12 Classic Books I Want to Read in 2021
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- This is the fifth year of making a list of priority list of classics for myself! These are the twelve books I absolutely want to read in 2021.
-Makeup-
Eyeshadow: colourpop.com/...
Lip color: amzn.to/3oSdIoF
-Booktubers Mentioned-
Jen @jenvcampbell : • Let's Talk | Villains ...
Steve @saintdonoghue : • Your Daily Penguin: Co...
Elena @elenareadsbooks88 : • Review: The Count Of M...
-Previous Years’ Lists-
2020: • 12 Classic Books I Wan...
2019: • 12 Classic Books I Wan...
2018: • 12 Classic Books I Wan...
2017: • 12 Classic Books I'm R...
-Books Mentioned-
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton: amzn.to/3lGh38h
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott: amzn.to/3gbDGAj
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell: amzn.to/3okndwm
Ovid’s Metamorphoses: amzn.to/3quhmqj
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte: amzn.to/37AHPJK
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo: amzn.to/36L2yvz
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: amzn.to/2VDKDAr
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain: amzn.to/2VHXNwA
Adam Bede by George Eliot: amzn.to/2JOqhlt
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: amzn.to/33Hf0dV
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales by Washington Irving: amzn.to/3okpcki
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote: amzn.to/37keYeI
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I recommend The Count of Monte Cristo to literally everyone especially people who say ‘I dont like classics’ because its so well plotted and its hard not to be swept up in the adventure. I hope you enjoy it!
It was my first classic and that began my love affair with them.❤️
I read the count of monte cristo in this quarantine times. It's the best book with a read in this times!!!
The Count is a spiffing book and it does my heart good to know there are others out there trying to get others to rummage amongst its pages. 👏 👏
I am going to be rereading it in February. It may be nearly a 1000 pages long but boy does it fly by, what?
Keep up the good work. ❤🎩😃
@@nikkivenable3700 What a book to start with. Like you, the Count really got me going too. Any other classic authors you like? 🎩❤😃
The Count of Monte Cristo will always have a special place in my heart. When I was in college I was struggling to get into reading anything for fun, and would pick up books, start them and never finish them. I went into my favourite book store and asked an employee for a recommendation to get me back into reading, and was suggested this classic. I was hesitant, but I picked it up. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!! It reignited my love of reading, and am so thankful for that. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it when you check it out! Also, cute lipstick! :)
Monte Cristo must be a really special something considering how much everyone loves it - even just in this comments section! I'm so excited to read it!
I say! This is a tip top set of books. The Count of MC is the bees knees. Adam Bede, if one takes the time to pause a tad an look, has the devil of a depth to it. Cold Comfort Farm is one of the most charming tonics for the heart one is likely to find.
I look forward to your reaction to all of these goodies. Happy reading.😃❤🎩
A great list. Just finished Ethan Frome - a great novella. So much content in 144
pages. Edith Wharton is an exceptional writer.
I really want to read this one!
I certainly agree with that! I'm really looking forward to Ethan Frome.
The Count of Monte Cristo is my all time favorite book!
This might be the most hyped I've ever been about a classic, seeing how much everyone loves it!!
Its a deuced hard thing to pick an all-timer, but I am definitely on the side of anyone who espouses The Count as the top dog. Fantastic book that just whizzes past.🎩❤😃
@@abookolive It really is the cat's pyjamas. The Count may weigh in at 1000 pages, or thereabouts, but great Scott it rattles past quicker than a bus that one has just missed.😃❤🎩
Same
The count of Monte Cristo is on my Classics list for 2021 too. I'm actually so excited to get it started that I might even pick it up during my Christmas holiday 😊❤️
This is definitely a great time of year to get sucked into a big book - I say go for it!!
I agree about Edith Wharton, years ago I tried to read every book written by one of my favorite authors, she was one. I also became involved with MFK Fisher and read all of her books.
I'd recommend that you read Ethan Frome in the winter, as the cold and snow are a big part of the story
I will absolutely do that - it actually lines up with my plans rather perfectly!
