CLASSICS. The one word that a lot of readers look upon with a mixture of fascination and dread. A lot of readers feel that classics are long, complicated, or boring. But let me tell you, classics have their own brand of magic and if you start reading and getting adjusted to them, there are wonderful stories and characters waiting to blow your mind!
For the past few years, I have been on a slow but steady classics diet and all the tips that I am giving here are from my own personal experiences. I have found that these tips helped me best and I hope that they help you too.
- Pick a short and easy book
Often, classics have highly complicated language and sentence structure which renders it very difficult to read and understand. The easiest way to start with the genre is to pick a short and simple book. I would recommend starting with children’s classics. Some examples I can give are Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, etc.
- Start with genres that you already love
When just starting out, I would recommend picking a genre you already love. This will help you adjust better to the story and increase the chances of you loving the story. This would also give you a sense of clarity with respect to the story structure and its flow.
- Read classics you have already been spoiled for
I know that this sounds counterproductive, but reading a classic which you already know the ending or summary of will really help you get used to the story telling structure. I do not recommend this for every genre or book, but only for the most popular ones. For example, Pride and Prejudice is a very well-known book and chances are, you already know the gist of the story. But reading it in full text form is a separate experience of its own and will also help you ease into the genre.
- Make use of academic resources
This is a tip I highly recommend for translated and very old classics. When I first read A Tale of Two Cities, I was constantly confused about every other sentence so I looked up chapter summaries online. After reading one or two chapters, I would read the short summaries to make sure that I got all the information right. The website I used for this was Sparknotes, but there are also a lot of other websites available for students.
- Watch adaptations
Chances are, the classic you pick already has a movie or series adaptation (if not many!) Watching adaptations of the book before you read it can sometimes be helpful. Bonus if you can find an adaptation which is in your native language. I watched Aisha, an Indian remake of Austen’s Emma along with Clueless. This was extremely helpful for me to keep up with the number of characters and their roles in the story without getting me too confused.
- Annotate!
I’m a huge fan of annotating! And not just for the aesthetics, but annotating can be helpful to mark-up passages, character descriptions, important scenes, etc to go back to for reference. If you are reading for academic purposes or wish to delve deep into the story, then I recommend even taking notes. You can do this on the book itself, or with sticky notes or have a separate notebook to write down thoughts. I’ll be posting another blog post about how I annotate soon and I’ll leave a link here when I do.
- Listen to audiobooks
Before we get to the complicated sentences and storylines, the sheer sight of a large, chunky book is enough to send shivers down our spine. In cases like this, audiobooks come in handy. Especially for classics, there are many audiobooks with excellent narrators so it can truly enhance the reading experience.
- Have a set time for reading
You do not have to be rigorous or anything, but just having a simple goal of reading a chapter a day can help you stay on track.
- Join a book club or have a reading buddy
Being a part of a book club or having someone to read and discuss with can help motivate you to read more. Local libraries, online forums, or even booktube channels prove to be great places to find such reading company.
- Do not be afraid to stop and try another time
Classics are an essential part of literature but reading or not reading them does not have any bearing on you being a reader. If a certain classic does not appeal to your taste, then there is no harm in putting it aside and picking up a book you enjoy. And just because you did not like a book once does not mean you can never read it again. There’s always another chance!
I hope these tips helped you a little. Comment down and let me know your thoughts, your favourite classic, or any helpful tip you might have for me and others!
Happy reading!
The soulful scripturient 