i’ve read:
– to kill a mockingbird (loved)
– anne of green gables
– the secret garden
– tess of the d’urbevilles (ok plot but took me ages to read + hardy is so depressing)
– a christmas carol
– of mice and men
– the handmaids tale (loved)
– 1984 (wasn’t the right audience for this, boring but i appreciate the allegory)
– the war of the worlds (loved)
– the colour purple
i also enjoy plays e.g an inspector calls, death of a salesman, a midsummer nights dream, othello.
i own northanger abbey, mansfield park, the great gatsby, wuthering heights, the adventures of huckleberry and finn, alice in wonderland and the wizard of oz but haven’t read them yet.
i like the plots of jane austen books but the language is just too difficult for me. i don’t have enough brain cells.
any recs? i prefer plot driven books that provide entertainment so nothing like 1984 please and books where the language isn’t too advanced for a simpleton like me !!
by eucalyptus55
8 Comments
I’d recommend checking out “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. It’s a classic adventure story with revenge, romance, and intrigue, and the language is pretty straightforward. Another great option is “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It’s a haunting and atmospheric tale with a touch of the supernatural. The language is a bit more complex, but it’s still accessible.
Have you tried [A Tree Grows in Brooklyn](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/dc5de2f5-b132-4c4c-8e49-8bf46005d5da) by Betty Smith?
For plays, “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde
The Outsiders
Cyrano de Bergerac!
I’d recommend The Great Gatsby. It has a great plot and is very entertaining. The Fitzgerald hides his commentary in the book so you won’t notice it as much unless you are looking for it. The Catcher in the Rye also has a good plot put the commentary is much more prevalent.
Since you liked War of the Worlds then you’d probably enjoy The Invisible Man. It’s the same genre and author but I never finished War of the Worlds so I couldn’t tell you how similar they are.
You also might enjoy some of Jules Verne’s books. Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were the first ones I read.
I really enjoyed the plot of Fahrenheit 451 it’s a dystopian novel like 1984 but it might be worth looking into. I haven’t read 1984 yet so I don’t really know much about it but I was never bored reading Fahrenheit 451.
I love Dickens, Steinbeck, and Verne as authors. Steinbeck is a bit depressing; Verne is more of a fun writer; Dickens is Dickens. Would recommend
A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Oliver Twist (Dickens)
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
East of Eden (Steinbeck)
Around the World in 80 Days (Verne)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Verne)
Also, Atlas Shrugged was a good story (Ayn Rand)
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Probably too recent to call a Classic, but it will be. Hands down one of the best three books I have ever read. Excellent story, outstanding characters, happy ending:
A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)
Lady Chatterley’s Lover kept my attention