Dust Off Your Classics: Where I read a children’s classic!

Dust Off Your Classics has become an ongoing challenge created by Trish @ Between my Lines and myself. See the home page for details and more reviews of classics.

Title: Over Sea, Under Stone (Dark is Rising Sequence) 

Author: Susan Cooper

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars :star :star :star 1/2
Date of Publication: 1965
Goodreads 
Genre: Middle grade, fantasy, adventure, mythology, norse, legends, classics

On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that -- the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril. This is the first volume of Susan Cooper's brilliant and absorbing fantasy sequence known as The Dark Is Rising.

Dust Off Your Classics: A Midsummer Night's Dream…in quotes

Dust Off Your Classics is an original challenge that I  created with Trish @ Between My Lines. We realized that we had all these classics on our TBR and kept telling ourselves we would read them but never did—so to encourage ourselves to read more classics each year we decided to read 6 classics a year. Every other month, one book—short or long. It worked and this is our second year! Click the start up page for more info and to join! (you don’t have to do 6 books / year).

A Midsummer Night's Dream

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars :star :star :star

Source: Paperback (owned)

Folger Shakespeare Library Edition

Summary

Shakespeare's intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the start--Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny.

Thoughts

I am a fan of Shakespeare. This was actually a reread, I had read it years ago and didn't really remember it (I read it before I really liked Shakespeare). I can see why it didn't really leave a huge impression. It's good but doesn't really do much that the movie(s) don't do! 

There were definitely some fantastic one liners! I figured that instead of trying to write a review that would be impossible to write (for me at least) :D 

I would share with you the quotes I found most enjoyable and really liked while reading ;) 

Notable Quotes

The course of true love never did run smooth.

-Lysander  [1.1.136 Act1 Scene 1 line 136]

What fools these mortals be!

-Robin [3.2.117]

I was with Hercules and Cadmus once, When in a wood of Crete they bayed the bear. 

- Hippolyta  [4.1.116-117]

The Lunatic, the lover, and the poetAre of imagination all compact. Hippolyta  

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Do you recognize any of these? 

I have to say my favorite is “What fools these mortals be!” For some reason I always picture Grimalkin from The Iron Fey series saying it, instead of Robin (or, Puck as we Iron Fey lovers would know him!) At least I had so much to muse about this time when I read this book. 

It’s definitely not my favorite Shakespearean play, or even comedy…but it was an okay read and there was a lot I had forgotten from the last time I had read it over ten years ago. I feel like in this case I am not building it up in my head as I was, I had remembered it being Fantastic, and .. yeah not so much! :| lol 

Dust Off Your Classics: Rebecca review!!

Dust off your classics is a challenge I created two years ago with Trish @ Between My Lines. Basically we both agreed to start a super chill challenge where the only goal is to try to read 6 classics a year. In this second year we have decided we can do 6 and are trying to go for more! Feel free to check out the page and join the linky here.

Rebecca by Daphne du Marier

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars :star :star :star :star

Source: Paperback via my collection

Originally Published: 1938

Publisher: HarperCollins

A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house's first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted.

My Review

One of the things I love about this challenge is that it has and continues to push me to read the classics that have been on my TBR for many years. Rebecca was one of those classics that made me feel like I'm the only one in the book blogosphere that hadn't read it! So many of my book bloggy pals and Goodreads friends had raved about this book, but it was just another one of those books that seemed like it'd be forever on my shelf. Until one of my favorite aunts told me it was her absolute favorite book. She's not a big reader and I hadn't ever heard her talk about a novel like she did with Rebecca. That and the fact that I got a gorgeous copy for Christmas last year cinched the deal for me. I just knew I'd have to read this book and I'm so glad that I did!! 

The Beginning: 
Although intriguing, overall it was kind of slow moving. It took me a LONG LONG time to get into it.

I liked how it started, but the first part was actually the epilogue which threw me off and at the end I had to reread it. Then I thought it was brilliant and perfect ;) Everything came together and in the beginning when I read it I felt sufficiently spooked and melancholy.

