(long) classic books that are actually worth your time!

Рет қаралды 246,521

Күн бұрын

Interested in reading a long classic, but don't know which ones are actually worth your time? I'm here to (hopefully) help! :)
Hi friends!
Recently, I made a video about short classics that won't take you forever to read. After that video I asked myself, which long classics are worth the time it takes to read them? Which long classics are worth the longer commitment? Well, I made a list and here it is! Of course this is entirely my own opinion, but I truly think these books are worth every page and every second it takes to read them!
I hope you enjoy hearing about some of my all time favorite classics and (hopefully) find this list helpful!
**Also, I'd love to know in the comments which long classic books you think are worth your time as well!**
Best wishes,
Carolyn Marie :)
***Check out curated lists of my recent reads and all time favorite books in my Amazon Storefront - www.amazon.com/shop/carolynma...
Videos Mentioned -
Short classics that won't take forever to read - • Classic books that won...
Anna Karenina vlog - • Re-reading my favorite...
How reading Anna Karenina changed my life - • How Reading Anna Karen...
How reading Jane Eyre changed my life - • How reading Jane Eyre ...
Reading War and Peace - • Starting WAR AND PEACE...
Classic literature beginners guide - • Classic Lit. - The Ult...
Books mentioned:
1) Great Expectation by Charles Dickens - 1:23
2) Emma by Jane Austen - 3:23
3) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - 4:58
4) Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - 8:31
5) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - 10:30
6) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - 12:37
7) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - 15:04
8) The Princess Bride by William Goldman - 18:37
9) A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - 21:05
10) Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - 25:44
11) Don Quixote by Cervantes - 27:53
12) War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - 32:39
13) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - 33:41
My Social Media: CarolynMarieReads
***My Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/CarolynMari...
***My Website/Portfolio - carolyncastagnaart.wixsite.co...
***Art/Book Instagram - / carolynmariereads
***GoodReads - / carolynmariereads
***Business inquiries: carolyncastagna.artist@gmail.com
***Want to write to me or send something?
Carolyn Castagna
P. O. Box 773
Greenlawn NY 11740
United States
**Please don't feel like you need to send me anything, but if you'd like to I would be honored!!!** :)
***About me -
I'm a freelance illustrator and writer who recently graduated from college at the Fashion Institute of Technology with my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in English/Writing.
My greatest passion in life is combining my love of illustrating, writing, and reading!
Happy Reading :)
#classicbooks #favoritebooks #booktube

Пікірлер: 832

@randomkiliinterviews9453 Жыл бұрын

I would add the Count of Monte Cristo, and Crime and Punishment. They are both highly readable and beautifully written.

@DanWest8888 Жыл бұрын

I was AMAZED at how breezy and effortless and compelling Monte Christo was, considering its iconic literary reputation and its hugeness! Will surely be heading back to that brilliantly drawn world and crazy exciting story again... And again?

@sew_gal7340 Жыл бұрын

Count is super over rated....i read it as a kid and loved it, as an adult it was still good but everyone and their mothers read this book

@kyleblandon2250 Жыл бұрын

@@sew_gal7340I’m not sure a book that was published by 1846 and is one of the most read classical novels (by everyone and their mothers) would be considered ‘overrated’ especially if you loved the book and still do. Perhaps ‘resilient’? Overrated would mean a disappointment and if you loved the book, I’d be curious what made it disappointing? Or since everybody read it does that make it somehow less or even too popular and therefore overrated? Just curious

@sew_gal7340 11 ай бұрын

@Bigheartoneggshells I never said that i was trying to be distinguish, If I were I wouldnt be reading any of the books on this list. I just said Count was overrated, which means that its got more praise than it deserves. Which is of course my opinion, it doesnt mean i am right it means i dont agree with most individuals, and what is wrong with that?

@angelagasparyan6713 11 ай бұрын

Yeeeh,Monte Cristo was just great

@hewhewhewhew172 Жыл бұрын

1:23 The Great Expectations 3:24 Emma 4:58 Les Miserables 8:32 Tess of the d'Urbervilles 10:31 Jane Eyre 12:37 Rebecca 15:05 Little Women 18:37 The Princess Bride 21:06 A Farewell to Arms 25:44 Anne of Green Gables 27:53 Don Quixote 32:40 War and Peace 33:43 Anna Karenina Done, for my own safekeeping in future 😀

@rufust.firefly4890 Жыл бұрын

Never met Warren Pease. The movie AK was good w/ Garbo, but I had no sympathy for the character.

@omarcook3663 Жыл бұрын

She said she read the entire series of Anne of Green Gables in a month. Good grief she reads fast 🥴. This is why I stopped trying to keep up with BookTubers lol.

@jchinckley Жыл бұрын

Your fingers have betrayed you. The title by Hemingway is "A Farewell to Arms."

@hewhewhewhew172 Жыл бұрын

@@jchinckley tq

@nledaig Жыл бұрын

@@rufust.firefly4890 Warren Pease? He was in Deliverance with a bownarra

@Emy-fh1zn Жыл бұрын

The Count of Monte Cristo is so worth it, it’s my favourite book ever. It’s a revenge plot that’s so intricate and satisfying

@Dann-md9eq Жыл бұрын

Just finished mine last week. At first, in mid chapters you'll feel that "are these scenes necessary?" because of new character introductions each chapter but later on you can't stop reading it. Fantastic story

@Emy-fh1zn Жыл бұрын

@@Dann-md9eq Exactly!

