21. Sherlock holmes - arthur conan doyle 20. Mark Twain books 19. David copperfield - charles dickens 18. Crime and punishment 17. Dan Quixote - cervantes 16. Vanity fair 15. Tess of the D'urbervilles - thomas hardy 14. Pride and prejudice - jane austen 13. Le morte de arthur 12. the count of monte cristo 11. IVANHOE - sir walter scott 10. Les Miserables - Victor hugo 9. Wuthering heights - Emily bronte 8. Moonstone 7. Jane eyre - charlotte bronte 6. The three musketeers 5. Far from the madding crowd 4. The woman in white - wilkie collins 3. Mobby - Dick 2. Anna Karennina - leo tolstoy 1. War and peace ! ( 1st ! )
Wow! That did not disappoint. Now we definitely need a top 20 of 20th century list. Great list, only book I was missing personally on the list was The Picture of Dorian Gray. I got to #2 on the list and said "wow...can't believe he's not gonna have War and Peace" cus there was no way there'd be 2 Tolstoy novels back to back and sure enough, blam!
Great video, as usual. I have Don Quixote at the top of my classics list. I reread random portions of it as if it’s scripture. I find it both hilarious and emotionally moving.
i just found your channel, and think you are hilarious! I'm impressed by your top favorite book lists. You make the material so much more approachable than some more intellectual book reviewers.
Great list. I always had a hard time reading classics. I would inevitably stop and read something else. But your enthusiasm makes me want to read all of these. I AM READING LE MORT DE ARTHUR right now!!! For my Arthurian Legends class!!
Truly. All the classic Arthurian legends texts are... De France, Chretien, Monmouth. etc. et al. I liked Marie de France the most though. The language in Mallory is really hard to get through. I find myself going back and rereading passages so I know what I'm talking about in class....
Awesome video! Some of my favorite classics were on your list: Wuthering Heights, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers. I still need to read most of the books you mentioned. I've only read Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, and I thought it was great.
Jude the Obscure is my favorite Hardy novel. I first read it because Stephen King had it on a list of classic reads long ago. Also why I first read Lord of the Flies and Gone with the Wind. Which are too new for this list, of course.
Very, very solid list. I’ve read most of these. Would have been nice to see another Dickens - maybe Dombey & Son, or Our Mutual Friend, and would have been nice to see at least one Anthony Trollope, but who can argue with the top two - in that order no less. Great job. You earned another follower.
Brian, this was an awesome video! I'm always very happy when horror-fantasy booktubers talk about classics since I grew up reading classics and that is very close to my heart. Thank you! 😊🙏
Thanks so much for pointing out these books. The only one I have read (to my shame) is Moby Dick. Have also listened to it on audiobook a number of times it's sooo good. Such an uplifting adventure and a snapshot of history. Queequeg was such a memorable character.
I’ve read a few pages of Le Morte d’arthur, need to finish it. The Count of Monte Christo is one of my favorites, same with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Canterbury Tales.
He defines classic as "before 1900" while I'm "fifty years old or older and still being read." Robinson Crusoe 1719 Pride and Prejudice 1813 Taras Bulba 1835 Wuthering Heights 1847 David Copperfield 1850 Great Expectations 1861 Treasure Island 1883 Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle) 1883 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1892 Jungle Books 1894, 95 War of the Worlds 1897 Turn of the Screw 1898 White Fang 1906 Wind in the Willows 1908 The Good Earth 1931 Sons 1932 Out of Africa 1937 The Hobbit 1937 How Green was My Valley 1939 For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940 Lord of the Rings 1954+ Night 1956 To Kill a Mockingbird 1960 Dune 1965
That looked like an abridged version of Count of Monte Cristo you were holding up😕 recommend reading the complete story in the Oxford’s World Classics edition. As much as I liked the story of Les Miserables, Hugo’s style made it hard to keep on reading. Which is why it took me NINE years to finish!
