A life of books . . .
This question was MADE for me! YAY for finally having a great monthly question after months and months of participating! I’m finally reading another Classics Club novel (The Grapes of Wrath), but yay for small progress!
For August the hosts of The Classics Club have asked
What are your thoughts on adaptions of classics? Say mini-series or movies? Or maybe modern approaches? Are there any good ones? Is it better to read the book first? Or maybe just compare the book and an adaptation?
For June the hosts of The Classics Club have asked members to
“Think of an example of a classic you’ve read that presents issues like racism/sexism as acceptable within society. Do you think the reception of this classic work would be the same if it were newly published today? What can we get out of this work despite its weaknesses? Or, why would you say this work is still respected, treasured or remembered in 2014?
And I’m not going to answer it. Go read any of my other meme answers, they answer this question, and will continue to answer it over and over.
I first read Tuck Everlasting back in high school before the 2002 film came out as I didn’t want the story ruined by a movie (I was just as stubborn back then). Other than a general sense of wonderment and enjoyment I didn’t remember much about the book outside of the basic storyline. I was very glad this was the chosen book this month as it was super short, read it in one day on my T commute, and watched the 2002 film just before book group.
It’s hard to say what part of the story was the best part as there was something so incredibly simple and yet fantastical/magical in both the story and Babbitt’s writing. I definitely didn’t realize when I first read it that the book was almost 30 years old! Originally published in 1975, it clearly stands the test of time and I thoroughly enjoyed this reread. Babbitt did an amazing job of simplifying and writing about a concept as complex and all-encompassing as immortality
This month’s question from The Classics Club is finally an easy question! Seriously for once they’ve asked a question I readily have answers for!
Which classic work has caused you to become a master in avoidance? It’s not necessarily because you’re intimidated but maybe there are works out there that just cause you to have the Dracula reaction: cape-covered arm up in front of face with a step back reaction?
Prior to starting the Classics Club I would’ve spouted any number of the Russian novels (Doctor Zhivago, War and Peace and Anna Karenina to name a few), but I’ve read those already. I think for me the final big hurdles will be actually finishing an unabridged Don Quixote (Part 1 & Part 2), making it through a Steinbeck (I put The Grapes of Wrath on my 30 x 30 list so this WILL be done this year) and James Joyce’s Ulysses. We’ll see when these readings occur, I’m not afraid so much as I am wary of them!
Welcome back Classic Club! I apparently needed a four, almost five, month break from the club. There wasn’t a specific reason other than perhaps the epic-ness of War and Peace, but I’m glad I took the break. I think this was an even better break because I came back with such a wonderful book! There were so many cool things that I learned that I didn’t know, or some how avoided knowing, came from Dracula!
I thought for sure I was familiar with the plot of Dracula, we all are aren’t we? But I was so wrong! I’ve never seen a film version of this and most of what I know is what pop culture has co-opted over the years. One of my favorite podcasts, Good Job Brain, even did an episode titled Very Superstitious which included a lot of fun trivia (some I think might’ve been wrong) about the myriad versions of Dracula. However, what I found out that most caught me off guard was that although the book was about Dracula he wasn’t the main character AND there was a bad ass female protagonist who rocked. There are spoilers, the book is over 120 years old so get over it! 😀