Classic literature: hit me, nuckas!

Freak

So I've decided that this summer, for four and a half months while I'm not in writing classes, I'm going to put down these trendy new creative-non-fiction memoir/investigative journalist tales, and get versed on all the classic literature people are always talking about without me (I'll work on reducing my run-on sentences as well).

Today I took out Animal Farm (no! I've never read it), Picture of Dorian Gray, and Mutiny on the Bounty. I'm very excited for the latter: "The greatest sea story of all-time!"

I think I'm going to work my way up starting with smaller or mid-sized novels, but the end of summer I'd like to give something like War and Peace a stab.

Suggestions are where yall come in.

Miakal

I love Animal Farm and Picture of Dorian Gray. I've never read Mutiny on the Bounty though.

I'm super drunk. I'll get back to you later.

Tolstoy is where realism really starts though. Chekov is great.

Shit I don't know. I'm drunk. Crime and punishement. Jane Eyre. Read those, fuck.

Miakal

Portrait of an artist as a young man by James Joyce. better than Ulysses.

My curtains suck up to the window with the wind. I love it. Super drunk!

Freak

Haha, you're a riot. All I've had tonight is half a bottle of wine, pinot noir, good stuff.

I almost got Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, but like I said I kind of wanted to start out slow, and I've heard Joyce is a bit tough to get really into.

The local library is pretty meagre, but there's one little shelf full of "Classics" where you've got all your Joyce, Dickens, Bronte, Tolstoy, Steinbeck. And like Walt Whitman and Shakespeare, plays and poems and stuff.

Actually I wanted to get On the Road, but they didn't have it.

Miakal

I'm not a big Jack Kerouac fan. I love David Sedaris and his little parody of him though.

If you like the beat thing though, check out Richard Brautigan. He's somewhat forgotten from that period, but his books and poetry are a class above most anything.

Joyce is the kind of brother that you probably will have to re-read. Once you get his voice down and understand his style it couldn't be any more clear. He's probably easier to read than Shakespeare though.

Toss

Lord Of The Flies, aside from being our complsory senior English novel, is a fucking awesome book. I'd strongly recommed reading it with some accompanying notes/analysis otherwise you'd miss alot of stuff that, when considered, is pure genius symbology.

I tried Ulysees and just couldn't hack it.