Literature true confessions time
Cindy at Dominion Family has an interesting and funny discussion going on. People are admitting the books they absolutely hate that are considered to be “classics” both within the culture, the church and/or the homeschool movement.
What a catharsis! Really. I’m going to admit something I’ve never admitted here before. I am not a fan of classic literature and I am abysmally poorly read in this area. For being a teacher, an honor student, blah, blah, blah… I’ve read very few classics. And I don’t particularly feel that I’ve missed anything.
I read generally for three reasons. First, to escape. And when I want to escape I don’t want to think, I don’t want to deal with someone else’s horrific problems written in the form of a novel, and I don’t want to wonder every time I turn the page if I am going to be assaulted by language or content. So that narrows down my reading possibilities quite a bit. Second, I read to know and understand who God is. So I stick to the classics of the Christian faith, dead authors I respect, and other carefully chosen newer works. Third, I read because some aspect of our culture or life has caught my fancy and I want to read about it.
I don’t read to impress people or to say I’ve read all the great works of literature. I don’t read because Oprah says it is a good book. And I don’t read something just because “everyone” is reading it.
By and large, I don’t like contemporary Christian fiction. At all.
So here are some of the books I’ve never read. I have attempted some, but gave up. And these are just a few of them that I thought of off the top of my head. I’m sure that once other people start leaving other titles in the comments my list will grow significantly.
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
War and Peace
Tom Sawyer
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Huckleberry Finn
Nothing by Tolkien
The Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lord of the Flies
There’s a whole ‘nother list of books I read in school that are classics that I didn’t like. But Caroline needs my attention so I’ll offer my personal pan of those books as other people mention them.
So what do you dislike? What have you never read that everybody just loves?
Can’t wait to see what makes the list!
February 20th, 2007 at 10:32 am
Oh, if there is any of those I could encourage you to read, it would be Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I was never interested in it until a former pastor described Uncle Tom as “the kind of Christian you always wanted to be.â€
I guess maybe I’m the opposite — I am at a point in my life of reading the classics I somehow missed along the way.
I’m near the end of Jane Eyre now, after having seen the recent PBS production of it. I read Pride and Prejudice last year and want to read Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion next.
I’ve never been a fan of Twain, and I haven’t read many of the books on your list there.
Two of the classics I regretted reading were The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. The latter was totally depressing, and one or the other of those had content that I didn’t think was in older books.
Two of my favorite classics are Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities. They have wonderful Christian overtones though I don’t know whether the authors were born-again Christians. I had to attempt A Tale of Two Cities a few times before I ever got through it (I don’t know why I kept persisting, but I am glad I did). The first time through I immediately read it again.
My first love, though, when it comes to books, is Christian biographies.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Dr. Zhivago
No one suffering from depression should read these two.
Talk about dealing with “someone else’s horrific problems written in the form of a novel”!
February 20th, 2007 at 10:45 am
In my quest to read some “classics” and because I had often seen it on lists of favorites, I read Catcher in the Rye last summer. I hated it so much I wrote an entire post about my extensive disdain for it. To say I don’t get how that came to be a “classic” is an understatement. I don’t see how anyone ever made it through!
However, I LOVE To Kill a Mockingbird; always have. It’s one of my all time favorites.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Curious….
When you get a chance, would you mind posting a list of the “classics of the Christian faith” that you read and/or a list of the “dead men” you respect?
I’m suprised that you don’t appreciate ANY Contemporary Christian fiction “at all.” I agree that there is a lot of fluff and stuff out there, but there are also some exceptional writers (Brock & Bodie Thoene’s for example). I recently posted some of my favorite fiction books. You can check it out here if you’re interested.
I am not well-versed in the classics either, but I desire to read more of them…maybe I’ll regret that decision. I agree that just because a book is old and has stood the test of time, does not mean that it is edifying.
February 20th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I only got round to reading Jane Eyre last year and surprisingly enjoyed reading it. Not quite as much as I love Pride and Prejudice but that is a hard act to follow.
Allison
February 20th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I’ve never read Pride & Prejudice – or any Jane Austen novels. (Please don’t shoot me!) I wasn’t able to finish the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (I got halfway through the second one.) I disliked “Of Mice & Men” and “Fahrenheit 459″.
February 20th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
If you read any one of those, please read Jane Eyre. I have posted extensively about it on both of my sites, This Girl’s Life and This Girl’s Books. It is without a doubt my absolute favorite book of all time.
February 20th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I’m with you… I’m completely uninterested in contemporary Christian fiction.
