Classic Lit. - The Ultimate Beginners Guide! (tips and recommendations) 2021
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มิ.ย. 2024
- Dear Class ;)
Welcome to "Classic Literature 101" I am your professor CarolynMarieReads! Thank you so much for choosing my class this semester! In this course we will be approaching classics as beginners, finding ways to make them more accessible, and hopefully choosing the perfect classic for each of you!
Can't keep a straight face. Starts laughing!
Hello friends!
I hope you're all well!
Today I bring you an updated "beginner's guide to classics" video! This is my ultimate guide to approaching classic literature, which I've developed over the past few years while on my own classics reading journey. These are tips, tricks, and recommendations, that I hope will help you just as they've helped me!
I hope you find this helpful and get a few recommendations that sound interesting to each of your different tastes!
There are so many things I love about being a reader of classics, the memes, to name one ;P and of course the wonderful community we have here online! I'd love to hear from you, so feel free to comment some of your own recommendations and ask any questions you may have!
Best wishes,
Carolyn Marie :)
***Check out curated lists of my recent reads and all time favorite books in my Amazon Storefront - www.amazon.com/shop/carolynma...
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**Please don't feel like you need to send me anything, but if you'd like to I would be honored!!!** :)
***About me -
I just graduated from college at the Fashion Institute of Technology with my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in English/Writing.
My greatest passion in life is combining my two loves, literature and art!
Happy Reading :)
#classicliterature #classicscommunity #classicbooks - บันเทิง
Carolyn: classic lit for beginners
Me, who's been reading classics for most of their life: HECK YEAH
Hahaha love this! 🤣
"All you have to do to be a classics reader is pick up an old book, and read it." Fantastic!
Excellent lecture. I am a retired teacher (30+ yrs.) and I so enjoyed listening to your enthusiastic promotion of classic literature. I know you are a fabulous illustrator and lover of classics. However, you'd be a great teacher! By the way, read Homer's Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson; it's and excellent translation with an informative introduction by Ms. Wilson. It’s easy to read. I love all you videos and am a happy subscriber! Thanks Carolyn!
Thank you so much for your very kind words!
I've heard the Emily Wilson translation is amazing! I'll definitely read it from that translation at some point!
Thank you in return Adrienne! 😁
i definitely agree that anyone can pick up any “old book” and read it. there are no prerequisites for reading classics! i jumped right in with crime and punishment last year and loved it. great tips and fantastic recommendations, professor carolyn! 👍
Exactly! I'm so glad to hear that!
Thank you for attending! 😁
honestly being a non native english speaker makes it much more difficult for me lol
@@whoknowsvee sameeee 😭😭😭 I struggle so much, even tho I want to read them in English I know that I wouldn’t fully understand it =( so I mostly stuck w my native language
jane eyre is what got me really into reading classics, i think it's a great place to start! or a room with a view by forster 🥰
Me too! I love that we both wouldn't be the readers we are today without Jane Eyre! Makes my heart happy! ❤
I think some people are afraid of classics because they had to read them when they were in school so it wasn't a personal choice and nowadays because of booktube and bookstagram, most channels are about YA and fantasy books . There are few readers who promote classics on their videos.
Agree
Yes, exactly! Thank goodness for the book community!
Classics deserve all the love!
As someone whose just gotten into reading classic lit, this is going to be insanely helpful. Thank you for making this video!
I'm so glad! It's my pleasure! 😁
I started my classics journey as a kid with Jules Verne. I still remember the way journey to the centre of the earth and around the world in eighty days made my imagination soar as a preteen and I’ve never stopped loving the dusty doors and fantastical portals an old book can open for me to this day.
You know what you call a channel like this, "Seriously Underrated." I just love that you talk classics almost exclusively! It makes me so happy! I'm ready for class, Carolyn. I have my No.2 pencils and notebooks all set to go.
Aw thank you so much! Classics definitely deserve more love!
Thank you for coming to class well prepared! 😏
one of my first classics was The Count of Monte Cristo so now nothing really scares me 😂😂
Wow! That's one way to concur big book fears! 😆
A class where everyone is on time - I can already tell that this is a fantasy
I’m not new to classic literature but I really enjoyed this. What got me into classics was a fabulous English teacher I had in high school who taught World Literature. This is where I fell in love with Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. I am thankful to this day for having him as a teacher. It was such a blessing. I’ve been collecting the Penguin Classic Clothbounds because of your videos. I now have 21 and have begun many rereads. Like you I don’t read from those editions but enjoy them on my bookshelves, I have other ebooks and trade pbs of the same novels. Truly there is nothing like a Classic in my opinion.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Aw that's wonderful! Teachers really do play such important roles in our lives! There are quite a few teachers that I'm also very thankful for too!
