Hunger by Knut Hamsun

I'm still in the process of reading this book. It is a bit tough for me to get through. It is interesting... however, the main character tends to go off on wild fantasies and does things like makes up a word and wonders what it actually means all while sitting on a park bench at night about to dose off while he hasn't eaten in 3 days.

Has anyone else out there read this book?

In your opinion, does it get better?

Lets hear your thoughts!

Are Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners classics?

Should Pulitzer Prize / Nobel Prize novels be considered classics?

What are YOUR thoughts?

What classic is up next?

It has been a crazy last two months. I haven't had much time to devote to classic novels and at the same time haven't really had a chance to get back into reading one. That leads me to the question: What classic is up next for you?

For me, when I have the time, Hunger by Knut Hamson will be my book of choice.

Read Classic Authors online!

http://www.classicauthors.net/ is a site that I just came across that has a very nice selection of classic writers with their writing formatted in HTML.

Each author selection has selected works that have been converted to HTML, a timeline of events in the authors life, and section for resources on the web.

I became aware of the following classic writers by finding this site:

Joseph Addison
Walter Bagehot
Pedro Calderon De La Barca
Thomas Dekker
J. C. Friedrich Von Schiller
Richard Brinsley Sheridan

It is worth checking out! I found the HTML to be easily read from with additional information that is not usually found with HTML/eBooks for classic literature.

Anne of Green Gables turns 100!

This year, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery turns 100. I have not personally read this series, however after quickly reading the Wikipedia entry it definitely has sparked some interest for me. I am a fan of series where the character grows and goes through different stages of life.

I probably will not get to these books until much later in life, however, if you have read these and can convince me of their greatness I might just go ahead and try them sooner rather than later.

So, who out there has read Anne of Green Gables? What did you think?

Periods of Classics

When looking at the different periods of classics, would you agree that these are the defining periods or do you think there are others?

Contemporary Classics
20th Century Classics
Victorian Literature/19th Century Classics
Pre-Victorian/Romantic/18th Century Classics
17th Century and Earlier
Ancient Classics

That list comes from Random Houses' Everyman's Library collection. Each of those periods have a specific colored cloth on their hardcovers to help delineate the time period.

I tend to agree with the categories although I am more apt to change "Contemporary" to "Modern".

Your thoughts?

Unabridged vs. Abridged

Do you care if your classics are abridged or unabridged?

Personally I try to never read an abridged version if an unabridged version is available. I would rather read the story as it was meant to be told. I try to not even purchase abridged editions because I probably won't read them since I would rather read the unabridged classic. The only exception to this rule is that one of the black dustjacket Barnes & Noble classics is abridged. For the sake of the set I had to purchase it. After all I did want to collect all of the volumes. I will probably not read it though as I could easily find an unabridged copy to satisfy the "full" length of the novel as it was meant to be read.

What are you reading now?

What classic are you in the middle of now? What do you think of it? Are you going to finish it?

What classic are you going to dive into next?

I'm not sure if it is considered a classic just yet but next I will be starting The Magician by Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book in the Riftwar Saga series.

Would you consider this to be a Science Fiction classic?

Classic Review - The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

The Jungle is a book written by Upton Sinclair in 1906.

It is an excellent book that I would recommend reading if you love classics! If you are not partial to really sad stories or political messages then you can pass it up for a different classic, however I feel like it is worth the read.

The Jungle was written originally in order to try to further the idea of Socialism in America but instead lead to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. I had wanted to read the book just on the basis that it helped create the FDA!

If you are interested in reading the effects that the Jungle had on this country, be sure to read the
Wikipedia entry.

Scott, if you are reading this, the spoiler is about to start. So even though I finished before you, keep reading!

To all other readers: if you are interested in reading The Jungle do not read the rest of the post. Please enjoy the novel first and then come back to this.

If you find yourself without a copy, feel free to download it for reading from Project Gutenberg.

**** SPOILER ****

The first part of this book is the saddest piece of fiction that I've ever read. In the beginning we meet Jurgis and Ona, a Lithuanian couple who have just immigrated from Lithuania with their family and a few close friends. They arrive in Chicago looking for jobs and head towards "Packingtown".

Why is the book so sad?

Well, to run down a quick list:

Antanas, a grandfather gets a job in a packing plant where he has to stand in blood up to his ankles. His foot gets an infection and he loses his job and gets sick. While he sick he only gets worse and eventually dies.

