Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish
Top Ten Favorite Classics:
You will notice a theme here. Most of my favorite classics have come from 19th century Brit Lit. I don't regret it.
Childhood Favorites
1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - If you ask me what my favorite book is, I will tell you it is this one.
2) Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery - Not just this book, but the entire series. I read it the first time in 7th grade, and I still love it to pieces. Anne and Gilbert are a favorite ship forever.
Mysteries and Madness
3) Bleak House by Charles Dickens - This is by far my favorite Dickens. It has everything - mystery, scheming, romance, murder. I love it.
4) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - A contemporary of Dickens, Collins books are more readable. Another great mystery, romance combo.
5) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - I'm not sure what to say about this book. It is a forever favorite.
From countryside to seaside to Industrial Revolution
6) Persuasion by Jane Austen - I love Pride & Prejudice too, but this one is my favorite. Anne is a lucky lady to have Wentworth. I wish he'd write me a letter too.
7) North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell - The romance in this book is fantastic. Mr. Thornton is yummy.
8) Far From the Maddening Crowd by Thomas Hardy - I still cannot believe that I went through a Hardy kick through high school and college. I've read almost all of his books, and they're pretty much all sad with crazy endings. Jude the Obscure and Tess of The D'Urbervilles are the most memorable on that account. This one actually has a more positive end.
One classic I want to read
10) Dracula by Bram Stoker. One day I will get to this book!
Great list...this is why we are besties, cause classics are the best! Also, Mr. Thornton IS yummy, but not in that pic, LOL! Insert RICHARD ARMITAGE HERE ;) I guess I need to read The Woman in White....!
ReplyDeleteI really liked Far From the Madding Crowd, which I had to read for Brit Lit in college. Definitely not what I expected. I also liked Bleak House by Dickens. Not sure if I'd have the patience for either these days.
ReplyDeleteJane Eyre and Persuasion will forever be some of my favorite classics. I had so much love for those books. I might have read them over 5 times. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat list, Lauren! :)
I.. have never read a classic book. Sigh. But I'm so glad you love so many of them :D I might read some.. one day, lol. <3 But now it just isn't the type of book I want or like reading ;p But hopefully someday. Anyway. AMAZING post sweetie :D Thank you for sharing about these books. <3
ReplyDeleteLike Nick, Persuasion (Wentworth and that letter! *swoons*) and JE are my absolute fave classics! I tried reading P & P a while back, but didn't get very far as I couldn't stand Darcy.
ReplyDeleteAnne of Green Gables is the only one I haven't read. I don't remember seeing it in England when I was in my classic lit stage
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't think I'd ever meet someone else who actually LIKED to read Thomas Hardy novels. :P And I can't believe I forgot to put Anne on my list. It's probably because it wasn't one of those I was assigned to read, though. Those never seem to stand out as classics, except anything by Austen. I feel a mighty need to (re)read some classics coming on. :D
ReplyDeleteLauren, I'm a huge fan of Dickens but haven't read Bleak House, so I'm going to have to rectify that soon! Anne of Green Gables is another book I've been meaning to read, so I definitely have to bump that up my TBR too. I looove TKaM, though, along with Jane Eyre and Persuasion. North & South is a book whose BBC adaptation I actually enjoyed more--I blame Richard Armitage completely for that--but it's a lovely book as well. Gone With the Wind, A Tale of Two Cities, Rebecca, Native Son, The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, The Count of Monte Cristo and Crime & Punishment are among some of my other favorite classics. Fantastic Top Ten! :)
ReplyDeleteI am forever a fan of the Anne of Green Gables books and I love To Kill a Mockingbird, so I love that they are at the top of your list. I love Charles Dickens, but I have not read the specific book you chose! My favorite classic is Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and I also love The Great Gatsby, but I could list several more that I am in love with. I have to admit that I am not the hugest fan of the Brit Lit books but I LOVE that you are. Anytime I decide that I want to read one, I know where to go for recommendations or discussion. (:
ReplyDeleteI do love some 18th and 19th century British classics!
ReplyDeletePersuasion has slowly but surely become my favorite Austen novel, although I have a soft place in my heart for Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey.
Most of these I haven't actually read yet, although The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, North and South, The Woman in White, and Anne of Green Gables are all on my TBR list. Hopefully I'll get to them soon!
Great choices, Lauren!
Ok, my bad Georgia public school education is showing because I haven't read many of these. Love Jane Austen and Persuasion is such a good book. I need to read North and South, I'll have to make that a priority. Great list! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteI adored Jane Eyre too, Lauren! I really want to read Persuasion some day because I've loved just about every tv/film adaptation. I just got an audio copy of Anne of Green Gables so I'll be able to check this classic off my list. Great list here! :)
ReplyDeleteAh, so many books I need to read (or get on audiobook). Great list! Although I think school ruined To Kill a Mockingbird and Jane Eyre for me. ;)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm forever an Austen girl! :D
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