Comments on: Really Old Classics Challenge

By: Sweet Dreams Are Wishes Your Heart Makes « An unfinished person (in this unfinished universe)

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:21:38 +0000

[...] listed on my page (needs to be updated, to include only three, Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, Really Old Classics Challenge and Pulitzer [...]

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:35:35 +0000

Kris, Are you confusing this with a different challenge? I did start the "dead author" tours with the Classics Circuit, but this is separate: it's a really old classics challenge, so definitely older than Sister Carrie.

By: kris daniel

kris daniel — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:28:54 +0000

I guess I didn’t realize how old the book challenge was although I certainly qualify as far as “dead authors” are concerned. Just finished “Sister Carrie”. Seems like this endeavors is going well.
Kris

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:57:58 +0000

Petunia, I do hope that despite NaNo, you can join and get your book(s) read!!

J.T., I had my eye on Heaney’s Beowulf! Glad you like the others as well. Definitely, cross-overs are fine!! I’m so glad I’ve tempted you!

By: J.T. Oldfield

J.T. Oldfield — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:16:26 +0000

I’ve read the Bhagavad-Gita…it’s very good and not very long. I’ve also read the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf (actually I listened to it–I recommend that if your library has it) and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

I am reading the Koran, Plato’s Republic, the Histories and Gilgamesh, but for the pre-printing press challenge (I might join this one and do some cross-overs though! )

I recommend reading The Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu and The Way (or collected writings of) Chuang Tzu as far as really old Eastern stuff goes.

Good luck!

By: Petunia

Petunia — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:09:48 +0000

Shoot! You’re right about the starting date for NaNo but that’s OK. There are, after all, four entire months to read one measly book(or 5).

By: Library Loot in reverse « An unfinished person (in this unfinished universe)

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:57:47 +0000

[...] sometimes more value, in reading books that are classics, one of the reasons I’ve joined the Really Old Classics Challenge, or as I do often on Wednesdays read spiritual books. For example, on my Wednesday reading list is [...]

By: Library Loot in reverse « Just A (Reading) Fool

Library Loot in reverse « Just A (Reading) Fool — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:57:36 +0000

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:20:31 +0000

Claire, I completely understand the begging off challenges. I feel like I keep saying I'll do the same -- and yet here I am hosting one! The Pillow Book is my one definite read for the challenge! unfinishedperson, Oh I'm so glad we tempted you! I hope you enjoy Ovid! Stefanie, That's why I want to read Fitzgerald and the other translations so I can figure out which ones I prefer! So much to read! I hope you do decide to join!

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:21:08 +0000

Great list! I like Aeschylus better than I like Sophocles though I have admittedly not (yet) read all of Sophocles. Loved Herodotus. And the Bhagavad- Gita is quite good. I liked Fitzgerald’s Homer translation better than Fagles. I’ve got Oedious at Colonus on my nightstand so maybe I will join in

By: unfinishedperson

unfinishedperson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:06:46 +0000

I join very few challenges, but when I heard about this one, from two of my favorite bloggers, I knew I was in. I’m probably reading at least Ovid’s Metamorphoses over the winter. Other than that, I’m not sure. We’ll see.

By: Claire (Paperback_Reader)

Claire (Paperback_Reader) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:52:07 +0000

Such a great list!

Chaucer in Middle English is such fun and I love Homer.

I won’t be joining this time as I am begging off challenges for the next couple of months but I do have The Pillow Book lined up to read sometime soon.

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:31:14 +0000

Amanda, Button images courtesy Dreadlock Girl! I saw her pictures on a post about the Portland Book Blogger’s Retreat and fell in love with them!

I didn’t think you would be interested in this challenge, but I guess I never know!!

Wordlily, Oh I’m glad you’re another “love it.” Maybe I was wrong to be scared of it!! Thanks for the suggestions….*adding to my lists.*

Kay, Oh I’m glad you enjoyed that one!! I think I can handle dated advice.

Cara, awesome! I hope it’s a great experience…make sure you go to the challenge site to sign up!

Trisha, thanks for the recommendations! And I hope you can figure it out so you can join too!

Jackie, I definitely think you’re probably an Odyssey girl rather than an Iliad girl! I do hope you join!

Victoria Dixon, Awesome suggstions! Thanks so much. I’m an amateur here, but I’m getting more and more excited! An “extra” part of the challenge is to read a modern day “retelling” which sounds just like what you’re working on! How fun!

Petunia, Yeah, I think Odyssey and Iliad are one or the other, depending on the reader’s personality type! I personally didn’t think Iliad was about violence so much as about relationships and emtions and humanity. I loved it!

I thought NaNoWriMo was November? The challenge starts the beginning of November, but you can start yourself anytime after that!

Amateur Reader, Thanks for the Middle English pep talk! I’ll go for it. (My mom wrote her PhD dissertation on some obscure middle English texts so, um, I’d be kind of embarrased to admit to her I hadn’t read it in the original anyway…

I’m making a note of your other recommendations, and I”m glad The Prince, once again, has been deemed not something to be afraid of!

