Hey bookworms and literary classic lovers! After talking about a handful of classics I didn't care for, I thought it was only appropriate to discuss the greater majority of classics I did love. There are some "controversial" picks on here, so I've included the time stamps in the description if you'd prefer not to hear me gush about a particular book you find insensitive. I hope that helps! Thanks for watching.

@elizabethgardner6832

3 жыл бұрын

I would never tell anyone to not read a book, but I do hope that Gone With the Wind and Huck Finn aren't the only books you've read about the antebellum South. I've been thinking a lot lately of "A Danger of A Single Story." www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en Let me know if you've read books told from the perspective of enslaved people. Have you read Kindred by Octavia Butler? It involves time travel so you might like it. My husband has many of her science fiction books, so I'm looking forward to reading those also. I've not read the following yet but am interested in learning more about our history: www.thoughtco.com/classic-slave-narratives-1773984

@user-tv3mc5tr9b

2 жыл бұрын

You didn't put them in the description I think haha

@NoMoreDogma

2 жыл бұрын

@@elizabethgardner6832 - just can’t help yourself

@MediaFaust

2 жыл бұрын

For some more reference material on "revenge books" I suggest the Icelandic saga called "Niall's Saga". It's a pretty epic "novel" written some time during the 1200s that tends to broaden people's horizon. PS -- it's an interesting part of the Mary Shelley's story that she was the daughter of William Godwin (of anarchism fame) and Mary Woolstonecraft (of feminism fame).

@gabyocampo94

Жыл бұрын

There are no time stamps though 😥

Book banning is dangerous. When you allow a government to ban a certain book, you essentially allow them to ban ANY book, and it’s only a matter of time until they ban all books. Also on a side note: Dracula is effing amazing.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

From your lips to gods ears. We need to get back to not only talking to one another, but also listening.

@christianmagrum3282

3 жыл бұрын

It’s the same with words that are spoken if you allow someone to tell you what you are allowed to say then they can change the world

@MaxCadyS

3 жыл бұрын

I'm ok with banning books. There's children's books promoting some pretty horrible things (don't wanna name them here for the channel's sake). Some shouldn't have been published in the first place.

@EndlessLaymon

3 жыл бұрын

@@MaxCadyS Nobody should destroy ones art because said persons personal bias.

@LuxVi7

3 жыл бұрын

@@MaxCadyS here’s the thing, you have the liberty to pick any book you like, you read what you want. I don’t want a group of offended people nor the government to tell me what I can read and what I cannot.

Count of Monte Christo is the best revenge story of all-time. There is no question about this. Fact

@turtleanton6539

3 жыл бұрын

Yuuup

@NathanGull

3 жыл бұрын

My Dad got me to read it. Said it was the best book he had ever read. It is pretty close to my top read.

@eymophilia4952

3 жыл бұрын

And was written in 1844.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I will 100% agree.

@becomingabookworm

2 жыл бұрын

Indeed!

When reading a book, one has to always remember the time when it was written and take that into account. We should not ban or dismiss a book because of ideas we now consider problematic in 2020.

@shawngillogly6873

3 жыл бұрын

Nor should we believe that 2020 is somehow more enlightened about human nature and deprivation than people who lived in real poverty and cruelty.

@TiffWaffles

2 жыл бұрын

What about the books that are pushing harmful ideologies like the suppression of women, the condoning of the African Slave Trade (or even the White Slavery that was prevalent in the time of the Ottoman Empire)... Or books that were published in the medieval ages that pushes for the ethnic cleanse of non-Christians? Sure, we can say that the mindset of these authors don't line up with the thoughts of the 21st century, but it doesn't mean that these books deserve to remain in publication just because of their age and the author who penned such disgusting things.

@hpsmash77

2 жыл бұрын

@@TiffWaffles absolutely tho I do think they should be archived for the sake of history other than that, remove them from publication all you want

@st.ambroseofbierce8980

Жыл бұрын

If anything, we are significantly less enlightened.

