lou's library

In recent years, I have become quite the fan of reading books again. I used to only do that with my absolute favourites, because the knowledge that I will never get around to all the books I want to read haunts me already without me deciding to read everything twice. But sometimes, you need to revisit a book to truly get it, or it’s simply more fun the second time around. Or, like me, you have terrible short term memory and have forgotten the name of the protagonist two minutes after having finished a book (if I remember a character name for longer than a day, that’s how you know I loved them).

So, I have compiled a small list of books I have read at some point in my life, but think it is high time I pay them another visit. I won’t bore you with the entire list, as it is longer than I would like it to be, so I have focused on the classics for this blog post. Perhaps making it public will increase the pressure enough for me to go and actually read them. Fancy that!

1984 by George Orwell

I know why I am avoiding rereading 1984. I first read it aged 15 on summer holiday in Italy (strange choice of holiday reading, past me) and let’s just say I struggled. It was one of the first classics I ever read, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I was having a miserable time with these characters and the story in general, which is very much the point of the book. You’re not supposed to be laughing out loud on the beach reading 1984. I didn’t know this as a teenager, but I know it now. And I’ve read some more Orwell since then, and loved a lot of it. So, I know that I was the problem, not 1984. And don’t get me wrong, I totally got the message of the novel even at 15, and thought it a very important book. But I just struggle with books that make me uncomfortable, and boy is 1984 a prime example of a novel that does just that. So I know the reread won’t be fun, but that shouldn’t be anyone’s motivation when reading a dystopian novel that somehow resembles modern-day reality far too much anyway. I should just get over myself and read it, for God’s sake.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

On the other end of the spectrum is a classic I was expecting to suffer my way through, only for me to be having a grand time reading it. Frankenstein is one of those classics that is accessible and entertaining, the most rare of things. Mary Shelley is a genius and I would quite like to live in her brain for a day (is that a weird thing to say? Anyway, I stand by it). Frankenstein is such a phenomenal book that it has entered popular culture (leading to it very often being misinterpreted, but hey ho) and fundamentally shaped our understanding of the monstrous and the uncanny. It deals with huge questions such as nature vs nurture and where we should be drawing a line with our scientific endeavours. A new movie adaptation is being released this autumn, and I definitely want to read it again before that happens. Also, the first time I read it I had to do so in 24 hours because I had a university deadline to meet (don’t ask), so next time I would like to read it at a leisurely pace. I’m sure that would only enhance the reading experience and my understanding of the themes covered in this masterpiece.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

I have beef with this book. The only thing I knew about it before delving into it was that it’s Bella’s favourite book in Twilight. In hindsight, that in itself should have been enough warning. Alas, I went into Wuthering Heights expecting your average love story, perhaps with something a little unusual such as the woman in the attic in Jane Eyre. But no, I was hit with the most unhinged tale of obsession, violence and hatred-mistaken-for-passion I have ever layed eyes upon. My God, did I hate reading Wuthering Heights. If it hadn’t been essential reading for one of my uni courses, I would have quit half-way in. But I suffered through it, becoming more angry every time I turned a page. I just couldn’t understand how anyone could enjoy reading about two people as broken and in need of help as Cathy and Heathcliff. Now, I’m not saying that the prose isn’t stunning and that I’m categorically opposed to morally ambigious characters. Not in the slightest. But these two were simply too much for me. However, it’s been a good few years since then, and perhaps I have grown as a person (read: become completely crazy?) and will now find it to be a moving and hugely important tale of the desperate actions love can drive us to? Only time will tell, I suppose. I will definitely read it before the movie adaptation starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi hits the screens (on Valentine’s Day, would you believe it??) because that looks like a train wreck of a movie and I need to be able to participate in all the gossip.

Emma by Jane Austen

Oh, Emma. How I hate you. I don’t trust people who say this is their favourite Jane Austen book. I know she said she wanted to create a character so unlikeable only she herself would like her, and let me tell you Jane, you bloody well succeeded with Emma. That girl drove me absolutely mental with her non-stop scheming and self-obsessed complacency. Okay, now I’m just throwing big words around because I am angry, but I do want to give Emma another go. I do really like the 2020 adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy (although Josh O’Connor deserves all the credit for that) and maybe now that a few years have passed I will change my mind (or at least dislike it a little less)? I’m on a (admittedly rather slow) mission to reread all of Jane Austen’s novels and I really don’t want to leave Emma for last because that will only make me hate myself. So I think it is best to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. But you best believe that if I still dislike that girl and therefore the book, I’m never touching it again.

There you go, some of the classics I want to reread soon! Do let me know if there are any you’re planning to reread (or if there are some you wouldn’t touch again no matter what (looking at you, War And Peace)). If you’d like some tips on how to get into classics, I have a blog post on that here!