Emily, OF COURSE you should join

Mee, awesome! Sounds like you’ve those ones so much! They must be great!

By: WordLily

WordLily — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:18:05 +0000

Mee: What translation(s) would you recommend of Romance of the Three Kingdoms — Luó Guànzhong and Monkey: A Journey to the West — Wú Chéng’en?

By: mee

mee — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:45:15 +0000

The non-Western classics I would recommend are:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms – Luó Guànzhong
Monkey: A Journey to the West – Wú Chéng’en

They’re also addition to the updated 1001 books you must read before you die (2008). According to my dad, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an obligatory read for army service all around the world and the second book most read after the Bible (I can’t confirm the truth of those claims course . Anyway, I have grown up with the two stories over various forms of medium (books, illustrated or not, tv series, countless derivations of them, etc) so I’m so familiar with them, even though I may have not read the original books cover to cover.

By: Emily

Emily — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:36:20 +0000

Intriguing! I’ll be reading several pre-1600 things in the next few months, in including Marcus Aurelius, St. Augustine and Thomas à Kempis. Maybe I should join…

By: Amateur Reader

Amateur Reader — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:40:04 +0000

A few notes:
1. Yes, read Chaucer in Middle English. You’ll have to learn about 40 new words, which you’ll pick up as you go along. Everything else is obvious from context. Victoria is right – reading aloud helps.
2. Read The Prince as a novel, with an unreliable narrator.
3. Michelangelo’s best poems are amazing.
4. The Bhagavad-Gita is actually pretty short.
5. For some more short non-Western classics, try some Chinese or Japanese poetry. For example, Kenneth Rexroth’s 100 Poems from the Japanese and 100 Poems from the Chinese, or one of David Hinton’s many translations of early Chinese poets. I occasionally borrow one of these to post at Wuthering Expectations.

By: Petunia

Petunia — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:38:30 +0000

I had the opposite reaction to The Iliad and The Odyssey. I didn’t care for the violence in the former and I loved the loyalty in the latter.

I’m pulling out books from my shelves right now. I already have a long list to choose from. I love classics. Can’t wait to get started but I’m thankful it doesn’t begin until after NaNoWriMo.

By: Victoria Dixon

Victoria Dixon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:34:23 +0000

Great idea! Loved your reading list as well as some of the reader suggested material. I will recommend you read Sir Gawain & the Green Knight before Chaucer and yes, you should at least try to read both in their original English. It’s not hard once you get the flair of the accent. Try saying a few lines and you’ll get the idea. I was drawn here by the reader reference to Romance of the Three Kingdoms as I have a Google News search on that title. I have that as I’ve written a fantasy based on the book and it will hopefully find a publisher someday soon. If it does, I’ll let you know. ;D I thought The Prince intriguing and Utopia boring, so I think it’s mostly personal taste. You must read Beowulf. Dream of the Rood is also good and from around the same period as Beowulf, if I remember correctly. Since you love the emotive aspects of literature, I’m going to suggest Byron’s “Manfred.” It might be a bit late for your time frame, but I still think you’ll love it. Have fun!

By: Jackie (Farm Lane Books)

Jackie (Farm Lane Books) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:26:48 +0000

Really old classics are a big gap in my reading so I really need to do something to change this. I will make sure I join this challenge, but need to have a think about which ones to choose. I will start by finishing The Tale of Genji, which I have been neglecting recently and then move onto something else. It sounds as though I should read Homer’s The Odyssey as I love plot! i’ll have a think and then come up with a post. Thank you for hosting this challenge!

By: Trisha

Trisha — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:01:54 +0000

What a wonderful challenge! I have to rework some things after this weekend to see if I can join.

I would recommend two non-Western texts for this challenge – the Mahabharata and Sunjata; they are really interesting reads.

By: Cara Powers

Cara Powers — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:18:57 +0000

I’m up for it. I’ve read a few on that list, but I’ll be reading The Divine Comedy at last.

By: Kay @ Kay's Bookshelf

Kay @ Kay's Bookshelf — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:53:47 +0000

A great list with many titles I should probably try myself.

So far I have only read the Decameron and (while I don’t remember much of it) I can tell you it’s a fun read in parts (it’s essentially a bunch of people that have gathered together and each tells a story). The morals are a bit old (and even contradictory at times) but I think it’s definitely worth reading.

By: WordLily

WordLily — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:06:14 +0000

I really *loved* reading The Prince. I remember laughing out loud while reading it.

A few non-western pre-1600s book on my wish list:
• Journey to the West (aka Monkey), 16th century
• Water Margin (aka Outlaws of the Marsh), 14th century
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms (aka Three Kingdoms), 14th century

These, along with Dream of the Red Chamber (aka Story of the Stone), 18th century, which I’ve read, are the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:44:44 +0000

Those are gorgeous buttons!

I’m in the “The Prince was boring” camp. Reading through this list of yours is seriously like going over my college freshman honors college english/humanities reading list. I’ve probably read 95% of those books, and honestly I’m glad to be past them. I was never much of a fan. The only one on that list that I haven’t already read that I want to read is the Tale of the Genji.