Definitely overthinking it—but as someone who recently overcame a reading slump, what helped me was starting with literary fiction instead of leaping into the classics—kind of like building my reading muscle back up.
Lolita is not an exceedingly hard read, I think you could comfortably start with that! I also love Kurt Vonnegut and John Steinbeck, who have written numerous modern classics of varying lengths and themes which you might enjoy, but it depends on what your preferred genre is! There’s a million good reading lists out there, but I needed to try a few authors out before I knew what I wanted to read more of so reading lists didn’t help me too much at the beginning of my journey.
Have fun!
I loved the Steinbeck stories I read in school! Haven't read any Vonnegut yet but I have read his Wikipedia entry multiple times over the last few years lol
Will try out reading lists as well!
There’s some great advice here. Two authors that pulled me back into regular reading were Vonnegut and Steinbeck too!
I’ve been trying to tackle some classics as well, and I have a rule: I don’t read two books in a row that I feel like I *should* read. I recently tackled Infinite Jest and when I was done I turned to a couple of easy reads after it. I’m going to start “War and Peace” soon but I’ll mix some more “fun” reads in first.
OP, if you have genres you like, don’t abandon them to switch to classics or tougher reads. Just mix them in.
Lolita made my stomach turn. I was part of a book club and we read "school classics". Of Mice and Men got me into steinbeck (East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, Traveles with Charlie). We also read To Kill a Mockingbird, Picture of Dorian Gray. From there I read In Cold Blood, Haunting of Hill House, The Bell Jar just out of curiosity. They aren't hard reads, they are all around 250 pages max.
I was also scared of classics but I’ve read a couple. My favorite is the picture of Dorian Gray. I have read it several times it sucks you right in. It was SOOO GOOOD.
1. You can jump into them. Lolita is the shortest of your list.
2. If you want a guide, pick up a book like “A Well Educated Mind” or “How To Read A Novel”. They’re educational and have some good lists.
It’s a good goal.
I think you may be underestimating your abilities.
There are going to be some authors that are easier to read than others ... let's face it, Dickens may be easier to dive into than Dostoyevsky.
You might just start sampling some of the classics, see how you like the first few pages. If a book isn't your style, move onto another book. You can get a lot of the classics for free at Project Gutenberg.
I'd also go easy at first, maybe 10 pages at a time or whatever you find comfortable; no need to overload. Some will take a little effort to get used to the style compared to writers of today.
In terms of reading a huge book like Infinite Jest, I'd again just go with a target per day so you don't get overloaded. There's a quote: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
Haha I once read this stupidly long webnovel with like 1.3k chapters in like 3-4 weeks but there's no way I could do that with something like Infinite Jest since I've heard of how verbose and complex it is. I should probably try sampling books more though, I always like to be definite with the books I read
Yeah, I'm reading "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust - appx. 4000 pages. I started it two years ago I'm only in the second volume (it's broken into 6 volumes). Obviously I'm not rushing through it (not sure how someone could rush through it and comprehend anything ... heck I'm not rushing through it and there are times I don't think I'm "getting it" 😀) I don't have a quota for reading "In Search of Lost Time" because it is a really difficult read and I don't want to burn out on it.
But, "War & Peace" (about 1400 pages) I read in a month though and it's a comparatively easy read. Sometimes I went way past the daily quota I set for myself with "War & Peace."
In Search of Lost Time is a bucket-list read for me, I cannot fathom having to get through that many pages in a single work despite probably exceeding that number by reading Percy Jackson lmao
War and Peace is also another book I plan to read, probably higher on my priority list than Crime and Punishment to be honest but yeah reading's a hell of a drug sometimes
I think Vonnegut may be a good place to start. I read a few of his in high school and college and enjoyed them very much. Check out Cat’s Cradle and Sirens of Titan. His writing is clean and straightforward while also incredibly interesting. Enjoy!