Yay cloth bounds!
I completely agree 😄
Yevgeny Zamyatin’s “We” is probably my favourite dystopian sci-fi classic. He gets overlooked because a lot of his work was suppressed by the Soviet regime but this book is fantastic. He plays with the concepts of knowledge and reality so effectively and I found it more interesting than 1984.
I was going to recommend this book! I recently discovered it and you’re right, it’s among the more obscure classics
"We" has been on my list for a bit now, especially since I've been reading much more Russian lit.!
It sounds like an incredible read!
Thank you for the recommendation!
When you said you didn’t love Frankenstein that really helped me out. I read 1984 and didn’t like it at all but I went online and saw everyone saying how much they loved it and that it got them into classics and made them realize why they wanted to study literature. This really discouraged me because I started to think all these other classics that had great reviews I probably wouldn’t like so maybe I shouldn’t read them at all. But hearing you say it is okay to not like one book or a classic everyone else likes really lifted my spirits. This was a great video, thanks!
Hey the online people you're talking about. Is that jack Edwards? 👀😁
@@manjumoond568 yes 💀💀
@@brookep17 I knew it!!🤧👀🤝
The thing about classics (or just books in general) is that everyone will have that one widely renowned book that they just don't like. For me it was the Count of Monte cristo, and that book put me off classics for awhile, I thought I might be too dumb or not well read enough to enjoy older literature.
Fast forward a few years later and I'm burning through books like crime and punishment in under a week.
The great thing about stories and media, is that those pieces of art speak to each of us differently depending on a multitude of personal reasons.
Sorry for the ramble, but yeah just wanted to solidify your statement that you can dislike something like 1984 but still love classics :)
Audible has a bunch of Jane Austen novels narrated by Rosamund Pike and I seriously recommend! That was how I approached Pride and Prejudice for the first time!
My enemies to lovers "book" but actually a play is always Much Ado About Nothing. It has almost ruined every other romance for me. Benedick and Beatrice are so real in their motives, but they play off eachother so hilariously, and the circumstances that bring them together are so absurd but tonally fitting. Even the bard himself knew when to throw out the high prose and let Benedick happily scream that he'll be "horribly in love!"
I LOVE “The Old man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway, and it’s very short!!!☺️
"Best thing about classic literature is the memes" 😂
Well said👏
Totally agree 😃
Facts
Most people find it hard to follow a classic because they had such a command of the English language! But if someone goes slowly and give it a chance the profound and powerful prose is so rewarding
Omg I love how you address some of the obstacles when getting into classical literature for the first time like assuming it's only for smart people! My English grades weren't good for a long time and because of that, I was scared to read certain books and often felt left out and dumb when my smart friends raved about Oscar Wilde etc. But, then I had a wonderful teacher in my senior years who had the same type of mindset as you do and who didn't get mad if I was reading a children's classic. Honestly, it's people like that teacher and you that fuels my love for classics and books in general now! Lovely video~
As someone who is passionate about history I love classics because they tell a lot about the context they were written in. Don Quixote (one of my first classics) was great for that. Nice video.
Classics do possess wonderful moments that capture in a sentence or a paragraph the essence of what it means to be human.In fact while reading Nicholas Nickleby,I had to put down the book at one such part in utter admiration for the author.Thank you professor for this charming lecture!
Yes, indeed!
Thank you for attending!
The Yellow Wallpaper is such a great book! Yesss love Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights
Growing up, I never encountered anything or anyone who made me think that classics can be intimidating or a special kind of books that would need mental preparation. I guess I was just too ignorant to be daunted. lol As a pre-teen, I just kept reading these titles and authors in encyclopedias (yes, I grew up with them at home) and I thought, wow these must really be good books if they're still being read by people. So, I just picked whatever classic books I could find and read them. Sir Walter Scott, Bronte, Austen, Hardy, etc.
I was a kid in a time and place where YA books were not that ubiquitous so I never really had the chance to read a lot of YA books. I transitioned from children's books to classics as I was entering my teens so that influenced my taste in fiction as an adult. I mostly read classics and science fiction for fiction works; as for non-fiction, my interests are considerably more expansive.
