Classics you know you should have read but probably haven't

Description: I know I feel guilt at the number of works I feel I ought to have read, but haven't quite managed to get round to yet... Well, let's try to prioritise!

La Divine Comédie

de Dante Alighieri

21,726 membres

188 critiques

4.1

Rang global 6

94 Members: Edward, Only2rs, ABVR, gennyt, conceptDawg, tiddleyboom, evilmoose, foggidawn, Ragnell, lahochstetler, SimoneA, smcwl, almigwin, lwbooklover, prosfilaes, .Monkey., antqueen, thorold, AnnaClaire, europhile, Aninja, dhm, EmScape, Zylphan, bell7, Smiler69, otterlake, olgakm, stellarexplorer, sjmccreary, Myrrha, Matke, cathyta, StephenBarkley, fundevogel, auntSteelbreaker, ukh, bacbaby, citybird, souloftherose, 2wonderY, mousse, cc9, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, Dilara86, Bici47, Kristelh, Dunord, BlueSkies305, JqnOC, electrice, TrulyAragorn, al.vick, raperper, SkuldOMG, AmourFou, FancyHorse, Elizabeth088, james.proffitt, Jacqklueh, FlorianKarpfinger, dwightie, Liivin, ryaSilvia, IsabelJacobson, Arrashid7, kristilabrie, christianromney, linnzsue, JohnMB, Ares14, dianeham, joannawolotira, mmseiple, blancosa, RodgerA, spiderlily, JMK2020, TwinDaddy, CTyner, Sisif, kihohamu, electricgoddess1993, Aggelos, CharlesTheB, dkarenart, TaraJohnson, Tyler_DDurden, gunarss, MyFathersDragon, tjtjtjtj, scstubbs, evaneshel,lorax , ,eromsted ,SilentInAWay ,aulsmith ,karamazow ,peterdj ,sturlington ,CVido ,courtneyp93 ,lsah ,ManWithAnAgenda
Explications: aulsmith : Got halfway through hell and gave up.
sturlington : Read Inferno in college. Not sure of the point of reading the rest.
Arrashid7: I plan to read it this summer.
ManWithAnAgenda : Read, loved.
MyFathersDragon: I didn’t finish. I read some in Italian, but I am not very good with Italian. I read more in English translation, but I wanted to go back to the Italian, and never finished.

Anna Karénine

de Leo Tolstoy

38,409 membres

623 critiques

4.1

Rang global 3

101 Members: timspalding, AntiLeah, Only2rs, ABVR, rosalita, wordswordswords, tiddleyboom, _Zoe_, cpg, mybookshelf, pamelad, Ragnell, booksinbed, SimoneA, smcwl, almigwin, lwbooklover, .Monkey., antqueen, AnnaClaire, pmdean, Aninja, dhm, bell7, otterlake, stellarexplorer, icre8dstny, karamazow, sjmccreary, amanda4242, redsox0407, peterdj, crazy4reading, deldevries, artturnerjr, cathyta, brenzi, ncgraham, jyssco, Percevan, susiesharp, perennialreader, bacbaby, Kodibear, ridgididge, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, CVido, bw94612, Bici47, Dunord, Dehinde, eclecticdodo, nlgeorge, rretzler, BlueSkies305, JqnOC, TrulyAragorn, gypsysmom, Luisali, Shutzie27, raperper, AmourFou, flying_monkeys, NinieB, linlef, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, mspixieears, ryaSilvia, Arrashid7, Chirules, christianromney, linnzsue, December7, TheUndergroundMan000, nedhyu, dljones442, JohnMB, blancosa, lsah, RodgerA, IllsleyFamilyLibrary, kierstens, spiderlily, JMK2020, Rusty37, TwinDaddy, Sisif, mcountr, steller0707, dkarenart, TaraJohnson, emily-judith, Tyler_DDurden, gerggerggerg, gunarss, MaureenONeill, scstubbs, FinleyBlackGold, DianaInSydney, ,eromsted ,SilentInAWay ,electrice , ,courtneyp93 ,CharlesTheB
Explications: electrice : read in 2013, excellent

