While reading another thread, I discovered that I hardly get near classic books, because I'm afraid that they might be hard to read and no fun at all, only loved by critics and literature experts, while the truth is that some classics make a really fresh reading.

I'm expecting here some recommendations of Real Books....using the manga genres, to make a list manga style

My list:

Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo - Seinen, Mystery, Action, Adventure.

Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron - Oneshots, Seinen, Mature, Ecchi, Adventure, Mystery, Romance.

Miguel de Cervantes' Novelas Ejemplares (Moral or Instructive Tales) - Oneshots, Shounen, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance

Sir. Walter Scott's Ivanhoe - Shounen, Action, Adventure, Historical, Romance

Please be international, as you see I listed a French, Italian, Spanish and English author.

If this thing is successful, I'll be listing here all your recommendations.

Last edited by MajorMarmot at 6:07 pm, Feb 15 2008

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Let me just clarify that you are suggesting that we recommend real books, not manga versions of classics?

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NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

Eh my favorite classic books, never actually made into manga

The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde yaoi, seinen (yes yaoi and seinen), horror

Lord of the Flies- William Golding shonen, action, adventure, survival

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Anderson shojo for the most part i guess

The Odyssey- Homer shonen, action adventure epic

The Scarlett Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne josei i guess

I edited the genres in

Last edited by funkmu1 at 6:11 pm, Feb 15 2008

Real books!!!!!! Just using the manga genres.

I actually saw the anime version of Monte Cristo, and.......no comments......

funkmu1@Thankyou very much

And Dorian Grey, yaoi, wowwww, and I was going to read that, thanks for the warming.

Last edited by MajorMarmot at 6:16 pm, Feb 15 2008

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I figured, I was a bit confused for a moment though, it's difficult to assign demographics. I'll make suggestions, but keep in mind that people sometimes find my taste in real literature off.

The odyssey was already suggested, so I just have two:

The Divine Comedy (a.k.a. Dante's Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise) by Dante Aligheiri (yes, I sadly did have to look up the last name). It's an epic poem, so if you can deal with that.
Genres: Psychological, adventure, supernatural (comedy as well, depending on your taste.)

Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) by Murasaki Shikibu.
Since this is a manga site, this will probably appeal to a large number of people simply for its Japanese-ness, but it is actually quite good, despite being dense.
Genres: Romance, Psychological, Historical, Harem?


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Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
Congratulations! Ur an asshole! - tokyo_homi
Your awesome!!! - Cherelle_Ashley
NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

The Divine Comedy is really good, I second that, the only thing I didn't like was having to go to the notes section of the book all the time

I was reading - "And then I saw (insert name of Italian Politician) tortured by demons......" - I had to go to the notes to see who that damn politician was and why was he in Hell, and then come back to the actual reading - "......who was chatting with (insert name of italian bishop) who was by his side" - And I had to go to the notes again...

and the Odyssey is also pretty good, I don't think there is anything wrong with your taste of books.

Another one:

Homer's Iliad - Seinen, yaoi (greeks, sigh) historical, action, epic.

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Perhaps Rumiko Takashi could be persuaded to take on Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. If she ever finishes her current manga, that is.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I think it has more to do with people not liking epic poetry than anything else though.

I forgot, I think I'm obligated to add at least one recommendation from Shakespeare after the last thread, so I'll recommend my favorite.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Genre: Psychological (once again), Seinen, Drama, Historical, Tragedy

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Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
Congratulations! Ur an asshole! - tokyo_homi
Your awesome!!! - Cherelle_Ashley
NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

Jane Eyrie - Drama, Josei, Tragedy

Frankenstein - Horror, Senien, Drama, Tragedy, Psychological, Historical (Mostly, anyway.. Doesn't go back very far though.)