Ona has a baby and that is fine but when she has her 2nd baby, the 2nd baby tries to come at the end of her 2nd trimester and she ends up dying and so does the baby.

Jurgis' first child is out playing in front of his house on the sidewalk, when the wooden sidewalk gives way. The boy falls into water and drowns.

The family gets a house that they are told is new. It is not. They are also told one payment of $7 per month for rent however they do not understand this is only interest and doesn't include taxes or any other fees associated with the house. There is a constant struggle to keep jobs in order to pay for this after their agreement so that they do not loose the house. However even after sending out three children under 12 years old into Chicago to sell newspapers in order to contribute to the family fund they still loose the house.

How do they loose the house? Jurgis finds out that Ona is being "taken advantage of" by an Irish boss named Connor. He goes and finds Connor and attacks him in a Packingtown Plant. It looks as if he has attacked him unprovoked. As Connor has some ties with corrupt politicians and judges, Jurgis is sent to jail.

Jurgis goes to jail another time and is eventually swindled out of his entire savings.

All of those sad things happen not necessarilly in the order that I gave them, but they do all happen. There seems to be a stream of worsening conditions of sadness through the first part of the book.

The book though can ultimately be broken into three separate sections: family, solitude, and socialism.

The first third/half of the book is Ona, Jurgis, and family trying to make an honest living. They do make a great effort at it but the system is set against them based on their honesty.

The second part of the book is after Ona and both babies die. Jurgis becomes a tramp and also decides to become a criminal. He has lost all ties that would keep him an honest moral man. He abandons his former life in order to survive and with crimes to then thrive.

The final part of the book is about Socialism. He suffers the loss of all of his savings by being swindled by another crook. Jurgis had attacked Connor again in a drunken rage and although he could have avoided jail with a much lower amount than $300, he is in such a panic that he is lead to believe that this is the amount that will allow him to avoid jail.

Without money he finds a hall where there are speeches about Socialism and after a few nights he finally decides to listen. When he finally hears what the man on the stage is talking about he starts to buy into the "wage slavery" that the man is trying to fight. We find that Jurgis becomes a convert to Socialism and gets lucky in finding a job and board in a hotel.

**** End of SPOILER ****

I found 2/3 of the book to be very satisfying and the last 1/3 to be bland and more of a political statement (of which really was the reason that Upton Sinclair wrote the book). Overall I believe it was a really good novel, but longer than it needed to be.

There is an excellent article I encourage you to read on Slate by Karen Olsson titled Welcome to the Jungle. Does Upton Sinclair's Famous Novel Hold Up?.

If you have read it, what did you think?

If you have decided to skip it, why?

I'd like to hear your thoughts and comments about it.

The Barnes & Noble Classic Library

Oh Glorious Day!

I believe that I am about to release a lot of cliche phrases about the dearest subject in classics to me: Barnes & Noble Classics. I love B&N Classics more than anyone you've ever met - if you think you love them more then please tell me all about it (because I don't think you do!).

This past weeekend I got a Google Alert about classics and one item that made the news and hence the alert was the celebration of the 5th Anniversary since Barnes & Noble re-released their Classic Library. That press release can be found here.

Have I died and gone to heaven?
Did Hell freeze over?
Did the sky come crashing down?

(Feel free to help me with cliches or whatever the correct term is for these phrases)

Why would I rant like this? I never thought I'd see a full Barnes & Noble Classic Library collection being sold like my previous post last month involving the Penguin Classics.

But, it is now available - from Barnes & Noble - 200 of their paperback Classic collection for only $1,457.00 list price, an online price of $869.95, or a member discounted price of $782.95!!!! Feel free to purchase one HERE!

Could there be a better addition to a classics collection? I think NOT!

I must also mention that their press release also announced some additional specials besides offering the 200 volume library collection. Through July 7, 2008 a promotion of "Buy two get one free" will apply to online and store sales. Also through that date they are offering three limited edition collection sets available online only. The aforementioned 200 volume library collection, the "Barnes & Noble Classics: Great Novels" collection which includes Moby Dick, The Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace¸ Don Quixote, Great Expectations and Jane Eyre for $29.95, and "Barnes & Noble Classics: Tales of Adventure" collecton which includes Arabian Nights, The Call of the Wild and White Fang, The Jungle Books, King Solomon's Mines, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Tarzan of the Apes, The Four Feathers, and The Scarlet Pimpernel also for $29.95.

