I agree that we need to be very judicious in choosing the right books. Somewhat related, I read Madame Bovary a while ago and the back of the book said somethi

I agree that we need to be very judicious in choosing the right books. Somewhat related, I read Madame Bovary a while ago and the back of the book said something about it being one of the first modern novels (or something to that effect) and so I read it in that light, and it occurred to me several times throughout that if it were written today, it would be completely ignored. There were like 50-100 pages in the middle that I thought would have definitely been cut out by a modern editor. Maybe it just wasn't my thing. It was exceptional in the time it was written and it's special for that reason, but if you want to read a romance involving a really moody lady, there's probably tens of newer better choices that are also considered "classics".