Top Must Read Classic Books Novels & Stories

"And what's your favorite?" "Oh that's too hard to choose sir. I mean of course I love classics like The Great Gatsby, 1984, and One Flew of the Cuckoo's Nest. I'm crazy about the James Bond books. But I have to say Misery is my favorite book. Stephen King is a genius." "So all that's told me is you read in high school and that's it. Aren't those all required reading?" "Daddy." I whispered. He took a long gulp from his glass. Sophia closed her eyes as though she was embarrassed.

I can’t explain it, but I don’t have to, either, if I don’t bring it up, and I’m not one to ever start conversations. I sniff the paperback—old, musty paper, glue, and Justus—and set it on the pallet. The next book in the pile, Peter Kropotkin’s The Conquest of Bread, has a picture of two men chopping down a tree on the cover. It smells the same. All the books are dog-eared paperbacks with yellowed pages—Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant, several each by Ursula K. Le Guin and N. K. Jemison, and a massive hardback of Plato’s collected works. The Plato is the only one that looks like it hasn’t been read a hundre

Wow. I was drooling. It wasn't just a room with books. It was a sanctuary. Floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with hardcovers, a rolling ladder, a massive fireplace that looked like it hadn't been used in decades. The scent of old paper and leather hit me, comforting and familiar. I ran my finger along the spines. ‘The Art of War’, ‘Sun Tzu’. ‘Histories of the Roman Empire’. Biographies of kings and conquerors. Heavy stuff. Interspersed with them were fiction classics. Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dumas.

The warm glow is enough for me, as my feet shuffle towards the books. All first collections. My fingers reach for their spines as I go from row to row, my eyes getting even wider as I move. Jane Austen’s first collection. To Kill a Mockingbird. Pride and Prejudice. Crime and Punishment. Ulysses. The Great Gatsby. These had to have cost a fortune. I reach the end of the top row and grab a book. Jane Eyre. A door cracks open in a corner, but it sounds so far away that I don’t move. Until a second later when I hear footsteps right behind me.

I must be the only person in my class that will read a classic novel for anything other than requirement. I couldn’t think of anyone I knew that would pick up Jane Eyre, Little Women, or Tess of the D’Urbervilles for pleasure. In fact, they were not even my first choice. Little Women came in a close second, but Pride and Prejudice will always win out. There was something beautiful about a couple from two different backgrounds traveling along the bumpy road of love until it was undeniable, and there was something even more beautiful about watching that journey happen. Flicking through the pages anxiously waiting for that sweet first kiss, the passion filled argument, the final declaration. Th

"Well, sometimes I watch T.V. I like, well, love to read. So I do that a lot when I'm alone." "Like what? Romance, crime thrillers?" I shrugged. "Sometimes. I really like the classics. Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, George Elliot (who was a woman, by the way). I also like the Russians, like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. 'War and Peace' is amazing." "You've read 'War and Peace'?" "Yeah, twice. It's excellent." I cocked my head. "How about you, what do you like to read?"

Emma said, walking deep into the living room. "Thanks." She walked to a set of shelves on the far side of the room, running her fingers over the spines of his books. A lot of them were classics, novels by Dickens, Voltaire, Dumas, Melville, and Hemingway. She smiled when her fingers ran over the spine of not one, but three copies of Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. There were modern novels, too, including Stephen King and Sidney Sheldon, but they didn't look as well read as some of the others.

“I prefer reading non-fiction in my free time. Most recently, I read Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, which is a history of humans and their social structures. I intend to read the sequel, Homo Deus, next.” “Sounds enthralling,” Andre muttered, rolling his eyes for my benefit. “I assure you it was.” The bartender smoothly replaced the empty margarita pitcher with a fresh one, placing an empty glass in front of Roman. The Englishman nodded his head in thanks. “We read each other’s favorite books,” I explained. “Andre’s is Red Storm Rising.” “By that military tosser Tom Clancy?” Roman scoffed haughtily. “His books are overly stuffed with bollocks acronyms and officer jargon. It’s the rare case w

"W-What kind of books?" "What kind I like to read?", he asked with an amused tone, trying his hardest not to laugh. "I'm a classics kinda guy. I'm surrounded by so much technology I need a break and avoid futuristic books. My favourites are the Trial by Franz Kafka, 1984 by George Orwell, Don Quijote by Miguel de Cervantes. I should stop here or else I'll talk day and night about my favourite titles. I love any classical literature I pick up." Michael leaned forward. "Weren't it to the high expectations my parents left behind, I would have studied literature."

Lord of the Rings War and Peace Frankenstein The Great Gatsby My feet halted near the Classics section. I could sense the heat of his gaze on my back. He was observing what book I would choose. ‘Paradise Lost!’ My hand itched, and I took it out. I had read a part of it but never got to complete it. Maybe I should. I was literally living with a devil, so why not read about one too. The iconic cover had gold text clashing with a red background like heaven's light scorching through hell's flames. A visual war portraying the epic poem's cosmic stakes.