Does anyone out there read Classics for pleasure?

I've read most of them, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and also Homer especially the Iliad and quite a few of the Roman and Greek classics - in translation I hasten to add.

I started reading the 'penguin' editions of classics that were quite cheap, I think there were a few other publishers who did something similar. I ended up having read pretty much ALL of Dickens and Thomas Hardy with the odd classic from other authors thrown in for comparison. I remember thinking how odd it was to discover a love for literature now when it interested me not on jot when I was at school. My conclusion was that actually Dickens and hardy address similar themes and even had similar experiences (particularly in their love-lives which Hardy obsesses over), but the main difference is that Dickens is a optimistic romantic whereas Hardy is a hopeless pessimist who begrudges his characters any joy whatsoever. Give me Dickens over Hardy any day....

You are talking to a Jane Austin and Charles Dickens fan. When I get bored and am not doing anything I will read one of their books. They are better then the movies, except for Sense and Sensibility. It was almost as good as the book. I did used to read a lot of classics when I was in high school. I also love Agatha Christie, but I guess that is not really a classical writer.

I was never "forced to read Shakespeare in High School but I did read him a lot afterward. I just finished watching the Oliver Twist movie on Mahhhsterpiece Theatahh on PBS and it was great. So I got the Roman Polanski Version from the Library and it sucked. So just today I picked up the book and will be reading it soon. I have never read Dickens before and to be honest, I didn't know the story of Nollie until seeing these two movies. Since the book is almost always better than the book I like to see a movie first and then read the book. It's easier to picture what is going on that way too. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/dickens/homeimages/featured_twist.jpg

I think that regardless of when one has read the book if it's a good book it's worth another few reads. Even more, if it's a really good book. I think I have read "The Great Gatsby" Out of school, and I've read some of Romeo and Juliet. I enjoy Sherlock Holmes, even though I don't think I've read any of Sherlock in school, I did read the author, and if anything an excerpt in the literature books. I remember in school going through and reading some of the things when I was bored, mostly I'd do this at the beginning of the school year.

Well I am still in highschool so i am forced to read many of the classics and really do not like them at all. I think that the language and style that they use is very hard to understand. I much prefer to read more modern and fictional books, like the Twilight Series. There are SOME of the classics that i did enjoy, but really it all depends on the book, or author. I've never really been a big reader.

Yes, I loved "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. This was the first book that I had read that did not go over the top with romance as some of the Jane Austen novels do, and it portrayed women in a rather positive light for the time period that the book took place in.

i am a history fanatic and love anything historical and to that end, i typically only read non fiction but have taken to reading some classics. i just finished a great canadian classic by hugh mclennan called barometer rising. (its about the explosion in halifax in 1917.)

There was once a time when I enjoyed reading classics, Aurone, and I'm sure I would still enjoy them if I wasn't so hooked on the genre fiction that I continue to buy. I promise myself every month that I will curtail my book buying - only to find that I've ordered several more books without giving it much thought. I am considering renewing my relationship with the local library because my love of books is eating me out of a house and home!

no. i never enjoyed them and when forced to read them it was even worse. i just am not into those kinds of books and avoided them at all costs. i love to read, don't get me wrong but i enjoy modern fiction, autobiographies of people i am interested in as well as bigraphies and non-fiction on subjects of interest as well.

There are some classics that I had to read for some classes, or something. I must admit that there were some classics that I enjoyed reading. I didn't enjoy all of them, there were a few that I wasn't really a fan of. But still, there were some that I had fun reading, even though it was for a class. I think that this is what got me interested in reading more of the classics on my own time. So, in my case, it's a bit of both. It's partly for classes, and partly for my own pleasure.

I read George Elliot for pleasure. She is a really talented author. I absolutely love all her books. You can legally download them from the Internet. I happen to have a hardcover with 4 of her books. I got it on sale at the book store. Why such an awesome book hit the sale rack, I'll never know. I really recommend anyone who likes good deep stories to read some of her works.

I love to read classics. I am quite surprised that lots of people here don't like classics. I love Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Dickens, Jane Austen, Cervantes, Ayn Rand, etc., I am not a literature student and I read classics purely because I like it. I read contemporary books too and I toggle between different styles every now and then. I also believe lots of people do it too. Have a nice day!

jane austin and stuff is quite old now not to mention girly...anyways no one has much time nowadays to read all that

Believe it or not I didn't read many classics when I was younger and since my mother didn't care to read never encouraged me to read classics ...heck she just plain didn't encourage to read period...LOL. It wasn't until only a few years ago I started reading classics and loved them---one of these days I hope to "tackle" Les Miserables"--which is only about 60,000 pages long....heehee (okay not THAT long, but long)

Hi Aurone, we were forced to read classics for our literature classes. However I still find them entertaining; I've enjoyed reading classics like Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare's stories and so forth. They are hard to find though - not in bookstores, maybe in libraries.

no...i think you are special as you are doing this....who like's books and that too mentioned one