Unpopular Opinion: 5 Classic Books That I Didn't Love

Mike talks about 5 literary classics that he doesn't get the hype for and the unpopular opinions attached to it.
0:00 Introduction and Rules
3:03 Book #1
4:21 Book #2
6:49 Book #3
8:41 Book #4
10:48 Book #5
12:17 Final Thoughts
Want to send Mike something? You can do so to the below address:
Mike K.
15201 Mason Rd
Suite 169
Cypress, TX 77433
Support Mike on Patreon: / mikesbookreviews
Join Mike's server on Discord / discord
Visit Mike's Amazon Wishlist: amzn.to/2zpHooW
Follow Mike on Goodreads: / mikesbookreviews
Follow Mike on Twitter: / zepp1978
Like Mike's Book Reviews on Facebook / mikesbookreviews
Follow Mike on Instagram / zepp1978
Follow Mike on TikTok / zepp1978
------------------------------------------------------
Theme music provided by Infraction
/ @infraction
Music used: Epic (No Copyright Music)
infractionroyaltyfreemusic.ba...
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0(CC BY 3.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
------------------------------------------------------
#MikesBookReviews #UnpopularOpinion #ClassicBooks

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hey bookworms and literary classic lovers! Here are 5 books that seem to be mostly hailed as brilliant and they just didn't click for me. What are some classics you weren't feeling? Hit me in the comments below!

[@locutusdborg126]

Here is an unpopular opinion: the Bible is too long, needs a decent editor, and is definitely the kind of fantasy meant for adults and not YA.

[@jasonvanmeir3978]

I’m not sure if you could call it a classic, but To Kill a Mockingbird is a book I hated even though it seems like everyone likes it.

[@fangs1972]

"The Turn of the Screw" and "Valley of the Dolls." With "Dolls," it's the only book I gave up 60 percent of the way through because the characters were so wretched. I wanted them all to overdose.

[@anushahariharan993]

I couldn't finish Gone with the Wind and Vanity Fair. I didn't like Wuthering Heights.

[@baatile]

I couldn’t finish To Kill A Mockingbird. I will try again another time.

[@egggnome6266]

My high school book report on Moby Dick I wrote, 'After bobbing around on the ocean for around a hundred chapters'. I got a 'D' and was told, "You obviously didn't read the book." And I countered with, "I think it's pretty obvious that I did." :)

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha ha, classic!

[@farhad_s]

It's been a while since I've read Moby Dick but I remember enjoying the book. But I absolutely love this comment!

[@paperbackstash7267]

That's hilarious. I haven't read it yet. Almost everyone I know says the same thing -- boring pages and chapters describing things that don't need to be described.

[@egggnome6266]

@@paperbackstash7267 I probably should read it again. I was 15 at the time, forty-five years may have seasoned my brain to be a bit more accepting. I mean, I could have just been distracted by other things. :)

[@racewiththefalcons1]

A lot of old books described certain practices in great detail, like whaling and seafaring, because it was the only way for readers to experience those things without actually doing them personally. There was no TV or internet, so reading about how to rig a sail or whatever _was_ the adventure. My, how things have changed.

[@aidanparsons2669]

I can’t put my finger on it, but love the Great Gatsby. I know I like the symbolism, the vocabulary, and the setting.

[@Swampratatta]

i like it too, i feel Fitzgerald really captured that era well. a weird sense of nostalgia for something that we never experienced.

[@gaberodriguez4023]

I've noticed that reviews of CATCHER IN THE RYE tend to fall into two distinct camps. 50% of readers say "I seriously could not stand Holden. The entire book is him complaining. What a pretentious, obnoxious, self-absorbed teenager!" And the other 50%, which includes myself, say "I WAS Holden Caufield! This was exactly my life when I was 16!" I can understand why it isn't for everyone, but I have always connected with it. I was the same age as Holden when I read it, and was going through many of the same issues.

[@mr.teekanee9750]

I was not Holden but I liked him and the book.

[@tsav32]

Gabe Rodriguez, you nailed it on the head! I could not have said it any better. 👍

[@bschuler6216]

Yup. I have a friend who read The Catcher In The Rye in his mid-20's, and he hated it. I read it in my mid-teens, and I loved it. I reread it in I think my late 20's, and it definitely did not resonate as much.

[@reginaldforthright805]

I remember thinking it was gross and disturbing but I’ve forgotten all the details.

[@Cripplerzeist]

I’ve never related more strongly to a character.

[@5thkiechannel]

Just came here to make sure that Picture of Dorian Grey is still safe 🥰

[@vectorgamer8967]

Is it good ?

[@5thkiechannel]

@@vectorgamer8967 very

[@daviesfed]

@@vectorgamer8967 Its good. 4 out of 5 stars. Not great. Even if everything was perfect just chapter 11 was enough to lower the ranking.

[@hikethemike7349]

I think the "boredom" of the warfare is what kept me interested in these novels. The tension and the tight bonds between the characters in these horrible situations is really fascinating to me.

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

I actually was really into “The Old Man and the Sea”. He tried to catch a huge fish, sharks ate it, he goes home, gets fist bumps from his neighbors and he goes to sleep. A story of trying, nearly succeeding and failing in the end. It was cool. But I can’t re-read it too much, it feels kind of heavy. I can understand why it wasn’t for you though, it is very simplistic.

[@edosaomoruyi1]

Keep doin you man! Even if people get upset as long as you can back up your opinion it is what it is lol

[@mikesbookreviews]

I always will. Thanks for watching!

[@mrssamwisegamgee]

Omg I'm actually shocked All Quiet on the Western Front is on your list!! I'm not that big of a reader and I was absolutely sucked in by that book and even cried quite a few times while reading it. It's one of those books I frequently recommend to people!

