Classic books: What are your favorites?

Cam42 · 07-02-2011, 07:58 PM

I'm starting to get back in to reading, and I'd like to read some classic books. What are some books that everyone should read?

Already on my list:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Already read:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1984 by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
and about half of Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

Am I missing anything?

**bravesfan007** · 07-02-2011, 10:14 PM

The Great Gatsby is a decent read. I read it once back in high school.

**meatfinger** · 07-03-2011, 01:16 PM

The Great Gatsby is EXCELLENT. Strongly recommend.

Read a Shakespearean tragedy. King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, or Hamlet are all great choices.

I don't know if he qualifies as "classic", but Tim O'Brien is a relatively modern author who has gained some fame and respect. The Things They Carried is one of my favorites.

***Art*** · 07-04-2011, 01:45 AM

I have been burning through a lot of Brit Lit. Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes... I am loving so much of it.

**beanbag** · 07-04-2011, 06:01 PM

i think "books everyone should read" is kind of nebulous...it depends on what your goal is in reading the books.

i've read and recommend most of the books you've posted, and some of my personal favorite classics include (but aren't limited to =)):

jane eyre
emma
sense and sensibility
a tale of two cities
villette
wives and daughters
anything sherlock holmes
anna karenina

i also recommend shakespeare...my favorite is the taming of the shrew. the only thing about shakespeare is that a lot of people have trouble reading his works and understanding them, mainly because plays are hard to read in general, but also because a lot of what's great about his works is in the interaction between characters and is easier to understand when it's seen, rather than read. the good news is that kenneth branagh's done a whole bunch of movie versions of the plays, so you can read them and watch them simultaneously, which makes them a bit easier to process and appreciate.

and...if you have trouble with the language in kenneth branagh's productions (because basically they put on the play and film it, with a bit more scenery than just what fits on a stage--all of the dialogue strictly follows the plays) you can always watch 10 things i hate about you to understand the taming of the shrew.

...and west side story for romeo and juliet, and lion king for a happy-ish hamlet, and kiss me kate also for the taming of the shrew, and the list goes on.

**Thrash** · 10-27-2011, 08:36 AM

I love Wuthering Heights. One of my all time favorite books and a must read, even though some find it depressing.

Any Sherlock Holmes.

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**Ted Logan** · 10-27-2011, 08:49 AM

Any of the Sherlock Holmes novels (the short stories are okay)
Crime and Punishment
The Odyssey
The Canterbury Tales
Jane Eyre
Dracula (this is a shockingly good novel)
1984
Brave New World
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (a modern classic if I say so myself)
Tolkien's The Silmarillion (published posthumously, but writing began in the 1910s)

Here are some that are on my Kindle, just waiting to be read:

Beowulf
The Jngle Book
Emma
Anna Karenina
The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot
The Power of Darkness
The Cossacks
Le Mort d'Arthur
The Iliad
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon (Washington Irving)

**Thrash** · 10-27-2011, 08:57 AM

I can't believe I left out Brave New World and 1984...

Les Miserables is good

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alyssabeth · 10-27-2011, 08:59 AM

Sherlock Holmes
Fahrenheit 451
Alice in Wonderland
Through the Looking Glass

I have a terrible memory. These are some great ones for me. I've also gotten some great book ideas from reading the lists on here!

RipVanWinkle · 10-27-2011, 09:22 AM

Hey Alyssa...welcome to CGR. Cool profile pic

I think my favorite is The Count of Monte Cristo

But, in the past year, I've read so many with the availability of free books on the kindle

**Thrash** · 10-27-2011, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RipVanWinkle

Hey Alyssa...welcome to CGR. Cool profile pic

I think my favorite is The Count of Monte Cristo

I have always wanted to read that.

Anything by Jules Vern is amazing.

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RipVanWinkle · 10-27-2011, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrash

I have always wanted to read that.

Its a BEASTLY long book...

***Art*** · 10-27-2011, 05:45 PM

Ugh, Taylor. Wuthering Heights? I found it repugnant.

I will endorse the following books at this time:

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Persuasion
Jane Eyre
To Kill a Mockingbird
Les Miserables

I have a ton waiting for me on my Kindle. I am loving the classics.

TheProdigalModern · 10-27-2011, 06:10 PM

If you're going to be reading the post-war moderns, you must read A Farewell to Arms.

**Ted Logan** · 10-27-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art

Ugh, Taylor. Wuthering Heights? I found it repugnant.

I will endorse the following books at this time:

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Persuasion
Jane Eyre
To Kill a Mockingbird
Les Miserables

I have a ton waiting for me on my Kindle. I am loving the classics.

I love all the men endorsing Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and other "girly" classics. Jane Eyre was amazing.

Also, I forgot to mention Huckleberry Finn. Awesome book. I need to get me some "public domain Twain" on my Kindle.

Also, the poetry of William Blake, Byron, John Donne, and E.E. Cummings (yes, you're supposed to capitalize his name).