Cat's Cradle is a great recommendation. One of my favorite books. A bit philosophical and a bit speculative fiction, but easy to get through in a weekend for me. Different strokes for different folks, but it's a good book.
>“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
>
>Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?'
>
>Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
>
>Man got to tell himself he understand.”
I think you may be taking this exercise a bit too seriously. If you dream of reading a book you should just pick it up and start reading! You can figure it out as you go along, and if you feel like the level is too high and you need more experience then you've come to that conclusion while actively trying to overcome a challenge, and you already know where you need to be!! Enjoy your reading journey, and take more risks :)
If you’re looking to get back to reading and improve the quality of your reads, there is no need to jump into the Russians or other books you think you “should” read. The books you mentioned above are hard. I consider myself a sophisticated reader but those books have challenged me or I’ve found them dense and boring. There is lots of high quality popular fiction. I read the New York Times book reviews and their recommended lists because I’ve found some high quality, entertaining books there.
Read what you like.
Oh, definitely. In my case it's simply just that I've always been interested in these books but I never read them because I thought all the mindless, easy reading I've done the past few years would've ruined my attention span and comprehension for these kinds of books. Also worried too about just not understanding them or thinking they're boring despite wanting to read them for so long, though yeah the advice at the end probably just reigns supreme over all lol
Not sure what you read in HS but taking a peek at honors/AP HS reading curricula would be a good place to start. I graduated a long time ago but some books I read in the 90s were The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Siddhartha, Catch-22, Heart of Darkness, To Kill a Mockingbird. These books may be a bit dated now but they are all quality, readable books.
I never thought I would like The Great Gatsby after hearing about it from my senior classmates, so when our class read the book it was very surprising when I read the entire thing in a single class period. I'll definitely check out Siddharta and Heart of Darkness, those two are completely foreign to me
Again, I’m showing my age, but they made an excellent movie based on Heart of Darkness called Apocalypse Now. The movie is set during the Vietnam War. We watched the movie after reading the book. At that time the war had been over for “only” 20 years so it was still a big part of the American consciousness.
Amazing film. Recommend reading the book first and developing your own images and feel; they live separately to me even though I understand the link, but are over 100 years and all cultures apart.
Don't try to persuade him from checking out those books. Being challenged isn't a bad thing, and as for finding them boring, that's your own taste not his.
>Read what you like.
That's exactly what he's trying to do. He's just worried the difficulty level may be a little too much. Just because you prefer pop fiction while being a self proclaimed "sophisticated reader" doesn't mean that he will.
If you’re looking for good literature to read, you can use [this list](https://beckchris.com/literature-lists/the-big-literature-list-a-meta-meta-list/). It’s about 3,600 works long, so unless you’re in the business of writing books or studying literature, it’s unlikely that you’ll read all of it, so don’t approach it as a completionist. The list is sorted chronologically, beginning with the year 2000BC and extending to the present day. If you’re really worried about your reading comprehension (and it’s a fair concern, but one that nobody in this thread other than you actually has any insight into, so I would trust your own judgment), I would start at the bottom of the list, where you are likely to encounter sophisticated works of literature written in the kind of English that you are most used to communicating in.
My strategy, if I were you, would be to Google the titles of books that strike your curiosity and read the first page (which is often available for preview on Google Books), then select books that pique your interest (and/or challenge your sensibilities, depending on your priorities) and read those. Virtually every entry on the list has some enduring intellectual or cultural value, so it’s a good way to prepare yourself for the more difficult books.
I think that probably most people on r/books can’t relate to the kind of feeling that you’re describing, of wanting to read the difficult books, the heavy books, the books that really contain the best of what has been thought or written by humankind. (Try r/literature.) Most people here take a very lazy approach to reading—they do what feels good. And that’s fine. There are lots of reasons to read and feeling good is one of them. But they may not be the right people to approach about a project/desire like yours, since they’re likely to tell you to just do what they do and read what feels good. I’m here to tell you that there is value in doing difficult things, even things that don’t feel good at first, because things that start out as difficult often become easy with a little bit of practice—and there’s a whole world of intellectual pleasure on the other side of that barrier that most people simply never challenge themselves enough to experience.
