Top Ten Classic Books I Want To Read (32)

Tuesday, July 1, 2014 12:00 AM
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, book bloggers post a top ten list based on a bookish prompt. For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, we could choose Top Ten Favorite Classic Books or Top Ten Classic Books I Want to Read or some variant thereof. I chose...

Top Ten Classic Books I Want to Read
When it comes to the classics, I have so many favorites, books I’ve cherished and that have lasted with me for long after I've finished them. These are books that I return to time after time, such as Jane Eyre, Dracula or The Great Gatsby, and they are books that I will never tire of. I’d love to share them all with you, and I'm sure I have mentioned most of them in earlier posts. But I decided to go in the opposite direction today, and focus on the classics that I still need to read and have been meaning to pick up for some time. I’ve been neglecting the classics lately, and I’m hoping this post will give me the push I need to read some of these well-loved books. So here we go…


1. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville – I’m ashamed to admit that I still have yet to read this one. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long, just waiting to be cracked open. This was my college advisor’s favorite book, and since he was the best advisor ever, and this English major was lucky to have him as both an advisor and teacher, I feel like I owe it to him to read this one pronto. The size may be intimidating, but from what I heard, it’s well-worth the read.

2. Persuasion by Jane Austen – I have read three Austen novels, and loved every single one of them. Well, I sorta loved Northanger Abbey. I also tried to read Sense and Sensibility, but I guess I wasn’t in the right mood at the time. Yet I still haven't read Persuasion. For some reason, I feel like this one will be my favorite one of all, even over Pride and Prejudice. While I’m more into Gothic novels, I cannot help but appreciate Austen’s writing skills, and I’m very anxious to read this one soon.


3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – It’s a tragedy that I have yet to read Little Women, as I’ve heard so many good things. I plan on reading this sometime in the future, hopefully soon.

4. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess – This book sounds like it’s right up my alley. I have it waiting for me on my bookshelf, and I’ve tried starting it a couple of times now. I think I just need the right moment, as I’m a mood reader.


5. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – I’m especially eager to read this one, as it takes place during the Great Depression. I’d love to learn more about this time period, and I think I remember enjoying Of Mice and Men, so I hope I like this one as well.

6. Native Son by Richard Wright – I’m trying to read more diverse novels, and I believe Native Son fits the bill perfectly. This novel tells the story of an African American youth living in an impoverished area of Chicago in the 1930s. Amanda loved it, and since I trust her taste in books, I think I need to read this one ASAP.


7. The Color Purple by Alice Walker – This is another novel that features diversity, and like Native Son, it also takes place in the 1930s, but in the south instead of in Chicago. I’m curious to see if this book deserves all of the hype it’s received. Yet if it was popular enough to be adapted into a film and musical, it must be worth reading.

8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I want to read this because a) it takes place in Russia, b) I have yet to read anything by Tolstoy, and c) it features doomed love and for some sick, twisted reason, I love classic novels that feature heartbreak and ill-fated lovers.


9. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins – I bought this book some time ago, and it is terrifyingly huge. This book could be used as a weapon; it is dangerous and will tire my hands quickly if I hold it too often while reading. But I am determined to read this one, as it looks delightfully creepy.

10. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez – I've been wanting to read this book, or really any book by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez, for awhile. I have the book in my possession, so it's really only a matter of time.

How about you? Have you read any of these? Or do you have any classics you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments!




10 comments:

  1. Little Women will always be up there on my list of all-time classic favourites. There is something innately beautiful about that novel that just speaks to my soul. Lovely list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice! I don't think I read any of these myself back in school. Odd. But I of course know the story of Little Women well!

    Here's my Tuesday Post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I liked 100 years of solitude but I felt like I needed a spreadsheet to keep all the names straight!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Persuasion, Little Women, and Native Son are all favorites of mine. Native Son, especially, really changed the way I looked at the Civil Rights Movement in America and is truly such a phenomenally written tale. I want to read 100 Years of Solitude myself, so I hope I can get around to it soon. Lovely Top Ten, Courtney! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I forgot about Native Son. I read it in college and fell in love with it! I loved your list because it's such a mix of genres and time periods. I've seen Wilkie on a lot of lists today - going to have to check him out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Let me modify this for you: Amanda loved Native Son, and Persuasion, and One Hundred Years of Solitude. Not so much The Grapes of Wrath, but oh well. Can't love them all.
    I'm planning to read Little Women soon - hopefully this month, even. Anna Karenina and The Woman in White are two classics on my tbr list as well.
    Great picks, Cort! I hope you're able to get to some soon. And good luck with Moby Dick!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jane Eyre is such a wonderful story! I'm happy to hear you loved it, too. I would love to read Persuasion. I've seen so many TV/Film versions and I adore the story. Sense & Sensibility as well. Great list here, Courtney! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. You definitely have no reason for feeling ashamed! Really, I think you are well ahead of the curve when it comes to reading classics. I'm sure we're all lacking a little bit. I've read two of the ones on your list - The Grapes of Wrath and The Woman in White - but ONLY because they were free audiobooks during last year's SYNC Audiobook giveaways. And does listening to classics even count as reading them? I'm not sure I took in as much listening to them as I would have if I had read them. The rest of course I still need to read, and Little Women probably tops my list as I have been meaning to read that one for a long, long time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Little Women is a fantastic read! A Clockwork Orange is quite hard to get through but enjoyable nonetheless.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I started to read Clockwork Orange, but stopped because I wasn't feeling it either. I hope you get to read all of these soon!
    -Scott Reads It!

    ReplyDelete

Courtney Reads A Lot loves comments a lot! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Copyright © 2014 Courtney Reads A Lot
Template and Design by New Chapter Designs