WHICH CLASSIC SHOULD YOU START WITH?

[@alexandrahope8814]

I love the look of the editions of the classics you're holding up... very pretty

[@BookBreak]

+Teresa Thevercad they are the Macmillan collectors library (there are lots of links to more info in the description box) and they are lovely aren't they! I love the shade of blue ^_^ - Jean

[@buchdrache1409]

@@BookBreak They are lovely, but beware...a few of them are abridged, so do some research before buying. That is what is stopping me. You can check out EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY CLASSICS too. Those editions are gorgeous, unabridged and bigger.

[@cat.733]

My personal favourites at the moment are The Count of Monte Cristo, The Picture of Dorian Grey and Tess of the D’Urbevilles. Admittedly I still have plenty more to read - very excited for Crime and Punishment!

[@danawinchell4036]

Your accent is very refreshing! Thank you

[@ABearandaBeeBooks]

I absolutely love Wuthering Heights and The Great Gatsby. For children’s classics, I really enjoy The Secret Garden, The Wizard of Oz and Black Beauty. There are so many to choose from!

[@MatheusPaes92]

My favorite classic is The Sorrows of Young Werther, by Goethe. I also love Elective Affinities and I'm preparing myself to start reading Faust. A more modern classic that I worship is Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse. It's such an AMAZING book. Also, I adore The Tin Drum, by Gunther Grass. It is fair to say that I am a big fan of German literature. Other classics that I also love are Germinal, by Émile Zola; Dom Casmurro, by Machado de Assis (Brazilian author); Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse; 1984 and Animal Farm, by George Orwell; Dubliners, by James Joyce; Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann; The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde; and Bartleby, the Scrivener, by Herman Melville. By the way, loved the video!!!

[@michelles7601]

Matheus Paes I am currently reading The Sorrows of Young Werther! It actually is a shame that I haven't read many German classics so far although I am German...

[@benparrish6157]

I’m currently reading gone with the wind and i am absolutely loving it. I’ve read 100 pages of it this weekend (which for a classic, is impressive for me)

[@KirstyWardBooks]

This is such a fantastic way of recommending classics. I have delved into a few classics over the years, but haven't read many of the ones listed in this video. I definitely have to read some of these soon :D

[@BookBreak]

Thanks! I thought it would make a fun and accessible entry point especially. Sometimes it's just about getting over that first hurdle. And that's the thing about classics right, there are so many you can have read 100s and still have so many more to try ^_^ - Jean

[@charlottesreadsthings211]

my two absolute favourites are Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. The characters Dickens creates are so fascinating and I love the themes running through GE. As for The Great Gatsby, I challenge you to find anything more beautiful.

[@BookBreak]

Great Expectations has been on my to be read list for ashamedly long without my having gotten to it - I really do need to prioritise it ^_^ - Jean

[@ANoteToSelf]

Charlottesreadsthings yesssssss those are at the top of my list too! Jekyll and Hyde is very good as well!

[@sssakkk]

Dystopian recommendation: 1984 by George Orwell

[@BookBreak]

+Sarah Kenyon a classic that defines the word itself 😉 - Jean

[@srishtishetty8578]

I'm currently reading it, and its turning out to be really good

[@royaevereadsbooks]

I'd always been intimidated by Crime and Punishment without ever knowing what it was about, not what I expected at all! Wanna read it so bad now haha

[@BookBreak]

It's that title aha - it just sounds intimidating. But that plot right?! I hope you enjoy it ^_^ - Jean

[@nerdyempress6745]

I love the Macmillan collection. I’ve got over 20 of them.

[@thelittlemrs]

Great suggestions and very beautiful books :)

[@StarstruckFerSure]

I love BBC Sherlock, Elementary, Mr. Holmes, have even read various Sherlock stories from other authors....have grown up loving mysteries. I have absolutely no idea why I haven't read the original stories yet. I even have a copy sitting on my shelf staring at me. I must remedy that soon!

[@BookBreak]

:O :O :O You are seriously missing out! I understand that these things happen but now you have no excuse aha. I know you have a copy! Might I also recommend the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes television series if you can get a hold of it ^_^ it is spectacular. - Jean

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

As soon as you said LOTR I was like "she's gonna recommend the Odyssey" so that was great haha. I (shamefully) haven't read Sherlock Holmes yet but I want to read A Study in Scarlet soon! Picking a favorite classic is difficult but my top list is Sense and Sensibility, A Room With a View, North and South, Far From the Madding Crowd, Jane Eyre and Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Daniel Deronda Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing 😃

[@BookBreak]

Haha you know me so well ;). I hope you enjoy your first foray into Holmes and Watson's world - there is no literary duo I love more. Also that is an excellent list - a few I haven't read but will remember I need to. - Jean

[@thelittlemrs]

I started reading classics when I was 13, Jane Eyre. I'm now 40 and reading Pride & Prejudice for the first time :D

[@BookBreak]

Ohhhh I hope you love it!