@Exnavyjay

Жыл бұрын

Your right, slippery slope!

Linkin Park shirt is fire

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I'm just about out of rock shirts ha ha

@nicktankard1244

3 жыл бұрын

@@mikesbookreviews time to buy some more :)

I don't know about the rest of you fine folks, but I honestly don't care whether Mike likes or dislikes any particular book. What I love about Mike and why I come here is that he can articulate a nicely rational explanation for why he did or did not like the thing, and he does it objectively. That's so rare today it's godrotting superpower! So thanks Mike, for being cool like that.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for saying so. I do appreciate it.

@Hollis_has_questions

3 жыл бұрын

I completely agree. First time here; it won’t be the last.

@tiananesbitt7156

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikesbookreviews Reading Shelley now! Absolutely better than Jackson!

please do the “books that made me cry”, that’ll be fun!

@NathanGull

3 жыл бұрын

I second this! Would be a really interesting vid.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

It'll happen, for sure.

@2talldwarfs

3 жыл бұрын

Ohh awesome ... i was thinking about doing this too 😉

@izz61864

3 жыл бұрын

Where the Red Fern Grows has to be on there. Unless Mike hasn’t read it, of course.

@BenLaSoul908

3 жыл бұрын

And books that actually made you LOL

FINE, I'll read Dune, Mike. You wore me down.

@locutusdborg126

3 жыл бұрын

I just read it so you don't have to. Just tell people it is about sand and spice.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

My work here is done.

@NathanGull

3 жыл бұрын

I have tried, but I will try again!

Reading the Count of Monte Cristo for the first time now. What a treat it has been.

Don't be afraid to talk about classics!! Just because a group of elite, self-important academics enjoy cutting down real artists because they can't create anything themselves doesn't mean that normal, intelligent, adults, who understand context and nuance can't keep having important conversations.

The Time Machine and 1984 are also two of my favorite. They make wonder "Where we headed as a race?" "Where are we going?" Awesome, awesome reads.

I love the time machine and 1984 and the mountains of madness, 3 of my absolute favs. Such great stories!! You have great taste in books!

That was fun! Lord of the Flies is also one of my favorite books of all time. Plan on reading some of these classics this year. Never been into classics but as I've gotten older I would like to read some of these before my time here is over. 😀 Thanks for some recommendations.

I really appreciate you voicing your opinion despite the whole “cancel culture” bs. Your the first booktuber I’ve come across that doesn’t dismiss a book bc of modern day controversy and I’m just like ugh FINALLY 🙌🏽

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I try to keep the focus on just the books. Thanks for watching!

@jayt9608

3 жыл бұрын

Geeks and Gamers is also opposed to book banning, but their focal points are elsewhere.

@TiffWaffles

2 жыл бұрын

I don't understand cancel culture when it comes to booktubers who are discussing controversial books. Unless it is something bad like condoning books written and/or endorsed by figures like Hitler and his Nazis... I mean... the hate that people who like Mark Twain's work (which I think has a message of anti-racism and anti-slavery?) is just baffling to me. With the first, I'd understand the cancel culture but the second... let people read what they want to and say whatever they want about it.

I absolutely love Gone With the Wind. Scarlett is my role model for her strength and gusto

@mikesbookreviews

Жыл бұрын

She’s an icon.

I love that you don’t touch politics. That makes you the best booktube in my opinion

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! It would be quite hypocritical of me to base my channel on discussion and agreeing to disagree and then shouted my political beliefs at everyone. I am old enough to remember when it was fine ti disagree on things, even politics, and still be friends.

@briangallagher3106

3 жыл бұрын

@@bookmistress7142 Nice. I have a similar situation with a friend of mine. We disagree on many things and I’m sure he thinks I’m a bit out there which I possibly am but we still get on very well and it never gets in the way. I need a place to go to avoid politics if I can. I read, I paint and I walk my dog. Most Social media is absolutely toxic if you ask me. When I quit Facebook I read 70 books in the following year. I’ll never look back.

