Classic Books Everyone Should Read

When I was an actual young adult (between the ages of 14 and 18), I mostly read classic literature. The longer, the more ponderous, and the more pretentious the tome, the likelier it was I would love it. Seriously, give fifteen-year-old me a nineteenth-century, five-hundred page Russian snoozefest full of winter and wheat and guilt (lots and lots of guilt), and I was perfectly happy. Now that I'm an actual adult (shudder), I read almost nothing but YA. I guess that's a bit backwards, but... WHATEVER.

But I still love me some classics. Even though a lot of classics? They actually SUCK. They're old fashioned. They need editing. They're slow. And a lot of the time they're actually kind of racist and sexist and stuff. Because, obviously, they were written way back in ye olden times, before air conditioning and toothpaste and freedom, and things sucked a lot back then. Except for the clothes.

I'm friends with a LOT of reluctanct readers, sadly. Most of my friends are also young adult snobs who poo poo the "tween" reads (THEIR LOSS, OBVIOUSLY, AND THEY SHALL BE SUMMARILY KEELHAULED AS SOON AS I GET MYSELF A PIRATE SHIP.) So what do I recommend to them when they need to increase their reading repertoire? Some good, healthy classics, of course. These are the ones I love most dearly--not only for being famous, not only because they're necessary reads for being a well-informed indivudual, but because they're just plain GOOD.

Books I recommend to the Classically Challenged But Romantically Inclined:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
If you didn't see this coming, you don't know me. I love all of Jane Austen's work (even parts of Mansfield Park... ish), but the one that's easiest for people who aren't used to reading classics is P&P. It's funny, chatty, sparkly, and bright. There are romantical misunderstandings and zero imagery, plus, you know, Mr. Darcy. So.



A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I almost put A Christmas Carol on here instead, because it's super short and the first Dickens I read (in second grade, and I didn't understand a word of it, but IT HAD PICTURES), but I couldn't leave Sydney Carton off this list. This book is AWESOME. It's about the French revolution and mistaken identies and super hot misunderstood men and, yes, a bland heroine, but so many THINGS are happening. Definitely one of Dickens' most entertaining reads, for sure. The final scene is a thing of BEAUTY. I could talk about it all day.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A love story about class and high society, set in New York city at the end of the nineteenth century. It's gorgeous and romantic and wonderful. I also recommend The Custom of the Country, which is probably a more fun book, and advise you to stay as far away from the depressing and dour Ethan Frome as you can get.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Nobody ever remembers poor Anne--of the three writerly Bronte sisters, she is by far the least famous--but I actually like her best. Well, almost. I love Charlotte a whole bunch (read Villette, you guys!), but the less said about my feelings for Wuthering Heights, the better. (Even though it's partially Charlotte's fault Tenant isn't more famous but WE WON'T GET INTO THAT NOW). Anyway, Tenant is an absolutely wonderful book, and it was my conversation with Renae about Gilbert Markham (mmm) that inspired this post. He's definitely one of my book boyfriends.

Classics for the weird people who cannot stand romances between women in petticoats and hot men in breeches, even though that is my favorite genre of things:

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
I have never laughed harder at a war book in my life. I mean, it's a satire, so you're supposed to laugh at it. It's good fun and makes you think at the same time.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The best war book I have EVER READ. It's about the Vietnam War and is told in vignettes that will shatter your little heart to smithereens. We read it in my eleventh grade English class and I've loved it ever since. It captures the randomness and brutality and ugliness and heart of war so well.

Classics with completely awesome movie/TV adaptations:

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
THIS BOOK. Don't get me started on the swoon-worthy awesome that is this book. A cultured girl from the south of England moves to a dirty factory city in the north and of course all kinds of THINGS happen, like hot mill owners called John Thornton who happen to have Richard Armitage's face.

I'm so hot and handsome and rich, won't someone please marry me?

A Room With a View by E.M. Forster
I put this book on my last Top Ten Tuesday (books about travel) because it's one of my favorites ever. It's cutely romantic, which is rare for a classic and even rarer for Forster. So many "great" books think it's deep to end on this horribly depressing note just to be depressing, but ARWaV is invigorating, romantic, and insightful. Bonus: you get to travel to Florence! And fall in love with hot boys! And the movie is glorious.

Serious Ph.D level classics that will change your life (but require PATIENCE and FOCUS):

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I love Russian literature, but I can see why it's tough. A bad translation can kill you, they are VERY long and dour and full of suffering, and they talk about their suffering and Christ's agony and the saints a whole bunch. But I like that. C&P starts off with a murder and zooms off from there. It's probably my favorite Russian novel (except for the epilogue. Do yourself a favor and skip it).

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The most beautifully written book in the history of Planet Earth. Yes, the subject matter is a little squicky (it's about a grown man in love with a twelve-year-old girl), but it's a fabulous book. Pedophilia is OBVIOUSLY NOT CONDONED by Nabokov, nor is this book trying to make you condone it. It's just a fantastic book about a messed up guy, a complicated girl, and the most complex language there is. I recommend the annotated version, by the way. It should clear up all confusion on the rich but daunting text.



Books I didn't bother to put on here but that you should read if you haven't because THEY'RE GOOD: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 1984 by George Orwell, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (not a blueprint for a healthy romantic relationship, but Jane herself is awesome).

I have so many other favorites I just can't get to right now, obviously. What are some of your favorite classic novels? Which do you recommend to people? Why ones do you want to get to?