So excited for your thoughts on all of these! Still need to choose my Flannery read. It was so odd seeing you hold up that Ivanhoe book! 😅 I don’t think it’s very Robinhood. Other than the obvious- knights, jousting, disinherited(?) … I clarified on the last vid, but 8 cousins (The Aunt Hill) is my favorite of Alcott’s children’s works. ❤ Little women will never be displaced. BTW - Rose in Bloom was much more Angsty and hence a bit of a letdown. I’m so excited for hunchback!!! I hope you really love Zora. Just read Betty’s JitM this year. It’s not as hard as ATGiB, but it’s lovely and hopeful. I’ll send you Nathan C. ❤ I don’t have Hannah.
Haha I was wondering if you would notice it was your copy of Ivanhoe 😜 a couple of people said it has some Robin Hood elements … guess I’ll report back 🤷🏻♀️ That’s really sweet of you to send me Nathan Coulter! I didn’t realize you had it. I know his fiction isn’t a favorite of yours. I’m fully anticipating LOVING Zora and 8 Cousins!
Adam Bede is AMAZING! You will love it, Tiffany! And I agree with you about Les Mis-I really enjoyed the hundreds of pages of philosophy, history, and socio-economic commentary! Also, the Nadia May audiobook for Wives and Daughters is truly glorious-I highly recommend it. I got through it in one month EASILY, it was addicting! And I got through Anna Karenina in one week, too-couldn’t put it down!! And I just finished Dombey and Son YESTERDAY!! It is a new all-time favourite Dickens, along with David Copperfield and Bleak House!!
Oh my goodness, that’s such great hype for Dombey and Son! It makes me even more excited! I’ll keep that Wives and Daughters audiobook in mind! I love hearing specific narrators that people love! Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one who actually enjoyed Hugo’s side tangents … and got through Anna K in a week 😂 I don’t think I’ve talked to anyone else who I had that in common with!
Fun times are ahead! I own a lot of these and some have made it onto my 2025 list too. BTW, if you're planning on participating in March of the Mammoths the prompt is to start a book over 800 pages long!
Oh, I was thinking it was over 500 pages for some reason! The other Eliots I read for past March of the Mammoths were barely over 800 pages, so I’m glad I didn’t accidentally cheat in past years 😂
@beautifulminutiae lol. It all worked out. The Big Book Summer challenge is books over 400pgs, so it would definitely work for that! Then again, I think it counts so long as some edition of the book is over 800pgs (aka mass market?)
What a good list! Thank-you for sharing your classics plan. I've never read Flannery O'Connor but your appreciation for her short stories makes me want to try reading some of her work. Like you - I enjoy George Eliot - I have "The Mill on the Floss" on my list for this year. I also liked "Eight Cousins" and "A Rose in Bloom" better than the March family trilogy - hope you enjoy them. "There Eyes were watching God" is truly good as is "Fahrenheit 451". My favorite of Mrs. Gaskell's novels by far is "Wives and Daughters". I enjoyed reading this book so much! Molly Gibson is a spunky protagonist - and - Squire Hamley is such a well developed - oh so human - and loveably flawed character. After I read the book - I watched the 1999 mini series. The script writer added the perfect ending. It looks like you will have an amazing year in classics. I am going to try to read Anthony Trollope for the first time this year. I also got a new translation of Dante's Divine Comedy and I am going to try to read all the way through this year - I've only read "The Inferno" and that was back in college. Like you - I want a Dicken's December - not sure which one yet - but you've inspired me to look at Dombey and Son. Have a lovely day. Your video was a nice thing to watch with breakfast.
Loved hearing all your thoughts! It sounds like you have some great plans this year as well! Flannery is dark, but she has really amazing insight into human nature, which is what I appreciate most about her.
I love that you take your time with classics ❤ I need to do this!!! I end up frustrated at times trying to sit down and read a classic in a short amount of time😂😂😂
I find it helps me a lot (especially with longer classics) to have some sort of a schedule that drags it out a bit. Sometimes it’s just one or two chapters a day and that makes it really manageable. Trying to rush through them almost never works for me (unless I’m absolutely enthralled with the plot and inhale it 😂).
What a fantastic list! I agree with you about Hugo's tangents: they are relevant to the story. Especially in The Hunchback. There is one thing that helped me with it before I went into it. I will be happy to share, but if you prefer to go in with no outside influence, I totally understand 😊 I will absolutely join you in October. Wives and Daughters is on my 50 before 50.