I think I got about 18 of those titles on my shelf. I read Bram Stokers Dracula this year , so maybe Dracula could be 21 and Frankenstein could be 22 ? I read Anna Kerenina this year , thought it would be a difficult read but turned out to be surprisingly easy to read and follow. I hope to read War and Peace next year but I'm gonna read a biogtaphy of Napolean which covers some French history first , probably Napolean a Life by Nadrew Roberts. I've been a real good boy this year (I think ?) so my wife said santa might bring me this book. Gotta be good all the way up to Christmas Eve. I still haven't read a Christmas Carol so I'm starting it tomorrow and will finish it on Christmas eve when the kids are in there beds. Happy reading !
Good list! By your criteria, I would have to say Karenina is my favorite. That book is jaw droppingly great. It’s timeless. I know this is a little newer but what do you think of Faulkner? He’s got some heavy duty great stuff
That's silly - the main benefit of war, being an artifact of nature, is that it cuts down the best of men in their prime, and at times (too often) people of all ages. How can war not be natural when it grows within us like a disease, and, upon the rocks of time, dashes our hopes like a stillborn child? How she weeps and weeps, our common mother; how mad with grief she lies, forever uncertain which way to let us go, worn down with labors and coddled with cultivated grief or in those bitter, bitter arms.
I love classics. Sherlock Holmes is one of my favourites! Your books look so thin! They must have a tiny type. Vanity Fair and the Count of Monte Cristo are huge. Great list. Those are books to read and reread.
Some of your books are in my top 20 as well. I really hated Moby Dick and it had nothing to do with the whale (even though I really love whales). I never read Tolstoy, but always wanted to. I’m curious: I really love Alexandre Dumas. Did you read the sequels to the Three Musketeers? There are two other books: the story begins with D’Artagnan being born and going to Paris as a young man and ends with his death in the last book. Another book I loved is also written by Alexandre Dumas, but the son, not the father: La Dame aux Camélias. It’s a very different book from the Three Musketeers (its a romance not an adventure) but it’s also a very good book. Another classic I love and its not on your list is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I have to try Victor Hugo again. I tried reading his books at 15 and I didn’t like his writing style. Could be the translation’s fault but my french is very basic, so unfortunately I don’t dare read the original version. My grandmother recommended Les Miserables and L’Homme qui Rit (the man who laughs) but although the stories sounded fascinating, I couldn’t finish either book. About Charles Dickens, for some reason I don’t like his books very much. The only one I love, and probably could end on my top books, is a Christmas Carol. Edit: You have Sherlock Holmes but no book by Agatha Christie? I love Sherlock Holmes but consider a lot of books from Agatha Christie better. I love the way she made you guess at who is the killer and she tricked me most of the times. With Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, I guessed the perpetrator most of the times. The ones I didn’t frustrated me because Sherlock Holmes found things out because of events OUTSIDE the books. To my teenager self, that was cheating! Agatha Christie never did that and all of the suspects always seemed equally guilty (I found out years later that she managed that so well because even her didn’t know until the end of the story who the guilty person was. She only decided then.)
I made it through War and Peace (after 6 months) and I remember being like, "Well. That was...not really worth it." LOL XD I'm glad you were able to like it, but that book just weren't for me.
@@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS It's mainly Tolstoy that I can't stand. I loved Crime and Punishment like you did, but Tolstoy...I dunno; the characters were so insufferable, the musings were so basic by today's standards, and too much of Tolstoy's own horrible person shines through in the book, which made it grating. I keep it on my shelf for posterity, but it definitely isn't something I'll ever read again. XD
Strange how Lev can speak to you considering it was a translation. There are lots of translators of Lev's War and Peace, some better than the others. I am interested to know which version you have read
The only book of Jane Austen that i have read is Mansfield park i didn't like i did enjoyed east of eden by John Steinbeck i need to read the count of monte Cristo and the bell jar
I once had over 5000 books in my library and i had read them all. I now have about 3500 in my library and i am working on re-reading each one for this channel. I read about 100 pgs an hour
Watch my Top Ten Horror Novels countdown here ruclips.net/video/xnZbkQF08-I/видео.html
"My top 10....coming in at number 21"
Never change Durf!!
