Where to start with classic literature! 📚The problem with reading classics | Claire Fenby

Why we're approaching classic literature in the wrong way! Have you ever read a classic because you thought you should, rather than because you want to? In this video I discuss why we should rethink the literary canon and start enjoying classics 📖
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[@Claire_Fenby]

Note: I’m not saying don’t read classic literature in the canon - I’m saying read what you enjoy! Pick the classics that appeal to you rather than feeling like you need to tick boxes first. Also (never thought I’d need to say this) I’m not calling you a racist 😂

[@suespiers9943]

No I realise that Claire, I understand I will read what classics I enjoy. Blessings ❤

[@sarahsperusals]

i used to be afraid about discussing classics on bookstagram/youtube. i never studied literature and i never will, i read classics because i genuinely enjoy them. i love picking them apart, and i was afraid people would scoff at my interpretations of them, since they've been studied for so long and there's a cloud of pretentiousness surrounding them. it was so freeing when i realized it doesn't matter what other people think. whether you read them to enjoy or to study (or both), your opinions are valid.

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes Sarah!! I love them for the same reason. I still don’t talk about the majority of books I read because of this feeling (even though I am a lot grad) hence why my wrap up of Middlemarch is AWOL... I think a lot of this is reinforced by schools and exams - they’ve made us think about classics as a ‘test’ (you can be right or wrong) rather than as something to enjoy.

[@sarahsperusals]

Claire Fenby i read middlemarch right before you announced your readalong and i loved your videos about it!! but i totally get you, and i agree. school definitely drills it in you that there’s a correct interpretation. it sucks the life out of you. i think that’s a reason i didn’t enjoy frankenstein. i was so burnt out from school. hopefully the curriculum will change in the future to make reading and analyzing books more enjoyable

[@Claire_Fenby]

I’m exactly the same with Frankenstein - I think I’d really enjoy it now because I love gothic literature but hated it at school. I think it’s time for a re-read...

[@sarahsperusals]

@@Claire_Fenby i'll reread it if you reread it LOL

[@izabelbrekilien9658]

I agree with you. After all, I started reading classics when I was a teenager, from a working class environment, and it never kept me from loving them - or not, depending on the book ;) My favourite novel is Jane Eyre, but however, if I had read the blurb before opening the book, I probably never would have touched it, lol ! One recommendation though : if you love classic and there's an introduction at the beginning of the book, skip it ! Read it afterwards ! Because the scholars and/or writers who usually write these introductions have a tendancy to spoil the story because in their minds, it's not the story itself that is important but the literary value. I think that if only the literary value mattered, not the story, not the characters, not the themes, not the feelings, the passions, the questions and doubts, nobody would read those novels any more. Great video Claire, thank you :)

[@AChaMrSimple]

Definitely, the introductions always spoil the story

[@katiejlumsden]

Love this video! I get so frustrated with the idea that classics aren't read for enjoyment but for 'knowledge' or whatever - classics can be fun! I love Victorian literature because I enjoy it. Anyway, what a great discussion :)

[@WhatVictoriaRead]

Yes, Claire! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 as someone who is trained to read and analyse classics, it took me a long time to work out which ones I actually liked vs those that I felt like a had to like. A few years ago, I stopped reading what I felt I ‘should’ read and started to only pick up books I was excited for. My reading experience has been so much more enjoyable ever since! I also believe strongly in dismantling the cannon and as a teacher, I’m going to encourage all my students to read outside of it, so that they have a far more rounded view of literature. Fabulous video, thank you for sharing!

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes! Fight the good fight Victoria

[@KDbooks]

One aspect of “reading classics” which I don’t understand is the framing that “modern” classics are not as important as “ye olde” classics. As though Pynchon, Achebe, Capote, Baldwin, Angelou, Morrison, Eco, etc, etc, can’t be as valuable as Brontë, Hardy, Chaucer, Collins, Poe, Homer, etc, etc. Would love to know your thoughts on this?