[@stipser1]

also about all the parts he said aren't fun to read, i don't thhink that book is supposed to be enjoyable to read

[@mopete9830]

I read that one in high school and was so board I couldn't keep up with the plot might have been a good audiobook but I only had paper options then.

[@taylorholden9574]

Just finished Great Gatsby for the second time. I remember loving it in high school even though I usually hate 1920s literature. I loved it even more the second time 😂. Each their own 🤷🏼‍♀️ I wouldn’t call it genius, but it’s simply entertainment.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hey, it’s an unpopular opinion for a reason. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@staceyb.5878]

I love the Great Gatsby too, even more as an adult

[@tiananesbitt7156]

A great fuss. Tragic romance at heart. Had a fun book group.

[@RayBlake]

"Of Mice and Men" often crops up in the English syllabus here in the UK. Teachers of English love it, mostly, I suspect, becasue it is short. This is indeed its chief virtue, I believe.

[@kellylewis6060]

IT TOOK ME A WEEK TO READ THAT DUMPSTER FIRE. And I am a fast reader. I can read a THOUSAND pages in a day or two. I can't stand that book.

[@isabelamer86]

I can't get through any Steinbeck.

[@reginaldforthright805]

@@kellylewis6060 I can read 10000 pages a second with 99% recall. What can I say it’s a gift.

[@angelaholmes8888]

@@kellylewis6060 you I didn't like it either

[@GreeneZonee]

The like button is so automatic at this point lol I don't even watch before I hit it. Mike keep it up! You are my favorite bootuber and can't wait to see the growth you will continue to earn!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks, my friend.

[@JJJKKK445]

Here's the thing with these books that I have noticed (and many other classics), because they where written in different times, obviously the themes will greatly differ from the current themes being explored in literature and what is relatable now, would probably not have been relatable 50 years ago, because the world was different. Think of the way fantasy has evolved over the years and take into account the fact that modern fantasy is all about characters, individuality, authenticity, mental illness, diversity, because that is what we "need" them to be about, those are the struggles of our modern lives. These struggles although universal in a way, where not the focal point for let's say the 1920s. I think classic literature can only be really appreciated if we get a bit of perspective on the times they where written in. I still think Gatsby is just an OK book lol.

[@krb23]

I'd quite like some classic reviews from you in the future if you'd be interested, you seem pretty realistic about them. I feel sometimes classics reviews are often a bit pretentious and puts me of reading them.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I’ve shied away from them this far because of how (I apologize for this term as I think it has gotten really ugly) “cancel culture” has treated anything over 50 years old and wants it banned. But I decided this week I’m not going to avoid talking about books that have been popular for 50, 75, 150 years because some folks on the internet get mad that they were a snapshot of the times they were written in. So I’ll very much be doing some in the future. Look for some classic horror reviews this October.

[@Tolstoy111]

The whaling chapters are metaphors and are filled with jokes. It's the closest that the 19th century came to something like Paradise Lost. Moby Dick is really a re-write of Paradise Lost. It's a metaphysical epic. CITR captures that character perfectly. He's a kid and is having a nervous breakdown. You aren't supposed to "like" him but feel pity for him. And Gatsby is clearly revealed to be an empty suit you are supposed to see through him by the end. And it's so lyrical - the writing I mean.

[@avantgardenovelist]

thank you for saying it so I didn't have to. this dude is shallow af.

[@itsallgoodman4108]

Exactly. It remixes the bible and paradise lost into a myth of the origins of American capitalism

[@Tolstoy111]

@@itsallgoodman4108 but it also transcends the merely political

[@jstrange1]

Since high school, I've made an effort to read every year a half dozen of the classics we all know and avoid. I don't expect to enjoy them - but I often do - because it's more of a personal goal to read them. I don't want to end a year just having read books with spaceships, elves, and magic - because I would. So I try to diversify; and if that means the occasional clunker ...

[@christopherrousseau1173]

Try reading Colleen McCollough's Master of Rome series... That is much different from Fantasy, being a Historical Fiction about the fall of Rome and the Rise of Gaius Julius Caesar (He is born at the end of the first book). That is something different for you...

[@zyonhenderson67]

Bro okay this is hillarious. Just the other day I was going through my book collection to sell to half price right? Saw catcher in rye in this big ol pile and thought " Man I remember snoozing on this book, was always boring to read". Now a day later and you post video on it 🤣

[@mikesbookreviews]

Funny thing is I just came up with the idea when reorganizing some books and saw that paperback.

[@oswin5775]

The Old Man and the Sea was a total drag. It didn't help that I had to read it in quarantine and discuss it over zoom with other bored students 😂

[@pieceofcake5314]

So crazy! I read this book when I was 11, and it blew my mind back then. Just the way he wrote, and coming off of some Dickens, it was a breath of fresh air.

[@IAteFire]

I read it for pleasure and it was fine! Breezed through it and I thought it was a great little character piece. Helps that it's short

[@danielle3308]

that's wrong! I can't believe they kept that book in the lesson plan when yall were stuck in one place too. I always feel like I read that one but I think I read The Open Boat, which is a short story (I think) that felt like it was the size of Moby Dick from how boring it was. It's hard to find a classic written about being on a boat the whole time that isn't boring 😂

[@bschuler6216]

I've never been a Hemingway fan myself.

[@nikkivenable3700]

OMG, I have never ever once heard someone who didn't like The Name of the Wind. I'm 48 and have been a voracious reader my entire life and that book was my first DNF. Yup. I read it 6 years ago and after going through half of it, I just couldn't do it anymore. I felt like a failure because 1) it was the highest rated book from Goodreads on my bookshelf 2) Everyone and their dog loves this book...and many creators who I watch think it's one of the best ever written. So, yeah. I've since let the shame of that go lol and moved on to greener pastures. Mike, thanks for allowing me to feel less alone.