Excellent suggestion. All that snow gives it quite the claustrophobic aura, what? It also lowers the room temperature at least 2 degrees. 🎩😃❤
The count of Monte Cristo is definitely worth it. I read that in highschool and I remember it being so good!
omg! I love Edith Wharton and I've never understood why she isn't mentioned much on booktube. I've only read three of her books, but the Age of Innocence, which I read in high school, is the reason that I continued reading real literature. Although I must say, Ethan Frome did not have that magic, but it was still a good read.
Ethan Frome!! I had to read it in the 8th grade and was never so impacted by required reading before. I think this book along with the ancient greek classics I had to read around that age made me love classics :)
Wharton in 8th grade?! That is seriously impressive!
Great list. I liked Ethan Fromme. I know many don’t and it is different in that Edith Wharton is not writing about upper society as in her other novels. But I found the writing to be fantastic, which led me to her other novels. Age of Innocence is my favorite. Also, Cold Comfort Farm is hysterical.
I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo and I'm in love. I'm already wanting a reread. I can't get over how much I loved it.
Wow!!!! You are making me want to pull it off of my shelf right now lol
@@lameshahale2990 it's just so good!
I LOVE Ovid's Metamorphoses, one of my all time favorites. I think Spring is a great time of year to read it, I hope you enjoy it!
Wonderful, thank you! 😀
Ethan Frome is wonderful. I strongly recommend that you read it in a winter month.
Will do - that actually lines up *perfectly* with my plans!
I'm reading Middlemarch right now, and I'm really enjoying it! I also have North and South on my 2021 TBR list.
Great list! I haven't read any Gaskell other than The Life of Charlotte Bronte, so I just bought an old Penguin copy of Cranford to read in the new year. I'm also planning to move forwards with my Trollope reads and hopefully get back to Dickens.
Ethan Frome is lesser Wharton for me. The Age of Innocence remains one of my favourite reading experiences ever.
In Cold Blood is something different all together. It's one of those books that changed the whole way I read.
I love the ambition here. I can barely plan what I'm going to read next week, let alone next October. I look forward to hearing your reactions when you reach each of these marvelous books.
Girl I love your makeup today 😘🥰 It's a very soft look for you 😊
She looks great in this look.
Why, thank you! ♥
I would also like to read The Count of Monte Cristo... I hadn’t read The Three Musketeers until this year and I loved it! I was completely surprised at just how much humor this tale held. I’m anxious to hear your thoughts on The Count! Happy New Year, Olive! 🥂
Oh my goodness, I'm soooo EXCITED that you'll pick up The Count of mMonte Cristo! It was my favorite book of 2020 for sure! I'm also thinking I should give Shirley another try as well.... great video!!!
oh you're going to love Cold Comfort Farm!
I think you're right about that! 😁
Les Mis is my favorite classic! I hope you enjoy Victor Hugo!
Thank you! One day I'll take on Les Mis - I'm not sure I would have been brave enough to make that book my very first Hugo!
Fabulous list! I will also be reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame as my first Victor Hugo next year. I'm particularly eager to hear your thoughts on Shirley and In Cold Blood.
Wow same here. I didn't study literature as an undergrad (elementary ed.) but through the years realized love literature especially Victorian Lit.💗
Considering getting my Masters in British/American Literature.
Great video!
Ethan Frome and In Cold Blood are both chilling and so so good. Enjoy!
Such a lovely list, Olive! I'm so excited that you're reading Adam Bede! btw - my book club will be discussing it in February on Zoom if you were interested in joining.
Oh, I would absolutely love to join in! Let me know the details when you have spare moment - thank you so much for the invite ♥
I just recently read Edith Wharton's autobiography A Backward Glance and really enjoyed it. No huge revelations but really nice to just be in her head. Middlemarch and The Count of Monte Cristo are on my classics list for 2021.
I own that biography! I must get around to reading it soon...
Ivanhoe surprised me by how good it was when we read through it a few years ago. I hope you will end up enjoying it just as much!
Oh, that's wonderful news! It's definitely different than the classics I typically pick up, but that's probably a good thing! Getting out of my comfort zone a little bit.
In Cold Blood was excellent - enjoy!
Looking forward to it!
Good luck with Ivanhoe, Cranford and the Count of Monte Cristo! I read Ivanhoe for English 12 novel and it was a ton of fun, the side characters are very memorable. I haven't fully decided what classics I want to read next year but Rebecca by Daphne Du Marier and either Villette or The Professor by Charlotte Bronte are ones I want to try.