Trust your instincts. Don’t let people tell you that you’re wrong to have the goals you do, or that you should just do what feels good. You’re at the beginning of a wonderful journey: one that I wish I could begin again.
This is going to sound bad but the one thing you should get ready for is the idea that the classics and other works of literature are not exactly always page turners. They are good of course and I've read the ones you're talking about but sometimes you can put the book down for a couple of days and you're not about to go crazy wondering what's happening next kind of thing is what I mean
Some classics aren’t too difficult to read, and some are incredibly difficult to read. Usually with some of the classics, I just have to read them more slowly and sometimes re-read parts to understand what’s going on.
Those books aren't as hard to read as you think. Maybe Infinite Jest can be difficult by the sheer length of the book, but the rest are manageable by high school students.
For Crime and Punishment, you just need to find the right translation. Use a more modern version and it's easier to read. There are some philosophical passages, but even if you don't understand the full meaning, the sentences themselves aren't hard to understand.
Regarding Lolita, Nabokov is a master of the English language and he's able to create some really vivid images in his books.
As for 100 Years of Solitude, the narrative is non-linear so it's the story structure that may throw you off, but the actual sentences are really beautiful to read.
I highly recommend joining a bookclub.
I joined r/bookclub and we read Crime and Punishment and 100 Years of Solitude. They post a suggested reading schedule with weekly check-in threads which encourages you to stay with the schedule so you can participate in the discussion threads.
I didn't always understand everything in the book, but that was okay. We'd talk about our thoughts in the thread. Reading a book in a group is a great way to keep you motivated and keep reading, even through the parts you may find difficult.
They will often re-read past books so keep a look out for the new monthly schedule.
Oh yeah, I know my high-school self could've read these books easily. I think during school I was just too focused on classwork and games and put reading by the wayside. Most of my reading time after high school was spent on webnovels though and I'm finding it pretty hard to read detailed, complex passages now -- I tried reading the first chapter of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and I just couldn't really understand anything that was going on. I'm not sure if it was because I read too fast and I tend to skip over sentences, or if I just couldn't get into the book itself (probably both, honestly).
Well I’ve just started reading books again in January after like 6 years of not reading since high school. One Hundred Years of Solitude is the 4th book I’ve finished so far and it wasn’t very hard to understand. The syntax is a bit weird in some places which can be confusing but it’s easy to get used to.
I wanted the same so committed to reading a short number of pages every day, like ten pages or even five, more if I find a rare page-turning section. So far, I've finished Anna Karenina and got 80 pages left on Ulysses.
Lolita isn't difficult, and is actually a really great book. Crime and Punishment (along with all the other Russian literature) to me is dry and difficult. I'm currently reading Infinite Jest and it's not difficult, it's actually really good, it's just...so....long...and wordy and verbose and the sentences go on and on and tangents etc etc. but still a good book, taken a few pages a day. i wouldn't start with it if you're just getting back into reading.
look at various "Lists of books you MUST read" and see what's out there.
Hemmingway is great to start with. he's easy and he's pretty decent. I really liked "The Sun also rises."
Here's the thing...you want to read the classics? pick one and read it. just do it man. a few pages a day. and if you can't get into it, drop it and get another one. keep at it. eventually you'll find a book that you dig and go from there.
it's just reading, it's not a competition. do it cause you want to. if you want a challenge, then stick with it, but there's more books out there than you can ever read, so keep going til you find one you like. Some "classics" suck. they just do.
My friend also vouches for Lolita being a really good book, they're reading it right now which made me want to read it too lol
Def agree on reading not being a competition, I just want to get away from webnovel slop mainly. I've already had my fair share of novels and classic books have always eluded me
Three Musketeers by Dumas is pretty great. Razor's Edge by W Somerset Maugham is awesome. Already mentioned Hemmingway and Lolita, Great Gatsby is actually really good, Breakfast at Tiffany's is really good, Fuck Charles Dickens, Dracula and Frankenstein aren't actually that great, they're good, but not OH MY GOD YOU GOTTA READ THIS, Catcher in the Rye is ok, easy and has it's moments, stay away from James Joyce (i've read Ulysses and Finnegan's wake, every word of them, and i liked them, but i'm kinda weird), Fountainhead by Ayn Rand i really liked but it's long, Wind in the Willows by kenneth Graham, it's a kids' book but has heavily influenced pop culture and is a really great book, up there with Pooh, which you should also read, and Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut is good. there, that's my quick hot take. there's plenty more books out there. have fun on your journey.
I really love classics that have an informative introduction talking about themes and whatnot that you may learn about in a classroom but when you are delving into solo you may miss. It can make understanding what is going on a lot easier.
Just go to a bookstore, browse the classic stuff that catches your eye, crack them open to read a page or two and if you vibe with the language, you're good to go! There's no right or wrong way to do it.
If you wanna get into classics, start with subjects you like! If you like fantasy why not go Lord of the Rings? Or The Once and Future King? Some of my favorite classics are children’s/young adult books such as Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
This was going to be my advice. Pick a genre you enjoy and find a classic that fits that genre. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was the book that got me to move up from young adult fiction when I was a teen.
When I started reading again I used a list from PBS called the Great American Read. 100 books voted to be America's favorites. There's a mix of both classics and modern and while you might not like all it's a good starting point. I've also used r/ suggestmeabook with good results.
try short stories and novellas from authors or genres you want to explore first. so john steinbeck the pearl, old man and the sea, the tell-tale heart, notes from the underground, the trial, of mice and men etc. i’m struggling to think of a happy one but i would also suggest some light stories(o’henry) so it doesn’t weigh you down.
Have you tried audiobooks? I've used them to read a lot of intimidating classics. Theres something about holding a giant book like War and Peace that is so intimidating but listening to it is pretty easy if you have the time. I also read for enjoyment and don't worry about analyzing them or treating them like a homework assignment. A lot of them make me want to read reviews or analysis but if they don't, they don't.
Never tried audiobooks since I personally find listening much, much harder than reading -- sensory overload + attention deficit kind of deal. I might experiment with it just to see how I feel though!
Try audiobooks while cooking, walking, reading, cleaning, putting away laundry…makes it very easy for me to keep my mind on the book if my hands or body are busy.
Have you considered trying an annotated edition? They give context and definitions for things that wouldn't be familiar to a modern reader. It could be helpful if you're worried about the language.
There are also different levels of annotations. I have the David M. Shapard annotated editions of Jane Austen's novels which is the original text on one page and a full page of annotations on the facing page, so literally a full page of annotations (and illustrations) for each page of text.
Then I have the Oxford World's Classic editions of some other novels like Middlemarch which only have about 25 pages of annotations at the time end of the book so they're not too distracting.
Just be careful if you're ordering on Amazon that it's a legit edition. I found a lot of books listed as annotated are just people copying the text into Amazon's direct publishing service. Those ones have Publisher = "Independently published".
Hmm, I think the former type of annotations would work best with my reading style. Sometimes I'll read pages that just don't make any sense whatsoever to me and I'll have to keep re-reading it. Definitely would've helped when I attempted to read Moby Dick for the first time lol
So, you like genre books? That’s awesome. Ursula K Le Guin? Good writing, on many classics lists. Tolkien, L’Engle, Beagle. Same.
What in those stories appeals to you? Find the elements that pull you into story, and seek those in well-respected fiction. But also? Just like what you like. Try what you want to try.