[@thevastnessoftime]

Great video Jean! I need to get one of these books, they are beautiful! I think my favourite classic is Pride & Prejudice, but I've mostly read modern classics so far (my fave is Steppenwolf), I really need to read some older ones..

[@BookBreak]

Thank you! A beautiful edition makes the classic all the more exciting right aha. Pride and Prejudice is one of the Austen's I still haven't read, I think I'm unintentionally saving it for last :). The older the better! - Jean

[@thevastnessoftime]

It really does! Hate when classics have boring/ugly covers. Haha well I hope you like it when you do read it! P&P is actually the only one of hers I've read, I need to read the other ones as well! Should probably start with Sense & Sensibility though since I already own that one..

[@aichk7786]

What a fantastic video! Oh! Subbed!

[@BookBreak]

Welcome!! -Emma

[@aichk7786]

@@BookBreak thank you so much

[@sarahschadler886]

Great video, Jean :) I love how you compared Lord of the Rings to The Odyssey - never thought of that before, but it's so obvious 😇 and two of my favourite classics are Jane Eyre and Mrs Dalloway 😊

[@BookBreak]

Thanks! As soon as it occurred to me I was like OF COURSE, the epic journey! I love Jane Eyre as well but have yet to get to Mrs Dalloway, soon! - Jean

[@inessamaria2428]

Jane Austen is amazing!

[@OliviaIsNaff]

I have a plethora of classics gathering dust on my bookshelf but have yet to start any. I'm worried I'm not going to understand what is happening... I'm an avid reader but know writing style is different in many of the classic compared to what it is today and don't want to miss out.

[@BookBreak]

If it helps, now this completely depends on the classic, I didn't fully understand the first classics I read. Take Shakespeare - 1/5 of the words went over my head but that's ok. I mean, just beginning to read adult books as a child was similar. It was a different time so different language is to be expected but you can more often than not infer from the context. Trying and growing is such a satisfying experience as well. Getting to know the classics bring so much more meaning to contemporary art because there are hidden references everywhere :). Jane Austen although they speak far more formally doesn't use much different actual language/words that aren't used today so she is good to begin with. Things like the Odyssey because they are translated from an ancient language if you just get a recent edition the translation will be closer to contemporary language because that's what is has been translated into. Sherlock Holmes is absolutely grand! So easy to read even if the mannerisms take some getting used to. Some classics are from the 20th century (Holmes edged in there) like H.G. Wells so it's not going to be old english. I hope that helps! Good luck! - Jean x

[@Fortheloveofclassics]

Favorite classic at the moment: Middlemarch by George Eliot!

[@abulkalam2671]

Yes I love the look of the books you have in the video. Where can I purchase these? Sorry I know you should not judge a book by it’s cover, but I love to have prity books especially if I love the story sad ☹️ I know. Ah the link is in the description thank you 😊

[@BookBreak]

There are links to buy in the description box :)

[@samfdsd2134]

Macmillan collectors library's books are really beautiful, are they expensive? i'm not in UK

[@powerfrenzy]

But of course, The Count of Monte Cristo. The thrilling revenge/adventure/suspense story.

[@ceetheninja1]

Hi! Thanks for this vid. I love to read the classics! I want to purchase this collection but would you have a review on the font size of the text? I'm hearing mixed reviews in Amazon about the format and typos in some of these books. I'm interested in getting Wuthering Heights. Thanks in advance!

[@ReadEatGameRepeat]

Great video!! I always want to read more classics but I rarely know where to start :P will try looking into some of these for sure :P For my recommendation One Classic that I really enjoyed is relatively unknown (only 9 reviews on Goodreads haha) is Sapphire by Patricia Matthews - usually I don't enjoy romance novels that much, but balancing out all the romancy stuff is adventure and the international Jewel Trade - about a Woman (regina) who aspires to become one of the worlds top Jewelers :)

[@BookBreak]

I think it's just about taking that plunge and if the first one your try doesn't suit you giving something else a chance because they are all so different ^_^ it's ok not to love them all aha. I had never heard of Sapphire before but it sounds blooming fantastic - like a mix between Sherlock Holmes and Jane Austen. Thanks for sharing! - Jean

[@holyfrancis]

[concerning the macmillan collector's library editions:] Does the text suffer from the book's size? --> Is it a nice font? are the letters big enough? etc. I want to buy Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and these editions seem to be extremely good value, but I couldn't find any answers to these questions. Can anybody help me out? Thank you~

[@Robeeh2]

I'll take them all!

[@BookBreak]

Aha get that list out to your friends and family in time for your next gifting holiday ;) - Jean

[@Robeeh2]

I like your thinking Jean!x

[@asdismaria7316]

I love Jane Austen books

[@BookBreak]

Me too!

[@ABearandaBeeBooks]

My current favorite classics are Little Women and Sense and Sensibility! Do you happen to know how many books in this collection are abridged? I know The Count of Monte Cristo is.

