Top Ten Tuesdays #7: Top Ten Classics I'm Guilty of Never Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

So this week's list is technically Top Ten Favorite Classics but I did exactly that on Freebie Week not too long ago. Instead, I'm going to do my own spin on the classics theme. Having been an English literature major, I've read a lot of classics. However, there's a lot out there that I'm guilty of never having read. Some of these I don't really plan on reading, others have been sitting in my TBR for much longer than I've been calling it a "TBR" list.

 

I'm not going to link back to Goodreads like I usually do - partially because I'm feeling a little lazy today but mostly because if you haven't heard of these books, you should probably consider coming out from under the rock you've been hiding under.

 

 

  

Top Ten Classics I'm Guilty of Never Reading

 

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - I've also never read Huckleberry Finn. It's terrible I know. I was in my crap-tastic school production of Tom Sawyer in fifth grade though so that counts for something, no? What makes it worse is neither of these have even made it to my TBR list.

 

2. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I think I was supposed to read this my sophomore year in high school but I read the sparknotes instead. I blame The Grapes of Wrath. That was part of my required summer reading that year and I absolutely hated it. It gave me a stigma against John Steinbeck which I still haven't gotten over.

 

3. Dracula by Bram Stoker - During my teenage Twilight-induced vampire phase (don't judge, you know you had one too) I meant to read this. After all, what's a vampire phase without reading the penultimate vampire novel that started it all? Answer: a pretty lame one with sparkling vampires and terrible female protagonists. Dracula is still deep in my TBR though. He doesn't sparkle.

 

4. Every Jane Austen book besides Pride and Prejudice -  I've only read Pride and Prejudice and I only read it because I liked the Kiera Knightley movie version. I've heard the Colin Firth version is better but I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. I own a really pretty leather bound copy of Jane Austen's complete works and I've been to the Jane Austen Museum in England but I've only read one of her books. I'm thinking Sense and Sensibility will be my next Austen read whenever I decide that will be.

 

5. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - I feel really bad for never reading this. It was never part of my school required reading for some reason. I really should read it though.

 

6. 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell - I've never read George Orwell period. Again, it was never part of my required reading. And to think, I took all honors and AP courses - you'd think they'd at leat cover the basics. But, apparently not. 1984 at least is still on my TBR though.

 

7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I started reading this in high school but, you know, who reads what they're supposed to in high school? Well, I did most of the time but somehow, this one didn't make the cut. I think I read about half of it before I stopped. I blame my teacher though for showing us a terrible movie version of it before we read it in class. I mean, really, why would you start the movie by panning over to Gatsby's dead body? And for a group of kids who've clearly never read it, why would you automatically spoil the ending for them? Bad calls all around that was.  

 

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - This is really bad, I know I saw some movie adaptation of this (I think Wynona Rider is in it? Could be wrong) but I don't remember it at all so I don't even know what Little Women is about. Besides women, of course, who may or may not be of the vertically challenged nature. But yeah, I literally could not give you even the most basic of plot points for this book. I know there's a character named Jo though so that's something at least, no?

 

9. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - I've seen so so soooooo many adaptations of this story that reading the book never actually occurred to me until just this past Christmas. Maybe I'll read it some day but I'm in no rush.

 

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - **cowers from all the incredulous stares** I know!! I know!! So many people in the bookish community love and rave and gush about this book and I've never read it! Of all the classics I've listed so far, this one weighs most on my conscience. I just feel as if it's such a loved book that carries so much meaning for so many people that I'm almost afraid to read it in case I'm disappointed. I also feel like I'll need a lot of mental preparation to read this. I definitely plan to read this sometime this year.

 

 

Is there a classic that you feel guilty for never having read yet?

Or do you think there's something on my list that I should really get to?

Let me know!