@samidalao3071 Жыл бұрын

One of my favorite books of all time.

@mark4asp Жыл бұрын

Isn't that a bit dark for Carolyn?

@carlpeterson8182 Жыл бұрын

Great book. One of the best ever definitely.

@suev3339 Жыл бұрын

As I’ve grown older I don’t pick up a book unless 450+ pages or more. When I turned 70 years old I determined to read nothing but classics I haven’t read. My list is still long at this age. Some favorites I read every year, especially Little Women. I wasn’t required reading classic literature in my school days until my senior year. I chose Gone With The Wind. It was my first reread at 70 and I’m having a good time. War and Peace is an excellent history, philosophy of life read to think on. Thanks for sharing.

@goodyeoman4534 Жыл бұрын

I like your attitude, but I wouldn't battle through a large classic unless you really enjoy it. I just finished Moby-Dick and love it. But Rob Roy was just too wordy, and I gave up after ten pages. I've settled into a routine of reading a classic, then an easy novel, then a non-fiction (usually a World War 2 book).

@t0dd000 Жыл бұрын

I think it is important to reread a selection every decade or two. Always a different experience. A different understanding.

@katelynholmes9504 Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah, Walter Scott’s are beasts I tried reading Ivanhoe 🫠

@theaesthetenerd 7 ай бұрын

If you write a book about you, somehow I feel I will really enjoy it ❤

@ethanclark4116 Жыл бұрын

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky is an amazing book (my favorite)! It's is very deep and psychological but also the character development and plot are really great.

@stefan1924 Жыл бұрын

I can absolutely recommend Dostoevsky as well. I think I found "Demons" to be his best, but it is also probably the hardest. Crime and Punishment is very good as well and probably the best one to start with.

@goodyeoman4534 Жыл бұрын

I've got three different copies on my shelf. It's amazing how different some of the translations are.

@nicholasschroeder3678 Жыл бұрын

I started Crime and Punishment on a Friday night in college and stayed up until dawn finishing it. Probably the most thrilling reading ride I've ever had. Reread it few times.

@JLar-bb5hl Жыл бұрын

I've read 420 pages, and so far it's overrated, dated, predictable... No humour, a lot of madness and psycho babble bit precious little action. But I'll read the last 130 as it seems to be getting more interesting. So far it's been a tremendous waste of time.

@goodyeoman4534 Жыл бұрын

@@JLar-bb5hl C&P, overrated? Yeah, okay, dear.

@miumiuitgirl183 Жыл бұрын

hi caroline i need to say this, you need to record an audiobook your voice is so soothing and rich that I could listen to it for hours plus the way you read with so much feeling actually makes me wanna read it right away so I would love it if you start your own audiobook podcast 🥰

@jmsl910 Жыл бұрын

omg!!! i was totally thinking the same thing!!!

@meurglys_iii Жыл бұрын

An Anna Karenina audiobook 😀

@Kpopheaven Жыл бұрын

Oh yes I totally agree, Carolyn's voice is so calming and nice to listen to!

@43pages55 Жыл бұрын

100%

@Hello11235 Жыл бұрын

100%

@EminAnimE1 Жыл бұрын

Anna Karenina and Don Quixote are in my top 3 books of all time together with The Brothers Karamazov. I'm currently reading War and Peace and it's been a joy, each passage is so impactful especially the very personal thoughts of the soldiers during the war.

@StudyCom Жыл бұрын

Brother from another mother!

@carlpeterson8182 Жыл бұрын

I am reading the Idiot now. It is interesting once you know what it is really about. Same as Emma. I thought its mainly a romance. No. It is about Christian virtue. That is what Jane Austen was all about.

@jacobnx Жыл бұрын

Shouldn't you be finishing symphony no 10?

@danicadabic9789 Жыл бұрын

@@jacobnx good one! :)

@alexdevisscher6784 Жыл бұрын

War and Peace is a category of its own.

@maggskn Жыл бұрын

My absolute #1 favorite book is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I read it in high school and I read it again now (in my late twenties) and it hit home even more. Absolutely incredible.

@amandamuzyka3704 Жыл бұрын

Mine, too! Steinbeck is my favorite.

@taylor5065 Жыл бұрын

+1, Cal and Tom Hamilton remain some of my favorite literary characters

@kskgautam Ай бұрын

I'm reading it and myaan it's so good thats I'm afraid that there won't be anything else good than this. Let me know what to read similar or anything good after this

@thirdonetoo1212 Жыл бұрын

Hello Caroline. I love how you give us the frame of a book and just enough hints to how it might be furnished with characters. You don’t give too much away, but just enough to get us in the front door. Thank-you for your introductions and your enthusiasm.