[@Claire_Fenby]

100%! Another question is when do you think a classic becomes a classic? I also find it interesting that certain periods are held up on a pedestal - like the Victorian age really needs to get over itself 😂

[@KDbooks]

@@Claire_Fenby please can we have a full blown conversation about this? Cos, I have sooooo much to say on this matter

[@spinstercatlady]

@@Claire_Fenby yes! I honestly consider contemporary books like Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, and Donohugh's Slammerkin modern classics in their own right.

[@Claire_Fenby]

@@spinstercatlady 100% there for Waters and Faber!

[@KDbooks]

@angel I didn’t compare Angelou to Chaucer. I said they why do some people view modern classics as less than equal value to the canonical classics (which you clearly view as lesser)

[@kat-gz5ki]

Great video! I feel as though currently, non-white classics are always grouped under some other umbrella term-- Things Fall Apart being considered an 'African classic', Kokoro being a 'Japanese classic', etc. Yet The Great Gatsby is considered a classic despite Fitzgerald being American.. oh wait, he was white. I can't wait to see more diverse authors and stories appearing in the general list of 'classics' without being accompanied by their ethnicity.

[@onlyireneadler]

Well, we don't read "classics", we read books, written by authors who certainly did not expect them to become « Classics ». We read books for their stories, characters, settings, plots... That's why I don't really like the word "classic" to depict a book. Because it doesn't show what it is all about. Perhaps, tomorrow your novel will be a "classic", but it will still be A BOOK and you've written A BOOK, not a classic. I loved your vidéo,Claire ! :D Sorry for my bad English and my mistakes, it's easier to listen to you than to write in English.

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes! I think people forget that the concept of a ‘classic’ is a construct - it wasn’t created by time, it was created by people with their own preconceived notions!

[@onlyireneadler]

@@Claire_Fenby Exactly !

[@BookishTexan]

This! Almost all "Classics" were written to entertain (keeping in mind that entertainment is a diverse concept) not to be analyzed. The label "classic" is off putting and I think intentionally. Its meant to intimidate readers. It is elitist. What we label as "classics" were usually books written for a general audience and meant to create an emotional or intellectual response in everyday readers.

[@FusionStudioUK]

@@BookishTexan completely agree. Ultimately fiction is written to entertain and like you say that is soooooo subjective

[@suespiers9943]

Thank you so much Claire for debunking the myth that we " have to read the classics to be clever " I feel a weight lifted from your enlightened post. So now I am going to choose what classic books or any other reading material because I want to read it. Love your posts. Happy reading ❤📚📖

[@Wolfhailstorm]

I absolutely loved this discussion

[@eq5450]

I've read Stoker, Shelley and Hugo for the same reason I've read King, Roth and Meyer - to see if their work lives up to the hype. Some have and some haven't, from both sets, but I've never subscribed to liking a book, or saying I like a book, because someone's told me to like it. We read fiction for the pleasure of the story, and anything else we may gain from it - an understanding of history, perspectives on society, lessons on morality - are welcome accompaniments to the story itself.

[@epdias4]

I like how you described the literary canon, being Brazilian, I feel my culture is not represented. Should you wish to venture our way, I recommend Dom Casmurro by Machado de Assis, a fascinating story of what could have been if convictions were different.

[@epdias4]

@angel I never sair diversity is the objetive, I meant that there are canonworthy books in countries different from those represented in the canon mentioned by Claire.

[@mizuki0328]

@@epdias4 As a Portuguese, I've read Dom Casmurro and it's definitely a great book! I quite enjoyed Clarissa by Érico Veríssimo too! Such a lovely story. Brazil has great writers and I definitely want to read more! Jorge Amado's Gabriela Cravo e Canela is one of the wants I want to read next. And something by Clarice Lispector!

[@GuiltyFeat]

I 100% subscribe to the notion that reading should be pleasurable. But I'm also glad that I went through a period where I read some books so that I could say that I had read them. I did not enjoy Moby Dick, but I needed to have read it. Having worked my way through Moby Dick, I got more enjoyment out of Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding and even Jeff Smith's comic series, Bone. I struggled with To The Lighthouse when I was assigned it for A-Level back in the 80s. I came back to Mrs. Dalloway because I wanted to read Michael Cunningham's The Hours. Sometimes the feeling that you "should" read something, even something from as banal a construct as the "literary canon" is not completely out of place. It's 30 years since I studied literature at university. I read only for myself these days, but if I choose to pick up E.M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel in between a collection of Charlie Brooker's TV reviews, some superhero comics, a Paul Auster and some Trollope, it will only make me a better reader of all the rest. Then it's on me to ensure I am also reading women, people of colour and books in translation, also because I "should". Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.