I’d be happy to hear what helped you with Hunchback! I feel like I can use all the help I can get 😂 I’ll put you down for Wives and Daughters! I’ll probably start a voxer chat for those who want to read that one together 😊
@beautifulminutiae Thank you! I was just thinking of reading along with you, but what you suggest is so much more fun. What helped me with The Hunchback was looking at the cathedral as a character. (The original title of the book in French was "Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482". The year fell off the title in later editions.) Hugo wrote that before the printing press, architecture was the main way to "write" history. There was an entire backstory that Hugo's contemporaries knew going into the book: Notre-Dame in the 1800s was deteriorating and badly needed restoration.
@@BorderCollieInALibrary That's really helpful to know going in! I actually love books where the setting or a specific building feels like a character, so viewing it that way will probably help me to enjoy it more.
The Count of Monte Cristo and Pride & Prejudice are on my list for 2025. I would like to read Dickens also but haven’t decided which one I want to read next.
I read Ivanhoe many years ago, but all I remember is that I enjoyed it! Ditto with Hunchback. Jack and Jill is my favorite of LMA's children's novels, love that one. I read Their Eyes Were Watching God and Fahrenheit 451 this year and loved both of them, in very different ways! I didn't love the MC in Their Eyes, but the actual writing was amazing. Wives and Daughters is great, but I love Elizabeth Gaskell.
Great list! I remember loving Joy in the Morning when I read it years ago. I read Fahrenheit 451 as a read aloud with my kids last year (as well as 1984) and it made for interesting discussions. I've owned Their Eyes were Watching God for a while and still haven't gotten to it. I've heard the audio is very good. I don't make TBRs, but my son is reading To Kill a Mockingbird for lit class so I'll read along with him. I haven't read it in many years.
I can see classic dystopian making for amazing conversation as read alouds! They’re so thought provoking! To Kill a Mockingbird is wonderful. Hope you enjoy it!
Fantastic list! Adam Bede = Amazing! Hunchback = Amazing! Dombey and Son = Amazing! Wendell Berry = Amazing! You'll have a fantastic reading year. I'd love to read Resurrection, too, if I can find a physical copy.
I really enjoyed Fahrenheit 451. The audiobook, which Bradbury narrated, was very well done. I read Resurrection and liked it. I like it more than Anna Karenina but less than War and Peace. I plan to read Dombey and Son in 2025 as well.
I didn’t realize he narrated it! That’s so cool. I’ll have to find that version. I’m anticipating liking Resurrection more than War and Peace, but that’s my least favorite Tolstoy 😂
I'm reading Dombey and Son and loving it. I have 200 pages left and trying to finish it by January 1st. I'm doing a Wendell Berry project in 2025 where I plan to read his novels, essays and letters.
Five of these are on my list this year too 😂 I'd love to read Adam Bede and Resurrection with you! I'm buddy reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Deea, so I'll pick it up whenever she decides to read it. I'm wanting to read Ivanhoe and Wives and Daughters this year too, but I'm not sure when I'm going to pick those up yet.
Fahrenheit 451 is absolutely wonderful. I read it earlier this year because it was on a banned book list here in Australia years ago for censorship - which is ironic considering that banning books is a type of censorship!
I don't have a prepared list of classics, except for a reread of Persuasion in January with Jen's Reading Life. But I do plan to participate in Jane Austen July, Shaketember and Victober.
Persuasion is so lovely! I participate in most of those readathons too! I’ve never officially participated in Shaketember, but I’m usually reading Shakespeare with my daughter in September, so it works out.
Bleak House & Woman in White are on plans if you need a buddy read. I want to read Woman in White on February because I heard it was a good winter book. 😊
@@ReadJournalLove currently planning to read Woman in White in Jan with Kelli and Courtney-I’m sure you could join if you want. I joined their planned Buddy read lol. I would love to Buddy read Bleak house. I may go at a slower pace though. Not sure until I get into it!
I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Hunchback and Fahrenheit 451! I really need to re-read Fahrenheit 451 myself, so I may join you.
I read Dombey and Son this year and liked it but my favourite Dickens so far is Our Mutual Friend. I think I'll be reading Bleak House in 2025, but that's not yet set in stone. I love Fahrenheit 451! It's my favourite Bradbury.
