"Top Ten Tuesday" is an original feature/weekly meme created on the blog "The Broke and the Bookish". This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at "The Broke and the Bookish".
It is now hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.
Since I am just as fond of them as they are, I jump at the chance to share my lists with them! Have a look at their page, there are lots of other bloggers who share their lists here.
Books Written Before I Was Born
What a wonderful topic. I have fewer books to choose from than many other bloggers since they have to be at least 60 years old. But there are plenty of great books that were written before my time and I enjoy them a lot. I have listed my favourite books of the authors that I enjoyed as a young person as well as some that I only got to meet in later life.
Austen, Jane "Persuasion" - 1817
Buck, Pearl S. "Peony" - 1948
Camus, Albert "The Stranger" (aka "The Outsider") (French: L'étranger) - 1942
Dickens, Charles "Great Expectations" - 1861
Dinesen, Isak/Blixen, Karen "Out of Africa" - 1937
Mann, Thomas "Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family" (German: Buddenbrooks) - 1901
Orwell, George "Nineteen Eighty-Four" - 1949
Scott, Mary "Breakfast at Six" - 1953 (first book of my favourite series by her)
Tolstoy, Lew Nikolajewitsch (Толстой, Лев Николаевич) "War and Peace" (Russian: Война и мир = Woina I Mir) - 1868/69
What a great list of good books. Bridge on the Drina and Breakfast at Six are completely new to me. I will see what I can find out. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. As you have found out yourself, it's almost impossible to find a copy from any of Mary Scott's novels. They are all great, I can assure you. So, if you can find one for a decent price, get it.
Delete"The Bridge on the Drina" was a book club book that we read ages ago. The author received the Nobel prize for literature just for the one book.
I hope hope you'll find and enjoy it. Thanks for your visit and Happy Reading!
Did you like Nineteen Eighty-Four? I thought it was quite thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteMy post. (My fingers are crossed that this link will work this time!)
Thanks, Lydia. Yes, I did like it. And definitely yes, it is very thought provoking. George Orwell was quite a predictor, our lives seem to look similar to what he said. I mean, the telescreen that sees and hears everything ... LOL. We brought them into our houses ourselves.
DeleteThanks, as always for your link. This is what shows up when I click on it:
javascript:void(0);
But it doesn't matter. Thanks fo modern technology and "Big Brother", I will always find you. LOL
See you on your page.
I attempted to read War and Peace last year but alas...wasn't in the mood for such a dense classic. Will give it another shot at some point in the future. appy reading! :D My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/books-written-before-i-was-born-the-classics-edition/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stefani. Sometimes it's just not the right time for a book. I hope you will give it another try some day, maybe after reading other, not so long Russian classics.
DeleteLovely to hear from you. Thanks for your link, I'll visit you soon.
I have a Dickens book on my list today, too, but it's a short one: A CHRISTMAS CAROL :) I'm pretty sure it's the only one of his I've ever read, which is sort of shameful. I need to read more by him. If only his novels weren't so long and detailed! Maybe someday I'll actually read GREAT EXPECTATIONS or OLIVER TWIST ...
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
I know, Susan. His books are rather large. But that's what I love about them. We all have different preferences.
DeleteMy favourite Dickens is "David Copperfield", then "Great Expectations" (I switch between the two when TTTing). "A Tale of Two Cities" isn't bad, either. But yes, his books are all quite long but also brilliant.
Happy Reading and thanks for your visit. See you on your page.
I have been meaning to read The Bridge on the Drina for a long time. Great Expectations is one of my favorite Dickens books. I don't think I will ever get to War and Peace.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Judith.
Delete"The Bridge on the Drina" is great. Not as long as some of my other favourites but still brilliant. As I just said to Susan ^^ favourite Dickens is "David Copperfield", then "Great Expectations". But you know how much I love Russian authors, so "War and Peace" is one of my favourite books ever!
Thanks, as always, for your visit and the talk.
I had to look way back into my college Humanities class to find more books for my list, so I get what you mean!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club, Deanna. I love classics, and for me a classic has to be about a hundred years old. At least. LOL
DeleteSo, I didn't have a problem finding ten books to fit the list. Looking forward to seeing yours.
Thanks for visiting.
