We hold classic novels in high regard and rightfully so. Some classics are just that good. But not every classic is a great read. That is why we decided to list the 35 best classics that you should read!
There are tons of classics out there and if you ask enough people for recommendations, you will come across almost all of them. It is impossible to read all of them out there and honestly, some are overrated. We have made your job eaiser by making a list of some of the best classics to read.
The 35 Best Classics That You Should Read
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Classics Worth Checking Out
The list includes some of the best classics of all time. Novels such as The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird and Jane Eyre are novels that everyone should read twice. Once in school and again years later to revisit the novel and experience it as an adult.
A novel that is on many lists is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. You may overlook it but it is a classic novel that is going to keep you reading. The plot centers around pre-colonial life in parts of Nigeria as Europeans invade and change the lives of the people during the latem19th century.
An underrated classic novel that you should read (or read again in you read it in school) is The Outsiders. It is an amazing novel that is still relevant to this day. Reading it as an adult makes you see the scenes from another point of view and feels like a whole new novel.
Conclusion
These are the 35 classics that you should read. The list includes many novels that are all different and will keep you entertained. How many of these books have you read? Let us know in the comments below!
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Again, a duplication! You need a proofreader! Others, well done.
Oh come on! All written in English, except four. Thomas Mann, ho hum.
2 of my favorites novels are Thomas Mann, Magic Mountain and Buddenbrooks and others are also great
I have read 23
Still have a few to go
Bobmurta1066@gmail.com
Read thru the list, so far I’ve read 27. The outsiders will be next.
Little Women is listed twice. Thirty-four books.
Were are french, german and italien books?
You misspelled Italian!
I’ve read 27 of them so far and enjoyed all, especially Les Mis., Crime and Punishment,
Jane Eyre, also add War and Peace which is my favorite book ever. Right now I’m reading “Heart of Midlothian” by Scott. ( I found a wonderful 1873 2-vol. ed.) Keep making these lists; they’re priceless.
I will add : what about Arabic books ??
19 of the 34, with Les Miserbles being my favorite…
No Hemingway… Really???
Gone With The Wind is missing!
A glaring error
Moby Dick? Scarlet Letter? Huck Finn? Genesis, Job, or Ecclesiastes?? This list tilts way too much toward trendy fluff. Does anyone really think that Dracula and Frankenstein are great or thought-provoking literature?
I think Grapes of Wrath should have been included amongst more.
Missing : The Prophet, by Gibran Kahlil Gibran. Number one most read book world wide after the Bible and the Qur’an.
Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ is a must!
What..no War ad Peace, No Divine Comedy,no Beowulf, no Paradise Lost, hmm.
“Call of the Wild” is a wonderful story.I always thought that writing from the dogs point of view was very unique. Frank Muller narrates this story beautifully.
I just now completed “To Kill A Mockingbird!” @age 59! It is a sin to have waited SO long!!! I had sworn away from both film and novel. Both my Father, and ELVIS, (b. one year earlier) and many, many others were born and reared in post-Civil War, post-Reconstruction, and pre-WWII South.
Really? If you people truly do not approve of my comment, stand tall and say so. Also, include specific reasons as to why!
Others may complain about your choices, but I’ve read all but three (and I just bought one of the three), so I won’t complain about your choices. The list is very Western and English oriented, but there are too many brilliant books to limit a list to 34-35. None seem “unworthy”.
Give us a list of a hundred or more, and include some of those mentioned above.
Thankfully, you didn’t say “Best”, if you had, I would have strongly protested.
Thanks
I’ve read 32 of 35 and many multiple times. Nevertheless, my list would be very different. It would not be heavy on American books. Proust, Mann, and Joyce are indicative of my preferences. Moreover, no American novel rivals Lolita.