Great list Mike. I was actually surprised how many of them I've read.

Great video! My top 5 classic books are: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Of Mice and Men, Tales of the South Pacific and Gulliver's Travels.

I personally agree that Scarlet O'Hara is a finely crafted, complex character, who is bratty and entitled, but is also incredibly persevering. She has will and strength, and loyalty that are impossible not to admire, while you also kind of hate her childish desire for things that she can't have and constant attempts at being the center of attention. The romance is also not a sugary soap opera, but a great exploration of the big and small mistakes people make every day. One of my favorite books.

Mike, I've suspected it before but am now sure, we would be great friends if we ever met. Great list and thanks for sharing. To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book and I had a similar experience to you; I had to read it for class and we were assigned chapter chunks to read but it was one of those that once I started I found it difficult to put down. The story just flowed so organically that I had to shove the rest of my homework aside and just keep going. Finished it in 2 sittings and it's the one book I've re-read the most (and yes it's going to come around again sometime soon). I have thoroughly enjoyed revisiting some classics that were assigned in school and discovering ones that weren't. Picked up Gone With the Wind for the first time a few years back and was surprised how much I loved it, and for a lot of the same reasons you did. Really enjoy your channel ✌️

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the kind words!

I had to read Fahrenheit 451 in 9th grade and I loved it. It's one of my favorite books.

I love your videos Mike! I’ve been speeding through them ever since I discovered your channel several months ago. Classics are what transformed me into an avid reader and for the past couple years I’ve been on a shameless fantasy binge. Your videos have had major influence on my personal TBR list. Steinbeck is my all time favorite author with Sanderson being my current favorite fantasy author. A book I’ll recommend to everyone for as long as I have breath is Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. His prose is unparalleled in this beautiful coming of age story. It is one of the few books that has brought me to tears.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

That is a brilliant Bradbury book.

High quality list. I own and enjoy many of these, and would be very interested to hear you talk about classics you love in the future, although I understand those videos might not be good for the algorithm.

My favorite book of all time hands down is The Count of Monte Cristo. Ugh, my heart. I also love To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone With the Wind, and Dune. I'm new to your channel but am so glad I found it.

@muhtasimshammo

Жыл бұрын

How is the book dune?

I think reading texts and watching films from the past not only provides an interesting insight into the mistakes of the past, but also show just how far we come, progressively. Not just in history, but in media as well. You can watch Casablanca or Gone with the Wind and still see why it’s considered iconic and get enjoyment from it, while acknowledging some of the dated flaws of it. I’m 20 (as of writing) and have watched Vertigo, while I enjoyed watching it with Hitchcock’s plot unraveling, it had some very creepy and somewhat manipulative undertones in the main characters relationship. Point being, you can still enjoy a piece of media while acknowledging its more heinous flaws.

Great show! I love the classics. I've read most of these. Thanks.

Loved the Time Machine. So impressed by HG Wells, Jules Verne, Bram Stoker. Such imaginative well written books from a long time ago. War of the Worlds is one of my favorites as well. Great vid!

I am so glad this video of yours came up on KZread for me! Going to now go and check out your other videos! Love your bookcases btw! ❤📚

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! They have actually grown since this video.

One of my fav things about the Count of Monte Cristo is the romance. It would have been so easy for Dantes to win back X (censored for spoilers), but instead Dumas takes the much more satisfying bittersweet route.

Great list. F451 was the first "good" book I loved (7th grade) and was really turned me into a serious reader, and a sci-fi/fantasy reader. The only one of these books I was assigned in school was Lord of the Flies. When you described not liking all quiet on the western front my thought for a war book you'd like was slaughterhouse-five, so glad to see it on the list.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Probably the first real thought provoking war story I read.

I don't get why so few people have read, or talk about Jack London's novels: "Whitefang" and "Call of the wild". Two of my all-time favorite stories, no doubt.

@chrisw6164

2 жыл бұрын

I think they associate those novels with middle school assignments. I read them both recently and they blew me away. But my favorite Jack London so far is The Sea Wolf.