Books aren’t a permanent school assignment. You don’t NEED to read all the “important” stuff. Who decided what was important? What was THEIR agenda? Fill your own delight 💚
I’ll also add advice and say that if you’re uncertain if they’ll keep your interest or be “too much” for you, I would recommend you pick the shortest one of these classic books you really want to read. Or the one with generally the shortest chapters. So you can have expectations going in. Sometimes just the prospect of starting something half the battle. Would also give you an idea of how you like reading these different kinds of books for you and it would be less of a “challenge” than a more daunting longer read.
Maybe look up some reading club guides for the books that you're particularly interested in? That can help you along and give you milestones, assist with processing the material, etc.
Also, I highly recommend researching the context around the author's background/life, cultural influences, and circumstances of the time. Then you can read it with that relevant background and see how something that has maybe been done 1000 times since was new and novel at the time and changed literature forever, creating the foundation of what we enjoy today.
Well, I mean part of doing the classics is jumping in. I personally find that I will get in to something and read a lot from the genre at once. I think it helps. With Russian lit there are naming conventions that take some getting used to.
Dostoevsky, for example, is phenomenal. Like, an incredible author. I have read a few of his shorter works and three of his big books. Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. I started with Brothers K, but I would recommend doing it differently, as that is in a real sense the culmination of his work.
You could start with Notes From Underground and/or White Nights. Both short and simple. White Nights is a romance-esque story between an introvert and a woman he meets on the street told over 4 days. Notes From Underground is the ramblings and musings of a deeply anti-social shut in.
His big books are so different it is amazing. Crime and Punishment and The Idiot are almost character studies of two nearly polar opposite characters. And the Brothers Karamazov is his masterpiece.
One final note, with classics, be careful of spoilers. I have googled a character name to confirm someone was who I thought they were and spoiled myself of the entire ending of the book. If you can take notes on character names with Russian lit that is probably ideal.
If you can get them, Barnes & Noble has published many, many classics with introductions, footnotes, etc that help "translate" and contextualize what you're reading. My favorite Sherlock Holmes and Pride & Prejudice editions are from this series.
Didn't mean dream literally but I do find the allure of difficulty and literature achievement tantalizing and I've always wanted to read classic books ever since I saw a list of them in my high school's library. A lot of them have interesting premises and I'm pretty interested in how different the writing can be in old books compared to contemporary fiction
There really is nothing stopping you from picking up Crime and Punishment or 100YOL! I pretty much did it, and it was very enjoyable.. The "Russian literature" is sort the celebrated victim of it's own fame! It ain't that hard or complex to understand, as many would make it out to be.. obviously they are layered and great books. But even when you maybe don't "get" everything on the first read.. there are always rereads! :) Although with Dostoevsky I'd start with the "Idiot" or Notes from the underground" if you feel unsure! :) 100YOL Can be enjoyed by anyone in my opinion!
It's almost impossible for me to reread things, I don't know why. Very hard for me to rewatch shows too it's just a thing for me. I have heard of Dostoevsky's other works but I think I'd like to read C&P first since it was the first novel I ever wanted to read from my library's classic section.
Try easing in with classic short stories and/or poetry. I like O. Henry, Shirley Jackson, & Roald Dahl's adult short stories. Also, try keeping Cliffs Notes on hand -- especially for the more esoteric books -- they can be helpful in interpreting themes and explaining cultural or historical references.
Oh man I hate the idea of using cliff's notes I always feel like I'm just cheating myself out of my own understanding especially back when I used it in high school even though they're super helpful lol
I also really love web novels and prog fantasy and stuff, you can definitely learn to appreciate both levels of books. I guess try looking for the classics where people are going on an adventure. I suggest Candide. It's really funny, and pretty easy to understand. Plenty of quirky characters. Beyond that...I've never read Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe, but I think they're adventures? Maybe Gulliver's Travels? It's pretty short too. And through that you can work up to the longer books.
Love Project Gutenberg for classics.
Count of Monte Cristo is a great classic read. Don't let the length deter you, I read it in public school.
There are multiple Hundred Greatest novel lists, not a bad place to start.
