can recommend you tons of classics but I don't want to ovoverwhelm you so I can wait a bit. Also YOUR DOG IS SO PRECIOUS! Anyway...I hope you enjoy all of those and have a great semester!
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is just brilliant. I love Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Caroline Meyersohn Yay!! That’s the one I’ll read next after finishing The Trial!
The Master and Margarita is a novel by Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov. It is my favorite classic of all time. I have re-read it around 12 times already and i love it with all my heart. But, it is a very unique book and people react very differently to it, you gonna love it or hate it, but I gonna say that every time I read it, it feels different. I have read it in Russian, so unfortunately I can't recommend "the right" translator for this book.
Posted it before the end of the video. :) btw, his name Mikhail would be easier to read if you pronouns letters "kh" in it as a letter "h" in a word "hand".
Oh so it may be similar to the X in Greek. Thanks for the tip! I’m now even more curious to read The Master and Margarita since it seems like it has a great rereadability!
@@ConnorOBrien Yes, probably that's the same as Greek "x", it is even written the same as in Russian, his name in Cyrillic looks like that "Михаил" and according to Google, both "x" have a similar sound.
Anyway, enjoy your read and be patient, cuz at the beginning it might seems a bit confusing and chaotic. :)
Have you mentioned favorite classical (greek/Roman/Latin) literature? I’m just getting into them. Good luck with chronicle of a death foretold, it is very classic Latin American magical realism, I remember it having a lot to do with machismo. It was not for me! Really interested in your classics taste, I want to read a lot of the ones you chose too!
I haven't really talked out my favorite Ancient greek/roman literature. I actually have quite a lot I still need to read. As for plays, I enjoyed the Orestia tro of plays by Aeschylus for the drama. I also think that Ovid's love advice is ridiculous and entertaining. I also enjoyed Euripides' plays. They're also very entertaining.
We'll see how I feel about Chronicle of a Death Foretold! Hopefully I enjoy it a little more than you did lol
I recommend "The Discovery of Heaven" by Harry Mulisch. It's the best piece of dutch literature. It's a very chunky book though.
Ooo yeah, that one is a brick of a book! It sounds pretty interesting though. It's probably a good book for loads of discussions.
@@ConnorOBrien It really is a fantastic book. I read it myself when I was in Highschool. My teachers only wanted to talk about this book and didn't care about any of the other books I read for school😋😂. I loved it and I still felt like a lot of things went right over my head. I will have to re-read it someday.
I know you said you didn’t want to read Anna Karenina yet, but, audible has it narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and it’s fantastic. When you are ready, you should check it out!
Margoe Littlepants Oh wow! So I may need to do one of those free trial months and use it to read Anna Karenina when I’m ready for it! That sounds really good!
A Russian classic author I recommend is Gogol. I’ve read some short stories by him and can’t wait to get to Dead souls. And everymans library is definitely worth collecting.
What would you recommend reading by Gogol first? I know Everyman's Library has his collected stories in one volume. Is that where you started with him?
Connor O'Brien I read The Nose and The Carriage. They were weird and whacky and great fun.
If you feel up for longer Russian reads Crime and punishment and Anna Karenina are worth a read. I’ve just recently started reading Russian classics myself, so my recommendations list is unfortunately not longer than this ☹️ I’m looking forward to hear your thoughts about The brothers Karamazov and Master and Margarita. Both are on my santa wish list 😇
I read both The Trial and Ball Lightning last month! The trial was completely wild and made me very angry haha
Katie Tibus Oooh angry? Uh oh. Reading with a legal frame of mind, Josef K. is making a lot of mistakes lol How was Ball Lightning??
@@ConnorOBrien Ball Lightning was a little flat, I'd say. I kept reading because the science and the theories were incredibly interesting, but I wasn't exactly invested in the characters or plot so much. I think his 3 body series was better, but I still enjoyed ball lightning because it was fascinating
“I know there’s a talking cat at some point.” Well sign me the eff up. Also, I’ve heard The Idiot by Dostoyevsky is very good. I’ve been meaning to read that.