Please let me know what you think of this promotion! If I had the money and hadn't already significantly purchased a large portion of the classics collection already I would have already purchased the 200 volume set myself!

After you've left a comment head on over to http://www.barnesandnoble.com/classics/index.asp to order me- erm yourself any one of the sets that are on sale (or any other classic that will satiate your desire for a good book!).

Summer of Classics

I was looking through my Google Alert on Classic Literature and came across an awesome idea by "Pete Lit". He has an event planned where he reads classics all summer. What a great idea!! It is definitely an inspiration to me to see others embrace classics the way that I do.

Please read his post from last year here. It is an excellent summary about the books that he read including Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson and Knut Hamsun's Hunger both of which I have wanted to read for quite some time.

Are any of you up for the challenge of having a "Summer of Classics"? I know I am!

Classic Reader - Read Classics HTML style

I found a great site that has lots of HTML editions of classics, that site is http://www.classicreader.com/. This differs from sites like Project Gutenberg because the site doesn't require you to go through a series of links to get to the HTML, it is pretty much 1 click to start reading.

If you create a login which is free and contains as little personal information as possible, the site has a wonderful header and footer allowing you to find other stories very easily. It is the best site that I've seen to read classics online.

It doesn't look like the site is still updated but it is a great site with lots of stories to choose from.

What are your thoughts? How would you compare it to other sites such as Project Gutenberg?

Anton Chekhov

I hope in the future to have much longer pieces on individual writers, however for now I will produce at least a few words about the classic writer Anton Chekhov.

Anton Chekhov is a Russian writer that I hope that I find time (and make a priority) to read in the future (hopefully at some point this year). I first heard of Chekhov from his one edition, The Best Stories of Anton Chekhov included in the Black Dustjacket Barnes & Noble classics.

I have found some excellent resources on Chekhov providing not only the text to 201 stories. That link is here.

Also those interested should see the main page provided by the same site. It states that the site has "tried to gather all Chekhov related info on the internet" and I would agree that it does an excellent job. Please visit that site here.

His Wikipedia post is an excellent read as well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov

Anton Chekhov's work was translated by Constance Garnett (see previous post).

If you have read Chekhov, what is your favorite piece by him?

What storie(s) by him are "must" reads? What should I read first by him?

I'm looking forward to hearing your comments!

Free Audio Classics!

My friend Jerry McBride let me know about some classics in mp3 / m4b (for iPod) audio!

There are three pages of classics that you can download in individual chapters or a zip file of the entire book. These are all read by a narrator (as opposed to a text-to-speech program).

Feel free to download and listen to the classics of your choice at:
http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/

Thanks Jerry for the email and link!

Constance Garnett

Thank you Constance Garnett!

I say thank you because although it would have been inevitable for Russian literature to be translated to English, Constance Garnett did this for us. She was among the first to translate Russian to English. She translated a number of books that would be (if they weren't already) classics including: "all of Dostoyevsky’s novels; hundreds of Chekhov’s stories and two volumes of his plays; all of Turgenev’s principal works and nearly all of Tolstoy’s; and selected texts by Herzen, Goncharov, and Ostrovsky" (The New Yorker).

Wikipedia says that she translated "about 70 Russian literary works" (Wikipedia) which "introduced [nineteenth-century Russian literature] on a wide basis to the English and American public" (Wikipedia).

There have been other translators involved in Russian Literature but without doing research I have never heard of any of them. I had heard of Constance Garnett. On many of the Barnes & Noble classics involving Russian authors, she is the translator for that particular classic.

I know that I will be enjoying her translations for a very long time as I periodically am able to get to all of the Russian classics that I haven't had a chance to read. Her one translation that I have read though was Anna Karenina and I am appreciative that she devoted her time to it so that someone like me could read it.

The following link is a list of all works that she translated: http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/ac/jr/biblo.htm

Works Cited:
Remnick, David "The Translation Wars" The New Yorker. 7 Nov. 2005. 20 May 2008

Wikipedia "Constance Garnett" Wikipedia. 20 May 2008

Sales of Classic Novels

Five years ago, sales of classic novels were going strong. So strong that Slate Magazine ran the article Cents and Sensibility - The Surprising Truth About Sales of Classic Novels. It is a very interesting article and one I urge you to read.

