The Struggle of Reading Classics

Although I am a long-time book lover, I have to confess that I am a beginner when it comes to classic literature. I know the books, I know what's popular, I know what the must reads, but my "read" list for classic books remains very short. It's an irony because I have a beginner's luck with this old gem. The first classic book I read was Animal Farm. I watched the screen version before I read the book though. I was captivated, and then I ensured myself I had to find the book.

After Animal Farm, I read Les Miserables. A long and tiring read but it was worth every second of my time. Still, I have this itch inside me that keeps on bugging my mind, something like "Gosh, this is so old fashioned!". I know, I know, it was published around 1800s, it had to be old fashioned, but still...

Another problem is I cannot help myself not to judge it with my 21st century's preference. I get annoyed whenever I see a perfect character with no flaws or Mary & Michael Sue (hello Anne of Green Gables!) or a novel that has no dialogue at all (hi there, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) I mean, how can a story proceed without interaction of the characters? *shrugs*

Speaking of which, I also had a hard time understanding some of dialog in classic books. To me, they seem ancient and foreign which is quite annoying for non native English speaker like my self. Heck, I even have the same difficulties when reading Indonesian classics dialogue, so you get the idea.

I have this goal to read more classic books. Despite of those obstacles, I believe it is only a matter of time until I find the right classic for me. I have to admit that I am much much more open an open-minded reader compared to my younger self and I still find reading classics a learning curve. A huge learning curve, in fact.

So, how about you? Are you a fan of classic books? How do you keep yourself interested when reading classics? What are some of your favorites?