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad to hear this, but I’m always worried about giving too much of the story away! Thank you for being so kind and supportive :)

@malexander4094 Жыл бұрын

When I was 13, I read "Les Misérables." (Unabridged.) Never read a book much longer than 200 pgs. Knew nothing except I was intrigued with the cover. Reading such a large work in its entirety gave me an unparalleled & thrilling experience. One I worry many people miss out on when they avoid lengthy works of fiction: the utter, total immersion in another world. Even the longest Harry Potter novel had positively *nothing* on the scope & range of Hugo's generational saga. Its vivid reality, its seasonal progressions, its gritty details, its epic tone, its humans that change (or don't) over a long timespan, in lots of different geographical locations, and in history-defining moments. At their best, novels can offer this unique experience. It can be ""Les Misérables," or something else. I only urge the timid to get gutsy & dive into a novel that will do this for them. Nothing else can do it. No, not even television. And no, not even audiobooks! (Sidenote: I dislike the musical, but like the 1998 film adaptation. Also: when I read it was the early 2000s, just before you could search wikipedia about the Battle of Waterloo or the Paris sewage system. In a way, this perhaps put me closer to the pre-internet audience of the novel!)

@charliewest1221 Жыл бұрын

Bravo. I read the translated version by Isabel Hapgood. She immortalizes Hugo's poetic brilliance from its native French in a way I am unable to describe, suffice it to say: simply sublime.

@benday1218 Жыл бұрын

totally agree on all points. It's the monastery bit that slows me down, but one of, if not the greatest novel of all time.

@annyfriday6559 Жыл бұрын

I also read it when I was 13, and I've never loved a book as much as I loved it back then.

@vectorenigma7098 11 ай бұрын

Agreed! I read War and Peace as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, and while those two were MUCH easier to get through (esp The Count, I was flying through that book), Les Miserables was the one that stuck with me the most despite being the most difficult of the 3 for me. There were some digressions that were just so hard to get through, but I’m glad I did, because now I can make the Homeric parallels to the soldiers at Waterloo and the Greeks, as well as Hugo’s ultimate verdict on Revolution and Progress and what it means despite its failures, and how Waterloo serves as almost foreshadowing for what will happen at The Barricade, and what the Amis’ sacrifices ended up meaning, how Grantaire and Enjolras’ deaths connected with Cambronne’s (the true winner of Waterloo) end. To me, books are most special when they are more than the plot. So personally I enjoyed when Hugo decided to go into depth to tell us about cheese and the Parisian sewer systems. Hugo has a humor that really lands if you can catch it, which is a bit harder to do in English than it is in French, but makes his rambling so much more enjoyable. It truly takes you back in time to him sitting down and telling you about all this and you have no choice but to listen because getting up and leaving would be rude. I’ve read and fully annotated the unabridged FMA version, just read the Donougher’s version, and also read Wilbour’s abridged version. I can see why some people will choose the abridged version (as it literally cuts the entire book down in half to 700 pages or so) but the experience just isn’t the same. Valjean and Javert obviously gets a lot cut down for them, but The Les Amis de l'ABC get the brunt of it and they were some of the highlights in the entire book for me. I remember reading The Count of Monte Cristo directly after Les Mis (I finished War and Peace some time ago) and because of how I was zooming through the book, I was certain that the former would’ve been my new favorite. But after a few weeks of resonating after I finished both, I realized how much closer to my heart Les Mis was. That’s not to say I didn’t adore The Count, it’s still one of my favorite books all time and the one I will probably reread over and over again, but Les Mis just feels so personal and makes me so emotional in a way no other book ever has

@granuaillegermaine9076 Ай бұрын

I’m not a huge fan of les misérables but I’m tempted to try it in French. I find reading in my second language slows me down and I pay more attention to the language. I have put it on my second language pile for future reading.

@shilohpeterson5307 Жыл бұрын

I love the way you talk about books and can't wait for you to read Count of Monte Cristo! It is 1200+ pages but flies by so fast because the plot and characters are so interesting

@deletedacctc Жыл бұрын

It's funny that this book is so popular in other countries! In France, it isnt so successful. Many forget it... (im french)

@Dann-md9eq Жыл бұрын

@@deletedacctc Actually, i learned this from french tandem app partners. I've told them how much i love french classic literature like Count of Monte Cristo but both persons haven't read and weren't interested of the book

@ethanclark4116 Жыл бұрын

I'm about to start reading this book. I'm scared.

@StvRdhll Жыл бұрын

Dumas’s Monte Cristo is a fabulously extravagant tale of revenge. I recommend Penguin’s Robin Buss translation.

@Dann-md9eq Жыл бұрын

@@StvRdhll robin buss' translation is the gold standard for Monte Cristo. Nothing else at the moment.

@nerdomega974 Жыл бұрын

Years ago a coworker stated how he read Anna Karinina every year. I got a paperback copy online for a couple of bucks and was astounded how good it is. For a book that is so long it is a real page-turner.

@kristiannem6786 Жыл бұрын

Very nice, thank you for this. Rebecca is my favorite of all time. A few years ago, I found myself in Liverpool. I went into a beautiful building near the waterfront to see the architecture and in the lobby there was a cafe called "Mrs Danvers Cafe", with a picture of her with flames all around. I was so excited!

