Happy Friday bibliophiles! Kibby started this tag at Something of the Book. It’s a fun way to celebrate the books you love on one of the best days of the week!

Today is all about Classics and honestly I haven’t read a lot of them. I thought I would talk about a few that I’ve read over the past few years, and I would love recommendations for others I might like!

Gone with the Wind

I read Gone with the Wind as part of a Christmas gift for my mom. You will notice it is unique among the host of classics I’ve read, as it is not a horror story. I annotated a copy of the book for her and gifted it to her. I have never seen the film, so this was my first experience with the story outside of some random quotes. I thought it would be a trying read for me and I was correct for the most part. The sections that dealt more heavily with the war were interesting to me, but I could not feel for Scarlett. I know this book is beloved by many, but I find it hard to get past the language and treatment of the slaves in the book. It is a product of its time, to be sure, but as a woman of 2019 I find it hard to stomach. Rhett’s sass was my saving grace.

Dracula

It’s long been a goal of mine to read some of the horror classics, and I worked my way through Dracula with the full cast audiobook a couple years ago. I really enjoyed the experience of the audiobook and I definitely plan to listen and read along again someday. I found the story fascinating, and genuinely frightening at times. Some of the horror is diluted by the repetitive dialogue, and slow pace of the plot. Overall though, I thought it was a great read and I hated each time I had to put it down.

Carmilla

Before Dracula there was Carmilla! Kiersten White recommended this novella at a signing once and I was very interested in it. She described it as a sapphic vampire story, so I was all in. It is short, so if you’re curious about it I would encourage you to give it a read. The set up and atmosphere are amazing, though the ending isn’t all that satisfying. I loved seeing vampirism in a new light through this story.

Frankenstein

Again thanks to Kiersten White, I found myself reading Frankenstein. I read the classic tale and her retelling, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein back to back which I recommend. I tried and failed to read this classic several times before I finally made it past the opening series of letters. Though it is a fascinating read, once again the plotting and pacing were a struggle for my meager modern mind to appreciate. Reading Victor as a wholly unreliable narrator makes the experience so much more interesting, and I may read it again someday.

There are a few other Classics I’ve read in High School of course. Some of my favorites from that time are Dante’s Inferno (shock), and Heart of Darkness. Let me know your favorite Classics, and I would love some recommendations! Have a great Weekend! ❤