In the course of a conversation in last week's book diary, I mentioned that I haven't read as many "classics" as I'd like to read.
We've been doing this for a few weeks now, and while I've accumulated quite a list of books that I want to read as a result, I'd like to know if there's a book or books that you've always wanted to read, but for one reason or another never got around to it.
Continued Below...
There's an admission I'd like to make. I have very little formal education. I have a high school diploma. I started college in 1978. I was planning on majoring in Electronics Technology. That lasted about six months, and I never returned to college. If I had persisted, you probably wouldn't be reading me here. Had I literally gotten in on the ground floor of personal computing then, as I had envisioned, I'd be retired, rich, or dead from well-financed overindulgence. I have no regrets about my lack of education, though, because where I am now is a good place as a rule. However, since I'm so woefully shy on formal education, I'm also woefully shy on what might be considered "required" reading.
Several comments in the book diaries have led me to believe I need to read Dos Passos. I've always wanted to read all of Shakespeare, but find much of it impenetrable. A major classic on my list is "Don Quixote". I've recently become interested in reading a lot more Sinclair Lewis.
I suppose the reason I've never read the classics is that I've been too busy reading everything else. I have my own "classics", books I consider essential, that have been discussed ad nauseum in prior book diaries, but I've never been terribly interested in the Bronte sisters or Faulkner. I went through my own Russian phase, read all the Russian classics and then some. I went through a Roman phase. I read many books on ancient Egypt. I attached myself to Herman Hesse for a while. I went through a Gore Vidal period. But it's not precisely a well-rounded reading history.
What book or books have you always wanted to read, but just haven't gotten around to doing it? What classic, history, science, popular fiction is on your list? What classics do you consider classics? What have the book diaries inspired you to read?
And, as always, what have you read lately?