Do you read classic literature?

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

Yup. I've read and enjoyed Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Verne, Oscar Wilde (Importance of Being Ernest is the funniest thing I've ever read), Proust, Murasaki Shikibu, Mark Twain, Tacitus, Homer, Virgil, Plato, Aristotle, etc.

I enjoy reading.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to read anything recently because I lost most of my books in a flood during a hurricane

 

[HardkorSB]

Back when I was a kid, I really loved The Three/Four Musketeers. Haven't read it in 15 years or so but I may do that if I'm ever bored.
Beowulf wasn't too bad.
Edgar Alan Poe had some decent short stories.
Bram Stoker's Dracula was good.
Is 2001: A Space Odyssey considered classic literature? Because I really like that one.

 

[bdeamon]

I've been reading the Scarlet Pimpanl series recently, this guy is like the first Batman

 

[Something Amyss]

Classic literature is about a third of my Kindle Library. Granted, I include L Frank Baum and the like, so your mileage may vary. I've read Twain and Verne recently, Stevenson frequently, but no Verne. I've dabbled with the Russians, mostly Tolstoy, but not much.

I tried reading Shakespeare on a Kindle, and without being able to flip back to the character list I find myself losing my interest.

My main bag is fantasy, I make no bones about that. But I certainly get where you're coming from. It's really kind of weird when people describe themselves as avid readers when all they've read is Harry Potter or Song of Ice and Fire. Right now I'm listening to The Hunger Games (My mom only does audiobooks, so I have free access, and wanted to try the series) and finishing a Percy Jackson book, but it's certainly not all I read. Earlier in the year I was on a Sherlock Holmes kick (Doyle's work only)

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

A good chunk of my library is classical literature, and ancient Roman history written by Roman historians.

Dostoevsky is a personal favorite and so is Edgar Allen Poe.

Kierkegaard is fun to read too.

I'm not boring. I swear!

 

[SckizoBoy]

snip

Well... depends what you mean by 'classic'... first thing that came to mind was 'Classical era'... to which the answer is: a little... insomuch as I have Xenophon, Herodotus, Homer and Thucydides.

To reflect answers given... not really. Largely because I just... haven't, I guess, never had much compunction to and not really been that interested in a lot of it. Jane Austen, Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne, HG Wells, a touch of Rabelais... s'bout it... *shrugs* Philosophy wise, only really Fichte, Schleiermacher, Kierkegaard and a couple others.

On the other hand: Clausewitz; Scharnhorst; HKB v Moltke; Frederick the Great; Macchiavelli; Frederick III... sensing a common theme yet?!

A good chunk of my library is classical literature, and ancient Roman history written by Roman historians.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTT!!

What've you got?! Must know!! Presumably the usual stuff like... Livy, Frontinus, Arrian, Appian (wait, he was Greek...!), Caesar, Cato (ick!), Vegetius, Cassius Dio etc.?

I'm ever on the search for more primary/secondary histories that cover the mid-late Republic.

Shit, almost forgot Sallust and Cicero... =_=

 

[mrjoe94]

Um.........huh. OH! I know! I read a bunch of "classic" books for school (Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe etc). Most of them ranged from all right, to "please kill me god.". Bare in mind I was about 8-10, so they were always some abridged version. Ironically my favorite "classic" stories (Sherlock Holmes) were never assigned. Honestly I think a major problem with classic literature is because you're normally forced into reading it or face the wrath of the School Gods you can't enjoy the stories and eventually grow to despise them. At least that's my view of the general stigma behind them.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

A good chunk of my library is classical literature, and ancient Roman history written by Roman historians.

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTT!!

What've you got?! Must know!! Presumably the usual stuff like... Livy, Frontinus, Arrian, Appian (wait, he was Greek...!), Caesar, Cato (ick!), Vegetius, Cassius Dio etc.?

I'm ever on the search for more primary/secondary histories that cover the mid-late Republic.

Shit, almost forgot Sallust and Cicero... =_=

After having a quick look see at my bookshelves I have Livy, Caesar, Cicero, and Tacitus.