21. Sherlock holmes - arthur conan doyle
20. Mark Twain books
19. David copperfield - charles dickens
18. Crime and punishment
17. Dan Quixote - cervantes
16. Vanity fair
15. Tess of the D'urbervilles - thomas hardy
14. Pride and prejudice - jane austen
13. Le morte de arthur
12. the count of monte cristo
11. IVANHOE - sir walter scott
10. Les Miserables - Victor hugo
9. Wuthering heights - Emily bronte
8. Moonstone
7. Jane eyre - charlotte bronte
6. The three musketeers
5. Far from the madding crowd
4. The woman in white - wilkie collins
3. Mobby - Dick
2. Anna Karennina - leo tolstoy
1. War and peace ! ( 1st ! )
After watching the vid, I can comfortably tell Brian Lee Durfee is the best booktuber. He is so well read.
Thanks
man! You really cracked me up at 6:50
Edit, and again at 11:19 man I should really read your books. I wanna read a humorful epic fantasy series.
I found this channel just a couple of days ago
loving your videos man
thanks
“All books have to be published before 1900 to qualify”.
Jack London gets shafted again, as usual
Wow! That did not disappoint. Now we definitely need a top 20 of 20th century list. Great list, only book I was missing personally on the list was The Picture of Dorian Gray. I got to #2 on the list and said "wow...can't believe he's not gonna have War and Peace" cus there was no way there'd be 2 Tolstoy novels back to back and sure enough, blam!
Great video, as usual. I have Don Quixote at the top of my classics list. I reread random portions of it as if it’s scripture. I find it both hilarious and emotionally moving.
Loved Moby Dick Book! Such an epic tale.
Great list.
My personal favorite classic would be Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor though.
i just found your channel, and think you are hilarious! I'm impressed by your top favorite book lists. You make the material so much more approachable than some more intellectual book reviewers.
Great list. I always had a hard time reading classics. I would inevitably stop and read something else. But your enthusiasm makes me want to read all of these. I AM READING LE MORT DE ARTHUR right now!!! For my Arthurian Legends class!!
Cool. Its a weird read for sure.
Truly. All the classic Arthurian legends texts are... De France, Chretien, Monmouth. etc. et al. I liked Marie de France the most though. The language in Mallory is really hard to get through. I find myself going back and rereading passages so I know what I'm talking about in class....
Great classics!! War and Peace love it!!
The Moonstone is so underappreciated. Happy to see it on your list!
Awesome video! Some of my favorite classics were on your list: Wuthering Heights, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers. I still need to read most of the books you mentioned. I've only read Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy, and I thought it was great.
Jude the Obscure is my favorite Hardy novel. I first read it because Stephen King had it on a list of classic reads long ago. Also why I first read Lord of the Flies and Gone with the Wind. Which are too new for this list, of course.
Very, very solid list. I’ve read most of these. Would have been nice to see another Dickens - maybe Dombey & Son, or Our Mutual Friend, and would have been nice to see at least one Anthony Trollope, but who can argue with the top two - in that order no less. Great job. You earned another follower.
Great show!
Brian, this was an awesome video! I'm always very happy when horror-fantasy booktubers talk about classics since I grew up reading classics and that is very close to my heart. Thank you! 😊🙏
Of course. Thanks for watching. And keep making videos on your channel too!! BTW what country you from??
@@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS I am from Latvia! 🇱🇻
Now I must google Latvia to see where it is. Without looking I'm gonna guess its up by Poland & Estonia?
I was right. Next to Estonia. Yeah me!!!
@@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS haha, you were faster than me in answering your own question 😁 But, yes - Yay you!
