Time to Read Those Long Classics

Although things are beginning to open up, we are still being encouraged to stay home as much as possible. It may be weeks or months--or never--before life goes back to normal, so this may be a good time to read one of those longer classics that you have been putting off for lack of time.

Below is a list of long novels you may wish to read. The page count comes from Amazon, but every version of a novel has a different number of pages. I did not want to take time to check out font sizes, etc., so the given page count is either based on a single unabridged version from a publisher I trust or is an approximated average using several versions.

I have not read everything on this list, but reading tastes differ. They are all well-known and highly regarded, so you may enjoy them more than I think I would. But I will start the list with two that I have read and enjoyed very much.

·       Middlemarch, by George Eliot, approximately 880 pages. George Eliot is one of my favorite authors, and I have read this book several times. It is sort of a multiple romance story but is not light reading like Jane Austin’s books.

·       Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, approximately 960 pages. This novel is partly a satire on the English legal system, but you don’t have to be a lawyer to enjoy the twists and turns and the plight of young love.

·       War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, approximately 1296 pages. I downloaded this to my Kindle with the hope of getting to it some day. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—I have such a long reading list that it may be a while.

·       Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, approximately 1462 pages. This is the book behind the musical Les Mis. As with War and Peace, I have downloaded this novel to my Kindle but don’t expect to get to it soon.

·       The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, approximately 1178 pages. This is another book that I may get to “some time.” It is still under copyright so there is no free Kindle version yet. I don’t mind paying, but I’ll wait until I’m closer to actually reading it. I saw the movie and have also read The Hobbit, which is a sort of prequel to The Lord of the Rings. It should be a good read for anyone who likes fantasy adventures.

·       The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, approximately 1200 pages. I have not read this book but it should be good reading for people who are interested in early thrillers.

·       Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, approximately 976 pages. I have not read this novel, either, but many people love it.

For additional suggestions, including a number of more recent books, check out this link: https://www.vulture.com/2016/11/long-books-worth-your-time.html.

Then get reading.

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The picture at the head of this post is one of the original illustrations for Bleak House. It was drawn by Hablot Brown (a/k/a Phiz) in the mid 1800s and shows the three youngest protagonists in this multi-character novel. The drawing is in the public domain because of its age.

A Silver Lining: Time to Read

Even the worst situations can have a silver lining. Being stuck at home gives me more time to read. Yes, I already read one or two books a week, but church and photo club meetings took a lot of my spare time. So I might as well take advantage of the break to catch up on some of those classics that I either read long ago or planned to read “some day.”

The illustration at the head of this post is from Silas Marner by George Eliot. She has been one of my favorite authors since high school, and it hasn’t been that long since I re-read The Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch. But I finally got around to re-reading Silas Marner, and it reminded me how much I enjoy some of the old classics.

I’m going to read Moby Dick next. I can’t remember if I ever have, but it would have been a long time ago, anyway. I also downloaded a free version of War and Peace for my Kindle, although I’m not guaranteeing that I’ll read that anytime soon.

Then there are multi-published authors like Charles Dickens. Wikipedia lists twenty “notable works,” and I’ve only read about half of them. I’ve read every book Jane Austin wrote, but if you haven’t, consider picking up Persuasion or Mansfield Park, which are among her lesser-known works.

As you sit at home trying to keep busy, consider reading or re-reading the classics. And if you have children or grandchildren, this is the time to get them interested in the books you read as a child.

That’s the subject of next week’s post.

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The illustration was drawn by Hugh Thomson for a 1907 edition of Silas Marner. It is in the public domain because of its age.