Nice list! I would like to read War and Peace too at some point.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, "War and Peace" is definitely worth a read. I hope you'll get to it soon, I'm sure you'll love it.
DeleteThanks for your visit.
Oh man! I need to read 1984! Great list!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my TTT!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog
Thanks, Ronyell. As I said to Lydia ^^, there are many similarites to our lives today. Certainly worth a read now as much as ever.
DeleteHope you'll get to it. Thanks for your visit and for leaving your link. I'll hop over soon.
A very nice list! I have Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol on mine, the only Dickens books I've read so far, and the shortest. I need to read more of his books.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any Orwell yet, but someday!
Here's my TTT if you're interested. :)
Thanks, Carissa. I'm always interested in what others read and I've met so many great people that way. Try to read "David Copperfield" next, that is also a great novel by Charles Dickens, my personal favourite. Or "a Tale of Two Cities", not your standard Dickens but also great.
DeleteThanks for visting and for leaving your link. Will hop over now.
I am so mad at myself for missing another TTT, but our students returned full time, 100% that day, so I was a little exhausted. Love this collection of books!
ReplyDeleteThat is a very valid excuse. Doing something for the education of our next generation is far more important than another reading list. However, you can always do it another time when there is a topic that doesn't speak to you and doesn't even give you a twist.
DeleteI am sure you would enjoy quite a few of the books on my list. Maybe one day you'll read some of them.
Anyway, thanks for your visit and good luck with your teaching.
Thank you! We are in our second week now of students being 100% in-person instead of attending half-time. We are the second largest elementary school in our district, and about 600 students are in the building per day, with about 200 still being fully remote. It is frustrating to me that the district would bring all students back before we get vaccinated, I don't understand it at all. The district sent out an email over Christmas break asking who would want to take it, so they have an accurate count, and we have heard nothing since then.
DeleteWe are far from that but people plead to let children go back to school. I'm with you, vaccinate first, then return to "normal" life, whatever that means.
DeleteWe have a list of who gets vaccinated when. First the over 90s and people working with them and in hospital, then 80-90 and people who care for them (even at home), then 70-80 etc. So we are far down the list. You can get moved up to the 60-70 list if you have pre-conditions but since we're in that list already, we remain where we are.
Nobody is happy with whatever has been done against Covid, some think more needs to be done, others wish nothing should be done. They started like that in Sweden but they have restrictions now, as well. Still not as hard as in other countries and they still have a lot more infections and deaths compared to others. I hope my son will be able to leave before he catches it but you never know.
Good luck with yours.
I've only read The Good Earth from Pearl S. Buck, but she's a fabulous writer. And I remember you mentioning Mary Scott's work on a previous list (I mean, how could I not, her books sound unique and awesome) -- I still have not gotten to her, but am still intrigued.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stevie. The Good Earth is certainly one of her best and most interesting books but they are all worth reading. My favourite is "Peony", that's why it's on this list.
DeleteUnfortunately, Mary Scott's books are out of print. I once had a link to some online books but, unfortunately, that doesn't work anymore, either. Maybe if you checked Gutenberg. I can't get onto the international site because it's been blocked in Germany. She's not on the German one, so that doesn't bode well since she was very popular here. Pity. They are lovey and easy stories about New Zealand. I'm not too much into the easy stuff but these were really good.
Anyway, talk to you again about our favourite hobby. Have a good day.
Oh, that stinks that you can't access Gutenberg. I didn't see her on there though, nor on OpenLibrary, and she's definitely not available through my statewide interlibrary loan. Guess I will have to keep an eye out for reasonably priced secondhand copies -- Breakfast at Six looks like it can be had for the price of a typical new hardcover's retail, which is a bit expensive for me but not out of reach, at least.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there is a legal debate. In Germany, copyright laws are different, writings only enter the public domain 70 years after an author's death and the German site claims because there are a few authors who are not dead for 70 years, we shouldn't be able to read any. :(
DeleteI know that Mary Scott's books are quite expensive in used form, what a shame. They are lovely little books but I wouldn't encourage anyone to spend an arm and a leg for them. "Breakfast at Six" is certainly the book I would recommend first since it is the first book in her series of the two farmers' wives Susan and Larry and they are lovely reads.