Reading the classics can be either a fun or a tiring experience. Choosing which classics to read makes a big difference. Keep reading to find out which 30 classics made our list!
Everyone isn’t a fan of the classics but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read any of them. They can be some of the most refreshing books you will read. Many of them are well written and millions of people read them every year. Schools teach many of them for a reason. You can see the full list below!
30 Classics that You Must 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
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- 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
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a classc novel that readers either love or hate. There is no in between when it comes to this book. After revisiting this novel, I do believe it deserves the recognition it has gotten over the decades. There is a lot to take away and the novel is even more relevant in this day and age.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Like many readers, I first read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school and couldn’t put the novel down even if I wanted to. The story is told by the viewpoint of Jean Louise Finch and tells the story of Atticus Finch defending Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman in Maycomb, Alabama.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Even if you aren’t an avid book reader, there is a good chance you have come across The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It is taught in most schools across the United States. The brilliant dystopian novel tackles heavy themes which has made it one of the most censored books in the world.
Frankenstein
Frankenstein is a classic novel that is a must read no matter what your favorite genre is. It is a sci-fi and horror novel that is thought provoking and scary. The novel is considered the first sci-fi novel and holds up well even centuries later. Few monsters become mainstream yet Frankenstein has, despite many people never reading the novel behind it.
The Outsiders
While The Outsiders isn’t considered as important as the ones mentioned above, it is a classic in my opinion. It is the first novel that piqued my interest and I ended up reading ahead of the assigned reading. It is a great novel for young adults and for teenagers who might not have found a book that speaks to them. It still amazes me that S. E. Hinton was only 15 when she started writing this novel.
The Secret History
One of my favorite novels has to be The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It is a murder mystery that takes place on a college campus and recalls the events that led to the murder of one of the members of the club. This novel gave birth to the dark academia subgenre and established Tartt as a one of a kind author.
Conclusion
That ends the list of the 30 classics that you must read. How many of these classics have you read? Which classics should we add on our next list? Let us know in the comments below!
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Atlas Shrugged and/or The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
What about Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh and A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
100 years of solitude is on the list twice.
Perhaps replace one with Love in the time of cholera. A much better book.
Les Miserables
Did you guys really pay someone to compile a list that includes One Hundred Years of Solitude (a great book) twice? Who edits this stuff?
The book is just that good
Your lists sadly exclude Native American literature. N. Scott Momaday received the Pulitzer Prize for House Made Of Dawn.
There never has been nor will there be a good reason to read Ulysses.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell & The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.
The PG Wodehouse Omnibus is missing in this list.
Things fall apart – Chinua Achebe
Stand by Me by Stephen King,
The Life of Pi
Death of a Salesman
Perfume etc
1000 yrs of solitude twice on list as you know 😉
70% of these are English as the original language. Hardly representative of literature as a whole, could be more diverse.
The modern novel is an English undertaking, so it’s no surprise that a majority are going to be British. If the goal is to read the best, it is what it is. If the goal is to read the best philosophy it’s going to be disproportionately Greek. It’s not biased it’s just the history of the literature.
I think you should add Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier! It is a wonderful classic that was very hard to put down.
Add A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, it is worth reading multiple times.
Got one hundred years of solitude twice and aint no way you put the secret history under classics, that’s the wrong.
Thinking as a teacher of literature, this a good list, but a bit limited to 200 years. These are the golden years of the novel, but, like I said, a bit limited. If one wants to be well rounded, I’d add a Greek work like Antigone, or Oedipus Rex (the plays are a good starting point). A Plato dialogue like Apology or Meno. And no one can consider themselves well read without reading Dante’s Inferno, if not the whole Divine Comedy.
A Light in August by William Faulkner
A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
Go Down Moses by William Faulkner
Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neil
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens