I am getting my reading ability back in the next few weeks, having my final surgery for cataracts next week... I am planning on re-reading "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis, and "Dead Souls" by Nikoli Gogol... three books I have read and love, but it's a good jumping off point to start... Thank you for promoting reading of great literature...
@@williamward446 I love “Dead Souls”! I reread it last year, and will be reading it in the future. I was actually considering putting it in this video but thought that “Oblomov” might be a little easier to understand if you are just getting into the classics. And thank you for the recommendations! I’ve been looking at “The Canterbury Tales” for a while now, and it’s probably time I actually read the book. Hope the surgery goes well and you recover fast and easy :)
Can you name them ... after each book do you do a summary words you learned do you do english litrerature in school do you go for writers all in all i much love old setting not modern times thanks
Great video! I just bought the clothbound edition of Middlemarch!❤ I read it years ago and will probably re-read it! I have The Master and Margarita on my shelf- planning to read it in 2025!!!🎉
Hey Mary! I've been really enjoying your channel! The topics you cover and the quality of your videos are awesome. You can take your channel even further if you want. But there are some important issues in your channel that will not grow your channel easily if not solved. Thank You:)
I loved Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The master and Margarita is on my list. Middlemarch was to slow for me. One hundred years was not my thing also 😢 The wren sounds interesting
Yeah I can see how Middlemarch can be slow. And as for One Hundred Years of Solitude, it definitely wasn’t like anything I’ve read before. I want to reread it one day to see if I still like it. It made such a big impression on me partly I think because it was the first magical realism book I’ve ever read
If you like multi-generational stories, two classics of french literature are Honoré de Balzac's La Comédie Humaine and of course Emile Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart, two very famed sagas that we in France study at least one book from each in high school
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I love multi-generational stories, and I will definitely read them! Just out of curiosity, what other French novels do you guys study in school? I realized I haven’t actually read a lot of French classics, so maybe I would be able to find some more from the school curriculum :)
Oh I didn’t know that! Have you read it? Was it good? I’ve only heard about Orwell’s “Animal Farm” being made into a graphic novel, but it’s good to know there’re other classic books too.
@Merryreads I did not read the original the story was complex to begin and the graphic version rendered it reasonably well I had to re-read it to figure out who is who but I am happy to have discovered this book otherwise I would not have known this classic Bulgakov lived in the repressive Stalinist era but sadly Russia today is still very much like that time
" Just a single man, Fyodor Dostoevsky, is enough to defeat all the creative novelists of the world. If one has to decide on 10 great novels in all the languages of the world, one will have to choose at least 3 novels of Dostoevsky in those 10. Dostoevsky’s insight into human beings and their problems is greater than your so-called psychoanalysts, and there are moments where he reaches the heights of great mystics. His book BROTHERS KARAMAZOV is so great in its insights that no BIBLE or KORAN or GITA comes close. In another masterpiece of Dostoevsky, THE IDIOT, the main character is called ‘idiot’ by the people because they can’t understand his simplicity, his humbleness, his purity, his trust, his love. You can cheat him, you can deceive him, and he will still trust you. He is really one of the most beautiful characters ever created by any novelist. The idiot is a sage. The novel could just as well have been called THE SAGE. Dostoevsky’s idiot is not an idiot; he is one of the sanest men amongst an insane humanity. If you can become the idiot of Fyodor Dostoevsky, it is perfectly beautiful. It is better than being cunning priest or politician. Humbleness has such a blessing. Simplicity has such benediction."