I haven't read The Professor (yet), but Rebecca and Villette are amazing!
The signet classic abridged version of "Count of Monte Cristo" is how I did the novel. It isn't abridged like you might see for young readers. It just trims out a lot of the extraneous details. I tried to do the unabridged, but the pacing was squashed by those extra bits. The abridged version was a quicker pace and made me a solid fan of the novel.
I love Edith Wharton too. If you haven’t already discovered him, E.M. Forester is also very good. His writing reminds me of Wharton.
I read The Count if Monte Cristo many years ago and it must have been an abridged version. I loved it and have now purchased an unabridged copy and plan to read it in 2021. My goal is to read at least one classic a month in 2021.
E.M. Forester is definitely on my longlist of authors to read! I'll have to write myself a note to include him on my 2022 list...
I look forward to hearing your thoughts upon finishing several of these books.
If you don’t love “The Count of Monte Christo” I will be shocked.
“Ethan Frome” is not set among the high society of NY however, it is similar to the “Age of Innocence” in the stifled, quiet desperation felt by the protagonists.
“In Cold Blood” is an inspired choice as a non-fiction classic.
You have some great choices on your list, especially The Count of Monte Cristo and Cranford. I also intended to read Shirley this year but didn't get to it. I will read it in 2021 to complete all Bronte novels. Also wanted to say your makeup looks awesome.
Oh, thank you! I was going for a "wilting Secret Garden" vibe. I'm strange, lol
A classic I would like to read in 2021 would be Little Women or I might finish reading the Anne of Green Gables series.
Omg same here! I am still reading Little Women, and I am currently reading Anne of the Island (#3 in the Anne series). So far they are both really good!
@@fatimaachnine1318 that’s awesome. I’ve finished reading the first two books in the Anne series. I’m excited to get to Anne of the Island. 😀
Anne of Green Gables! One of the biggest joys from my childhood (that, and the Boxcar Children) ♥
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was one of my favorites when I was a teenager, it's not for everybody though and it's quite different from the Disney movie.
I'm perfectly fine if it differs from the movie! I barely remember what happened in the movie, anyway, so it works out.
This is a great list! I like that you include classics by great authors that don't get as much attention, such as Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is excellent, and make sure to read Rip Van Winkle too. Speaking of classics, have you read any Henry James?
So pumped to hear your thoughts on all of these classics! A few are personal faves of mine 😊 x
well now I need to know - which ones are the personal favs?!
@@abookolive ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ was an entertaining, absurd, melodramatic take-down that gave me a good giggle.
I read Washington Irving for the first time 2 years ago and instantly fell in love with his style. Descriptive, lyrical and a little cheeky at times. However, it was his prose about the countryside surrounding Tarrytown in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that had me in awe. My goodness can he paint a picture with words. One of those writers with the ability to make you sob inwardly and question why it is that you yourself cannot write anywhere near half as good as they can. Don’t ya hate those folks?!
I’ve since listened to it on audiobook and in the hands of an animated storyteller, it is even more enjoyable.
However, Tom Sawyer = 💗💗💗
Good grief I have already written a novel-sized reply here, so I’ll refrain from gushing but my goodness. Twain’s wit, sarcasm, imagination, childlike wonder, sense of adventure and playful nature swells my heart each and every time. He captures what being a kid is all about. Tom is an absolute [insert any typical term for a smart aleck with a penchant for naughtiness here] but man oh man do I love that scamp 💝
I really hope you love it!
I’m looking forward to picking up ‘The Count of Monte Christo’ alongside you next year. I’ve heard nothing but great things 💕 x
I think people just say Ethan Frome is different because it's about working class people rather than the upper class. It was one of my mom's favorite books.
Oh! Also, I'm pretty sure there's a FANTASTIC Wishbone episode of Sleepy Hollow if you want to make that connection with the book! I remember watching it on Halloween when I was a kid.
The Wishbone episodes had a big part to play in the creation of this classics list! I'll be keeping my Wishbone series going next year 😁
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of my top five classics of all time 😊 Hope you enjoy it.
I hope so, too! 😁
We read Tom Sawyer in 5th grade and it was one of my favorite books growing up, I reread it a few years ago and still loved it. I hope you enjoy!