@smileyclips1615

2 жыл бұрын

@@chrisw6164 I'm from Europe. So I didn't read those books at school, but I understand the reasoning for it. The Sea Wolf is on my to-read list. I will try to read it soon.

@erikaeriksson9840

2 жыл бұрын

Oh, I just loved Whitefang when I was a child. I might have to read it again. The Call of the Wild was a good one as well.

@thetimeofthewolf257

2 жыл бұрын

Jack London is one of my favorite authors too. He is also considered right wing with his Nationalist-Socialist views. We live in an age of liberal pansy soyboys who hate strong masculine authors and writing.

@TheRealJaded

Жыл бұрын

I'm not a mutt lover so I don't read mutt lover books

First video I've watched on this channel, and I already subscribed! I love healthy and open conversation about books

I think Scarlett O'Hara is my favourite character of fiction ever. Other top favourite classics for me would be Count of Monte Cristo, War & Peace (surprisingly easy read just very long), 1984, and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Amazing review of monte Cristo! Not a book I’d typically pick up, but now I’m intrigued! On my TBR list.

Totally agree about Scarlet O'hara. Didn't like her, but admired her ability to get things done.

A great Count of Monte Christo science fiction re telling is The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester...a sci fi classic! Great list Mike.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard this before. Sounds really cool.

Great picks! I have read many and you have given me many to check out! Dracula is one of my favorites!

Slaughterhouse-Five & 1984 have to be my favorite classics! I reread Slaughterhouse-Five a few months ago again and I’m still pulling new thoughts and themes from it.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

💯

My sister had to read To Kill a Mockingbird and she loved it so much, I read it when she was done and I NEVER read when I was a teenager. Great story. Loved your whole list. Haven't read all of these, but I loved all the ones I have read. And yes, Gone With the Wind is gold!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Amen.

The way you explain books make me want to read them.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

That’s the goal!

Great list you've made there, Mike. Varied & all quality reads.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Gracias.

My grandmother read Gone with the WInd before the movie came out, and was really excited when she heard there was going to be a movie. Later, when my mom was a kid, it was playing in a nearby theater. My grandmother said she would take her, but my mom had to promise to read the book. It took my mother the whole summer.

I agree 100% on “Gone With The Wind”!!

Gone With The Wind. A favorite of mine!!! Love this whole list!!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

❤️

I discovered Lovecraft as an adult, At the Mountains of Madness is probably his best work. Really recommend the audio book edition.

Great Video! I love Frankenstein too. Another classic I love is Tarzan.

You picked 3 of my faves! I love Dracula, To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone With the Wind! I am against banning books and even worse - burning books!

Hey Mike! Can't believe I just found your channel. I'm 2 yrs late to this video and I just wanted to say that I love Dune!! Read it when I was still in Highschool (not because it was required, mostly because I enjoy scifi) and have enjoyed it ever since. I'll sure be going through your backlog of videos.

I love how you say the year of any book you mention❤️

All great books and some are on my TBR. My favorite classic will always be Catch 22. There were some chapters in that book that made me burst out laughing and most books don’t usually have that effect on me. Also Pony Boy loved the Gone With The Wind so I think I’ll give it a shot one of these days. 👍

Vonnegut! I went on a Vonnegut kick years ago. My personal favorite of his is Sirens of Titan.

To Kill a Mockingbird Bird is my favorite book of all time. Actually live south of Monroeville that the town is based on. Reread it every year or so. Love it.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Very cool!

Great list! A classic I really enjoyed that I didn’t see on your list is Catch 22. This book sat on my shelf for a while. When I finally picked it up, I almost put it back. When I started reading it, I thought it was a slog. It took me about 100-175 pages until I changed my mind and was so glad I had stuck with it. It turned out to be an amazing book. I was really invested in the characters. Definitely a classic that is worth a read. Just don’t give up if it starts off slow for you. You will be glad in the end. (I hope!)

