3 EPIC Reading Tips for Classic Books
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- čas přidán 10. 01. 2021
- 3 reading tips for classic books so that you can gain a greater comprehension of classic books.
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/ tristanandtheclassics
Most people want to improve their reading comprehension. We all want to get as much out of a book as is possible. Book themes, symbolism, motifs, character analysis are all topics that can add real value to ones reading life.
But how does one go about improving ones reading ability. Especially when it comes to reading classic books properly?
In this video, I will take you through 3 tips for reading classic books that will have the most immediate effect on your love and understanding classic literature.
If you like what you hear, then don't forget to subscribe and leave a comment.
you can also find me on instagram:
/ tristan_and_the_classics
Happy reading.
My wife who worked many years in a used book store asked me to post the following. "Please, please, please clarify that you should only annotate or highlight in modern reprints of the classics; highlighting or annotating in ink damages the pages of older books and may damage the paper. This will affect the value and readability of the book. However, annotating in pencil does no harm." BTW my wife is a big fan of your content and looks forward to each new video.
I have always loved reading since I was a kid (I'm almost 50 now, in 2024) but your channel, which I discovered very recently, have changed my way of reading, rekindling my love for books. Thanks a lot! Greetings from a Brazilian fan of your work! :)
I enjoyed this video immensely. I love to find references to books in other books. That’s one of the reasons I love the classics. It enriches our experience of reading. This is one of the reasons I decided to read The Divine Comedy. Such a source material!!
Thank you ever so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it. I totally agree with you about the cross references between literary works enriching us.
As for Dante, that is a great observation. Not many works are as widely cited as The Divine Comedy. Between him and Milton, I believe one would almost cover all the ground for references to the afterlife :)
This is actually extremely helpful. It Sounds like common sense, yet I've never even considered doing it. Thank you!
I'm a new subscriber and I already love your way of talking about the classics. I was already making some of those recommendations, like writing down a few sentences, but I was super excited when I realized what you meant by the fact that when writing notes we have direct contact with the books and it is true. I understand the book much better if I do so and I also understand better if I analyze the motivations of the characters and when I understand them even if I don't agree with them, it is an authentic surprise for the mind and a great understanding not only of the author and the book, but also of myself as a person.
So true, Katerina. Great books make us understand ourselves. What is unnerving is when they highlight a flaw in oneself. I think that people who complain overmuch and are argumentative should be put on a good diet of classic reading.
Writing notes as one goes, for me, is having a conversation with the author. How priceless an experience, what?
So helpful, thanks!
Mais um excelente vídeo!👏🏼👏🏼
I've started using these tips in my Bible reading and it's gotten SO exciting, so many things I never noticed before. Examples: Characters. Adam is immersed in the collective "mankind," male and female, in Genesis 1:27. He's not mentioned specifically as an individual until Genesis 2:7, when he's just "a man" and "the man." He doesn't get a name, Adam, until Genesis 2:20, AFTER he has named all the animals but before the creation of Eve. Eve is also just among the collective male and female "mankind" of Genesis 1:27 until the specific creation of her as "a woman" and "the woman" in Genesis 2:22. The isn't named Eve until after the fall, in Genesis 2:30. And the Serpent -- the Tempter -- shows up BEFORE the Fall. Now I'm wracking my brains to remember when Lucifer fell. So many questions come into my mind just from looking at the characters in the first three chapters.
It does make you engage more doesn't it?
It is necessary especially when getting to grips with a book like the Bible. The bible itself suggest slowing down and meditating on its message. The Hebrew word for meditate, carries the idea of ruminating like a cow! It's not quantity read, but how well the mind chews on it fir the heart to digest.😀
This was so rich! I do #1 and #3, but am going to now start chapter summaries as you recommend. I love how one book intersects with another. Recently my reading of C.S. Lewis lead me to MacDonald's Phantastes. And a scholarly article I read about Phantastes lead me to Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. I had so much fun comparing symbolism and making contrasts.
So glad I have found your channel! I confess to binge watching.
Hi Terri! 👋 the intersection of books is delightful. I love how they create an ever developing cosmos of perspectives, each refining, subtly, our perception of the world.
Thanks for binge watching.😃😃👍
Another great video, Tristan.
I don’t like to highlight because of bleed through, so I use those little arrow sticky things, which come in lots of colors. They point right to the line, and then I use a ballpoint (biro) to underline whatever it is.
Readers lose an awful lot if they don’t notate.
I have a small journal on the go all the time as a commonplace book. That’s where I put my character notes, summaries, and especially memorable quotes.
Thank you, Tristan.
I raise my hat to you Gail. I would use the stickies, except that I lose them. I am prone to prowl about as I read, sort of between chapters, talking over what I've read. This causes me to put things down and walk off😅 I've lost a few highlighters this way too but not as many as stick note packs. ... I think the children stash them somewhere. 😂🎩❤
I love those little book flags, too. I don't mind highlighting in an old paperback, but I usually buy nicer hardbacks for the classics and I couldn’t bear to mark in them.
