American or English literature books?

[Starfield]

Everyone knows the importance of literature in the world of books. Some people prefer American literature, while others choose English literature. Both are equally important, but some find English literature to be too daunting.

We have many "famous" novels in both categories. We have "Of Mice and Men", "Little Women", "To Kill a Mockingbird", etc, on the American side. And we have, "Pride and Prejudice", "The Mayor of Casterbridge", "Nicholas Nickleby", etc, on the English side.

Growing up, I read mostly English literature, simply because I loved the language more, but that's me. Which do you guys prefer? Please share your thoughts below.

[agentzero]

I feel like I definitely should be embarrassed, but I didn't read almost any of the English books (unless you count Alan Moore comic books) and as a matter of fact, I haven't read almost a single "classic" book. Books I've read are all modern, being released months or so before I read them. i think the oldest stuff I read is Lovecraft's short stories. I also read Tolkien and he's English, does that count? I would love to get more into some English writers, as I am sure there's a lot of great ones out there, any suggestions? As things stand now, I'm pretty much a fan of American literature purely based on the fact that I haven't read much of the other...

[pesic87]

Well, for me individually, English literature has had an immense impact, mainly considering the choice of words, language, and the purity of the wording. I just love Jane Austen, Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, etc. yet at the same time, I am pretty much in love with Edgar Allan Poe and his darkness and mysticism and mystery. And many many others.

I guess it just depends on what kind of personality you have in you and what you are attracted to. I am more of a romantic soul, so I prefer poetry and prose coming from the Romantic period of English history.

[EsperantoOnline]

I read all kinds of american literature books back in high school. We did explore English literature a bit but never went into it further than Oscar Wilde or Shakespeare. I do recall having a great time reading The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. Atlhough to be honest with you what I enjoyed the most were the Sci-Fi short stories written by americans (Phillip K. Dick) and (Russian) Isaac Asimov. I know that if I were to continue exploring some literature paths I would enjoy English writers too because as pesic87 has mentioned they have a unique way of writing and carefully choose the most appropriate words. Now that I think of it, Lady Macbeth is truly an unforgettable character.

[takibari]

Both American and English Literature has its own appeal. But truthfully, I don't distinguish between them. To me, literature is literature be it American or English. But I must admit I have more trouble with English Literature primarily of the language. But that goes without saying that the books authored by English writers are definitely powerful that they remain relevant to these days. The same thing is true, I think of American Literature.

[TerryHall]

I like them both. I just like Literature in general, and for me it's interesting to discover everything, 

[CooperLee]

I prefer the "English" side. That literature is just closer to me, and I like it more

[EstherGibbs]

I like both. It's interesting to read and to compare. I have a literature course at my university, and there we read and discuss different things, both from English and American literature. And for me, it's hard to say which one I prefer. The last that I read was Romeo and Juliet, one of the best masterpieces of English literature. I loved it, and when I was writing a paper on it I managed to notice so many new details. I also came across this page https://edubirdie.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet/ which provided me with some samples of that play, which helped me a lot to finish that writing. And I hope that soon I'll have such a task with something from American literature.