I have never been able to get through “In His Steps.”
I read the first “Left Behind” book and left the others behind. Can’t stand the awful writing, and I don’t subscribe to their theological viewpoint on eschatology anyway. This doesn’t really qualify as “classic lit” anyway, but they are popular books that I’ve never read.
“Anne of Green Gables” … I read most of the first one, but it was a struggle and I can’t get interested in any of the others.
“Little Women” was like this, too, but it’s beginning to grow on me because my 8-year-old loves it, so now that she’s moving on to “Jo’s Boys” and “Little Men,” I feel the need to keep up with her.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I had to read so many books in high school that I abhor. I disliked so many:
Lord of the Flies
Apocalypse Now
Clockwork Orange
Anything by D.H. Lawrence
For the first three, not only did we have to read the book, but then we had to see the movie in class too! That made me dislike the books even more than I had before!
I’m sure I have forgotten some too.
Never read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. I didn’t read any Jane Austen until I was some years out of college. I do like her.
I did enjoy Anne of Green Gables and Little Women immensely.
February 20th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I’m with you on the sour Grapes of Wrath and the Tolkein stuff!!
February 20th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I’m gonna get a beating for this, but I’m not that fond of Jane Austen. Yes, I have read P&P, but I just couldn’t get in to it. I’m sorry for all the Austen-ites out there! I do however, enjoy the movies.
Some other books I really didn’t enjoy were:
Middlemarch (VERY confusing)
Crime and Punishment
Anna Karenina
Anything by Shakespeare
Lord of the Flies
February 20th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Interesting. I have read EVERY ONE of your list of books, and of all of them, the only one it really makes me SAD that you didn’t read is To Kill a Mockingbird. That is probably my favorite book in the entire world.
I LOVE IT.
I also agree with a former poster that Uncle Tom’s Cabin was really inspiring and cool.
Some others of that list I have enjoyed, but not enough to make an issue of it. And War and Peace was mostly VERY LONG. (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Anna Karenina, however. I have read it 3 times, I think.)
One book I really didn’t much care for that all these people go on about on their classic lists for children is Robinson Crusoe. Also The Swiss Family Robinson. Oy. What a lot of DISCUSSION about the made-up minutiae (help, spelling??) of a big camping trip. Ugh! And Robinson Crusoe I found similar.
I’m thinking…
In Jesus, Susan
February 20th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Tom Sawyer
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Huckleberry Finn
I’ve only read these three from your list. And they were all read years ago in my teen years.
I started a classics book club a few months ago, for some homeschool moms and myself. Our first book was “Stepping Heavenward” which I ashamedly admitted NOT liking (and not finishing) on Cindy’s blog. Ouch.
Our second book is “Wives and Daughters” because I have and love the dvd so I wanted to read the book.
I am reading classics that I really plan to enjoy-carefully selected ones. Last year I read all of Jane Austen’s books which was hard but I so much enjoyed them. This year my goal is to read through as many of L.M. Montgomery’s books as I can. I’m beginning with “Anne of Green Gables” which I read many times when I was young.
I think reading through carefully selected classics is a very profitable thing to do. I’d like to eventually tackle some children’s classics that I’ve never read such as “The Little Princess.” A couple of years ago I bought myself a copy of “The Secret Garden” and read it for the first time in my 40’s. Loved it!!
By the way Sallie, I’m reading my first Grace Livingston Hill book-”The Honor Girl.”
February 20th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I get it: add. I thought it meant add on. Anyway, as I was saying….
Can you believe how this sort of post brings people out of the closet?
I was truly shocked and unprepared to the response. It turned out to be a really fun post.
February 20th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Books on tape can be a busy mother’s best friend. In high school your daughter may be required or even want to read some of those books and if you have already read them you might be of some help to her as she goes through them. Books on tape can help you multi-task!
February 20th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Here’s a quick tip. Generally you can watch classics on PBS Masterpiece Theatre. Really. Jane Eyre is one such classic novel portrayed brilliantly. I am an English teacher and- gasp!- recommend this
I would say that you really should read Tom Sawyer just for the fun of it. There is so much in there that high school students just don’t “get.” Nothing inappropriate, just adult “punny” things. It’s worth a rainy day read, in my opinion.
February 20th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I’m not much a Jane Austen fan either. I’ve started and stopped Little Women more times than I can count. I just can’t get into it. I do love To Kill A Mockingbird and the Anne of Green Gables series.