Oh, that's so nice! I hope I enjoy it as much as you did 😊
Thank you for the video. An inspiring selection of classics, I think I will pick some of these too. Have fun reading them.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy reading the ones you pick up! :)
Your list of classics looks like a lot of fun. Cold Comfort Farm is on my TBR for the upcoming winter months. I am interested in hearing your thoughts about disability in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In Cold Blood was one of the first narrative crime books I read. At the time, I thought it was nonfiction but, with the revelation of fabricated elements in the book, I would call it a novel rather than nonfiction.
Sounds a lot like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil re: the fabricated elements...
I have both Shirley, and The Count of Monte Cristo on my TBR for 2021 as well! 🙌🏻
Good luck with your list!
Thank you - good luck with your list, as well! ♥
A thing to keep in mind for reading Hunchback: go into it expecting it to be *nothing* like the Disney movie and you will enjoy it more. So many people I've seen try to read thins have DNF'd because it wasn't the Disney movie. Which I do love but it changed *a lot* because it had to. Also, yes! Count of Monte Cristo has been my favorite classic since high school!
I’ve never understood why people read the books Disney has adapted and expected them to be, well, Disney. Love Disney, man. Don’t get me wrong. But they’re a family friendly company. And they have a very specific image to maintain. I wouldn’t expect them to do like a Shakespearean tragedy faithfully, for example. 🤷🏼♀️
Don't worry - I barely remember the Disney movie, so I wouldn't even know what unrealistic expectation to have of the book going in 😂
I read Ivanhoe last year and liked it. It is almost as if all of the adventures are a tournament, testing the character of each knight.
Oh, I *love* the sound of that!
I'm planning to read Metamorphoses next year, too! I'm pretty sure Steve would say it should be read during any season, all day, every day.
Hah! I think Steve would laugh off my desire to read seasonally - period! But then, he and I enjoy agreeing to disagree on many things 🤣
Hi olive, that’s quite a list. I took out Shirley from the library for My December reads But didn’t get to read it. My problem was the small print. I’m going to have to look for it in large type. I read a few books on your list but my favorite was your last “In Cold Blood.” It’s simply a masterpiece. Are used to be a true crime path back in the day and even reading many many true crime books that stands out. I read Tom Sawyer in school and can’t say I loved it but I wish you a good time with it. At my age I have to be picky about the books I pick up and I was never into a big adventure books like Ivanhoe or even The hunchback of Notre Dame, though I’ve read Les Miserables. I wish you a happy holiday. I’m celebrating Hanukkah And since that was my so-called Vlognas I did what I thought was a cute take calling it Hanukkah mas while doing Catherine’s original tag.
My daughter makes an appearance LOL. Hannah of Hannah’s books also did to take on Vlogmas Called bookakuh. I told her that I didn’t have the energy to do the whole eight nights. I hope to see creators celebrations of Kwanza which starts December 26. Check out my video if you want to see my daughter and her.latkes. Aloha, Maya
In Cold Blood is a fantastic book.
Love to hear that! I've been meaning to read it for such a long time...
In Cold Blood is fire. In regards to Ethan Frome: I read it in high school and remembered not liking it, but my tastes have changed drastically, so I might like it if I reread it. Good luck with your classic picks!
Gosh, I love Count of Monte Cristo. It's the best revenge story I've read.
As for classics, I started Captain Blood this year but got side tracked. I hope to restart and finish it next year.
I was telling my husband about the plot of Monte Cristo and his exact words were "that seems like the epitome of a revenge story." I'm getting the feeling he'll be right about that!
I really enjoyed and needed this as I feel I'm stuck in a reading rut. Great list and I'm adding several of your's to my own. Thank you!
Happy to help! I hope you find the right book to pull you out of the rut - those are the worst.
Thank you for the recommendation of Secondhand Time. I’m reading it now and I love it.
Oh, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Such a powerful book.
Stella Gibbons is a total underrated gem. There are shades of Dorothy Parker in her for sure.
The book is a hoot and the BBC adaptation with Kate Beckinsale (& many others) is GREAT.
Dorothy Parker?! Well, if I wasn't sold already, I certainly am now!! I can't wait to watch the BBC adaptation after I read it (who doesn't love a good BBC adaptation?)