@olumbafamilyfaith9396 Жыл бұрын

i am à homeschooling mom of 7. my 12 year old is an avid reader. she read The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe in kindergarten, and had read half of the wonderful books on this list. the great thing about classic literature is that even a child can read them, without encountering much inappropriate content (except for hemingway, at times). she and i LOVE watching your channel together, you share our same enthusiasm for classic literature. God bless

@johnbassett1110 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for a brilliant and informative presentation. Tolstoy is also my favourite author and Anna Karenina and War and Peace are my favourite novels and it is wonderful to hear you speak of them so fondly.

@denisefreitas6727 Жыл бұрын

No one talk about classics like you, Carolyn! I absolutely love this video!💖📚

@von20808 Жыл бұрын

This is the best Classic book review I've ever seen! You have a passion for the Classic and it shows. Thank you for this video.

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!!

@FrankD90210 Жыл бұрын

I love your videos. You have such enthusiasm toward the classics, not dry and professorial, but energetic and fresh. Thank you for your videos. ❤️

@marg9784 Жыл бұрын

I am reading Anna Karenina for the first time right now! I am absolutely obsessed with Levin 💕 thank you for your long book tips and encouragement! ✨📚

@rubikkz6317 Жыл бұрын

thank you so much for reading the first sentences of classic books! english isn’t my native language even though i prefer reading in english. so i’ve always been scared to pick up classics because i’m afraid i won’t understand the art & messages behind the words. thanks to your samples i can visualize the english level needed & decide if i should read either in english or french! 🤗🌷

@sarahsperusals Жыл бұрын

i can’t wait for you to read count of monte cristo and david copperfield!!! some of my favorites 🥰

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

I can’t wait either!!!!!

@Dann-md9eq Жыл бұрын

@@CarolynMarieReads just finished count of Monte Cristo. Writing is brilliant and most chapters are cliff hangers

@rufust.firefly4890 Жыл бұрын

I tried twice to get through DC.

@Dann-md9eq Жыл бұрын

@@rufust.firefly4890 is it worth it?

@rufust.firefly4890 Жыл бұрын

@@Dann-md9eq What I read I liked. I saw the movie. 1935. Very good.

@betinaceciliafeld9854 Жыл бұрын

I love how you didn't edited out the parts where you realized you forgot to read the first page of some books 🤣. Also, you answered the question I was going to ask: "Should I read Anna Karenina before War and Peace or not?" Thank you!!

@mackenziewangberg2970 Жыл бұрын

I love this list so much! I’ve read basically all these books and they’re my favorites! ❤ I’m so glad you mentioned Tess! Tess of the D’Urbervilles is one of my favorite books of all time! So tragic! Thomas Hardy is such an amazing writer. I’m working on Anna Karenina and am enjoying it so much. ❤️

@anthonyskrobul3726 Жыл бұрын

Hi, Carolyn. Thanks for another great reading vlog. Since you are talking about long classics, I must recommend The Count of Monte Cristo. When I read this book I could not put it down. I think you will enjoy it.

@neilmarais1912 Жыл бұрын

Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" is on the longer end (between 500 and 550 pages) and definitely worth it. It's probably my favourite novel. Also, I love this channel.

@rufust.firefly4890 Жыл бұрын

I have read that three times. Also read McTeague three times. It was later made into the silent movie Greed.

@jeanbrown8295 Жыл бұрын

I read the grapes of wrath, and it was a great book,I was in tears when I finished it

@rufust.firefly4890 Жыл бұрын

@@jeanbrown8295 Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize. See the movie .

@goodyeoman4534 Жыл бұрын

I've not really read any Steinbeck other than Of Mice And Men.

@anitas5817 Жыл бұрын

Steinbeck is indeed a great but overwhelmingly depressing writer to me. Grapes of Wrath is a masterpiece of human misery that I will never read again.

@puggynugz922 Жыл бұрын

Wow, I'm truly impressed about your embroidered book cover project! My grannie taught me 50 years ago and I'm grateful to her forever.

@tstockto Жыл бұрын

Love that you included The Princess Bride! Such a good book (and movie)! Also, the original Anne of Green Gables adaptation is amazing! Although I might be biased because that was the version I watched as a kid. 😄

@daimena.cianci2651 Жыл бұрын

Great video! Don Quixote is my favorite big book. So funny, charming, and full of grand spirit.

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

Thank you :) It’s such a wonderful story!

@lordcoco_ Жыл бұрын

as others have mentioned, count of monte cristo is so good and flies by despite its length! definitely worth the read

@thesinetales6467 Жыл бұрын

OMG!! I am 50 pages into Anna Karenina. As you said, the rambling in Leo Tolstoy books is absolutely amazing. Never have I ever felt so intrigued and involved by someone rambling. Great recommendations Caroline!

@chiraztahar7196 Жыл бұрын

Your voice is Soo soothing and relaxing ✨

@katypickering7158 Жыл бұрын

stumbled upon this video because I'm currently reading Anna Karenina and I'm loving it so far and was hoping to find some other great classics to read. loved the video and very excited to read some more classics!

