I have read a large number of the classic books over the last few years. I cannot remember when I started on the project and I cannot define a ‘classic’ book, either.
And I am rereading many of them now. Last week I finished Madame Bovary again and now I am reading The Brothers Karamazov.
I intend reading for a second time many of the others and a YouTube channel which I came across has really stimulated my interest in these old books again. The channel is Fiction Beast and I cannot recommend it highly enough if you have an interest in books.
The guy’s treatment of his subject matter, which he clearly loves, is detailed and comprehensive and learning about the likes of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Russian society when these literary giants were plying their trade is fascinating.
You can while away many hours on a channel like YouTube and much of what you watch will be drivel, bubble gum for the intellect. But from time to time you come across a genuine gem of a channel-one which educates and shares a love for something you, the viewer, also love.
For me this channel is one such example. Some of the videos are long-approximately a half hour-but I tend to save those on my “Watch Later” list and watch them at my leisure at the weekend.
I have one such video lined up for later today-why War and Peace is the greatest novel of all time. I may or may not agree with this assessment, but I am keen to learn why some consider Tolstoy’s masterpiece in that light.