I never stick to these lists when I make them for myself. I usually forget about them and then around Oct/Nov I look back and realize I've read maybe one or two. The Count of Monte Cristo was absolutely fantastic and took far less time to read than what I expected. The Three Musketeers was on my list for this year but I'm afraid it won't live up to my expectations and so haven't picked it up.
Yeah these lists are really only effective if you're a planner and consult the list as you're thinking about your reading each month. For those of us who love organization (*cough* me *cough*), it works, but I know not everyone likes scheduling out their reading like that.
It's unfortunate the English title is The Hunchback of Notre Dame as Quasimodo is not the main character of the book. Notre Dame de Paris, is the main character of the book. I think you'll understand what I mean once you read the book. It's a good novel, but not my favorite Hugo, who is however one of my favorite authors. Oh, and it's definitely NOT the Disney movie although I did love that movie. :)
The Count of Monte Cristo is not long at all. Once you turn the first page you'll rush to the ending. It's such an amazing adventure.
In Cold Blood is stunning. Absolutely stunning.
Don't worry, I'm not expecting a exact duplication of the Disney movie! I may have seen the movie as a kid, but I'm really not all that attached to it, so I'm more than fine with a different experience from the book. And yeah, the English language title doesn't seem to reflect the spirit of the book, from what I've gathered thus far 😓
Hi Olive, thanks for this video. I'm enjoying wafers and coffee while watching you. I enjoyed "Shirley" , but I love "Villette" even more. I think they both surpass " Jane Eyre ".
Villette is really fantastic! Now you've got me wanting wafers and coffee 😂
Great list! I enjoy reading Ovid in the summer. Translation can also make a big difference with that one though-- I read Charles Martin's translation and it was immersive and laugh-out-loud funny at times! Notre Dame de Paris was one of my favourites reads this year, but the best part of reading it was just being horrified at how much more intense it is than the Disney movie haha :)
Ah! Your seal of approval on this list makes me all the more excited! Thanks for the heads up about the translator. I found this old copy at a book sale a long time ago, but I think I may need to buy a new one so I can get a better translation. I am really determined to get through it this time around, lol.
I read Tom Sawyer this year for a class and I loved it! I hope you like it too.
I hope so, too! I remember liking Huck Finn, so that bodes well - although I think I was only 16 at the time...
Cold Comfort Farm has just been added to my library hold list-thanks! After taking part in Victober, I realized that my English Lit degree didn’t include many female authors so I’ll be picking up at least one female-authored classic each month in 2021. Cheers!
That's a wonderful idea! Who else is on your list for next year?
@@abookolive Thanks! I’m really looking forward to it. So far I’ve read North and South by Gaskell, Frankenstein (1818) by Shelley, and am nearing the end of Rebecca by DuMaurier. I also have books by Harper Lee, Austin , Eliot, Emily and Charlotte Bronte on my list that I scored from the used bookstore a couple of weeks ago 😀.
@@abookolive Oh! And Toni Morrison.
Fab list, happy reading!
Thank you! 😊
You will LOVE "In Cold Blood"!
I suspect you're right about that! (annoying true crime pun. ignore me lol)
Great list- best wishes to you on finishing them all. I have read Ethan Frome and In Cold Blood, both amazingly brilliant. I’ve also read Capote’s holiday memoirs: A Thanksgiving Visitor, One Christmas, and A Christmas Memory and do recommend them. I guess I didn’t realize Hunchback was by Hugo- need to read that! Blessings 🎄
Thank you so much! Capote's holiday memoirs sound fantastic - especially during this time of year! I'll have to make a note to read those next year.
@@abookolive Awesome! They’re all short reads so I’m sure you’ll easily fit them in next year. 😊
In Cold Blood by Capote is an incredible book. I believe this work paved the way for this type of genre. Also Harper Lee went with him to Kansas to help him with background info but he never gave her any credit. You will love the book.
I'm sure I'm going to love it - I can't believe I've waited this long to pick it up. And oh, on the topic of Harper Lee, have you read Furious Hours by Casey Cep? Might be something that would interest you: www.goodreads.com/book/show/41883932-furious-hours
@@abookolive Thanks. Remembered hearing about this but forgot . Will definitely follow up and read.