Nanook signing off is life.
Hahaha I think the devil is a main character in The Master and Margarita as well. I'm debating whether to pick up the Idiot or Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky next (for him).
I loove that Nook learned how to wave/sign off pretty easily lol
Connor O'Brien It’s adorable and I nearly died 😍 I need to teach my pups to wave.
The Stranger is a good read, although I prefer The Plague. Albert Camus originally wrote in French. The "s" at the end of Camus is silent :)
FromTheDustyBookshelf Thank you!! I know nothing about French, so I’ll get it right next video I mention him in. It seems like the consensus is that The Stranger is not his best lol I won’t judge him off of it if I don’t absolutely love it.
Kafka was a Czech who wrote in German.
keill35 Thanks! I guess I missed that he was Czech. He was Jewish as well if I’m not mistaken on that.
I do know that The Master and Margarita is one of Stephen Fry's favourite books. You cannot go wrong with Oscar Wilde he is one of the best writers in the english language, his letter De Profundis he wrote in prison to his lover is very moving.
Jordan Cooper I hope that letter is included in the edition of Oscar Wilde’s works I got! I’ll check when I get home after class.
That’s cool about the Master and Margarita being on of Fry’s favorites! I hope it becomes one of mine as well!!
Connor O'Brien I hope so that letter is one of his best writings, Wilde’s life is an incredible and tragic story you should watch the movie where Stephen Fry plays him, it’s called Wilde. Really hope you like your classics Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of my favourites, great story about love and revenge. I really liked the Brothers Karamazov, great philosophical discussions in that. I had to listen to that on audiobook because I couldn’t get the names right haha. You are an awesome booktuber I can’t wait to hear your reviews on the classics 😁
Jordan Cooper The Letter is in it! After I read that and The Picture of Dorian Gray, I’ll seek out the film Wilde to see what it’s all about. Thank you for giving these recommendations! I probably would have put them off otherwise.
Connor O'Brien You’re welcome 😊 I hope his writings really speak and connect with you as he has done with so many people.
If you want a short work of Russian literature, read “Hadji Murad” by Leo Tolstoy
Ooo thank you! Did you like that one?
I hope you follow Jeans bookish thoughts if you like classics. Plus, Leanne Rose . Slap on the wrist for not knowing about Oscar Wilde with a surname like O'Brian.
Camus= Calm-moo
I do follow both of them! Lol shame on me for not even knowing why my last name should mean that I should know more about Oscar Wilde!
Connor O'Brien because he's Irish. I'm teasing you.
Jacqueline McMenamin Oh lol I thought maybe he had a main character names O’Brien in one of his works. 🤦🏻♂️ My name makes me seem more Irish than I actually am. I did the ancestry test and it turns out that my most recent non-American ancestors are all Scandinavian. Fun fact lol
You are so cute :)
Jane Austen's books are all comedies of manners so they're all generally really fun and light reads. She's one of my favorite authors so I definitely recommend her! Especially if you're wanting something easy between denser books.
Are you only interested in older classics right now or are you interested in modern classics too? If you are I'd highly recommend Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison or There Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston.
What is your favorite Austen novel? Or which do you think is the funniest?
I'm really open to any classics at this point, so thank you for the recommendations! They both sound so good! I think Bastard Out of Carolina might be really gripping. I'll keep my eye out for a copy!
My favorite is definitely Pride and Prejudice. I can pick up that book any time and it will make me smile because of her sarcasm and general sense of humor. Emma and and then Mansfield Park are also very funny. The only real outlier is Northanger Abbey but that's just because it was written before she'd figured out her voice and it's actually a satire of gothic literature, not a comedy of manners. It's hard to go wrong with her books, in my opinion, but I'll usually suggest Pride and Prejudice first simply because it's the most popular so the one you're most likely to enjoy.