# Any one have a suggestion on a good classic book?



## aliceedelweiss (Feb 18, 2006)

I need a classic to read for my English class, I can just never think of one or pick one from a list of titles. Our report doesn't have to be on a classic, but I'm reading Memnoch the Devil and I'm only 15 pages into it but I can already see I won't be able to do the report on it >< I get too lost in what’s happening and not the way its written. (Our "logs" need to be about dialogue, style, how it’s written, descriptions etc) so I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on something I could read? It's either that or I reread something :cry: 
Alice


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## Stewart (Feb 18, 2006)

_The Great Gatsby, _apparently, is one of the good choices for this sort of thing.


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## aliceedelweiss (Feb 18, 2006)

Already read it sadly, but it was very good. i did it for my project in...november I think? we do one every month or so. But thank you!
Alice


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## aliceedelweiss (Feb 18, 2006)

thanks ghost writer, I'll look at some of those
alice


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## Straylight (Feb 18, 2006)

The Picture of Dorian Gray is excellent, and a fairly quick read.  It's got lots of subtext and meaning, so you can really make the teacher happy.

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books, but it's a bit long.

If you want to be a little off-beat, how about 'Fools Die' by Mario Puzo?  It's kind of a classic, but not really, and a damn entertaining read.

~SL


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## aliceedelweiss (Feb 18, 2006)

I absolutly loved Dorian Gray when i read it! It was amazing, and infact I might reread that for this project it was just that good >< unless I find something to read for the first time, which is probably better.
Alice


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## Stewart (Feb 18, 2006)

aliceedelweiss said:
			
		

> Already read it sadly, but it was very good. i did it for my project in...november I think? we do one every month or so. But thank you!


_Things Fall Apart_, Chinua Achebe

Or, as a contemporary classic, _The Remains of the Day_ by Kazuo Ishiguro.


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## Hodge (Feb 18, 2006)

_Things Fall Apart_ isn't really old enough to be a classic, I don't think. Good book, though. 


Is there a specific period your book has to come from (or can't come from)? If not, I'd recommend _Inferno_ by Dante Alighieri (it's an epic poem). Otherwise, I just read _The Awakening_ by Kate Chopin and it was rather good.


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## Stewart (Feb 18, 2006)

Hodge said:
			
		

> _Things Fall Apart_ isn't really old enough to be a classic, I don't think. Good book, though.



It's almost sixty years old. That's enough, in my opinion.


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## kalibantre (Feb 18, 2006)

check out classicreader.com for ideas??

I adore dorian gray but i couldn't write about it, I love him too much.


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## Saraneth (Feb 18, 2006)

_I Capture the Castle_ by Dodie Smith is an excellent read.

As is _We Have Always Lived in the Castle_ by Shirley Jackson. 

Both are pretty high on character development and themes.

For other really unusual classics, check out http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/classics.htm for more interesting ideas. There's summaries and everything.


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## Kira the wanderer (Feb 27, 2006)

The Phantom fo the Opera by Gaston Leroux is amazing, its my bible.

If that's not your thing then I'd try reading some Jane Austen books like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and so forth.

Charles Dickens is really good as well, but I'm sure you have read a lot of his work already since schools love to pile that kind of stuff on you.


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## Mike C (Feb 27, 2006)

A quick, easy, classic that's engaging and easy to write a report on:

Candide, by Voltaire. 

It's written almost in fairy-tale style, is nice and easy to read, won't bog you down, and most of all is fun.


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## KeineAngst (Mar 22, 2006)

3I definetly recomend Notes From the Under Ground by Dotstovesky(i spelled that SO wrong...) and his other writings, persoanly i really like Russian literature.


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## elizabeth_472 (Mar 26, 2006)

Watership Down by Richard Adams
I did it for my report in English class as well.  It is an easy read and makes perfect sense.  However, it's just not that good of a book in my opinion.


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## TheInklings (Mar 27, 2006)

Personally, I thought Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was possibly one of the best books I've ever read. I went into it with the knowledge only of what I saw in movies. I was blown away. I feel the way she captures human nature is amazing.


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