I have no idea how that became a classic. It's entirely nonsensical (in a bad way--Stephen Leacock has some very funny nonsense writing) and not very enjoyable.
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Among numerous other things, I'm reading The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox, Jr. I've read better books, but it's interesting in the way it portrays certain aspects of early American society. It takes place before the Civil War, in the South, and having been published less than fifty years after the war, I consider it a more reliable account of life back then than some other books which portray nearly all slave masters as evil, ruthless tyrants. I can't say I'd recommend it though, as there are probably many better books set in that time period.
One of the histories I'm reading is A History of Europe by H.A.L. Fisher. Unfortunately, I only have the first volume (which goes up to the early 1700s). It's a good read, though it can be biased against "Mohammedanism" and Catholicism at times. It isn't overly so, however, and I don't find that it takes away from the enjoyability of the book.
One of the classics I'm reading is Tom Brown's School Days, by Thomas Hughes. I thoroughly enjoyed what I've read so far (which is all but the last chapter) and it gave me a bit more insight into the culture of Britain in the 1800s. The characters all seemed very human and realistic, the author's style is easy to read, but not dull, and the book is about life, something that I find very interesting when presented by a good author. Life, without any extraordinary events, can be a fascinating subject, with wide variation, and many possibilities. I enjoy seeing a character develop over a long period of time, rather than just reading about a week-, month-, or year-long adventure in the same length of book. I find that books like that connect with me emotionally in a way that few other books do. I don't mean that I burst out in tears when something bad happens to the protagonist, but I become genuinely interested in what happens to the main character and the choices they make.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, whom I highly recommend, also writes good books that explore life, and the realities of life. I like books that show the hard side of life a bit, with people dying and whatnot. Rawlings' books have bittersweet endings, which is far preferable to a happy or sad ending, in my opinion.
I'm reading ecumenical council documents, beginning with the earliest ones and continuing all the way through. So far I'm on the Fourth Council of Constantinople, which is the eighth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. It's interesting to see the development of the Church over time, where and when certain practices and rules originated, and for what reasons various things came about.
I've also been reading ancient Sumerian poetry on <a href="http://gatewaystobabylon.com/">this site</a>. Unfortunately, there is so much text missing in most of them that they are almost impossible to follow.
I'm always in the middle of some parts or others of my Bible, or my other Bible, or an online Bible, and have started reading different versions to get a better grasp of what certain parts are actually saying and also to broaden my knowledge of it overall.