Awesome list. Love Don Quixote.
Very enjoyable video.
Read "The Teutonic Knights" by Henryk Sienkiewicz - since You mentioned "Ivanhoe".
The best part of Wuthering Heights was when everyone throws rocks at each other because they’re all a bunch of a-holes.
Nice to see Ivanhoé in this list.
Great number 1 choice! I too love Hardy and Collins. Great to see them on your list as well. Where was Bleak House, I wonder?
Thanks for a great list. I don't know if it's just me but the right side audio came in a bit distorted.
Thanks so much for pointing out these books. The only one I have read (to my shame) is Moby Dick. Have also listened to it on audiobook a number of times it's sooo good. Such an uplifting adventure and a snapshot of history. Queequeg was such a memorable character.
I loved War and Peace! I listened to the audio book and it was captivating.
I’ve read a few pages of Le Morte d’arthur, need to finish it. The Count of Monte Christo is one of my favorites, same with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Canterbury Tales.
Great list. Never able to get through Moby Dick despite trying several times.
Great vieeo! 6 i have not read but hope to get to soon. Try Drood by Dan Simmons. A modern classic!
He defines classic as "before 1900" while I'm "fifty years old or older and still being read."
Robinson Crusoe 1719
Pride and Prejudice 1813
Taras Bulba 1835
Wuthering Heights 1847
David Copperfield 1850
Great Expectations 1861
Treasure Island 1883
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle) 1883
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1892
Jungle Books 1894, 95
War of the Worlds 1897
Turn of the Screw 1898
White Fang 1906
Wind in the Willows 1908
The Good Earth 1931
Sons 1932
Out of Africa 1937
The Hobbit 1937
How Green was My Valley 1939
For Whom the Bell Tolls 1940
Lord of the Rings 1954+
Night 1956
To Kill a Mockingbird 1960
Dune 1965
off to his channel to see if he has a children's lit list...
Brothers Karamazov has to be on everyones top 20 classic books of all time. It is my #1 book of all-time!
Great list
Another one I would like to read is The House on Haunted Hill by Shirley Jackson. I am going to read more classics in the future.
I'm watching your videos from Algeria 🇩🇿, i love your channel Bro :)
Thank you so much. Cheers to North Africa
That looked like an abridged version of Count of Monte Cristo you were holding up😕 recommend reading the complete story in the Oxford’s World Classics edition.
As much as I liked the story of Les Miserables, Hugo’s style made it hard to keep on reading. Which is why it took me NINE years to finish!
I do have one of those too
I think I got about 18 of those titles on my shelf. I read Bram Stokers Dracula this year , so maybe Dracula could be 21 and Frankenstein could be 22 ? I read Anna Kerenina this year , thought it would be a difficult read but turned out to be surprisingly easy to read and follow. I hope to read War and Peace next year but I'm gonna read a biogtaphy of Napolean which covers some French history first , probably Napolean a Life by Nadrew Roberts. I've been a real good boy this year (I think ?) so my wife said santa might bring me this book. Gotta be good all the way up to Christmas Eve. I still haven't read a Christmas Carol so I'm starting it tomorrow and will finish it on Christmas eve when the kids are in there beds. Happy reading !
Good list! By your criteria, I would have to say Karenina is my favorite. That book is jaw droppingly great. It’s timeless.
I know this is a little newer but what do you think of Faulkner? He’s got some heavy duty great stuff
you'll have to tune in to BLD's top 20 of 20(th century) hopefully coming soon................lol
@@etluxaeterna Definitely! Lol
I read somewhere that War and Peace was originally going to be called “War, what is it good for”
That's silly - the main benefit of war, being an artifact of nature, is that it cuts down the best of men in their prime, and at times (too often) people of all ages. How can war not be natural when it grows within us like a disease, and, upon the rocks of time, dashes our hopes like a stillborn child? How she weeps and weeps, our common mother; how mad with grief she lies, forever uncertain which way to let us go, worn down with labors and coddled with cultivated grief or in those bitter, bitter arms.
