Day 10: Favorite Classic
Such an easy prompt today. I've always loved classics, and love to find them in bookstores with worn hardcovers if possible. There's something about the feel of a worn classic that brings you back to the golden age of writing and reading. While I've read many books of classic prose and poetry, tales, and novels, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is by far my favorite. It's the original coming of age story, a bildungsroman if you will.
My favorite part of reading is the characters and their development. I like to feel as if I'm growing with the character, as if I'm learning what they are learning, and Jane Eyre was ahead of its time in this sense. The unfolding of Jane's life, morality, and sensibility envelopes the reader. It explores sexuality, religion, feminism, and criticizes the social norms in such a way that it revolutionized fiction. It certainly revolutionized fiction for me. It opened me up to a world of literature by Austin, Elliot, Stoker, Wilde, Chaucer, Boccaccio, Petrarch, and so many more that my bookshelves are filled with them.
But what makes a classic a "classic?" What's your favorite classic?
-Desiree
Growing up one of my favorite books
to read, and that still to this day holds a spot in my heart is The Great Gatsby by
F. Scott Fitzgerald. I know it’s a pretty popular pick, especially since the
movie just came out (which I thought was so so…) and so it’s fresh in
everyone’s mind. For me when I think of The Great
Gatsby I think of a great American novel that has stood the test of time, and
proven to be held as one of the greatest works in American Literature.
I always loved the story, and
really connected with the characters of the book. Even though it is a short
book, it is still very good. It is something I recommend everyone to read,
again if it has been a while.
“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
Would you look at that? We're in the double digits!Like Desiree, I find this prompt to be a no brainer. I, too, have a had a love for classics since middle/high school. There's something very powerful associated with the notion of reading a classic novel or work of drama. Thinking of how many lives the same book has influenced fosters an intense feeling of community within me. It's exciting and, perhaps, a little overwhelming to reflect on how many people find deep connections with the same words I find so captivating.
To Kill a Mockingbird is the only classic that is always on my ever-changing list of 10 favorite books. Harper Lee's fantastic work is not only exquisitely written, but the story is crushingly timeless and (tragically) relevant. My dog, my (future) son, and favorite stuffed fox are all named after characters from this book. I think that's a rather good sign that this classic has had quite a large hold on my literary life.
-Josh
This is cool!
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