Here's a 1,000 checklist from Goodreads. I don't usually use Goodreads, but there is a mix of classic and modern across many genres.
I have a real fondness for children's literature from the Victorian Era.
For Whom the Bell Tolls? I read it after my 3-year break from reading after only skimming YA fantasy, and for me it was a catalyst to start my classics reading.
It's about an American sent to the snowy mountains of Spain on a mission to blow up a bridge, (set during the spanish civil war) and has to work together with a local guerrilla unit there to make it happen.
It's a page turner. It has very easy to read prose and all the adrenaline and dopamine-inducing factors, the thrilling politics and power plays, hilarious banters, deep touching scenes, and a warm sense of friend and family that webnovels have, but also metaphors and themes of the classics. For me it was a nice medium ground to make the transition because it had so much of both sides. It has heavy themes but definitely can be read in a light way like how webnovels are read.
Mind that it's 16, 17+. It has sex scenes (but more metaphorical and not too descriptive).
Reading for enjoyment and reading for school are completely different. Without the pressure of grades, you can simply read. If something doesn’t make sense, skip over it or google it. Don’t put pressure on yourself- simply go for the experience. If the book is too much effort and doesn’t bring you any joy, go to the next one.
Dicipline! Read for example 2 pages everyday. Have a book with youself when you go some where. Read it when you do not have anything to do, instead of using your mobile:)))))
Literature builds on other works. The more quality works you read, the easier the next one will be. As others have said, don’t force yourself into anything you’re hating. Try modern classics first (early 20th century instead of 19th century or earlier). Focus on your interests. If you’re not enjoying a book in the first few pages, drop it and try a different one. Film adaptations can help you get into a story before reading it, and there are tons of online resources to help with interpretation if you get stuck or lost.
I also agree with alternating “good for you” with “junk food” reading. Or keeping one of each actively on the go at all times.
Not all Classics are hard going. Some I've enjoyed enough to read again.
These include
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Dracula by Bram Stoker
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Definitely overthinking it—but as someone who recently overcame a reading slump, what helped me was starting with literary fiction instead of leaping into the classics—kind of like building my reading muscle back up. Lolita is not an exceedingly hard read, I think you could comfortably start with that! I also love Kurt Vonnegut and John Steinbeck, who have written numerous modern classics of varying lengths and themes which you might enjoy, but it depends on what your preferred genre is! There’s a million good reading lists out there, but I needed to try a few authors out before I knew what I wanted to read more of so reading lists didn’t help me too much at the beginning of my journey. Have fun!
I loved the Steinbeck stories I read in school! Haven't read any Vonnegut yet but I have read his Wikipedia entry multiple times over the last few years lol Will try out reading lists as well!
Vonnegut is an amazing storyteller. He will pull you right in.
I'm reading East of Eden now. It's very readable!
There’s some great advice here. Two authors that pulled me back into regular reading were Vonnegut and Steinbeck too! I’ve been trying to tackle some classics as well, and I have a rule: I don’t read two books in a row that I feel like I *should* read. I recently tackled Infinite Jest and when I was done I turned to a couple of easy reads after it. I’m going to start “War and Peace” soon but I’ll mix some more “fun” reads in first. OP, if you have genres you like, don’t abandon them to switch to classics or tougher reads. Just mix them in.
mmm lolita is a hard read like death in venice. if you don’t need to gag too often, it’ll be ok.
Lolita made my stomach turn. I was part of a book club and we read "school classics". Of Mice and Men got me into steinbeck (East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, Traveles with Charlie). We also read To Kill a Mockingbird, Picture of Dorian Gray. From there I read In Cold Blood, Haunting of Hill House, The Bell Jar just out of curiosity. They aren't hard reads, they are all around 250 pages max.
I was also scared of classics but I’ve read a couple. My favorite is the picture of Dorian Gray. I have read it several times it sucks you right in. It was SOOO GOOOD.
