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Classic Books for Beginners
16
items Just a list of some of my favourite beginner-friendly classics. Nothing too long-winded or wordy, just simple, interesting stories that would appeal even to non-readers :)
Sections
4
Humour
Drama/Slice of Life
Science Fiction
Horror
Humour
Wodehouse is one of my favourite authors of all time. The combination of absent-minded and clumsy Bertie Wooster and his long-suffering butler Jeeves is a match made in heaven. Perfect for readers who want something lighthearted, funny, and almost Sh...
The Code of the Woosters (Jeeves & Wooster)
This is another Wodehouse classic, starring Jeeves and Wooster. Perfect for anyone looking for a truly hilarious book
Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
In my opinion, Jerome K Jerome has nailed slapstick and language based comedy in this book. The story follows a group of three hypochondriacs who decide that the only cure for their myriad of ailments is a ride down the Thames in a boat. This book WI...
Three Men in a Boat - Books
Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge is a scoundrel. He's also very good at coming up with hairbrained schemes to make money, and convincing people to invest in them. The actual making money part? Not so good at that. Also, not so great at dodging the a...
Ukridge by P. G. Wodehouse, Paperback
Drama/Slice of Life
The Little Women Series follows the lives of four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. It explores themes of love, companionship, freedom, and patriarchal norms in the 19th century through the characters and their friends, family, and relationship. I hig...
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the sequel to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The story follows Huckleberry Finn and his friend Jim, a newly escaped slave looking for freedom. What follows is a story about unlearning prejudice and racism that cha...
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
White Fang remains, to this day, one of my top three classics of all time. The story follows a wild half dog half wolf cub who gets taken from his family and sold during the Klondike Gold Rush. It's a beautiful tale of the Wolf's struggles and how he...
White Fang by Jack London
Heidi was the first classic I read on my own, and I still have a soft spot for it. The story follows an orphaned little girl left with her cantankerous grandfather in the Swiss Alps. This book is a beautiful story about a little girl and how her kind...
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Unlike White Fang, which is a story of a wild wolf becoming domesticated, Call of the Wild is about a domesticated dog eventually going wild. It touches on themes of human greed, exploitation, and also human kindness and the ability to help those who...
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Orwell's vision of a totalitarian surveillance state is more relevant today than ever.
In a world where your actions, words, and even thoughts are strictly monitored for treason, Winston (the protagonist) grows to hate the authoritarian government t...
1984: 75th Anniversary: George Orwell, Erich Fromm
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a thrilling romance set in the backdrop of the French Revolution. The story follows Marguerite, a French noblewoman who realises that she has unknowingly put her husband in danger of being captain by the French rebellion, and...
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Science Fiction
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a riveting thriller about a US Government expedition that sets out to discover a mysterious sea monster that has sunk many other ships. Instead, they find a futuristic submarine called the Nautilus, captained by the my...
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Shelley's Gothic Horror classic delves into the dark consequences of human greed and ambition, as a scientist's creation goes spectacularly wrong. If you're a fan of horror and sci-fi elements, this is the original sci-fi horror classic
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The War of the Worlds is an excellent sci-fi horror story about humanity and its plight during an invasion by Martian aliens. If you like sci-fi movies or existential dread, this book is for you
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, Paperback
Another sci-fi classic by Jules Verne. This story follows a few explorers as they follow an old map that claims to lead down into an undiscovered subterranean world. The lead, Axel, and his eccentric Uncle Lidenbrock discover new worlds, ecosystems, ...
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, Paperback
Horror
Written by Irish author Bram Stoker, Dracula defined the modern vision of Vampires. The novel follows the conflict between the dangerous and mysterious Count Dracula, who moves to England from Transylvania to feed on and infect more people, and a gro...
Dracula by Bram Stoker