Blog a Classic

It seemed like a good idea at the time - register for one of the 1,400 Penguin Classics on offer, read it and send off a review to the Bog A Penguin website. I signed up and then forgot all about it until my book eventually arrived, plunging me into memories of 'A' level French lessons. I really enjoyed studying Racine, de Maupassant, Hugo, Flaubert, Voltaire, Baudelaire and the fables of La Fontaine but I hated Moliere and his Bourgeois Gentilhomme. So what did I bag to blog about? Moliere's The Misanthrope and Other Plays.

The book has been read, the review submitted and the memories are waiting to be laid to rest, forever this time, I hope. I found the plays themselves as silly and irritating as I did in 1967 but the introduction and notes are interesting and worth reading for a real understanding of Paris society in the reign of Le Roi Soleil. I certainly wish I'd had such an excellent reference book when preparing for my exams. But that was 40 years ago and I really would have preferred reading something else.

As you can see from the picture, it is a beautiful book but I don't want to keep it on my shelf as a constant reminder of the only piece of literature I have really disliked. Is there a book that you wish had never been written? Share your stories and we could make a list of books not to be taken to a desert island.