January 12, 2013

Turn Of The Century Salon - Intruduction




Katherine at November's Autumn is hosting a wonderful Turn Of The Century Salon, and in January she asks the participants to introduce themselves. So here goes the introduction!


What draws you to read the Classics?

I think there are two main reasons for this. First is the quality of writing. If the book has survived for such a long time and is still published, there must be something in it! Now there are a lot of crap books, and I don't pretend to be knowing enough not to make mistakes in choosing and not to be left with some nothing-in-it and who-writes-like-this book =) I don't have much time and I want to be sure I'm not going to lose it. Second reason is the uncomfortableness I feel when everybody has read a book and I don't. It's even worse is there are allusions to one book from another. I immediately feel the urge to put the book down and read the one mentioned first. So the more classics I read, the more comfortable I feel.

What era have you mainly read? Georgian? Victorian? Which authors?

I'm not sure about the eras (my knowledge of the British history ends in the Cromwell times :)), but as I now look in the 1001 list, the most ticked books are from the 19th century, especially the middle of it.

What Classics have you read from the 1880s-1930s? What did you think of them?

My childhood loves from this period are, of course, Twain and Stevenson. I also quite enjoy early fantasy and science fiction - Wells and Stoker fit here. And the detective stories, with Doyle and Christie, are worth mentioning too, I love them!

Name some books you're looking forward to read for the salon. 

I think I'm most looking forward to three titles in my Classic Club list:
  • Maugham, W. Somerset: Of Human Bondage 
  • Woolf, Virginia: Mrs. Dalloway 
  • Fitzgerald, F. Scott: The Great Gatsby 

Which authors do you hope to learn more about?

The above mentioned :)

Is your preference prose? poetry? both?

I mainly don't like poetry, so I always read prose. Novels is more my thing =)


3 comments:

  1. This looks like it could be fun! I think I might participate as I can.

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  2. I should definitely add some Robert Louis Stevenson to my list for this challenge. I've actually never read any of his novels even though I (weirdly) collect editions of Treasure Island.

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    Replies
    1. You should! And don't just stop at Treasure Island, all his other works are pretty amazing too (I've read them all!) My favourite is, I think, "Kidnapped"

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