Our nameless heroine meets Maxim. Her attitude and demeanor made me feel kind of sorry for her. She was just so hopeless and never stood up for herself. That was her personality though and it was completely authentic, so I loved that.

The Middle:
As our heroine moves to Manderly, the mystic surrounding the epic manor and grounds is intensified and I was so excited yet nervous as she drove down the long driveway for the first time. Some great foreshadowing and then when she enters the house it's crazy how much it seemed like a horror movie (in the start of the movie, that is).

The End: 

My favorite part! The middle brought up the mystery and I loved how everything built up. I also just enjoyed getting to know the characters (there was a great cast of characters). I was surprised by the ending and thought I knew what was going to happen. I mean…I read the introduction which is the epilogue so I kinda knew ..but didn't realize how many surprises there'd be!

Thoughts:
While this isn't my top favorite classic, or even top 5…I did still really love it. It's a great novel. I'm so glad I read it and I can see how it made the favorite list for many people. It was the pacing that got me to give it 4 stars instead of 5..if the pacing was better it'd be higher on my list of favs. But still, I'd read more by Daphne du Marier.

What am I going to do now? 

…watch Hitchcock's version of Rebecca 

..and choose the next classic I'm going to read! I'm going to list some of the books I'm thinking to read next and please comment on which one you think is the best choice!

-The Turn of the Screw

-Silas Marner

-The Age of Innocence

-The Haunting of Hill House 

- Ayesha/Return of She/She 

- Heart of Darkness

Dusting Off Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier: Teaser!

Dust off your classics is a feature created by myself and Trish @ Between My Lines. Read the startup post here and join in if you want! It's not a yearly challenge, nor is it a challenge that requires any certain number of books or check ins. This is probably why it's become so successful! At least for Trish and myself, we find ourselves reading more and more classics as we go along :L

So while most of you are familiar with my sporadic classics posts after I finish reading a classic, I have something new to share! Instead of waiting a few months to complete a classic; I decided (since the classics I've been choosing to read happen to be really enjoyable) to share some sort of post with you while I'm reading these classics. This time it's a teaser, but it will be anything from a 

I got the idea a few weeks ago while reading Rebecca. I have never read this book before and even though everyone raved about it, and it's the favorite book of many a woman I respect, I just didn't know how I would react. Anyway, I started and within the first few pages I just had to get out my pencil and start underlining quotes. I don't do that often, and I just am so excited! 

It's the type of book that has so many excellent lines, I thought it would be perfect to do a teaser post! :D So here's my teaser for Rebecca, (all of the quotes are from the beginning portion of the book, due to the fact that I haven't finished yet! xP It's starting to get very chilling..although I can't help but feel sorry for the main character (whose name we do not yet know); I also feel a bit bad for her passivity of character.

A little bit about Rebecca….

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…" With these words the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten— a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house's current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim's first wife— the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca. 

My Teasers

"His face was arresting, sensitive, medieval in some strange inexplicable way, and I was reminded of a portrait seen in a gallery I had forgotten where, of a certain Gentleman Unknown. Could one but rob him of his English tweeds, and put him in black, with lace at his throat and wrists, he would stare down at us in our new world from a long distant past— a past where men walked cloaked at night, and stood in the shadow of old doorways, a past of narrow stairways and dim dungeons, a past of whispers in the dark, of shimmering rapier blades, of silent exquisite courtesy." [page 15]

 This is just one example of the beautiful prose that I have (so far) encountered in this book. I mean…c'mon. This is just divine. I bolded the part that I  actually took a pen out and underlined my book. I very rarely do this—that's how much I wanted to mark this passage and keep it tucked away so that I would always refer to it when I thought about this book.

The teaser, by the way, is describing Maxim, the mysterious and dark man / newly found husband of our heroine. He is also the man who was married to Rebecca, of which we only have hints at her identity (so far)..