Great choices! I am reading Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm right now and am enjoying it. I have yet to read the original, so must put that on my list as well. I read In Cold Blood a few years ago and found it really sticks with me. Such a great book!
What an interesting list! I absolutely love Adam Bede, but it is VERY different from Middlemarch (which I also adore). I think you'll enjoy Cranford (though I'm not sure what you mean by 'off centre'). I can't stand Victor Hugo (he's like a club bore; he pins you down and pompously talks and talks and talks), couldn't get into Dumas either, and I wonder if French novels just aren't my thing... I've never read Ivanhoe and I'm really interested! So I'm going to be fascinated in your take on all of these books! Also looking forward to some nice Wishbone content to match :smile:
Good to know about Adam Bede, thank you! When it comes to Cranford, I've heard some other reviewers on Booktube say that it's a little strange. I got the sense that it's different from her other books and there's a different vibe to it. But that's just the impression I've gotten - I could be entirely incorrect (it certainly wouldn't be the first time - I wasn't expecting Oliver Twist to involve MURDER, after all).
And yes, you're right on the money - lots of Wishbone content coming next year! 😁
Thank you really enjoy your recommendations
I read Ivanhoe this year and loved it. It's not great literature but it is very entertaining.
I will certainly settle for entertaining!
Oohh Cold comfort Farm...I love it. So funny and brilliant
I'm so excited to pick it up!
Ooh I’m really curious to see what you think about the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Suuuper different from the Disney movie as I’m sure you can guess!
Haha, indeed! I remember learning just how different the *real* story of Pocahontas was from the Disney movie when I was quite young and uh...the illusion was shattered from then on. 😬
Oh Hunchback. You know Victor wrote the book because the Notre Dame was in disrepair at the time which dismayed him. So be ready to read all about it’s glories. Loved the movie as a kid. Unsurprisingly it’s not entirely faithful, if you catch my drift? Beautifully animated though. Hellfire is still one of fave Disney songs lol
I hope to get through The Three Musketeers this year. Another massive clunky book by Dumas. But his prose is pretty vivid, even if I find it a bit challenging. So it should be fun
I struggled with The Three Musketeers, unfortunately. But perhaps that was just because it was my first Dumas?
@@abookolive Maybe. Maybe I got used to him by The Three Musketeers
Love that lipstick, amiga!
Thank you so much! In person, it's much more gray-looking, but it looks super purple on camera for whatever reason?
Great List!
I'd like to get to Cold Comfort Farm this year. I loved the film version, and I've had a copy of the book for years.
OHHH I want to read The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm just a little intimidated by the size and writing style. I hope you do a full review of it!
Dumas’ books do seem intimidating at first. I think of them as just a book series but in one convenient location. I mean they often are, if you think about it. Many books from the Victorian era were originally dramatic episodes written for magazines. We’ve just combined them all into a collection and sell it as one giant book. Like a DVD box set you can binge on, but like as a book lol
Once you get into a rhythm with Dumas it’s actually pretty fun since they’re often really action packed books
Ovid sounds cool! The Hunchback of Notre Dome is my sister's favorite classic. The only problem she had with it was the descriptions go a little to long. Cold comfort farm sounds fun.
In True Blood is one of my favourite non-fiction books. Harrowing and immersive in equal measure - I'm sure you'll love it and look forward to what you have to say. If you like true crime, I read Vincent Bugliosi's And The Sea Will Tell earlier this year and really enjoyed it.
Read Charlotte Bronte’s Villette : amazing!
I loved Villette!
I started Shirley but found it difficult to get through. I will try yet to forge ahead next year.
I had a schedule set up to read The Count of Monte Cristo from July to December 1 but it never got very far so I will try again in the new year. (The length is very intimidating for me!).
I ordered a copy of Ivanhoe. Looking forward to it sometime next year.
Monte Cristo's length is terrifying, for sure. But judging from this comments section, it seems like it flies by once you get invested? I'm personally going to break it up over a month (one with 31 days, lol) so I'm hoping I'll get some good momentum going in the early days.
@@abookolive Yes, it seems to be an adventure story which I can read faster than some. I am impressed you plan to read it in a month! I hope we are both successful!
