My responses to The Classics Club 10 Year Celebration Questionnaire.
When did you join the Classics Club?
May 2014. I’ve completed Round I and Round II lists and should finish Round III before the year ends.
What is the best classic book you've read for the club so far? Why?
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I’m a Dickens fan, and this is such a poignant example of sacrificial love. I’ve seen others rank Dickens’ novels, and they usually have either David Copperfield, Bleak House, or Great Expectations as #1. I like each of those, but for me, it is no contest; A Tale of Two Cities is #1.
What is the first classic you ever read?
To be very literal, and how can I be anything but in this venue?; I have to say The Cat in the Hat. But if we said “grown-up” classic, I believe it was The Lord of the Rings.
Which classic book inspired you the most?
Death Comes for the Archbishop
What is the most challenging Classic you've ever read or tried to read?
Ulysses. Close second: In Search of Lost Time. Both ugh!
Favorite movie adaptation of a classic:
The Lord of the Rings. Close second: To Kill a Mockingbird
Least favorite movie adaptation:
Lord of the Flies, several attempts, all failed.
Which classic character most reminds you of yourself?
Tom Sawyer as a child. Sherlock Holmes as an adult, which sounds very presumptuous, but I am a puzzle solver professionally, just not as good as Sherlock. But who is?
Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving? Respecting? Appreciating?
I didn’t know what to expect and was intimidated by the Russian classics. But I found both The Brothers Karamazov and Anna Karenina accessible and enjoyable.
Classic you are definitely going to make happen next year?
Next year? As in 2023? Martin Chuzzlewit
Favorite memory with a classic and/or your favorite memory with The Classics Club?
Completing Round I and Round II, and anytime a club member comments on my blog.
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After reading your Ulysses post for the James Joyce round up earlier in the year, I expected to see it on your least fav list :-)
ReplyDeleteA Tale of Two Cities is certainly high up on my all-time favourite, but I read it pre-blog and pre-club, so not sure if that will count.
Well you need to reread it, and then it will definitely count :)
DeleteQuestion 3 was an impossible question. I listed ten, and I could have gone on and on. And a Tale of Two Cities would have been on there as well. It is a great story.
ReplyDeleteTo Kill a Mockingbird was a great film!
And I guess I could say that I had apprehensions about the Russians, too. I didn't think I'd get through Crime and Punishment, but it was amazing! Same with AK and BK and War and Peace, etc.
#3 woulda been hard, except I have called A Tale of Two Cities my all-time favorite, so I limited it to that. But yes, so many.
DeleteI agree with you on A Tale of Two Cities. I've enjoyed most of Dickens' books, but that one is definitely the best.
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one.
DeleteI see much love for A Tale of Two Cities. That and The Count of Monte Cristo are two that I definitely want to read soon.
ReplyDeleteThose are both good ones. I hope you enjoy them.
DeleteThe most surprising thing for me about reading classics is that they are (almost) all excellent stories. It saddens me to think of all the children and young people who have grown to hate the classics because of bad experiences with them in school.
ReplyDeleteI hope to read A Tale of Two Cities and Bleak House and The Brothers Karamazov one of these days.
They are both superb. I hope you enjoy them.
DeleteHoly cow, congratulations on nearly knocking off three lists! Nice to find another fan of Death comes for the Archbishop, too. It was on my first list. :)
ReplyDeleteYes...it's a lovely tale.
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