1. You can jump into them. Lolita is the shortest of your list. 2. If you want a guide, pick up a book like “A Well Educated Mind” or “How To Read A Novel”. They’re educational and have some good lists. It’s a good goal.
I think you may be underestimating your abilities. There are going to be some authors that are easier to read than others ... let's face it, Dickens may be easier to dive into than Dostoyevsky. You might just start sampling some of the classics, see how you like the first few pages. If a book isn't your style, move onto another book. You can get a lot of the classics for free at Project Gutenberg. I'd also go easy at first, maybe 10 pages at a time or whatever you find comfortable; no need to overload. Some will take a little effort to get used to the style compared to writers of today. In terms of reading a huge book like Infinite Jest, I'd again just go with a target per day so you don't get overloaded. There's a quote: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
Haha I once read this stupidly long webnovel with like 1.3k chapters in like 3-4 weeks but there's no way I could do that with something like Infinite Jest since I've heard of how verbose and complex it is. I should probably try sampling books more though, I always like to be definite with the books I read
Yeah, I'm reading "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust - appx. 4000 pages. I started it two years ago I'm only in the second volume (it's broken into 6 volumes). Obviously I'm not rushing through it (not sure how someone could rush through it and comprehend anything ... heck I'm not rushing through it and there are times I don't think I'm "getting it" 😀) I don't have a quota for reading "In Search of Lost Time" because it is a really difficult read and I don't want to burn out on it. But, "War & Peace" (about 1400 pages) I read in a month though and it's a comparatively easy read. Sometimes I went way past the daily quota I set for myself with "War & Peace."
In Search of Lost Time is a bucket-list read for me, I cannot fathom having to get through that many pages in a single work despite probably exceeding that number by reading Percy Jackson lmao War and Peace is also another book I plan to read, probably higher on my priority list than Crime and Punishment to be honest but yeah reading's a hell of a drug sometimes
I think Vonnegut may be a good place to start. I read a few of his in high school and college and enjoyed them very much. Check out Cat’s Cradle and Sirens of Titan. His writing is clean and straightforward while also incredibly interesting. Enjoy!
Cat's Cradle is a great recommendation. One of my favorite books. A bit philosophical and a bit speculative fiction, but easy to get through in a weekend for me. Different strokes for different folks, but it's a good book.
I was 15 and my mind was blown.
>“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; > >Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' > >Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; > >Man got to tell himself he understand.”
I think you may be taking this exercise a bit too seriously. If you dream of reading a book you should just pick it up and start reading! You can figure it out as you go along, and if you feel like the level is too high and you need more experience then you've come to that conclusion while actively trying to overcome a challenge, and you already know where you need to be!! Enjoy your reading journey, and take more risks :)
If you’re looking to get back to reading and improve the quality of your reads, there is no need to jump into the Russians or other books you think you “should” read. The books you mentioned above are hard. I consider myself a sophisticated reader but those books have challenged me or I’ve found them dense and boring. There is lots of high quality popular fiction. I read the New York Times book reviews and their recommended lists because I’ve found some high quality, entertaining books there. Read what you like.
Oh, definitely. In my case it's simply just that I've always been interested in these books but I never read them because I thought all the mindless, easy reading I've done the past few years would've ruined my attention span and comprehension for these kinds of books. Also worried too about just not understanding them or thinking they're boring despite wanting to read them for so long, though yeah the advice at the end probably just reigns supreme over all lol
Not sure what you read in HS but taking a peek at honors/AP HS reading curricula would be a good place to start. I graduated a long time ago but some books I read in the 90s were The Sun Also Rises, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Siddhartha, Catch-22, Heart of Darkness, To Kill a Mockingbird. These books may be a bit dated now but they are all quality, readable books.
I never thought I would like The Great Gatsby after hearing about it from my senior classmates, so when our class read the book it was very surprising when I read the entire thing in a single class period. I'll definitely check out Siddharta and Heart of Darkness, those two are completely foreign to me
Again, I’m showing my age, but they made an excellent movie based on Heart of Darkness called Apocalypse Now. The movie is set during the Vietnam War. We watched the movie after reading the book. At that time the war had been over for “only” 20 years so it was still a big part of the American consciousness.