[@JMacNCheese]

The only problem I had with reading these classics is that we had to dissect them and look for deeper meanings. And if your deeper meaning didn't agree with the teacher or professor you were wrong, which is a terrible approach to teaching literature. Books speak to us in different ways. Otherwise I have been throwing a couple of classics into my reading list lately and have been enjoying them...recently finished Anna Karenina and I thought it was enjoyable and I am pretty sure I didn't take anything away from it that the critics would have wanted me to.

[@scottdaniels8129]

Way too many academics teach their(or whomever taught them's) conjecture as fact.

[@colin1818]

There is rarely a more worthless person than an academic.

[@AhmedMohamed-zu8vv]

It's stupid, because the writer dumps his subconscious and conscious experiences into the paper as he's writing, and brilliant writers know how to make their writing universal and touches almost everybody's souls. It's all about human experience, no matter how cliche that sounds. So this teacher's approach is really limited, soulless and stupid

[@climatedeniersbelonginasyl4191]

As long as you include evidence from the text in your essay, you can form your own personal argument. I just finished an english major.

[@ReadwithStefani]

Neither did I like The Great Gatsby, I've read it 3 times trying to figure out what's so great about it but... Still don't get it

[@mikesbookreviews]

It's maddening.

[@KingGiganTitanusROARKing]

Gatsby just isn’t so great

[@QuirkyQuillify]

I get that feeling. You reread thinking, "I must have missed something....."

[@kirstenholmes6]

I totally agree. I picked it up in my quest to read more classics. I wish I didn't waste my time.

[@christopherrousseau1173]

If you didn't find anything redeeming in it the first couple reads, Well I wouldn't have read it a third time.

[@alphamike5362]

Oh my goodness, All Quiet on the Western Front is my favourite book!! I found it really interesting, I loved the interactions and reading about non British soldiers and how normal they are (something glossed over when I was in school in the UK). A shame you didn't enjoy it.

[@pieceofcake5314]

It was an amazing book, agreed. Some first class writing.

[@TiffWaffles]

I loved reading All Quiet on the Western Front. Ironically enough, this book wasn't read as part of any class but my history teacher in high school had us watch a German adaptation (with English closed captioning) and I picked up the book out of curiosity. It's one of my favourite classics but I do know some people who don't like it. Whether it's because of the discussion of war or because the book is told from the perspective of the enemy... I mean, the list goes on. I think that this book is very poignant in the sense that it shows the devastation of war, the questioning of why this war is being fought... Is it worth it when you compare the human tragedy to the words of government officials. It's one of my favourite books of all time... Though not as much of a favourite as Alexandre Dumas' works. Those are lovely to read.

[@piecookies3488]

Ok I love catcher in the rye! I hated reading it so much, but then I was like “oh no.. I’m Holden” And Holden is a big meme boi and i enjoy his shananagans. He is so unlikeable that it became hilarious to see through his eyes.

[@kingma1513]

Thanks for this video. I love discussion on books and your videos... Having said that, I have never boo’d a KZbin video before..... and I did when you said The Old Man and the Sea.... I love the book. Keep rocking your videos mate. Love the content.

[@chrisbronico3667]

I would like if you discuss more classics on a regular basis. Your analysis of the book’s themes and evaluation of the intended commentary of the novels are spot on, effective, and very well articulated. For classics, I think you could do some terrific literary critiques and would enjoy watching them. As far as this list I completely agree with Moby Dick, The Great Gadsby, and The Ild man and the Sea. I did really like the Catcher and the Rye. I haven’t read the other book you discussed. Perhaps my least favorite classic I’ve read so far is probably Brave New World. I understand and appreciate the sentiment being communicated through the story, but I found it so slow, it dragged, and nothing really happened.

[@emmettfitz-hume9408]

"The Catcher in the Rye"- Thank you. I don't know if there is a better example of a literary emperor having no clothes.

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

I always felt like it was “shocking” to hear his foul language in high school so it seemed “deep” and when I’ve read it since, it makes me sad, but also a hair of wishing he’d get over himself a bit.

[@22695750]

Absolute nonsense.. you must have been deaf and blind.. what were you thinking?

[@TrueBagPipeRock]

Heard it was pure nepotism. He was friends with either Kennedy or some other powerful guy. Only reason it made it.

[@tiananesbitt7156]

No big deal. Love the gifted author. Just a journey of a mindful kid. Yeah whatever.

[@09RetsamEdalb]

@@KatieLHall-fy1hw thats fair. It might have been that there was nothing like it at the time which made it good. It's been a couple years since I read it-and it's actually the book that got me into reading as an adult-but I loved how it was just a character study. No plot, just being in someone's head was interesting enough

[@johnjokela7513]

The thing about The Great Gatsby is it pins down the dark side of the American Dream. Like other commenters have pointed out it is full of symbolism, and many people love the way the language evokes the past.

[@delmajima1221]

Fun fact, Moby Dick is Clive Barker's all time favorite novel

[@AnonymousAnonposter]

Based Clive Barker.

[@Andre-vq7zo]

I like to sprinkle in some classics with my fantasy. I personally would be interested in seeing more videos

[@Natalia-ig3gc]

I hate the old man and the sea with a passion... but love the sun also rises. I agree with all of your opinions about those classics. This video made me realize that there's like a 99% chance that if you liked a book, I'm also going to like it. I just pushed all of your fantasy recommendations to the top of my TBR lol

[@christopherdyer2046]

I think not all classics are classic because they were enjoyable there are many important books people should read that they may not like but they are important culturally, socially, philosophically, or historically.

[@sjkrum320]

So I loved The Catcher in the Rye when I read it back in high school, but now as a mature adult, I share many of your thoughts on this one. The classic book that I couldn't get in to was East of Eden. I tried really hard and literally fell asleep every time I tried to listen to it.

[@tsav32]

For me, East of Eden is a top-10 read, but I understand that everyone’s tastes are different.

