Some of my favorite reading material is by authors from the past. I find it so interesting to pick up on the authors perception of the world during the time period they are writing in, along with their idea of what the future might bring. I get so excited when I find one of these hardcover books at an estate sale. Sometimes, an old book is worth money, but for me the value is more than monetary. It is a sentimental connection, I feel with times past. Anyone else favor old books?
I don't read them for sentimental reasons but if my book budget is low, I often end up reading old books because they're free in multiple places online. I find them fascinating because their opinions, the opinions that were prevalent in their time periods, are reflected in the work.
I'll read anything as long as it's well written, so yes I can and will read them if available, as long as they don't have Ye Olde English grammar which I find difficult to digest and generally distracting.
I have a small collection on classics that are in hardback from book fairs and thrift shops. I studied English literature at University and many of the classic authors and I still enjoy reading them, though after University I needed a break from the heaviness of some. I used to read a lot of Russian classics, which were atypical of their era, but they were quite dark.
I also love reading classic novels. My favorite books would be those ones that are written by the Bronte sisters, Franz Kafka, Gustave Flaubert, and Leo Tolstoy. I am not really into Jane Austen though.
Old books always come first for me. I don't buy the books though. Most of them can be downloaded from sites such as Project Gutenberg and Manybooks.net so I not only get to read a lot of different books from roughly the same era but I [also] get them all free.
I love to read stories set in the 18th and 19th centuries but to actually get a hold of 18th and 19th antique books at this time and day is nothing more than a pipe dream - although I'd personally want to collect a few. One of the utmost reasons why I read historical romance novels is the setting. There's something more vivid and sophisticated about love stories in those bygone eras. The classics are wonderful too. Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sir Walter Scott, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Kit Marlowe, Lord Byron, Christina Rossetti, Jane Austen, The Bronte Sisters and George Eliot are among the best literary savants of all time. Some of my favorite poems and sonnets are from the 15th and the 19th centuries.
These type of books don't hold much appeal for me! I like to read stuff I can relate to. I have tried, but I honestly don't enjoy the material. Maybe I'll try agin with some of the ones mentioned here and see if I change my mind
