Today’s Top Ten Tuesday was Top Ten Books Written Before I Was Born, and in all honesty it was actually hard. It basically just became my 8 favorite classics + 2 modern series. Anyway, without further ado, here are my Top Ten Books Published Before I Was Born, presented in chronological order.
Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Romeo and Juliet is fantastic and I love it. I know a lot of people dismiss it because the plot is basically about teenagers making bad decisions and being impulsive, or because of the instalove aspect, but if you don’t take it overly seriously it’s a really good story.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1600)
This is my favorite Shakespeare play, and I will support it forever. It has fairies and a play within a play and absolutely ridiculous scenarios, and I just really love it a lot.
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Pride and Prejudice is definitely within my top ten books of all time, quite possibly in the top five. I’m quite indecisive on that front, so it fluctuates. Regardless, of its exact position within the realm of my favorite books, it is high up there, and I will recommend it until my dying day. Elizabeth Bennet is an amazing character, and the plot and relationships within the book feel real, even over two centuries later.
Persuasion (1818)
I wasn’t expecting to like Persuasion as much as I did, but it ended up surprising me. It is much more wistful and reflective than Pride and Prejudice, though they’re both about second chances in the end.
Frankenstein (1818)
Mary Shelley was an icon, and Frankenstein, as the foundation of science fiction, definitely deserves a place on this list. The book is not at all what I had expected it to be, but it’s still amazing, and I definitely recommend that everybody read it at some point in their lives (though make sure you’re reading Mary Shelley’s original, and not Percy Shelley’s edited version).
Jane Eyre (1847)
I just finished this last month, and I’m still a little shocked by how much I loved it. Although it’s slow at the start, everything afterwards is spectacular and enthralling.
Little Women (1868-69)
Little Women is a book that I know is somewhat hit-or-miss with people, in that some find it too preachy. I am definitely not one of those people. I love the four protagonists (Jo is actually my least favorite, which I know is an unpopular opinion), and the way that the book matures as the protagonists do perfectly mimics the process of growing up, and it’s just wonderful.
Anne of Green Gables (1908)
Anne of Green Gables is definitely in my Top 5 Books of All Time list. Anne Shirley is an amazing character, and I love absolutely everything about this book. It’s another book that’s really about growing up at its core.
Harry Potter, books 1-4 (1997-2000)
The first four Harry Potter books came out before I was born. Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done without these books growing up; there was a several year period where my books were my only real friends, and I relied on Hermione’s character more than I can say.
A Series of Unfortunate Events 1-8 (1999-2001)
Speaking of important characters to me, Violet Baudelaire is another favorite. Her quote from The Ersatz Elevator, “If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives,” has actually become a mantra for me with my anxiety, and to this day I have a superstition about not taking any math or science tests without tying my hair back, stemming from my mimicking her habit of tying back her hair when problem solving. This series is so good, and so unusual, and it’s mostly about reckoning with being children in an adult’s world, and I recommend it to anybody of any age.
I loved A Midsummer Night’s Dream!
My post.
I know; it’s amazing! I’m planning on rereading it at some point this year as part of my goal of reading 5 Shakespeare plays in 2021.
… Harry Potter came out before you were born? T_T Gosh I feel old now. *goes to sit in a corner and grow mushrooms*
I really enjoyed Frankenstein, too, and I enjoy the way it sort of subverts the reader’s expectation a little bit.
Here’s my TTT post.
I definitely agree with you about Frankenstein; it wasn’t at all what I had expected it to be, but I still really enjoyed it!
LITTLE WOMEN, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, and JANE EYRE are all on my list today as well. Your observations on LITTLE WOMEN are interesting. I’m listening to it on audio right know (although I’ve read the print version many times) and it definitely is preachy, but I still love it so much. It’s such a warm, charming book. Like lots of readers, I love Jo best. Now, I’m really curious – who is your favorite character in the book??
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
If I absolutely HAD to choose, I’d say Amy is my favorite character, then Beth, then Meg, then Jo. I’m not terribly sure why Amy’s first; she definitely has the most interesting character arc, and I’ve always connected with the visual arts aspect of her character, but I doubt that’s what drew me to her when I was younger. I do know why I’ve always connected to Beth, which is that personality-wise she is very like myself when I was little (painfully shy, hyperempathetic to objects and dolls, etc.). I don’t dislike Jo; I actually like her a lot, but it’s just that I’ve always connected a lot more to her sisters than to her.
Interesting! I was most like Beth as a child, too – shy, awkward, etc. – but she’s so much nobler than I ever was that it’s hard for me to connect with her. I think of her more as an angel than an actual girl. I do love how Alcott infuses all the characters with their own, unique personalities – it makes them feel real and helps me see aspects of myself in all of them. Thanks for answering my question!