I love classics.
Sherlock Holmes is one of my favourites!
Your books look so thin! They must have a tiny type. Vanity Fair and the Count of Monte Cristo are huge.
Great list. Those are books to read and reread.
thats the abridged version of Count of Monte Cristo i have the same book
I really didn't truly enjoy War and Peace until I read the Maude translation.
"Alexandre Dumbass" xD
Some of your books are in my top 20 as well. I really hated Moby Dick and it had nothing to do with the whale (even though I really love whales). I never read Tolstoy, but always wanted to. I’m curious: I really love Alexandre Dumas. Did you read the sequels to the Three Musketeers? There are two other books: the story begins with D’Artagnan being born and going to Paris as a young man and ends with his death in the last book. Another book I loved is also written by Alexandre Dumas, but the son, not the father: La Dame aux Camélias. It’s a very different book from the Three Musketeers (its a romance not an adventure) but it’s also a very good book. Another classic I love and its not on your list is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I have to try Victor Hugo again. I tried reading his books at 15 and I didn’t like his writing style. Could be the translation’s fault but my french is very basic, so unfortunately I don’t dare read the original version. My grandmother recommended Les Miserables and L’Homme qui Rit (the man who laughs) but although the stories sounded fascinating, I couldn’t finish either book. About Charles Dickens, for some reason I don’t like his books very much. The only one I love, and probably could end on my top books, is a Christmas Carol.
Edit: You have Sherlock Holmes but no book by Agatha Christie? I love Sherlock Holmes but consider a lot of books from Agatha Christie better. I love the way she made you guess at who is the killer and she tricked me most of the times. With Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, I guessed the perpetrator most of the times. The ones I didn’t frustrated me because Sherlock Holmes found things out because of events OUTSIDE the books. To my teenager self, that was cheating! Agatha Christie never did that and all of the suspects always seemed equally guilty (I found out years later that she managed that so well because even her didn’t know until the end of the story who the guilty person was. She only decided then.)
I have read the two sequels to The Three Musketeers
@@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS your opinions about them?
That was definitely 10 books, well done.
I made it through War and Peace (after 6 months) and I remember being like, "Well. That was...not really worth it." LOL XD I'm glad you were able to like it, but that book just weren't for me.
Admittedly the classics are an acquired taste
@@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS It's mainly Tolstoy that I can't stand. I loved Crime and Punishment like you did, but Tolstoy...I dunno; the characters were so insufferable, the musings were so basic by today's standards, and too much of Tolstoy's own horrible person shines through in the book, which made it grating. I keep it on my shelf for posterity, but it definitely isn't something I'll ever read again. XD
Strange how Lev can speak to you considering it was a translation. There are lots of translators of Lev's War and Peace, some better than the others. I am interested to know which version you have read
East Of Eden is almost too good !
Disappointed there were no name dropping or I met and got my book signed /took Dostoyevsky on a tour of Utah stories. 😉
I took William Shakespeare on a Utah tour. I rarely brag about it cuz I HATE his plays.
I would have found room for a Twain or Steinbeck book or two.
I also love war and peace!
The only book of Jane Austen that i have read is Mansfield park i didn't like i did enjoyed east of eden by John Steinbeck i need to read the count of monte Cristo and the bell jar
How many books have you read? Wow 3602 on Goodreads.
dude's a beast. i doubt i'll read that many in entire lifetime but am trying lol
I once had over 5000 books in my library and i had read them all. I now have about 3500 in my library and i am working on re-reading each one for this channel. I read about 100 pgs an hour
No Stephen King?!?!?!?!
It's not a novel, but if you want somethin' bananas, check out The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth.
You always say top 20 then start the video from 21. I mean! This vid is sweet, these recs r
The Brothers Karamazov?
Dumas pronounced diu-mah-s.
In French, the S is not pronounced