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midnight readers discussion

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books!! > classics for beginners?

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message 1: by natalia (new)

natalia (nataliaakirstein) | 3 comments i haven’t read many classics, but i personally enjoyed Franny and Zooey and 1984!!


message 2: by Carly (new)

Carly (carlystach) | 27 comments With denser books I’ve been enjoying watching the movie first to get the basic plot beats. That way the unfamiliar language is easier to digest.

This is how I got through pride and prejudice.

Candide is old school satire. I recommend reading up a little bit about the context of when it was written. It’s also short and sweet.

Gulliver’s travels was also fun.


I didn’t like Crime and Punishment. Russian literature can be quite dense.


Hope these help :)


message 3: by maia � (new)

maia ❦ (maiavictorias) | 1 comments some of my fave classics that I think are good for beginners are:
the picture of dorian gray - oscar wilde
the great gatsby - f. scott. fitzgerald
pride and prejudice - jane austen
wuthering heights - emily bronte
the alchemist - paulo coelho
beloved - toni morrison
animal farm - george orwell
their eyes were watching god - zora neale hurston
hamlet - shakespeare
there list of classics is never ending, but these are just a few<3 (:


message 4: by Carly (new)

Carly (carlystach) | 27 comments I agree that Animal Farm was rather accessible.

I'm not sure I'd start with Hamlet. I liked it, but if you're not used to the language it can be rough. To each their own though. Don't let me scare you off.

I'm interested to check out stuff by Oscar Wilde. He seems like such an interesting guy.


message 5: by (new)

⟢ | 29 comments Yeah The Picture of Dorian Gray is pretty easy to read and is written beautifully, with an interesting story and characters. It’s one of my favorite books! I agree that Hamlet might be hard to understand due to the language if you don’t have a lot of experience reading books like that, but if you happen to want to get into Shakespeare it’s definitely the one I’d start with lol


message 6: by Carly (new)

Carly (carlystach) | 27 comments Good point


message 7: by mia � (new)

mia ♡ | 17 comments i’m obsessed with anything oscar wilde, go crazy, his plays are a work of art and the picture of dorain gray was the best thing i have ever read. other classics i’d suggest are little women, jane eyre, the anne of green gables series and books by charles dickens <3


message 8: by M � (new)

M ☾ (mias_libraryy) - The picture of dorian gray
- Bonjour Tristesse
- Pride and Prejudice


message 9: by Summer (new)

Summer Hughes | 6 comments anne of green gables and animal farm!


message 10: by Lara (new)

Lara | 3 comments I just read The Picture of Dorian Gray and it was really good and it wasn’t difficult to read or understand


message 11: by Elizabeth (new)

Elizabeth | 4 comments 1984 by george orwell was a really good book, it takes a bit to pick up but you can't put it down once you get into it.


message 12: by kate (new)

kate | 7 comments I personally think the best classic beginner is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is what got me so into classics. It’s such a beautiful book.


message 13: by Eva (new)

Eva Papaconstantinou | 10 comments Little women- Louisa May Alcott
Emma- Jane Austen
The secret history- Donna Tartr


message 14: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Molnar | 8 comments It’s not technically a classic yet but ‘call me by your name� is a great transition into the classical writing style. ‘The secret history� is too. Then I’d say I great (but not too long) classic read would be ‘The Picture Of Dorian Grey�:)


message 15: by ciara (new)

ciara (ciarars) | 1 comments i think little women is a really good place to start!! it's long but the language is pretty simple and it's very beautiful. my personal fav is the picture of dorian gray (the language is a bit more complex but the plot is easy to follow)


message 16: by Zayta (new)

Zayta Voskamp | 3 comments I will admit that some classics many enjoy and some hate. But some of my favorites I will mention. The ones I have read are very popular because I too have just begin reading classic literature.

Little Women

Pride and prejudice

The little princess

Anne of green gables

The outsiders

Next I will list some that I haven’t
gotten to yet but am hoping to read

Animal farm

Count of monte cristo

Scene and sensibility

Emily of new moon

Eight cousins

Withering heights


message 17: by kinzi (new)

kinzi | 3 comments catcher and the rye
the great gatsby
picture of dorian gray
1984
animal farm
the outsiders


message 18: by Val (new)

Val Di | 1 comments If you want to star with Dostoevsky and find his work a bit intimidating, I suggest you start by reading his short stories, like White nights, A gentle creature and others and you’ll find yourself loving and understanding every piece of his work. I am a big fan of him and how easy it is to understand his work. Also Little Women, my favourite book and movie!!


message 19: by Taleesha (new)

Taleesha Herren | 2 comments I would recommend
Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorites, it is a little bit confusing with the main character narrating but it’s really very good and has good twists and turns.
Macbeth, specifically the No Fear Shakespeare edition bc it has modern translation on one side and original text on the other
Pride and prejudice was really good. The language took some getting used to but it was a fun read.


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