Fahrenheit 451 and other suggestions

[djaq]

I just started reading Fahrenheit 451 last night, and I am blown away.

Ok. So I'm really only on page 23, so there really isn't much to be "blown away" by, but I still am totally hooked on the story.

I'm a freshmen in High School, and actually read a lot of Classics as apposed to most kids my age.   

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions of classics that I should read? Or any thoughts about Fahrenheit 451 in general.

Here is a list of some classics I've read

-Little Women (along with Little Men and Jo's Boys)

-Treasure Island

-Robinson Crusoe

-Beowulf (I haven't finished it yet, because parts of it are hard to get through....) 

-The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the Chronicals of Narnia (if you consider those classics )

-The Screwtape Letters

-Grimm's Fairy Tales

-Romeo and Juliet

-MacBeth

So any suggestions of classics to read next?

I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, but I'm not sure what it is about?

Thanks everyone!

[ConnieAnnKirk]

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djaq wrote:

I just started reading Fahrenheit 451 last night, and I am blown away.

Ok. So I'm really only on page 23, so there really isn't much to be "blown away" by, but I still am totally hooked on the story.

I'm a freshmen in High School, and actually read a lot of Classics as apposed to most kids my age.   

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions of classics that I should read? Or any thoughts about Fahrenheit 451 in general.

Here is a list of some classics I've read

-Little Women (along with Little Men and Jo's Boys)

-Treasure Island

-Robinson Crusoe

-Beowulf (I haven't finished it yet, because parts of it are hard to get through....) 

-The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the Chronicals of Narnia (if you consider those classics )

-The Screwtape Letters

-Grimm's Fairy Tales

-Romeo and Juliet

-MacBeth

So any suggestions of classics to read next?

I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, but I'm not sure what it is about?

Thanks everyone!

---

Hi, djaq--

One easy way to find, browse, or think about classics is to go to this link.  It lists all the classics in Barnes & Noble Classics editions.  There is usually a display of the paperbacks in your local Barnes & Noble store as well.  If you find the fiction section, there's usually a display around there somewhere.

As far as individual titles, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre come to mind--also any of Jane Austen--Pride & Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are good places to start with her.

Ah, to be coming to any classic title for the first time is such a gift!  Good luck in your adventure!

[basson_mommy12]

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djaq wrote:

I just started reading Fahrenheit 451 last night, and I am blown away.

Ok. So I'm really only on page 23, so there really isn't much to be "blown away" by, but I still am totally hooked on the story.

I'm a freshmen in High School, and actually read a lot of Classics as apposed to most kids my age.   

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions of classics that I should read? Or any thoughts about Fahrenheit 451 in general.

Here is a list of some classics I've read

-Little Women (along with Little Men and Jo's Boys)

-Treasure Island

-Robinson Crusoe

-Beowulf (I haven't finished it yet, because parts of it are hard to get through....) 

-The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the Chronicals of Narnia (if you consider those classics )

-The Screwtape Letters

-Grimm's Fairy Tales

-Romeo and Juliet

-MacBeth

So any suggestions of classics to read next?

I have a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, but I'm not sure what it is about?

Thanks everyone!

---

I would agree all of those above are classics!    "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a great novel!  Dumas is a favorite around our house.  It's about a young man wrongfully accused of trying to assist in the escape of Napoleon Bonaparte, who is in exile.  While in prison, he befriends a fellow prisoner, who leaves him a vast fortune.  Once out of prison, claims the treasure and returns to Paris to get his revenge.  It's a very exciting adventure story!

[djaq]

Thanks Connie and basson_mommy12!

Connie: I went to the link, and it was extremly helpful I've read Jane Eyre a while ago, and thought it was amazing

basson: Thank you thank you for the summery of monte Cristo! I just recently got the complete works of Dumas... and i am pretty eager to start reading!

Thanks for all of your adivce!

[ConnieAnnKirk]

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djaq wrote:

Thanks Connie and basson_mommy12!

Connie: I went to the link, and it was extremly helpful I've read Jane Eyre a while ago, and thought it was amazing

basson: Thank you thank you for the summery of monte Cristo! I just recently got the complete works of Dumas... and i am pretty eager to start reading!

Thanks for all of your adivce!

---

Terrific, djaq!  I hope you enjoy whatever classic you pick up next--let us know what you choose--it doesn't have to be one of our suggestions, of course!

[shmengee]

I think Jane Eyre is WAY better than Wuthering Heights.  And King Solomon's Mines is WAY better than Treasure Island (it's a much more exciting adventure story).  The Count of Monte Cristo is awesome indubiltably!  I really loved Fahrenheit 451 too, I would recommend the Traveler (John Twelve Hawks), it's not old enough to be a classic but it is another futuristic book with a messed up government and with people who are stupid and there are all these technologies people are using to watch each other.  I would also recommend War and Peace, it's really long and confusing at first but really interesting!

[krb2g]

If you like classics in the dystopic genre (in which I would include Fahrenheit 451), I would recommend George Orwell's 

Animal Farm and

1984, and Aldous Huxley's 

Brave New World. Animal Farm allegorizes the rise communism on a typical English farm where the animals kick the farmer out, 1984 is about a society where the government is looking over everyone's shoulder, and Brave New World deals with government control of all aspects of human life. 