I’m also a little weird in that I won’t read books listed on the top 10 best seller lists.
February 20th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Lol I’ve just noticed one commenter that doesn’t like Anne of Green Gables! How can this be?
I love Jane Eyre and I am currently reading Lord of the Rings and enjoying it for the first time (gave up last attempt).
I hated Vanity Fair by Thackeray couldn’t get into it. Couldn’t get into Middlemarch by George Elliot. Dislike Twelfth Night by Shakespeare it’s a ridiculous story. Never read War and Peace and don’t intend to.
Loved reading this post, what fun!
February 20th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
We love MT. We last watched Jane Eyre and I hated it-gasp, I know. I could NOT get into the characters. Mr. Rochester-how do you spell CREEP? Yuck! I have the book but at this point I don’t intend to read it.
Usually, a movie (a well-made one anyway) inspires me to read the book. That’s what’s happened with Jane Austen. I think knowing the movies so well really helped me to understand the books. Now I’m on “Wives and Daughters” and again, having seen the movie twice so far is really helping me to understand what’s going on.
FYI, coming up on MT next month is “Kidnapped” and then “The Wind in the Willows.”
I so agree about books on audio. The only problem for me is that I’m a visual person-I CANNOT listen to books on tape-it drives me absolutely crazy. I have to either read the book for myself or watch the movie.
February 20th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Hey, my cut and paste didn’t work.
MT was my short way of saying “Masterpiece Theatre” which someone above mentioned. I agree it’s a great way to be exposed to the classics.
Just not “Jane Eyre.”
February 20th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is my very favorite book ever, and it pains me that my professor husband has never read it. I think growing up in the South made that book all the more important to me.
As for what I won’t read… Christian romance novels. I adore romance novels, but I find that Christian romances – by and large – have trouble weaving the faith into the storyline easily and interestingly.
February 20th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
I agree with the reader at the top about reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and War and Peace, well, that was my favorite at about 14, need to read it again!
Also, yes, the Thoene’s books are wonderful, particularly their series set during WWII.
There are several books on your list I haven’t read either; have trouble getting into Jane Austen.
February 20th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Interesting comments!
EEEEMommy – Well, I didn’t say I didn’t enjoy ANY. I said “By and large…”
I’ll have to check out your list. I did enjoy the Mitford series, although I don’t know if they qualify as contemporary Christian fiction. I know those books took a bit of a beating over on Cindy’s blog, but the first few especially were books where I actually laughed out loud while reading them. And I did appreciate Francine River’s Redeeming Love because I find the story of Hosea and Gomer so amazing in the picture of God’s love and faithfulness that it portrays.
Ok, I might have to look into To Kill a Mockingbird and Tom Sawyer…
Re: Masterpiece Theater… I do enjoy watching that from time to time. I enjoyed He Knew He Was Right when that was on a few years ago. The last MT we turned on was Bleak House (?). How. awful. can. camerawork. be? We watched it for fifteen minutes and turned. it. off. YUCK. I would have watched Jane Eyre if I had known it was on, but since we never turn on the tv I’m kind of out of the loop regarding what is coming up.
A lot of times the movie inspires me to read the book. I didn’t read Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility until I had seen the films. I liked Wives and Daughters, but didn’t love it like P&P and S&S. But I might like the book.
I should have said that I do enjoy children’s literature. I just finished all of the Little House prequels that are out and was so disappointed to find out that Melissa Wiley won’t be finishing up her series and the publisher is planning on dumbing down the rest of the books yet to come.
Gotta go! Fun to read everyone’s thoughts.
February 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I forgot…
My favorite dead guy is Charles Spurgeon.
One of my favorite not-dead guys is J.I. Packer.
This reminds me yet again that I STILL owe Kristy a list of my favorite children’s books since, oh, last summer.
February 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Great post, Sallie. I agree wholeheartedly, although I am often ashamed to admit it! I waded through many of those books in high school, at least enough to be able to write the required book reports, but it was PURE TORTURE. I do love to read, and some of the books on your list, Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series, I did revisit a few years ago and enjoyed them. You should try The Hobbit again… once you get through the first couple of chapters it is quite engrossing. Really it is.
As for Jane Austen… well, we won’t go there. I do enjoy the movies immensely, but the books are another story, for me.
I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who feels this way!
