5 Classic Books I Want To Read

WHERE TO FIND ME

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Thank you for watching, Lil.

[beyondthepages]

Read Rebecca!!! You will love Daphne du Maurier!

[salvyv]

I know this post was from a while back and you may have read it by now, but I Capture the Castle is absolutely brilliant. It’s hilarious and witty. Highly recommend!

[holistic]

omg! you will love Mrs D. I really liked it.

[elegiac]

I loved Rebecca, it's not a sad book or a mood killer; honestly. It's atmospheric and essentially a thriller so you won't want to put it down. I don't know if you've seen any of the TV adaptations but either way the book is really great. I would like to hear what you think if you do read any of those books.

[TravelingBibliophile]

Mrs Dalloway was quite good, and while it is stream of conscious you can read it in more than one sitting without losing your place, flow wise, and having to start over again. It is also quite short and is one of Woolf's more accessible works. There is also a nice film version of it with Vanessa Redgrave and Michael Kitchen.

[sunny-qr]

Definitely need to read a few of these as well! 👍🏻

[beatrice]

Daphne du Maurier is possibly one of the most underrated authors of the 20th century. Stylistically speaking her prose is excellent, her descriptions of the Cornish flora are breathtaking. Yes, some of her stories are pretty dark, but Rebecca is not the worst in that respect (a lot less dark than My Cousin Rachel, in my opinion). Daphne du Maurier's psychological accuracy is also something I've seriously struggled to find in many other authors - it is truly remarkable. Do, do, do read Brideshead Revisited if you get a chance - I've had an entire module this year at university devoted to Evelyn Waugh and have developed a huge passion for him. Decline & Fall and Vile Bodies are in a completely different mood to BR, there is none of the humour and dark satire of the early novels, but it is again stylistically superb. It is not the most lighthearted of books, but it deeply layered and keeps becoming more fascinating upon re-reading. The film is good but gets the point of the book completely wrong (whether intentionally or not) - it portrays Charles's relationships both with religion and with Sebastian as very clear cut, and so does away with Waugh's subtlety. This is one of those cases where I'd have to agree with the general consensus that the older serialised adaptation is vastly superior.
I also have I Capture the Castle on my reading list. So many books so little time (especially when you're doing an English degree and you never have time to actually read for fun haha)!

[stressedoutofexistence]

From the five I have read Rebecca and I Capture the Castle.

For Rebecca I was spoiled, thus my experience with it was not exactly pristine. It's very accessible, has very simple writing style and a very 'British' cast.

I enjoyed I Capture the Castle and its somewhat 'quirkiness' regarding the heroine. The story arc of the father was fascinating but the romance did not win me over.

Overall I'll recommend them :) *gives literal kick up the bum*

[donlevy]

I completely understand how you feel. I am currently reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I want to read all her books and I will just have Persuasion left. Mrs Dalloway is a wonderful book but not an easy read. It might help if you read Michael Cunningham's The Hours first, which is a meditation on Dalloway. I haven't read Rebecca either but I have seen the Hitchcock film that it's based on. As for Allingham, I loved her book Tether's End which starts off with a body on an abandoned bus. I usually don't reread mysteries, but I read that book twice. Happy readings.

[justicebeauty]

I really like this video idea.
I have had I capture a castle on my shelf for a few months but haven’t been in the mood. It took so long to arrive and by the time it came I didn’t feel like reading it - but it sounds like the type of book I like so I should really pick it up.

I finally read Rebecca after wanting to read it for years - it was really good but I wasn’t expecting it to be as slow as it was, maybe if I expected that I would have enjoyed the reading experience more. I actually like it more as a think back on it because it is an absolutely amazing story.

Brideshead revisited and Mrs Dalloway are on my radar so I am interested in hearing your thoughts. I also hope you do some more Persephone reviews - I really enjoys those.

[msguinevere]

I capture the castle is one of my all time favourite books!! Love it!! And Daphne du maurier is great - but they always end sorta unsatisfactorily... So be ready for that!

