Top Ten Tuesday: Classics On My TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Week's Topic: Classics On My TBR List

All throughout college I used to half-joke with my mom that I was the World's Worst English Major, due to my severe lack of interest in the "classics." I loved my classes on contemporary lit, YA and children's lit, and 19th century British lit, but didn't really care for much else. I guess you could call those categories my reading comfort zones, and I tend to stick to them pretty religiously. So whenever I hear the word "classics" in reference to literature, I can't help but feel a twinge of guilt for not having read more. But, for better or for worse, when I read on my own time, I read first and foremost for entertainment. The unfortunate outcome of that is a lot of the classics I've attempted to read have ended up in the DNF pile. I am trying to remedy this! Granted, I don't think I'll ever be a Shakespeare enthusiast or an avid fan of anything written before 1800 for that matter, but here are some of the classics that I am looking forward to reading (someday).

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - The summary seems very Jane Eyre-esque, and since that is one of my favorite stories, I'm very interested in reading Rebecca.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - I'm not sure how I even came across this book but I immediately added it to my TBR list after reading the summary. It sounds completely bizarre but intriguing.

Dracula by Bram Stoker - As a Twilight fan, I really don't know how I've gone this long without reading Dracula. It's THE vampire novel.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - Full disclosure: this was a book I was supposed to read during my senior of high school that I, uh...mostly skimmed (cut me some slack, everybody does it!). Shortly after that time, PBS aired the BBC version of Tess with Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne, and I watched the whole series and it absolutely destroyed me. Ever since then I've wanted to reread the book, and I think I'll have a much greater appreciation for it now that I'm older, and familiar with the story.

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot - From the summary on Goodreads, this almost sounds YA-ish: a girl on the verge of adulthood, struggling with romantic and familial relationships, trying to find out who she is and what she wants out of life. Sounds good to me!

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - For the past couple of Thanksgivings, I've gotten into the habit of watching AMC's Gone With The Wind marathon and now it's pretty much a tradition. I love the movie and it's about time I read the book.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - Little Women is another one of my favorite movies, so it's high time I pick up the book.

Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery - I first read Anne of Green Gables three years ago for a children's literature class and I fell in love with the book. Everything about it was wonderful, from Montgomery's descriptions of Prince Edward Island (I want to go there!), to the humor, to Anne herself, whose huge personality and imagination make her so endearing. I've only read book one, so I want to find out how the rest of Anne's story goes.

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - Oh, Charlie. We've been through some rough times, you and I. From when we were first introduced via Great Expectations in ninth grade English, to when we met again through Little Dorrit in sophomore year of college, it's been a tumultuous relationship. I really didn't think I would ever come to appreciate you, let alone like you. But then I reread Great Expectations and found that, while sometimes frustrating, your writing wasn't quite as agonizing as I had once found it. In fact, you were kind of...funny. So, I think I'll give you another try. And since I love the movie Nicholas Nickleby, that's the book of yours I'm going with next.