midnight readers discussion

i haven’t read many classics, but i personally enjoyed Franny and Zooey and 1984!!

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 :)

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 (:

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.

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

Good point

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

- The picture of dorian gray
- Bonjour Tristesse
- Pride and Prejudice

anne of green gables and animal farm!

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

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.

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.

Little women- Louisa May Alcott
Emma- Jane Austen
The secret history- Donna Tartr

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’:)

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)

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

catcher and the rye
the great gatsby
picture of dorian gray
1984
animal farm
the outsiders

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!!

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.

The phantom of the opera
Withering heights
Tristan and Isolde (Romeo and Juliet)

- The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Frankenstein
- The War of the Worlds
-1984
-Animal Farm
-The Time Machine
-Brave New World

Monkey King!! It’s hilarious and super easy to follow! Other than that I’d also say The Epic of Gilgamesh, Frankenstein, Notes from Underground, Animal Farm, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Confessions

Here are some of my favourite classics I didn’t know specifically what you might be into so I divide them by category :))

Gothic literature:
- Frankenstein
- Dr jekyll and mr hyde
- Dracula

Epic poetry:
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
- not necessarily an epic but still one of my favs, the rime of the ancient mariner (would recommend the 1984 version.)

Realistic fiction:
- The catcher in the rye
- Of mice and men
- Little women

Philosophical fiction:
- The outsider (by Albert Camus) (existentialism)
- Animal farm (political)
- The metamorphosis (existentialism and absurdism)

Dystopian classics:
- 1984
- The handmaid’s tale
- Lord of the fireflies

definitely catcher in the rye. it’s sort of complex main character wise but it’s relatable enough to make a great gate way to other classics

The Little Prince.
Harry Potter?
Little Women.
Sherlock Holmes.
The Chronicles Of Narnia.
The Dead Poets Society?
The Phantom Of The Opera.
Macbeth.
Romeo & Juliet.
Peter Pan & Wendy.
And many more!

Secret history is on here, but its not a classic
Picture of dorian gray, alchemist, great Gatsby are all great things but not secret history, although it’s a great book.

yess the picture of Dorian grey is great and pretty easy to follow! I'm currently half way through and it's rly the first classic novel I've read.
another way to get into classic literature is short stories you can really explore different genres and find authors you like I know I've read some rly cool classic horror >-the yellow wallpaper
-the willows
-the horla
-really any by Edgar Allen Poe too
sorry I don't have the authors names I'm just writing from memory;^;
good luck and have fun!!!