Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Classic Books

This week’s  Top Ten Tuesday is Favorite Classic Books. This a topic that is perfect for Sandie and me, since we love reading classic novels. It’s especially fitting since Sandie was an English and Comparative Lit major in college. For us, “classic” are those books and stories that have stood the test of time and at any given time are being taught in a classroom somewhere. It’s hard to narrow the list down to just ten (and Sandie decided to exclude male authors for this exercise) but here’s what we came up with for our Top Ten Tuesday list for this week (sorry for the lack of snazzy graphic, but Sandie’s still nursing a messed up hand):

1.  “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: There are so many reasons that I love this book. Aside from the fact that it’s amazing, I’m Colombian by birth and there’s probably not a Colombian around who hasn’t read Garcia Marquez’ magnum opus. More importantly, when I read “One Hundred Years” it connected me to my father who loved it, but died when I was too young to talk to him about it. As I read it I felt as though I was getting to know him in a new way. -Diana

2. “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf: I have to be honest and say I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the word “classic,” because it’s ultimately subjective. When I was growing up, the “classic rock” station played Led Zeppelin and now it plays U2. Regardless, I’ll play along and start off with Woolf, who’s my go-to novelist when I want true stream of consciousness, interior monologue, and feeling after feeling. Family drama: check; fascinating characters, check; one helluva writer, check!   -Sandie

3. “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner: I guess I will always love Faulkner’s seminal work. I know that it’s due to the fact that my English teacher my junior year in high school loved this book and taught it with such enthusiasm, expertise, and excitement it was hard not to enjoy it. I’ve reread it several times and I always remember the amazing teacher who first introduced me to Faulkner. -Diana

4. “The House of Mirth” by Edith Wharton: I had to read this in high school AND college, and I loved each reading, each interpretation, each sense of class and repression and unfulfilled desire. This isn’t Austen; Wharton’s books don’t have pat happily ever afters, but if you want a realistic picture of what life was like in the New York upperclass (and how it came with heartbreak and limitations — think of Rose in “Titanic”!), there’s no one better than Wharton.  -Sandie

5. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee: What else is there to say about such a beloved book? An amazing book with characters that we all love; Atticus, Jem, and Scout. My son read it last year and it was a lot of fun talking about it and watching the movie together. It doesn’t matter how many times I read it, I always love it. -Diana

6. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston: It’s not an easy book to get through, and basically I’m going to cheat and copy what Zadie Smith says about the novel: “For me, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD is one of the very greatest American novels of the 20th century. It is so lyrical it should be sentimental; it is so passionate it should be overwrought, but it is instead a rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive. There is no novel I love more.” -Sandie

7. “Sense and Sensibility/Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen: About four summers ago I decided to read a few of Jane Austen’s most well known novels. It was my Summer of Austen and I couldn’t believe that I had waited so long to read her books. I can’t decide which of these two I enjoyed more so I decided to list them equally. Austen’s honesty about the state of affairs for women in the society of 19th-century English country families is what makes her books so incredible. -Diana

8. “Anne of Green Gables” by L.M. Montgomery: What joy it was to read “Anne of Green Gables” as a girl, and that’s all the reason I need to put it on the list, bosom friends. Mark my words, I will take my daughter to PEI one day! -Sandie

9. “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien: There are so many other books that I could’ve included on this list, but I had to include LOTR. Until I read this trilogy I didn’t care for fantasy, but these books changed my attitudes about fantasy forever. I probably wouldn’t have been willing to read Harry Potter if it hadn’t been for Tolkien’s books. –Diana

10. “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott: Oh those March sisters made me grateful for Diana, but I felt like a couple more sisters would’ve been good too. This book tugs on the heartstrings and shows the various opportunities for expression and happiness a young woman had in the mid-to-late 19th Century. -Sandie

As always, thanks to The Broke and the Bookish  for hosting the meme.

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