[@Claire_Fenby]

I agree - Reading Forster (who I love) meant I could enjoy On Beauty even more etc. I think it’s interesting to think about why we come back to books especially classics - I wanted to read Mrs Dalloway because I loved The Hours. It’s also important to note that I didn’t like it the first time ahaha 📚 I agree - I think reading anything makes you a better reader. Why is is only classics that are “improving”? My partner is an avid reader but is often told that what he is reading isn’t good enough because it’s fantasy. Like who made these rules??

[@Mano-Wan]

Oh man, I finally read Moby Dick this year and I did not enjoy it at all.

[@lilyyt8627]

I love reading classics however when i get into a slump i go back to fantasy for a bit of fun. Classics make me feel like i’m expanding my knowledge as well as keeping it pleasurable.

[@MinestroneChad]

This video is everything. I've tried three times to read Jane Eyre, and each time I read less and less because I know how much I don't enjoy it. Thing is, if it was a modern book I'd just put it down and stop trying, but because there's so much universal love for Jane Eyre, (and the Brontës,) I feel like I'm missing something and should try again until I get it. Which, you're right, is wrong. No more Jane Eyre for me, I'm very satisfied to say it doesn't appeal with confidence and let that be it. Thank you for this discussion! It's genuinely helpful and heartening. (Also some people in the comments acting like Dickens wasn't a serialised popular author of his time, and Shakespeare didn't write crude jokes and appeal to the uneducated masses 🙄)

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes! I feel the same way with a lot of Trollope and James - I keep trying but I just can't. Also yes ahaha Dickens is the ultimate commercial fiction novelist!!

[@airunYT]

Definitely felt for that feeling “reading classics because I want to feel smart” and also because my friends were reading more classics or non-fiction whereas I was reading mostly YA and they made me feel bad, as if what I was reading was pure shit. I read classics differently the way I read other things, with another mindset, because like old films, things were done differently back in time and now we consume products in another way. Complicated stuff ✨ “We are all equally in the grave” ✨

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes! The snobbishness around YA literature is unreal. Great point about the old movies etc! We’ve definitely also changed how we read classics from their original format like we don’t read Dickens in chunks like serialisation. I think we should re-serialise a lot of classics to be honest! Definitely very complicated 📚❤️

[@spinstercatlady]

I absolutely agree with you! I've always loved anything with a gothic flavor to it and books about women's lives and struggles (preferably by a female author), so that's just naturally the types of classics I gravitate toward. Give me the Brontes, Austen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Gaskell, and Lady Audley's Secret (amongst many others) for my classic reading. It's unlikely I'm ever going to enjoy adventure or sci fi, so if I never read The Call of the Wild or 1984 then I'm perfectly ok with that. Is there a nagging voice that says, " But you really SHOULD read them if you want to be well read and diverse in your reading"? Yes, but usually my hedonistic desire for actual reading enjoyment wins out haha. Thoughtful, interesting discussion as always ❤

[@janicemacdougall1844]

I loved what you said and now I don't feel bad if I don't enjoy certain classic authors and why I tend to choose certain novels because of their themes. Thank you :)

[@darkacademiacafe8238]

I also believe that parallel to the feeling of wanting to read classic to feel smart, there’s one where people don’t read classics because of a certain idea of not being smart enough to understand them. I guess the reason why suggestions make it possible for people to approach classic novels is to show them that in them they can find the same kind of genres, stories and approach to storytelling they are used to reading in contemporary fiction. I started reading them when I was really young for the same reason as yours: I wanted to be perceived as smart. The first ones I read were Fitzgerald’s and Kerouac’s and I fell in love with them, and that made me realize that classic novels mostly just have a different prose rather than a different structure that makes them impossible to read or for a specific group of people. I really loved this discussion, especially the part where you discussed the approach to those famous authors who cannot be, for how problematic they were, canceled rather we need to approach ourselves to those who were not considered by history and fix it. Great video! x

