The Classics Club 50 Question Survey

The Classics Club never failed to bring fun to the clubbers. This time they adapted this 50-questions survey about our classics readings. Here are mine….

1. Share a link to your club list.

My classics club list.

2. When did you join The Classics Club? How many titles have you read for the club? (We are SO CHECKING UP ON YOU! Nah. We’re just asking.) :)

I joined the club in March 8^th, 2012, and have since read 81 titles (of 165 I have intended to).

3. What are you currently reading?

Jane Eyre, for the Club’s November event: Victorian Lit! :)

4. What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it?

Greyfriars Bobby. Loved it! I have thought it would be childish, but it turned out to be much deeper than that.

5. What are you reading next? Why?

Little House on the Prairie; just because it’s the last classic on my reading schedule this year.

6. Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why?

Oh…the most difficult question, as always… I think it’s Germinal. If there is a book I can call ‘perfect’, Germinal is.

7. Book you most anticipate (or, anticipated) on your club list?

Perhaps Crime and Punishment; it is the kind of book I know I would love very much.

8. Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding, if any? Why?

1984. I am no dystopian fans, but somehow I felt I should read at least this one.

9. First classic you ever read?

A book from Agatha Christie; I believe it’s After the Funeral; and ever since I have been her fans.

10. Toughest classic you ever read?

Notes from Underground; it’s a novella, but alas! It’s really hard to follow!

11. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry?

Most of them have inspired me in one or another way, but maybe the first classic that inspired me is Agatha Christie’s books. They flicked my curiosity on human’s nature, especially to man’s capability of doing vile things.

12. Longest classic you’ve read? Longest classic left on your club list?

War and Peace is the longest I’ve read, and as I’ve also read Moby Dick, I think my next longest classic left has got to be one of Dickens’….. Bleak House, perhaps?

13. Oldest classic you’ve read? Oldest classic left on your club list?

Aesop’s Fables. And now I have Saint Augustine’s The Confessions left on my list.

14. Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read — or, the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any?

Right now I am very excited to read Zola’s biography: The Life and Times of Émile Zola by F. W. J. Hemmings

15. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why?

Germinal! Look up at question # 6… ;)

16. Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any?

Penguin Classics hardback edition, I own the Fitzgerald’s (only 2 right now, but I’m planning to collect them).

17. Favorite movie adaption of a classic?

I haven’t watched many; but from them, The Great Gatsby was my favorite so far.

18. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film.

I think most of famous classics have been adapted, so I don’t know whether there are any which haven’t. But I noticed that Zola’s are the rarest to be adapted, especially in English. I wish there would be a producer who’d like to work on Germinal soon…! :)

19. Least favorite classic? Why?

Dante’s Purgatorio; I did not understand most of it, as it was too theological.

20. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read.

Thomas Hardy, Wilkie Collins, William Faulkner, Christopher Marlowe, Honoré de Balzac.

21. Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why?

Thomas Hardy. I have heard so many praises over him, and I’m so excited to read Far From a Madding Crowd. Plus, he’s a Victorian… ;)

22. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving? (This could be with the club or before it.)

Yes, The Great Gatsby! My first read was a bit disappointment as I could not relate to it. During my second read, I was constantly consulting with Sparksnotes and other analyses sites, and that’s how I found many interesting things from Fitzgerald. It ended up being one of my favorites.

23. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head?

Maybe Lord Henry from The Picture of Dorian Gray. Everytime I meet someone (in reality or in fiction) who is cynical, a bit harsh, but witty, I always think him as “Lord Henry-ish”.

24. Which classic character most reminds you of yourself?

Isabel Archer from The Portrait of A Lady.

25. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like?

I don’t wish to be anybody than myself. :)

26. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend?

None.

27. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why?

The Portrait of a Lady. I would love to know what Isabel would do after the “hanging” end.

28. Favorite children’s classic?

The Jungle Book; though only I read it just recently.

