Saturday, November 10, 2012

Classics Club Monthly Meme #4

The Classics Club question for November is...

What classic piece of literature most intimidates you, and why? (Or, are you intimidated by the classics, and why? And has your view changed at all since you joined our club?)

 Intimidation implies fear and I am not , and never have been, scared of books, classics or otherwise. Every cover is an invitation to explore new worlds and make new friends which I'm always happy to accept.

 What I do find intimidating daunting right now is length because there are so many classics vying for my attention and clamouring to be read. It makes it very hard to decide what to read next and I tend to put aside the longer ones like Middlemarch and Bleak House and Vanity Fair and choose those with fewer pages. 

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10 comments:

  1. LisaNovember 11, 2012 at 2:54 AM

    I admit to being intimidated by the reputation of certain authors. I can still remember when I thought Dickens might be too hard for me - many years ago now! (and clearly I didn't know much about Dickens at the time.)

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    1. CatNovember 12, 2012 at 7:50 AM

      I read Dickens many years ago and decided he was too long and boring for me - I have since changed my mind - but I don't think of that as intimidation but a personal choice.

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  2. AnbolynNovember 11, 2012 at 3:53 PM

    Dickens has scared me and so have the Russian authors. I started Anna Karenina in February and still haven't finished it!

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    1. CatNovember 12, 2012 at 7:55 AM

      I prefer to think of the Russians as challenging - fortunately I read AK and War & Peace a long time ago - and they're a good example of length being a put off.

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  3. JeanNovember 11, 2012 at 8:11 PM

    Yep, I feel just the same! It's not that I can't do it, it's just they're so long!

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    1. CatNovember 12, 2012 at 7:59 AM

      I'm glad someone feels the same way I do! I guess it depends on how one interprets intimidation.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 14, 2012 at 5:35 AM

    I agree with your post above. It is more the length than the genre or the form that I find daunting, though I must confess that the plays can be tasking to read.

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    1. CatNovember 14, 2012 at 9:29 AM

      I have to admit that I'm not keen on plays and tend to avoid reading them.

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  5. Fanda ClassiclitNovember 14, 2012 at 7:25 PM

    I think when people say about intimidating books, they refer to books that they're not sure whether they will be able to finish it or not, although it's OK to put aside books we don't want to continue reading. For me, it's more about the subject, not the length. The Origin of the Species is one of them...

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  6. UnknownNovember 29, 2012 at 2:22 PM

    I'm a slow reader, and so I tend to pick up shorter books. But I wouldn't say I find long books intimidating. I just read several books at the same time, so I'm always finishing something

    My November Meme is here

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