Please read Edith Wharton’s “Summer”. It’s definitely not one of her “”rich New Yorkers in the 19th century having a miserable life” stories. I first read it after seeing a PBS movie version of it back in the late 80’s. With Victor Hugo books be aware that he loves to veer off on subjects that have little to do with the plot. Ditto for “Les Miz”. Excellent stories but with Hugo’s digressions. Look for a good abridgment or else you’ll find yourself learning about some obscure political philosophy or why Hugo thinks that convents and monasteries and the “religious life” is a bad idea. You are warned. “Adam Bede” is wonderful as are “Silas Marner”, “Daniel Deronda” and “The Mill on the Floss”. (The BBC filmed versions of the first three books and the A & E version of the last one are excellent.) They’re all marvelous. Do not read “In Cold Blood” before bedtime. Truman Capote’s writing is excellent but the ick factor is pretty high with this book. I’m glad I found your channel!
I will have to join you with some of these books 📚
Please do! 😄
@@abookolive will do please let me know when you’re reading 📖 them
Great video! You and I share a few classic TBR picks.
Oh, cool! Which ones do you have your eye on?
Hunchback of Notre Dame, adventures of Tom Sawyer, Count of Monte Cristo, and the legend of sleepy hollow. Ha. I’m currently reading War & Peace and I’m really liking it.
I like that you cover nonfiction books too. I’ve got a nonfiction TBR this year as well. 1/month.
@@bluesgirl410cg wow, we do have a lot of overlap! I think a nonfiction TBR is a fantastic idea, but I'm biased 😂
I think Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a great summer read!
Is it a daunting read? I feel like it would be intimidating. Although I’ve read many Russian classics so I’m no stranger to hard books.
Great to know, thank you!!
The Count of Monte Cristo is such fun! Apparently, the father of Alexandre Dumas pere was a French general (of African extraction) who was falsely imprisoned on a charge of treason. Does this theme of an imprisoned innocent sound familiar? Unfortunately, the historic father was not able to extract revenge on his enemies -- but Dumas pere may have incorporated elements of his father's ordeal into his fictitious narrative.
I also have a list of classics I want to read or re-read and Ivanhoe is on it. Looking forward to your comments. 😀📚
I will certainly share my thoughts once I've read it! 😀
I am planning to read Cranford next year, possibly early in January. I read it years ago at a weird time and actively disliked it, despite the fact that it sounds like a perfect book for me. I think it deserves another chance!🤓 I loved Adam Bede, something I went in to almost completely blind. Hope you love it as much as I did (which was not still not quite as much as Middlemarch!).
I'm all for giving classics a second chance! The way I've heard people speak about Cranford makes it seem like a rather strange book (hence why I chose the "off-center" descriptor), so it might be something you just have to be in the mood for? I'll have to follow your lead and finally reread Wuthering Heights, a book I *loathed* in high school...
@@abookolive Ha! I tried WH again last year and pretty much felt exactly what I felt in HS. 🤢 I think Claudia at Spinster’s Library had the same experience. Other people love it deeply. Such polarizing books are so fascinating to hear people talk about!
@@HannahsBooks I just don't think I can ever get over the fact that people consider it a love story. Even if Emily didn't write it to be one, the fact that it's sometimes interpreted that way...makes me want to scream!
I want to read more international classics! Especially classics from Japan, as I am conversational in Japanese. I read Ethan Frome in high school and hated it, but I want to give it another chance.
That’s what I want to read next year, too! I’m not a huge English classics reader, so I was blown away by how much I loved the Japanese modern classics I’ve tried, especially The Gate and Spring Snow. I imagine they’re even better in their original language.
@@booksinbed If you are looking for other modern classics, I recommend Masks and The Waiting Years by Enchi Fumiko! They are very short and accessible examinations of womanhood in Japan at the turn of the century and in the post-war period.
@@hazelsimpson3551 Thanks for taking the time to share recs! I have The Waiting Years on my shelf and will add Masks. ty!
Do you do buddy reads? I haven't watched booktube in almost a year so sorry if it's something you already do or don't like doing ;)
I just think it might be really cool to organise some kind of buddy reads for the classic you want to read every month :) I see quite a few people in the comments who are really excited about some of these (myself included)!
Yes, I do buddy reads and group reads on occasion! I really love the idea of reading a classic book with everyone, but I must admit that I don't presently have the energy to organize something this soon after the end of Nonfiction November. Perhaps in the upcoming months when I've had some time to reenergize we all could discuss a group read?