I love classics!! AlI genres. All my life. But there were authors that I thought that I 'didn't like'. I was really inspired by the debate. I have given up on Dickens after A tale of two cities. Thanks to you I went back and right now I'm enjoying his work. I'm going to apply these advices for russians authors. I've try them but is really hard for me. Amazing video!!!!🤗❤
Yes! So glad you were inspired by the debate, and that you're enjoying Dickens!
I hope this helps with your Russian reading journey
Thank you for attending! 😁
I started with The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 2 years because I wanted to be a better ally and I enjoyed reading it so much that it got me back into reading, so I followed it with The Bell Jar and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
"The best thing about reading classics is the memes." LOL, wasn't expecting that! Great video!
Other people: You have to be smart to read classics.
Me who reads primarily classics: Well you haven't met me...
ahh im so glad you posted this! I'm currently in college as an English major but I've been reading mostly ya for my entire life, so I'm having trouble adjusting to all the classical literature I've been having to read for my classes. thank you for this!!
Oh wow! That's very understandable! I truly hope this helped, and I wish you the best of luck with your studies!
Thank you for attending! 😋
Andy Serkis does a great job narrating "The Screwtape Letters" as well.
I just watched your first classic novels guidance. OMG so glad to see this update!
I love this “professor” plz gather more classes for us!!!
@@lydia3328 Planning my next class asap! Thank you for attending! 😋
@@CarolynMarieReads I’m always ready for the next meeting professor🥰
"one of the best things about classics is the memes" hahahaha yes, i agree!
I wholeheartedly recommend Journey by Midnight by Antal Szerb! It's a Hungarian classic written in the 30s, so the language isn't as archaic and it's easy to understand. It takes place in various different Italian cities and Paris, the atmosphere of this book is absolutely magical❤
My day was made when I found Anna Karenina The Barnes and Nobles Classics edition, at my local library for $1. It’s been the first book on my TBR for this year and I’ve been avoiding it. Well no more , diving right in. 😊
When the title says "Ultimate" you have showed me that it is the ultimate guide for reading classic lit. I'm so in love with your energy, I'm new here and I have already watched a few of your videos and so far all of them have been so entertaining and helpful. This is truly great, I thought this video would only recommend me some classics but this one exceeds that. This video is indeed an in depth introduction to the classic literature, the authors around it, and the inspirations of each genres. Thank you for your great efforts in putting this one out!
carolyn, i just had to let you know i am smiling so hard hahaha, i’m 2.5 min in to this video and it’s your funniest yet, thank you for this 👏👏💗💗
I'm so glad! Thank you for attending! 😋
Oh my god!!!! I'm so happy for this updated new Beginners video. This is just what I wanted 😁😁😁😁
So glad! 😄
The thing about classics (in my experience) is that it only takes one book to make you a classic reader. I read Anna of The Five Towns and was astonished that it could be a page-turner while portraying a somewhat mundane life about class in a small town. Before that, I always thought classics are dull and boring. Like, holly hell, classics are so cool. Then I read Where Angels Fear To Tread by E.M. Forster and found a reflection of myself in Philip Herriton. And since then, I became an avid classics reader. It blows my mind how these "old books" could be so impactful. Also, I couldn't agree more with the cultural references and memes thing! Shakespearean memes are especially my favourite :)
And thank you for the heartfelt and brilliant lecture! Listening to other classic readers gush about their love for classics is my favourite :))
Such an amazing video as usual. Thank you so much for this advice Carolyn! A Beginners Guide to Russian Literature would be incredible :D
When you mentioned The Outsiders, I got so excited because that is my favourite book ever!
Speaking of expectations, with great trepidation, I read Great Expectations and was astounded by the author's sense of humor! It didn't take long before the trepidation evaporated. Thank you SO much for this channel! See you soon.
This was a fantastic idea and I really appreciated it. Wanted to get into classic but was scared to but you have made it sound so great, that I will be reading a classic from your list. Thank you again.
I'm so glad! Thank you for attending!
I hope you enjoy whichever classic you decide to read!
My pleasure! Thank you in return!
This was so gorgeous, the way you acted like in university, so gorgeous!! You have a really calming voice, I loved this videos!! Last week I finally ordered an Ernest Hemingway Portrait from your etsy shop and its already on its way to Germany, Im really looking forward to receiving it. Thank you so much for selling them!! Love from Germany
Thank you so much!
I hope your Ernest portrait arrives soon! Thank you for supporting me and my artwork!
Love from New York! 😁
I love your channel Carolyn! And the BBC’s war & peace (2016) absolutely rules my life, and has since I first watched it, and made me want to read the book. I do find it so intimidating but your channel is helping me become more comfortable with getting to it!
are BBC production available on youtube?