My shyness fell away from me, loosening as it did so my reluctant tongue, and out they all came, the little secrets of childhood, the pleasures and the pains. It seemed to me as though he understood, from my poor description, something of the vibrant personality that had been my father's, and something too of the love my mother had for him, making it a vital, living force, with a spark of divinity about it, so much that when he died that desperate winter, struck down by pneumonia, she lingered behind him for five short weeks and stayed no more. [page 24]

In case I hadn't convinced you of the beauty of this novel's prose— I had to include another teaser. I just read this and felt what the author was describing. It also—not gonna lie— made me tear up a bit. At 24 pages in I can't say enough that this is pretty insane! ^_^ 

I can't wait to slowly devour this classic gothic romance. :h 

Have you read Rebecca? What did you think of the quotes I picked? 

-Diamond

Dust Off Your Classics: Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Dust Off Your Classics has become an ongoing challenge created by Trish @ Between my Lines and myself. See the home page for details and more reviews of classics.

A note: I grew up watching Hammer Horror films, I saw the movie 'Vampire Lovers' many times. It's based on the story Carmilla! It was a major budget film from the 70s where the vampire was a beautiful woman (Ingrid Pitt, anyone?!) and the victim was a young virgin. :O In fact, there's a great article on Nerdist about it, if you're curious. I took a few of my pictures from that article too, just because I feel the movie really did capture how I pictured the characters to be.

A young woman living at her father's castle is the narrator of this novella. When a mysterious and beautiful stranger is stranded at the castle in odd circumstances and becomes a guest, the heroine quickly forms a close bond with her --but she subsequently discovers that her "friend" has a dark and lethal secret.

My Review

How I finally got Carmilla... A month before Halloween I borrowed Rags & Bones from the library. It's a collection of classic retellings by famous (mostly YA) authors. I didn't read the whole thing, but I did look at the table of contents and saw "Carmilla" written by Holly Black. I read and LOVED it. It made me thirst for the original so badly. Also, I knew I had to read another classic for this challenge. Now determined to get a copy of this book for my shelves, I browsed Barnes & Noble and Amazon and I couldn't get past all the ugly covers because I'm picky. Anyway, I found a GORGEOUS copy at The Book Depository by a little publisher and it even had illustrations! I'm
telling you all this because if you want to get some classic or gothic book that has a gorgeous cover
for a good price maybe you'll remember Pomegranate Press. (I'm not an affiliate or anything, just a fan) ;)

As you may know, I LOVE vampire books. Starting with Anne Rice, I've branched out into futuristic and classical vampire stories. I don't discriminate. I value sparkly and bloody for different things. One of my favorites is the ultimate-- DRACULA by Bram Stoker. Carmilla was written 20 years prior to Dracula. let that sink in for a minute It's a very short, gothic vampire tale with lesbian attraction, love, and horror. So yeah, I knew a bit about Carmilla before going into it And that added to the whole mystique.

Carmilla starts right off with an introduction to the mystery. We know something is up because the start has a little note saying this was all the confession/diary written by the heroine before she died many years after the story ended. Told in the narrative, we never learn the family's name. All we learn is that her father is Austrian and well-off (hence the castle, their home). The heroine is an only child
who is a bit lonely living with her father. After a crazy "accident" happens involving a carriage and a girl and her mother, things get interesting. The mystery woman convinces the father to take in her daughter, Carmilla, until such time as she can return for her.

With the seemingly innocent story set, things get really good. The pace is perfect, the story is short but doesn't feel rushed (although I would've appreciated a longer story because I loved it so much)! Things got creepy fast, with our heroine falling in love with Carmilla and Carmilla returning it but saying odd things and disappearing.... Then the bizarre dreams start and our poor heroine falls ill. It's not the typical loss of blood + bite marks on neck. I loved that. It was incredibly refreshing.

"Certain vague and strange sensations visited me in my sleep. The prevailing one was that of a pleasant, peculiar cold thrill which we feel in bathing, when we move against the current of a river. This was soon accompanied by dreams that seemed interminable, and were so vague that I could never recollect their scenery and persons.... [they] left an awful impression, and a sense of exhaustion, as if I had passed through a long period of great mental exertion and danger." Pg 64

The prose is just downright eery at times, other times reading like a completely accurate account of something that happened to a young girl. I love that at we find two girls in love; which is pretty amazing considering the date of publication. :$

I can't recommend this gothic vampire tale enough. You definitely need to give it a read if you like gothic literature. It was easy to get through, and it has prompted me to add Le Fanu to my TBR classics list (I haven't added to that in awhile) :P

-Diamond

Dust Off Your Classics: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dust off your classics is a challenge created by myself and Trish @ Between the Lines. 

see the sign-up page. Basically the goal is to just read as many or few classics as you feel like during the year. 