@@Merryreads :Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, a small but immensely beautiful novel. I like all kinds of things. Anna Karenina is one of my most loved books. How many times I have read it I can’t remember. I mean the number of times - I remember the book perfectly well, I can relate the whole book. If I was drowning in the ocean and had to choose just one novel out of all the millions of novels in the world, I would choose Anna Karenina. It would be beautiful to be with that beautiful book. It has to be read and read again; only then you can feel it, smell it, and taste the flavor. It is no ordinary book. Leo Tolstoy failed as a saint, just as Mahatma Gandhi failed as a saint, but Leo Tolstoy was a great novelist. Mahatma Gandhi succeeded as - and will remain forever - a pinnacle of sincerity. I don’t know of any other man in this century who was so sincere. When he wrote to people ‘sincerely yours’ he was really sincere. When you write ‘sincerely yours’, you know, and everybody else knows, and the person to whom you are writing also knows, that it is all bullshit. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to really be ‘sincerely yours’. That’s what makes a person religious - sincerity. Leo Tolstoy wanted to be religious but could not be. He tried hard. I feel great sympathy with his effort, but he was not a religious person. He has to wait at least a few more lives. In a way it is good that he was not a religious man otherwise we would have missed Resurrection, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and dozens more beautiful, immensely beautiful books Nobody is more worthy of a Nobel Prize than Leo Tolstoy. His creativity is immense, he was unsurpassed by anyone. He was nominated, but refused by the committee because of his unorthodox stories on Christianity. The Prize committee opens its records every fifty years. When records were opened in 1950, researchers rushed to see whose names were nominated and cancelled and for what reason. Leo Tolstoy was nominated, but never given the prize as he is not an orthodox Christian. Tolstoy is one of Russia’s wisest men of the 20th century and his ideas on non-violence deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. Mahatma Gandhi declared three persons his master. The first was Leo Tolstoy, the second was Henry Thoreau, and the third was Emerson. Onco Tolstoy was asked - How many experiences did you have of divine ecstasy in your life? Tolstoy started crying. He replied - Not more than 7 in my life of 70 years, but I am grateful for those 7 moments and miserable too. In those moments it was evident that it could have been the flavor of my whole life but that didn’t happen. Those moments came and went on their own. But I am still grateful to God that even without any conscious effort on my part, once in a while He has been knocking at my doors"".
That’s definitely an amazing novel! I want to reread it at some point. I feel like it’s the type of book you can reread at different ages, and you will find something new you haven’t noticed before every time
So many books and so little time. The ever growing and groaning tbr! Best wishes and happy reading.
That’s so true!
And thank you! Happy reading to you as well! I love your videos :)
I am so glad to have found your channel!
Thank you for the kind words☺️ I hope you enjoy the videos!
I am getting my reading ability back in the next few weeks, having my final surgery for cataracts next week... I am planning on re-reading "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis, and "Dead Souls" by Nikoli Gogol... three books I have read and love, but it's a good jumping off point to start... Thank you for promoting reading of great literature...
@@williamward446 I love “Dead Souls”! I reread it last year, and will be reading it in the future. I was actually considering putting it in this video but thought that “Oblomov” might be a little easier to understand if you are just getting into the classics.
And thank you for the recommendations! I’ve been looking at “The Canterbury Tales” for a while now, and it’s probably time I actually read the book.
Hope the surgery goes well and you recover fast and easy :)
Can you name them ... after each book do you do a summary words you learned do you do english litrerature in school do you go for writers all in all i much love old setting not modern times thanks
The final image of The Red and the Black is unforgettable.
Your channel came up on my RUclips feed. I enjoyed your video! Just subscribed.
Thank you so much!
Great video!
I just bought the clothbound edition of Middlemarch!❤
I read it years ago and will probably re-read it!
I have The Master and Margarita on my shelf- planning to read it in 2025!!!🎉
Thank you! And I will be rereading Middlemarch as well, I really liked the story!
Let me know what you think of Master and Margarita!
@ OK!!😍📚
Hey Mary!
I've been really enjoying your channel! The topics you cover and the quality of your videos are awesome. You can take your channel even further if you want. But there are some important issues in your channel that will not grow your channel easily if not solved.
Thank You:)
I loved Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The master and Margarita is on my list. Middlemarch was to slow for me.
One hundred years was not my thing also 😢
The wren sounds interesting
Yeah I can see how Middlemarch can be slow. And as for One Hundred Years of Solitude, it definitely wasn’t like anything I’ve read before. I want to reread it one day to see if I still like it. It made such a big impression on me partly I think because it was the first magical realism book I’ve ever read
If you like multi-generational stories, two classics of french literature are Honoré de Balzac's La Comédie Humaine and of course Emile Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart, two very famed sagas that we in France study at least one book from each in high school
Thank you so much for the recommendations!
I love multi-generational stories, and I will definitely read them!
Just out of curiosity, what other French novels do you guys study in school? I realized I haven’t actually read a lot of French classics, so maybe I would be able to find some more from the school curriculum :)
Thank you.
As a classic, read To kill a mockingbird!!!
I love To Kill a Mockingbird! Did you read the second part? I haven’t read it yet but I heard that it’s not as good as the first one
The Master and Margarita has a graphic novel version ☺️
Oh I didn’t know that! Have you read it? Was it good?
