This is the second part of yesterday's questionnaire. You can read part one
here!
We continue on with the fifty questions:
26. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend?
This is tougher than it looks. My best friend is my sister and she is quite... an indescribable person. I've known her her whole life, and I still don't know her secrets. (Darn!)
BUT for the sake of this questionnaire, I'll say - she's part Hermione, part Thursday Next, part Elizabeth Bennett, and part
Lydia Bennett. (Don't kill me, Dionna, if you read this. You're not the irresponsible thoughtless flighty parts of Lydia Bennett. Don't worry.)
27. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original "THE END" on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why?
I actually think I'd avoid those 500 more pages. The author clearly intended them not to be published, for whatever reason, so the original title would have been exactly the way she/he wanted it to be published. They thought it was perfect without those extra pages - for a reason. That influences my reading/analysis experience.
28. Favorite children's classic?
The Chronicles of Narnia. And
Winnie the Pooh.
29. Who recommended your first classic?
Didn't you hear my answer to question #9 (First classic you ever read)? I grew up on classics!
...so I suppose you could say my mother recommended my first classic?
30. Who's advice do you always take when it comes to literature? (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.)
Um... there isn't a specific person. I used to get my recommendations off high school classic curriculum reading lists. I don't think there's one person who's advice I ALWAYS take, because each of us has our own tastes when it comes to literature, and my friends have slightly different reading tastes, even with regard to classics.
31. Favorite memory with a classic?
This one's a toughy. But I'm going to have to go with that Christmas Eve when I was 13 and my aunt got me
The Complete Chronicles of Narnia - with the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes. It's so special.
32. Classic author you've read the most works by?
Well, I've sure read a lot of Jane Austen (all of her works - and juvenilia - except for
Sandition.) That adds up to - eight books? Oh but wait - I think CS Lewis beats her out. All the Narnia books (seven), the Space Trilogy (three),
The Screwtape Letters, and
Surprised By Joy. (And I own
Mere Christianity but haven't read it yet.) TWELVE! Lewis wins!
33. Classic author who has the most works on your club list?
Willa
Cather. For no reason in particular.
34. Classic author you own the most books by?
...well, I own "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare," but they're all in one tome. Does that count?
If not, I also own many Jane Austen e-books. Does that count?
If not, then there are a lot of authors tied with two books each.
35. Classic title(s) that didn't make it to your club list that you wish you'd included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?)
I sort of wish I'd added Dante's
Divine Comedy, but am sort of glad I didn't. I don't
want it enough to modify my list for it.
36. If you could explore one author's literary career from first publication to last - meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication - who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven't yet read, since you can't do this experiment on an author you're already familiar with. :) Or, which author's work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way?
I feel like I've had a finger in a bunch of pies when it comes to authors, so this question is a bit of a challenge. So this is how I am going to answer it:
I actually DID do this with Jane Austen (though after I was familiar with her works). It was fun, and interesting to see how her writing style and skill progressed from
Love and Freindship to
Persuasion.
37. How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy?
I've got 9 rereads, and so far, I've crossed off three. I'm looking forward to ALL of them, or else they wouldn't have made it on my list, okay? But I'm especially curious to see how I react to
Joan of Arc by Mark Twain, which I read when I was much younger. Oh, and same thing for
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. THAT BOOK.
I don't even know how to describe it.
38. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish?
For the CC list so far? No.
Bu there are a few on my CC list that are second attempts:.
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace and
The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle. That's why I put them on my list, because I knew I didn't finish them simply through a lack of maturity and readiness. I really think I'll enjoy them when I reach That Point.
And apart from the CC list? There are a few Dickens that I never finished.
The Old Curiosity Shop (eternally given up on) and
Bleak House (strong potential for a second attempt).
39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving?
No. I always go in expecting enjoyment.
40. Five things you're looking forward to next year in classic literature?
Going to see more awesome
Lifeline Theatre adaptations.
Tackling some authors I've always considered to be intimidating (for whatever reason). [Looking at you, Steinbeck.]
Using my classics reading studies to enhance my own writing.
Getting back into Shakespeare. (Haven't read him in a while.)