February 20th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
*shivers* I’m a bit horrified that anybody actually hates Jane Eyre…it doesn’t have to be your favorite, but Mr. Rochester a creep? The English major in me might just pass out to avoid the thought and poor dear Charlotte Bronte just rolled over in her grave…
Anyway, more thoughts, this time on contemporary Christian fiction: I love, love, love Francine Rivers. I have read her “Mark of the Lion” trilogy, Redeeming Love, The Atonement Child…all of them very good. Highly recommend her. Beyond Francine Rivers, though, I’m pretty much in agreement with you on this genre — just not alot of good stuff out there. I actually just read a supremely deplorable book touted to be “Christian fiction”…
February 20th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
oh yeah, one more comment! This new Masterpiece Theatre version of Jane Eyre will be released on DVD this month (in fact, I think it’s today), so you can probably borrow it from your library very soon. It does a great job representing the book. Oh, and I don’t keep up with what’s coming on TV, either, but every Sunday afternoon I get on PBS.org and see what’s coming on MT that night, so that way I can read a synopsis and then choose if it’s going to be worth my 2 hours that night. Just a thought!
February 21st, 2007 at 12:37 am
Francine Rivers is excellent…she’s the only modern Christian novel author that I find any good. I get LOST in her books.
The best “classic” novel I’ve ever read is The Scarlet Pimpernel. I cannot rave about that book highly enough. I’ve read it so many times…engrossing story, fascinating characters, and beautiful writing.
February 21st, 2007 at 9:36 am
Great post, Sallie …
I LOVE Stepping Heavenward, Jane Austen, L.M. Alcott and L.M. Montgomery books. I have to confess … I cannot finish a Mark Twain book. I just can’t. I hated Moby Dick and will probably never pick it up again! I loved a Tale of Two Cities but couldn’t get into Oliver Twist. Anna Karenina? Very depressing! I have to admit that I enjoyed it, though. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre I am very fond of. They are so sad, but a lot of good principles shine through. Question: what does everyone think of Elsie Dinsmore if you have read those books?
February 21st, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Just wanted to pop in and let you know that my GD test went fine…I don’t have it…they just told me to keep an eye on my sugar since this does run in my family.
February 21st, 2007 at 3:31 pm
I’ve read 4 books by Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit) because my husband wanted me to read some of the books he loved reading as a little boy. Though this is not really the type of book that I like I have to say that I did enjoy the Lord of the Rings (the first book in the trilogy) and I was surprised to find Christian principles in the book.
February 21st, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on your post Sallie, I really have! I just wanted to say to Lola’s Mom: Tolkein was a Christian and it was he and a friend who converted CS Lewis to Christianity; he didn’t mean for LOTR to have Christian metaphors (etc) but found that they crept in as the book progressed
(I did a bit of background reading before re-starting the book recently).
BTW Sallie I notice you have Faith Hope and Love on your blog link list. I’ve started a new blog that I am using exclusively now it’s called A Bend in the Road a-bend-in-the-road.blogspot.com and funnily enough, given your post, it is going to be inspired a great deal by the Anne books by LM Montgomery (along with all my usual rambling posts).
Blessings.
February 21st, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I JUST finished reading “Wuthering Heights”. I HATED it.
Every last bit of it. I have never read a book in which I could not WAIT for people to die! Such hateful evil people.
So many people told me that the ending would justify all of the rest. Not for me. People cannot be THAT abused and abandoned in life and then just suddenly improve because the evil people died.
Not without the grace of God, of which I noticed little of in that HORRID book.
Why didn’t the mother’s of yore have THAT book banned???
But Jane Eyre? I LOVED that one!
Now for my confession. I hate Shakespeare. Icky pooh.
February 21st, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Ok, I have to add one more comment, just because this is about books! I have read a lot of the books that people mentioned, although not all. I look forward to reading books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin when my kids are old enough. But I’ve never read War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, etc. I loved Tolkein and Lewis (just read 6 of the 7 Narnia books with my 5 year old!).
I loved Wuthering Heights as a young teen, but then read it again in college and couldn’t believe I’d based my ideas of romantic love on that book! Ewww!
One classic book I hated was Moby Dick. Boring! Oh, and Ivanhoe. I’d seen a made-for-tv version with Anthony Andrews and Olivia Hussey that I’ve always loved and the book was not as good. Same with Last of the Mohicans.
One of my all-time favorites was The Count of Monte Cristo. And A Tale of Two Cities.