Ulysse

de James Joyce

24,083 membres

377 critiques

Rang global 11

86 Members: timspalding, AntiLeah, ABVR, gennyt, benfulton, hipdeep, wordswordswords, anglemark, tiddleyboom, kerry1897, evilmoose, Rtrace, mybookshelf, paradoxosalpha, pamelad, Ragnell, lahochstetler, SilentInAWay, SimoneA, almigwin, lwbooklover, .Monkey., europhile, pmdean, Aninja, dhm, EmScape, Zylphan, Smiler69, icre8dstny, crazy4reading, SylviaC, jerry-book, Myrrha, Matke, cathyta, auntSteelbreaker, jyssco, Percevan, citybird, ridgididge, mousse, cc9, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, CVido, Bici47, Kristelh, rretzler, BlueSkies305, Tess_W, JqnOC, bwtsang, gypsysmom, ahef1963, elia1168, linlef, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, mspixieears, ryaSilvia, Arrashid7, Laura1124, banana4thelord, christianromney, oires, ramsesiii, linnzsue, JohnMB, seanogui, courtneyp93, Evelyn_Lilly_317, mmseiple, blancosa, RodgerA, IllsleyFamilyLibrary, spiderlily, TwinDaddy, RachelKirk, CharlesTheB, GrimFiend1977, dkarenart, TaraJohnson, gerggerggerg, scstubbs, DianaInSydney,eromsted ,cpg , ,prosfilaes ,aulsmith ,sjmccreary , ,peterdj ,suitable1 ,nlgeorge ,lsah ,
Explications: : Stream of consciousness writing is a gimmick, a way of vomiting out words that sometime sound interesting but are hollow of meaning and intent.
nlgeorge : needs editing
Arrashid7: Retrying this modern classic this summer.

L'Odyssée

de Homer

52,996 membres

473 critiques

Rang global 17

77 Members: Aquila, Only2rs, hipdeep, kerry1897, kageeh, Rtrace, jamesabg, booksinbed, BookWallah, almigwin, varielle, antqueen, pmdean, Zylphan, bell7, otterlake, karamazow, sjmccreary, amanda4242, crazy4reading, PatsyMurray, artturnerjr, SylviaC, jerry-book, Myrrha, cathyta, ukh, jyssco, souloftherose, briarhills, JerryMmm, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, CVido, Dilara86, Bici47, eclecticdodo, BlueSkies305, JqnOC, fuzzi, jaysbooks, StefanieGeeks, SkuldOMG, AmourFou, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, mspixieears, ryaSilvia, IsabelJacobson, Arrashid7, Laura1124, SamTaylor, banana4thelord, christianromney, hudzilla55, mattmcmahon, linnzsue, dljones442, JohnMB, Ares14, courtneyp93, mmseiple, Saxon451, RodgerA, IllsleyFamilyLibrary, spiderlily, HollieKirt, Rusty37, TwinDaddy, Sisif, rjbd, mcountr, TaraJohnson, Tyler_DDurden, gunarss, MyFathersDragon, valeriepatton,Edward , ,eromsted ,SilentInAWay ,aulsmith ,sturlington ,electrice ,lsah
Explications: amanda4242: Read it in college. Long, but a breeze to get through.
sturlington : Read in college
electrice : read in college
MyFathersDragon: I’ve loved this since grade school.

L'Iliade

de Homer

39,898 membres

386 critiques

Rang global 26

71 Members: Aquila, Only2rs, hipdeep, wordswordswords, anglemark, kerry1897, kageeh, Rtrace, jamesabg, smcwl, almigwin, prosfilaes, varielle, antqueen, pmdean, EmScape, bell7, otterlake, karamazow, sjmccreary, amanda4242, crazy4reading, deldevries, SylviaC, jerry-book, Myrrha, cathyta, jyssco, bacbaby, souloftherose, cc9, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, CVido, Dilara86, Bici47, eclecticdodo, BlueSkies305, JqnOC, fuzzi, Shutzie27, jaysbooks, SkuldOMG, AmourFou, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, mspixieears, ryaSilvia, IsabelJacobson, Arrashid7, SamTaylor, banana4thelord, chukche, christianromney, mattmcmahon, linnzsue, dljones442, JohnMB, Ares14, mmseiple, Saxon451, spiderlily, TwinDaddy, Sisif, rjbd, mcountr, ManWithAnAgenda, TaraJohnson, gunarss, MyFathersDragon, zombiecat,Edward , ,ABVR ,eromsted ,cpg ,SilentInAWay , ,peterdj ,sturlington ,electrice , ,lsah
Explications: sturlington : Read in college
electrice : read in college
MyFathersDragon: I loved this since I was in grade school.

