Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a new category every week!
This week's topic Top 10 Classics.
I'm going to break this into two sections: classics I've read and classics I'd like to read.
Classics I've Read
1984 by George Orwell
I read this in grade 12 for the first time and even though I knew it would be good, I wasn't quite expecting it to still be so relevant. Even 10 years later, it's a little frightening. Or should I say, double plus ungood.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Read in grade 11, this was a formative influence for me in a storytelling sense. It was the first time I realized (and that we discussed in class) that your narrator didn't have to be the main character of the story. One of my first original story ideas formed as well during this year, and it's no surprise that I decided to use the same literary technique.
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Another high school read, though I can't quite remember what grade. When I was in school, though, I was huge into Russian history. So the fact that this whole thing is an allegory for the Communist Revolution and thereafter made me flail all over myself. I reread it a few years ago, and it hasn't lost its punch.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Arguably my favourite play that we studied in school (followed closely by Taming of the Shrew). There was just something about Hamlet that I really liked. And I remember my best friend and I being abnormally fond of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as well. The iconic monologues in this play don't hurt either.
Classics I'd Like To Read
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
You would not believe the number for daemon!AU fanfics I have read without actually having much knowledge of the source material. I'm not sure why I never read this as a child, but I'd like to remedy that sometime soon.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I won't ever pay for a copy of this book, because I'm not going to support Card's bigotry, but I still want to know what this is all about. I'm going to have to sign it out from the library one of these days.
Dune by Frank Herbert
I feel like this is sort of a rite of passage for all fantasy fans. I have a used copy, but I keep putting off because I'm a bit intimidated. Also, I don't always get along with older SF/F, so we'll see. I'd like to try it though.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
In perfect counterpoint to 1984, I want to see Huxley's version of the future in which we are ruled by our passions. Like Orwell's tale, all a bit too accurate, right?
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
As a huge fan of the musical, I really need to read this. But there's a reason the fandom affectionately calls it "the brick". It's very intimidating. I'm waiting to find a translation that includes "Do you permit it?" instead of another variation. I may or may not flip through editions of this book whenever I come across them to find that scene. Ahem.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Another classic I missed out on somehow. I've heard great things about the wit and humour of this book, so I'm interested in picking it up.
There you have it. 10 classics. Some read, some not. Have you read any of these? What was your TTT this week? Let's chat in the comments.