February 22nd, 2007 at 12:24 pm
My least favorites are Cather in the Rye and Lord of the Flies. Ugh. But one you mentioned that is my very favorite of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird. Love Love it! The movie is also my favorite because it is so very close to the book ( which is very unusual as movies about books go) and who wouldn’t love Gregory Peck? LOL
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Two books I never could finish are (drumroll please….) Stepping Heavenward and Mere Christianity. Tried several times and just couldn’t do it. Stepping Heavenward seemed silly and Mere Christianity just confused me. Something about the sentence structure just really bothered me.
I’m sure they are worthy books, though, as most people wholeheartedly recommend these books.
Also, Tess of the d’Ubervilles had me in tears at the end of almost every chapter. The images from that book still haunt me. I’ve not touched anything by Thomas Hardy since.
This has been fun.
February 22nd, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Sallie,
What a refreshing topic!
I have to ditto Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I read it outloud to my three boys who were still home at the time and my elderly mom, who lives with us. You know you are on to something good when you could hear a pin drop around the table and they beg for another chapter. Several times all 5 of us were weeping. It was one of those life changing books for me.
I don’t really like fiction all that much but this book was amazing because the parallels to the abortion issue were so clear.
As far as other books, I love anything by Susan Hunt and Francis Schaeffer has to be the most thought-provoking theologian I have ever read. As far as books on family life and children, Clay and Sallie Clarkson are the hands-down winners. Their writings are so grace-centered and they talk about building relationships rather than “training” children.
Of course, for kids I love the Little House series and Dr. Seuss, both having valuable lessons for children today.
February 22nd, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I loved all of LM. Montgomery books. All of her stories. I have read everything that she wrote that is in print. That woman was a genius.
I LOVE “Jane Eyre” and have read it many times. I also enjoyed “Wuthering Heights.” The third Bronte sister, Ann wrote a good one called The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. That was surprisingly good. I like Tolkien and Shakespeare, too. Austen is awesome. I really like Sherlock Holmes mysteries, too. I love, love “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” What an exciting fun story.
I am not a huge fan of Dickens, thought “Great Expectations” and “A Tale of Two Cities” had their moments that really moved me, but wasn’t that happy with them.
I HATE the “Little House” books. I thought they were very boring. Didn’t like Jeanette Oke books ( I did enjoy the first Canadian series book, but thought the sequels were so depressing and dragged on and on) or Grace Livingston Hill, sorry. I know you like GLH.
I haven’t read many modern books but a Mary Higgins Clark mystery is tolerable.
The best modern/secular book I have ever read is “The Wedding,” by Nicholas Sparks. I have never cried so hard (tears of joy) in my life over a work of fiction.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 pm
OH MY GOODNESS!!!
I’ve never heard ANYONE say they *hated* the Little House books!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!
I just read “Little House in the Big Woods” a few weeks ago to my girls who had never heard the story. I read all the books to my boys when the girls were itty bitty. I don’t know how many times I’ve read the books-yes, even as an adult. I remember finding “Little House in the Big Woods” in my school library in 5th grade.
I’ve had a love affair with them ever since.
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Hey, I must admit that I love reading, particularly the classics. To me, they are so rich and varied in a way that most modern books are not, particularly these Christian fiction things (most are not even worthy of the title “book”). I did not like any of Thomas Hardy’s books and, though I love Dickens’ works overall, I had a hard time wading through Pickwick Papers. I finally did, though. I was reading the Little House series on my own at age 5 and always used books as my escape from the real world. This is an interesting topic.
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I am a big fan of Jane Austen, she’s not written a book that I haven’t loved! I began reading, and fell in love with, Charles Dicken’s novels at age 8 and continue to re-read some of his work as an adult…depressing, yes, but always a good ending. I’m with Sallie – most of the classics are not my cup of tea, and don’t even get me started on classics by the “dark Lords” as I call them, like Edgar Allen Poe!!!! Eeek! Wuthering Heights – couldn’t finish it, too dark, too depressing and horrid people. Love Jane Eyre, Little Women, Sherlock Holmes, C.S Lewis, Charles Spurgeon and Hannah Hunnard. I couldn’t get through many of the ‘classics’ such as Tom Sawyer, Uncle tom’s Cabin, etc. like so many others.
February 25th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Have to admit I love this idea;)
I posted on Cindy’s and had to laugh about some that people hate because I can’t stand them;)
GLH is totally not an author I can stand;) and fantasy makes my skin crawl;)
February 25th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
and some that people hate I love dearly;)
To each their own I guess:)
February 26th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Sorry, Joanna,
I usually don’t let it out of the box that I didn’t enjoy the “Little House” books. I am afraid of the backlash I will receive.
My little sister loved them, if that helps to redeem me in your eyes at all.