@@beautifulminutiae I didn't know that! Yes, I think it deserves more love for sure. I read it in 2023 and made so many annotations. The writing is phenomenal.
So excited for your thoughts on all of these! Still need to choose my Flannery read.
It was so odd seeing you hold up that Ivanhoe book! 😅 I don’t think it’s very Robinhood. Other than the obvious- knights, jousting, disinherited(?) …
I clarified on the last vid, but 8 cousins (The Aunt Hill) is my favorite of Alcott’s children’s works. ❤ Little women will never be displaced. BTW - Rose in Bloom was much more Angsty and hence a bit of a letdown.
I’m so excited for hunchback!!!
I hope you really love Zora.
Just read Betty’s JitM this year. It’s not as hard as ATGiB, but it’s lovely and hopeful.
I’ll send you Nathan C. ❤ I don’t have Hannah.
Haha I was wondering if you would notice it was your copy of Ivanhoe 😜 a couple of people said it has some Robin Hood elements … guess I’ll report back 🤷🏻♀️ That’s really sweet of you to send me Nathan Coulter! I didn’t realize you had it. I know his fiction isn’t a favorite of yours. I’m fully anticipating LOVING Zora and 8 Cousins!
Adam Bede is AMAZING! You will love it, Tiffany! And I agree with you about Les Mis-I really enjoyed the hundreds of pages of philosophy, history, and socio-economic commentary! Also, the Nadia May audiobook for Wives and Daughters is truly glorious-I highly recommend it. I got through it in one month EASILY, it was addicting! And I got through Anna Karenina in one week, too-couldn’t put it down!! And I just finished Dombey and Son YESTERDAY!! It is a new all-time favourite Dickens, along with David Copperfield and Bleak House!!
Darryl, we have the same favorite Dickens reads. 😊
@@Dinadoesyoga 😃
Oh my goodness, that’s such great hype for Dombey and Son! It makes me even more excited! I’ll keep that Wives and Daughters audiobook in mind! I love hearing specific narrators that people love!
Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one who actually enjoyed Hugo’s side tangents … and got through Anna K in a week 😂 I don’t think I’ve talked to anyone else who I had that in common with!
@@beautifulminutiae 😄😃
I did not love Adam Bede but many in the group i read with did. I liked his character tho.
I think it’s Stephanie’s favorite, so that makes me super excited to read it! It’ll be hard to top Daniel Deronda.
I LOVED a Good Man is Hard to Find and The River!!🎉🎉 I liked many of those in that collection.
I’m really looking forward to finally reading more Flannery!
Dombey and Son is so great, and so underrated.
I’m excited to see all the love for Dombey and Son in the comments! It’s not one I’d heard many people talk about.
OOOH definitely read Hannah Coulter - my very favorite.
I’ve heard several people say it’s their favorite!
Fun times are ahead! I own a lot of these and some have made it onto my 2025 list too. BTW, if you're planning on participating in March of the Mammoths the prompt is to start a book over 800 pages long!
Oh, I was thinking it was over 500 pages for some reason! The other Eliots I read for past March of the Mammoths were barely over 800 pages, so I’m glad I didn’t accidentally cheat in past years 😂
@beautifulminutiae lol. It all worked out. The Big Book Summer challenge is books over 400pgs, so it would definitely work for that! Then again, I think it counts so long as some edition of the book is over 800pgs (aka mass market?)
What a good list! Thank-you for sharing your classics plan. I've never read Flannery O'Connor but your appreciation for her short stories makes me want to try reading some of her work. Like you - I enjoy George Eliot - I have "The Mill on the Floss" on my list for this year. I also liked "Eight Cousins" and "A Rose in Bloom" better than the March family trilogy - hope you enjoy them. "There Eyes were watching God" is truly good as is "Fahrenheit 451". My favorite of Mrs. Gaskell's novels by far is "Wives and Daughters". I enjoyed reading this book so much! Molly Gibson is a spunky protagonist - and - Squire Hamley is such a well developed - oh so human - and loveably flawed character. After I read the book - I watched the 1999 mini series. The script writer added the perfect ending. It looks like you will have an amazing year in classics. I am going to try to read Anthony Trollope for the first time this year. I also got a new translation of Dante's Divine Comedy and I am going to try to read all the way through this year - I've only read "The Inferno" and that was back in college. Like you - I want a Dicken's December - not sure which one yet - but you've inspired me to look at Dombey and Son. Have a lovely day. Your video was a nice thing to watch with breakfast.
