classics.

I've read three classics recently off The Book List.

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H.Lawrence
The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorn
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


Lady Chatterley's Lover wasn't quite as scandalous as I thought, considering it was chosen for its former position on the banned book list.  Amazing how times have changed so things once banned are now more accepted as commonplace.  Despite the blatant sexual overtones, I was more scandalized by two married people having an affair than the actual sex scenes.  Or maybe that was the whole point.  Either way, I did have to slog through some verbose language to make it to the end, but I admire Lawrence's brazenness.  I can't imagine what kind of scandal to caused when released.

The Scarlet Letter was long overdue.  I somehow missed reading this in high school.  By the time I reached college, my professors assumed everyone had already read it (which they had) and therefore didn't assign it.  It was worth the wait.  I genuinely enjoyed this book, even more so once I found out Hawthorne himself had family involved in the Salem witch trials which sparked a near obsession in him.  I found myself caring very deeply about the fate of Hester and little Pearl and frustrated by the duplicity and manipulation of Chillingworth.  

Frankenstein I did read in high school and enjoyed it just as much this time around.  I was more creepy this time around, mostly because I didn't quite comprehend the horror of it the first time around.  I love how the story came about:  Mary Shelley, her lover turned husband, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and maybe some other well known authors/poet, were housebound while on vacation due to torrential rain, and therefore decided to have a contest on who could write the best horror story.  Mary was the only one who finished hers, and future generations of readers will forever be thankful.  It's rudimentary in some ways, but Shelley showed enormous talent as a budding writer.