I'm betting that sales of classics are still strong today. Even if all readers such as myself stopped buying classics those high school and college english classes requiring classic novel reading would take care of sales. I wonder how many forced high-school or college readers actually turn into readers who start buying classics?

The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection

As far as book purchases go, if I could only purchase one single thing on the Internet, like say it was the last purchase I could ever make for books, I believe it would have to be The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection: More than 1000 of the Greatest Classics (Paperback) from Amazon.com.

Coming in at $7,989.50 (40% off! $5,326.34 reduced) the set has 1082 titles. But hurry there's only 1 left! At least they offer free delivery!

Did I mention this blog takes donations?

You should read the 18 reviews if you get a chance. I like on the first review where the guy accurately describes that the collection is an "orgy for book lovers". The fact that it is 750 pounds of classic goodness just makes me drool.

Since offering this many titles as a bulk purchase is so unique there have been a number of stories on it, including by National Public Radio (NPR) and The New York Times.

You can also listen to the NPR audio from "All Things Considered" on August 24, 2005. I found it very interesting because they said they can't include all classics that they wanted to such as Faulkner or F. Scott Fitzgerald because of copyright issues.

Perhaps after I become rich or publish my first novel I'll make enough to purchase this and prominently display it in our library!

True Pocket Literature - Penguin 60's!

When I was reading Madame de Treyme by Edith Wharton last week it was very convenient to be able to put the book in my pocket. If I were on a train or in a cab or any other type of transportation that commuters use other than driving it would have been nice to be able to carry literature with you without having to hold onto it.

They are out of print it seems as I cannot find them on Penguin's website. Each book is different cover wise with only perhaps an orange spine (most of the time) as the one item they have in common.

So far each Penguin 60's that I've seen is under 100 pages.

Here's a glimpse of my collection so far:

One may think that there are "60" titles for the Penguin 60's as it is to celebrate their 60th year in publishing. I do not know how many there were. I can't find a source that has a definitive list. If anyone knows of one please let me know!

Have you come across any of these? Ever read one? Do you think it is worth about $1 each? I'd like to read your comments.

Also, here is a good article about this topic from 1995.

Classic Review - Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton

Madame de Treymes is a short story written by Edith Wharton in 1907.

You can read it at Project Gutenberg (Text Only) or for HTML or PDF versions here.

It is available as a "Penguin 60's Classic" from Amazon.com. If you like Edith Wharton or short small editions of classics I would recommend this.

Penguin 60's Classics are smaller and can literally fit in your pocket. Here is Madame de Treymes next to "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair:



Do not read the rest of this post if you are interested in reading Madame de Treymes.

**** SPOILER ****
This short story is really good yet can be pretty dense to read. Edith Wharton seems to never have had a hard time to make a sentence last forever (or in some cases half of a page). However in my opinion this adds to the class that this title provides. It is a wonderful story filled with lots of words I had to look up - and add to my vocabulary - and was entrenching enough that I continuously wanted to pick it up even when I knew I had other things I had to get done rather than read.

The only issue I have with this story is that it is definitely "timed". What I mean by that (I can't think of the exact word this moment) is that it was written in a time when the situation that is presented was probably very plausible but now in our day and age would not really be capable of happening. I mean it is possible but it would be very remote and obtuse.

The main character of the story John Durham would like to marry Madame de Malrive. Madame de Treymes is Madame de Malrive's cousin. The main crux of the story hinges on Mr. Durham wanting to marry Fanny Frisbee (the pre-Madame de Malrive) and Madame de Malrive not yet having a divorce from Monsiour de Malrive. What completely provides the pivot of why they cannot be together is that Madame de Malrive has a son and that son has been raised (along with Madame de Malrive after her marriage) in the Catholic faith. She does not want to depart from her son or have him taken away and she is afraid that will happen if she is granted a divorce from Monsiour de Malrive and then run away with Mr. Durham.

Throughout the story we follow Mr. Durham as he pledges to try and win Madam de Treymes influence in order for her to sway the family to allow Madam de Malrive a divorce so that she can marry Mr. Durham. One is led to believe that Mr. Durham may just be able to have the situation turn out the way that he hopes. He works with Madam de Treymes to allow Madam de Malrive to divorce.