Loved hearing all your thoughts! It sounds like you have some great plans this year as well! Flannery is dark, but she has really amazing insight into human nature, which is what I appreciate most about her.
Bradbury - eEeeee‼️
Wives and Daughters 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻‼️
Domby in December❣️🤗
All the good stuff! I’m so excited!
I'm excited for your 2025 classics journey ❤
Me tooooooo!
I love that you take your time with classics ❤
I need to do this!!! I end up frustrated at times trying to sit down and read a classic in a short amount of time😂😂😂
I find it helps me a lot (especially with longer classics) to have some sort of a schedule that drags it out a bit. Sometimes it’s just one or two chapters a day and that makes it really manageable. Trying to rush through them almost never works for me (unless I’m absolutely enthralled with the plot and inhale it 😂).
Flannery…what a great name! Okay, FAHRENHEIT 451, I’m in!
I’ll put you down for that one! I’ll probably create a group on voxer for it when we get closer so we have a designated place to share our thoughts.
What a fantastic list!
I agree with you about Hugo's tangents: they are relevant to the story. Especially in The Hunchback. There is one thing that helped me with it before I went into it. I will be happy to share, but if you prefer to go in with no outside influence, I totally understand 😊
I will absolutely join you in October. Wives and Daughters is on my 50 before 50.
I’d be happy to hear what helped you with Hunchback! I feel like I can use all the help I can get 😂
I’ll put you down for Wives and Daughters! I’ll probably start a voxer chat for those who want to read that one together 😊
@beautifulminutiae Thank you! I was just thinking of reading along with you, but what you suggest is so much more fun.
What helped me with The Hunchback was looking at the cathedral as a character. (The original title of the book in French was "Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482". The year fell off the title in later editions.) Hugo wrote that before the printing press, architecture was the main way to "write" history.
There was an entire backstory that Hugo's contemporaries knew going into the book: Notre-Dame in the 1800s was deteriorating and badly needed restoration.
@@BorderCollieInALibrary That's really helpful to know going in! I actually love books where the setting or a specific building feels like a character, so viewing it that way will probably help me to enjoy it more.
I'm in for Resurrection for sure!! 🎉🎉🎉
Sweet! I’m really excited to read more Tolstoy!
The Count of Monte Cristo and Pride & Prejudice are on my list for 2025. I would like to read Dickens also but haven’t decided which one I want to read next.
Those are both wonderful choices! I love them both! I’ll be curious to hear which Dickens you choose!
I read Ivanhoe many years ago, but all I remember is that I enjoyed it! Ditto with Hunchback. Jack and Jill is my favorite of LMA's children's novels, love that one. I read Their Eyes Were Watching God and Fahrenheit 451 this year and loved both of them, in very different ways! I didn't love the MC in Their Eyes, but the actual writing was amazing. Wives and Daughters is great, but I love Elizabeth Gaskell.
I have Jack and Jill on my shelves, but it's one I haven't gotten to yet! Loved hearing your thoughts on all of these books you've read!
Well, well, well, look at me reading with you in Feb, possibly Mar, May, June, Sept & Dec. 💜🥳
Haha I had a feeling you’d be jumping on a lot of these!
Ivanhoe does in fact incorporate the legend of Robin Hood within the narrative. It is set during the time Richard the Lionheart and Prince John.
Oh, cool! I was hoping I didn’t just make that up 😂
Great list! I remember loving Joy in the Morning when I read it years ago.
I read Fahrenheit 451 as a read aloud with my kids last year (as well as 1984) and it made for interesting discussions.
I've owned Their Eyes were Watching God for a while and still haven't gotten to it. I've heard the audio is very good.
I don't make TBRs, but my son is reading To Kill a Mockingbird for lit class so I'll read along with him. I haven't read it in many years.
I can see classic dystopian making for amazing conversation as read alouds! They’re so thought provoking! To Kill a Mockingbird is wonderful. Hope you enjoy it!
I need to read Hunchback, too, and it's so timely with the re-opening after restoration of the Cathedral
Oh yes, it's the perfect timing!
Fantastic list! Adam Bede = Amazing! Hunchback = Amazing! Dombey and Son = Amazing! Wendell Berry = Amazing! You'll have a fantastic reading year. I'd love to read Resurrection, too, if I can find a physical copy.
