To roll my eyes when someone says their favourite book is a classic

[Eyeroller100]

I'm an avid reader and I'm always looking for new books to read so I often ask people what their favourite books are. AIBU to roll my eyes every time someone mentions one of the classics.

I know people do love them and they may well be their faves, but I am quite skeptical as if they are saying it to make themselves sound better.

I've tried reading a lot of classics and I just can't get into them at all! They are pure effort

I loved Jane Eyre.

One of my favourites. Very moved by her childhood as depicted in the book. The part after they know they have gone too far after locking her in the red room and they try and cheer her up: give her the pretty painted plate to eat off that she was never allowed to hold, etc and nothing cheers her up.

That stayed with me.

Going to download it op. Thanks for inspiration I want to read it again

nannykatherine..I agree with you-most of Maugham's novels are deep and full of insight. Not only The Painted Veil, but my absolute favourite, The Razor's Edge. Even his short stories contain skilfully-sketched characters and their foibles. However, in this postcolonial era, many would find his portrayal of the East under British rule unengaging and irrelevant. I find it fascinating and informative, perhaps because members of my family served in the Colonial Service.

raven I accept on one level neither are particularly pleasant. But I like them, and admire them to a certain extent within the context of their age and upbringing. Even the older H who is undoubtedly a villain I feel a mixture of pity and fascination for. I think that's why I love it so much, I find both characters mesmerising.

Yes. I don't mind unpleasant characters - I enjoy them. But I found nothing that engaged me in the WH cast, that's not the same as disliking them. Holden Caulfield now for example, impossible to like as a person (for me anyway), but a fascinating character to read. Horses for courses and all that.

But you know, I think I have WH on my Kindle, so I'll try crack it open again over the next few days. It's loved by so many so I'm interested now to see do the characters grab me this time.

Well I love horror / crime / serial killer books , but my all time fave ever book is little women . So although I know some people say it as they think it makes them sound clever , some people like me , like the occasional classic thrown in 🤔

For what it's worth, I thoroughly disliked WH when I first read it at school. But then when I read and studied it the following year at university, I really enjoyed it.

I have never re-read it though, unlike many other books.

I would expect an "Avid reader" to be able to spell - Sceptical not sceptical.

Here it's skeptical.

I think this all the time when politicians or celebrities are asked. Same with films.

You are not only being unreasonable, your attitude speaks to insecurities regarding your admitted inability to engage with classics yourself. If someone tells you that their favourite is a classic, instead of judging them, ask them what it is about that particular book that they love - their answer will, more often than not, reflect an in-depth knowledge and genuine passion. Mine is also Wuthering Heights - for myriad reasons, not least because I grew up in that landscape and the book resonates on a deep and personal level. Do I think that revealing this will make me sound better than I am? That would be insane.

"In short, Bridget Jones is a really important 20th century novel."

Hahahahahhhaha

It's about as important as Batman comics. A bit of light entertainment, some situational comedy, all happy by the end.

Jayne Eyre is my all time favourite, or do you think that I’m saying so to make myself seem more educated?

You admit to not being able to get into them but that’s your problem not mine!!

"My favourite book is what I think everyone would consider ‘a classic’ - not surprisingly, considering my screen name, it’s To Kill a Mockingbird. But - as one previous poster has suggested - it’s not the case that I haven’t read a book since school
... I also have a bookshelf stuffed with the works of E L James and J K Rowling for example."

No wonder TKAM is your favourite ever book, if the only competition it has is soft porn and children's fantasy.

Jayne Eyre is my all time favourite, or do you think that I’m saying so to make myself seem more educated?

I agree, it is a crazy concept!

Jayne Eyre is also a reading book at school pre GCSE when I was at school anyway. 14 I was when given it to read.

So one didnt even need any GCSEs first to be considered capable of comprehending it!

OP you can probably judge for yourself who gives genuine opinions among your friends and who doesn't. If you think someone is being disingenuous I get that you'd roll your eyes, but I agree you should ask them to sell (insert highbrow title here) to you as there's a whole world of 'classics' which were written to be popular with a wide audience, and succeeded in this through generations or even centuries. Dickens is truly fab, I have tried persuading a few friends to try him saying how funny his writing is - perhaps they've rolled their eyes at me!

Just because you don't like them doesn't give you the right to roll your eyes at people who do.

I self-discovered and read many of the classics as a child. I couldn't even pronounce a lot of vocabulary when I was young cos I'd never heard anyone say those words. I just loved reading, anything, everything.

Tale of two cities...best book ever and only book i ever cried at...but then i am an English teacher.

There's no need to be rude CoteDAzur - if you don't have a coherent argument against what I said about Bridget Jones simply don't answer it.

And Batman comics are an incredibly important part of the 20th century canon too whether you like them or not - their influence is wide ranging, in fact more so than Bridget Jones, due to their later incarnation in multiple film franchises (of varying quality, obviously.)

For the record, I don't particularly like either Batman or Bridget Jones but that doesn't mean I am blind to their social and cultural significance.

I find it so strange that people think their taste is the only culturally significant taste and that they get to be arbiters of what counts as a classic. Particularly when that taste is so narrow.

@CotedAzur you're coming across very much as a person who tries to hide their own insecurity by being critical with no foundation over others choices.

The rise of the comic was of huge cultural significance.

There's no question that - it's merits in terms of literature notwithstanding - that EL James again has cultural significance that cannot be denied.

Popular culture and the canon are different things. As this thread demonstrates.

FaFoutis - indeed. Both are important though.

I can't bear snobbery surrounding books.

Reading anything is better than never reading!

CoteDAzur

"In short, Bridget Jones is a really important 20th century novel."

Hahahahahhhaha grin

It's about as important as Batman comics. A bit of light entertainment, some situational comedy, all happy by the end.

One would almost think the term “ great literature* had been redefined. The Bridget Jones fan probably doesn’t have anything of note with which to compare it.

Reading anything? Erm...Mills & Boons romances? Don’t think your argument is particularly strong.

@RoseWhite - yes. Reading anything.

But then I'm not a book snob. If someone gets pleasure from reading Mills and Boon; what on earth is wrong with that?

They are, but Bridget Jones will never be included in the canon of literature. (It doesn't mean those who like it are idiots either.)