@ivannat1 Жыл бұрын

Yeeeees, some Anna Karenina love. You've literally made my evening. I have a special edition of War and Peace coming in the mail which is split in 4 volumes, and I can't wait to start reading it. The short story, The Death of Ivan Ilych, is also fantastic.

@mithusharma2217 Жыл бұрын

Hi Caroline, just came across your channel and this is the first video I have gone through. Like you, Jane Eyre was the first book that made me fall in love with classics. But past couple of years I just didn't pick up any classics. Don't know why so . And, now I am back into it. Thanks for the recommendations. I have to definately read some from the list. I have to say this, you give out such a soothing vibe. And your voice 💕 just wow. Lots of love.

@thebasedgodmax1163 Жыл бұрын

this video encouraged me to pick up Don Quixote. I always liked the idea of it but it always intimidated me, but this was enough to get me on board. thanks Carolyn!

@yannick8372 Жыл бұрын

Hii Carolyn, I love the time and effort you put in all of your video's. Thank you so much for the book idea's. I absolutely agree that Tolstoy is the best writer of all time, no doubt.

@patsmith9192 9 ай бұрын

Love this video so much. You have such a passion and I am going to start Anna Karenina after watching this. Many have already suggested it but I would wholeheartedly recommend Count of Monte Cristo, along with Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White, Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, and the two other great Dickens novels; David Copperfield and Bleak House.

@Mr_Hutt Жыл бұрын

Your commentary and enthusiasm definitely sold me on each book. Whenever i finish any of these books I'll comment again here

@racheljohnson4070 Жыл бұрын

THANK YOU for talking about Don Quixote!! It's one of my favorites and I never hear anyone talk about it!!

@dawitbayisa8105 Жыл бұрын

Hi Caroline I Just start reading Anna Karenina and I am about a 100 pages in and I am loving it. I watched a little parts of your Anna Karenina videos so as not to get spoilers anyways to to thank you for talking about this book so much it's amazing I don't want it to end.

@sylviel135 Жыл бұрын

Your video was amazing ,... you really express the love of reading great books and remind us to keep reading them , and connect a part of our soul to these great ''personnages'' in these stories, Merci!

@tamaragrottker7677 Жыл бұрын

I read Great Expectations in high school about 45 years ago and I still remember the opening of the book (an many other parts!). A fabulous book that I do want to re-read! Victor Hugo really loved to go off on tangents. It is as if he knew change was afoot in Paris and he had to capture all the details in so sort of historical record. I've read Anne Karenina twice and certainly worth reading again. Great selection! I think all of them have been adapted for the film. Your passion for books certainly comes across the screen and inspires me to read.

@charliewest1221 Жыл бұрын

When my teacher in high school read to us that memorable opening scene from "Great Expectations", I (at 15 years) was hooked for life. I pledged to read each of his novels and have done so. "Great Expectations" is special to me. It is my landmark novel - the gateway that ushered me into the wonderful universe of the great classics.

@juliegunderson6974 Жыл бұрын

You've never seen the Anne of Green Gables mini series with Megan Followes?!!! That is one of my all time favorites! I watch it every year during Spring Break. All the characters are so perfectly cast, ESPECIALLY Anne. I highly recommend it. It's easy more faithful than the Netflix series.

@cristianmicu Жыл бұрын

i cried so much on some passages during ''mis'', once you read it you will never forget this story, so impactful

@emmairena Жыл бұрын

i'm shocked not a single george eliot made this list! middlemarch is such a cozy, romantic, character-driven book, has taken me a month but is sooo worth it!! i have become somewhat of an evangelist for it because i want everyone to have the pleasure of reading it!

@darthlatitude2105 Жыл бұрын

According to Goodreads I'm 28% of the way through it and it is fantastic so far!

@charliewest1221 Жыл бұрын

"Middlemarch" is considered by many to be one of the most seamless novels written. This, together with Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" and Dickens's "Little Dorrit" are blockbusters which encapsulate the Victorian age in fiction.

@goodyeoman4534 Жыл бұрын

Breathe, Emma.

@cmshaw52 Жыл бұрын

Try her Mill on the Floss. Awesome

@jamespreston5061 Жыл бұрын

Good call. I've only read Middlemarch once, thirty years ago, but am looking forward to one day reading it again. Of all the novels that distribute just desserts, this did it for me - in the most edifying and gratifying way.

@madisonmckay579 Жыл бұрын

Oh such great recommendations. And you’ve convinced me War and Peace, it’s time. I would love to see you do a review on The Count Of Monte Cristo. I think you’ll fall in love with it. I love Anna Karenina, and I never thought I would find a classic that would capture my heart as much. And it so very nearly did.

@marianaharrison6307 Жыл бұрын

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens are absolutely worth your time!!! These are two of my favourite books of all time 💜

@fazbell Жыл бұрын

One of the smartest videos on this subject, that I have seen. Thanks for your effort.

@johnathanrhoades7751 Жыл бұрын

I'm in the middle of Les Miserables right now for my first time. It's so so good. If you can manage it, I recommend the unabridged for your first read, but to each their own. The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book of all time so far. I really enjoyed Great Expectations a lot as well as The Princess Bride. Need to read a number of these.

