3 ms·

I've been trying to read classic books from gutenberg.org, holy ** I haven't managed to finish any of them. Usually give up after 50 pages, start a new one a mo

• mattgreenrocks 1y ago
  Older books seem perfectly content not to try to hook you within the first few pages. Keep at it. I read Crime and Punishment recently and it is quite slow to start, but was rewarded by the depth of characterization that is present. Also if you want to read classic books I highly recommend getting the most accessible translation/version you can find. The material is often dense enough without the style of writing making things harder. But this sometimes means paying for one vs finding it on Gutenberg.
  • wafflemaker 1y ago
    I remember reading Jules Verne and similar books from my mums library at 10y. First 50 pages were excruciatin and it applied to most classic books. However Verne was special at making them boring. OTOH I remember Velocity from Dean Koontz, picked up on an airport (as an adult), which I didn't put back until landing and having to leave the plane. Somebody on HN once commented that these days books are much more like current TV shows, action packed and full of cliff hangers.
  • apetresc 1y ago
    Definitely grab them from Standard Ebooks. Not as huge a selection as Gutenberg, obviously, but still several lifetimes worth of reading, and the quality is way higher.
    • rr808 1y ago
      Thanks that is handy, I hadn't heard of them before.