I think I have another one somewhere, but it's probably in my work bag and I don't feel like searching for it. >.>

 

[sextus the crazy]

Because frankly I'm a little sick of reading self-descriptions where "reading" is a hobby and your favorite books are Song of Whatever and Magic the Magicking. Not that there's anything wrong with it but is that *it*?

I read a fair amount, but most of the stuff I read is war history and other non-fiction type things (i.e. the kind of stuff you'd expect to read in a government or war history class). As far as fiction goes, I mostly read Heller, Vonnegut, and Pynchon.

 

[Heronblade]

I'm just asking because I get the feeling all people read (as far as online discussion goes anyway) are fantasy series(es) or franchise stuff that goes on forever with arcs and universes, much like comics? Or stuff that gets turned into a movie, or is about to, or is a novelization of a movie. Generally speaking teenage/"young adult" stuff.

It seems that if a book isn't immediately somehow tied to pop culture, if there's no promise of "more" and its a literary dead end, if you have to look up a word in like page 1, then it just gets ignored altogether.

Does anybody still read, I dunno, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne? Do you read Shakespeare if your teacher doesn't tell you to? Any of the Russian writers, Dostoevsky, Tolstoi, Nabokov, Checkhov? The actual unabridged stuff?

Because frankly I'm a little sick of reading self-descriptions where "reading" is a hobby and your favorite books are Song of Whatever and Magic the Magicking. Not that there's anything wrong with it but is that *it*?

Let's see, off of that list:

-Twain, Dickens, and Verne wrote several of my favorite books.
-Not really a fan of Shakespeare, either written or acted out. Of course, my general disdain for the culture he wrote about is likely influencing that.
-I have read both Dostoevsky and Tolstoi and enjoyed some of their work, but both are rather dry in my opinion.
-I have not read works by Nabokov or Checkhov. I must admit that I actually had to look the latter up.

That stated, I do tend to prefer modern literature. Not least because I tend to gravitate towards science fiction, and most earlier examples of such are... lacking on pertinent details.

 

[TWRule]

I've read plenty of what could be designated "classics" - though I'm suspicious of those who chooses to read certain things simply because they were arbitrarily designated as such. If you don't have a reason stronger than that, or just for the entertainment value, you're probably wasting your time.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Also read a number of Wells, The Time Machine being not only a favorite but the actual invention of the IDEA of time travel.

Er, shouldn't that be "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"?

 

[MetalDooley]

Well I just finished reading a collection of H.P.Lovecraft stories the other night if that counts.Over the years I've read books by the likes of Bram Stoker,Jules Verne,H.G.Wells,Edgar Rice Burroughs,Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Dickens so yeah I guess I do OP

 

[FalloutJack]

Also read a number of Wells, The Time Machine being not only a favorite but the actual invention of the IDEA of time travel.

Er, shouldn't that be "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"?

Hmmm. I don't know. If that story predates HG Wells, then perhaps. If that is so, then I would amend it to 'invented the idea of controllable time travel', to be a traveler rather than being lost in the vortex of time.

 

[Stasisesque]

I'm doing an English Literature degree, so yes, yes I do read classic literature.

I'll read virtually anything, mind.

 

[Artina89]

Yes I read plenty of classic literature, in fact over the last couple of months I have read Cancer ward and Apricot jam and other short stories by Aleksandr Soltzenhitsyn, Metamorphosis and other stories by Franz Kafka, Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada, and Candide by Voltaire. I will pretty much read anything, so if anyone recommends a book to me, I will try and check it out.

 

[AWAR]

Spoiler

In all seriousness, yes and no. I rarely read literature (I'm a non-fiction kind of guy) but when I do it's often the classics. One of my favorites is Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Truly a masterpiece, everyone should check it out.

 

[thesilentman]

First off, classical literature. Excuse me, I'll show myself out for being pedantic. =P

I love some older classics, but it depends on what they are. I'll gladly read Edgar Allan Poe, but give me A Tale of Two Cities and I just won't. All depends on the type of classics for me.

 

[Stasisesque]

There was nonsense here.

Edit: Sorry I was confusing Wells' short story The Chronic Argonauts. Ignore me.