Madame Bovary

de Gustave Flaubert

26,187 membres

390 critiques

½ 3.7

Rang global 29

69 Members: gennyt, wordswordswords, tiddleyboom, eromsted, longway, pamelad, booksinbed, SimoneA, almigwin, lwbooklover, .Monkey., thorold, europhile, dhm, jefbra, otterlake, stellarexplorer, karamazow, andejons, sjmccreary, sundancer, redsox0407, martina_hrubes, sturlington, cathyta, ncgraham, jyssco, susiesharp, perennialreader, souloftherose, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, bw94612, Bici47, Dunord, Dehinde, nlgeorge, rretzler, BlueSkies305, electrice, gypsysmom, al.vick, jaysbooks, ahef1963, raperper, Marleen_Cloutier, matthewmason, Elizabeth088, NinieB, pewterbreath, EElsen, linlef, LesleyAshton, FlorianKarpfinger, Arrashid7, Laura1124, christianromney, ramsesiii, linnzsue, nedhyu, dianeham, aquariumministry, TwinDaddy, RachelKirk, Sisif, steller0707, kmc3501, TaraJohnson, MaureenONeill, ,SilentInAWay ,aulsmith ,nephron44 ,peterdj ,Simone2 ,CVido
Explications: aulsmith : The first page was so boring I never returned.
ahef1963: Read in university. Hated it.

1984

de George Orwell

81,838 membres

1,268 critiques

4.2

Rang global 10

98 Members: Aquila, ABVR, waitingtoderail, gennyt, rosalita, wordswordswords, conceptDawg, staffordcastle, anglemark, tiddleyboom, jmnlman, kageeh, Rtrace, mybookshelf, pamelad, ghilbrae, booksinbed, almigwin, lwbooklover, varielle, antqueen, pmdean, Zylphan, jefbra, bell7, m_island, karamazow, amanda4242, deldevries, birder4106, Matke, sturlington, flips, cathyta, brenzi, BekkaJo, fundevogel, ukh, Percevan, ridgididge, briarhills, nik61, canantopaloglu, CVido, Bici47, HMHbooks, Dunord, Dehinde, eclecticdodo, nlgeorge, BlueSkies305, Tess_W, John_Vaughan, gypsysmom, Shutzie27, jaysbooks, ahef1963, bcrowl399, Carmen_13, EElsen, LesleyAshton, Peace2, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, mspixieears, jnmlkr901, Arrashid7, Laura1124, kristilabrie, banana4thelord, Chirules, christianromney, hudzilla55, linnzsue, dljones442, JohnMB, courtneyp93, Saxon451, misfortune317, kierstens, spiderlily, merriqat, TwinDaddy, RachelKirk, hrd666dri, thamara.abrao, Sisif, mcountr, readerdad, steller0707, CharlesTheB, dkarenart, TaraJohnson, MyFathersDragon, MaureenONeill, valeriepatton, zombiecat, jarcipreste,Edward ,lorax , ,eromsted ,_Zoe_ ,cpg ,Illiniguy71 ,SilentInAWay ,prosfilaes ,aulsmith ,EmScape , ,sjmccreary , ,peterdj ,auntSteelbreaker ,electrice ,lsah ,ManWithAnAgenda
Explications: amanda4242: An important book, but I'll probably never read it again.
sturlington: Everyone should read at least once.
electrice : read
ManWithAnAgenda : Read.
MyFathersDragon: It is a classic so I thought I should read it.

Les Raisins de la colère

de John Steinbeck

34,259 membres

471 critiques

4.1

Rang global 19

84 Members: AntiLeah, Only2rs, hipdeep, tiddleyboom, mlfhlibrarian, Rtrace, mybookshelf, foggidawn, longway, pamelad, SilentInAWay, booksinbed, SimoneA, almigwin, varielle, .Monkey., pmdean, dhm, jefbra, m_island, karamazow, sjmccreary, amanda4242, deldevries, sturlington, flips, cathyta, brenzi, ncgraham, BekkaJo, souloftherose, ridgididge, canantopaloglu, CVido, Bici47, rretzler, BlueSkies305, JqnOC, electrice, TrulyAragorn, Himalmitra, gypsysmom, jaysbooks, bibliobuzz, StefanieGeeks, pincus2, FancyHorse, flying_monkeys, bcrowl399, rosemitchell, NinieB, pewterbreath, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, ryaSilvia, Arrashid7, Laura1124, SamTaylor, daisy_jane, Chirules, christianromney, hudzilla55, mattmcmahon, linnzsue, nedhyu, dljones442, JohnMB, Ares14, lsah, Saxon451, Zaeynab, kierstens, spiderlily, HollieKirt, JMK2020, TwinDaddy, Sisif, readerdad, TaraJohnson, FireflyLover, KrystalSheppard, MyFathersDragon, ArayaK, zombiecat,lorax , ,eromsted ,cpg ,aulsmith , ,auntSteelbreaker , ,ManWithAnAgenda
Explications: amanda4242: Read it and loathed it.
sturlington: Important book but kind of a slog.
ManWithAnAgenda : Read, enjoyed.
MyFathersDragon: It was one of the classics to choose from to read in a high school class. I read lots of the choices, so I had options to choose from when it was time to write a book report.

