Pretty cool of Penguin to do this. This book has been published before by independent and niche publishers, such as Valancourt Books, who specialize in publishing out-of-print, gothic novels and such. But for a major publisher like Penguin to bring this novel to a much wider audience, is something different.

The book description on Penguin's website reads: "A ninenteenth-century novel about a bisexual, biracial vampire, written by a forgotten legend of Victorian horror"

Autumn is the best time to read existential literature. Maybe there are some books by Kafka or Dostoevsky with a heavy atmosphere (just don’t send me “The Metamorphosis,” “Crime and Punishment,” and “Demons”).

Just got this in the mail like an hour ago, can’t wait to start it tomorrow

(Add spoiler tags for the latter if applicable)

"Call me Ishmael." - Moby Dick

"Yet, as I turn and begin walking toward the waiting people, the wind blows some of them back on me." - Giovanni's Room

^ my favorites respectively. I really love both the first and last sentence of The Catcher in the Rye as well.

I’ve heard Ivan Turgenev is remarkable for his psychological subtlety, elegant prose and poignant exploration of human relationships, so I’m eager to delve into his work.

Although I’ve also heard that his writing isn’t as quintessentially Russian as Tolstoy’s or Dostoevsky’s. Is he really as good as his reputation suggests?

I want to know if the translation is good or too old/complicated, I’m a beginner reader, I don’t intend to pick this up immediately but for the price I consider it a good purchase now that I can keep on my shelf until I decide to read it

All the spoilers.

I just finished Copperfield and since my husband is not a reader we usually watch a film adaptation after a book I’ve read so we can talk about it.

We watched the 1999 miniseries. Just wanted to gauge how terrible I am at reading comprehension, but we weren’t supposed to know Uriah was a villain upon seeing him right away, right? I did not pick that up from the book until David basically finishes school. I also didn’t pick up on him and Agnes until Doady and Dora have housekeeping troubles and he reminisces a little on Agnes’ housekeeping attributes. Another thing I didn’t pick up on was that Emily and Steerforth had an attachment so soon on the first visit. I assumed it had happened later once Steerforth went back to Yarmouth often because he loved the sea and spent more time there. Am I really just too innocent to miss all these clues? 😭

Obviously the movie has to move a lot faster, but I was deprived of the shock of all these reveals that I had in the book. Now I’m left wondering if I just wasn’t picking up what Dickens intended to convey. Either way I enjoyed the twists since apparently I don’t see them coming!

My favorite books are the trial by Kafka, Molloy by Beckett, crime and punishment by Dostoyevsky and the rosy crucifixion trilogy by Miller. I found Molly really relatable but for whatever reason I can’t get into Malone dies and I didn’t like the Tropic of Cancer. Anything involving fragmented perception and the feeling of disorientation would be interesting. In case it’s relevant the philosophers I like most are Spinoza, Deleuze, Lacan, and Marx. Im open to any recommendations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Not really related to classic literature, but I figured people interested in classic literature would probably be able to help

I don't know how to actually read critically, like in a way where I'm really analyzing and understanding the depth and complexity of what I'm reading. I'm asking this for all forms of literature (not just novels and whatnot but things like comics too), how do I read critically? This might sound dumb, but I feel disappointed in myself after reading something and failing to actually recognize simple changes in a character just because I was too focused on the cool action I saw. I often end up just seeing what other people say about a character I like and see how they explain the character's depth, complexity, dynamics, and other things. I just wish I could understand these things on my own but whenever I'm reading I just never pay any attention to things like that. In short, I only take in the words that I see on the page, but I want to be able to see the words between each line of text, to understand the message the author was trying to convey. I feel so dumb

Black Classic, Modern Classic, Clothbound Classic, and English Library; I believe they’re called

I just finished Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky and was planning to read Chess Story by Stefan Zweig next. However, I was wondering how similar their writing styles are. Is Chess Story philosophical, like Notes from Underground, or is it more of a straightforward narrative driven story?

(No Spoilers Please) I’m late to this but Edith Wharton is a genius??? Omg??? First book I’ve read by her. Definitely following this with Age of Innocence. Give me more recs pls

Athena casually wrecking the god of war, and then punching Aphrodite in the chest when she tries to help, is always amazing to read!

I have read very, very few classics in my time, all of them except one being from back in high school. The only classic I've read as an adult has been Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (which I loved).

I was hoping to get some suggestions of classics that would fit well with the category of unreliable narrators/unlikeable characters.

Thank you!

So I’m specifically talking about the name of the book only and the quality of the actual book overall shouldn’t be factored in.

So what are your favourite book titles? :)

My first ever murder mystery! I was in a reading slump and my life was a little stressful so I wanted an easy and entertaining book to escape into. I thought this was a fun read. Ninety-two years later and Christie’s talent for spinning up a mystery still holds up - I realized I had no idea who was the culprit.

What are some of your favorite page-turners of their day that stood the test of time (other than The Count of Monte Cristo)?

Pretty shocked that this isn’t held in the same regard nor nearly as popular as other classics. Fielding makes such an ingenious move in obliterating the fourth wall and constantly maintaining a conversational tone in the description of these fictitious events while also capturing such a beautiful set of scenes and plots. Its pacing is flawless and very patient and the level of depth its women characters are given is very refreshing compared to many 20th century classics. Definitely grab this book if you haven’t and love books like Anna Karenina and Middlemarch, it is so worth the read. And nearly 400 years old!!

Greetings

I want to start with an apology, if this is not the right place to ask, though I hope it is.

I read all sorts of books from YA to Leo Tolstoy and many genres; fantasy, horror, science fiction and classics among others. I also enjoy reading non-fiction about psychology, religion and philosophy.

But I sometimes feel that there are themes, motives or something silently understood between reader and author, that passes me by, when I read fiction.

That is why I am looking for recommendations that will help me understand books I read better. The bible is often listed among most influential books on western culture, but will reading it make me “get” other books better?

Or will reading Freud and Jung help? Or Plato and Aristotle?

Or is it a matter of reading the most read classics, because the chance that an author has read those and therefore maybe draws inspiration from them or rather is influenced by them, which would lead me to reading more books by Shakespeare, Dickens and the like?

Thanks for any advice given.

As you can guess, I am disgustingly easy to influence. I have had these books screaming at me to read them but I'm in the midst of The Count of Monte Cristo and omg is that book huge.

Super excited for these but also really daunted by Frankenstein. Any tips in reading these classics?

I think Stoner, I won't have a problem but Frankenstein maybe I'll need more time with especially the 1818 text.

P.S. Can I just say the Frankenstein cover is absolutely beautiful! I'm obsessed.

One of the primary ways that publishers try to distinguish their new edition of a classic from another publisher's is to pay someone (famous author/well-respected scholar/etc) to write a new introduction.

So I'm curious which of these introductions has actually left an impression on you? Is there one in particular that you remember or come back to? Something that really DID offer a different perspective on the book? Would love to know the book, who wrote the introduction, and what about it resonated!