[@sjkrum320]

@@tsav32 my husband loved it and I liked the movie. I don't know of it was the writing style or what because I really wanted to like it!

[@jorgezavala110]

My favorite book reviewer! You are true to yourself, love the channel

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks for watching!

[@dphunk87]

Hey Mike, love the channel and watch it daily but can not urge you enough to reconsider the intro. The panning of the books is cool but could be slowed down a lot. Thanks for all your work.

[@kingkusnacht]

I actually really liked Catcher in the Rye. I don't think the author's point was to make the character relatable or some kind of secret genius who fails to communicate it. I think it's a dark coming of age story from a teenager who has nobody but himself to blame for his many faults, and mentally lashes out at the world's pretensions instead of taking accountability himself. In fact, it's ironic that a number of infamous criminals misunderstood this book, because they themselves were to blame for their horrible actions, and instead blamed the book and society.

[@harmanpiano]

I loved the waiting parts in The Heroes. I think it can work if the characters are so well written that you want to spend time with them. And I think Abercrombie did that.

[@neogeo3367]

I thought All Quiet on the Western Front was a phenomenonal book, every word of it. Interesting how it reads differently for different people. Love your channel!

[@mikesbookreviews]

While I was talking about it I thought it sounds like I actually like this one. Heh.

[@jeanfish7]

@@mikesbookreviews I read " the rise and fall of the third Reich " footnotes included. Not a novel per say, but god, what a history!

[@yourfbiagent6483]

Jean Fish I’m currently reading that.

[@christopherrousseau1173]

@@jeanfish7 Try reading a different History, which can lead into the Third Reich.. "A World Undone" is an in depth study on World War 1 including many studies on the various different political characters who all F'd up leading up to war. Included are great excerpts, telegram conversations between the Royal families who were all related too. (Czar Nicolas and Kaiser Wilhelm II were cousins) It also goes into great length to discuss the strategy failures of the generals of that era and how they just couldn't understand how artillery had totally changed the complexity of war.

[@papajohnloki]

@@mikesbookreviews Your explanation of what you disliked almost comes off as a recommendation, Almost a "if you want to know the reality of war, then don't read this book because it tells you" vibe

[@22695750]

Catcher in the rye was sublime... I read at 16 and it killed me... was so angry after reading that book... it spoke to me like no other... I carried a dog eared copy in my back pocket for a year afterward.. it blew my mind...

[@postemacgaming]

I read "to the lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf and thought it was the most messy narrative ever. The characters did not feel at all distinct and I never knew which character was saying what or whose thoughts we were following. Only finished it because I forced myself to.

[@TheBookCure]

You almost lost me at The Old Man and the Sea, but you won me back with your appreciation for The Sun Also Rises ;) Some classics that didn’t hit the mark for me: The Sound and the Fury, Peter Pan (didn’t hate, just didn’t love as much as I thought I would), and Little Women. Can’t wait to hear about the classics you loved!

[@pieceofcake5314]

Yeah, that worried me a little - some of the other books, sure, they're subjective, but I can't see how anyone can't appreciate the brilliance of The Old Man and the Sea. William Faulkner is honestly not that great; Little Women was just kinda boring; Peter Pan, I absolutely loved, but I think because of how dark it was in comparison to the Disney version I grew up with, it was a pleasant surprise.

[@senseimatt3097]

Great Video - Catcher in the Rye gave me the heebee geebees. Gatsby was like a window into a world I'm glad I don't live in. I have yet to read Moby Dick, its on my TBR, but I'm interested in what your thoughts are on "A Clockwork Orange" and The Time Machine. Two other "Classics" that I, personally hated for two very different reasons.

[@gh0rochi363]

I love a clock work orange.

[@commandercaleb94]

All Quiet On the Western Front hit me so hard, It made me feel every emotion and in the end I just felt drained but so happy I was able to experience it! Definitely agree with Catcher In the Rye though!

[@comradejimmy7494]

I’m currently reading Moby Dick and enjoying it. It is definitely a dense read with a lot of seemingly unnecessary segments but I think that is what makes it special.

[@marcsmirnoff936]

I think it's the quality of the insights that make it special

[@belleah5562]

Totally agree with your view on Gatsby!!! I actually love the great Gatsby, but I read it as trying to point out how horrible Gatsby and Daisy’s lives are and it flabbergasts me that anyone can actually interpret it as romantic........ Like I enjoyed it because I enjoyed basically how at first everything seems romantic and then it gets darker and more twisted the more depth you get, kind like a thriller.

[@Grimscribe732]

I was right there with you, up until you started talking about Old Man and the Sea - I freaking love that book ^^

[@brittanytanner5516]

I wish you would do a video on the sun also rises! I’m reading it now and would love to hear your thoughts! My first Hemmingway.

[@chelseahenry712]

I feel the same way about all these books! I was forced to read them in high school and I have never really liked books I am forced to read. I wonder if I go back as an adult if I would still not like them lol.

[@Cat_Sidhe]

The Great Gatsby was the only classic (on this list) that I was required to read and I did enjoy it. I think the reason I enjoyed it though was because it was pretty easy compared to other stories so I could breeze through it and not worry about any assignments relating to it. Personally, the reason a lot of classics didn't work for me is because I picked up fantasy books very early and then I just couldn't focus while reading stories like To Kill A Mockingbird. My school library in grade school had The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as some books from the Redwall series so my friends and I would read those while ignoring the things we had to read. Oddly enough my teacher in 8th grade made us read one fantasy novel (The Devil's Door-bell by Anthony Horowitz) as a class. We would take turns reading it out loud during class.

