Epicurean Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I'm part of a book club that focuses on reading classic books. Each meeting, one person's name is drawn to choose a book. To give you an idea, so far we have read 1984, Huck Finn, Brave New World, Watership Down, and Tess of D'Ubervilles. What one classic book would you recommend and why? It has to be under 400 pages, because otherwise, I don't think people would have time to finish it. "Classic" can have different meanings to different people, but just use the definition you feel comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Persuasion. It's funny, sly, romantic, and offers a surprisingly broad picture of early 19th Century society, from nobility through the middle classes and the navy to a hired nurse. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Under 400 pages... Until I saw that requirement I would have chosen the Bible or Shakespeare, if only because of the huge amounts of quotes, references, and allusions to them in the rest of English literature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Shakespeare. Midsummer Night's Dream since spring is here. I first read the Folger Shakespeare editions and they are available online: http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org I'm also one of those who likes Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. The Glass Menagerie was a short and quick read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Any of Dorothy L. Sayers' books. There are too many to list but I would likely pick "The Nine Tailors." Trent's Last Case by Bentley "Emma" by Austen or "Sense and Sensibility" by Austen "The Prisoner of Zenda" by Hope 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The Scarlet Letter -- I love the use of names, the Nature vs Civilization, the secrecy and surprises All Quiet on the Western Front--showed how devastating WWI was to the soldiers Grapes of Wrath--I think this is under 400, but I don't know for sure. Very interesting part of history, to me. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 To Kill a Mockingbird. I just re-read it and fell in love with it all over again. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Pride & Prejudice (my fav Jane Austen novel) Much Ado about Nothing (Shakespeare, less than 400 pages) Old Man & The Sea (or other Hemingway) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Uncle Tom's cabin Fahrenheit 451 The jungle Les miserables 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Let's pick two. Their Eyes Were Watching God Like Water for Chocolate Those were the first two books I pulled off my shelf that weren't kidlit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 For a book group discussion, I'd choose The House of Mirth. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I like all the recommendations. Your books so far are English and American, so I might suggest Madame Bovary, just under the page limit Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, quite short, even though it is James Joyce, lol And a favorite of mine Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis, putting it in classic, because it was one of the first 'Angry Young Men' novels. An easy read, laugh out loud funny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, although I'm thinking it might be over 400 pages... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I just reread My Antonia and loved it more than ever. Lots to discuss there. Also seconding The House of Mirth or The Age of Innocence. What about some of Tolstoy's shorter fiction? Or Kafka? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I like all these suggestions: The Age of Innocence Pride & Prejudice To Kill a Mockingbird But if I had to pick just one, it would be Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The grandmama of science fiction, chock full of literary allusions, written by a girl barely out of her teens, and one of the most unknown well-known books out there! A ridiculous percentage of the population still thinks Frankenstein is the name of the monster. And isn't it one of the most assigned books on college reading lists? A book everybody should actually read, IMHO. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Longer best option: Anna Karenena Sci Fi: Dune or That Hideous Strength Semi-classic: So Big Pioneers: Giants in the Earth--this one is fantastic and also a bit obscure, I think I would go with it Lutheran: The Hammer of God--This is the best Christian novel I have ever read, despite the stupidly mistranslated title 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) Too bad there's a page limit. The Woman in White would be really fun for a group discussion. Edited April 12, 2016 by Seasider 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Longer best option: Anna Karenena Sci Fi: Dune or That Hideous Strength Semi-classic: So Big Pioneers: Giants in the Earth--this one is fantastic and also a bit obscure, I think I would go with it Lutheran: The Hammer of God--This is the best Christian novel I have ever read, despite the stupidly mistranslated title I read that book and LOVED it. It's a great book and I read it at just the right time. Adding my own suggestions: "Men Against the Sea" by Nordhoff. It's the 2nd in the Bounty books- but you should already know the background about Mutiny on the Bounty "Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Ann Bronte - I love this lesser known book. "Heart of Darkness" by Conrad "The Good Earth" by Buck. It might be a smidge over 400. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 So many good choices. I second all of them and will add: A Room With A View - It seems at first to be "just a little romance" but there are so many layers to it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 "Heart of Darkness" by Conrad I just reread this decades after studying it in high school, and wow. There is so much more to it than I remembered. Plus it's not all that long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Pride and Prejudice. It's my favorite book and I re-read it every year or two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I would pick A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn. It's an incredible glimpse into the human condition, survival, and the USSR. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I second: To Kill a Mockingbird Fahrenheit 451 The Tenant of Wildfeld Hall (read this long ago and all I remember is loving it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) I was deeply moved by Cry, the Beloved Country a few years back. From Amazon: Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man. Also agree with above recommendations for My Antonia Fahrenheit 451 Pride and Prejudice Edited April 13, 2016 by Ali in OR 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) I'd vote for an Austen, any of them is fine. Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath. Solzhenitsyn I like The First Circle. Sinclair Lewis - Main Street is very good look at small town Midwest America and life of an educated woman a century ago. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. Excellent Woman by Barbara Pym - women's lives in post-war England. I love books by Pearl S. Buck, too. Her The Good Earth is a classic. Kipling's Kim is fun (channel my inner teen boy when I read it!) You could be a trouble maker and, assuming everyone has read or at least seen the film To Kill a Mockingbird, read and discuss the portrayal of Atticus in To Set a Watchman (I still say the Atticus of Mockingbird is the child view of the same man in Watchman. Feel free to argue.) Edited April 12, 2016 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Seconding My Antonia A Tale of Two Cities Any Jane Austen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I second: To Kill a Mockingbird Fahrenheit 451 The Tenant of Wildfeld Hall (read this long ago and all I remember is loving it!) I third this list and would add Crime and Punishment, Cry, the Beloved Country and Of Mice and Men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familia Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 The Scarlet Letter -- I love the use of names, the Nature vs Civilization, the secrecy and surprises I second The Scarlet Letter. Reading it now -- love it. Love Hawthorne and his voice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) I'll be patriotic and make some classic Canlit suggestions: The Diviners (my daughter is named after the main charachter in this book.) Fifth Business (maybe my favorite novel.) Mad Shadows (this is a bit creepy and weird but could be fun for a book group. Lots of interest with regards to Jansenism in Quebec before the Quiet Revolution. It's also quite short.) The Nymph and the Lantern (takes place on Sable Island which is an interesting setting.) Edited April 12, 2016 by Bluegoat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debinindy Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 To Kill A Mockingbird 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I agree with many of the above. I don't think anyone mentioned Frankenstein. Not the best book ever written, but I enjoyed it and it seems important to cultural literacy. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 A Shakespeare play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Good gravy, just one? So hard to pick. Wuthering Heights will always and forever stand out as a dark, Gothic love story. Just. Love. It. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Putting in a plug for a couple of my favorites: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Slaughterhouse 5. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Classic American lit with an interesting story and not very long. Many good suggestions already but add my votes to Heart of Darkness (watch Acopalypse Now for a different adaptation of the story) and Grapes of Wrath (good movie too). Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I was deeply moved by Cry, the Beloved Country a few year's back. From Amazon: Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man. Also agree with above recommendations for My Antonia Fahrenheit 451 Pride and Prejudice Anyone else feeling smug because she's read so many of the books everyone else has listed? I loved and appreciated many of the books listed, but I have to agree with CTBC. It touched me more than most books, and I'm not easily moved. To Kill a Mockingbird, for instance, did nothing for me. I know I'm likely be shot on sight for such blasphemy. If you want classic but lighter, there's always Murder on the Orient Express or another Agatha Christie, and Heart of Darkness, as others have suggested, while not light, is short. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeepa Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Another vote for Persuasion. My classics book club read it this month and we had plenty to discuss. I'd also recommend The Hobbit, Pride and Prejudice, and Wuthering Heights for great book discussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emba Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I love The Grapes of Wrath, but I have it on my shelf, and it clocks in at 577 pages. But Of Mice and Men is very short, and also good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Oh, I third Frankenstein. Love that book. GREAT discussion materials about the nature of man. I also love Lord of the Flies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clementine Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 To Kill a Mockingbird. I just re-read it and fell in love with it all over again. ^ Yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) A bit over 400 pages but Jane Eyre :001_wub: Edited April 13, 2016 by MyLittleBears 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Oh, I third Frankenstein. Love that book. GREAT discussion materials about the nature of man. I also love Lord of the Flies. I love Frankenstein. I read Lord of the flies in high school, and only because it was on a teachers shelf. I really loved it, it resonated deeply with me. Both of these are some of my all time favorite (and both are super short and easy reads, if that matters) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Limiting myself to something not previously mentioned: To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Well Pesuasion, To Kill A Mockingbird and My Antonia are taken so.... The Bridge Over San Luis Rey. I really like this book, it's short and most people haven't read it. I 😠Jane Eyre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 The Chosen - Chaim Potok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebunny Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 How about classical literature from India translated into English? Godaan (The gift of a cow) by Munshi Premchand. Originally written in Hindi, published in 1936, just under 400 pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) Oh, so tough. For group discussion of lean toward something like "The English Patient". So much there in a paucity of words. Edited April 14, 2016 by Arctic Mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 I love The Grapes of Wrath, but I have it on my shelf, and it clocks in at 577 pages. But Of Mice and Men is very short, and also good. "Of Mice and Men" makes me bawl like a baby. So does "Tuesdays with Morrie". So good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Just thought of another one but I don't know what the page count is. "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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