Cindy at Dominion Family has an interesting and funny discussion going on (archived link). People are admitting the books they absolutely hate that are considered to be “classics” within the culture, the church, and/or the homeschool movement.
What a catharsis! Really. I’m going to admit something I’ve never admitted here before. I am not a fan of classic literature and I am abysmally poorly read in this area. For being a teacher, an honors college graduate, blah, blah, blah… I’ve read very few classics and I don’t particularly feel that I’ve missed anything.
I read for three reasons.
- First, I read to escape. And when I want to escape I don’t want to think, I don’t want to deal with someone else’s horrific problems written in the form of a novel, and I don’t want to wonder every time I turn the page if I am going to be assaulted by language or content. So that narrows down my reading possibilities quite a bit.
- Second, I read to know and understand who God is. So I stick to the classics of the Christian faith, dead authors I respect, and other carefully chosen newer works.
- Third, I read because some aspect of our culture or life has caught my fancy and I want to understand it.
I don’t read to impress people or to say I’ve read all the great works of literature. I don’t read because Oprah says it is a good book. And I don’t read something just because “everyone” is reading it.
By and large, I don’t like contemporary Christian fiction. At all.
So here are some of the books I’ve never read. I have attempted some, but gave up. These are just a few that I thought of off the top of my head. I’m sure once other people start leaving titles in the comments my list will grow significantly.
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
War and Peace
Tom Sawyer
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Huckleberry Finn
Nothing by Tolkien
The Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lord of the Flies
There’s a whole additional list of books I read in school that are classics that I didn’t like. But Caroline needs my attention so I’ll offer my personal pan of those books as other people mention them.
So what do you dislike? What have you never read that everybody just loves?
Can’t wait to see what makes the list!
40 Things I’ve Learned By Age 40 – #1-7
*shivers* I’m a bit horrified that anybody actually hates Jane Eyre…it doesn’t have to be your favorite, but Mr. Rochester a creep? The English major in me might just pass out to avoid the thought and poor dear Charlotte Bronte just rolled over in her grave…
Anyway, more thoughts, this time on contemporary Christian fiction: I love, love, love Francine Rivers. I have read her “Mark of the Lion” trilogy, Redeeming Love, The Atonement Child…all of them very good. Highly recommend her. Beyond Francine Rivers, though, I’m pretty much in agreement with you on this genre — just not alot of good stuff out there. I actually just read a supremely deplorable book touted to be “Christian fiction”…
oh yeah, one more comment! This new Masterpiece Theatre version of Jane Eyre will be released on DVD this month (in fact, I think it’s today), so you can probably borrow it from your library very soon. It does a great job representing the book. Oh, and I don’t keep up with what’s coming on TV, either, but every Sunday afternoon I get on PBS.org and see what’s coming on MT that night, so that way I can read a synopsis and then choose if it’s going to be worth my 2 hours that night. Just a thought!
Francine Rivers is excellent…she’s the only modern Christian novel author that I find any good. I get LOST in her books.
The best “classic” novel I’ve ever read is The Scarlet Pimpernel. I cannot rave about that book highly enough. I’ve read it so many times…engrossing story, fascinating characters, and beautiful writing.
Great post, Sallie …
I LOVE Stepping Heavenward, Jane Austen, L.M. Alcott and L.M. Montgomery books. I have to confess … I cannot finish a Mark Twain book. I just can’t. I hated Moby Dick and will probably never pick it up again! I loved a Tale of Two Cities but couldn’t get into Oliver Twist. Anna Karenina? Very depressing! I have to admit that I enjoyed it, though. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre I am very fond of. They are so sad, but a lot of good principles shine through. Question: what does everyone think of Elsie Dinsmore if you have read those books?
Just wanted to pop in and let you know that my GD test went fine…I don’t have it…they just told me to keep an eye on my sugar since this does run in my family.
I’ve read 4 books by Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit) because my husband wanted me to read some of the books he loved reading as a little boy. Though this is not really the type of book that I like I have to say that I did enjoy the Lord of the Rings (the first book in the trilogy) and I was surprised to find Christian principles in the book.
