Paisley Hedgehog Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in NE Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Les Miserables is wonderful. Also, you might consider Dickens...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Dh votes for Ulysses. He says it's the hardest of all the books you listed. I'll go with his vote, since I've read only one book from your list (Les Miserables), while he has read several of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I'd go with Les Mis, simply because it's on my list. We listened to the Focus on the Family dramatization last Thanksgiving, and I've wanted to tackle the book ever since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Brothers Karamazov -- if you have a disfunctional family, you will feel right at home or at least feel better about it. LOL. I was surprised by how much I really liked this book. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I vote for Les Miserables. I am reading it right now and am enjoying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 When I saw your title, I immediately thought of Les Mis because it's taken me almost an entire year to read it. I started it in around February, and I have less than 100 pages left. It will certainly keep you occupied for a while. When I finish it I'm going to go back to Don Quixote, which I put down after my 6yo was born. DQ is definitely more entertaining imo, but Les Mis fits better into the high-brow-snotty-literature category. ;) Two others to consider that I really liked are A Tale of Two Cities and War and Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Les Miserables would be my choice. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I'm still working on DQ, and have been all year. My New Year's Resolution in 2010 was to read a BIG book (big in number of pages and big as high-brow-snotty-Literature :tongue_smilie:). I did it and now I'm on the hunt for a BIG book for 2011. I posted a thread a while back looking for input on the Russians, but I still cannot decide. Here's my current list, so please vote for your favorite. (FYI, I mostly read brainless mystery/thrillers for stress busting. Reading the Classics is a s-t-r-e-t-c-h, so I want the most bang for my buck :D) Les Miserables (French) Don Quixote (Spanish) Brothers Karamazov or Crime & Punishment (Russian) Moby Dick (American) Little Dorritt (English) Ulysses (Irish) Any other ideas for parts of the world I've missed are welcome as well. :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I say Anna Karenina. It's just great. But dh would say Proust. He's always been pretty well read. However, he used to feel like all the books he hadn't read were mocking him until he spent the whole year a few years back reading the entirety of Remembrance of Things Past. Now, whenever I'm like, oh you haven't read such-and-such a classic book he says in this playground tone, "But I'm read PROUST!":lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 War and Peace? :) I haven't read that one. I did read Anna Karenina one time when I was in the mood to read something long and I enjoyed it quite a bit except the long passages where the guy was rambling about farming and stuff. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 BROTHERS KARAMAZOV!!!! I was coming in here to suggest it from the intro before I even saw your Russians/list. :D Best. Book. Ever. Seriously amazing. Crime & Punishment isn't even close, IMO. (And I hated Moby Dick :tongue_smilie:.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Two others to consider that I really liked are A Tale of Two Cities and War and Peace. Tale of Two Cities in indeed fabulous, but it's kind of short, at least compared to its competition in that list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 The only one on your list I've read is Les Miserables, although the 2 Russian ones are on my list of to-reads. I haven't read Little Dorrit although I've read several other Dickens books that I've enjoyed. David Copperfield is really good if you haven't read that yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I'm embarrassed to say this, but I'm still working on DQ, and have been all year. I bought it about a year ago and still haven't cracked the cover. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Maybe this one isn't hard enough or high brow enough, but what about The Count of Monte Cristo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarolineUK Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 War and Peace. I spent one Christmas holidays when I was young and single reading it, non-stop, sometimes till 5 am, I loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I vote for Les Miz...or War and Peace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gandpsmommy Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment are two of my all-time favorite books. I think I would vote for The Brothers Karamazov for you. Have you read Anna Karenina? It is also one of my very favorites, and is a very enjoyable read, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I can't help vote, I have not read any of those titles. I have Mein Kampf to start this week when I finish with the book I currently have going and have a feeling it is going to take me a while to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Les Mis is a great book! Moby Dick will probably put you to sleep. IMHO as an English Lit major, it is one of the most boring books of all time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Moby Dick. Somebody has to support this one. It took me a year to read it the first time. I am on track to finish it in a month the second time. I had to read it with a dictionary and some Power Moby Dick notes and a couple of trips here for advice. I decided last year to start tackling hard books that make me think instead of consuming easier books. I started with Melville because he's American; I haven't decided what I'm reading next year. And he is perfect for reading right before bed, he's helped me with my insomnia. ;) Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored harborless immensities. - Melville Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 The Landmark Thucydidies. I can only really concentrate on it 10 pages at a time, and I'm reading aloud. Poetry in motion if you take the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 My New Year's Resolution in 2010 was to read a BIG book (big in number of pages and big as high-brow-snotty-Literature :tongue_smilie:). I did it and now I'm on the hunt for a BIG book for 2011. I posted a thread a while back looking for input on the Russians, but I still cannot decide. Here's my current list, so please vote for your favorite. (FYI, I mostly read brainless mystery/thrillers for stress busting. Reading the Classics is a s-t-r-e-t-c-h, so I want the most bang for my buck :D) Les Miserables (French) Don Quixote (Spanish) Brothers Karamazov or Crime & Punishment (Russian) Moby Dick (American) Little Dorritt (English) Ulysses (Irish) Any other ideas for parts of the world I've missed are welcome as well. :lurk5: Read Les Mis! You'll love it! ETA: After you read it, see if you can find a good production of it to go see. We saw it on Broadway in around '94 I think. I had already read the book, and the production was magical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 The Landmark Thucydidies. I can only really concentrate on it 10 pages at a time, and I'm reading aloud. Poetry in motion if you take the time. Now I think I know my book for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I've only read Moby--if you do that one, read it with a good study guide or you'll miss what makes it fabulous. DH read Brothers K--really a wonderful book, according to him. It's more uplifting in its own way, than a lot of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I would vote Les Miserables or Brothers Karamazov, even without your list. I cannot stand Ulysses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I've read Ulysses twice (I've read lots of Irish Literature). If you read it, it really helps to have a companion book that explains it. We did this for a college class on Ulysses. The companion book was thicker than Ulysses. It basically goes line by line or paragraph by paragraph and explains every reference. So you read some Ulysses and then read what it means. If that doesn't appeal to you, then you might want to skip Ulysses. I dislike Melville. I like some Russian lit, but couldn't do War Peace (too much war for me). I enjoyed reading Les Mis. I've read excerpts or big chunks of Don Q, but don't think I'd like to read the whole thing. I've never read little Dorritt, but I find Dickens very readable. I have seen the Masterpiece Theatre version - good story but saaaad. Of course Le Mis is sad too. Good luck picking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored harborless immensities. - Melville I'd have to translate it into ordinary English while wading through it. Doesn't that quote mean: The ship is at sea. Pretty soon we won't be able to see land. Or, I could look for the Golden Book version. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I vote for Brothers Karamazov (one of my favorite books ever). I like it much better than Crime & Punishment. Les Mis would be my second choice. The Landmark Thucydidies. I can only really concentrate on it 10 pages at a time, and I'm reading aloud. Poetry in motion if you take the time. That's next on my list, too — I just ordered it from Amazon last week. I love the Landmark books, I have Herodotus & Xenophon, too. They just published The Landmark Arrian a couple of weeks ago. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamee Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 The first BIG book that came to my mind was War and Peace, but I'd vote for Les Mis, unabridged. EXCELLENT book, one of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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