# Good Classic Literature



## Toadling (Feb 5, 2012)

I haven't seen much said about classic literature, so I wanted to put forth a few of my top recommendations.

- Leo Tolstoy; I recommend his novels, as they are quite good, but even more strongly I recommend the collections of his short stories and his essays particularly. Tolstoy was a fantastic essayist, and he wrote on a broad range of topics including religion, drug use, war, oppression, poverty, etc. 

- Anton Chekhov: one of my favorite authors of all time. Chekhov was a doctor by trade, and he once likened medicine to being as his lawful wife, while writing was his mistress. He died before his time, unfortunately, or else I think we'd have many more stories to remember him by. He is most famous for having written several acclaimed plays, but I recommend his short stories, particularly 'The Duel', which is my favorite piece.

- Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince 
This book is important to anyone who would hope to be master of his own domain, and I cannot praise his chapter concerning flattery highly enough. 

- George MacDonald; I consider his masterpiece to be 'The Lost Princess'. MacDonald was one of the best, and his novels and short stories contain timeless insight and wisdom. 

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Gulag Archipelago 

- Boris Sidis: The Psychology of Suggestion
This book contains knowledge useful to anyone, but is most suited to those who are interested in basic human psychology, or those with a keen interest in mind-sciences. 

Those are just some of my recommendations, so I hope you all enjoy.

- Toadling


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## philistine (Feb 6, 2012)

I'll second Tolstoy's short stories, as I would Chekhov's, Leskov's, Kuprin's, Gorky's, Pushkin's, Turgenev's, and whoever else I seem to be forgetting right now. I personally thought War and Peace served much better as a doorstop, leaf presser or deadly weapon that it did fine literature...

Solzhenitsyn's _A Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich_ was a much better read than _Gulag Archipelago_, at least in my opinion. The harshness of the conditions, the political atmosphere of the day, and the mindsets of those brought in on a whim is really hammered home, without the needless several hundred pages of padding. 

Second all the others. Good list.


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## Toadling (Feb 6, 2012)

philistine said:


> I personally thought War and Peace served much better as a doorstop, leaf presser or deadly weapon that it did fine literature...



That made me laugh. Yes, certainly War & Peace is large enough to be used as a weapon. Probably my favorite novel was Resurrection, though. 

I think Goethe's 'Faust' should be on that list as well, I quite enjoyed it. 

- Toadling


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## philistine (Feb 6, 2012)

Toadling said:


> That made me laugh. Yes, certainly War & Peace is large enough to be used as a weapon. Probably my favorite novel was Resurrection, though.
> 
> I think *Goethe's 'Faust'* should be on that list as well, I quite enjoyed it.
> 
> - Toadling



Definitely. I've read the play on the topic by Marlowe, too, though it wasn't nearly as good. Then again, there's so many depictions of that old Faustian tale...


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## elfwriter (Mar 10, 2012)

I have read the prince. A classic indeed. The psychology of suggestion is a great book. It shows different dimensions of human psychology. I loved this book.


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## RedFraggle (Mar 17, 2012)

I tried reading War and Peace last year  (for the second time, maybe the third). I just couldn't finish. I gave up, and I haven't given up on a book in a long time (dare I say the last time I tried reading it?). I don't think I'll be trying again! :-k

I do have an ongoing list of books I'd like to read, so maybe I will add some of these suggestions to it.


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## Walt1093 (May 11, 2012)

"She" by Henry Rider Haggard is a great book, good stuff about life and death. More thought-prevoking than any book you will ever pick up.


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## JimJanuary (May 26, 2012)

Are there no other Dostoevsky fans in the thread?? If the stereotype is true though, I doubt I'll get any backing from the Tolstoy fans


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## Toadling (Jun 8, 2012)

xD

Dostoyevsky was another great Russian writer; I enjoyed 'The House of the Dead', and 'The Brothers Karamazov' has been on my 'To Read' list literally for years. Not sure what you've heard about Tolstoy fans vs. Dostoyevsky fans, but I simply adore classic Russian literature in general. 

Long live the Motherland! ^.~

- Toadling


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## Dave Watson (Jun 23, 2012)

Really enjoyed The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Swashbuckling aplenty!


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## playingthepianodrunk (Jul 23, 2012)

Aldous Huxley. Great essay writer and novelist. I like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. I feel Tolstoy is a little more relatable while Dostoevsky is more sarcastic. I like Tolstoy short novel the Cossacks. I recommend Charles Bukowski to anyone unfamiliar. I would also recommend A Roadside Picnic By the brothers Strugatsky to anyone who likes Russian Lit. Or Steinslaw Lem author of Solaris. Andrei Tarkovsky made both books into pretty profound movies. I just read A Room With A View by E.M Forster. I found certain parts to be very important.


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