[@barbaralin3053]

I found out your channel today and was quite hooked. After watching a few, i would like to say something about this one. I agree with your view about these classics, but perhaps you didn't quite get The Catcher in the Rye. I think the guy was manic, too, and he was on the verge of breakdown. His beloved teacher tried to help him but in the end it was the guy's sister's love that saved him. I am a school teacher and i feel this story may have come from Salinger's own experience with one of his students. He just tried to write down the story from the point of view of the student, rather than just saying, 'he's under his manic-depressive episode.' This story is unprecedented, so that's why it rated so high.

[@MissTasseled]

I am saddened that people nowadays have such violent reactions to opinions that oppose theirs. You might as well have slapped them in the face, they take it to heart so much. I think there is nothing more fascinating than having a rational discussion on why the two of us might disagree. Who knows, I might learn something new. So, to comment on the video, I chuckled about your experience with Moby Dick, because for some reason I loved those chapters about nothing. Something about methodically going through the minutiae was just comforting and relaxing. I don't know why, especially since I love plot-driven narratives in general. I am yet to read Catcher in the Rye, so I will keep those thought is mind. The Great Gatsby did not sit well with me the first time I read it. I didn't like it at all. But I keep thinking about it and the meaning behind many literary devices and the character relationships, and I am liking it more and more. I would like to reread it now that I am older to see if my opinion changes. I think it's curious how a book's afterimage, so to speak, can alter your feelings about it. But I agree, Gatsby is toxic, and I think that this is the great tragic core of the whole novel which attracts me. The scene where he guides Daisy through his mansion, and then she cries over his fancy shirts really stayed with me as the brilliant example of shallowness and futility of money in relationship to love. Have not real All Quite, but I am reading a lot about WWII in general, so I would like to get to this novel at some point. And yes, I was one of those people who loved The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway just works great in shorter form (couldn't get into For Whom the Bell Tolls). I'm a big sucker for any ending that just punches you in the gut with some nihilistic message about futility, and this books has got it.

[@carolinthegarden6084]

Late to this party but had to give my two cents. Never read Catcher as I think you are right about it being a Hinckley inspired "classic," and I was already out of high school when Lennon was shot. Loved Old Man and the Sea. Agree with you on the others mentioned. However, I did like most of the classics which were required reading through my school years. F. Scott Fitzgerald was the Danielle Steele of his day. To be fair, as a school girl in the late 60s - early 70s, I had to endure the pop poetry craze so The Scarlet Letter was almost therapeutic. Jonathan Livington Seagull and Rod McKuen books have left a permanent scar.

[@bullrun2772]

idk i think tahst such a surface level look for catcher in the rye.

[@esliet]

I have to agree with your choices Catcher in the Rye and Old Man and the Sea, I don’t get the hoopla. I love The Great Gatsby , reread every summer. I guess there’s is something so heartbreaking about Gatsby wanting to recapture the past so much. The whole era is captured so vividly with this book. Great reviews of all though

[@7owllover]

I read the Great Gatsby every summer and get something out of it each time. I read Southern based lit to endure Covid and re-read "To Kill a Mockingbird." Good but not as great as I once thought. I much preferred "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."

[@dh2profit]

In high school we skipped some chapters on the details of whaling. It takes you back to the time and place where the story unfolds. I guess if you didn't want to be in that time and place you may not like that part. I did want to bet there...temporarily. The main story was of peoples relationship to a universe that seemed at times antagonistic, and how they dealt with that in their attitudes and religion. I can't think of a more interesting subject...or way to handle it.

[@justinreid6718]

I think the key to understanding Gatsby comes from the opening paragraph: Unlike most aspiring men of the time period, Nick Carraway doesn't wait for his turn to speak and sell himself; instead, he shuts his mouth and observes the people around him. As a result of this, he's made privy to personal information that men like Gatsby/Tom Buchanan typically keep to themselves for fear of exposing a weakness or giving their competitive peers an advantage. Because they do not fear Nick like this...he comes to know Gatsby and Buchanan better than they even know themselves. Gatsby is obsessed with the past...and he's unhappy. Tom is obsessed with the future...and he's unhappy. So Nick becomes disillusioned and has a mental breakdown...he can't contemplate a happiness if men like Gatsby and Buchanan can't have it.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Huh. I never looked at it that way at all. Great points 👍

[@jeremydanchuk1897]

That is a great take on it.

[@craxanshards3139]

I couldn't agree more with your opinions. Catcher In the Rye, I read a couple of times because I felt like I must have missed something. Didn't care for it. Old man and the Sea and Moby Dick were two books I couldn't finish, and that's not something I make a habit of. Great Gatsby I thought was just ok, and like you,not sure what the big deal was. Mind you, this was back in 1980's as I was moving from fantasy novels to classics.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I think always bouncing back between King/Crichton and fantasy books kept me able to separate the two. That could be jarring, for sure.

[@staygoldponyboy8881]

Bit late I know but I just found your channel. I'm so with you on Catcher in the Rye. I've suffered a bit with depression( I'm winning at the moment😛) and I'm somewhat introverted partly because people annoy the crap out of me but yeah, didn't like it, didn't get a take from it if you know what I mean.

[@dope8878]

It’s not about depression, it’s about isolation and loss. Depression comes with that, but holden is dealing with far more than that internally

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

I know part of what happened with The Great Gatsby: World War II books for soldiers meant that everyone had read it. Because it was short, it was reprinted multiple times and widely distributed. I'm not certain you're supposed to like anyone in Gatsby. Fitzgerald was commenting on the American knack for self-reinvention. I think he was more sympathetic to it than I am as an adult. The Old Man and the Sea -- which I loathed -- was Hemingway's final novel and it came out while he was suffering with the depression that brought him to suicide. I think many people wanted to like it or felt they had to read it because his suicide shadows it.

