Each month The Classics Club website for lovers of reading classics asks their members a question to ponder. I don’t usually post but I often read other bloggers’ replies. This month the question is:

What is the best book you’ve read so far for The Classics Club — and why?

A fairly straightforward question, especially as I have given them each my personal rating. So far, after 92 books in 17 months, I have given no book 10/10 but two plays by Aristophanes The Wasps and The Thesmophoriazusae were given 9/10.  I suspect many bloggers will  have difficulty narrowing their choice down to one book, so if I had to urge a friend which one to read, I would choose The Wasps as the mental pictures created by the old man trying to escape his house, and the chorus of old men singing and dancing dressed as wasps is delightful.

https://chronolit.com/2016/05/30/48-the-wasps-by-aristophanes-422-bc/

Interestingly, when I read the Classics Club question, my initial thoughts went to the Ramayana which is also an excellent read, and I gave 8/10 at the time, If Ancient Greek comedy is not your thing, or you are  open to trying something outside the Western canon, you could do a lot worse than this excellent fantasy. I am sure the version will make a big difference too, so I recommend the modern English translation by Ramesh Menon. You can read my review at

https://chronolit.com/2015/09/09/14-the-ramayana-by-valmiki/

So I guess I can’t choose just one either 🙂

• The Classics Club