[@MarielHn]

I would like a horror, thriller or psychological classic

[@superiorvenacarva8894]

Maybe Dracula or Frankenstein

[@abdulhalimdahir8534]

Hello there.Thanks for the review, just wanna know the quality of paper??

[@LAndL857]

Your link to the complete library doesn't work :(

[@PradoRenata]

Hi! I would like to know if these book are printed on acid-free paper. Can you tell me? Thanks!

[@GeorgeMillerUSA]

_Heart of Darkness_ and _Animal Farm_ is the first classics I've read. And believe me it's rather draining than fun to read.

[@mtoad]

I don't believe you.

[@AndreMonz]

George Miller Animal Farm is a breeze compared to Heart of Darkness. Both are great tho!

[@ThatReadingGuy28]

Daniel Fletcher I totally agree. It’s so nuanced and complex, I’m still not sure what I think about it.

[@verucasalt4535]

A good classic for sci fi geeks is War of the Worlds by H G Wells.

[@nutshellreadsandwrites]

I really need to read the Sherlock Holmes stories. I think one of my favourite classic is I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith

[@BookBreak]

You do you really really do ;). I haven't read I Capture the Castle but I only hear good things! - Jean

[@tuyetsoi4672]

may i ask does this edition of Sherlock Holmes comes with the original illustration (by Sidney Paget) or not? Thank you

[@BookBreak]

It does indeed ^_^ - Jean

[@BookBreak]

Hi Tuyết, both of the Sherlock Holmes books featured in this video from our Macmillan Collector's Library come with original illustrations by Sidney Paget. Hope this helps!

[@wallyjm4037]

The Odyssey- Maybe the best ever. Telemaco´s voyage its simple okey. The stories about Ulisses navigations are wonderful, they are part of the Western cultural heritage forever. However, the episodes about Ulysses coming back are the utmost achievement of universal literaure. They are poetical, touching, ferocious and passionate. And please, never forgive "El Quijote". I am sorrowful for all the English speakers forgetting all the amazing jewels of Spanish Literature. And thank you very much for your video it is very interesting.

[@BookBreak]

The Odyssey is certainly a cornerstone of Western literature! We love Don Quixote too - it is very well known here, and certainly not forgotten. Did you know Miguel de Cervantes died on the same day as William Shakespeare?

[@wallyjm4037]

Yes, I did, this is the date on we celebrate in Spain "the day of the book" . And please, let me apologize for being so distrustful about your knowing about Don Quixote. I am glad to see that I was so wrong. Regarding Shakespeare, wow!!! He is amazing, I love Henry´s speech "Today is St Crispin day ..." , Romeo and Julieta, Othello, ... I have no words ... Thank you very much.

[@ThatReadingGuy28]

I really wanna get to Don Quixote! Sounds awesome!

[@nathaliakinsey8113]

Jane eyre !

[@BookBreak]

+Nathalia Kinsey I can completely support you on that; I adore Jane Eyre. - Jean :)

[@laurencooke6438]

Little women by Louisa May Alcott

[@esraakhalid5538]

Great video! Where are you from ?

[@esraakhalid5538]

Are those books abridged?

[@mradonis252]

these are just a few good classic reads, All the works of Jules Verne, The Canterbury Tales, The Iliad, King Solomon's Mines and Sailing Alone Around The World by Joshua Slocum might just scrape in to being a classic.

[@BookBreak]

A few more is always good; thanks for the recommendations! I've only read The Iliad from your list but The Canertbury Tales has been on my list for a while, a couple I haven't heard much about at all - will have to do some research ;) - Jean

[@alexoglitter2700]

Pride & Prejudice, hands down!

[@derbuchhandel]

Bookstore Berlin Germany

[@levancereed9879]

ok so i'm a rookie, and my dream is to become a true academic within the literature realm is this the route I want to go. I want to be able to control a classroom with me teaching about these books one day. can you help me. or someone. Where to start what to read... Please beautiful people I really need a in dept comment.

[@BookBreak]

Hi Levance, I hope our video has given you a few ideas, for more why don't you check out the link to the Macmillan Collector's Library range in the video description. We make bookish videos every Thursday, so we're on hand to give you more ideas for reading material every week.

[@ThatReadingGuy28]

A list of authors to read: Ray Bradbury, Shakespeare, Jack London, Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Gustave Flaubert, Alexandre Dumas, Franz Kafka, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf, Jane Auston, William Faulkner, Joseph Heller, John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Oscar Wilde, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, the three Brontë sisters, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Sinclair Lewis, Vlad Nabokov, Joseph Conrad, CS Lewis, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, etc Look on this website and read the books, love the books 🥰 thegreatestbooks.org

[@cloudbusting88]

Wuthering Heights!

[@BookBreak]

I have to confess I only managed the first say 1/4 - one day I'll give it another stab, it may require the right reading mood :) - Jean

[@elusiobrasileiroadelima3439]

Are these books abridged? they're so small.

[@BookBreak]

Nope not at all :) they just have thin paper - nice and transportable aha - Jean

[@karamorai9679]

I give a thumzab