[@jamesthomas1123]

I liked old man and the sea. At the end, even though the giant swordfish is destroyed to the skeleton, the old man becomes famous, and his respect level in the village shoots skyhigh. The boy joins him again to become his helper and learn how to fish from him. That’s a huge change from the beginning when the whole village thought that he had no luck and the boy reluctantly left the old man. I think the lesson might be that you should never give up and never count someone out. I can’t wait to see your list of Classic books that you did like. I’m hoping Dragula, and the adventures of Tom Sawyer would be on that list LOL

[@jonathonwhitington402]

I didn't read it in high-school (didn't read any of the "must reads" because I was in a christian school) so I've been reading a few here and there too see what's up and to vary my reading experiences. First time I read The Grapes of Wrath, I absolutely HATED it. After staying up until 3 am because it FINALLY got interesting, I flipped the last page, saw it was the end, and just dropped my Kindle, sat up, and said "I can't believe I stayed up for that bullshit." Fast forward two years, I decided to try it again and I didn't love it, but I absolutely appreciated it more. I had misunderstood when it was written, what John Steinbeck was trying to do with the book, and just how he went about it. After getting that info, it was much better than I thought it would be.

[@racewiththefalcons1]

Popular books are often like popular films - some of them are only popular because they _used to be_ popular. The Searchers is the best example. Not a good movie today, but its reputation has followed it throughout the years and many people still revere it.

[@mfar3016]

Unrelated to the subject matter, but you mentioned, in the CITR segment, that you suffered from depression until you changed your eating habits. Would you please elaborate a bit on that? It really struck a chord & I had a lightbulb moment. I’d like to hear more, if you care to share.

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

This video makes me want to watch more videos from this guy and ups my literary respect.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha. I've got a handful to sift through. Hope you enjoy!

[@applecorc]

I guess I'm a heathen because I haven't read any of those.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha ha I used to make it a point to read 2-3 classics per year before I started a book channel and started making schedules and listening to recommendations and crap.

[@jungen1093]

We're in the same boat

[@jeffreygao3956]

Skip Catcher in the Rye.

[@karenlowe9283]

Will you be watching the space x this weekend as i see your wearing a nasa shirt?

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye would absolutely LOVE Twitter. His sorta judgy hot takes as a younger person on people and life and society without self examination or debate are just on point with how Twitter is used today including by myself. Which makes it a weird must-read or must-have classic just for that very reason alone? Herman Melville was pining after Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Perfectly Written Novel is on this list? Is War and Peace even read?

[@marief5812]

About The Great Gatsby, I think you are spot on with the interpretation of Gatsby but thats actually a reason I really loved the book. Because its told from Nicks point of view you really see how toxic and selfish these people really are, and I think that transpires way better from the book than for example in the Leonardo DiCaprio movie (where Gatsby seems almost too romanticized). Still I respect your opinion!

[@JLchevz]

Moby Dick is a CHORE to read (I read the complete version), and english isn't my native language, but I gotta say there are spectacular moments in there. It's not entertaining, but at times it's really profound, especially Ahab's crazy obsession, and how it leads to complete disaster. It's at the same time boring but epic. I liked it when I finished it.

[@edwardmeade]

Sometimes it just takes a little life experience. In high school our honors English teacher had us read Herman Hesse's "Magister Ludi" a.k.a. "The Glass Bead Game." I hated it. I took it up again shortly after I retired and I loved it. It's a book about being old enough to realize that your life's goals have either been met and can be celebrated, or are not going to be met and making peace with that. I understood why this makes no sense to a seventeen-year-old with 90% of his adult life ahead of him.

[@charlespeter5610]

I completely agree about The Catcher in the Rye. In fact, I would be even less charitable in it's description. I had to read it as a high schooler and the entire class thought he was whiny. Keep in mind I grew up during the emo era lol

[@thatone2265]

I love your videos man hope you keep making videos

[@emilyreads5207]

Good video! Some thoughts- my English Prof. Told us to not read all those extra chapters in Moby Dock about whaling. That Melville added them for verisimilitude, but since they don’t drive the plot, to skip them. Catcher in the Rye- I read it twice. Hated it the first time, loved it the second. Great Gatsby- I don’t think we are supposed to view Gatsby as a romantic hero. I think we are supposed to not like him. Nick, the narrator views him as that romantic hero, but Nick proves to be an unreliable narrator throughout the novel. Just my two cents.

[@mitchbray6637]

The Catcher in The Rye is my favorite novel of all time, but you know what? Hiolden is a little whiny and that is why I kinda like him. The younger me would have wanted to rip you to shreds for saying that you didn't understand the Catcher In The Rye but the forty three year old man who is typing this salutes you for being honest and not being a phony about how you feel. One interesting thing about Holden and this is just my opinion-he's a s much a phony as the people he thinks are phony and the thing of it is-we are all fake to a degree. It's just apart of being human. I I loved the narration and the emotion that Salinger injected into the book. And by the way, I kinda agree totally with you on The Great Gatsby. That's one book I am indifferent toward. But I also loved The Old Man and The Sea and the emotion that is there and the relationship between the old man and the boy. However, the simple lessons that everyone should know-here's the thing-people are so arrogant that they don't learn the simple lessons well enough. Myself included.

[@sunshine_tidings6983]

I remember a few years ago AVGN did a video “10 classic movies I don’t like” or something to that effect. This is a great sister video to that, from another great KZbinr

[@staceyb.5878]

I can't explain why but catcher in the rye is one of my all time favorites, maybe the feeling Iget... relating to Holden. I get what you're saying too.

[@t.k3665]

A bit off topic, but what do you think about Bukowski? I’m from Europe and when I think about great American aourthors (besides Mr. King) I think of Bukowski. I especially enjoyed Post office I’ve read some Steinbeck and it did norhing for me.

