I work at a museum and I am supposed to only read historical books. The museum is frozen in 1799 so I can read anything that would have been around at that time. I am constantly putting books down to talk to visitors so I need something that won’t get muddled if I have to consistently stop and start.
by xbrooksie
3 Comments
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.
Candide by Voltaire.
(Both I’ve read and can recommend)
A less low effort read:
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon. I’ve not read this, but have heard positive reviews.
Shakespeare plays. Not 1800 but definitely pre-1800. Personally I feel like plays can be put down and picked up again a lot because the nature of the structure.
Jane Austen books are a bit after 1800 so if 1799 is the hard line those are too late, but when they were first published, they were seen as kind of low effort reads by many.
A quick research tells me Gullivers travels was published in 1726. I never read the original, but I listened to the translated version on audio as a little kid and liked it a lot, so it can’t be that challenging of a read 😄
* pamela; or, virtue rewarded (iirc very popular in its day)
* robinson crusoe
* gulliver’s travels
* the life and adventures of sir launcelot greaves
* candide