Hello friends! Today I decided to create a post that is somewhat less conventional, but still quite relevant. Since I’m a student that apart from studying also loves to read, this post will be dedicated entirely to reading classics and how to enjoy reading them! When I first started out I probably felt the same things many people feel when they first start reading classics, especially in school, but I can promise you, once you start to read them more, you’ll start to actually like them. In any case, below you’ll find a list of tips and recommendations I wish to share with you, so I hope you like it :)
Getting started with classics is for many people the biggest obstacle, but you can overcome your fear of classics by just simply starting to read them. However, where many people go wrong, is that they don’t choose their first classics wisely and will be appalled by them because of it. But worry not, below is a list of some of (personal) recommendations of classics generally considered enjoyable. If you feel like this is a step too big, you can also start off by watching some good TV/movie adaptations of classics, which are included as well.
2. Recommendations below 200 pages
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde (very hilarious)
Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy
Silas Marner - George Eliot
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (the classic Christmas read)
The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
A Room With a View - E.M. Forster
Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
3. Recommendations beyond 200 pages
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (yes, this is a classic)
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
The Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë (one of my favourite books of all time)
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (a gigantic 1400 pages)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Brontë (super feminist!)
Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell
Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
North and South (2004) BBC miniseries
Jane Eyre (2006) BBC miniseries
Pride and Prejudice (2005) movie
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) movie
War and Peace (2016) BBC miniseries
The Great Gatsby (2013) movie
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
5. Some nice editions of classics
Penguin English Library classics (very afforable!)
Penguin Clothbound classics (my personal favourites)
Barnes & Noble Leatherbound classics
The Art of the Novella series
Vintage Classics Austen series
Reading classics is at some point a kind of trial-and-error experience, so I suggest that you begin by reading a wide variety of shorter classics from which you can gradually decide upon the types of classics you do like and the types you don’t. Once you discover the time/era, writing style, themes, and place you favour, it’s much easier and enjoyable to read more classics, and lengthier ones as well. Reading classics does not mean that you have to read within all times or eras, but you can also enjoy one particular era as well (I personally love the 1850-1900 era). In the end, you should have a pretty good idea of what you like, and trust me, reading classics will by no means be scary anymore!
7. How to enjoy them at school
Once you have familiarised with classics, you’ll also have familiarised with the writing style and the types of stories. This means that reading classics in school will be much easier to do as well, because it will help you spend much less time worrying about the book, but can instead help you enjoy and appreciate it. Truly, not all the books you’ll read in school will be fun or good, but just remember that not all classics are like that! If you’re lucky enough to read a book that you do like, you’ll read it much quicker and understand a lot better now that you know in what context it can be placed. If you still feel scared, please watch this video, it does wonders.
This post turned out to be longer than expected, but hopefully it can help all of you out! If you have any questions about this post, or more general things (or if you’d like to talk to me about books), you can always send me an ask. See you next time!
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