Reading the Classics

It's no secret I LOVE to read. I'll let the dishes pile up and the kids run around in the same clothes for days on end if I have a good book!

But.... I like to read fluff, mind-candy, senseless stuff that takes no effort and I can read with the TV blaring and the kids screaming.

So, in an effort to be a more well rounded reader, and so I'll have a clue when the boys start reading the classics for school, I've started reading a few classics myself.

Because I am pretty clueless I just logged on to my Paperspine account, clicked on classics and selected books I'd heard of. Seemed like a good method to me!

I started with Jane Eyre... tried twice and still can't get through it! I did watch the movie though and it was pretty good.... once I turned on the captioning and was able to tell what they were saying.... so I may try again.

I just finished Lord of the Flies. As a mom of boys, it was a hard book for me to read. I alternated between feeling like the characters just needed a hug and a bath and a whooping, and feeling that I really needed to get down and pray for my boys! Unfortunately, it was not hard to believe at all, I see that pack mentality play out every day in my house. Throw in a few extra boys and it's even worse. In my experience, you can take the most level-headed boys and put them in a group without close adult supervision and every bit of common sense they have flies right out the window!! Things they wouldn't dream of doing on their own, they don't think twice about in a group.

Right now I'm reading Pride and Prejudice. I like it, even laughed out loud a few times, but I have to have a quiet house and no distractions to be able to follow the dialogue. Definitely no TV watching while I'm reading!

I'm still reading my fluff books in between the classics, but at least now when I see a list of "Books Everyone Should Read" I'll be able to check off a few!

Later I'll blog about what makes a classic.... right now I'm thinking the main qualification is that the book is hard to follow and the dialogue is difficult to understand!!