I was reading one of my favorite sister blogs today and noticed that they were doing something that I *thought* was called the Weekly Creeps. It turns out I was just being crazy (instead of my usual stark raving mad) and it isn’t. Instead it is a cute little book club. But I did the assignment anyway. Into every meme a little darkness should fall.
1) How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it?
Here’s the way I see it. Most things get old and then they die. But some things you can’t kill. They fester with unnatural vigor. You kill them and they come back seeking revenge from the grave. They tear at you with their hands and whisper things no sane living being is meant to hear! Wait. What was I talking about? Oh yes. Time washes away the chaff. If a book is that old and it’s still in print, then there’s a reason. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Lafcadio Hearn’s unsettling Japanese ghost stories to name a few. In addition there are lesser-known greats like Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Abrose Bierce, or Algernon Blackwood. I adore the classics! My favorite Shakespeare is, of course, Hamlet. Mostly because it’s really a ghost story but also because it’s so tragic.
2) A challenge, should you choose to accept it: Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you’re not familiar with.
I will try to do that this week. The rats and I are feverishly scrabbling around to prepare for a Feng Shui specialist who will be visiting our basement to give us some much needed decorating advice. We can’t wait! Ah HA HA HA HA!
3) Let’s say you’re vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book… she only reads classic literature… What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull off the shelf for her?
After I am done putting her on the rack and applying coals to her feet for being so criminally thoughtless, I will advise Myrtle to read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which, with its slow pacing and attention to the landscape, hearkens back to its roots. Also, I don’t think you can go wrong with anything written by Susanna Clarke. She is dreadfully delightful. I love her writing.
4) As you explore the other Weekly Geeks posts: Did any inspire you to want to read a book you’ve never read before—or reread one to give it another chance? Tell us all about it, including a link to the post or posts that sparked your interest.
I’ll try to keep an eyeball on it.
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