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This will be the 6th book for this challenge. I read this as a buddy read in a Goodreads group. It was definitely a book I'd suggest buddy reading or at least discussing because there are so many things to discuss! 

My Review

Th Picture of Dorian Gray was one of the first books I put on my TBR when I first got on Goodreads back in early 2012. It was on my tbr for many years before that. We all have those books that have been on our TBR forever and sometimes we feel like we won't ever get to them. I'm glad I did finally get to it though. I bought a copy on sale and I started watching and falling in love with this new show on Showtime called Penny Dreadful. It's based on all the classic characters from gothic literature. Dorian Gray, Frankenstein as a young doctor, Professor Van Helsing, and a similar Allen Quarermain, as well as Dracula and more. Plus it stars Eva Green, Josh Hartnett, and Timothy Dalton. :L

As far as I could tell all the characters were extremely loyal to their book counterparts. I highly suggest giving the show a go.

 Below is a gif of the youthful, classically handsome and boyish Mr. Gray as portrayed on the show. But enough of that let me get on with the book :O

This book is one iconic quote after another. It's the type of book I was glad I had a copy of so I could pencil in my thoughts, musings, and mark my favorite quotes. It's rare for me to mark up a book so much, especially fiction. I think thats a testament to how fast Oscar Wilde got my brain to whir and churn with new ideas. I found myself revisiting old ideas too, but adding to them. This is so,etching I really love doing. I mean, c'mon I'm a philosopher at heart. I wonder if Oscar Wilde was friends with any famous philosophers? I need to google that. He definitely is am hilosopher and I loved how the story was enough. I mean, if you want to read a short classic story and thats it-- you got it in this book. If you want to delve a little deeper, you can; there are double meanings and different philosophies are accurately represented as well. So much so that I feel I will definitely need to revisit this for a reread. It's packed with so much that one reading Is not enough to unlock all the secrets within. 

I recommend this book to everyone. It still is relatable today (who doesn't know/have a DORIAN in their lives?) and it's also I incredibly thought provoking. I guess that's why it has stood the test of time. It's not a long and drawn out boring book. It is pretty fast paced, granted there were some slow moments. I think it was hardest for me to read the ending because I knew what happens to Oscar Wilde at the end of his life. 

I have since bought a used copy of his poetry and plan to read that sometime soon. :$

Dust Off Your Classics: my first foray into Sherlock Holmes

Dust off Your Classics is a challenge created by myself and Trish @ Between the Lines. 

see the sign-up page. 

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Ok, so I've been really bad about updating which classics I've read. I even realized just now, I never completed my post after I read Persuasion by Jane Austen. Oops. Luckily, I have an awesome co-challenge creator, Trish, who has reminded me I need to hop to it! ;)

I haven't mentioned this on the blog before, but my friend recently got me hooked on Sherlock. Played by the gorgeously charming Benedict Cumberbatch *insert appropriate gif here* I fell in love after one episode (they're an hour long each). It didn't take me long to watch all 3 seasons and the wait for season 4 has been excruciating :| seriously.


So what was a girl to do? Well it so happens I'm a book lover (duh), so I decided to hunt and search my bookshelves until I came upon what I was seeking: the complete Sherlock Homes in two volumes. I also had it on my iPad on iBooks from awhile ago. Satisfied, I proceeded to leaf through the stories and try to pick a good starting point. But I couldn't decide. So I just started at the beginning and read A Scandal in Bohemia. Here's what I thought:

My Rating: Four Stars :star :star :star :star

I really enjoyed reading this! I have to say, it was infinitely better because I could picture Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes vividly (from watching the show). In both story and show, Ms. Adler is known to Sherlock as simply “the woman” and she's spectacular. Their interactions were so funny and witty. 