Raison et sentiments

de Jane Austen

38,063 membres

525 critiques

4.1

Rang global 47

63 Members: Aquila, benfulton, wordswordswords, kerry1897, pamelad, lahochstetler, SilentInAWay, booksinbed, smcwl, almigwin, varielle, .Monkey., antqueen, pmdean, jefbra, otterlake, sjmccreary, amanda4242, WSB7, redsox0407, artturnerjr, SylviaC, sturlington, cathyta, brenzi, BekkaJo, perennialreader, nik61, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, Bici47, Dunord, eclecticdodo, nlgeorge, BlueSkies305, JalenV, gypsysmom, Shutzie27, ahef1963, StefanieGeeks, NinieB, EElsen, linlef, LesleyAshton, FlorianKarpfinger, Laura1124, daisy_jane, nicolaskowsk, linnzsue, December7, nedhyu, JohnMB, mmseiple, kierstens, TwinDaddy, RachelKirk, Sisif, TaraJohnson, KrystalSheppard, gerggerggerg, MyFathersDragon, MaureenONeill, valeriepatton,gilroy , ,eromsted ,cpg ,aulsmith , ,peterdj ,auntSteelbreaker ,Simone2 ,CVido ,ManWithAnAgenda ,CharlesTheB
Explications: amanda4242: Liked it.
auntSteelbreaker : I think Austen is boring.
JalenV: Don't love it as much as Pride and Prejudice, but I've read it a few times.
ahef1963: I love Austen. This may be my favourite of her works.
ManWithAnAgenda : Read.

Cent ans de solitude

de Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44,379 membres

689 critiques

4.2

Rang global 30

71 Members: AntiLeah, Only2rs, tiddleyboom, kerry1897, foggidawn, pamelad, lahochstetler, almigwin, lwbooklover, varielle, .Monkey., AnnaClaire, otterlake, m_island, stellarexplorer, sjmccreary, martina_hrubes, deldevries, artturnerjr, jerry-book, cathyta, BekkaJo, susiesharp, perennialreader, bacbaby, ridgididge, briarhills, cc9, canantopaloglu, CVido, bw94612, Dunord, nlgeorge, rretzler, BlueSkies305, JqnOC, electrice, John_Vaughan, TrulyAragorn, Aprill, ahef1963, elia1168, FancyHorse, bcrowl399, NinieB, EElsen, linlef, james.proffitt, FlorianKarpfinger, ryaSilvia, metamedusa, Laura1124, hudzilla55, linnzsue, TheUndergroundMan000, nedhyu, courtneyp93, Mellerup, blancosa, lsah, aquariumministry, lindafader, TwinDaddy, Jonas.Pieters, electricgoddess1993, readerdad, ManWithAnAgenda, GrimFiend1977, TaraJohnson, gerggerggerg, CarolynBurke7,lorax ,eromsted ,SilentInAWay , ,peterdj ,sturlington ,brenzi ,auntSteelbreaker ,Simone2 ,
Explications: sturlington : I don't really like his style.
Aprill: It's on my tbr shelf.
ahef1963: Read via audiobook. Terriby confusing. Can't say I liked it.

Quatrains

de Omar Khayyám

2,905 membres

34 critiques

Rang global 112

27 Members: hailelib, gennyt, hipdeep, wordswordswords, staffordcastle, eromsted, kageeh, jamesabg, almigwin, varielle, WSB7, SylviaC, cathyta, cc9, canantopaloglu, Cindy1954, Beorn_se_Bacaire, rretzler, BlueSkies305, pewterbreath, linlef, james.proffitt, ryaSilvia, Arrashid7, hudzilla55, ManWithAnAgenda, MyFathersDragon,SilentInAWay ,aulsmith , ,sturlington ,CVido ,Bici47 ,lsah
Explications: sturlington : Read at least partly.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

de Julia Child

3,379 membres

27 critiques

½ 4.5

Rang global 299

9 Members: SilentInAWay, almigwin, varielle, cathyta, canantopaloglu, LesleyAshton, Laura1124, JohnMB, JessGalchutt,eromsted ,aulsmith ,sturlington ,aekd
Explications: aulsmith : I see no need to read this. I read Joy of Cooking instead.
sturlington : A classic cookbook, but you don't really read those. You cook from them. Agree that Joy of Cooking is more useful, though.
aekd: Cooking? No, thanks. French cooking? No way!