@beatles_forever7560 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video, which I enjoyed very much. At the moment I'm reading the epilog of "War and Peace" in German. It is a fantastic read, not quite as good as Anna Karenina, but still a more than wonderful book. But my all time favourite writer is and will always be Dostoevsky. Have a nice day and enjoy whatever you are reading📚

@karolinewaitman4134 Жыл бұрын

Hi Caroline! Thanks for the video! I totally agree with you, I love Tolstoy's rambling as well!! My book recommendation for you is The Odyssey. It looks more daunting than it really is. The story is very catchy and you will end up hooked on Ulysses' tricks over the journey! I also read the Iliad but didn't like it as much, so my tip is to read directly The Odyssey, as you don't lose much as greek mythology is very widespread. I did that, and because I loved it so much I decided to give The Iliad a chance later.

@Becca-oi1hq Жыл бұрын

Jamaica Inn blew my mind, one of my favorite books ever! Glad you mentioned wanting to read it!

@WilliamBaranowski Жыл бұрын

A remarkable video. A great list. Brilliant, perceptive presentation. This video is its own classic.

@jennychasteen Жыл бұрын

I LOVE long classics! Totally agree on your list--the books I've read, at least. I still need to get to Tolstoy and Hemingway! The others I'd add are The Count of Monte Cristo and Crime and Punishment. Both were really daunting, but so worth it! :) Thanks for the video!

@janebaily3758 Жыл бұрын

Great recommendations! So thrilled you included THE PRINCESS BRIDE! A Farewell To Arms was my first Hemingway. Only tried an abridged LM and never have tried DQ. Makes me want to.read both. THANK you!!

@janebaily3758 Жыл бұрын

Tolstoy is AMAZING!! Just read his essay on vegetarianism...he was larger than life!!

@julieschlabach1239 Жыл бұрын

Tess of d’Urbervilles haunts me still. I read it as a teenager, probably twenty years ago now… I try to explain it to people and it sounds so miserable, but it had this… something. I LOVED hearing your favorite classics! Beautiful editions too 😍

@user-zo6ry9tp9j Жыл бұрын

I absolutely agree with what you said about Levin! I would heartly recommend you read 'The Idiot' by Dostoevsky if you haven't. Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin is probably my all time favourite character, I love him with all my soul.

@user-zo6ry9tp9j Жыл бұрын

@@betep8618 I always find people's 'choice' of the brother interesting as I am still, some 10 years after first reading the book, incapable of deciding which one of the three I prefer. I love them all immensely, but in very different ways.

@charliewest1221 Жыл бұрын

@@betep8618 Thank you, Емил Синклер and BETEP. One of the most beautiful passages I've ever read comes from the end of Book 2, Chapter 5 (Dostoevsky's, "The Idiot") when Prince Myshkin describes his surreal, episodic lapses into an altered state of consciousness: "These moments, short as they are, when I feel such extreme consciousness of myself, and consequently more of life than at other times, are due only to the disease-to the sudden rupture of normal conditions. Therefore they are not really a higher kindof life, but a lower.’ This reasoning, however, seemed to end in a paradox, and lead to the further consideration:-‘What matter though it be only disease, an abnormal tension of the brain, if when I recall and analyze the moment, it seems to have been one of harmony and beauty in the highest degree- an instant of deepest sensation, overflowing with unbounded joy and rapture, ecstatic devotion, and completest life?’ Vague though this sounds, it was perfectly comprehensible to Myshkin, though he knew that it was but a feeble expression of his sensations. That there was, indeed, beauty and harmony in those abnormal moments, that they really contained the highest synthesis of life, he could not doubt, nor even admit the … ‘I would give my whole life for this one instant,’ ..."

@karenyates6797 Жыл бұрын

Hi Caroline. Wow, I'm blown away by hearing you rave about these longer classics. I have Anna K. but haven't read it yet. I'm reading "Mercury Pictures Presents" for a book club meeting next week and trying to finish "The Sun also Rises" by Hemingway. Then, "100 Years of Solitude" based on Emma's rec and then Anna K!!! These poor books have to take a ticket and wait in line! Thanks for your utube videos. They are so fun!

@jamesduggan7200 Жыл бұрын

Good chance you'll remember this as one of your best reading years!

@MartinDSmith Жыл бұрын

I was with an old friend in a bookshop recently and for some reason we started to talk about Tolstoy and I think I've managed to convince him to read War And Peace.When you translate my friend's name into French it's Pierre.😁✨

@justjenfriend9586 Жыл бұрын

Just an FYI - Rachel McAdams of “Notebook” fame actually does the audiobook version of “Anne of Green Gables” on audible! SO, so good!

@magdalenaarias3753 Жыл бұрын

I read Anna Karenina during the first lockdown. I cried and screamed and threw the book and then picked it up again. It is nothing short of a masterpiece.

@Pops2 Жыл бұрын

Just liked and subscribed. Great job on your video Your selections brought back a wave of memories.

@coneil72 Жыл бұрын

An abridged version of Les Mis is a great idea -- that said, I love it, and Victor Hugo's inability to ignore the full humanity of every character, no matter how minor, is an intrinsic part of his charm.

