📚 Why Read the Classics? 😍 Reasons to Read Classic Books (according to Italo Calvino) 🌿

📚 Why Read the Classics? 😍 Reasons to Read Classic Books (according to Italo Calvino) 🌿
Hi, everyone!
I hope all of you are having a lovely day!
Today let's talk about classics and some of the reasons to read classic books. I'm currently reading Italo Calvino's Why Read the Classics? It's his collection of essays on different examples of classic literature and he makes some very interesting observations on these novels and their significance. That's why I decided to prepare this video for you.
I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for watching!
Follow me on:
Goodreads: / tatiana
#classicscommunity #classics #books #reading #theclassics

[@Janika-xj2bv]

I loved Italo Calvino "If On a Winter's Night a Traveller" and especially "The Invisible Cities". Great video, thanks for sharing.

[@runthomas]

very good.... some great points

[@patriciapendlbury2603]

I like to read the introduction after I read the book as well! I thoroughly enjoyed that. Now I want to get his book!!😊

[@LazyOverachiever]

I personally love reading introductions and essays on classics. I think it's important to delve into a book without others' views so that the reader can formulate their own opinions about the work. However, it's also nice to see others' views (especially when they are a well-researched on the author) so you can look at the work in perhaps a perspective that you might have not seen before.) It's important to know why a classic is relevant to society (past and present), but it is even more important for the reader to find their own individual meaning in that work.

[@gnitsetnetukar1823]

Fabulous video. Italo Calvino is one of my favorite authors.

[@charmainesaliba5546]

Love this. I need to read it. I don't know why I have never read any book by Italo Calvino. I love Italian literature but I rarely read them. Thanks for reminding me about Italian authors ☺️ It was interesting that quote where he said to do not read introduction or notes. I use the notes all the time when it comes to classics. However I always leave the introduction at last after finishing the novel because contains so many spoilers ( I learned it the hard way)😂. I don't like spoilers, I like to be surprised by a book. Thanks for sharing ☺️

[@hayleyc5594]

I read a lot of classics and now I want to read this interesting analysis on the classics.

[@aliceandtheworld1292]

Loved this discussion on the importance of classics. I'll be looking forward to the video on the books he recommends! Thanks for sharingthis!

[@bookishtopics]

Thank you! I'm glad it was interesting!

[@apocalypsereading7117]

great video, can't wait for part two! ✨🌿

[@Mrs.Moriarty]

Its on the one hand interesting what he discused, but on the other hand I would say, that every book you read is changing you and not only classics. And also that every book you read as a youth, you will read differently as an adult. But I agree with him, reading a book without any knowledge without other people saying you what to think about that. I experienced that with a lot of classics (and of cause all my books i read for myself and not for school oder university), cause I read them not in school but for fun by myself. As a youth I fell in love with History of Literature (in my case of German Literaturehistory, but nowadays It would be really interesting to know much more histories of other Countrys and their classics, and why they are important for them.) I read Kafka the first time, als a 18 year old, just because I want^^ And i think thats why I love it so much. And that happened with others as well. Meanwhile a lot of People I get to know over the years didn't like reading classics, cause they only read them at school, and only discussing whats the mainstream opinion about them. I like both. I love discussing why a book is important over the times and I also love to discuss why a book is special for my life or why I enjoyed reading my favourit book. And I thinkg its so interesting knowing the references to classics in modern books. I find it really interesting that knowadays there is a modern interpretation for Teens from Anna Karenina (Anna K.) or that you can find all modern Tropes from Romance Books in every Jane Austens Book. (E.G. Friends to Lovers at Emma, hate to love in Pride in Prejudice and so on.) And I love seeing Movies using Shakespeare as a reference. I think for me classics are those books who are some kind of timeless, because they tell something about not only the time where they where written, but also tell us something about people in gerenal. For example Hamlet, I think he is relatable, because whe understand his feelings even its lines to be or not to be, are over 400 Years old.

