I (24M) have never been much of a reader in High School, it was only around 2020 when I was stuck in the house that I read a lot of books. But they were mostly non fiction/self help books such as “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “The Richest Man in Babylon” and The Bible (I am not religious). However I wanted to get back into reading and know I want to try fiction novels. I currently am looking for either absolute classics or books that will broaden my perspectives on life. Please help!
by HappyAside8091
28 Comments
American Gods if you like mythical gods…
kurt vonnegut will become your best friend you wish you had
You might like “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran. It’s fiction, short, and has a ton of memorable quotes on life and the human condition.
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe- Heather Webber
While classic literature is ALWAYS worth reading, I think you may enjoy some of the books written by Michael Lewis. He takes real life situations and narrates them in a very compelling manner, turning real life people into interesting characters based on very in depth interviews with people and getting a real sense of who these people are.
He wrote:
* Liar’s Poker
* The Big Short
* Moneyball (they made a movie based on it)
* Flash Boys
* The New New Thing
* The Premonition: A Pandemic Story
He covers some of the biggest events of the past couple decades.
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton. It’s a bit depressing but I think about that book a lot.
Dostoyevsky’s books are quite enjoyable (though, again, quite depressing). Crime and Punishment is a good place to start.
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein was also a fun read.
I am two years older than you, here are 2 books that made me think about life:
All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque
Freshly turned 18 and just graduated, Paul Bäumer enthusiastically volunteers to join the German army during WW I. Remarque tried to process his own experiences of the war. It impressed me deeply and even made me cry.
Metamorphosis by Kafka
Personally, I think he and his writing style are weird (I do not know how he reads in translation): One day, salesman Gregor Samsa awakes to find that he has transformed into a huge insect overnight. He and his family struggle with this change. I did not fully understand this novel as a teenager, but these days I catch myself thinking about it quite often.
You might also like Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell
Jurassic park (very good read, the movie but some creepiness)1990
Tooth and Claw – jo Walton ( reads like a classic period drama but everyone is a dragon) 2003
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy ( classic British sifi comedy, audio book is great, dry humor) 1979
What you described is the exact scenario in which I started reading. Some of my favorite novels I’ve read in the last few years since I started have been the following:
Lonesome Dove
The Count of Monte Cristo
East of Eden
The Grapes of Wrath
Blood Meridian
The Pillars of the Earth
Also I am curious because I’m also not religious and have considered reading the Bible, what version did you read and what did you think of it?
Try the Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Howe or try Green Rider by Kristen Britain or Tuesdays with Morrie. Mostly, if non-fiction don’t cut it and regular fiction is not your jive read written porn or fanfiction about yr fave movie or TV shows. Good luck.
Blood meridian
You might want to try reading Good Omens. It’s fun and light-hearted with apocalypse on the way. Plus you’ve read Bible so it’ll be extra fun for you.
Or to be honest any of Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett’s books.
54 by Wu Ming
It contains several intertwined story that take place in Italy during 1954 ( Historical fiction)
The true story of the pirate long John Silver and is life on mischief by Bjørn Larsson.
It’s a prequel to the Treasure Island by Stevenson.
The baron in the trees
The Nonexistent Knight
The Cloven Viscount
By Italo Calvino
They make a trilogy called Our Ancestor but you can read them separately and in any order. They should be easy to get into.
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
The Idiot- Dostoyevsky
Uncle Tom’s Cabin- Beecher Stowe
All Quiet on the Western Front- Eric Remarque ( I think)
Brothers Karamazov- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Zoot Suit – Luis Valdez
Little Big Man
Metro 2033- Glukhovsky
Metro 2034
Metro 2035
Future – Dmitry Glukhovsky
Animal Farm – George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four – Orwell
Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451- Bradbury
Of Mice and Men – Steinbeck
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy
No Country For Old Men – McCarthy
Dune- Herbert
Roadside Picnic – Sturganksy Brothers
The Golem- Elie Wiesel
Demian – Herman Hesse
The Dunwich Horror – Lovecraft
Call of Cthulhu – Lovecraft
Notes From the Underground – Dostoyevsky
Uncle Vanya- Anton Chekov
Oil- Upton Sinclair
Great Gatsby- Fitzgerald
If in the event you’d like some non fiction and more historical or biographical. I always enjoy historical works of fiction but political and biographical works are equally as good.
Red Wave: An American in the Soviet Music Underground- Joanna Stingray
No Surrender – Hiro Onaada
Night – Ellie Wiesel
The Doors of Perception – Aldous Huxley
War is A Racket – Smedly Butler
Zapata of Mexico – Newell
Homage to Catalognia – Orwell
The Prince – Machiavelli
Collected works of Joseph Stalin Volume 1 – Joseph Stalin
Bury My Hear At Wounded Knee
The Color of Law
Open Veins of Latin America
Zoot Suit Riots: The Psychology of Symbolic Annihilation- Mázon
Just Another N****r – ( former black panther wrote it)
Anything by W.E.B. Du Bois
Anything Eugene Debs
The Gilded Age – Mark Twain
The Republic- Plato
Federalist Papers
Edit: because some dude didn’t like my Stalin suggestion, allow me to add some more pro-democracy works. If he complains about it. Idc anymore.
If the Bible is not a fiction novel, I don’t know what is.
1984 by George Orwell.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
The Killer Angels
Piranesi is a fantastic book that i can’t recommend enough
I read the Goldfinch in a moment where i thought that i had lost my joy for reading and flipped through all those pages in no time. It had a bit of gloom in it which also gave me solace
Non serious books: Good Omens, Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy, and Discworld are all fun? Light, cooky books that have some good thing to say but dooming a funny way, and have fun stories.
More serious: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (this book is extremely well researched and may tickle your nonfiction brain).
YA: don’t sleep on YA books. It’s more of a catch all group than a genre. Looking for Alaska by John Green was recently banned and is totally worth reading. If you’re used to nonfiction, he also wrote the lovely Anthropocene Reviewed, which I suggest everyone read. And you can’t go wrong with the Hunger Games books.
Flowers for Algernon is always a good one
It definitely changed forever the way I see things.
It’s one of my I Am Not The Same Person Anymore™ books, alongside The Little Prince, Les Miserables and The Count of Monte Cristo.
Already very good recommendions in other posts!
Something not classical, but nice to get into reading:
Red Rising
The Expanse
Malice
Wool
Recently I read an old book but not known to me at all.. a sci-fi with interesting take on human nature; also small enough to finish easily.
“Trouble With Lichen” by John Wyndham
Demon Copperhead
Without further ado –
Stephen King 11/22/63
Robert Heinlein – Stranger in the Strange Land;
Jack London – Martin Eden;
William Golding – Lord of the Flies.
Little Women? It will not open your eyes or broaden your horizons but it will hopefully bring you warmth and comfort as we merge into the colder seasons- it’s also a super easy read and has aged like a fine wine
And I agree with someone below- Jurassic Park is very fun to read if you’re looking for a familiar story to ease yourself in (its a lot more horror than the film)- and also has some classic philosophical moments
try Hyperion. It’s a great book.