@locutusdborg126

3 жыл бұрын

EXCELLENT novel and insight. The term Catch 22 is a staple of our language yet very few realize it came from that book.

@kristey2663

3 жыл бұрын

@@locutusdborg126 So true! I've heard (but not confirmed) that this book is loosely based on events in Joseph Heller's actual life, which adds yet another interesting dynamic.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

About a dozen folks have recommended Catch 22, so I’m going to have to put it on the old TBR.

So many of these books are books I truly dislike (or in the case of “Slaughterhouse Five,” really hate) but your reviews of all of them were absolutely accurate. I’ve read all of these and I’m with you, I think these are all outstanding exemplars of their respective genres even if they don’t appeal to me. In the case of “Dune,” however, it is an all time top ten book for me and I would love to see an entire video on it. I fell into the pro-Dune camp about ten years after it was released, when I was in my mid-teens and I have probably read it a couple of dozen times since then. It still blows my mind and I continue to find new insight each read. These days I read about three hundred books a year and trust me when I say, there are very few books with that kind of depth over time. “Dune” is everything and more.

Nice selection with quite a few of my all time favourites 😊

The count of monte cristo is my favorite book, so happy to see it on here

The Count of Montecristo is a true masterpíece. It is so big but it reads so easily, that the size simply is not there. It is fluent, it is also a good history lesson, and it is just so entertaining and inspiring also. And it goes beyond revenge because it also shows how these evil characters, at least one of them, also brought evil to themselves from their own actions, not all coming from Edmundo Dantes...

Because I've made a promise to myself to branch out a bit in 2022 and read at least one classic, and after much research, I've selected The Count of Monte Cristo! I've heard incredible things about this book and I'm really looking forward to it!

I just finished “Solaris” amazing classic sci fi with a brilliant take on the genre. I highly recommend if you haven’t read it

Hi started looking at KZread vids by readers as I found myself reading more than ever , haven't stopped reading for over a year now. Anyways just saying your vids in particular have been the most appealing so thanks for that and keep up the good work.

@mikesbookreviews

2 жыл бұрын

I am always in favor of someone reading more.

I loved TKAM too. Here in the Memphis area, we read it in 9th grade. It was the first book I remember reading in AP English.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

So good.

*To Kill A Mockingbird* is probably my all-time favorite, but I adore *Frankenstein,* too. I recently picked up the 1818 edition which I'm excited to read. Also love *Dracula* and *The Haunting of Hill House.* I have *The Count of Monte Cristo* and *Gone With the Wind* on my shelf, but have yet to read either. Such a great list, thanks for sharing!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I read the “1818 Text” version.

in the mid 70s I read 1984 while playing the Paranoid album by Black Sabbath. A chilling combination!

Great list Mike. All of these books are must reads. Cant wait for October!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Me too!

This is great a list. To Kill a Mockingbird is my number one novel. I'm always surprised when people say they haven't read it. It was also the number one book in PBS's The Great American Read, getting the most votes and never leaving top spot. Only two books in my life have made me cry TKaM and Flowers for Algernon.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

It’s bloody brilliant and I wish everyone could enjoy it as much as I did.

19k gonna happen! Way to go, Mike!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Tonight or tomorrow!

@madisongoodyear5040

3 жыл бұрын

Todaaaay! Let’s share the video

What a great list! My favorite classic is Pride and Prejudice but I love a lot of the ones you listed.

@shawnashe9710

Ай бұрын

I just got through Crime and Punishment, and am now trying to get through Brothers Karamazov. Last summer was Hugo's Les Miserables; this summer is finally going to be Count of Monte Cristo. Those huge tomes are frightening.. you just have to get started.

Fantastic list--and so pleased to see a classic in translation included among your picks! If you loved THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO you might want to read an earlier novel of Dumas's, GEORGES, which has some similarities to TCOMC but features a mixed-race protagonist and is set on the island of Mauritius (then Ile de France). Still tons of swashbuckling action (and a man wrestling an alligator!) as only Dumas could write it.

I have not read many classics but Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame has always stuck with me since I read it in high School. I have Les Miserables on my tbr list, love the Musical and have very high expections on the book. Crime and Punishment by Dostojevskij is another good one.

@TiffWaffles

2 жыл бұрын

I love Victor Hugo as both an author and poet, but I will forever hold a grudge against him for that horrific info dump chapter about Gothic architecture. I had to read Notre-Dame de Paris in both English and French (Books in Translation and French Literature classes). I did not appreciate the English translation whatsoever. A lot was omitted by Victorian English translators because it was too unclean. Glad to hear that Everyman's Classics did a recent translation to include as much of the problematic 'unclean' parts that make the book as well.

Lord of the flies is a dark but excellent book.

'Far From the Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy is a book worth reading as an adult, not when they make you at school. It has complex characters and the most extraordinary prose. Speaking of which, 'The Long Goodbye' by Raymond Chandler. If you've never read that you only know the many sad parodies of it. The original is breathtaking.

@abrahemsamander3967

2 жыл бұрын

Chandler is on the list. Will check out the other. Love good prose.

@lindafarnes486

9 ай бұрын

I really liked all Raymond Chandlers books. I thought The Big Sleep was the best though. So many different threads all pulled together by the time you get to the end.

Count of Monte Christo is also my favourite classic, so glad to see it here! Such an easy and gripping read :)

@mikesbookreviews

5 ай бұрын

It's so good!

A lot of my own favorite classics ended up on this list. 1984, Slaughterhouse 5, Fahrenheit 451, The Count of Monte Cristo!!!, Dracula and Frankenstein were all great classic reads. I have some of the other books from this list on my tbr. I feel like I should read To Kill a Mockingbird next, since everyone I know seems to have read and loved that book.

This is such a great list! I need some do some reading :)

FINALLY! A reviewer that loves- AND lists as #1 -"Gone With The Wind". You zoomed up to the top of my lists of great book reviewers. It's.an amazing period piece with layers and layers of great characters. Now, my friend...how about "Les Miserables"?? Unabridged of course! 😃

Great list. Should read some of those books again. I have read these books for the last 20 years🤣

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I’d definitely like to revisit some.

Great list. I need to reread many of those.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, same here.

I love H.G. Wells! The Time Machine was the first Wells book I read and then I quickly devoured just about everything he wrote right after that.

I went to school in Germany and I read To Kill a Mockingbird in the Advanced English Course. It was one of those exceptions, where you're forced to read something, but you absolutely love it. But my #1 classic novel would be The Count of Monte Christo everytime! Unabridged version goes without saying. When I went out and bought, it started raining and the book got really wet, but I love it all the more for it.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

It’s such a great book.

@tarico4436

Жыл бұрын

Great comment. Complete with a slice-of-life denouement. Riveting!

The Time Machine was one of the very first book I read. My father gave me a book, The Year The Yankees Lost the Pennant, when I was about 11 and it was the first book that had an unhappy ending. I didn't know that could happen. My favorite classic was Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift. After reading that, I realized someone else had a similar sense of humor and view of the world.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was assigned when I went to Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, VA. To Kill a Mockingbird had been assigned when I went to Francis Scott Key Intermediate School in Springfield, VA. I did The Time Machine for a book report at Key.

Thanks so much for this video! Definitely looking at Gone with the Wind (totally agree with you on Scarlet, even though I have only seen the movie) and The Count of Monte Christo (loved the Musketeers books when I was in my teens), but others will be making their way to my TBR-long-list. I also agree on your view of Dune. I saw the miniseries, then read the books, when I was just starting to read as an adult. That helped me though the tougher bits in the books. Maybe, for some, this might be a case where you should see the movie first, then, if you liked it, start on the books. If you are just looking for a 'good yarn', that is not your book. And the first book is not a standalone. It is the first part of a greater story.