[@bookishtopics]

Thank you for this really interesting comment! I totally agree that not only classics have this ability to deeply influence people and many contemporary novels have just as deep an effect. In this case, I really hope that these books will become future classics. Literature was my favorite subject in school. I was very lucky to have the teacher I had. She is in love with literature herself and it showed. She always talked about books in such an interesting manner it was always fun to discuss novels with her. I wish I could talk about books with her again. I miss those lessons. But I see how it can be not for everyone. My friend for example loves reading too, but she hated literature in school, because even though she expressed her thoughts on the novels her teacher always told her she was wrong and misunderstood everything. That made my friend very upset. Ad I understand. After all one book can mean different things to different people and it's the beauty of literature. So I think her teacher was wrong.

[@LazyOverachiever]

I love that you brought up modern adaptions! Such a good point! Even if the original works' popularity dwindles throughout the years, the thought that the ideas not only linger, but stretch into new branches and inspirations really makes classics so special: they transcend time.

[@Lotta-sk8bi]

Loved the video 😍😍

[@debralavoie9095]

I'm inspired by you, and have added books to my list. Thank you for a well thought out video.

[@user-bn9wi9hv1u]

A very interesting essay. Italo Calvinoisn't an author I read from a lot. I only read his Invisible cities which I remember quite enjoying. Under the jaguar sun goes straight to my tbr.

[@bookishtopics]

I hope you'll enjoy it!

[@goodstrongwords]

Such beautiful thoughts! Thank you for sharing these thoughts with us. I absolutely loved this video!

[@AbiofPellinor]

I'm definitely a big notes user when I'm reading classics! I'll have to try to not flip to them the next time that I pick up a new classic! (it's too late for me to do it with War and Peace haha) I'm picking up Persuasion next month so I'll have to try it with that!

[@bookishtopics]

I thought about that point later on and I think notes are okay. He probably didn't mean notes. He did mostly talk about critical writings. I decided for myself that I'll still be using notes as they provide usually just factual information in terms of references or historical facts of the period which I wouldn't know. Critical articles and interpretations I can understand why they might not be the best information to read, but I think notes would fine.

[@AbiofPellinor]

@@bookishtopics that totally makes sense! It ask depends on the notes as well, cause I really don't like the ones from Oxford classics but I do like the wordsworth ones

[@gabrielwolfe9176]

Great vid

[@jillwhitney-birk5876]

Very interesting!! I would love to know which books he recommends. Thanks for all the joy, love and heart you put into each of your videos. I love watching them!

[@bookishtopics]

Thank you very much for this kind comment! I'm so happy you like my videos! I love making them! I'm reading the book currently :) and I'll prepare a video about the books in the upcoming weeks!

[@windycraft8215]

Спасибо за видео 🙏🌷

[@laurab2572]

It sounds very interesting the book of Italo Calvino. In my case, i'm focus on English books, i should read another sort of books

[@lauraa4329]

My dad owns a copy of Italo Calvino's Italian fairytales I think. I need to borrow it from him and try this author

[@CaldonianDude]

Why Read the Classics? Actually "Why Read the Classics?" is the first essay in a collection of disparate essays. The "Why Read the Classics" essay was a little disappointing as I think his title is "clickbait" - he spends most of the essay trying to define what a classic is (do we ever get the definitive answer?) and then lamely finishes with "...reading the classics is always better than not reading them". Hmmphh. Having said that I did enjoy some of the other essays - the one on Homer's Odyssey raising the role of memory, which I think is a great theme to raise. Also the essay on Conrad's Captains is very enjoyable and insightful. Several of the essays are meaningless to me because I've not read the author and so have no idea what he's talking about. For me, it was very much a mixed bag, that never really answers the main question - why read the classics.

[@alaoguz]

For those who have no time for waiting: The issue starts at 3:18.

[@otrosgallos4592]

Italo Calvino is god! :)