Just when he is about to return to Paris to be with Madame de Malrive - to the life they had hoped for, Madam de Treymes allows herself to speak candidly with Mr. Durham about what she wanted out of the bargain to help him get the divorce for Madam de Malrive. Unfortunately and tragically what she wants is for the son to be taken away from Madam de Malrive to live with the family, because the family is more important that any one individual. Madam de Treymes confesses that while they are losing one individual in Madam de Malrive they are preserving the family by taking custody of the son upon the divorce.

So why do I say that this isn't something that could happen in our time? I only say that because Madam de Treymes says that the French courts have precedents where the father would keep the son no matter what the Mother's situation is (ie a better parent, a fit parent, has an income and home, etc) simply because he is Catholic and would retain him as Catholic. It is apparent that the custody of the son would be given to the father simply because it would be known that she had wanted to initiate the divorce instead of him and that because divorce is strictly forbidden to Catholics that this would be a sin against the family. It would be viewed as her trying to break up the family to pursue her life of sin.

There is an interesting point brought up about how Madame de Malrive would view Mr. Durham as an extension of her family - a new family. However this is viewed the opposite way by Madam de Treymes and the Malrive family. The mis-communication and assuming by both Madam de Treymes and Mr. Durham that each has the other's interests at heart is what makes this story woven together so nicely. It is a tragic story but nonetheless a very good one.

Perhaps getting a divorce today and having the son go to the father simply because he is Catholic is true today but I doubt it. Even if it is true, my initial thought was, "Why can't they just leave the country?" Oh how the times have changed since 1907.

**** End of SPOILER ****

This was a very quick and satisfying read. It was also my first title by Edith Wharton. I have to say that I think she will be one of my favorite authors to read. She is very witty with the situations that she puts her characters in and obviously had a very good command of the English language.

Have you read this?
Have you even heard of it?

I'd like to hear what you think!

Also a quick shout out to my buddy Scott Hall who has started The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I wanted to let you know that as of tonight I'm right there with you! Look for it in an upcoming Classic Book Review.

Utopian/Dystopian Classic Hierarchy by year

I have made this graph for those of you who like Dystopian and Utopian novels. It was created to put in prospective what each writer had available to read and influence them prior to their Utopian/Dystopian undertaking.

A good example is that "We" which came out in 1921 (1923 English translation) heavily influenced George Orwell's "1984". I find this extremely interesting.

Also what I find interesting is that with Sir Thomas More's "Utopia" in 1591 and through Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" we find Utopia landscapes in literature. However after World War I we find Dystopian landscapes in literature. In fact every entry on my graph past 1914 is a Dystopian novel.

This is by no means an extensive list of Utopian or Dystopian - merely a small sampling. I can see parallels though about Utopian Socialism having more popularity before World War I and Dystopian Destruction after World War I.

Here are two Wikipedia links for further reading and more in depth coverage of Dystopian and Utopian novels:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dystopian_literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopian_and_dystopian_fiction

Your thoughts and comments?

What Classic would you like to read?

What are the top 3 classics that you would really love to read if only you had the time?

My top three are:
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (if you consider this a classic as I do)

Another very small Penguin 60's classic that I will end up reading very shortly is Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton.

If you are a regular reader what is keeping you from the timeless classics that you so want to read? There is no better time than now to start that classic that you've always had curiosity about. Read something timeless and I bet you'll have a great time!

I like to mix it up when I read books. I try to get a wide variety when reading classics. My favorite writer that I've never read is Edith Wharton. Why? How? I mean since I've never read her how can she be one of my most favorite writers? I do not know except to say that just what little I know about her I am very intrigued to find out who Madame de Treymes or Ethan Frome are, or what is the Custom of the Country, or where is the House of Mirth? I am sure that I will love reading those yarns as much as I will love reading Summer or Old New York. I am especially interested in Old New York since it is a series on different decades of New York set in the 1840's, 1850's, 1860's and the 1870's. I find it very interesting to read something of that kind of historical signficance and accuracy for a place that I could visit today if I so chose (and just how impossibly inconceivably different it has become compared to when Edith Wharton was walking those streets).

I challenge those of you whom have some time to read to pick up a classic. If you can't find one, don't know of one, or need some help - ask me. I would love to help you find the next really good classic that will take your mind to a different place and time where the environment, the story, the mood, and the writing is all classic.