I found the story to be fast moving and interesting. It wasn't a tedious read, which can happen all too often with classics. It also helped that the entire story was only 100 pages. It's more of a novella, which is very appealing to me. The mystery was really well paced and written, and I felt like I was reading a new story. It was very different from the portrayal on the show but the personalities of the characters were so similar it was awesome!

If you haven't already read Sherlock Holmes, I can't recommend it enough. The stories are short, and if you are a fan of the show, you feel like you have a secret window into understanding the stories. If you don't or haven't watched Sherlock yet, let me urge you to do so! You won't regret it. And then come back and tell me so we can fangirl over it together :h 

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Oh and I've been reading a page here and there (about halfway done) with The Red-Headed League. It's really good! I'm also currently reading Pride & Prejudice, which I have never read before. It's one of the first TBR books I added to my Goodresds shelf back in 2012. So excited to finally be reading it, even though I feel like I know the story since I saw the movie :L (which I loved).

So the next post will be my thoughts on Pride & Prejudice, and probably also about The Red-Headed League (the current Homes story I'm reading now).


Ciao!

Dust Off Your Classics: Tis the Season...for Edgar Allen Poe

Hi guys *waves* I'm here with an update on the Dust Off Your Classics challenge! If you don't know what that is -- see the details HERE.

After reading Jane Eyre last time, I decided to do something a bit different this time and just read the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe. I admit some of them I have read before, but I wanted to come back and reread them. Poe is the type of classic author I can read over and over again, and I love how his tales are often short, perfect for a bedtime read. Although, it may cause bad dreams! :v muahaha 

Although I've read many Edgar Allen Poe stories; I haven't read all of them. There was one in particular I was itching to re-read -- The Masque of the Red Death! I recently read and reviewed the Masque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin, which was a YA retelling of the original. I did remember his original story, but I wanted to reread it and see how the two compared. It's so short --only 2 pages or so! But it's totally creepy and I loved it more this time :) 

Fun fact: I think Bethany Griffin named the main character Araby because of this quote in the original story: 

“There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions.” -The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe

The stories I read for the first time was The Oval Portrait and Murders in the Rue Morgue. The Oval Portrait was super short, but memorable. It was really creepy. I'm been amazed over and over again 

about how Poe can write a story (long or short) and make it so scary and chilling! With modern times, and our desensitized culture (of which I am a part)-- he still scares us! I am always in awe of the fact that his stories get under my skin, no matter the age I am when I read them. 

It's quite remarkable, isn't it? 

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P.S. Don't forget to head over to Trish @ Berween My Lines to read her update! She read Agatha Christie :O

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Discussion:

 Have you read Poe? Do you like scary stories? If so, which are your favorites (could use some rec's!) If not, do you like short stories? 

- Feel free to join in our challenge! It goes until March and you can read as many or as little classics as you wish! It's probably the most laid back challenge ever :P lol. Join the linky below!

Dust off your Classics Reading Challenge: Update 3 The Secret Garden

 

                             

This is my third update for the Dust off your Classics challenge. The last book I read was Jane Eyre. This challenge was created by myself and Trish @ Between the Lines. Andyou  can still join even if you only want to read one classic. I will be doing something fun at the end, like a giveaway. Modern classics are included too. :D

I just finished is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I loved it as a child but hadn't read it for ten years. I was scared at first; what if it didn't live up to my expectations? Trish and I both read The Secret Garden-- so it was fun to discuss and cheer each other on. It successfully got me out of my classic reading slump! 

In many ways I was instantly transported to my childhood when I read this book.  I really felt for Mary...all alone in the world. The way she was raised molded her into a spoiled little brat who was very much unloved. It was so great seeing her react to her new surroundings and situation in life. She was invigorated by the moor and the constant natural beauty. She didnt have toys, so running wild outside was her daily activity; it made her stronger and she began to make friends and notice things around her! The little robin (so cute!) took her under his wing, as did the gardener. It wasn't long before Mary found herself actually liking people! Dickon was an animal charmer and him and Mary got along splendidly. 