Such a great video! I have read a good share of classics, but I always enjoy watching other people's videos about them :) And I wasn't a big fan of Eugene Onegin in high school when I read it, but I have seen the opera and enjoyed it. Definitely want to reread the book, since I've read it half a life ago LOL. I also really like your personality, keep up with all the good content :)
YESS, i love classics but booktube doesn’t talk about them enough!
Thank you, really enjoying this community of readers :)
I am excited to find your channel as we are in classical conversations for my two kids and they have a deep emphasis on history and classics:)
Your AMAZING Carolyn...Love ALL your videos..Im new to this whole reading thing...LOL...Im learning so much ...your such a FAB teacher...No joke !!.looking forward to learning more as you grow your channel.....Thank you for all your hard work Carolyn...Todd...:)
Thanks so much! 😁
Would love to see a Russian classics version of this! My classics recommendation is probably East of Eden by John Steinbeck but want to do a deep dive on Russian classics next
So glad! Will start planning it soon!
I actually haven't read East of Eden yet, but hoping to get to it soon!
Best of luck with your Russian lit. deep dive!
Adore the history:)
And the earlier I hear a book was written the more of a feeling happens within my chest. Oh my 💗
I shall very much look forward to delving into number 8
Yes! I completely understand! 😄
Omg, i loved this! Thank you so much for posting this video, it was extremely useful!!!👏🏻
I'm so glad! Thank you for attending!
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you so very much for shedding some light on the classics and your wonderful recommendations.
Congratulations for your fantastic work! All those suggestions are amazing classics, but if I may add, try to bring more non-english spoken literature options, because it seems most of the greatest classics are english, american and russian. Consider the french, the italian, the brazilian, the portuguese, the german, and you'll have a second video!! Keep going the great work!
I did the same with Pride and Prejudice. So I 100% agree on watching an adaptation first. I also did this for Dracula.
I've been so intimidated by Russian classics, I've never read a single one. I'll try to incorporate these tips and try to tackle crime and punishment.
I wonder if reading retellings like Song of Achilles or Circe would help in reading the Iliad and the Odyssey.
So glad you agree!
Russian classics are incredible! I'd also recommend starting with some short Russian classics like White Nights by Dostoyevsky or First love by Turgenev!
I've read and loved the Song of Achilles and Circe! They both definitely made me want to read the Odyssey much more!
@@CarolynMarieReads Ooh, I'll definitely note those down! Thank you.
YOU ARE PRECIOUS PLEASE 😭😭
Aw hahaha thank you! 😄
After all these years of reading Russian (and Soviet) Literature, these are my picks for the best...." Quiet Flows the Don" Mikhail Sholokhov novel..."The Storm" Aleksandr Ostrovsky play....."The Cossacks" Leo Tolstoy short novel...& "The Lady With the Little Dog" Anton Chekhov short story (recommendations).
Amazing video! Thank you! The thing is I find it sometimes difficult to cope with the massive amount of classics there are, usually I tell myself I should focus on enjoying them, yet I still struggle from time to time...I will check the Penguin black collection, seems very interesting!!
Thank you for all!!
Greetings from Spain!
Thank you so much for your excellent reviews. I enjoy your enthusiasm and your excellent sense of humor. I am 82 years old and recently cut cable. I enjoy you so much more than anything the commercial world can offer. I recently (the last decade) started reading Russian writers.
I agree with many of your viewpoints. Like seeing a movie can enrich the classics. Peter Fonda spectacles as Pierre and then another Pierre comes along. I'm still wondering what happened to that daughter that enjoyed science along with her father. I think she could be a book in her own right.
Best wishes in your life and Thanx!
I do love to read more classics now thanks for the help
Me, an avid classic literature reader: Write that down! Write that down!
As a classics lover i 100% agree with the recs!
the book that made me love classics was frankenstein!
A video on poetry alone.....pls
👀🙌
Noted! 😁
This is my 1st video of you I'm watching and I thought this is just a thing you do, talking to us like a teacher. But then you burst out laughing and I did too 🤣🤣 so funny seriously
My first classic was Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Awesome video Carolyn! The book that got me into classics was The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy!
Thank you Chris!
Can't go wrong with Tolstoy!
I love that story, and often I listen to Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata in the morning.
Excellente video! I am Brazilian and I love Brazilian classical Literature. Thanks a lot for the suggestions!
Thank you for this video! I adore classical literature! The only problem is, after reading so many well written books, it's hard to read modern books that may have a plot that I am very interested in but are not well written. It's frustrating sometimes!!
