Twenty books most people lie about reading
I did finally get to this book. I had to read it for class. I truly enjoyed the story, but it was wordy. I found a shorter version that gave all of the highlights, but not the nuances, so I read that, also. Both were very good books.
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had to read this for one of my classes at school.
The length of the book makes it feel impossible. Also, the court case, while important, drags into the boredom portion of this book. The general story is wonderful, and there’s no doubt as to why this is a classic. Dickens wrote this so long ago, but it is still worth reading. It is wordy, but worth it.
I recommend this to anyone with time on their hands who are looking for a good story.
Candide by Voltaire
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I picked this up for classics bookclub. I had been told that it was funny in a satirical way. I didn’t find it funny, though. There were a lot of topics that made me uncomfortable. I think, though, that it was satire, but it didn’t age well.
I look at this as a book that I’ve read, but don’t have to ever read again. It really didn’t stand the test of time.
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really wanted to read this book because I liked other books by this author. I can’t say that I disliked the book, but I liked it less than his other books. Yes, I understand that this was an early book that he wrote when he was young and I took that into consideration when I rated it.
The book is a classic and should be read just for the experience of reading it.
I disagree with most of this list. A few of them are worth reading, but most of them feel like required reading to me. I feel that I have to read them because they are classics, but it probably isn’t worth my time, since there are so many other books out there to read.
I am disappointed with the top ten authors of all time. Only one woman was listed, but I wasn’t really surprised because of the smaller percentage of female writers from the time.
Maybe we should come up with a list that is a little more modern?
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I hadn’t read many of the Sherlock Holmes books, so this one was new to me. I hadn’t realized that Watson was narrating much of it and that Holmes was such a minor part of it.
I rated it low because the book seemed to drag on and was summarized in the final chapter. I probably would have gotten just as much out of reading just the final chapter as I did reading the whole book.
The story was interesting and pretty much held up over time, but I still wasn’t a big fan.
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I picked this book as a required reading for school. I enjoyed it. It was a fun read as far as school requirements go.
I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys older plays. It had its silly moments, but was well worth the read.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I picked this up for book club. I was excited to read it because I knew so many people had read it in high school. I am glad that I didn’t have to read it back then, but I had to struggle to finish it recently. The story had too much of a lead in and didn’t become interesting until about halfway through. I had hopes for it, but then it fizzled out again.
This was not a book I would recommend, other than knowing the story for background stories. An online synopsis would do the job for that.
Beowulf by Unknown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Nothing happens quickly in Beowulf.
This is a good story, but it’s wordy and written in Old English. The translations are all a little different, and some are more difficult than others.
The general consensus that I hear from instructors and students is “I read it, and now I don’t ever have to do it again.” I totally agree. It was worth reading, just to know the story, but it was tedious.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this up for bookclub. I was expecting it to be scary, just from what I had heard about it over the years. Nothing popped out at me. It was an interesting psychological book. I don’t know that I would really call it a thriller even.
I knew a lot about it before I picked it up, so I wonder if that was part of my disappointment.
The book was very well written and I did enjoy it. I think the fact that it had been written so many years ago gave it time to have all its spoilers leaked to the general public.
It did stand the test of time, though. There wasn’t anything that was glaringly outdated or out of place in the book. It was definitely worth reading.
bookworm at the gym 