Barnes and Noble Classics - A video view

Today I thought I would give the readers of this blog a tour of my absolute favorite classic set: The Black Dustjacket Barnes & Noble Classics. These classics were originally published between 1992 and 2003. From my first post on this blog in March I said:

"I am also proud creator of the Wikipedia page on Barnes & Noble Classics. My love for classics grew out of finding the Black dustjacket volumes found in that article. It took me several years but in 2005 I was able to track down the entire set."

The linked Wikipedia article has a list of these classics with ISBN numbers. While I have daydreams that potentially millions of people are reading that article and enjoying the fruits of my labor tracking down all of the books and their corresponding ISBN's I am disillusioned back into reality knowing that sometimes seeing a video is much better than reading a list.

Enjoy the video.

Be advised that it is about as amateur as you can possibly get.

As always I look forward to your comments.

Library Book Sales

If you would rather have a classic in your hands instead of an eBook AND you'd like to pay the lowest absolute price, then you can't beat a Library Book Sale. Library Book sales do not guarantee that your choice of classic will be for sale (it is completely random and sometimes chaotic), but in the event that it is, it will be extremely cheap. Usually book prices are anywhere from $0.50 for a paperback and $1 for a hardcover to updwards of $1 per paperback and $3-5 per hardcover. However the majority are the former instead of the latter.

Book sales are held on an annual or even semi-annual basis where most books come from donations and or ex-library books. They range from very small basement rooms to entire floors of a big library or even an outside pavilion. They are also usually pretty crowded no matter where you go.

For most library sales there is usually a "bag" day and it is usually on the last day of the library sale. This is usually (but not always) a Sunday. Bag days are great because for $1-5 the library will offer you to give you a bag and let you fill it with as many books as it can hold. Usually you can buy as many bags as you wish - not just one.

My wife and I spent an entire summer going to many of these book sales and that is the major way that we built up our personal library. While the majority of books are worn and beaten down, there are a fair amount of near mint books or pristine editions of books to be had. Also, if there was a major press run you have a great chance of finding a good copy of something. Examples would be nearly any John Grisham book, lots of Tom Clancy, and Dan Brown. On the classics side you can find copies of Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations at nearly every sale.

Some of my best finds at book sales were hardcover Barnes & Noble Classics with black dustjackets that I mentioned in my first blog post back in March. There are usually plenty of Signet Classics and older editions of Penguin Classics at most book sales in the Illinois region. It may differ depending upon where you are from.

A great website to find book sales in your area is BookSaleFinder.com. Included below are both the general link asking you for a state as well as the Illinois and Wisconsin specific links.

http://www.booksalefinder.com/
http://booksalefinder.com/IL.html
http://www.booksalefinder.com/WI.html

Classic Review - Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy

If you get a chance to read Looking Backward and like classic novels in the utopian/dystopian genre then you will enjoy this book by Edward Bellamy.

Before I give my review, the following links will help you get a copy of the text if you have not read the book:

Project Gutenberg text file
HTML of entire book

Do not read the rest of this post if you are interested in reading Looking Backward.

**** SPOILER ****
Looking Backward takes a very unique approach to explain how a man was able to "travel" through time to a century not his own. In Looking Backward the main character has a separated underground sound-proof room that he uses in order to fall asleep when he is unable to sleep in normal conditions (because of noise outside of his house in the late 1880's). His usual Doctor is out of town, so a traveling Doctor hypnotizes him in his sound-proof room. During the night the house burns down and nobody knows that he is in the room. Since he is hypnotized, his body shuts down to near death almost like hibernation. This is how he is able to sleep from 1887 to the year 2000.

Waking up in Boston in the year 2000, the main character speaks to a Dr. Leete and his daughter Edith in order to find out what has changed since his time.

I was shocked and surprised to read that Edward Bellamy had the idea of "credit cards" as of 1887 when this was written. Simply stating that cards could be given to individuals and could be re-loaded with 'credits' that could be used to purchase goods, be transferred to other individuals, and could be empied out and then re-filled is absolutely amazing to me. It is quite possible that this book helped further that idea into the credit card era that we have today.

What I liked and found plausible about this book:

• Credit cards as previously mentioned.


• I could see how having warehouses in each district could technically be possible. It reminds me of Sam's Club or Costco.
  