When Mary discovers the Secret Garden; I could just picture exactly what it looked like. Reading it as an adult, I couldn't help but notice the metaphor the garden exhibited. As Mary is neglected, unloved, and forgotten the garden was too. The grayness of the garden with it's brown dead branches and the stark stone walls reminded me of Mary in the beginning of the book. As Mary began to experience kindness, friendship, and beauty; she blossomed just like the garden did. The garden not only saved Mary's life but Colins' as well. 

It was truly a charming story and one of my all time favorite books. I had no reason to be nervous reading it again after ten years-- it was just as good as it always was! 

Feel free to join in the linky to your classics review! We have no set number so even if your goal is 1 classic this year you can still join. :) 

Dust Off Your Classics: Jane Eyre

This is my second update for the Dust off your Classics challenge. It has been quite a challenge to get through these classics. I did finish reading Jane Eyre; it was my first time reading it and I am happy I pushed myself to read it. I didn't love it, but i did like it! 

I am excited for the next book I'm reading; The Secret Garden. I haven't read it since I was a tween. 

3 of 5 stars :star :star :star

What I liked about Jane Eyre:

• The beginning when Jane is a little girl was really enjoyable to read. I really felt for her! The way it was written had me feeling like I was a 5 or 6 year old. 
• I really liked how the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochestor progressed. It started slowly, turned into a strong friendship, and suffered some ups and downs. It was far from perfect and the nuances were very subtle at times-- making it a very believable romance. 
• I enjoyed the cadence of the story. It had a rhythm that I liked a lot. It didn't feel too rushed or too slow, and I enjoyed reading it (for the most part). 

                                                      

What I didn't like about Jane Eyre:

• St. John Rivers really bothered me. I didn't like his attitude with Jane. His countenance was so gloomy I felt for all the girls who had to spend so much time with him. I was really glad Iane turned down his offer for marriage. It was perhaps the most unrimantic offer I've ever heard! :||
• It kind of bothered me how BIG of a coincidence it was when Jane ran away and ended up at the exact house of her only relations. *shrug* It was too hard to believe, and I just didnt really understand why the story had to go that way. I was happy with the result; but not at the huge leap it made to get there. 
• Another thing I didn't like was the way the narration shifted. Everything was normal and then all of a sudden I am directly addressed as "reader" It would have been easier to swallow if it would've ended like Jane was writing a novel of her life, so something like that. It was just too weird and awkward. 

Have you read Jane Eyre? Join the discussion! 

What did you think of Jane? 

Reading classics? Join the linky and link your posts ^_^ 

Armchair BEA: Classics & Dust off Your Classics RC update

" Today, tell us all the reasons why you love classic literature. What are your favorite classics? If you could give a list of classics to someone who claims to hate them to make them change their mind, what would be on it? How would you convince them to give classics a try? And why do you keep coming back to those old favorites? "

I know many of you dislike classics or just don't "get" their appeal. But, you should give them another chance. There are some really great, funny --like LOL funny-- classics out there! You just need to find the classic that is right for you! Don't worry. I'm here to help ya. :h 
Do you like horror movies? The Macabre? If so, go with Edgar Allen Poe's stories--The Pit and the Pendulum / The Tell-Tale Heart / The Black Cat...better yet, try The Complete works of Edgar Allen Poe and skim the table of contents for a story that intrigues you! That's exactly what I did. Then I went on Netflix and watched Vincent Price's reenactment of  Poe's stories. I love Poe's stories; they're short and bone chilling. Do you prefer a great love story? Try Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë! It will sweep you off your feet It will make your heart swell! Perhaps you prefer something light hearted and funny? Then read Emma by Jane Austen! It had me laughing out loud :r numerous times. Does history hold your fascination? Read I, Claudius by Robert Graves.  You will end up feeling like Emperor Claudius of Rome is your bff. :L I'm serious.  Do you love Dystopian books (Hunger Games, anyone?) Read one of the original dystopian novels-- 1984 by George Orwell. Perhaps you're like me and dig Fantasy? If so, you'll enjoy She by Rider H. Haggard and of course-- The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. These are just some of my favorites. I recommend these if you want to read something good, hilarious, relatable (yes, classics are relatable!) It's weird but many times I finish a classic and go, "wow...I can't believe this was written 100 years ago!?" But then again-- there's a reason they call them classics! ^_^ They've stood the test of time and there is always something that made them stand that harsh test. 