I love your enthusiasm for so many of these! I’m really excited to dive in! Let me know if you get a copy of Resurrection! I’d love to read with you.
You’ll love F41…so much more than banned books. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it!
I’m really excited to read it! I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Bradbury over the last couple of years.
For Hunchback- you may want to skip part three- like 100 pages of description of architecture!
Haha good to know what part it’s in! I’ll give it a try, but I’ll skip if I need to 😂
I really enjoyed Fahrenheit 451. The audiobook, which Bradbury narrated, was very well done.
I read Resurrection and liked it. I like it more than Anna Karenina but less than War and Peace.
I plan to read Dombey and Son in 2025 as well.
I didn’t realize he narrated it! That’s so cool. I’ll have to find that version.
I’m anticipating liking Resurrection more than War and Peace, but that’s my least favorite Tolstoy 😂
@beautifulminutiae I find that so interesting. War and Peace is one that I've thought about a lot since first reading it.
@@CourtneyReads I did still enjoy it, but it didn't have the same impact on me that Anna K and Ivan Ilyich did
@@beautifulminutiae I've not read Ivan Ilych yet. Anna Karenina is one I don't know I will reread.
I'm reading Dombey and Son and loving it. I have 200 pages left and trying to finish it by January 1st. I'm doing a Wendell Berry project in 2025 where I plan to read his novels, essays and letters.
I'm so happy to hear you love Dombey and Son! Good luck on your Wendell Berry project! That sounds lovely.
I'm planning to read Adam Bede and Dombey & Son in 2025, too. 😊😊😊
Look at us, twinning!
I read Eight Cousins and really loved it looking forward to reread it before reading the second one
I’m glad to hear you loved it! I think I will too!
Five of these are on my list this year too 😂 I'd love to read Adam Bede and Resurrection with you!
I'm buddy reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Deea, so I'll pick it up whenever she decides to read it. I'm wanting to read Ivanhoe and Wives and Daughters this year too, but I'm not sure when I'm going to pick those up yet.
I’d love to read those books with you! I’ll make sure I put you down! It’s funny how many of our classics lined up!
Fahrenheit 451 is absolutely wonderful. I read it earlier this year because it was on a banned book list here in Australia years ago for censorship - which is ironic considering that banning books is a type of censorship!
Haha the irony of banning Fahrenheit 451 🤦🏻♀️😂
I don't have a prepared list of classics, except for a reread of Persuasion in January with Jen's Reading Life. But I do plan to participate in Jane Austen July, Shaketember and Victober.
Persuasion is so lovely! I participate in most of those readathons too! I’ve never officially participated in Shaketember, but I’m usually reading Shakespeare with my daughter in September, so it works out.
I enjoyed watching! I’m looking forward to reading more classics this new year. Planning to read Bleak House, Woman in White, & hopefully many more!
Bleak House & Woman in White are on plans if you need a buddy read. I want to read Woman in White on February because I heard it was a good winter book. 😊
Woman is White is FANTASTIC! It’s long, but it moves really quickly.
@@ReadJournalLove currently planning to read Woman in White in Jan with Kelli and Courtney-I’m sure you could join if you want. I joined their planned Buddy read lol. I would love to Buddy read Bleak house. I may go at a slower pace though. Not sure until I get into it!
NATHAN COULTER 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Knew you’d be excited about that one 😜
I've seen a TV series of 'Ivanhoe' I really enjoyed it, I must read the novel!
Ooo, I didn’t know there was a tv series!
@@beautifulminutiae I think there's been several, Ciaran Hinds was the villain in the '97 series.
I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Hunchback and Fahrenheit 451! I really need to re-read Fahrenheit 451 myself, so I may join you.
I'd love to have you for Fahrenheit 451! Deea and I are reading that one together!
I read Dombey and Son this year and liked it but my favourite Dickens so far is Our Mutual Friend. I think I'll be reading Bleak House in 2025, but that's not yet set in stone. I love Fahrenheit 451! It's my favourite Bradbury.
Our Mutual Friend is my all time favorite too! I don't hear other people saying that, so your comment was quite exciting 😁
@@beautifulminutiae I didn't know that! Yes, I think it deserves more love for sure. I read it in 2023 and made so many annotations. The writing is phenomenal.
Do not read dystopian in an election year is actually a really great rule. 😂😂
Hahaha please learn from my mistakes!