• Ability to have music in your room and to turn it off and on at will
  
• That however unlikely it is in reality, that everyone had a purpose and was able to get along in society contributing equally to each other's happiness.
  

What I disliked and had a hard time believing about this book:

• No more money. Replaced by credits. That is hard for me to believe.
  
• That people would retire at 45, although I do understand that a person's life span was dramatically reduced. It just seems unlikely to me.
  
• The odds of Edith Leete being the great-grandaughter of his fiance Edith, and Edith Leete falling for the main character, AND her dad watching their relationship and approving it, AND everything working out for them to marry etc seemed a bit out of line for only knowing each other for only a week. Again though - I understand that times were completely different and that people did get married in much faster circumstances at times.
  
• The way that they book ended by having the nightmare chapter followed by the dream chapter simulating a double dream that countered each other. I wasn't really a fan of that.
  

With all of that said, I did immensly enjoy this classic book. It was a very quick read. It was very interesting to see how a writer writing in the year 1887 actually thought what Boston would turn into in the year 2000. He was completely and totally off in regards to what Boston ended up being in the year 2000, but it was very entertaining and included a romantic element to a story that otherwise might be considered a dry socialist outcome for society.

**** End of SPOILER ****

Some more in-depth links:
Wikipedia Entry
SparkNotes Summary
SparkNotes Analysis

I would highly recommend reading this book!

If you have read it, what do you think of it? I'm interested to hear your opinions!

Classic Novel eBooks

Although I absolutely prefer a nice physical book in my hands there is another option out there for anyone reading this post if they want to read a Classic, an eBook.

It can be hard to find some classics as eBooks without paying for them, such as "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck, however this is due to a copyright still existing on the work. Those works where the copyright is no longer in effect and the book is 'public domain' are in eBook format in many places on the web.

Three sites that offer free eBooks for the public to download without needing any kind of account are:

Planet eBook: http://www.planetebook.com/

PlanetPDF (7 pages of classics): http://www.planetpdf.com/

Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org

Of these three Project Gutenberg is by far the most extensive.

They are also very accessible by offering the eBooks on CD or DVD in either a downloadable format or you can actually request for them to send you a free CD or DVD and have them mail it to you.

Another really cool thing is that you can actually create your own disc so that the image only has what you want on it. This option however does not allow you to have them mail it to you (only to download and create the disc yourself).

If you decide that you'd rather have the classic eBook in your hand on an independent reader (instead of a laptop, Palm Pilot, Dell Axim, etc) you can check out devices such as Amazon's Kindle. There are actually quite a few devices that are dedicated for eBooks. This page does an excellent job of breaking down all of the options: Mobileread Wiki eBook Reader Matrix. However with the price of the Amazon Kindle at $399 without purchasing titles, I think I'll stick with the hard and softcover classics that fit in my hand.

Books from Madison

Two quick pictures and one point:

The first picture shows a variety of classics that I was able to obtain for very low prices (mentioned last post) from Madison this past weekend!



Oxford, Penguin, Dover, Signet, Bantam, Konemann, and Barnes & Noble Classics!

My next picture is to display one big difference among classics. The book on the left is more mainstream. People recognize the author and the title. The book on the right, I had never heard of before last weekend. Both classics.



Now while plenty of people have read the book on the left, probably few people have read the book on the right. One reason for this blog is perhaps exploring why this disparity exists.

The first picture also shows a more middle ground in regards to the question I just asked. While Robert Louis Stevenson is much more known than Paul Laurence Dunbar, how many people have really heard of his classic Catriona in comparison to Treasure Island? In the same vein, while many people may associate Kate Chopin with The Awakening, it is easy for me to believe that relatively few people who have not studied Kate Chopin or somehow had a literature class devoted partially to her would have heard of (or read) Bayou Folk or A Night in Acadie.

If you've read either of these lesser known books by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Robert Louis Stevensen, or Kate Chopin i'd really like to see your comments on how they were. I'll read them someday, but i'll read them sooner if I get some good reviews!

Madison, Wisconsin Book Stores

This last weekend, the wife and I had a chance to head to Madison, Wisconsin for Coffee Shops and Bookstores. I in search of Classics and her in search of that perfect Latte!

We attempted to go to Shakespeares Books first at 18 Carroll St on the Square by the Capitol however it had changed locations (without any word of where they moved!). A very friendly woman at Capitol Kids helped give us directions to navigate down State street. After parking in a parking deck off of Wisconsin St. we headed to State street.