War and Peace - Action, Senien, Drama, Tragedy, Historical, Romance

Added:

The Giver - Mystery, Shounen, Drama, Tragedy, Sci-Fi

Last edited by Dragonfiremule at 7:30 pm, Feb 15 2008

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Eragon
adventure, action
Ham and eggs
Comedy, adventure
Note: im in middle school

Lolita--Vladimir Nabokov: Seinin, Drama, Lolicon, Romance, Adventure, Ecchi, Mystery
--This book was, and is big. And it is creepy--very creepy--and scary in that the narrator (not the author, the narrator--whom even the author hates) is very convincing in his argument that his lust for Dolores Haze is natural, and his actions reasonable. I would not recommend this for younger readers. Many teenagers have difficulty getting through it, not because of the level of the book (though that is high), but because it is so ungodly creepy. Still, as far as prose goes, it is, I think, the pinnacle of English--certainly the best application of English in the 1900s.

Republic--Plato: Seinin, Historical, Fantasy (?)
--Know your Plato, peeps. It's very interesting, surprisingly. An incredibly difficult read, but rewarding. And when I call something a difficult read, I'm not messing around.

Heart of Darkness--Joseph Conrad: Seinin, Psychological, Adventure, Historical
--What man does to man is man's own business--if only he cared enough. Creepy, and a frightening look at what we are capable of doing to each other without remorse.

The Tempest--Shakespeare: Seinin, Supernatural, Drama, Comedy, Historical, Romance
--Magicians, comic relief (three drunkards, one a wild man!) revenge and plots for a throne so far removed from one tiny island.

Stranger (sometimes 'The Stranger')--Albert Camus: Psychological, Drama, Seinin
--Existential before there was a word before it; before Ayn Rand wrote all those terribly wordy and poorly disguised treatises on why existentialism is alright. Brilliant, and hilarious, if you've the right sense of humor for it--though most don't. Take a dive into the mind of one very distant Mersault and stand next to him while both of you watch his life spiral out of control miles distant.

Invisible Man--Ralph Ellison: Seinin, Drama, Psychological, Historical
--A permanently nameless protagonist fights the currents of racism, rising up-up-up before going underground, disillusioned in his cause. Deep. Very deep. Incredible prose, too. Dig it, yo.

Note: No matter what people tell you, Eragon is not a good book. Eragon is Star Wars retold in Middle Earth if Tolkien had read Anne McCaffrey novels growing up. He introduces nothing new, choosing instead to reuse everything we've read before. To top it off, his writing is halting and never shows, only tells. Pulpy, even fun once or twice through, but great novel and classic--never. Paolini is a hack author, or it wouldn't have taken two years of rejection and pushing to get Eragon out of self-publishing.

Last edited by Pseudopadoz at 7:39 pm, Feb 15 2008

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Tom Jones by Henry Fielding - shounen, adventure, ecchi, comedy ~ I read an edition that was a reproduction of the original printing, with all the non-standard spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. and though it took me a long time to read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I second Jane Eyre; drama, josei, tragedy, & romance. Read it in jr. high after seeing part of a mini-series on PBS & was shocked to discover that it was a classic, because it wasn't boring at all.

Anything by Murakami Haruki - seinen, psychological, adventure, romance, tragedy, drama, & mystery in varying concentrations depending on the book. Really wish our library would get more of his books, they twist my mind in interesting ways.

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"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
- Seinen, action, adventure, romance, supernatural
Story about the last gunslinger roaming worlds in order to reach the dark tower, at any cost. Very good story

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
-shounen, adventure, historical
Story set in the Southern United States prior to the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) about a kid and a runaway slave trying to escape and gain different kinds of freedom. A story about loyalty, friendship, and defying the laws of society.


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"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
- Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain

[quote=Crenshinibon]
Ah the harem..... 1000 years ago.


Anyway, right now I'm currently studying English Romanticism i.e. Wordsworth, Coleridge. So of the stuff that I am currently reading try, the only thing that I have thoroughly enjoyed was the bit of non-narrative prose that was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (the name escapes me). Very Philosophical.

I'll only make 2 suggestions:

The Rape of the Lock- Alexander Pope (Drama, Comedy, Parody, Harem, Fantasy)

Cannery Row- John Steinbeck (Slice of Life, Drama, Psychological, Historical)

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I'm sure you've read classics or if not, there are alot of relatively easy ones to read out there that are quite timeless. Charles Dickens writes relatively simply, so does H.G Wells if you like sci fi. Although the styles of these authors might be boring because of the fact that they lived in a different time period.