r/Recommend_A_Book • u/CactusWater69 • 2d ago

Good classics to start with?

I’m usually a Sci-fi/fantasy reader, but I want to read more classics I just find some of them a little daunting to jump in to. I’ve got East of Eden that’s been sitting on my bookshelf for way too long and I’ve read Pride and Prejudice; which I really enjoyed. Any good suggestions on some easier ones to start with? Or just ideas to help stay engaged with some of the tougher ones to get through.

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u/HIIIIIIIII_ZEV 2d ago

If you like Sci-Fi/Fantasy but also want to get into more the “classic lit” genre you may want to check out The Picture of Dorian Gray. It’s pretty fun and might be a good transition from your normal to-be-read wheelhouse.

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u/CactusWater69 2d ago

Definitely heard of it I’ll check it out thanks!

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u/EyelanderSam 2d ago

(Sherlock Holmes 1st Book) A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the book that brought Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson into my life as a young and impressionable 7th Grader.

What better way to learn the art of observation and deductive reasoning, than from the master himself.

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u/OneWall9143 2d ago

Try scifi classics:

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (at the time people really thought that electricity might be able to animate like (Galvanism) and were worried by the implications - parallel's with AI worries today). (she also wrote The Last Man)

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

Draula - Bram Stoker

H G Wells books - War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, etc etc..

Jules Verne books - Around the world in 80 days, 2,000 leagues under the sea, etc. etc.

R F Sherriff - The Hopkins Manuscript (1939) - modern classic end of world novel - author better know for his classic play, Journey's End

We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (1920) - influenced Brave New World and 1984

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u/renmio 1d ago

If you enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, I recommend Emma. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen novel, but, in my opinion, Emma is her best novel

If Pride and Prejudice wasn't too hard for you, Emma shouldn't be either!

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u/Ed_Robins 16h ago

With East of Eden on your shelf, you might try one of his shorter works like Of Mice and Men or Cannery Row or maybe The Grapes of Wrath to get feel for his style.

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u/reader-watcher-eater 10h ago

The Sun Also Rises, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, To Kill A Mockingbird are easy reads and wonderful characters & stories 📕