I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on your post Sallie, I really have! I just wanted to say to Lola’s Mom: Tolkein was a Christian and it was he and a friend who converted CS Lewis to Christianity; he didn’t mean for LOTR to have Christian metaphors (etc) but found that they crept in as the book progressed 🙂 (I did a bit of background reading before re-starting the book recently).
BTW Sallie I notice you have Faith Hope and Love on your blog link list. I’ve started a new blog that I am using exclusively now it’s called A Bend in the Road a-bend-in-the-road.blogspot.com and funnily enough, given your post, it is going to be inspired a great deal by the Anne books by LM Montgomery (along with all my usual rambling posts).
Blessings.
I JUST finished reading “Wuthering Heights”. I HATED it.
Every last bit of it. I have never read a book in which I could not WAIT for people to die! Such hateful evil people.
So many people told me that the ending would justify all of the rest. Not for me. People cannot be THAT abused and abandoned in life and then just suddenly improve because the evil people died.
Not without the grace of God, of which I noticed little of in that HORRID book.
Why didn’t the mother’s of yore have THAT book banned???
But Jane Eyre? I LOVED that one!
Now for my confession. I hate Shakespeare. Icky pooh.
Ok, I have to add one more comment, just because this is about books! I have read a lot of the books that people mentioned, although not all. I look forward to reading books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin when my kids are old enough. But I’ve never read War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, etc. I loved Tolkein and Lewis (just read 6 of the 7 Narnia books with my 5 year old!).
I loved Wuthering Heights as a young teen, but then read it again in college and couldn’t believe I’d based my ideas of romantic love on that book! Ewww!
One classic book I hated was Moby Dick. Boring! Oh, and Ivanhoe. I’d seen a made-for-tv version with Anthony Andrews and Olivia Hussey that I’ve always loved and the book was not as good. Same with Last of the Mohicans.
One of my all-time favorites was The Count of Monte Cristo. And A Tale of Two Cities.
My least favorites are Cather in the Rye and Lord of the Flies. Ugh. But one you mentioned that is my very favorite of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird. Love Love it! The movie is also my favorite because it is so very close to the book ( which is very unusual as movies about books go) and who wouldn’t love Gregory Peck? LOL
Two books I never could finish are (drumroll please….) Stepping Heavenward and Mere Christianity. Tried several times and just couldn’t do it. Stepping Heavenward seemed silly and Mere Christianity just confused me. Something about the sentence structure just really bothered me.
I’m sure they are worthy books, though, as most people wholeheartedly recommend these books.
Also, Tess of the d’Ubervilles had me in tears at the end of almost every chapter. The images from that book still haunt me. I’ve not touched anything by Thomas Hardy since.
This has been fun.
Sallie,
What a refreshing topic!
I have to ditto Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I read it outloud to my three boys who were still home at the time and my elderly mom, who lives with us. You know you are on to something good when you could hear a pin drop around the table and they beg for another chapter. Several times all 5 of us were weeping. It was one of those life changing books for me.
I don’t really like fiction all that much but this book was amazing because the parallels to the abortion issue were so clear.
As far as other books, I love anything by Susan Hunt and Francis Schaeffer has to be the most thought-provoking theologian I have ever read. As far as books on family life and children, Clay and Sallie Clarkson are the hands-down winners. Their writings are so grace-centered and they talk about building relationships rather than “training” children.
Of course, for kids I love the Little House series and Dr. Seuss, both having valuable lessons for children today.
I loved all of LM. Montgomery books. All of her stories. I have read everything that she wrote that is in print. That woman was a genius.
I LOVE “Jane Eyre” and have read it many times. I also enjoyed “Wuthering Heights.” The third Bronte sister, Ann wrote a good one called The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. That was surprisingly good. I like Tolkien and Shakespeare, too. Austen is awesome. I really like Sherlock Holmes mysteries, too. I love, love “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” What an exciting fun story.
I am not a huge fan of Dickens, thought “Great Expectations” and “A Tale of Two Cities” had their moments that really moved me, but wasn’t that happy with them.
I HATE the “Little House” books. I thought they were very boring. Didn’t like Jeanette Oke books ( I did enjoy the first Canadian series book, but thought the sequels were so depressing and dragged on and on) or Grace Livingston Hill, sorry. I know you like GLH.
