Is something wrong with me for finding most of the books considered to be classics boring?

Question

I havent read all of them yet, but I plan to just so I can criticize them legitimately. The ones I have read so far are so very boring though. Catch 22 was not that funny to me, Catcher in the Rye was not dark and disturbed at all Holden Caufield was just a cry baby, The Illiad and The Odyssey are two of the most redundant books I have ever read,God like Hector, son of olympian bred priam of teh great statte of Ilium known for their whatever. There is no reason to say this every time Hector speaks or does something.1984 boring, Great Gatsby boring, Mice and Men boring. Now some of the ones I did like are slaughter-house five, Dante's Inferno is one of the best books i've ever read, Don Quixote is one of the funniest books i've ever read, and Animal Farm is my favorite book of all time. Does it mean that I am not smart enough to appreciate the "classics", or is it perfectly normal for me to find those books to be boring?

Answer 1

Classics really depend on who you are. Something to consider though: I find that while reading many "classics" (like Great Gatsby, which was very boring in my opinion) I am bored because I can predict everything that will happen next and the books seem redundant. The same thing happened with the Scarlet Letter, I felt as if I was being smacked over the head with the theme of the novel.

I was frustrated until I realized that I know all the stories already! So many books have taken the plots of the "classics" because the classics are the ones that did it first. That is when I started to really try to read classics with more of an open mind, and maybe not for just an enjoyment book. Classics truly become interesting when you look at how the book was scandolous for its time, innovative for its time, or how the words are used in it. Many authors use such deliberate words that it is fascinating when you look at the parallels.

But I'm still often bored while reading the books. Victorian novels are the worst for me. Books like Great Expectations put me to sleep. But after I'm able to trudge through them I think I'm better for it, because then I have a good understanding of the basis of all our literature today. :)

As for finding classics that you won't find boring, have you tried talking to your teacher(s)? They may have some suggestions. Slaughter-house Five is really good, so maybe you want to try some other books of his? If you enjoy plays (and have read Hamlet) I recommend Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It is a riot. Good luck!

Answer 2

Some of the stuff you didn't like, I did. Catch 22, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, 1984 were all fine.

And you are dead on with Slaughterhouse 5 (a very interesting film, too).

Some stuff just resonates with us and other stuff doesn't. A few years ago, I was going to be in Japan, very isolated, for about 7 months. I felt I needed to read Charles Dickens to round out my knowledge of English literature. So I took The Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and a couple of others. I will never, ever read another Dickens book as long as I live. Thank God someone sent me All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy about 4 months into it...

I guess I, too, am just too damn dumb to appreciate the classics.

Answer 3

Just because you might consider some books "boring" does not make you abnormal! Some of them ARE boring! But I think that, sometimes, the importance of certain books go beyond just the bare bones of the story . . . you have to take into consideration the time period and what was going on in the world at the time these books were being written. Some books shock the world by talking about things that had never been written about before; others introduce new ways of writing or storytelling and that is what makes them "classics." Other books bring about social change/awareness . . . still others are controversial and that alone (in my opinion) makes them must reads.

Not all stories or methods of storytelling appeal to all people. The great thing about that, though, is that there will never be a shortage of great books to plow through. If you find one that doesn't appeal to you, another certainly will!

Answer 4

Classic novels have an extremely wide range, so remember that each author and each book has its own characteristics and shouldn't be lumped into the "boring" category by default.

It sounds good that you're actually attempting to read some of these, which to be defined as classics have had to truly stand the test of time, and it's also good that you're forming some sound and logical personal judgements.

Even if classics don't hold your interest like today's top-selling thrillers, however, you must appreciate such literature for the historical time capsules that they are. Books go miles for documenting political conditions, fashion, societal customs...everything! When you're transported into the mentality of a different time period, you get to experience something that the person sitting next to you and playing a video game does not.

So my advice is not to be so quick to put a label of "boring" or "funny" on a book, but to consider it more comprehensively first...the history of the time period, the life of the author, the styles of literature at the time, the roles in society played by the characters. Sometimes when a few factors fall into place and you realize their significance, the book becomes so much more interesting! Make investigating each one your own personal challenge.

Answer 5

Art is a matter of personal taste and yet, from what you have listed, I have to wonder how sophisticated a reader you are. I can see where books written a century and more ago may seem irrelevant to the modern reader, but Catch 22? 1984 couldn't be more relevant to our time (Dick Cheney IS Big Brother). All I can suggest is to keep plugging away if you're enjoying your reading. If you're only reading because you want to comment intelligently, I would suggest that you might be better off reading something you actually like.

Answer 6

It is perfectly normal. You are allowed to think that approximately half of all classics you read are boring, at first. After a few years you will know which authors you like and which ones you dislike, and you will make more of your selections from the authors you like. Then, the percentage of the classics you read that you actually like, will increase dramatically.
People have different interests and different tastes. So, just because a book is very good (for what it is), does not mean it is of interest to everybody.
If you become very accomplished literarily, you will probably learn to like some of the books you didn't like at first.

Answer 7

There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. No one is going to like everything they read. Sometimes you are hooked by a character, a theme, the plot, or the style of writing in a book. Sometimes one or more of these things don't work for you as a reader. The most important thing is that you don't judge the whole cannon of classical literature as boring without having read it, which you haven't.

Answer 8

Maybe your tastes are different. I found Of Mice and Men very touching, you found it boring. Just diff personal tastes. Nothing wrong in that.

Why dont you try diff genres? Try thrillers... try Wilbur Smith or Michael Railley novels and also try Raymond Chandler (who is again considered a Classic in detective story genre).

btw, I cudnt relate to Catcher in Rye myself. I didnt enjoy Zen and the Art of Motorcyle.... either, but ppl rave about these two books. I find Alchemist an overhyped, but well written book and not a life altering inspirational guide. But I dont question my smartness or sensitivity. Give me The Prophet anyday.

Answer 9

Probably you find them boring because maybe you are young and maybe your own experiences don't resonate with the themes in the book yet... For example the Great Gatsby was forced onto us in high school as well but a lot of the themes didn't really make sense to a high school kid, but looking back in midlife I can see some of the points of the book.

Answer 10

You have to remember that back then, books were one of the main forms of media. Now, it's tv, internet, and even radio still. Also, you have to remember the era they were written in. Take Shakespeare, for example. Some of his "comedies" aren't even funny anymore by today's standards. I remember reading one or two in high school and even the oldest teacher in the faculty didn't understand some of the jokes. ZING! lol As for your 1984, we're all so desensitized to the realities of what is in that book now, because people are more educated (supposedly) and they know more about the world now than they were back then.