My Year of Classics
The best book club is on Bluesky. Also, three good things I cooked recently.
As a kid, I resisted anything “classic.” I didn’t want to acclimate to the older language, and at the time, I was more into devouring every Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine book I could get my hands on. My mom suggested Little Women and Anne of Green Gables, and I scoffed, but mostly it came from not wanting to be told what to do. I had chosen this poison-coated candy teen horror, and also, a steady diet of Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High/Twins. You couldn’t make me interested in reading about nice girls doing nice things!
Well. First off, Little Women is great, so jot that down, tween-me. Secondly, your mom already tricked you into reading classics with that stack of Judy Blume she bought you at a used book sale. Judy is not only classic, she’s eternal.
(That stack replaced any ‘birds and the bees’ talk, saving us both the mortification. Not the worst approach!)
As an adult, I’ve slowly shaken off that contrary attitude (in this category) and have reluctantly admitted the past has something to teach me and is full of certified bangers!
On Bluesky, there’s a book club that is mostly about getting around to classics we’ve never read before, or revisiting fav classics for the purpose of sharing with others. It began with a group reading Moby Dick, but I joined later. (We’re revisiting Moby Dick this January, btw. Join us.)
In my year or so since I joined, I’ve been a part of a lot of great readalongs with a good group of people. Not everyone reads every book, and while sometimes the conversation is more typical book club talk, there’s also a fair amount of meme-ing.
One month, I pulled my favorite book club stunt, which is to make people read The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, my favorite book, and then watch everyone go, “He’s horrible! Why am I rooting for him?” It’s the best.
This year, among the other choices:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquéz (Fucked up, but Respect to this sprawling tale)
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (Funny)
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (Wild, weird, funny)
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (a reread for me; a fav)
A whole shedload of Jorge Luis Borges stories (mostly from Labrynths and The Aleph; some I liked better than others)
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and its sequel by M.R. James (banger after horrible, hairy banger)
The yearlong epistolary project of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson, reading each letter on the date it occurs. I’m reading the public domain ebook, but print editions are around 1500 pages. I think it’s just me and maybe one other person who have held out all year, but I’ve enjoyed it. More on Clarissa soon.
I know they also read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, and a few other things, but I haven’t been able to participate every month. (Also, I’ve read Sower. Hard recommend.)
I haven’t loved every pick, but I haven’t outright disliked any of them, and I’ve really enjoyed taking the time to read these classics that supposedly “everyone” has read. I didn’t finish college, so not many of these reached me in my new adult years, but I don’t think I would have properly appreciated most of them at the time. Still too contrary.
Right now, we’re reading my pick: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton because I recently saw the Scorsese adaptation for the first time, and I realized I’d never read the book. I’ve enjoyed several other Wharton works, and even visited her house a couple years ago, but somehow had missed this one. It is, predictably, great.
Some Stuff I Cooked Recently:
Brown Butter Skillet Brownie — I use Country Crock’s olive oil-based stick butter when I bake because I’m lactose intolerant, so you won’t really get a browned butter effect here, but it does darken a little.
Creamy Miso Pasta — Again with the plant butter, and I also used plain ol’ Kraft shake Parm in a plastic can (it’s also lactose-free). You gotta really be quick with the stirring because of that (it will clump) — and omg soak that pot after — but otherwise this is easy and you don’t even have to chop anything. (I used Copy Me That to get around the paywall; the NYT gets no $ from me.)
Ground Beef and Potatoes — Maybe I didn’t chop my potatoes small enough, but they absolutely did not cook in the amount of time this recipe says, so keep an eye on them and add more liquid if necessary. You may or may not want to leave the lid half-on. Otherwise, this was good, if you have the urge to make yourself something Hamburger Helper-esque.
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Okay! That’s enough for today! I hope you are staying sane in your corner of the world, best you can. Make yourself something good to eat and put on a movie you like, if it helps. See you next time.