I’ve read Moby Dick, Les Miserables (three or four times), A Tale of Two Cities, 1984. None of the others on the list. Others that people have lied about I would guess is The Inferno (I’ve read the entire Divine Comedy) and Paradise Lost - all read. I’ve read Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park. I hated Mansfield Park and it may have cured me of Jane Austin. I’ve read all the Shakespeare tragedies and several comedies. I haven’t read the histories for some reason. Mr. Mercat and I were at Max McLean’s production of C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. Afterwards Max came out and asked who had never read the book. Lots of hands went up. Then he asked who had read part of it (its quite short) and a bunch more hands went up. Then he asked for those who had read the whole thing to raise their hands. About 10 hands went up and this was in a very large theater filled to capacity. I was hoping he’s ask for more than once since I’ve read it three times. I feel like Herminie Granger.
Read “Paradise Lost.” It was a struggle though. Read the old English one that was made into an entertaining movie, but the name escapes me now. Also read a ponderous parody of for a paper in high school. Don’t recall it’s name either, but it was 50 years ago,,,,,, and I’m happy to forget about it! Fielding??????
I have Spengler’s volumes of “Decline of The West” in one of my bookcases, but never managed to make a dent into it! Having to constantly get out the dictionary,,,, well,,,, you know what I mean, But my favorite is still “Gravity’s Rainbow.”
The Histories are the only ones I could keep an interest in.