On a related topic, going to see my sister perform in
A Comedy of Errors! (Does that count?)
41. A classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?
Probably
The Little Prince. I've been longing for a reread of that for a while.
42. A classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace. It's staring at me from my shelf most intimidatingly, but I think it can stare for another year.
43. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?
The motivation to finish my list. The community of readers. BOOK DISCUSSIONS AND ANALYSES. (Book discussions are my oxygen.)
44. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs?
I've been a bad blog follower lately, but I PROMISE I will return to comment on all my favorite blogs once school lets out. DECEMBER
12TH people!
Here are friends to whom I shall return:
Cleopatra at the Classical Carousel (one of my first ever bloggy friends when I started in May 2013).
Ruth at A Great Book Study (awesome reviews and in-depth analyses).
Lois at You, Me, and a Cup of Tea (a wonderfully friendly and splendidly nerdy young lady).
Bex at an Armchair By the Sea (READALONGS and MORE READALONGS)(Also, like me, has more than a smattering of YA and more modern reads.)
Jean at Howling Frog Books (succinct reviews and pleasant writing style).
Someone whom I'd like to mention additionally is Marianne, the lady behind
A Passion for Dead Leaves. Her blog wavers in and out of being private, so I sadly can't read her posts much anymore. :-( But she is AWESOME.
45. Favorite post you've read by a fellow clubber?
Um so I haven't been frequenting blogs much lately, so I'm afraid I may pass on this. Ask me this question again in late December and I'll give you a list of superb posts!
46. If you've ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you've participated in more than one, what's the very best experience? the best title you've completed? a fond memory? a good friend made?
I've done two readalongs, one for
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and one for
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I personally enjoyed the book ToTC better than I enjoyed the book MB, but both readalongs were equally fun! I loved discussing the book with others at the same pace. My one issue is that I'm discovering more and more that I am a mood reader - not good for readalongs. But that's just me.
47. If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why?
I'd sort of like to do a
Les Miserables readalong, just to give me another excuse to gush about it.
Also, I think this summer I want to reread LOTR (and Narnia and Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Prydain), so if anyone's up for a readalong... ?
48. How long have you been reading classic literature?
SINCE BIRTH.
49. Share up to five posts you've written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn't love, lists, etc.
50. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!)
Now then, Sophia, which do you like better: Les Miserables or The Chronicles of Narnia?
AW DARN I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. And I won't answer. I CAN'T answer. It's a tie.
But you must! CHOOSE.
But it's like favoring one of your children!
*crosses arms menacingly*
*sticks out tongue*
*rolls eyes and walks away in a huff*
Okay, thank God I got rid of her. Now you can tell me -
which are your favorite classics club bloggers? Give me recommendations for when I actually have time to read them! Also,
if you suddenly discovered that there were extra pages that weren't published with your favorite book - would you read them?
~Sophia
When the exquisitely handsome Dorian Gray sees his portrait he dreams of remaining young forever while his painted image grows old and, in a sudden moment, he offers his soul in return for perpetual youth. While his beauty remains unblemished, the portrait begins to reflect the wildness and degradation of his soul as he surrenders to a worship of pleasure and infinite passion.
I hadn't read any Oscar Wilde before (though I have seen The Importance of Being Earnest performed multiple times), and I believe this is the only novel that Wilde ever wrote. It starts off with an interesting prologue outlining Wilde's views on art and the creation of it. I agree with some of them (like, "Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art," and "It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors," and "Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital") and I disagree with others (like, "No artist has ethical sympathies," and "No artist desires to prove anything," and "All art is quite useless"). It's an interesting prologue, and, I think, really adds to many of the philosophical discussions in the book.
Actually, let's talk about Lord Henry, because he absolutely FASCINATES me. He's a spouter of shocking aphorisms just to shock his listeners, and I am still not sure if he believes them in his own soul or is, as Dorian tells him, just saying them to be shocking. He frustrated me a bit because he was either extremely simplistic and pleasure-loving, or extremely deep, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out WHICH. But whatever his motivations may be, no one can deny that he was the catalyst to Dorian's downfall.