The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is favourite classics, but because I can't come up with 10 favourites, I'm splitting into 5 that I loved and 5 that I disliked.
First, my favourites:
1.) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – does this surprise anyone, really? Just generally I am a huge Austen fan, but P&P has to be my favourite. (Shout-out to runners-up Northanger Abbey and Sense & Sensibility!)
2.) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – I had to study this one in my first year of university, and let me tell you, if there's anything that will destroy your love for a book (I was already a fan at that point), it's analyzing it to death in school. Thankfully, my love for Jane Eyre held out.
3.) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – there's something very comforting about this charmingly old-fashioned read.
4.) Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare — this is my favourite of Shakespeare's comedies. Gotta love the tension and clever exchange of wits between Beatrice and Benedick.
5.) Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder — I loved this book as a kid and read it repeatedly. I read a couple others in the series as well, but this one was my favourite.
And now, the classics I loathed:
2.) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte — my dislike for this Bronte novel is perhaps as strong as my love for Jane Eyre. You can read about it more here.
3.) Lord of the Flies by William Golding — a bunch of boys trapped on an island, who turn repulsively violent? No, thank you.
4.) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee — sorry, I know most people love this book, but it didn't work for me. For one thing, I just wasn't a huge fan of Scout's voice, and for another, we studied this book to death and beyond in high school (under a poor teacher, I might add) and I think that really put the final nail in this book's coffin for me.
5.) Watership Down by Richard Adams — I am not a fan of books about talking animals. The fact that some of these rabbits were super creepy and disturbing just made this book even worse.
What classics do you love (or hate)?
I really need to read Jane Eyre. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on most of these; I did love To Kill a Mockingbird and Watership Down though. It's too bad when a bad classroom experience can ruin a book for you.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh…I lived and breathed The Little House books, as well as all the subsequent spin-off series! I can't believe you're the first person I've seen with it on your list! And, of course, how can you go wrong with P&P or Little Women?!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed every single one of your favourite classics. I've only tried one of the classics you didn't like, which was Wastership Down, and I have a love/hate relationship with that book. I love parts of it, but as you said, some bits are just plain creepy.
ReplyDeleteI could not get into Wuthering Heights. I think I read about three pages and bailed ship! I too love Jany Eyre. :)
ReplyDeleteThe movie version of Watership Down creeped me out so bad as a child that I've steered clear of the book ever since! *shudder*
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about Wuthering Heights. I just do not see the appeal of that book. It's a bunch of people with mental illness treating each other very, very badly; the fact that it's so romanticized is baffling to me.