I love classic literature discussion.
Thank you ! You and *e.m.m.i.e* have encouraged me a lot to read classic english literature. Thks.
Very compelling. I'm now inspired to give this a go this summer. Many thanks!
" Even if you don't like a classic and you've a copy of it , you've a beautiful book" HAHAHAHAH !
Amazing amazing video ! 😘
omg i was just searching for a guide like this and your video came up in my feed!
Perfect! I hope it helped!
@@CarolynMarieReads it really did! english is not my native language so the tips are very helpful
I wrote my thesis on the similarities between Lilith by George MacDonald and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis :)
For me classic books are more interesting to read.I think bcoz i developed this hobby growing up,i used to borrow books from book rental which is not existed anymore today.I already read wuthering heights,adam bede, Sidney Sheldon Novels, i ever read pride and prejudice and many more.Today i really like reading Pearl S.Buck novels.I'm 38 years now but i have a difficult reading contemporary books.And language is not a problem bcoz those books had been into Indonesia.Really like your video.Greetings from Indonesia.🙏
the automatically generated subtitles keep writing "tolstoy" as "toaster" and i just can't stop laughing
This is amazing. Thank you so much!!
You can babble on all you like because its all good stuff.Well done!
I'm so excitedddd for this video
😁
Can u pls make videos on art history, educate us about forms of art n how it evolved and all??🥺I really love your vids n the way u express...❤❤❤❤
I had to get the audiobook of The Brothers Karamazov. I struggled with that book not gonna lie. But the Audiobook helped me a ton!
wishing u well miss carolyn!! ♥️
You as well!
This is just the best… thank you for this
Thank you for attending! 😁
I love this video and your amazing channel please stay safe and enjoy your reading love your intro xx
😁
Some mystery classics that I would recommend The Maltese Falcon by DeMill, and of corse Sherlock Holmes. Thanks so much for sharing your tips, the big books intimidate me still. I think Jane Eyre is the book that got me started.
Thank you for the recommendations!
Big books intimidate me too! hahaha
Yes! Jane Eyre was the classic that got me started too! 😁
Love this!!😂
You´re amazing. Thank you for this video.
Thank you!
This inspired me, and I've just ordered The Portrait of Dorian Gray and David Copperfield, both as Penguin Clothbound Classics! Thank you! 🙏
Great video, thanks for that. Somehow you remind me of Meg Ryan's character in 'You've Got Mail'.
Thanks! That’s one of my favorites!
Omg!! Prof Carolyn is sweet but intimidating. 🤪 I like The friend Carolyn .. so natural!! 😍
hahaha 😄
Hey Carolyn, I just found you today- and have really enjoyed the couple videos I've had time to watch! By happenstance, I just did a bit of a Tolstoy/Dostoevsky deep dive and then realized that it may be time that I give Dickens a second chance (I narrowly avoided falling into a coma on a previous attempt at David Copperfield). I had no idea that this is apparently the hip transition to make.
Anyways, I have a question. I'm embarrassingly and perhaps even offensively under-read when it comes to female authors in general (at least as far as "classics" are concerned). I just ordered Pride and Prejudice which seems to be a logical start. Which female authors and books more specifically would make for a good launching off point?
I should mention that I ambitiously read Little Women when I was in the 4th grade as it was worth the most points for some scholastic something or other. I was, and am still, scarred from the experience. I am 33. This may or may not be relevant.
Thank you. :)
You’re simply amazing 🥰
I discovered your channel last night and I've been binge watching your videos the whole afternoon. Thank you for your advise. If you haven't, I would recommend you to read the Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. This book contributed ending the Soviet Union.
Welcome! So happy to hear you’ve been enjoying my videos, and thank you for the wonderful recommendation! :)
Your voice is so soothing! I loved loved this video❤
Amazing video!
I love this
💖💖💖 wonderful!!! funny!!! brilliant amazing!!!
😁😁😁
Yes,she is an enthusiast and charming too.
I used to read mainly classics until I discovered the internet book community and then I started reading contemporary fiction instead and now I'm weirdly intimidated by classics and I really don't understand why because almost all of my favourite books are classics and it's so frustrating😭😭
That's completely understandable!
I'm sure you'll fall right back into loving them once you start reading classics again!
Hi Carolyn, thank you so much for the video and the other materials - I just skimmed over your Google Doc, and noticed one little mistake: “Little Women (and Good Wives)" was, as far as I know, written by Louisa May Alcott, not L. M. Montgomery. Maybe you could just correct that, so as to not confuse others :)