Re: classics---I think I'm almost on the same boat as you, there are many "classics" I was forced to read in high school and as a result, I never wanted to try and read them again as an adult. This is definitely a huge reason as to why I cannot stand Steinbeck or Hemingway; their books are just too boring for me.
I have never read Victor Hugo, but one of my favorite writers, Ayn Rand, was hugely inspired (I wouldn't say "influenced" because Rand is an entity of her own) by Hugo so I have always meant to pick up one of his books to see how they are. Les Miserables was on the classic movie channel the other night; if I had not been so engaged in reading
Ghost Rider I might have tuned in.
I've tried to read Thoreau, I have a volume of his "best works" on my bookshelf and the first story is so boring I have never ventured past it. Maybe someday.
However, I do enjoy the ultimate classics,
The Odyssey and
The Iliad by Homer. Seeing as how I'm a huge LOTR fan I can certainly appreciate epic mythologies.
I also enjoy reading Sartre, although I can't seem to find the third book in the series.
I'm sure it's considered a classic these days, but I am a sucker for
Gone With the Wind. Love the movie and the book. As far as the "modern" classics go I really like
The Joy Luck Club (both book and movie).
I guess as far as "classic" writers go, I really love the poetry. I have a volume of poetry ranging from Chaucer to Kipling to W.H. Auden (who I became aware of, once again, offhandedly, through the music of Rush when Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson did a solo project called Victor, and the band, album, and title track were all named in honor of the "Victor" poem by Auden, to which Lifeson set to music and recited the lyrics in spoken voice). The dark and creepy style of how he presented this poem sparked my curiosity to read more of his works.
Another poet I really love, that I would consider a favorite, is Rod McKuen. A friend of mine and I both got into his poetry in our teens and have been searching for his many volumes of poetry ever since. He has also written songs for some "old-time" musicians like Frank Sinatra.
But I guess poetry is a whole other thread for a whole other time.
I never considered myself much of a non-fiction person, but I do like to read biographies or true-life accounts of interesting things. The most recent bio I read was a book about Van Halen and all the many crazy debacles they have been involved in. I have to admit I have not read many music bios; probably because most of the time there are similar shows on TV, or things like this are accounted in a band's DVD. But after reading that I do feel inclined to pick up some bios on other bands I like a whole lot more.
It bugs me when you start reading a series and then the last one comes out and you really want to read it but it comes out in hardback so then you have the dilemma: Do I read it now and have a mismatching collection or do I wait patiently for the paperback?
That was indeed a dilemma for me when the last Earth's Children book,
The Shelters of Stone, was released. I had already waited 12 years (like all the other of Auel's fans) to read this next installment in the series, and waiting another year for the paperback was torture. While as far as the writing style, I was not disappointed. I was more disappointed by the fact that it took 12 years to write a book that undoubtedly required a lot of research, but storyline-wise I could not see where it took so long to write a book where it seemed so little happened, in comparison to the other books which were a lot more fast-paced and had a lot more historical detail. The sixth book was supposed to be the last one, but apparently Auel has decided to add one more volume after that, making seven in all. I just hope I don't have to wait another 13 years for her next book!
So anyway, I finished up
Ghost Rider last night, and am now almost finished with reading
Don't Pee on my Leg and Tell me it's Raining by Judge Judy Sheindlin. Now, for those of you who don't live in the U.S., I'm not sure how far Judge Judy's fame goes, but here in the States she is known as a television court judge; she was a "real" judge for many years in the New York City family court, and this book tells all about the many horror stories she faced in family court, and how people continuously scam the system and take advantage of programs that are meant to help people in need. Anyone who has ever seen an episode of Judge Judy's program should know that she's anything from lenient, and her tough-as-nails attitude comes across in this book by way of giving her take on how things can be changed in the judicial system. It's a small book, only a little more than 200 pages, so I should be done with it by the end of the night.