@h.calvert3165 Жыл бұрын

There has been one for decades, Jean Valjean. Check it out. 📕

@Sofia-fy2lg Жыл бұрын

i love your voice, is so sweet and calming

@stephanievillot21 Жыл бұрын

It took me almost two months to read Anna Karenina and there were times where I wanted to stop reading it and start another book but it always called me back … when i finished it i immediately missed the characters now it’s one of my all time favorite books !

@goodyeoman4534 Жыл бұрын

Took me a month to read Moby-Dick. Seemed to go on forever.

@CarlWilson82 Жыл бұрын

So nice to sit and watch someone speak to camera about books who doesn't use 4 jumpcuts a second or per sentence. Not to mention a beautiful voice to listen to. 👍🏆

@christinegonzales2372 Ай бұрын

I loved Moby-Dick, unabridged. Read it in high school. Reread it at age 60. Still brings me joy, memories, laughs, thoughtfulness on the human condition and the consequences of our actions.

@Eden-Restored Жыл бұрын

Just wanted you to continue reading some of those books out loud. 😊you’ve sold me on Jane Eyre and Rebecca. I’ve always struggled with classics but find this video so inspiring. Thank you 📚🙏

@darkwitnesslxx Жыл бұрын

Please do. Jane Eyre is the best book on her list, closely followed by Little Women.

@miriam8376 Жыл бұрын

Rebecca is my favorite book of all time! So eerie and tense and just a profound exploration of power in women and the way it upsets the status quo when women refuse to apologize for the upper hand (assuming you can even trust the narrator’s perception!). You have excellent taste in books!

@mattkean1128 Жыл бұрын

I just finished an Emma reread and JUST started Tess of the D'Urbervilles 😆. I'm also going to read my first Gaskell, North and South War and Peace is a favorite, and really jump-started and rekindled my love of reading. If you want a LONG classic we can read Proust together 🙇 I've read the first book and adored it. I also highly recommend Portrait of a Lady.

@corytheobald2166 Жыл бұрын

Great video - and great books! I think you should add the unabridged classic "The Count of Monte Cristo" to your list for sure!

@murielkellertavares3517 Жыл бұрын

I love your insight about Les Miserables, and it is something I hear quite a lot! But wow, that wasn’t at all the case for me. I loved every page of this book, and I think everything is so necessary for the construction of the story and its background. But yeah, I like boring readings 😂

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad you feel that way! That’s how I feel about Tolstoy’s “boring” scenes 😂

@jovas65 Жыл бұрын

I agree with this one. I learned so much with Hugo telling the stories and philosophizing. I wouldn't read an abridged version

@deletedacctc Жыл бұрын

I think the translation also makes it quite boring to read. In French, I had the impression that it read quickly (the style of VH is not complicated).... And if they don’t translate/explain words like « dioceses » (word that probably 1 French out of 2 can't define correctly), good luck 🤣

@jovas65 Жыл бұрын

@@deletedacctc That makes sense! I'm A2 to B1 in French, but I still don't have the courage to read Les Mis in French. Maybe in a year :)

@murielkellertavares3517 Жыл бұрын

@@CarolynMarieReads I am reading War and Peace now and I can agree that Tolstoy rambles on more beautifully 😂 but yeah, I love both, they are my favourite writers, for sure

@HZA2010 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for a great list, I appreciate it! I would also add "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

@pavel0900 Жыл бұрын

You are so passionate about reading and so soft spoken. Just a pleasure to watch. Thank you for the wonderful list of novels! P.S. “grip” in War and Peace refers to flu. That’s how we say flu in Russian

@jeanlobrot Жыл бұрын

I think it’s interesting you recommend fwtbt as a first Hemingway, I found it immensely difficult- but I still agree with you on what is great about it!

@sherrybradley1387 Жыл бұрын

Just found you and you are incredible! You would make an amazing English teacher. Now I must get these books!😊😊

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

Welcome and thank you so much!! 😄

@MrUndersolo Жыл бұрын

It was said that London did not know what fog really was until Dickens described it. Glad you made this list (and you should know that Tolstoy had a photo of Dickens in his study).

@etiennedevignolles7538 Жыл бұрын

Anne Shirley is one of the best characters in fiction ever. 😃

@iwrsiyanawar1289 Жыл бұрын

BOY I LOVE HER

@karensanchez5448 Жыл бұрын

Hey! This is the first time I watch one of your videos and I already like you because of our love for Levin.

@nikkivenable3700 Жыл бұрын

Carolyn, when you talk about classics/Russian classics, that is MY happy place.

@francescaseyer4709 Жыл бұрын

Very much enthralled by your presentation and by your passion for books and the classics in particular 😍 Of the works you featured, I’ve read Emma (several times), Les Misérables, The Princess Bride, and am currently working my way through Anna Karenina. I’ve a new edition of War and Peace waiting in the wings, as well as a leather-bound volume of 3 novels by Dickens that has Great Expectations. Haven’t read the latter and can’t wait to discover thanks to your recommendation 👌. For other must-read classics, may I suggest The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas? To me, it is the best novel he ever wrote and worth reading and re-reading (it’s voluminous pages notwithstanding, if it is the unabridged version 😉). Again, my heartfelt thanks for your video and looking forward to many more ♥️

@mindylawrence7357 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this wonderful introduction to so many classics. Your choices are excellent. I'll turn 72 in a month and have chosen to read classic books for 2023 along with a few others. Starting on War and Peace first!

