The lightbulb moment, or have we lost the plot?

In an attempt to broaden our knowledge and open our minds, and ultimately, have the ability to say “yes, we too have read this classic must-read by such-and-such incredible author that you all speak of”, we have taken on the task of reading the classics such as Persuasion by Jane Austen, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott and Vanity Fair by William Thackeray, to name just a few. A year that’s seeing so many epic books hit the big screen: Les Misèrables, The Hobbit, Anna Karenina and The Life of Pi, we got to talking about how some of these widely rejoiced books are easy reads whereas others are a challenge. And although we are avid readers, contemporary fiction is more to our liking, yet somehow or other the conversation led to excitement about these historic novels and we talked ourselves into starting the new year by taking one of Mark Twain’s quotes “Classic - a book which people praise and don’t read” and almost challenging ourselves to do the opposite and read these books that are so often praised.