December Classics Club Meme Question

So I have been a non-participatory Classics Club member the last little while. This question grabbed my attention this month as I started to want to move back into being more of an active member.

Let’s do this again: What is your favorite classic book? If you already answered this question in August 2012, great! Tell us what you picked then, and if your answer has changed in the last year and a half. If you are new since that meme, what is your favorite classic as of today? (Yes, you can of course list multiple books.)

Of course, I have multiple favorite classic books! I have talked about my all-time favorite book was The Blue Castle on here before.  And I have talked about A Tale of Two Cities on here too.  So I thought that for my answer today I would talk about Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

I have always loved Little Women. I remember when I first read it from the library--I think I was in middle school. And I was becoming a bit of a romantic.  P.S. There will be spoilers if for some reason you haven't read the book. But when Laurie proposed to Jo and she said no....I was so shocked I threw the book against the wall.  I was sooo mad at her!! I was soo soo mad.  I felt so bad for Laurie and felt like he had the right to be best. I was eventually okay with how it ended with Amy and Dr. Bauer, but I still loved the Laurie and Jo relationship.

As I have gotten older, I have better perspective on Jo and I understand why she says no to Laurie and I am glad with her relationship with Dr. Bauer--but I still have sympathy for Laurie every time I get to that point in a re-read. And I have also come to love the Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder movie---like it or not--it is cute :)

So what is your favorite Classics book?

Very cute :)

Classics Club June Meme

As member of the Classics Club, I am more of a quiet member.  But each month they ask a question to prompt a blog post--sounds perfect right? Sometimes I don't have an answer for the question but this month I do.  The question is:

What is your favorite opening sentence from a classic novel (and why)? 

So I want to share two lines that I want to share with you today.  The first is from a well-known favorite of mine: A Tale of Two Cities.  I can't talk about first line without doing this one.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

This is ALL one sentence! That is one of the reasons why I love this opening line.  I love the repetition of the lines.  I also love how it really describes life...especially the hard times. The hard times are the best for us and the worst for us.  They are times for us to be stupid, but also learn a lot.  Any faith that you have is tested, and any things that you think aren't there might change.  We are led by light through this hard time but also feel like we are at the darkest time in our lives. We try to go through the experience with hope but inside we have a lot of despair.  I could keep going, but I think you get the idea.  I love being able to relate to a story right away like that.

My second favorite line is a lot shorter and about a book I haven't talked about yet--Rebecca.  That line:

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again"

It sets up the WHOLE book which has so many twists and turns.  You never know what is going to happen the first time you read it.  But as you look back over the book that line is loaded with SO much foreshadow. You don't know what they really mean until the end.

What is it about a first line of a book for you?

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Jane Austen

This month's Classics Club question is about Jane Austen.  They ask why you hate or love Jane Austen and what your favorite or least favorite novel.  Another fellow Classics Clubber Roofbeam Reader talked about how Mark Twain really didn't like Austen.  He shared a quote in which Twain said, "Whenever I take up Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin bone."  My question with this quote, is that if he knew that he didn't like the book the first time, why did he keep reading it over and over again?

Personally, I do read Jane Austen over and over again--and I LOVE it.  Sometimes when I have had a long day,  I turn my MP3 player on set it to turn off in about 20 minutes and then I listen to a book that I know really well on tape.  I can just focus on the words and ignore what is going on in my brain from the day.  Sometimes the book of choice is Pride and Prejudice.  So I don't want to beat her with her shin bone over that book.

The cool thing about this question is that I am have set a goal to read all of the main Austen novels because I bought this complete set a while ago and I haven't ever really read them all.  I have read Sense and Sensibility this year, and technically finished listening to Pride and Prejudice this year--but I'm not counting that.  My favorite of hers is actually Emma--I think because she reminds me the most of myself.  Persuasion might be my least favorite...but it has been awhile, and I had to read it in college so I read it REALLY fast.  So maybe by the end of this year I will have a clear "ranking".     

Character Thursday: Sydney Carton

 

In honor of Celebrating Dickens, I thought that I would do my first Character Thursday link-up with Fanda.  I mentioned previously that I love A Tale of Two Cities.  I have taught it and read it often. My favorite character in the book is Sydney Carton. I thought he was appropriate to talk about with this being Valentine's Day and all.

When the book opens, Sydney seems a lot like what we would affectionately call a nerd.  He is very smart, but not socially confident in himself.  He doesn't put himself in the spotlight and just prefers to stay in the background. We first meet him when he is defending Charles Darney, and they look very similar to each other--which actually helps them win the case.  

Carton seems to change as he falls in love with Lucie Manette.  He was a very selfish, self-pity kind of guy.  But in telling Lucie of his feelings for her--he really opens up and tells her that he would do anything for her or those that she loves.  That chance comes as Darney is accused again and faces death.  Sydney convinces Darney to change places with him so that it is not Charles that is killed.  As Charles escapes to be with Lucie, Carton is beheaded at the guillotine.

I love Sydney Carton as a character, because he is so willing to sacrifice.  Love really changes him and it shows us that even some people can surprise us in life. A great lesson on a Valentine's Day like this. 

Dickens, Me, and My Students

Through the great inspiration of a blogger name Fanda, I am aware that today is the great Charles Dickens' birthday.  On your birthday, you should always know why people respect and honor you. I thought that I would write (kind of to Dickens) about my favorite experience with A Tale of Two Cities.

It is kind of interesting/tricky to start teaching students about Dickens because they are intimidated by the length of his books, the denseness of his writing, and it is harder for them to get into it. With this particular class had read three whole Shakespeare plays the previous month, so to me if they get through that--then Dickens shouldn't be hard.  The best thing to me about this opportunity to teach students--they started to get into and catch on.

This is the great part about Dickens--his stories transcend time.  My students were able to relate to the relationship between Lucie and her father.  They start to follow the French Revolution---they are fascinated by the guillotine and the secret plotting.  They relate to the prison and trapped feeling that Dr. Manette experiences.

Some of them might start to appreciate Dickens' writing, but it really starts to come with the teacher appreciates it as well.  Give them the opportunity to really dive into the writing, and they will start to see what is so great about the amazing Charles Dickens.

This is actually the edition we used, because it is very cheap and
the students can  have their own copy to mark up