As I approached my 30th birthday, I did a count and saw I was up to 96 classics that I'd read since turning 20. Just four shy of a C-note. I decided to make it a goal to get to 100 before saying sayonara to 29. This I achieved. I'm happy to have read so many and honestly enjoyed most of them. My few negative responses are outlined below.
Steinbeck's work was, for me, lacking; OF MICE AND MEN's definitely the best of what I read, but even that was stiff. I loved DIARY OF A SUPERFLUOUS MAN the first time I'd read it, but not so much the second time. Ditto RED BADGE. DUBLINERS was good but in fact Joyce's writing had a ways to go and did not flourish until the final story of the book (a story that is outstanding). I didn't think WE was all that great (Bela Shayevich translation). SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER flew over my head -- need to read it again or see it. HARD TIMES crumbled (sorry, Leavis). JUST SO STORIES had most of its charm in the first half, which is odd. TREASURE IS. disappointed.
