High school English class can really deter people from continuing to read classic literature for fun. It took a dramatic attitude change for me to start liking classics, but now I’m always including them in my rotation of reading material, and plenty of them end up being my favorite books. For example, this past year I read and loved Moby Dick, The Beautiful and Damned, and To the Lighthouse.
In this post, I’ll be sharing 7 classics that are easy to digest and will ignite an appreciation for classic literature (if you don’t already have one!).
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
I describe Lolita as being a psychological thriller. It toys with your head, messes with your brain. When people ask me what my favorite book is, I say Lolita. It has both witty cynicism and beautiful lyricism, so you’ll be underlining lots of quotes. Best of all, the book is on the short side.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brave New World is a classical dystopian. Rather than Orwellian totalitarianism, Huxley presents a society that’s unaware of its condition. He explores social conditioning’s power over the masses; this book really made me think. And it’s choke-full of religious allegory that’s exciting to catch if you’re paying attention.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Speaking of dystopians, Nineteen Eighty-Four is another classic that’s easy to read and holds your attention from start to finish. A powerful essayist, Orwell is able to wrap his own social commentary into the folds of the plot with undeniable elegance. I remember reading this book with a pen clutched in my hand, sitting on the edge of my seat, racing through each page.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Another book I list as a favorite whenever I’m asked is Siddhartha. This is a long-form Vedic poem about spirituality and happiness. Its lyrical writing is stunningly beautiful, and the book itself is very short. It’s not overly complex, which makes it easy to read, and it’s difficult not to appreciate the power in its simplicity.
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
I read this book recently for a literature class, and it was a favorite among my classmates. It’s a modernist text, so it reads a little easier than some of the older classics, but it’s not as abstract as Woolf. This book is written from multiple perspectives, following a group of siblings along their journey to bring their mother’s body to her final resting place. It’s intense but captivating, and a good introduction to modernist classics.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Austen can get a bad rap sometimes, but I don’t find her works to be that difficult to understand. And unlike texts by the Brontës, I find Austen novels to be consistently entertaining. Pride and Prejudice follows the Bennet family and its five eligible daughters as they navigate the drama of courting. My favorite thing about Austen novels is how relatable they are, despite the two centuries that have lapsed. (My personal favorite Austen novel is Sense and Sensibility, so bonus points if you check that one out.)
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
I’m going to finish off my list with A Room of One’s Own. I love Virginia Woolf; I’m currently reading Mrs. Dalloway and I recently read and loved To the Lighthouse. However, my first experience with Woolf was reading A Room of One’s Own, which is more of an essay than a book. It’s a lot easier to follow than her longer works, and it supplies you with an appreciation for her craft without being overwhelming. I’m really glad I’d read A Room before getting into any of her other novels. The essay itself is a feminist text about being female in the literary world, which is and was a patriarchal space.
And that concludes my recommendations! I’ve really grown to love and appreciate classics in the past couple years, and since I’m engaging in them frequently for my English degree, I want nothing more than to make other people realize how amazing classics and literary fiction in general can be. Happy reading!
