Classics Club Survey

As a new member of the Classics Club I have been asked to answer this super long survey. Read it if you dare (or at least peruse it, if you want.)

50 Club Questions: 

1. Share a link to your club list.  Here it is. I have a feeling it will be pretty fluid for a few months while I settle on what I really want to read.
2. When did you join The Classics Club? How many titles have you read for the club? I actually started reading the classics when I became a high school librarian in 2005 because I realized how woefully illiterate I was about them. I have added a few of these titles onto my list. I've read 24 of the 56 books on my list.:)
3. What are you currently reading? I am currently not reading a "classic" but I am just finishing up GO SET A WATCHMAN which we know Harper Lee wrote before TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
4. What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it? The Last classic I read was The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. It was surprisingly good.
5. What are you reading next? Why? I want to read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston next because I have the audiobook in my library collection and I read the first 50 pages years ago and want to finish it.
6. Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why? One Hundred Years of Solitude. I really got into the book and had fabulous discussions with my husband about it.
7. Book you most anticipate (or, anticipated) on your club list? Something by Charles Dickens.
8. Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding, if any? Why? Frankenstein.
9. First classic you ever read? When I was young I read a whole bunch of classics in the Young Readers Abridged versions of books. As an adult I thought I had read the books but realized I had read such highly abridged versions they hardly counted. I think Little Women was the first classic I read unabridged but it was so long ago I want to read it again.
10. Toughest classic you ever read? As much as I love Jane Austen, I really struggled with Emma.
11. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry? Inspired- Les Miserables. Scared- One Hundred Years of Solitude. Made Me Cry- Sense and Sensibility. Made me angry- Lolita.
12. Longest classic you’ve read?  Les Miserables. Longest classic left on your club list? The Count of Monte Cristo or Great Expectations or Middlemarch.
13. Oldest classic you’ve read? Oldest classic left on your club list? Too lazy to look this up. Sigh.
14. Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read — or, the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any? Don't laugh. I love the biography of Beatrix Potter.
15. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why? Bless Me Ultima, because it would give insights into cultural differences.
16. Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any? I have the Barnes and Noble complete set of Jane Austen novels. I love them because they all match and are hard covers. I also have a classic copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which has a publishers boo-boo. I don't think it makes the book valuable but I think it is quaint.
17. Favorite movie adaption of a classic? The Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, duh.
18. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film. I really don't pay attention to books made into films so I am not expert enough to answer.
19. Least favorite classic? Why? A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway. I hated that book...boring.
20. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read. Faulkner; Dickens; Dumas; Kafka; Rushdie
21. Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why? As I Lay Dying by Faulkner, not sure if excites is the right word but I need to read some Faulkner, don't I?
22. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving? I read Huck Finn as a kid and thought it was just OK. Then I listened to the audiobook a few years ago and LOVED it.
23. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head? I often think about any and all of Austen's heroines.
24. Which classic character most reminds you of yourself? Anne Elliott from Persuasion, because I am always thought of as the serious, practical person. 
25. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like? Elizabeth Bennet, she is plucky.
26. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend? My best friend is my husband. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Col. Brandon from Sense and Sensibility. He rescued me from a series of bad boyfriends. He is very considerate and kind but also calm and mature. Just like Col. Brandon, who read poetry with Marianne even though it made him uncomfortable, Don will listen to audiobooks with me even though it is not his thing. He is also a colonel in the National Guard.
27. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why? I honestly feel like I am doing this right now reading Go Set a Watchman which is essentially a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. It is making me think. In a lot of ways I wish the book were never published.
28. Favorite children’s classic? Is this a classic---A Wrinkle in Time. I loved that book as a kid. I also really liked Little Women. 
29. Who recommended your first classic? The librarian at my 6th grade told me about A Wrinkle in Time. Hooray for librarians.
30. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.) Christine F. and Kristin K.--- both are classics instructors and really understand literature. If they tell me a book is good, it is good.
31. Favorite memory with a classic? One Hundred Years of Solitude. My husband and I really delved into the book together and it was a bonding experience.
32. Classic author you’ve read the most works by? Austen. I have read everything by her except some of her juvenilia.
33. Classic author who has the most works on your club list? Austen, again. I read three of her books, or maybe four since becoming a librarian, the others before.
34. Classic author you own the most books by? Austen, again. Can you tell I am a fan, a true Janite?
35. Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?) Hiroshima by Hershey. I think I will go back and add it but haven't done it yet.
36. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven’t yet read, since you can’t do this experiment on an author you’re already familiar with. :) Or, which author’s work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way? I think I will lump all the Bronte sisters together for this answer. I've only read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I want to read all of Charlotte's books and something by Anne.
37. How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy? Eight. I love rereading Austen's novels and look forward to rereading Little Women.
38. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish? Clockwork Orange. Ugh.
39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving? Haven't I already answered this question? One Hundred Years of Solitude.
40. Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature? The Classics spin. I love participation on a time-line. It helps. (One out of five things.)
41. Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? I am going to read more classic poetry.
42. Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? Never say never. We'll see what this school year brings in terms of reading the classics. I doubt very much I will ever read Atlas Shrugged, but who knows.
43. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club? The Spin and knowing there are people out there who love classics, too.
44. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs? Pass. I need to spend some time figuring out other bloggers who are are members.
45. Favorite post you’ve read by a fellow clubber? Pass.
46. If you’ve ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you’ve participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? the best title you’ve completed? a fond memory? a good friend made? I have hosted classics read-a-longs but as far as I know only one friend followed a long and she isn't a blogger. I liked having a book in common with someone else.
47. If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why? A mystery, I think. Something by Agatha Christie perhaps.
48. How long have you been reading classic literature? As long as I've been reading methinks. 
49. Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn’t love, lists, etc. -One Hundred Years of Solitude; Bless Me Ultima; A Woman in White; Mansfield Park; A Confederacy of Dunces.
50. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!) Can't think of a single question.