@Yxvandoolu

3 жыл бұрын

BTW, not being from the North American continent or, indeed, an English speaking country, I was never asked to read any of these in school. Only The Great Gatsby for English class. But even the other books I had to read for school all suffered from one big problem - they were chosen for being 'great literature' (of high literary quality). I don't read 'literature', I read stories. Yes, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451 or the like would have been so much more interesting to read as a young person. And I would have 'gotten' the subjects of those back then.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I just try not to push Dune on folks because it never hits for everyone.

Im so happy that I came across your channel

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Same here!

Damn, when you said most people had read the abridged version of CoMC I raised my eyebrows and ran to my shelf, looked over my copy and, alas! It has indeed been *butchered!* Under 600 pages - is that like, half the content? I suppose it's a good thing I haven't read it yet, I was buying all sorts of classics from used book stores years ago and never thought to look for that sort of thing - I suppose it's just to assign to students below it's reading level (or who aren't interested). My Frankenstien had this done to it also, and I didn't notice till years after had consumed and fell in love with it, apparently I haven't _really_ read Frankenstien after all! I guess I can look forward to fixing that. Glad you're covering Dracula and Lovecraft this October, I was planning to finally read those then myself.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Ha ha both are good.

I love Dune! It's one of my favourite books! I only got through a third of the first book before I had to return it to the library but I could tell it was something special. I pledge here today that I will finish Dune...eventually.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I recommend it, obviously.

I have almost all of those and many of them I haven’t read yet. I definitely have a problem with buying books faster than I can read them, ha. Fahrenheit 451 was excellent! I have Something Wicked This Way Comes and October Country and I’m planning to read them along with Dracula and Haunting of Hill House in October. I recently picked up a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo and I’m excited to read that one. I’m currently reading Lies of Locke Lamora and The Blade Itself right now and their both pretty awesome! Great video, cheers!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Enjoy! Those are some great picks.

I would love to hear about your favorite time travel books. Anything involving time travel is a yes for me.

Loud hurrahs for Huckleberry Finn and To Kill A Mockingbird! I felt there was even higher praise you could've given aspects of the former, and the latter may literally be a perfect novel. I could type on for paragraphs, but won't. Enjoyed the vid.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I welcome these thoughts. Thanks for watching!

I think I prefer the classics you liked to the ones you didn't, I think the only main change I'd put between the lists would be to switch Huckleberry Finn or Fahrenheit 451 for The Catcher In The Rye. There are quite a few here I somehow haven't checked out yet, and this is a great reminder! Also, congrats on the 35K subs!

some great books! my TBR keeps growing lol

I had to read Lord of the Flies in 6th grade, and I'm convinced that is entirely too young to appreciate that book. Also. I FINALLY added Dune to my TBR. It'll be awhile before I get there, but it's there! I kept pushing back, but you've convinced me 😂

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely too early to read a book with themes as deep as that.

Except for the Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson (I was underwhelmed by those books), I pretty much agree with the rest of your picks (although, I have yet to read Time Machine). Some other fave classics for me include: The Odyssey, Don Quixote, Wuthering Heights, A Christmas Carol, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Three Musketeers, and Of Mice and Men

The Iliad and The Odyssey translated by F. Scott Fitzgerald make the top of my classics list. Some Shakespeare as well. Jane Austen even.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Never gotten all the way through Iliad.

that time stamps thing was a great idea!

really excited to dive into the Dune universe when I get the chance sometime (hopefully) in the next year or two.

Treasure Island? Count of Monte Cristo is my fav all time and is what got me into reading. Read the unabridged version when I was in 6th grade and loved it, reread many times since.

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Treasure Island, 20k Leagues, and Watership Down were my toughest cuts.

Great video!! Happy weekend reading to u!!

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! You too.

Love your channel! Do keep posting more videos!

I love Slaughterhouse Five, I got an ARC of the upcoming graphic novel and It was fantastic

@mikesbookreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Ooh. I didn’t know this existed.

I'm reading Frankenstein now and it's super hard to read but I'm enjoying the overall story.