Tell Me Something Tuesday, a meme started by CambriaHebert, but now hosted on Rainy Day Ramblings. It is a chance to get to know your fellow bloggers by sharing fun stuff, discussions and more. Grab the question and post your answer on your blog and link up at Rainy Day Ramblings! Have fun!
This weeks question:
Let's talk the classics....Do you read the classics? What are some of your favorites?
I don't read as many classics as I would like, but some of the stand bys do stick with me. Ones like Jane Eyre, Jane Austin books and others like that. I do have a couple that have stuck with me since I was a child. One is...
by Anna Sewell
A timeless classic, this wonderfully evocative account of the joys and tribulations of a noble-hearted horse is one of the best loved of all animal stories.
Black Beauty is handsome and spirited, with a sweet temper. When he is four years old he is sold to a new owner who gently breaks him in. He is no longer free to gallop around the fields yet there is happiness and adventure among the hardship as his station changes from being a carriage horse on a country estate to a cab horse in town. At the same time he is aware that his well-being and future depend very much on the kindness or cruelty of his various masters.
The author's only book, Black Beauty was a huge success when it was first published in 1877. Its exposure of the ill-treatment of horses at the hands of their owners' led to a change in people's attitudes towards horses and domestic animals in general.
When I was small I did have the original story but couldn't read it yet. I was given the audiobook and a smaller more condensed children's version which I read when I was able. It was always a hard book for me to get through since there is abuse in it, but I did love the POV of the horse and how he ended up happy in the end.
The other:
by Louisa M. Alcott
Little Women is the delightful story of the four March girls and their approach towards womanhood.
Meg, the eldest and most beautiful, shrugs off her vanity and social ambition, discovering fulfillment in romantic love. Boyish Jo on the other hand, with her contempt of all "lovering", turns impetuously towards writing for solace. Gentle Beth rejects worldly interests, preferring to devote her life to her family, to the joy of music and to timidly aiding all who suffer in life. Amy, the youngest and most imperfect of the March girls, continually tries to overcome her selfishness and girlish pretensions, though he has a hard task before her.
The progress of these four "little women" is narrated along the lines of Bunyan's pilgrim, and we are shown how - encountering struggles and learning important lessons along the way - each one attains her own Celestial City.
I used to carry a copy my mom had given me around like a purse. Again, I couldn't read that well yet so I just remember how the book felt in my hands. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to read it. As I did get older, I forgot about the book and so my first exposure to it was in tv movie form. Still, I look back and remember it and it is one of my fond book memories and I was glad when I finally did read it.
So, any classics that bring up fond memories for you?
I think I've read just about all the classics I can stand while I was getting my master's in lit. Now I'm on a break... that will last for a few years. :))
ReplyDeleteBut I still reread a few of my favorites often, like Stranger by Albert Camus. That book has such a special place in my heart.
You always have time for faves. There are others I haven't listed here and aren't the usual classics. :)
DeleteI love Black Beauty and Little Women, along with The Counte of Monte Cristo and Gone With the Wind and Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. :)
ReplyDeleteI actually never read The Count of Monte Cristo, but I've seen several different versions of the book.
DeleteI haven't read Little Women in a very long time. I did just watch the movie with Winona Ryder and Claire Danes though :)
ReplyDeleteI forgot they made a version of it. Might be time for a movie marathon. :D
DeleteBlack Beauty Melissa! I've never read the book, but I've seen the movie a million times, and like you, I struggled with seeing that horse abused time and again, but it ended well so I was able to get through it. Horses have always been a big part of my life, so any story horse-related is a winner for me!
ReplyDeleteI used to skim that part because it was so bad when I reread it as a kid. :)
DeleteClassic tales! I have read Black beauty since junior high. WOW!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you enjoyed it. :D
DeleteI have not read many classics, but I did read and Love Jane Eyre
ReplyDeleteWell, retellings sort of count since you have to be familiar with the original piece. :)
DeleteYes, the children's edition are abridged. I'm also with you about the animal thing. Even in movies I have to know what happens to the animal. :)
ReplyDeleteI adored Little Women, and all of Austin, and To Kill A Mocking Bird, Steinbeck, Gone with the Wind, Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre and so many more!
ReplyDeleteI do love a good classic. Definitely agree with Black Beauty. Also love A Little Princess and most by Jane Austen...so many good "old" books!
ReplyDeleteI have not read either of these. I feel like I haven't read that many classics when people start listing them off. I read The Picture of Dorian Gray in an online book club so that will always have fond memories for me...plus, I now adore Oscar Wilde.
ReplyDeleteI loved Little Women growing up! I always wanted to be like Jo, but I was always annoyed with Amy. I think I only hated her so much because we shared a name, and I didn't want to be anything like her!
ReplyDeleteI never got into the classics much but I loved Great Expectations. I also loved all of Mark Twain's (sp?) books though and reread them many many times.
ReplyDeleteI don't read classics. And *duck head* I only read what I had to read for school. Oh, I did read a few Shakespeare books (for school) and a Greek book in college but don't remember what the title was. I did love that Greek book though.
ReplyDeleteI don't really read any. I've tried since I started blogging but I never last more than a few chapters.
ReplyDeleteI remember enjoying Animal Farm and a few others from high school but that's about it. I keep trying though.