The Classics Club Monthly Meme – October 2012

This month for the Classics Club Monthly Meme:

Why are you reading the classics?

To be honest, I’ve always read classics so I can’t say why I do it now. Even my favourite children’s books as a child were classics and I had a love for classical mythology. I just seem to like old things. My best courses in high school were English and History.

When people read fiction, it really is like travelling into another world or another time. With a classic, it is doubly so because sometimes you are reading a writer write about their own times with those details they have observed or written in the past. In any case, classics give a view that isn’t necessarily like that is offered now, but they can affect our present day.

The older the classic, the more authors add onto it or interpret it over time. Henry James liked Austen. The Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky influenced each other. Several of the classic authors appreciate Shakespeare and Milton.

Simply of course, I like a lot of classic books so I keep reading them. It’s that simple.

How about you?

12 thoughts on “The Classics Club Monthly Meme – October 2012

  • Fanda

    That’s the best thing to answer this meme, I guess, because we love to read classics 😉
    And I’m with you, that classics–although being written in the past–still resonate in the present time, that’s why we love to read them at any time.

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Fanda! Yes, that is the only answer why we do it. If we didn’t enjoy, why try? I like the change of perspectives and that view into other mindsets from the past. Thanks!

      Reply
  • jessicabookworm

    Like you I’ve always read classics in some form since I was a child. I was drawn even more to them because I felt at high school I didn’t really read what I would class as real classics. The one exception being Romeo and Juliet. The other books we studied were good but were more modern classics. We read no Dickens, Austen, Bronte, so now I’m making up for it!

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Jessica! I have a loose interpretation of classics so I think many modern classics will resonate. Most of the classics I like and have read were done in my own spare time. Thanks!

      Reply
  • Risa

    How true! Most of my childhood favourites are classics! But I must admit, that right now, apart from the pleasure I get from reading most classics, I also have another agenda….to equip myself to teach them some day should it ever arrive. 🙂

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Risa! How wonderful that you get to teach it one day too. I hope if I have children one day, I can share my love of classics with them as well. Thanks!

      Reply
  • Reading Pleasure

    I remember reading so many of the classics as a growing up girl in Ghana; my mother had a whole huge box of them she had bought. For me it is also a chance to re-visit some of these classics for new insight.

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Reading Pleasure! The ones from our childhoods are the most memorable. If I ever have kids, I’d want them to get books as gifts. They always last in more ways than one. Thanks!

      Reply
  • Amy Morgan

    I didn’t have required reading in school. So I am reading these books now. I have always loved books. So this was a perfect way to get more reading in.

    I am also building a list for my daughter. She’ll be eight on Monday. We home educate and she also loves to read. We have a library day every week. She always has a book in the car for when we wait for her Daddy to get off work.

    Have a wonderful day

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Amy! I’m glad your daughter enjoys reading and it seems to be one of those hobbies many of us book lovers have since we were young and carry it through. All the best to her classical education. 😉 Thanks!

      Reply
  • Rachel

    I’m a person who has always read the classics, too. So joining classics club isn’t any particular effort to do more of it. Just a way to talk to other people who enjoy reading. 🙂 But there are always reasons to read the classics when you think about it!

    Reply
    • athena (Post author)

      Hi Rachel! I joined the Classics Club for the same reason. It’s good to have the accountability and encouragement to read more though. Yes, lots of reasons, but the number one is because we like it. 😉 Thanks!

      Reply

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