Tristan, you made an excellent point of listening to other’s in-depth reviews other than the shallow ones. This is actually how I found your channel!
This was the best discovery of 2022 🎉
I wish You had time to upload your reviews weekly, just as detailed as recent “lord of the flies” 🙏🏼
You are wonderful Kasia!!! Thank you for your support and encouragement. I hope that you find a gold bar, or something equally valuable, in your attic.😀
As regards the in depth video, I will be doing more on CZcams. I'll let you be the first to know though, I'm hoping to start a Patreon platform where I provide more deep reviews based on a specific book that I will personally read that month, historical background, and biographies of authors for those who want to take things further. Maybe I'll do some behind the scenes but I'm not sure if people would be interested in that.
Anyway, what do you think? Any suggestions?
Whatever the case, be assured those reviews will still be coming on this channel.
Once again, Kasia, thank you so much for your happiness and support.😀
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 Ahh Tristan, this is indeed what I was hoping to hear!! Incredible idea! And yes, I am not only flattered to be the first one to know, but I am more importantly thrilled to hear about the Patreon Platform, as someone with that type of quality of content needs to be absolutely exclusive.. just thinking about the time You put into research and recording is greatly admirable 🙏
Tristan, in my humble opinion a good mix of behind the scenes content would greatly enrich the overall experience for all of us, as there is a great amount of curiosity about who Tristan really is behind all the great books, hah!
Much appreciate Your willingness to have an open dialog, and can’t wait to another video :) You ARE it Tristan ☝️🥂🥇
Could you do a general video on Dickens, like a video on an introduction to him.
This morning while i was just starting the 4th part of The Idiot, by Dostoevsky, I came across the line "Tu l'as voulu, George Dandin". I googled it and it turned out being a line from a comedy by Moliere, roughly meaning: you bloody idiot, you brought this to yourself. Dostoyeski citing Moliere, one giant writer recommending one giant dramaturge. The joy of reading deeply.
i love getting references 😂 i remember that bella swan in twilight kept talking about pride and prejudice so i read that and now i get excited when i see references to that book
These are great suggestions!!! I normally use coloured page markers for the parts I think are important, especially when I am reading for the local bookclub. I think I will try writing notes and ideas about the characters. Thank you so much. Your videos are precious in order to learn how to really read and understand the classics 😃
Hi Caterina! So pleased that you found this video useful. Note taking certainly enhances the joy of reading, even if it slows us down, it causes us to experience the work as we immerse ourselves and discover just how we are imprinted on by this world we live in.
Usually, for dense books that I know I'm going to reread, I prefer to read ebooks, because they're easier to navigate. I keep all my highlights and notes in one place and when I notice a pattern, like you have with the word fog, I can look it up and see if I can find it later in the book, and if different episodes are connected in some way.
Unfortunately, I read The Red and the Black after Crime and Punishment, so although I was aware of the influence Stendhal had on Dostoevsky, I couldn't enjoy it as much.
Now I need to watch your in-depth reviews of the books you mentioned! I'm so glad I discovered your channel!
Ebooks are easier to navigate (and are cheaper too, which is great.) Unfortunately they strain one of my eyes😅 love the way you use them to utilise patterns, that is very clever.🧐
I also read Crime and Punishment before the Red and Black. However, by luck I happened to reread C and P immediately before the Red and Black this month, which was very interesting.
I love your channel too. I will be working my way through all of your videos.😃🎩❤
Wonderful video. I confess I hate to mark in my books because I love my leather classic books. However , I use post it notes. You may know this but I find it interesting that in Charles Dickens Barnaby Rudge he has a pet raven. This supposedly inspired his friend Edgar Allen Poe to write the poem The Raven.
Ah, you have put your finger on the nub of the matter, Rebecca. I did originally speak about marking beautiful leather or cloth bound books in recording, but I cut it because I fear that I talk too much as it is.
My habit is to buy cheap editions of books to scrawl over and then by my absolute favourites in swit-swoo binding.
As for the Dickens/Por Raven connection, I did not know that. What a delightful slice of trivia! Please keep leaving gems like that. I love them.😃🎩❤
PG Wodehouse is my favorite author. Some time ago I started a running list of books or authors he has mentioned in his books. It has widened my reading in unexpected ways!
I want more in depth reviews. Thanks for the video.
Fantastic! Thank you so much for this video!
Reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall made me think that an author should not use similar surnames !
One wants to remember the characters without constantly referring to one's notes to remind oneself...ah, him 🤔
I read "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" last year, so now I will find your review to watch.
Such a brilliant book. Hardy is a fascinating author.