Yasssss conte cristo! It’s so good!
Am I right in remembering that you also gave it a rave on your channel a few years ago? I swear I remember that...
@@abookolive yes! This is my favorite classic. It's just so interesting how he makes even little details meaningful to the overall story, but at the same time the whole thing is very fast paced and exciting. I keep intending to reread it.
Ooooh Cold Comfort Farm is on my list! (I love the new Roz Chast cover, too)
I have a suspicion that I'm getting that edition for Christmas!!
Notre-Dame de Paris is my Favorit book ever. But don't except to have the disney story haha it has nothing to do with it. Shirley is great and the comte of Monte Cristo is awesome!!!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is so much better than Huckleberry Finn! I listened to it on audiobook and it was so good!
Well that's great news!!
I'm reading & studying the Metamorphoses at Uni right now, and I think it's really fascinating! I honestly don't know a season that might be very fitting to read it; maybe Spring, as you said, because that season is all about... the changing / transforming of nature?
I actually loved The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I hope you enjoy it too. (The goat is the best character, just saying) I'm reading Les Mis in January, hopefully!
Ohh and lastly - I promise - Cold Comfort Farm is one of my all-time favourite classics. It is hilarious! I also recommend the movie adaptation with Stephen Fry & Kate Beckinsale :)
The changing/transforming thing is exactly why I thought it would be good for spring - you read my mind! Very excited to meet this goat in the Hugo, haha!
hi olive!
i don‘t know whereabouts you live, but, if you live in an area where snow is likely to happen - that’s the best time to read „ethan frome“, IMHO. snow is basically a main character in EF. it is one of my absolute wharton favorites and a reread (almost) every year some time between november and february (depending on the weather. no kidding.). ❄️ lots of love from snowy tiny-town austria, monica 📚🐾🐾
ps: also, if i may, your eye make-up is 👌🏻
Hi Monica!
I'm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! We just got a ton of snow and I expect it's only the first of a few storms we'll likely get this winter. I will absolutely take your advice and read the book soon so that I'll have the company of snow when I read it! Thank you! ♥
@@abookolive
hi olive!
oh, perfect! edith wharton is the grand dame of setting a scene. whether it‘s fragrant lemon groves under the mediterranean sun (a mother‘s recompense), the verdant hudson valley (hudson river bracketed), the splendor of old new york‘s ball rooms (house of mirth) or the violent beauty of a new england winter in ethan frome.
truth be told, i‘m somewhat jealous of everybody who gets to discover her work for the first time. 😉
happy reading! monica 📚🐾🐾
This is an impressive list!! I’m reading Les Misérables right now ans it’s great of course but Victor Hugo is SO long winded...
I want to read Dracula, Little Women, and Rebecca in 2021.
Lmao I sympathise. Mad respect for Hugo, but a lot of time you just wanna scream “get on with it” when reading his books lol
Very good to know going into my first Hugo, haha! I'm hoping Dickens primed me for that experience...
“A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” is a good one by Mark Twain
I own that one! I have a copy of it in the Reader's Digest World's Best Reading edition (I collect them).
Warning that The Hunchback of Notre Dame book is VVVEEERRRYYYY different than the Disney movie! It's extremely Disney-ified to make the plot more concise and the characters more simple. I love the Disney movie, but the book is just a totally different story!
I am so embarrassed by how few classics I have read! I am middle age, have obsessively read my entire life and my "reading room " probably has close to 2,000 books and I can count on one hand, maybe 2 of the number of classics I have read.
Reading the classics takes a little getting used to, but once you're hooked, you'll fear the day when you'll run out of classics to read!
If you like Edith Wharton then you should try Willa Cather!
Willa Cather is one of my favorite authors! So good!
I've read her book The Professor's House and it was...okay? I want to read more from her, though - are there any in particular you'd suggest?
@@abookolive Yeah The Prof's House is not her best imo. You should try one of the books in what people call her Great Plains trilogy: O Pioneers, My Antonia, and Song of the Lark. I compare her to Wharton because their prose are both really vivid, their themes rich and mature, and they are both concerned with how place, time, and culture intersect and influence people. I think you'd like her!