[@Claire_Fenby]

I completely agree! The anxiety is around not being good/cleverer enough and that says a lot about why ideological structures like the canon are in place (can you tell I’m a Marxist?). Personal suggestions based on interest are wonderful but it’s exactly why blanket lists or suggestions don’t work - it’s all about starting a conversation. Every person is different and they shouldn’t all have to read Shakespeare or Dickens 😂

[@patoshakespeare9756]

I find this kind of "discussion" videos really interesting! I keep on thinking of what you said after they finished. I think that the question of the canon is and has always been a political issue. The canon is something made by hegemonical institutions with some intention. The problem is that we readers are "configured" to read inside some canon, it is reassuring and it gives us tools to know "we are reading well". So the danger is that, when why try to deconstruct the canon, we end replacing it with a new one. I think it must be even harder for readers that come from places with "a Great tradition" like Leavis used to call it. I don't want to be misunderstood, I love English literature, it´s my predilect, but just because you have so many good writers behind you, it must be difficult to find time to read also what people say outside Europe. For example, I'm from Buenos Aires, and when I was in the UK many well-intentioned (and smart) readers talked to me about Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the Caribbean as if it were describing the reality of Latin America, and Buenos Aires is as Caribbean as London. So, when we try to escape our own canon, sometimes end reading the other as "exotic". Besides, I think readers have created a parallel canon here on KZbin, as you said, Victorians are overly read and no one talks about Sterne, Fielding, or Aphra Behn. We presume about expensive editions of those classics (I'm also guilty of that) as a sign of class. I think Swift and the Scriblerians could write a word or two about this new kind of snobs we are! (im really sorry about this long message and my full of mistakes English, but I couldn´t resist talking). Thank you for this episode again!

[@Two_lights867]

I totally agree with you. I felt bad and insecure because I didn’t like The Great Gatsby because it’s one of the greatest works of literature.

[@arlena3297]

Hi! I really enjoy your videos. While I completely agree with what you said about reading should be about enjoyment, and that our canon(s) are white, male, and all that - very very true!! - I also think that it's important to recognise that *most* of the works we now see as classics are that because they did something new at the time they were written in; they either talked about things no one had talked about before, or they did it in a new way (Mrs Dalloway for instance). And while there are many authors (especially female or non-white authors) that should have been included to begin with, I don't think that that makes Dickens, for instance, 'less' of a classic. I think he is a classic for a reason, and as a writer he defined a period.

[@Claire_Fenby]

It’s just a big coincidence that all the authors who have done something new/changing the literary landscape are middle class/white/cisgender/etc 😅 I completely agree that it’s important to study them and acknowledge them (the majority of my life has been dedicated to doing so 😂) but think it’s good to challenge the narrative we have over a man-made institution especially when it glorifies people who were criticised by contemporaries for their views (like Dickens’ anti-Semitism). It’s also very Eurocentric and ignores the majority of the worlds literature. The majority of my own reading consists of classics by people who fit into all the privileged categories so this video is calling myself out most of all 😅 Like I love Dickens!! Just playing devil’s advocate 😈

[@arlena3297]

@@Claire_Fenby Thank you for replying! Yeah no I do absolutely agree with you there. At my uni (I live in Austria) we're really lucky, because I've had multiple classes where we read and studied writers of minorities or different ethnic backgrounds. All my professors seem to be aware of the problems with the canon as well, and they do always acknowledge it and try to teach us material from people who weren't white, cis, het men. Which is a step in the right direction for sure ☺️

[@catherinepatterson4720]

