I would like to start reading some classics, the only ones I’ve managed to read is Animal farm and The catcher in the rye which i thought were really good and beginner friendly. I was interested in starting Agatha christie books but wanted to check with you guys if you have any other ideas.
M23 that hasnt read many books at all
by Lookatmytelly
16 Comments
I hate classics. I find them dry and boring. But Christie is my absolute favorite author, make sure you read, “And Then There Were None,” the language is a bit old but it’s my favorite mystery. As for others, I love “The Great Gatsby,” probably my favorite “classic.” “Of Mice and Men” might be another one you’d like. Happy reading!
Alexandre Dumas and HG Wells are my favorite authors from before the modern era. And L Frank Baum.
Easy Classics (bonus, they are short):
* The Picture of Dorian Gray
* The Old Man and the Sea
* Frankenstein
* The Great Gatsby
When I was a teen that loved to read but didn’t much, I found The Count of Monte Cristo irresistible.
It is LONG, it took me forever, but it was such a huge payoff and accomplishment for me it felt really good.
But if you’re not looking to bite off way too much, Christie is absolutely beginner friendly. Try The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
I think a classic author who it’s always worth reading is Jane Austen. It’s easy to say, but Pride and Prejudice is almost a flawless novel, and easily her best.
If you want a few it’s easy to get through quickly and kickstart a nice pace, read some short ones like Of Mice and Men to get your brain in gear.
Also I would always tell anyone who wants to read more, if you have access to them, listen to some audio books. The point of reading is to experience a story or take in information, not have a count of how many words physically passed before your eyes. The Robert Inglis or Andy Serkis narrations of Lord of the Rings are both great.
Honestly, I’ll sprays recommend Dracula as a good classic. Frankenstein is pretty short, but also very much a thinking novel, which might not be what you’re looking for.
EDIT: Also, if you’re looking to read a lot of classics, I always recommend having some quick or fun modern books to break it up with, like a palette cleanser.
Lastly, remember reading should be FUN! Lots of people read classics out of some sense of obligation or to get cred with their literary friends (both perfectly valid reasons), but they end up burning out and turning themselves off classic fiction even more. Don’t be afraid to DNF a book, and do it as early as you think you should. If you’re not feeling Martin Chuzzlewit or War & Peace, don’t force it. There are times sticking it out may be rewarding, but life is too short to read books you hate just because you think you should. There are plenty of classics out there, and if you can’t do Bleak House but you can do A Christmas Carol, hey, you’ve read Dickens, congratulations!!!
Seriously have fun, and while it’s great to take recommendations, don’t let anyone tell you what you should like, or make you feel less because you didn’t enjoy their favorite (if you happen to read Crime & Punishment, though, it’s tip top IMO).
Dorothy L. Sayers is a contemporary of Agatha Christie who also wrote great classic mysteries.
L. M. Montgomery, especially her Anne of Green Gables books.
Octavia Butler.
Albert Camus: the Stranger/the Outsider (depends on translation)
Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha
Alexander Solzhenitsyn: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Of Mice and Men or Cannery Row, both by John Steinbeck
They’re on the shorter side and very readable. They’re a little more modern (still considered classics though!) so the language is easier than a lot of classics.
Learning that the Rolling Stones song Sympathy for the Devil was based on The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov got me to read it.
Since The Count of Monte Cristo has already been said I will add that I found The Grapes of Wrath absolutely riveting
Some really cool classics
Jane Eyre
Tess of the d’urbervilles
Picture of dorian gray
Frankenstein
The tenant of Wildfell hall
Those are 20th century classics. More from that century that are smooth reads: the Outsiders, 1984, Lord of the Flies. My favorite classics: Count of Monte Cristo, Robinson Crusoe, Frankenstein, 20,000 leagues (I have a SFF bend)
East of Eden – Steinbeck
My favorite classics are King Lear and Heart of Darkness. If you’re interested in Shakespeare, I’d say the best one to start with is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. King Lear is a lot of fun but it is a tragedy; I’d work my way up from the comedies.
Heart of Darkness is allegorical to Dante’s Inferno, it helps to have read the Inferno first but given the respective lengths of the books and literary styles it also makes sense to do it in opposite order. Just bear in mind that the journey to the heart of the jungle follows the descent through the different levels of hell. A quick read with a lot of substance.
Honorable mention: I wrote my AP English Lit essay about The Road, I was fully expecting to do it on Jane Eyre (another favorite classic but not very beginner friendly) which we had done for required reading specifically to prepare for the AP test. I had just finished The Road for my own personal reading and it surprised me to see it on the list of options, but it’s a truly wonderful novel. Cormac McCarthy is not for the faint of heart, but his style is gripping. I’ve never read any of his other work, The Road was more than bleak enough for my taste.
ETA The Importance of Being Earnest
Strangers on a train, or ‘the talented lr Ripley’ by Patricia highsmith (both were made into movies).
Quite some good ‘older’ movies come from classic books actually, depending on how old you want a book to be to be named a ‘classic’…
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
Alice in wonderland.
Lord of the flies.
Life of pi.
Lord of the rings.
Dune.
…
If you’re trying to ease into it:
* To Kill a Mockingbird
* Treasure Island
* Red Badge of Courage
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith