classic books

Hiya!

DH bought me a Sony Reader (the Sony version of a Kindle) for our 10th anniversary. You can download purchased books for it, as well as downloading anything from the Google Reader. Of course, only REALLY old books are available on the Reader.

Any suggestions on classics that I really, really must read?

[Chrisada]

The only classic book I really loved was The Count of Monte Cristo. The story is quite amazing.

[Ladybug]

I'll second The Count of Monte Cristo. I always enjoy Jane Austin too, especiallly pride and prejudice. I enjoyed Any Rand's the fountainhead too. I wanted to read atlas shrugged but have never gotten around to it.

[poky]

Again, this is "if your humor tastes are like mine", but I'd recommend Wodehouse. The Jeeves ones are very good.

I've always loved Austen, too.

[medpedspouse]

Never tire of Austen. I can reread her books over and over. How classic are they talking about? If not too far, I also enjoy Steinbeck.

[MrsK]

Oooh, that's all the good stuff. Though, I'm not sure what you mean by "REALLY old." Are we talking Chaucer? Shakespeare? Homor? Here are some of my favorite classics/oldies:

Steinbeck "East of Eden"
Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities"
Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby"
McCullers "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"
Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Mitchell "Gone With The Wind"
Anything by Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, or J.D. Salinger
Atwood "The Handmaid's Tale"

[poky]

I'm pretty sure she means "out of copyright, and therefore available for free".

[SuzySunshine]

I also love the Count of Monte Cristo, I'll have to give some thought to the others.

[Vishenka69]

I second The Fountainhead and Gone With The Wind. Is Love in Time of Cholera old enough to classify? For something from past centuries - Jane Eyre, The Moonstone, anything by Edith Wharton, The Bonfire of the Vanities.

[Sheherezade]

Henry James and Charles Dickens. Both are plot driven and entertaining - although the language can slow you down a bit. I'd also get some Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment!) And some Tolstoy. And Mark Twain. (I also like the Wodehouse suggestion.)

I'd probably just go peruse the lists of books available on Google books or whatever source you are using. It is surprising how much you can get.

[DCJenn]

The entire Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes series. I can reread them endlessly.

Anything Agatha Christie as well- I bet they're available.

Jenn

[McPants]

Anything Agatha Christie as well- I bet they're available.

Jenn

Generally only books copyrighted before 1923 fall into public domain, however two of her books were written before then, so they're likely to be available.

http://library.dts.edu/Pages/RM/Helps/copyright.shtml

Although I don't own one of the Kindle-type products, I've downloaded a few books from Project Gutenberg to read on my laptop when I've been on conferences.

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Personally, I'd recommend Vanity Fair by Thackeray, L'Assommoir, Nana or Theresa Raquin by Zola, The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe, Madame Bovary by Flaubert or just about anything by Wilde, off the top of my head.

[Vishenka69]

Angie, anyone who voluntarily reads Russian lit in English is a very patient person. I've read most classics in both and I couldn't believe how convoluted 90% of the English translations were. Jenn, beware that Dostoyevsky is highly depressing. If you decide to venture into Russian lit, I would start with Anna Karenina or Eugene Onegin.

[Sheherezade]

What does it say about me that I like it? I minored in Russian Lit at Columbia back in the 80s.

Thanks all.

I've now realized that I can actually download kindle books to my iPod Touch. Has anyone done this? I'm having a bit of guilt at the $$ of the Sony Reader (although the kindle is even more expensive), and I'm also having trouble "feeling" it (as though I'm reading and not surfing the net). If the iPod allows the portability, that's great, but I'm thinking won't feel any better about the esthetics of reading on it vs the Reader.

I have to decide if I'm keeping the Reader pretty quickly. The return period is only 14 days, so I've got to return it before we leave for our trip if I'm not keeping it.