I’m a new subscriber. I’ve been enjoying your vlogs. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, honesty & passion for literature 📚I’ve started reading (along with many other books) ‘Dr Zhivago’ by Boris Pasternak. Not because it’s a classic, won a Noble prize for literature or simply to compare it to any movie adaptation. I’m reading it because of Boris himself. I came across a poem by Boris (sorry, I can’t remember the name) and this led me to doing a Google search to find out who this Russian poet was. I was so fascinated and captivated by his life. I bought ‘Dr Zhivago’ pretty much straight away & I’m a quarter of the way through it. I’m enjoying it more than the movie (I’ve seen two different versions - 1965 & 2002). In choosing a classic, it’s the author’s own life story that often influences me, rather than because it’s a classic. Charlotte Bronte is another example. Learning about her life lead me to reading ‘Jane Eyre’, which I thoroughly enjoyed & could easily read again. Thank you for a great vlog 🍂🍁🍂

[@NadaOQ96]

I got lucky with my classics start because where I live there's not a big reading and classics culture like in the UK and US for example. This made me blissfully unaware at the time of the whole concept of classic literature and so the first classics I read when I was a teenager, I had approached with a "Those are books with a setting that appeals to me and they're quite cheap 😂" mentality and it worked out in my favor.

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes! I had the same thing when I was young - a book for £2? Yes please 🤣

[@racheldemain1940]

I find some classics easier than others. For example, I can happily read the Russian Novels but struggle with Thomas Hardy . Sometimes we are told we need to read the classics. I studied the Classics like Jane Eyre for my OU Degree and loved them, was intimidated by them and couldn't get on with them all at the same time. I find I have different favourites at different times. Howard's End then a month later it's Dante's inferno.

[@BookwormAdventureGirl]

This is a very good discussion. Thank you.

[@TheVictorianHours]

I haven't read a ton of classics but I feel like I've made a decent dent in them... I think for me when I'm choosing a classic to read (unless it was for school) I just pick one that sounds like one I would like. I started with Charles Dickens because in high school I really loved the Victorian era and was super interested in that time period in England. Sometimes I pick them based on upcoming adaptations (like Rebecca which is now my favourite book!!!!) or based on books my favourite characters read on tv shows or movies. ^_^

[@Claire_Fenby]

Yes, I do exactly the same with the era (I'm a history nerd) and adaptations! I read Jane Eyre because of Ruth Wilson ahaha

[@TheVictorianHours]

Claire Fenby Jane Eyre is on my list because of her!! 💖

[@Emmareads15]

I really didn't enjoy Mrs Dalloway. I just found it a little dry, but everyone has their own interests and things that bring them joy.

[@hazelpeng3303]

You so right about insecurity, sometimes I feel like I'm too fussy about which author should comes first

[@apocalypsereading7117]

i didn't like Mrs Dalloway but i guess coz of the aura around Woolf, not just canonised but also beloved and modernist and stuff, i really felt i had to read more, whereas i guess i wouldn't have felt that for most other writers. i read To the Lighthouse and The Waves and didn't really like them either, but problematic as it is, in this case i'm kinda glad the mystical classics aura pushed me to read them, coz i feel more secure in my opinion about not liking Woolf than i would if i'd only read one of her books 😅

[@iliana.m]

I honestly like reading classics because I know that the books would be well written and they would most likely have the character development that I so much enjoy!... Before reading classics, I almost never ended up finishing a book actually, and I thought back then that maybe I don't like reading books after all! But now I know it was due to the writting/writer mostly... So I now prefer a for-sure well written book instead of a hit-or-miss new book that can easily lead me to an extended reading pause.. 😃 An unpopular classics opinion I have is that I really didn't like the Idiot by Dostoevsky, in fact I couldn't stand it at all, due to the characters!... I dnf it 1/3 through, I think... I liked Brothers Karamazov very much, but all in all I think Tolstoi speaks more to me than Dostoevsky. In Dostoyevsky, I always find the side characters more appealing than the main ones, lol..... In truth, this is my main problem with him... ☺️☺️

[@camillafladberg673]

Love this! Don’t think I could read classics if I didn’t enjoy them. And I didn’t like Wuthering hights😉.

[@Claire_Fenby]

**gasps**

[@FusionStudioUK]

Shhhhh don't tell Claire but I don''t like WH either!!

