Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week is all about the classics - however we choose to define them. The topic I eventually decided on is this: the top classic novels I've read for each decade of the twentieth century. But that's a bit of a mouthful, and so I abbreviated it for my post title.
Obviously there are some decades where I've read a fair amount of books that were published, and others where I've only read one or two. The 1930s to 1960s were the hardest decades to narrow one to one top choice, while the earlier decades I only really had one or two options that I'm aware of having read. So, even though it was fun to categorize books this way, please take my list with a grain of salt.
1900s: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
1910s: The Secret Garden by Frances Eliza Hodgson
1920s: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1930s: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
1940s: Native Son by Richard Wright
1950s: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
1960s: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
1970s: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
1980s: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
1990s: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Any books you think I should include for any of these decades?
The Secret Garden was one of my all-time favorite reads as a kid. I recently did a re-read and was so pleased to find that I enjoyed it as much as an adult. Rebecca was a wonderful read and one of my favorite classics as well. I should really read The Princess Bride one of these days. :) The House of Mirth too. Great list!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bonnie! I didn't really enjoy The Secret Garden during my first read or two - it was hard to relate to Mary! But over the years I've grown more fond of it.
DeleteAnd you should! It's a *lot* like the film, from what I remember, but that just made me super happy.
The Great Gatsby is one of my all-time favorites. I love that I was able to come back to it after school, after so many despised it because we were required to read it, and love it over and over again. A few months ago, I reread it while listening to the new, updated version of the audiobook, read by the actor Jake Gyllenhaal and I fell in love all over again.
ReplyDeleteAnd I just recently reread Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone again last week! I'm literally listening to Chamber of Secrets right now as I browse blog posts! I have my book open beside of me, to my left. Love that you added this to your list! I have not finished with the series but one of my (unwritten) goals for the year is to make it through the entire series, which is why I began again a few days ago! I really love your list!
I haven't read The Great Gatsby since high school...I need to fix that soon! I did love reading it then, though, and discussing with my class. I feel like it's one of those stories that'll hold up well.
DeleteAnd yay! I haven't done a HP re-read in like...3 years maybe? I really should work on remedying that this summer. I'm so excited/jealous of you getting to finish the series in its entirety for the first time. I wish I could experience that again. I hope you LOVE it! :)
Thanks, Asheley!
Lovely picks! I love this creative spin on the topic! I have read most of these and loved all of the ones I've read, except A Wrinkle In Time, which for some reason, I just did not like. I really need to read Native Son and The House of Mirth. Great post! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cort!
DeleteAnd really? I don't know of many people who didn't enjoy that one. You should give it a try again at some point.
I definitely encourage you reading Native Son and The House of Mirth as well.
I haven't read The House of Mirth and Native Son. I have added these two to my TBR pile of this year. I need to get reading more classics. Of all my favorites are The secret garden and Rebecca. Wonderful picks, Amanda!!
ReplyDeletePlease do! They're both great. :)
DeleteAnd me too. I'm going to try to read one at least every other month. Starting with this month and Little Women (hopefully).
I never really loved A Wrinkle in Time, but I LOVED Many Waters, the fourth book in the series. And heck, you have TGG on your list! Let's be best friends!
ReplyDeleteOkay! :)
DeleteAnd I need to go back to that series. I never read past A Wrinkle in Time (I think I was reluctant to let Meg's story go - sometimes I still have this issue with series/companion novels). BUT I have heard good things about the rest of the series, so I shall return to it. Eventually.
This is a great list here, Amanda. Can you believe I've never read the Harry Potter series? There's usually a gasp from someone when I say that. Lol!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Hitchcock film Rebecca and thought I'd love the book as well, but it didn't measure up to the film for me. I feel like the suspense was dampened by endless details. Just not my cup of tea.
I admit I did a tiny bit of internal gasping there. ;)
DeleteI really want to see Hitchcock's version of Rebecca. I went into reading Rebecca with literally no expectations, which helped me tremendously. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it more, though.
I love how you've organized the list by decades, a very interesting idea and makes the list more comprehensive. I have read and loved The Great Gatsby and I also recently read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and it was amazingly written. I think your list is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nidhi! It's too difficult to say "my favorite classics," I think. Or it felt too difficult when I was working on this post. Mhm, yes, Atwood really was a pioneer at that whole dystopian society full of repressed women's rights.
DeleteRebecca is one of those classics I've been meaning read! I really loved the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Glad to see The Handmaid's Tale and The Great Gatsby! Both are favorites of mine also. Lord of the Rings... one of these days. I watch the movies probably 3 times a year.
ReplyDeleteGreat choices, Amanda!
I need to see that film asap! But I'll probably wait until I re-read the book first so I can do a comparison of the two.
DeleteAnd really? You have no idea how happy that makes me. LotR series are my favorite films EVER. Like, I truly believe nothing will ever surpass them. I haven't done a re-watch in a while though, so hmm, I should go fix that..
Thanks, Danielle!
oooh! I love that you did the 20th century here AND by decade. My favorite would be To Kill A Mockingbird. I think 1930s? But I'm not sure on that…Anyway, I love THE SECRET GARDEN, REBECCA and WRINKLE IN TIME. Those are forever favorites. THE HANDMAID'S TAIL was quite intriguing when I read it. And I love Harry Potter of course! I love that it's a classic and everyone is freaking out about the new short story today. I haven't read THE PRINCESS BRIDE - GASP. But I like the movie. I know, sacrilege. Love this post!
ReplyDelete