I haven’t read many modern books but a Mary Higgins Clark mystery is tolerable.
The best modern/secular book I have ever read is “The Wedding,” by Nicholas Sparks. I have never cried so hard (tears of joy) in my life over a work of fiction.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!
I’ve never heard ANYONE say they *hated* the Little House books!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!
I just read “Little House in the Big Woods” a few weeks ago to my girls who had never heard the story. I read all the books to my boys when the girls were itty bitty. I don’t know how many times I’ve read the books-yes, even as an adult. I remember finding “Little House in the Big Woods” in my school library in 5th grade.
I’ve had a love affair with them ever since. 🙂
Hey, I must admit that I love reading, particularly the classics. To me, they are so rich and varied in a way that most modern books are not, particularly these Christian fiction things (most are not even worthy of the title “book”). I did not like any of Thomas Hardy’s books and, though I love Dickens’ works overall, I had a hard time wading through Pickwick Papers. I finally did, though. I was reading the Little House series on my own at age 5 and always used books as my escape from the real world. This is an interesting topic.
I am a big fan of Jane Austen, she’s not written a book that I haven’t loved! I began reading, and fell in love with, Charles Dicken’s novels at age 8 and continue to re-read some of his work as an adult…depressing, yes, but always a good ending. I’m with Sallie – most of the classics are not my cup of tea, and don’t even get me started on classics by the “dark Lords” as I call them, like Edgar Allen Poe!!!! Eeek! Wuthering Heights – couldn’t finish it, too dark, too depressing and horrid people. Love Jane Eyre, Little Women, Sherlock Holmes, C.S Lewis, Charles Spurgeon and Hannah Hunnard. I couldn’t get through many of the ‘classics’ such as Tom Sawyer, Uncle tom’s Cabin, etc. like so many others.
Have to admit I love this idea;)
I posted on Cindy’s and had to laugh about some that people hate because I can’t stand them;)
GLH is totally not an author I can stand;) and fantasy makes my skin crawl;)
and some that people hate I love dearly;)
To each their own I guess:)
Sorry, Joanna,
I usually don’t let it out of the box that I didn’t enjoy the “Little House” books. I am afraid of the backlash I will receive. 😉
My little sister loved them, if that helps to redeem me in your eyes at all.
I’m really curious if you’ve gone back and read any of them.
I highly recommend reading Huck Finn, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and To Kill a Mockingbird. They’re great to look at a progression of how race is treated in the United States.
Hi Ticia,
All these years later and I haven’t gone back to read any of them. The only one I have thought about picking up is “To Kill A Mockingbird” but I haven’t. David read “Huckleberry Finn” in the past few years and enjoyed it. He just tried “Tom Sawyer” in the past year and gave up since he wasn’t enjoying it.
Sallie
My impression from having read both of them, Tom Sawyer was written because he enjoyed writing it. Huck Finn was written because he wanted to say something.
I’m glad you brought this post out of the archives. I am a huge Jane Austen fan, but one of her novels I could not get through was Mansfield Park. I plan to get back to it at some point. I do love classics, though, much more than more recent offerings. I think it’s because there is, in fact. “nothing new under the sun”, and the classic authors had to be more discreet and articulate when describing the failings and faux pas of the human race. Nowadays, everything is “in your face”, it seems.
I totally agree with you about Catcher in the Rye. I remember my younger sister having to read it when she was in high school. I saw it sitting on her dresser, and picked it up. I couldn’t believe this was required material for a high school class.
I was always in the advanced reading group in school when I was young, and we were assigned Little Women in third grade. I remember crying many tears over having to read it, and I still blame it for my having to wear glasses at such an early age (8), lol. I did pick it up later in life, and gained a better appreciation of it.
I guess the reason I read is to gain a better understanding of others? To realize that we really do all have feet of clay. And for interest, of course. 🙂
Hi Cheryl,
I’ve read a number of Austen’s books, but not “Mansfield Park” at this point. That is one of the books I’ve never really cared for when watching film adaptations either.
That’s a great insight about why some of us prefer older books – “more discreet and articulate” is a great way to put it.
Sallie