Happily, I can announce that The Classics Club are bringing back their monthly Classic Meme feature., which I thought was a great opportunity for clubbers to discuss and share all things Classics. This month’s question revisits the very first meme question the club ever did! In the future, we can look forward to new memes, revisiting some old ones and offering our own recommendations, too! So head over to the club’s blog if you have any ideas.
For now though, the question to ponder this month is:
‘What is your favourite classic book? Why?’
I have to admit that this was a tough question to answer the first time and it certainly hasn’t got any easier with time, as I have now read even more wonderful classics! I could pick Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. However I still find myself drawn back to the answer I gave the first time, which was The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien.
No matter how many amazing, accomplished classics I have read, so far nothing has knocked this childhood favourite from its special place in my heart, and I still find myself returning to it time and time again. Not only is this a magical tale that sweeps me away to Tolkien’s stunning Middle-Earth for a daring adventure with little Bilbo Baggins, this also holds wonderful memories for me. One of my earliest memories is of my dad reading this to me at bedtime and our shared love of this book was a big thing between my nan, my dad and I before she sadly passed. So with adventure, magic, songs, treasure, danger, friendship, a dragon and wonderful memories, what more could I want in a classic?!
What is your favourite classic and why? Also, please feel free to leave a link in the comments below for your own post for this month’s meme.
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I think you’ve nailed exactly why one classic becomes a favourite over another – the shared memory it evokes or the personal experience it touches.
I reread The Hobbit last year and was reminded of just how charming and rich it truly is.
Aw thank you Brona 🙂 I am also pleased to hear you enjoyed your re-read of this wonderful children’s classic so much.
The classic that always remains in the forefront of my mind is Jane Eyre. Reading it officially solidified my love for classic literature and will always hold a very special place for me. However, Rebecca, Persuasion, and Brave New World are close behind!
Shayna, it is lovely to hear that reading Jane Eyre solidified your love of classic literature and I can see why that would have a very special place due to that. I’m afraid I am one of those terrible people who doesn’t love Jane Eyre (sorry!) but I do love Rebecca and Persuasion. 🙂
It’s a tough question. Lord of the Rings, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol – they’re all favourites – but I’d probably go with LotR because it’s a book that I just love and it’s given me such enjoyment over the years.
Lynn 😀
Lynn, there is definitely something about Tolkien’s wonderful Middle Earth that has us coming back again and again 🙂
I can’t argue with The Hobbit…it was certainly in the running for me.
Hello J.E. Fountain thank you for stopping by and commenting 🙂 Especially as you can’t argue with the wonderful Hobbit and had it in the running for your own choice 😀
Also might you guess where my handle Amy of Hearth Ridge is inspired from? LOL! 😉
Amy, I didn’t know before but I think I can a very good stab in the dark now 😉
I love The Hobbit too! I first tried to read it when I was thirteen and didn’t get far but then I tried it again when I was 25 and I totally loved it! I even liked all the poems and songs. I am currently reading The Lord of the Rings and I think I like it even more than The Hobbit. I’m definitely a Tolkien fan since I first read The Hobbit 🙂
Anyway, I just posted my answer to this question and I chose Little Women, for sentimental reasons as well. I haven’t read it in a very long time but I have such fond memories of it. It was a book I read over and over again during my teen years and I am looking forward to reading it again soon.
Irene, I am so pleased to hear you are definitely a Tolkien fan now 😀 I also love The Lord of the Rings and Little Women. 🙂
Great answer, Jessica! 😉 Ivanhoe for me, maybe The Hound of the Baskervilles too… I really have to read more classics, then I can answer with confidence. 🙂
Thank you Carmen 😀 I love The Hound of the Baskervilles too, but sadly I only have a vague memory of enjoying Ivanhoe, so I am hoping to re-read it soon!
The Hobbit is a great book and it’s good that it brings back so many happy childhood memories for you. I like all the other classics you’ve mentioned in your post too, but my favourite is still The Count of Monte Cristo, which was my answer to this meme question the first time round.
Thank you Helen 🙂 Sadly I haven’t read The Count of Monte Cristo, but after loving The Three Musketeers, I am hoping to rectify this very soon!
I haven’t read The Hobbit in decades – I really must revisit it! It got kinda knocked off its pedestal for me by Lord of the Rings, which I loved even more.
FF, you really MUST revisit The Hobbit soon!! I also love The Lord of the Rings but I think perhaps because it is on the more serious side it is not such an easy, comforting re-read, so for that reason The Hobbit has kept its top spot. Plus The Lord of the Rings takes quite a lot longer to re-read… 😉
So hard to pick just one! They change depending on mood and season. The Hobbit is my favorite Tolkien, I think, too. Currently, I think the title that has meant the most to me recently would be Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery. I read it at a particularly difficult mothering season and it touched me deeply.
Amy, it is wonderful to hear that Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery touched you so deeply during a difficult time. Sadly I have not read anything by Montgomery but I hope to rectify this soon! 🙂
Oooooo. You are in for a treat!
Amy, I am very glad to hear it! 🙂