[Peppermill]

krb2g wrote:

If you like classics in the dystopic genre (in which I would include Fahrenheit 451), I would recommend George Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Animal Farm allegorizes the rise communism on a typical English farm where the animals kick the farmer out, 1984 is about a society where the government is looking over everyone's shoulder, and Brave New World deals with government control of all aspects of human life.

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dystopic?

[krb2g]

I think of a dystopia as a utopia gone bad. According to the OED (which doesn't actually list dystopic as a word, my bad): "An imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible; opp. UTOPIA (cf. CACOTOPIA). So dystopian n., one who advocates or describes a dystopia; dystopian a., of or pertaining to a dystopia; dystopianism, dystopian quality or characteristics." Apparently John Stuart Mill first used the word in 1868.

[Peppermill]

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krb2g wrote:

I think of a dystopia as a utopia gone bad. According to the OED (which doesn't actually list dystopic as a word, my bad): "An imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible; opp. UTOPIA (cf. CACOTOPIA). So dystopian n., one who advocates or describes a dystopia; dystopian a., of or pertaining to a dystopia; dystopianism, dystopian quality or characteristics." Apparently John Stuart Mill first used the word in 1868.

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Thanks, krb2g!  Yes, I was sort of pulling your leg for using a big word that didn't show up when I went to check its meaning!  But, of course, it was close enough so it was easy to find.  (As Sancho says to Don Quixote, don't correct me when you know what I mean!)  So me bad!  

[JRMcLemore]

Hi djaq,

Fahrenheit 451 is a great dystopic novel. I can recommend some more classics to add to your list you may like. If you want to read some more dystopias, try George Orwell's 1984. Also, there is Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

Other classics you might want to read, not within that vein, are:

To Kill A Mockingbird (Great book!)

Of Mice and Men

Flowers For Algernon (Great, but very sad)

Slaughterhouse-Five (Interesting take on aliens and the 4th dimension)

I could go on, but that should suffice for now. I'm trying to make up for lost time by reading all of the classics I should've read in high school. I wish I had started reading at an earlier age. I hope you read a couple of those mentioned above and get something out of them. Enjoy!

[crzynwrd4lf]

If you really like Fahrenheit 451 you should read 1984 by george orwell. The book is amazing and I was able to draw alot of similiarities from both books. Also The Time Machine by H.G. Wells gave me the chills while I read it. I'm not sure if Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a Barnes and Noble classic, but for me, the ending was so astonishing and unbelieveable I had to let it sink in after I finished it.

These are just some that follow what you're reading now, if you do read any of them, please let me know what you think of them and maybe you could reccommend some of your faves to me?

-Crzynwrd4lf

[wolven]

I love to see individuals that enjoy reading as much as I do.  I am not sure if you are mail or female, but I would suggest both the Red Badge of Courage and Captains Courageous.  Both are great books with an excellent message.  I don't know if you are aware of it or not but you might want to look over the The Gutenberg Project.  This is an ongoing project to convert many of the world's public domain books to electronic format.  There are litterally hundreds of thousands of books available for free from this site.  Her eis the website for you to peruse:

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Enjoy!!!

Wolven

[superindiekid]

I would definitely read The Count of Monte Cristo It's a great adventure story.

I also recommend All Quiet on the Western Front, which is about a German soldier's experiences during WWI. Also, I absolutely loved Anna Karenina. It's long, but definitely worth it in the end.

[Jesop]

djaq, if you like classic science fiction and adventure stories, you can't go wrong with Dune by Frank Herbert. It is a uniquely absorbing tale of adventure, intrigue, betrayal, revenge, and conquest on a desert planet and it is one of the best examples of an author creating an entire world from scratch, compriable only to Tolkein and a handful of others. Comes with my highest recomendation (for whatever that's worth). Note: I have not read any of the dozens of Dune sequels or spinoffs - I'm only refering to the original novel.

[Tuff_Gong]

- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

- Animal Farm by George Orwell

- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

- Watership Down by Richard Adams

- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

[patgmccabe]

I would also say Anthem by Ayn Rand.  Just read it again last week.

[imcath]

I recently reread Fahrenheit 451 myself; it's an amazing book. If you enjoyed it, you should love War of the Worlds, Slaughterhouse 5, and  1984. I also loved The Things They Carried, although it's not necessarily of the same vein.

Keep reading the classics, my friend.

[holley89]

Wuthering Heights is an extremely interesting story, as well as Great Expectations. I would definitely recommend them both. I think I may pick up a copy of Fahrenheit 451 as well. (I was always a classics reader in school as well. =] )

[Peppermill]

For some fun ideas on reading classics, try:

Classics for Pleasure  by Michael Dirda.

I had been wanting this book for awhile and indulged in it this week.  Not at all disappointed or sorry.  There are names and ideas here that are entirely new to me, ranging from romances to poets to philosophy to travel to ....  I have only started to plumb what is here.

For a taste of Dirda's work, try this archive from his discussions for the Washington Post.