Oh my you are hilarious 😆. Why can’t I take over the world?
So many good ideas. I’ve totally fallen into the trap of slogging through a classic to “be well read”.
Thanks 😃 it is so easy to turn the reading into a punishment. Always keep it enjoyable 😉
There's a story of Eric Idle and Tim Curry encountering one another in Hollywood. One of them mentions that he's going to have a role in an upcoming movie and the other asks him, "Butler or villain?"
My annotations become books within books 😅
Well, happy I use paperbacks: highlighting, notes, and little paper notes. When I try to re-read a book I am completely bemused ....fandalized novels do look sad 😕
No matter, the main point is: book read and either enjoyed it or not, my little grey cells were occupied and my notes were part of the experience.
I asked a guy once why he had broken up with me and one of his reasons was "You take notes when you read." Seriously. "I can't relax and enjoy my book when you're over there looking like you're studying for a test."
And here's a snippet of an actual conversation:
Me: I've just finished this fascinating article about the incompatibility of social conservativism and laissez-faire capitalism.
Him: I'll pass. I have two Louis L'Amour books I haven't finished yet.
Reading styles. An important compatibility criterion.
Thanks for your thoughts. I will try that. Have you posted a review of THE GRAPES OF WRATH? Thanks for your posts.
I love your way of talking about books, you make me cheery, I wish you were my baby I would be so very proud
Thanks Mum!😂
I can’t bring myself to write in a book. I think I’m defacing it. However, I will try to get over this phobia and follow your advice. Let’s see what happens. I may have to buy two copies of each book.
Please do Peter. It is worth the time. You will likely never forget the first book that you scribble through. Buy something cheap. If it then becomes a favourite, buy it again in an unblemished form.
Remember, there is no greater honour that you can pay an author than to consider the margins of their work worthy of having your thoughts and ideas written in.
I have written notes, but after finishing the book, I have forgotten the information few weeks later. How can we remember them?
8:34 this is an interesting point. Writing down whatever you may fancy while reading a book. I did that once and only once in my life, but I did it with a different purpose than to help me immerse with the book
Just now, To the lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.
If I understand correctly, mr Ramsey’s work is of indoor intellectual nature, but for one whole chapter we follow his thoughts and they are of grandeur, like how he leads a dangerous expedition and that he withstands physical hardships, dies while proudly standing up, etc. I found it quite comical, but am not sure if the author meant to convey that message. Maybe I just read wrong and his work is actually dangerous?
14:00 carrying a piece of paper and writing down characters seems redundant to me. Because im lazy. It is hard enough to carry a pen with you. But a piece of paper that you mustn’t loose until you finish the book is just too much!
I work from the premise that the first thing one brings to a book is ones own human experiences. I try not to approach with any particular angle in mind, just to engage with the authors opinions as if we were strangers who had just started talking over a cup of coffee. Most of all, I want to get a feel for what I think that they are saying. My truest measure of that is by their message's immediacy on my own charac😀👍ter.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave these comments here. It really adds a lot for everyone when there is an exchange of ideas. May I ask, how do you tend to approach a novel?
😂😂😂 Totally get your point. I do not carry paper with me either. NI do this when at home, with the luxury of time and a table. If I read whilst out and about, I try to remember to jot my ideas down when I am at home. However, I do not always follow my own advice (like most of us). Like you, I'm too lazy at times. However when I do discipline myself to make end notes to a chapter, there is a marked increase into the depth I can go to.
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 😅 haha respect for your transparency!
Can you review Great Gatsby
Ah Tristan, I wish I had seen these videos twenty years ago 😃
Nevertheless, I must not resist the temptation and ask if you have published novels? If yes, please share the details 😊
Blowing up Australia 😂😂😂 We'd probably stand around with a beer saying, jeez she's a hot one today and not even notice. You might wing a Goanna or two if you're lucky.
😂😂😂😂😂 May I say that I have nothing against Australia or any other antipodean nation, it was merely the first nation of size that came to mind😅 If I had opted for the Maldives, the dramatic effect would have been significantly reduced.
As for the Goannas, let's hope for a few direct hits.
By the by, I once watched a programme on the 10 deadliest something-or-the -others once -snakes it might have been. Anyway, of the 10, Australia had 10 of them!!! Crikey! The scariest thing we have in Britain, is a rabid Badger.😃🎩❤
@@tristanandtheclassics6538 those badgers can be scary 😲
@@thefont4345 They are. I think they are the reason we became such a nation of warriors. ... There is no other explanation 😂
are you or were you a teacher? you present well.
How come noone reads Don Quixote anymore, considered by readers and scholars to be the greatest novel ever written.
Not so close to the camera, thanks.
😅 It was early in my recording days. I hadn't a clue how to set up. 🤣😄
Never mark or highlight any book, unless you intend to be buried with it. A horrible practice.