Need new books to read, any suggestions?

[Chrysanthus]

I'm looking for some good literature to read, I like lots of thee's, thou's and thy's. So I guess I'm looking for older classical literature.

My latest decent reads were The Monk by Matthew G. Lewis and Les Chants de Maldoror, by Lautréamont. Enjoyed them both.. I tried to get into Paradise Lost and the divine comedy.. But you see, English is my third language and I'm not proficient enough in it to grasp the full meaning of those epic poems. So i think I'll hold off on those for a while still...

Anyway.. any suggestions?

[Bitterfly]

Have you read Melmoth the Wanderer? Apparently it's a must-read (on my list for ages), and if you liked The Monk... I'd also like to read Caleb Williams... Sorry, I realize I'm giving you my wish-list for books, but those are the first two that popped up when I read your question!

[LitNetIsGreat]

I tried to get into Paradise Lost and the divine comedy.. But you see, English is my third language and I'm not proficient enough in it to grasp the full meaning of those epic poems. So i think I'll hold off on those for a while still...


Don't be hard on yourself those books demand a lot of concentration and dedication something that most of the students on my degree course lacked in regards to Milton! The fact that you are reading stuff like that and the way you write above suggests to me that these texts are by no means beyond you at all.

As for suggestions there really are too many options and I'm sure that shortly this thread will give you a years worth of reading but I would like to add the obvious - Shakespeare of course. :thumbs_up

[NEEMAN]

I wouldn't put your difficulty with Milton down to any deficiency on your English skills; epic poetry can be very tough to get into, and I myself only read it occasionally (when the mood strikes me). It takes a lot of investment for most people, and there are plenty of times I've been unable to penetrate such works.


As for suggestions... I never know what to suggest to someone without a rough gist of what they're into. What have you read that you really enjoyed?

[Etienne]

What are your two first languages? I would assume French might be one of them? Or do you wish to read literature in English?

[Pecksie]

Good choices! Well, if you like that kind of classic-cum-horror, you might enjoy Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' or Horace Walpole's 'The Castle of Otranto'.

[kasie]

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey is a gentle parody of Gothis Horror tales like The Monk.

You might enjoy Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, in the same vein, or Conan Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles, or H G Wells' The Invisible Man.

[Chrysanthus]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I'll look into them.


As for suggestions... I never know what to suggest to someone without a rough gist of what they're into. What have you read that you really enjoyed?

I've mostly been reading modern fiction, like Anne Rice's chronicles etc.. It's only been a couple of months or so since i made my first foray into older literature. I've read books such as Frankenstein, Dracula, The Castle of Otranto, The demon of Sicily, Marquis de Sade, Story of the Eye and the two mentioned above. The one i enjoyed the most would have to be Les Chants de Maldoror. I really enjoyed the writing style.. I do not consider myself to be restricted to any particular genre, but i do prefer darker literature with murders, violence, debauchery etc..

I do not like books with too much perversity like Marquis de Sade. :P


What are your two first languages? I would assume French might be one of them? Or do you wish to read literature in English?

My first two languages are Afrikaans and French, but I would prefer to read in English. :)

[Chrysanthus]

More suggestions.. please? :)

[stlukesguild]

You list darker "Gothic" literature so I will suggest a few obvious selections: short stories by Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. You might also do well to look into Theophile Gautier (whom you may read in French... or in English translation). You might also seek out The Moonstone and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, something by J.S. LeFanu, tales by Ambrose Bierce and Robert Louis Stevenson. Perhaps something by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Just a few to start.

[andave_ya]

You list darker "Gothic" literature so I will suggest a few obvious selections: short stories by Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. You might also do well to look into Theophile Gautier (whom you may read in French... or in English translation). You might also seek out The Moonstone and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, something by J.S. LeFanu, tales by Ambrose Bierce and Robert Louis Stevenson. Perhaps something by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Just a few to start.

LeFanu! What's he like? I've wanted to read him for AGES, after my favorite author had her character write a dissertation on him...I found one and only one book of stories by him, lent it to a friend before I read it, and never saw it again.

And um, for a reading suggestion, how about the Phantom of the Opera? It's fairly gothic and dark.

[Zee.]

Well it really depends on what types of novels you're interested in.

I personally love the novel In Cold Blood by Capote. It's incredibly chilling and keeps you hooked from start to finish. Give that a shot.

[Terror Firmer]

LeFanu! What's he like? I've wanted to read him for AGES, after my favorite author had her character write a dissertation on him...I found one and only one book of stories by him, lent it to a friend before I read it, and never saw it again.

And um, for a reading suggestion, how about the Phantom of the Opera? It's fairly gothic and dark.

Le Fanu in his short stories is a strong mix of folktales and gothic mysteries and ghost stories.

[Terror Firmer]

I'm looking for some good literature to read, I like lots of thee's, thou's and thy's. So I guess I'm looking for older classical literature.

My latest decent reads were The Monk by Matthew G. Lewis and Les Chants de Maldoror, by Lautréamont. Enjoyed them both.. I tried to get into Paradise Lost and the divine comedy.. But you see, English is my third language and I'm not proficient enough in it to grasp the full meaning of those epic poems. So i think I'll hold off on those for a while still...

Anyway.. any suggestions?

I would suggest Robert Aickman, an English horror writer though his OOP collections are in demand, two are quite readily available at least here in the States -- Painted Devils and The Wine-Dark Sea. Robert Aickman was a literary master of the subtle and psychological ghost story, and really knows how to channel England and its remote quaint countrysides colliding with the modern world. The tales are like entering dual realities altogether where the character's perceptions might not be entirely level headed and real. These stories would have made great Twilight Zone episodes. Not much violence, just a quiet terror creeping up the spine and creating a great amount of unease.

However, living in Africa, sadly these collections may be totally unavailable or simply not worth the cost of possessing. They are hard to obtain here.

[Child_20]

I know they are ancient masterpieces, but the most immediate titles that emerge in my mind are Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, The Oresteia by Aeschylus, The Aeneid by Virgil, and Metamorphoses by Ovid. I happen to fancy these literatures for quite some time.

Chrysanthus, becoming multilingual has been a facination of mine. You are fortunate to speak several languages. I adore the French language, and aspire to learn it someday. For now I must settle for being bilingual.

Take Care.

[Remarkable]

I know you prefer English,but since you can also read in French,you might want to try something from Hugo:he is their greatest.You could start with "Notre Dame de Paris".

As for English...Well,I'm not quite as familiar with classics as I would like to,but do you care also about more recent authors?

[mollie]

Chrysanthus, I wonder if you would enjoy the stories of May Sinclair? While they are somewhat more modern (early 20th century) than those you have described liking, they are quite dark in tone. If you would like something a little lighter, but enjoy stories with a supernatural theme, the collected stories of MR James are well written and entertaining. The novels of Ann Radcliffe (The Italian, The Romance of the Forest, The Mysteries of Udolpho) may also be of interest to you, as they are of the era you like and of the Gothic genre. Hope you have found all of the suggestions here helpful!