I’ve only heard about Orwell’s “Animal Farm” being made into a graphic novel, but it’s good to know there’re other classic books too.
@Merryreads I did not read the original
the story was complex to begin
and the graphic version rendered it reasonably well
I had to re-read it to figure out who is who
but I am happy to have discovered this book
otherwise I would not have known this classic
Bulgakov lived in the repressive Stalinist era
but sadly Russia today is still very much like that time
" Just a single man, Fyodor Dostoevsky, is enough to defeat all the creative novelists of the world. If one has to decide on 10 great novels in all the languages of the world, one will have to choose at least 3 novels of Dostoevsky in those 10. Dostoevsky’s insight into human beings and their problems is greater than your so-called psychoanalysts, and there are moments where he reaches the heights of great mystics. His book BROTHERS KARAMAZOV is so great in its insights that no BIBLE or KORAN or GITA comes close.
In another masterpiece of Dostoevsky, THE IDIOT, the main character is called ‘idiot’ by the people because they can’t understand his simplicity, his humbleness, his purity, his trust, his love. You can cheat him, you can deceive him, and he will still trust you. He is really one of the most beautiful characters ever created by any novelist. The idiot is a sage. The novel could just as well have been called THE SAGE. Dostoevsky’s idiot is not an idiot; he is one of the sanest men amongst an insane humanity. If you can become the idiot of Fyodor Dostoevsky, it is perfectly beautiful. It is better than being cunning priest or politician. Humbleness has such a blessing. Simplicity has such benediction."
Dostoevsky is a great writer!
@@Merryreads :Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, a small but immensely beautiful novel. I like all kinds of things. Anna Karenina is one of my most loved books. How many times I have read it I can’t remember. I mean the number of times - I remember the book perfectly well, I can relate the whole book.
If I was drowning in the ocean and had to choose just one novel out of all the millions of novels in the world, I would choose Anna Karenina. It would be beautiful to be with that beautiful book. It has to be read and read again; only then you can feel it, smell it, and taste the flavor. It is no ordinary book.
Leo Tolstoy failed as a saint, just as Mahatma Gandhi failed as a saint, but Leo Tolstoy was a great novelist. Mahatma Gandhi succeeded as - and will remain forever - a pinnacle of sincerity. I don’t know of any other man in this century who was so sincere. When he wrote to people ‘sincerely yours’ he was really sincere. When you write ‘sincerely yours’, you know, and everybody else knows, and the person to whom you are writing also knows, that it is all bullshit. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to really be ‘sincerely yours’. That’s what makes a person religious - sincerity.
Leo Tolstoy wanted to be religious but could not be. He tried hard. I feel great sympathy with his effort, but he was not a religious person. He has to wait at least a few more lives. In a way it is good that he was not a religious man otherwise we would have missed Resurrection, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and dozens more beautiful, immensely beautiful books
Nobody is more worthy of a Nobel Prize than Leo Tolstoy. His creativity is immense, he was unsurpassed by anyone. He was nominated, but refused by the committee because of his unorthodox stories on Christianity. The Prize committee opens its records every fifty years. When records were opened in 1950, researchers rushed to see whose names were nominated and cancelled and for what reason. Leo Tolstoy was nominated, but never given the prize as he is not an orthodox Christian.
Tolstoy is one of Russia’s wisest men of the 20th century and his ideas on non-violence deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. Mahatma Gandhi declared three persons his master. The first was Leo Tolstoy, the second was Henry Thoreau, and the third was Emerson.
Onco Tolstoy was asked - How many experiences did you have of divine ecstasy in your life? Tolstoy started crying. He replied - Not more than 7 in my life of 70 years, but I am grateful for those 7 moments and miserable too. In those moments it was evident that it could have been the flavor of my whole life but that didn’t happen. Those moments came and went on their own. But I am still grateful to God that even without any conscious effort on my part, once in a while He has been knocking at my doors"".
They are not called “classical books’’…. 2:09
Yeah, I misspoke. Happens to all of us :)
War and Peace?
That’s definitely an amazing novel! I want to reread it at some point. I feel like it’s the type of book you can reread at different ages, and you will find something new you haven’t noticed before every time
Very unconventional.
Middlemarch too thick... looking for an abridged version 😅
20:59 aw thank you THANK YOU for this because this book changed my life❤️🩹
It’s such a great story! I loved it!