The Classics Book Tag

I found this tag recently and immediately I knew I wanted to do it. Not only is it a book tag, but it has to do with classics (my favorite kind of books)! Here’s a link to the original (at least, I think it’s the original): The Classics Booktag (original).

Again, I’m not tagged by anyone and I’m not tagging anyone. However, if any of my lovely readers want to do it, I’d love to read your answers!

1. An overhyped classic you really didn’t like:

I have two. The first I mentioned in my blog post Popular Classic Books I Dislike. That is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. If you want to hear more of my thoughts of this book, check out that blog post. My second is Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. I don’t hate this play; I just think there are so much better Shakespeare plays that get ignored for this one.

2. Favorite time period to read about:

It’s a toss-up between the Victorian era and any ancient era. I love reading anything set in Asia (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) during Qing dynasty or Joseon dynasty too. I also love reading about Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, and Ancient China. Stuff like that. I just like reading a lot of different time periods I don’t know a lot about.

3. Favorite fairy-tale:

Growing up, it was always Beauty & the Beast. Recently, I’ve gotten into Russian fairytales and now I’m obsessed with Baba Yaga—yes, she’s a villainous witch, but she’s also hilarious! So, either one…

4. What is the most embarrassed classic you haven’t read yet:

Either Frankenstein by Mary Shelley or The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. Both have been on my TBR for years, and I have yet to read either.

5. Top 5 classics you would like to read (soon):

Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Utopia by Sir Thomas More, and Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson.

6. Favorite modern book/series based on a classic:

…I can’t think of one. Maybe Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, but while I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite books…I rarely like retellings based on classics.

7. Favorite movie version/tv-series based on a classic:

I do love the BBC miniseries of Charles Dickens Little Dorrit from 2008 and Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South from 2004. Both are great movies and, though they cut stuff out from the book, they are still my favorite adaptations. Another one is Muppet’s Treasure Island. Yes, I hear it’s nothing like the original book, but I grew up watching that movie hundreds of times and I love it!

8. Worst classic to movie adaptation:

Bran Stoker’s Dracula (1992), starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, and Anthony Hopkins. Despite its amazing cast, it was a horrible movie and an even worse adaptation. There are a lot of bad adaptations of Dracula, but this one actually claims to try to follow Bran Stoker’s book, which it doesn’t.

9. Favorite edition(s) you’d like to collect more classics from:

I like to mix it up, getting books for different editions. I haven’t found one edition that is better in all books than others. Mostly, I read my classics online or in random, old editions. So, I guess my answer would be any edition older than fifty years!

10. An underhyped classic you’d recommend to everyone:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I feel like it’s the more complex, serious version of Pride and Prejudice. I love this book, but I feel barely anyone has ever heard of it. It’s about the same plot as Pride and Prejudice, but it deals with the industrial era of England during the 1860s. Actually, I think Elizabeth Gaskell is an underappreciated author is general!

If you do this tag, leave your answers in the comments or a link to your blog. I’d love to read your answers! Follow my blog for more madness and, as always,

Best wishes in your life full of adventure,

Madame Writer