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Classic Novels To Read (or re-read)
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items This year I want to re-read some of the classic books I read in my youth and have never re-visited, as well as some I've never gotten around to. I'm planning out my reading year here. I reserve the right to define ‘a classic’, but feel free to argue ...
Classic horror with a powerful underlying message from a 19 year old Mary Shelley. I read this in a day, lying in a hammock in Western Australia when I was about 24. I remember the theme and the message but not the details.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I read this for my high school English class as a 16 year old. Time for a re-read.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
For some reason I remember not loving this one. But it's a respected classic and the talk of #BookTok these days so I need to revisit and see what I missed.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Oscar Wilde’s only novel - full of the wonderful Wilde wit & wisdom.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
I read this in 1984. I told myself there'd never be a better time. I was 14 and found the whole thing pretty traumatising. Maybe as a 50-something veteran bibliophile I'll see it differently.
1984 by George Orwell
One of my favorite dystopian novels - but I haven't re-read it since my original reading in my early 20s. Interested to see what I think of it now. This edition includes the full text of Brave New World Revisited, Huxley's 1958 nonfiction followup to...
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Big confession coming. I've never read it. I grew up in the UK where it wasn't commonly assigned in school, and never got round to it.
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Another big confession coming. I definitely started this but I'm pretty sure I never finished it. And no-one wants to have unfinished business with a vampire.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
There's a theme going on in this section of the list. Started, never finished. Started again (this time the original - encouraged by my high school Spanish teacher who greatly over estimated my abilities). This was in the days before internet acronym...
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Perhaps my second favorite dystopian, but will I feel the same now I've become hooked on the show? I guess we'll find out.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
After not loving the Dickens I was forced to read in High School I came to this one late and remember really enjoying it. I've been in a revolutionary mood lately, so I guess this will work for me.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I have this exact edition on my bookshelf right now. I'm familiar with the story from the stage play and film but the book is another TLDR (so far).
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Big Austen fan. Intend to re-read her entire body of work. May start with this one just because it was the one that got me hooked.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Loved The Color Purple in high school. Haven't re-read since, and haven't read the others. So will be getting the box set.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The book that made teenage me want to me a writer. She's got a lot to answer for. Definitely time for a re-visit.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I like to do a re-read of any much loved classic just before a major movie comes out, so I can have a well-informed ‘it wasn’t as good as the book' opinion. I hear they're filming a new Wuthering Heights right now.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Used to love Du Maurier, and this book in particular. Haven't read since I was about 20. Let's see if it lives up to the hype my mind created around it.
Rebecca By Daphne Du Maurier
Another one I've never read, and another one with a beautiful clothbound classic version. I'll be getting this one when I get round to it.
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray