I have always been told that I should read the classics. I have read some and want to know which ones are actually worth reading. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Classic Books
04/15/2013
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I love a lot of classic books, but some of my favorites are:
- Frankenstein
- 1984
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- all of Shakespeare's plays (but especially Hamlet)
- Frankenstein
- 1984
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- all of Shakespeare's plays (but especially Hamlet)
04/15/2013
I picked my faves off wikipedia's 100 classic collection. You probably know a lot of these by their movie versions, which I think makes the books more accessible.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi
Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (also wrote The Three Musketeers)
Black Beauty, Anna Sewell (the main character is a horse, just fyi)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain
The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde
The Time Machine, H.G. Wells (for classic sci-fi, H.G. can't be beat)
Didn't include any Dickens or school reading because I really never enjoyed them.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi
Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (also wrote The Three Musketeers)
Black Beauty, Anna Sewell (the main character is a horse, just fyi)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain
The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde
The Time Machine, H.G. Wells (for classic sci-fi, H.G. can't be beat)
Didn't include any Dickens or school reading because I really never enjoyed them.
04/15/2013
Well, a lot of it depends on what you like. Do you like science fiction? Fantasy? History? Romance?
Wikipedia has a voted list of the "100 Best Books of All Time", but as an English major who loves reading and loves classics, there are plenty I disagree with.
Wikipedia has a voted list of the "100 Best Books of All Time", but as an English major who loves reading and loves classics, there are plenty I disagree with.
04/15/2013
Here's my list of considerations:
"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
"Dispatches" by Michael Herr
"The Picture of Dorian Grey" by Oscar Wilde
Take your pick from Shakespeare's plays, but my favorites are "Macbeth" an "Othello."
"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
"Dispatches" by Michael Herr
"The Picture of Dorian Grey" by Oscar Wilde
Take your pick from Shakespeare's plays, but my favorites are "Macbeth" an "Othello."
04/15/2013
I really like 'golden age' science fiction. I'd second Time Machine by HG Wells, but also, if you aren't prone to nightmares, his novella The Island of Doctor Moreau.
For other classic Sci Fi you MUST read A Clockwork Orange (give it a shot, you'll be surprised how much you understand by the end!), Childhoods End by Arthur C Clarke, and Nightfall by Asamov. Those are all short and sweet, by the way.
A LOT of people are really into Robert A. Heinlein, he completes the 'golden age trio' with Clarke and Asamov, but I felt like his works, at least the ones I've read, are a little bit... Like they're TRYING to be revolutionary and make you feel like they're smart. Still worth a read, though.
For other classic Sci Fi you MUST read A Clockwork Orange (give it a shot, you'll be surprised how much you understand by the end!), Childhoods End by Arthur C Clarke, and Nightfall by Asamov. Those are all short and sweet, by the way.
A LOT of people are really into Robert A. Heinlein, he completes the 'golden age trio' with Clarke and Asamov, but I felt like his works, at least the ones I've read, are a little bit... Like they're TRYING to be revolutionary and make you feel like they're smart. Still worth a read, though.
04/15/2013
Here are some of my personal favourites. I am not sure if Dumas or Allende can be classifies as classics, but still worth reading in my opinion.
1984 by George Orwell
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
The Idiot by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
The Red and the Black by Stendhal
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
1984 by George Orwell
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky
The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
The Idiot by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
The Red and the Black by Stendhal
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
04/18/2013
My personal favorite is Frankenstein. I love that book!
04/19/2013
Dorian Grey.
The Scarlett Letter.
The Sun Also Rises is a personal favorite.
The Sound and the Fury. It's not an easy read, but once you finish it you really appreciate it and enjoy it. I hated it while I read it, but after I finished it I went, "damn that was good."
The Scarlett Letter.
The Sun Also Rises is a personal favorite.
The Sound and the Fury. It's not an easy read, but once you finish it you really appreciate it and enjoy it. I hated it while I read it, but after I finished it I went, "damn that was good."
04/21/2013
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