29. Who recommended your first classic?

My father; he’s a thorough reader as I am, and he said that  would certainly love Agatha Christie’s detective stories. And I did. A lot!

30. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.)

You, my fellow clubbers! ;)

31. Favorite memory with a classic?

Reading Wuthering Heights along with my Indonesian blogger fellows in 2011; it’s my early acquaintance with classic works, and we were all troubled by the dark story. It’s good experience to read one work with others with whom we could share our mutual feelings.

32. Classic author you’ve read the most works by?

Charles Dickens (9), followed closely by Émile Zola (8). Next year they might get equal… ;)

33. Classic author who has the most works on your club list?

Dickens again; I have 13 titles of him.

34. Classic author you own the most books by?

Still Dickens! Here are the 14 books of Dickens in my collection. :)

35. Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?)

Ha! I have edited my list numerous of times! Some titles that were not included in my earlier list: If on a Winter Night a Traveler, Little Women, Slaughterhouse-Five, Cicero’s Defend Speeches, The Walden.

36. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven’t yet read, since you can’t do this experiment on an author you’re already familiar with. :) Or, which author’s work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way?

I tend to read an author’s masterpiece or at least his most famous works first. If I am interested in reading him/her other works, I would read them usually in random order. But Zola’s works might have been fun to be explored from first publication, especially his Rougon-Macquart series.

37. How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy?

Have only two rereads: The Great Gatsby (which is proved to be a huge success!), and Oliver Twist (still on the list).

38. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish?

Yes, Gone with the Wind. I was so bored with it in the end (two last chapters) that I skipped many pages to read only the ending. I didn’t regret it, and actually felt quite relieved to put it down.

39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving?

The Jungle Book. I thought it would be childish and “Disneyland-ish”, but it turned out to be much deeper than I expected. And at the end I loved it!

40. Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature?

• To explore the literary movements through my Literary Movement Reading Challenge. This would be my biggest challenge ever!
• To read more plays—I have joined Listra’s Plays On event next year, have you? 
• To read my first biography of classics author (Zola’s biography—see question #16).
• To read classic authors I haven’t read before (St. Augustine, Atwood, Thoreau, Marlowe, etc).
• To read more non-fictions.

41. Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?

St. Augustine’s The Confessions.

42. Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?

Cicero’s works. I must delay his works yet another year; next year is going to be tough enough without him.

43. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?

This kind of things… Fun events like monthly meme, classics club spin, this survey, etc. And of course, to find so many readers who love classics, and with whom I could discuss about classics.

44. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs?

Ruth

Adam

Melissa

Exploring Classics

o (Behold the Stars)

They share my tastes in classics; and with Ruth I am exploring The Well Educated-Mind.

45. Favorite post you’ve read by a fellow clubber?

Classic Club September Meme: Jane Austen and Émile Zola by o. 

46. If you’ve ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you’ve participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? The best title you’ve completed? A fond memory? a good friend made?

I have only participated in one readalong: The Color Purple, and it’s rather quieter than I have expected.

47. If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why?

Something by Dickens. His books have many interesting aspects to be discussed. So, anyone want to read Bleak House along with me on June next year? ;)

48. How long have you been reading classic literature?

Not very long ago, maybe 3 or 4 years.

49. Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn’t love, lists, etc.

The best way to tell about my reading story is perhaps by sharing my Book Kaleidoscope posts of last year, and another interesting yearly meme. If you are interested, I am hosting another Book Kaleidoscope this year. The announcement will be up next week!

• A Year in First Lines 2013
• Book Kaleidoscope 2013 - Day 1: Top Five Book Boy Friends 
• Book Kaleidoscope 2013 – Day 2: Top Five Most Memorable Quotes 
• Book Kaleidoscope 2013 – Day 4: Top Five Underappreciated Secondary Characters 
• Book Kaleidoscope 2013 – Day 5: Top Five Most Favorite Books 

50. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!)

Share your classics (or some of your classics) collection! :)

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