[@Topdoggie7]

Probably not really a classic, but one of those books that was always suggested to me was Speak. Which is about a girl who essentially calls the cops on somebody who sexually assaulting somebody. And we spend the entire book just about with everyone hating her and it's never explained why until the very end, but the whole time it's like hinted at it's like "after what I've done they feel this way, after what happened they feel that way, the thing that happened" and they're always suggesting this book and they're telling me how powerful it is and how amazing it is. I felt the whole time I was being baited. Like the whole book feels like it's just a big bucket of bait. A huge who did it why did they do it and all that and when you get to the reveal it's nothing like whatever you've come up with in your head. So it was like this weird read that I just could not take seriously because whatever I had in my head was automatically worse than whatever they were going to reveal. And of course when the reveal is shown, AKA the thing I said up above, it's just not a good reveal. She ruined a party so she is being attacked and hurt and losing all of her friends for that? What kind of people are these that one party is what it took?

[@kellymarionchudyk5999]

For 25 yrs I've been mystified that Book2 was required reading in HighSchool... then last week, a WWII documentary about 'The Ritchie Boys'... and now I kinda get it...kinda...

[@Funeral_Attire]

I've been reading more classics lately which was a change because I haven't really deep dived into classics since I was in high school, but I always loved them. I agree about all these, but have one of my own to add: Wuthering Heights. The first time I read that book I was under the impression that it was a romance novel, and I HATED it, it was so toxic and selfish and unsatisfying... Then I stumbled across a review of it and I re-framed how I approached it and read it again. When I read it with the understanding that it's a psychological horror novel I loved it almost as much as I love Jane Eyre, and it will forever be one of the most confusing and torturous reads that I will continue to visit because it really really is good as a horror novel.

[@Locutius11]

I felt exactly the same way about "Catcher in the Rye". In Australia we have a "classic" expected school reading of "My Brother Jack" by George Johnston, and I remember the same disconnect and dislike of the main character. I finished CitR, but could not finish MBJ.

[@thecrickethero]

I recall studying My Brother Jack in Year 12. Loathed the main character.

[@maried6456]

My favourite high school mandatory read was definately 'The Dwarf' by Pär Lagerkvist. Stilll to this day, at the age of 36, I still think of it now and then. This evil dwarf is kinda relatable and will stick in your mind for the. rest. of. your. f*cking. LIFE.

[@edwardmeade]

In middle school, we were diagramming sentences. (Yes, I know how to do that.) One Friday he offered up a challenge. We could get extra credit for diagramming the first sentence in the third paragraph of Moby Dick Chap 42, The Whiteness of the Whale. Two of us took him up on it. It took each of us an entire sheet of poster board and all weekend. Hint. The third paragraph only has one sentence. I don't know if we got it right, but Paul and I got the extra credit for just trying. 👍

[@mrwhale7351]

Catcher in the rye is one of my top 15 books, mainly because I have an emotional attachment. I could definitely see the dislike for the book though, it definitely has its problems.

[@michaelbodell7740]

From the title I was expected I'd disagree with where you were going, but no, I think you're correct in these assessments (at least of the 3.5 of them I've read).

[@mikeminden1090]

(Late to the party here, but I just discovered your channel.) You won a subscriber with your description of Catcher, even though The Whale is in my top five. Yeh, you were sold the wrong book. Moby-Dick is not about the whale, or the captain, or the whaling industry, or any of that; it's about the mind of "Ishmael", and he's a funny guy. He's a serious guy, a thinking, feeling, lying, living guy. I love him. Ya know, at the very opening of the book, he says, basically, "I am Holden Caulfield, so I went to sea to get over it." And he did -- what better recommendation can you ask for?

[@bullrun2772]

i honestly i don't quite think he understands catcher in the rye

[@TylerAldrich]

Hope to see some Bradbury in the favorite classics video.

[@christopherrousseau1173]

All's Quiet on the Western Front was also obviously a translation from German to English, which sometimes doesn't translate very well in style and prose.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I certainly didn't have a problem with the writing style in any of these. The translations seemed pretty solid.

[@christopherrousseau1173]

@@mikesbookreviews The worst translation issue I ever had was The Iliad. I couldn't get more than 100 pages into that thing without my head feeling like it was going to explode. Believe it or not most of the books on this list I agree. I found Catcher in the Rye so boring and pointless. You should check out the South Park episode where the boys have to read it for school...

[@raymondhodgson1190]

I haven't read Moby Dick. I liked Gatsby, but I think Tender is the Night was a better book by Fitzgerald. I feel like with Catcher in the Rye, there's this sweet spot where you're in your late teens or early twenties and this book hits really hard, and then you start to grow up and you just want to punch the main character. And really, some of this is about class differences as much as anything. If I hadn't been struggling to get by growing up, I probably would be more sympathetic to the characters in Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye, but that's not the case. I think Old Man and the Sea is just there because it's short, and because Hemingway is influential enough that you should read some of his stuff. I think Red Badge of Courage was a better war story, but people really don't like reading about World War I because it's just not fun. I've been reading the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker, and it's a much better book about World War I than anything I've read so far.

[@gregdawe2786]

This is for the most part how i feel about classics in general. There now bad by any stretch. They're just typically not overly engaging. which is fine but just not how i like to read. Animal farm, and the old man in the sea. when i had finished them i was very glad to have read them. But even though they're short I have no motivation to reread them.

[@Galdra]

I am reading three comrades of Eric Marie Remarque, and I am struggeling with it. It is supposed to be a beautiful post war novel about love and friendship , but I am soo bored. The three friends in the novel are bored, they drink, fix cars and drink some more. I will finish it, I had plans to read all quiet on the western front, but hearing your review beeing so similar to my impression of three comrades makes me doubt I will read anything by Remarque again. My parents praised three comrades and Remarque, which is why I picked it up in the first place. But the old man and the sea made me cry....I was exhausted by the old man's struggles.