If you are going to Madison to get classic books I would recommend Avol's Bookshop on 315 Gorham St. It was a very nice establishment with a good selection of classics. The classics were mixed in with general fiction and were in decent shape.

However, the real gem of classics in Madison was at Frugal Muse Books. This was after we had left State street and had ventured to Mineral Point road. We were originally on a trek to the local Barnes & Noble on Mineral Point road when we spotted Frugal Muse. It absolutely was the best book store we visited. Very very good quality books with what I would consider low prices - especially in comparison to other stores. Black cover Penguin Classics were generally $4.95, Barnes & Noble Black Dustjacket hardcovers $2.95 - $4.95, Penguin Green/Blue classics $4.95 - $6.95. There was an excellent selection of classics that were mixed in with Fiction. I found some rare gems!

Our classics collection is getting down to where we need only obscure classics. I recently was asked "If you are only looking for obscure classics, why are they classic if they are so obscure?" And that's a good question. I would love to hear comments from the readers of this blog on what they think of that question.

My personal thoughts are that classics are classics because they have withstood the test of time and are a good quality read. Being obscure (at least to me) is only the product of not being more well known within society. That doesn't necessarily mean the book is not classic... there are plenty of classics I wish that WERE more popular in the public arena. As time goes on I sincerely hope they do. People are really missing out on great reads simply because they aren't aware that they exist!

Types of Classics

There are plenty of types of classics.  I have known this for quite some time but became much more aware of this fact the last several years that my wife and I have actively been collecting books for our library.

I decided to show you the different types of classics for two reasons:

1. To show those who are not aware just how many there are
and
2. To ask viewers what other types do you have that I haven't included?  I would be very interested to know.

My first picture includes twenty five types:



From left to right they are:

ROW 1:
1.  Dover Children's Thrift Classics
2.  Dover Mystery Classics
3.  Dover Thrift Edition
4.  Borders Classic
5.  Signet Classic

ROW 2:
6.  Perennial Classics
7.  Penguin Classics (Newer Black edition)
8.  Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics
9.  Penguin Classics (Cream back)
10. Virago Modern Classics

ROW 3:
11. Barnes & Noble Classics (Cream dust jacket)
12. Barnes & Noble Classics (Black dust jacket)
13. Barnes & Noble Classics (2003 - Current)
14. The Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading
15. Barnes & Noble Classics (Mass Market)

ROW 4:
16. Barnes & Noble Children's Classics
17. Puffin Classics (Block Lettering of Puffin)
18. Puffin Classics (Newer)
19. Bantam Classic
20. The Modern Library Classics

ROW 5:
21. A Watermill Classic
22. Odyssey Classic
23. Oxford World's Classics
24. Wordsworth Classics
25. Del Rey Fantasy Classic

This second picture was supposed to illustrate that not all classics actually say "Classic" on them.  However when looking for examples from our library I was able to find two more that actually did say classic.  The top book is "An Airmont Classic" and the bottom left is a "Vintage Classics" book.

Here is the second picture:



There are two rows in the above picture.  Their publishers are, again, from left to right:

Top: An Airmont Classic

ROW 1:
1.  Scholastic Book Services
2.  Rand McNally
3.  Scribner Paperback Fiction

ROW 2:
4.  Vintage Classics
5.  Mariner Books
6.  Collier Books/Scribners

My point with this blog is that while I try to collect a title in any type of "Classic" as deemed by the publisher there are also plenty of books that are classics without being labeled as classic.  So, the question beckons, "What makes a classic a classic?"

I would love to hear your definition as well as any other imprints of classics that I haven't touched on.

Classic Novels

This blog will be about classic novels that I read as well as other books I come across. I welcome your comments and suggestions for classics to read as well as what you have read.

Over the course of the last few years I've really loved reading classic novels.    My favorites have been of the dystopian/utopian flavor.   This has included:

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy

Besides the dystopian/utopian subject i've also had the pleasure of reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy,  A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens,  Silas Marner by Eliot,  and Vanity Fair by Thackeray.

I am also proud creator of the Wikipedia page on Barnes & Noble Classics.

My love for classics grew out of finding the Black dustjacket volumes found in that article.   It took me several years but in 2005 I was able to track down the entire set.

What is your most favorite classic?