Books

Beowulf fucking slaps

Beowulf

Probably something by Jane Austen? Actually technically Shakespeare but that was for school so it doesn't really count.

I've tried to like a lot of old books, and just never got them (or, sometimes, even got through them). Inferno, Don Quixote, Canterbury Tales, The Iliad, etc. I think the oldest book I've actually enjoyed was Dracula. Then there's a long drought after that; I think the next-oldest books I enjoyed were Harry Harison's Deathworld (1960) and Morris West's Tower of Babel (1968). West's book, particularly; I didn't realize it was that old until I finished it and caught a glimpse of the copyright date. It reads a lot like a modern spy thriller.

Dunno if you'd count it as a book but the Epic of Gilgamesh is one of my all time favorite stories that I regularly go back to. Also, predates Homer by a long shot.

Well by the standards you've set this is positively modern, but I'd say my favorite 'old' book (indeed one of my favorite overall) has to be Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

I love how bold the story felt playing with the idea of gender and power in the Victorian English countryside. It was also surprisingly sweet, and I hold the storm scene after Bathsheba's marriage to Troy in my hall of fame romantic hero moments.

The book is just pure comfort for me, like a blanket and a warm mug of cocoa by the fireplace. Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak were such good characters and i couldn't help but cheer them on, I just loved it.

I also just find it so interesting that Hardy, who is in my opinion, author of some of the most bleak and hopeless stuff out there, is responsible for such a tender tale.

Since someone already said Beowulf, I'll go a bit later and say Le Morte D'Arthur. The Song of Roland is also really good.

I really enjoyed Don Quixote! It's a lengthy book but there were some genuinely hilarious scenes. I couldn't believe how old it was - it felt quite modern.

Not that old (relatively speaking) but the Count of Monte Cristo is excellent. Such a grand and incredible adventure. Quite possibly my favourite book of all time.

Not the oldest I’ve read, but the oldest I’ve properly enjoyed is Jane Eyre (and it happens to be my fave of all time too)

Beowulf

As a kid, the grandmother of one of my best friends used to read it to us at night in a cabin in Door County WI. She read it in the Old English version. Left a very lasting impression on me and I have read itany times since.

I studied ancient Hebrew scriptures and Buddhist writings at university, which I enjoyed a lot. Also read bits and pieces of Hindu Vedas, Gilgamesh, Inanna, the young'uns of ancient Greek literature and some other things that aren't coming to mind. Which is oldest depends on which scholar you talk to, but it's most likely between Inanna, Gilgamesh and Job. Of those three, I loved Inanna the most.

But also, the Tale of Genji from Heian Japan (early 11th century), written by a noblewoman named Murasaki Shikibu. That's so much later it's basically modern ;) but it's the one I want to point others to. Project Gutenberg has the 1st and 2nd parts of a translation into English if anyone wants to check it out. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66057