[@bluecannibaleyes]

Totally agree with you on Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. Haven’t read them since high school though, so who knows, my opinion might change now. I doubt it, though. I haven’t read any of the others but I did read The Sun Also Rises recently as my first Hemingway and I hated it. I guess it’s an unpopular opinion, but I couldn’t stand his writing style. Another one that’s always stood out to me that I remember vehemently hating on high school was Huckleberry Finn. I also disliked Jane Eyre because. It was way too long IMO, although I think for that particular one it was influenced by it being assigned as summer reading, which I resented way more than the things assigned during the regular school year. I plan to actually reread that one to see if I change my mind. On another note, it’s not a hate, but an unpopular opinion on a classic: I actually loved The Scarlet Letter when I read it in highschool. I even did my junior research paper on Nathaniel Hawthorne.

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

I loved Moby Dick because I have a whaling scene in the Forgetting Moon so it was great for research. Catcher in the Rye is crap. The Great Gatsby never read it. All Quiet on the Western Front is alright. Never read Hemingway.

[@mikesbookreviews]

LOL I called it Crapper in the Rye for awhile after I finished it.

[@laguy8181]

Books are just like anything else in this world. Every book, movie, tv show, food etc. will be different for everyone. You will either like it or not. I’m glad you don’t like or dislike something based on popular opinion. I respect that.

[@azmendozafamily]

Your description of the book All Quiet on the Western Front reminds me of how I feel about Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage.

[@RocketRoketto]

F. Scott Fitzgerald's first 2 books were a success but Gatsby not at all, it made 2000$ in his life time. (He died 15 years later),Scott died at 44 thinking he was a failure. Its said that the failure of the novel and its failure to capture the success of his previous 2 novels led Scott into a deeper depression and alcoholism. Despite an adaptation made in his lifetime by the time he died the novel faded into obscurity. A few months after WW2 started, the US wanted to send books to men stationed overseas so TGG was one of them, shipping 155,000 of them. And its been on the rise since. Everytime i come across Scott anywhere, I imagine him as Tom Hiddleston because thats who perfectly embodied him in the movie Midnight in Paris and being in shock that TGG is his best known and most popular book. Im weird i know. Sad part is that this surge in interest happened just 2 yrs after he died.

[@maggyfrog]

interesting list. personally, i still like "the catcher in the rye" because to me it's about angst as a young person and an honest expression of that. i don't think it's meant to be taken as a "correct" state of perceiving the world but merely as a phase. kind of like appreciating nihilism and not necessarily wallowing in it well into adulthood. i also still like "the great gatsby" because i like the prose style of it and i like the narrator above anyone else in the story. i thought that the narrator describing his thoughts about gatsby and everything else is the actual "character" of the book and not gatsby himself or the opulence of his world, or daisy or anyone else. even the conflict of the story isn't what interested me. it was the narrator's own POV. maybe it's because i'm an introvert and i like that the narrator has an outsider perspective of what was happening with the main characters. i actually love "the old man and the sea" even to this day. first read it when i was maybe 18/19 and couldn't continue after a few pages because somehow "it wasn't sinking in" for me at the time. literally a year later, i picked it up again and it's like a lightbulb turned on in my head and i was like, "oh i get it now" and thoroughly enjoyed the allegory about one's own path and finding one's own "big fish" in life, whether it's just a lonely private endeavor or something very public and successful. i think the fact that it's so short is precisely because it's about a simple yet overlooked life lesson about one's purpose or passion and that the endeavor itself is what life is. and it introduced me to hemingway's iceberg theory about writing. haven't read "moby dick" or "all quiet on the western front". the books i can't stand in terms of unpopular opinion (not classics): jonathan safran foer's "everything is illuminated" - i think he is a hack writer overall dan brown's "angels and demons" - again, i think he is a hack writer. this book also has one of the dumbest things i've ever read. "he smelled the flesh and he realized that he was burning" 🤦‍♀ paulo coelho;s "veronika decides to die" - i like some of his books, but this one in particular has a bad ending for me. the resolution felt forced and almost a cop out on the part of the writer. to me, it seemed like he was trying to make "ignorance is bliss" almost as a justification to manipulate others how to live their lives in a way that he thinks is meaningful. it felt very preachy in the end, and also infantilizes people as though they shouldn't be trusted with the truth otherwise they will not live life as he thinks one ought to.

[@ajpeters2912]

Mannnnn you bring up a lot of fantastic points, although I enjoyed all of the books you mentioned. Do I think they are the greatest books ever.. not at all. I haven’t even reread them in years. But when I did read them I’ve always enjoyed them

[@ronlussier8570]

I love Melville, but I despise Hawthorne, which is strange because they loved each other..... I agree with you about The Catcher in the Rye - it hasn't aged well. It did keep my interest in High school, however The Great Gatsby is a cautionary tale for me - no need to read it twice. AQotWF - yeah, boring, but unique for me, when I read it as a kid. I hate Hemingway

[@ravenbellebooks5665]

I've never been a fan of classics... sometimes it's embarrassing, but i just can't help it!

[@Yamp44]

I know I read Moby Dick and liked it, but it was so long ago, I really don't remember much of it. It might have been the abriged version, for all I know, so that might have contributed to my enjoyement. ;) I have bought the book a few years back, because it was on sale for something like 5$ for a beautiful edition of it, but I never got around to it. I wonder if as an adult, I might find it entirely different, and see in it much more than before? OMG, The Old Man And The Sea... That book was a chore to get through, even if it was 100 pages long. I was reading it and feeling more and more depressed, and frustrated, and felt so terribly sad for that old man. I know there is that big lesson about letting go, and failure and all that, but I just wasn't in the right headspace for it at the time. I remember reading and crying and thinking : Please just let him have that one thing. Please. So yeah, maybe that's one I should revisit at some point, now that I'm in a different place in my life? But I think not. I guess I'm giving myself the right to not like it. ;)