[MoonstoneCastle]

Hello, I've not read 'Rebecca' yet either and was just talking about that this very day, and why?  I suppose for the same reason, thinking it to be very moody and dark, but I'll tackle it eventually.  My memory of 'I Capture the Castle' from years ago seems to be that I had mixed feelings about, it was rather melancholy in parts and not as jolly as I'd hoped. Being a keen mystery book reader, I cannot recommend 'The Crime At Black Dudley' enough!  I read it last September and loved it, and am sure you would too; and I love Dorothy L. Sayers' mysteries so much, she was such an excellent writer.

[katiejlumsden]

I've just read Rebecca and I think you'd love it! Brideshead Revisited is worth a read too :)

[saranevano]

I'm just listening Rebecca in audiobook (but not in english...). Anyway, i find it wonderful. Happy reading!

[sarapereira]

I read Mrs Dalloway in a period of 3 days and I really enjoyed it. I think there are points where you can stop, but the way in which it was written definitely made me want to pick it up as often as I could. So I think maybe once you start it you won't feel like you Have to read it in one sitting but you will Want to. I read Rebecca after I watched the Hitchcock adaptation and it actually helped me to read it faster because I knew what was coming (unusual for me) and that I had some good bits to look forward to. Enjoy your reading :-)

[birdiebirdie]

Would it help to think of Rebecca as Gothic suspense rather than "moody"? I mean, the main male character, Maxim de Winter, is pretty moody, but we don't find ourselves allied with him as much as with the narrator. Also, I hereby solemnly give you permission to quickly skim the last quarter of the book; it's still good, but it can't touch the first couple of hundred pages. Also, be thankful that you have the Virago cover. I taught Rebecca for a literature class and the copy we had looked like a bodice ripper. Ha!

Which adaptation have you seen of Brideshead Revisited? I haven't seen either in full, but I've seen more of the one with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. I wish I had seen the film before I read the book, and that's something I don't say often. I think it's a case of not really having had a good picture in my head of the house and family from the text, and that's probably my own fault.

With Margery Allingham, I don't know that I'd particularly start with Crime at the Black Dudley, mainly because I've read it but can remember absolutely nothing about it. I do remember Look to the Lady, The Case of the Late Pig, and Police at the Funeral. Campion kind of strikes me as a less engaging Lord Peter Wimsey. He pulls the same kind of "if they think I'm a fool, I'll learn more" move, but he is less charming and less obviously erudite than Lord Peter. That said, the books are definitely worth a read.

[roxychic]

I would recommend giving Dorothy Sayers another try as the Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane mysteries are simply not to be missed. It's interesting that the who is not primary in Sayers' mysteries but the how and why. While it can be slow going at the start, you will be whisked into the story fast enough. They're brilliant, really.
Brideshead Revisited is slow going, but worth the read. Sebastian and Cordelia Flyte are my favorites.
Also, remembering that you don't quite like Jane Eyre, I will say that Rebecca, though set more in a modern period, is reminiscent of it in many ways; however, unlike Jane Eyre, you don't necessarily feel a need to like the characters - rather, you sympathize with them. It's quite a fascinating tale and the atmosphere of the book (though a bit gloomy) is one that is enjoyable, nonetheless. The Hitchcock film of it does a nice job of adapting the book, too, though the ending is altered.

[jamiedianne]

Mrs. Dalloway is amazing! I really think you'll like it. You can definitely read it over a few days instead of one sitting. I'm not sure if its the case in the Vintage edition but I know in some editions there are spaces in the text indicating change in hour throughout the day the novel is set in. If that's not the case in your copy, I'm pretty sure the various chimes of Big Ben indicating change in hour are mentioned within the text and those would be great stopping points if you're going to break up your reading. Also. Mrs. Dalloway is a great place to start with Virginia Woolf if you're just getting into her style of writing. READ :D

[Llinosm]

I did enjoy Rebecca, although I found it slow until the final third which was amazing. I also want to read and watch My Cousin Rachel. I do love Margery Allingham!

[hannahtaybooks]

I haven't read any of these but they all sound great! x