Thursday Thirteen: 13 Classics I Have Read
It seems that I’ve been running across the Thursday Thirteen meme everywhere lately. When I encountered it over on JM’s Write Anyway a couple of weeks in a row, I finally gave in. I’ve decided to try it out this week with a list of thirteen classic books that I have read. I’m curious to see if we have any books in common. You already know about some of the books I haven’t read, so here is a list of ones that I have.
Classics I Have Known, or How to Redeem Myself For Last Week’s List:
1. The Odyssey by Homer (Read it to annoy my teacher. Loved it.)
2. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (Read it in 7th grade. Loved it)
3. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (Had to read this for High School English. Hated it.)
4. The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson (Read it in 7th grade. Loved it.)
5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Had to write a poem about it for English. It was okay.)
6. The Purgatorio by Dante (I was originally a Medieval Studies Major. Liked it.)
7. Paradise Lost by John Milton (Still think it should have been called “Paradise Misplaced.” Not too bad.)
8. The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare (Saw the play and liked it so much that I went home and read it. Loved it.)
9. L’étranger by Albert Camus (I’ve never read this in English. It was okay.)
10. Candide by Voltaire (Yes, I was a French Major. Interesting.)
11. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (Read it in High School. Found it intriguing.)
12. The Epic of Gilgamesh by someone in Mesopotamia (I wish that the Pre-Assyrian version still existed. Liked it.)
13. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (Acted in the play, so there is a special place for it in my heart.)
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Thursday Thirteen, The Odyssey, Homer, Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, The Black Arrow, Robert Louis Stevenson, Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, The Purgatorio, Dante, Paradise Lost, John Milton, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, William Shakespeare, L’étranger, Albert Camus, Candide, Voltaire, Siddhartha, Herman Hesse, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Mesopotamia, Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:26 am
I got through Withering Heights is about all I can say.
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:31 am
The only one I’ve read is Wuthering Heights. It was an awesome book!
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:53 am
I’ve read
The Odyssey,
The Purgatorio,
Stranger,
Candide,
Siddhartha and
Gilgamesh
I simply LOVE the all! Stranger is one of my favourite books. I wrote an essay about Gilgamesh and earn the highest mark few month before school ending.
But strangely many of listed books aren’t considered as classics here. They are included in school program (all these I’ve read) indeed but not as classics.
Anyhow very interesting list
Cheers!
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 am
I’ve read all of Shakespeare’s plays and adore Titus Andronicus. It’s heartbreaking, though. I’ve read probably half your list. The rest are on my TBR list, which is too darn long for one lifetime.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:37 am
Tina and Kailani, I just wish that it didn’t have such a sad ending. *sigh*
Milan, the concept of a “classic” is such a fluid thing, isn’t it? The Stranger certainly is thought provoking, isn’t it?
Nancy, I have a Shakepeare obsession, so I applaud the fact that you’ve read them all.
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Glad to see you jump on the T13 bandwagon! It’s fun and addictive as anything, so be prepared.
I am proud to say I hold not ONE but TWO, yes TWO degrees in English and of your list, I have read …
Heart of Darkness.
That’s it.
Not bad, huh? *grin*
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I LOVE Ivanhoe. That is seriously and awesome book and I loved that you mentioned it since a lot of people have never heard of Sir Walter Scott. I’m also a really big fan of L’Etranger and Candide–in the original French of course. And Titus? You have officially amazed me! =) Most people have also never heard of it before. When people think Shakespeare they think Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. I love Titus though–it’s certainly one of my favorites. I read Siddhartha in AcaDec one year, but I didn’t really care for the writing style. I haven’t read Heart of Darkness, The Black Arrow, Wutherin Heights, The Purgatorio (though I have read Inferno), or Gilgamesh. Are any of them worthwhile?
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I love Jane Eyre. I am just like the people so much more.
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Ah, Susan. You make my heart glad. Too bad it had to be Heart of Darkness, though.
Jennifer, we did Titus in high school. It ruled. (I died in act 4 scene 2.) The Black Arrow takes place during the War of the Roses. I loved it. Oh, and there’s a Disney film. Anyway, it’s my favorite of those 4.
Tina, *maybe* I’ll get around to reading that some day. I liked The Eyre Affair after all.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
OK, I’ve read 4 of yours:
The Odyssey
Purgatorio
Paradise Lost
The Epic of Gilgamesh
My 13 (times 2):
Beowulf
The Song of Roland
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Red Badge of Courage
Jane Eyre
Le Muerte de Arthur
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
The Rover
El Cid
Don Quixote
Great Expectations (which I hated)
A Christmas Carol
Jason and the Argonauts
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
The Bible (yes, the entire thing, including the Apocrytha)
Julie of the Wolves
The Jungle Book
Robin Hood
Sounder
Pilgrim’s Progress
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrboe
The Cask of Amontillado
The Three Sisters by Chekov
Call of the Wild
The Red Pony
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I read WH, Pardise L. And L’Etranger in French at school
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Somehow I graduated from college without having to read many classics. So, except for the Mark Twain titles, I read the rest after college:
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky
Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky
Shakespeare’s tragedies
I may have read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade, or at least bits of it.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Of yours, I read only 2; Wuthering Heights and Epic of Gilgamesh. Both readings happened a really long time ago, so it’s safe to say that I remember almost nothing of the plots. I *have* tried to be eclectic about my reading. Perhaps next week, I will try to come up with 13 appropriate titles.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Debbie, I’ve read a bunch of the ones on your list, but then you knew that.
Nicholas, did you like any of those?
Dan, I believe that I remember you reading Brothers Karamozov. I like Silas Marner.
Marina, I look forward to your list.