[@snamorsixteen]

I just finished Great Expectations today and I five-starred it. Didn't expect to love it so much because I struggle with the classics, honestly

[@Claire_Fenby]

I LOVE Great Expectations! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@darioa1345]

My problem with reading classics is that they make the vast majority of contemporary lit unreadable. As they have passed the test of time, classics posses qualities that make them eternally relevant both when it comes to the themes and the execution. There are, naturally, always few exceptions like (imho) ”Heart of Darkness” 😊.

[@mariana.c89]

thank you for this! I have always been so scared to read classics

[@halloween42]

3:54 - 4:14 oooff! What a personal attack 😅

[@Claire_Fenby]

Ahaha it’s okay I love Dickens 😂

[@OMGitsSeppie]

On the whole, I prefer a Modern Classic to a Classic - 20th century classics are often more accessible, both in terms of culture and language, and oftentimes there are more diverse authors and stories (though not always because, well, racism and homophobia. Post 50s is more diverse).

[@annalisitsyna7741]

Hi! Thank you for the video. I think there are easier and more difficult classics, though, so it makes sense (sometimes) to not start with some books, no? And another thought - loving the premise really doesn't correlate strongly (at least for me) with the overall enjoyment of the book. It is probably different for everyone. Last - I kind of agree with people who say "if you don't like, at least admire" about classics. You don't have to enjoy, but it's difficult to deny the merits and influence of the books. Sorry for the long comment, thank you (again) for the video :)

[@Claire_Fenby]

I think everything is so personal which is why blanket statements just don’t work - difficultly is so subjective. I have a friend who has always struggled to get Woolf but happily reads Chaucer 😂 Definitely although I this is more about choosing your next read - there’s a reason I’ve read Wuthering Heights and not Agnes Grey - I liked the sound of one but not the other. Why would you pick up a book that you think sounds boring if it wasn’t a classic? I agree with you again about the merits but sometimes it’s good to challenge this preconceived notion and look outside a very restrictive canon. Also there are just BAD classics 😂📚

[@effess8698]

10:06 well that got dark all of a sudden

[@Claire_Fenby]

Welcome to my channel 😉

[@stephenconlon653]

I’m reading ‘ Woman on the edge of Time’ , it’s very good

[@Claire_Fenby]

Ahh I don’t like it 😂 Hope you enjoy it though!

[@innafedorchuk7605]

I am started to read a classis just this year). And i am enjoy it

[@Claire_Fenby]

Wonderful! What have you been reading?

[@innafedorchuk7605]

@@Claire_Fenby I had read A room by my own by Virginia Woolf. And Wuthering heights

[@Claire_Fenby]

@@innafedorchuk7605 What do you think?

[@innafedorchuk7605]

@@Claire_Fenby I like them). This is great, and the best writing ever)

[@readlots9983]

I really dislike the word "classics" regarding books and films. I think it should be shelved.

[@Claire_Fenby]

I think it’s a useful term but one that should definitely be challenged and debated. Like what makes a classic? & who makes that decision is an important factor.

[@readlots9983]

@@Claire_Fenby I think any usefulness of the term is greatly outweighed by its deficiencies.

[@Claire_Fenby]

When you think of a classic book - what do you think of? What type of writing, era or even author?

[@readlots9983]

@@Claire_Fenby But, I don't think of a "classic" book. I try to avoid that term and expunge it from my little brain. I thought you outlined the problems with the word very well in your video, but by continuing to use it, you're perpetuating it.

[@Claire_Fenby]

What do you think society deems a classic as then? Interesting to hear everyone else’s perspective. I should add that I never said that I think we should stop using the term - I just think we should change how we approach them and expand the canon. I don’t think stopping using the term would solve this issue and I also don’t think it’s the most important issue out there to be honest.

[@stevetucker5851]

Classic literature reminds me of jazz music. It may exhibit good craft, but it’s boring as hell, so why bother? Good for aspiring writers? Yes. Good for entertainment? No.

[@Claire_Fenby]

Couldn’t disagree more! Like any book it’s just about finding the right story for you.

[@이민-h6h]

You literally look like a publisher

[@Claire_Fenby]

Ahaha in what way? A part from being the perfect example of just how un-diverse the industry is...