I went back and re-read my blog yesterday (yes, I'm quite a narcissist when it comes to writing - I'm quite unashamed of it), but I tried to forget that it was
me writing. I wanted to see what sort of a person my writing made me come across as.
I do that a lot - seeing myself through different eyes.
I think one of the things my writing seems to do is name myself the Master of All Classics; I have to confess that there are a number of essential classics that I haven't read. Don't get me wrong, I
love classics, but I'm not as invested in them as I may sound.
I've read Harry Potter, and in my younger and more shameful years (i.e. 2013), I even read the Hunger Games Trilogy. I also got swept up into the John Green craze of last year, and I don't really regret any of these things (well, maybe I do regret Hunger Games. Just a bit though). I'll always be a Potterhead, and no classical setting,
not even New York in the early 1900s, will replace my love for Hogwarts.
I want to be the Master of All Classics (that sounds like a geeky video game thing, and guess what? I found out that it is - check out what Master all Classics really is
here), but here are a few books that I haven't read that are stopping me.
1. King Lear - William Shakesphere
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| From: http://www.mcgoodwin.net |
Of course, the first book on my list isn't even a book.
I've actually watched the King Lear in a theatrical production, but I've never been able to bring myself to read the book - it has something to do with its reputation for being tedious (but don't all classics have that reputation?), and a little to do with plain laziness on my part.
2. Les Miserable - Victor Hugo
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| From: http://mainstreetarts.org |
I stopped reading this one after I got a hundred pages in, and I don't even know why. As far as I remember, it was interesting, and I loved the post-Revolution and re-Revolution France setting.
One terrible thing about not having read this book is that I won't let myself watch the movie (it's a rule of mine - don't watch famous movie adaptations of books you haven't read).
3. Ulysses - James Joyce
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| From: http://designobserver.com |
This one is obvious. Of course I haven't read Ulysses yet, but that's only because my young and easily distracted brain is not yet worthy of the accomplishment. This book is, quite simply, too good for me.
4. The Iliad - Homer
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| From: http://covers.feedbooks.net |
Actually, I only managed to stagger, half-dead, through Homer's
Odyssey in the 9th grade. I'm not yet ready for another Homer book - maybe in another 3-400 years?
5. The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemmingway
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| From: http://hydrayak.com |
This one shouldn't really be on this list, but it should (not that that makes any sense at all). I've read it at least three times, but I've never understood its significance. Is there a grand metaphor that I should be understanding - read this book is a bit like understanding
Moby Dick- staring at an all-powerful metaphor that I simply
can't grasp.
I'm sure I could think up at least ten more books that I can't seem to complete despite their god-like classics status. But five is a good number for now.
Are there any books that you haven't finished? Comment below :)