@capturedbyannamarie Жыл бұрын

Love this list. Adding them all to my list to read, because I want to read all the classics. Anne of green gables is my favorite fiction book series ever.

@kendallalvarado9128 Жыл бұрын

Thank u so much! I really enjoy your videos ❤️🤗

@juli3836 Жыл бұрын

thanks for the good recs :) i always envy your fancy book editions hahajha

@jeremycomin8767 Жыл бұрын

I’ve read most of these too and completely agree with your recommendations! I haven’t tried Anna Karenina yet so that is next up. Have you tried David Copperfield yet? I love Dickens and loved Great Expectations but David Copperfield is my favorite book ever (though that’s hard because it excludes so many other great ones). It’s, as you said, totally worth it. Thanks for an excellent video!

@chammyaewin348 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for recommending such great classics.

@roger8640 Жыл бұрын

absolutely love it, missing more videos of this kind🤗

@neonoires Жыл бұрын

I read War and Peace as well as Anna Karenina earlier this year because of you. I am ITCHING to get back into both once it gets colder outside.

@businessman1912 Жыл бұрын

I’m thinking about reading In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust and using it for a book review in school. My teacher said I’m free to pick it, but he doubted whether I’d be able to finish it in time. It seems like a great story well worth my time. I calculated that if I read 30 pages a day (just about doable, I reckon), it’ll take me roughly 4 months which is not too bad. Some other long books which I am fond of are The Brothers Karamazov and War and Peace-my 2 favourite books.

@bedhead9975 Жыл бұрын

Let me know if you finish it

@businessman1912 Жыл бұрын

@@bedhead9975 I will, but expect it not to be in the near future lol.

@readlots9983 Жыл бұрын

I took a whole course in college on it. When I went back to it many years later, I found it unreadable. It's navel-gazing writing.

@renad-ne3mm Жыл бұрын

i read Rebecca last week and i loved it so much, i picked it up not knowing anything about it, i didn't even know it was a classic. i absolutely Loved it!! it was amazing and very captivating it became an instant favorite. (English isn't my first language but i still found it easy to read-that's probably why i never suspected it was a classic-)

@lit.professor6265 Жыл бұрын

Great video. Impressive overview. You've inspired me to listen to the Don Quixote audiobook.

@filiepgeeraert8301 Жыл бұрын

My late grandfather read Don Quijote in Spanish, he loved it so much! I was determined to do the same thing, when he died I got his pocket edition, but I read it on my Kindle because the font was of course larger than the paper version. I also used the annotations from Centro Virtual de Cervantes website, and there happened to be a special 'modern' version of it on Spanish radio, so I combined all of that. It was really fun to read, and it is amazing that a book (in reality 2 books) from that long ago (1700s) can still appeal to a modern day person. As his was a pocket edition, I never realised it would be over a 1.000 pages when printed on a normal font.

@paureads8141 Жыл бұрын

You always know how to guide us beginners into classics! I think of you as my English lit teacher😂❤️ Also, your hair looks beautiful! It would be great if you showed us your hair care routine✨✨

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

I love that!! 😂 I’m honored to be your English lit teacher! 💕 Aw thank you! Quite a few people have asked for a hair care routine, so I’ll definitely do one at some point! 😄

@ArlinTreaty Жыл бұрын

I love your video!❤ My personal favorite classic is Johnny Tremain, it's one of the only "classics" that i actually enjoyed lol

@jamesduggan7200 Жыл бұрын

haha! I used to love that story. I'd re-read it over and over again. Thank you for the happy memory.

@caraamethyst6956 Жыл бұрын

i would add gone with the wind to my list. i was super intimidated by it but i read it completely through the audio which makes it so lovely. i would love to add some of these books that i haven't read onto my list, as well as some of steinbeck's larger works that i have been eyeing for a few years

@nathank8019 10 ай бұрын

As someone who started reading many of the classics as a hobby after college, I'm blown away by Tolstoy's ability to create such real, immersive worlds. His talent is awesome. Levin is one of my favorite characters in any book.

@GamesTechno Жыл бұрын

you've got a way of explaining the books that doesn't spoil the plot and is also very intriguing, I added like half of these to my good reads 'Want to read'.. awesome video! plus you look a little like Nancy (Natalia Dyer) from Stranger Things

@CarolynMarieReads Жыл бұрын

I’m so glad you think so! I hope you enjoy them :) I’ve actually been told that before hahaha (I love Nancy, so thank you)

@4034miguel Жыл бұрын

Hi, I loved your selection. If you have not read them yet, may I recommend The Moonstone and The Woman in white by Wilky Collins. I keep coming back again and again, because they are so fascinating and Collins knows how to keep the reader turning pages on those two real classics, IMHO. Thanks for a great video,

@ad-rock603 Жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed your video and energy. The Beloved Vagabond by John Locke is a classic to me and one that based on your love of certain characters in this video, I think you'll thoroughly enjoy