Dust Off Your Classics Update:

I love classics. As many of you know I love classics so much but have a difficult time reading them when other reads on my TBR seem more urgent or exciting.  In fact, I love reading Classics so much that I started a reading challenge with Trish @ Between The Lines called Dust Off Your Classics. Our goal is to read one classic every other month. Well, I picked The Woman in White for my first book and DNF. It wasn't the best idea to pick a 600 page book for my first classic. After talking to Trish, we decided to read a classic together and use discussion questions to fuel conversation and make the book more exciting to read. We picked Jane Eyre to be the classic that we will read together. I think I read it (at least part of it ) a long time ago but I completely blanked it out-- if I did read it! So, I started it and haven't made much progress yet. Are you interested in reading some classics this year? Join our little reading challenge and pick any # of classics you'd like to read this year (even 1!) it's great fun and we will be hosting a giveaway if we get more participants! Head over HERE to the Dust off Your Classics Page.

Feel free to grab our button! 

Dust off your Classics Reading Challenge

Dust Off Your Classics Posts

10) Turn of the Screw by Henry James (DNF) 

9) Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper [middle grade classic]

8) A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare 

7) Rebecca by Daphne du Marier

6)  Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

5) Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

4) Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle A Scandal in Bohemia

3) Persuasion by Jane Austen (no review)

2) Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

1) Dee's Reads is proud to announce our first reading challenge for 2013!

Dee's Reads wants to help you Dust off your classics! 

Is reading classics on your book bucket list? Do you mean to read classics but then get bogged down with them or distracted by other lighter, fun books? Welcome to our world!

Me and Trish at Bookish Trish were struggling to read classics and so decided to join forces in the hope of encouraging each other on. We are setting up a ‘Classic Challenge’ where we are aiming to read 6 classics a year and we will have an update on our blogs every month on the 15th. The posts will include which classic we're reading, how we like it, and some things we learned about the time period, funny words/quotes, etc! Interested in joining in? We would love it, the more the merrier! *huzzah for classics* ^_^

All you need to do add your details below in Linky and link back to both our blogs whenever you do an update on your own progress. We have a button for you to use on your blog, so feel free to grab that. You don’t HAVE to follow both our blogs but it would be nice! And we’ll follow back, we’re good like that :) Feel free to add us on Goodreads too. Apart from that, the rules are there are no rules! You can choose your own Classic and set your own pace. Book hares and book snails, all welcome. If you want to set a higher number than 6 for the year (or lower) that's fine too.

So to start, we thought we would share a little bit about why we want to do this.

Why Bookish Trish wants to read Classics?

Well they are Classics, they are the Gods of the book world! They have been tried and tested and have stood the test of time. I love to read and want to challenge myself to read outside the box.
I think they are great for improving and expanding your vocabulary something I have become more conscious of since I have started this blog. To me it only stands to reason, that reading good books will have to rub off a little and improve my own writing skills. Well I can but hope!
History buff here! So this is a chance for me to visit all different periods and countries and learn a little more in the process. 

Why Dee's Reads wants to read Classics? 

I've always loved the classics. There's something to be said for a book that has stood the test of time and continues to be emotional to readers and relatable. I remember LOL to Emma by Jane Austen and thinking "I'm laughing to myself and this book is how old?! Amazing!" I also continually hear about people's favorite books, many of them classics, and am embarrassed to admit I've never read them! (Great Expectations, anyone?) So here's my chance to tackle those classics that have been collecting dust and learn something from them! Hopefully we'll LOL, maybe cry, but always have fun and support each other!

Well have we encouraged you to join? If so, yay! Link up and add in the comments below: What book you will start with. Have you a read a classic that you loved? Don’t be shy, share with us. Looking for a recommendation on what classic to start with? Ask away! 

Grab our button!

Show others you're committed to 

Dust off your classics! 

 Here's the linky! Add your blog and hop around to connect and support each other!!