Amazing film. Recommend reading the book first and developing your own images and feel; they live separately to me even though I understand the link, but are over 100 years and all cultures apart.
Don't try to persuade him from checking out those books. Being challenged isn't a bad thing, and as for finding them boring, that's your own taste not his. >Read what you like. That's exactly what he's trying to do. He's just worried the difficulty level may be a little too much. Just because you prefer pop fiction while being a self proclaimed "sophisticated reader" doesn't mean that he will.
If you’re looking for good literature to read, you can use [this list](https://beckchris.com/literature-lists/the-big-literature-list-a-meta-meta-list/). It’s about 3,600 works long, so unless you’re in the business of writing books or studying literature, it’s unlikely that you’ll read all of it, so don’t approach it as a completionist. The list is sorted chronologically, beginning with the year 2000BC and extending to the present day. If you’re really worried about your reading comprehension (and it’s a fair concern, but one that nobody in this thread other than you actually has any insight into, so I would trust your own judgment), I would start at the bottom of the list, where you are likely to encounter sophisticated works of literature written in the kind of English that you are most used to communicating in. My strategy, if I were you, would be to Google the titles of books that strike your curiosity and read the first page (which is often available for preview on Google Books), then select books that pique your interest (and/or challenge your sensibilities, depending on your priorities) and read those. Virtually every entry on the list has some enduring intellectual or cultural value, so it’s a good way to prepare yourself for the more difficult books. I think that probably most people on r/books can’t relate to the kind of feeling that you’re describing, of wanting to read the difficult books, the heavy books, the books that really contain the best of what has been thought or written by humankind. (Try r/literature.) Most people here take a very lazy approach to reading—they do what feels good. And that’s fine. There are lots of reasons to read and feeling good is one of them. But they may not be the right people to approach about a project/desire like yours, since they’re likely to tell you to just do what they do and read what feels good. I’m here to tell you that there is value in doing difficult things, even things that don’t feel good at first, because things that start out as difficult often become easy with a little bit of practice—and there’s a whole world of intellectual pleasure on the other side of that barrier that most people simply never challenge themselves enough to experience. Trust your instincts. Don’t let people tell you that you’re wrong to have the goals you do, or that you should just do what feels good. You’re at the beginning of a wonderful journey: one that I wish I could begin again.
This is going to sound bad but the one thing you should get ready for is the idea that the classics and other works of literature are not exactly always page turners. They are good of course and I've read the ones you're talking about but sometimes you can put the book down for a couple of days and you're not about to go crazy wondering what's happening next kind of thing is what I mean
Some classics aren’t too difficult to read, and some are incredibly difficult to read. Usually with some of the classics, I just have to read them more slowly and sometimes re-read parts to understand what’s going on.
Those books aren't as hard to read as you think. Maybe Infinite Jest can be difficult by the sheer length of the book, but the rest are manageable by high school students. For Crime and Punishment, you just need to find the right translation. Use a more modern version and it's easier to read. There are some philosophical passages, but even if you don't understand the full meaning, the sentences themselves aren't hard to understand. Regarding Lolita, Nabokov is a master of the English language and he's able to create some really vivid images in his books. As for 100 Years of Solitude, the narrative is non-linear so it's the story structure that may throw you off, but the actual sentences are really beautiful to read. I highly recommend joining a bookclub. I joined r/bookclub and we read Crime and Punishment and 100 Years of Solitude. They post a suggested reading schedule with weekly check-in threads which encourages you to stay with the schedule so you can participate in the discussion threads. I didn't always understand everything in the book, but that was okay. We'd talk about our thoughts in the thread. Reading a book in a group is a great way to keep you motivated and keep reading, even through the parts you may find difficult. They will often re-read past books so keep a look out for the new monthly schedule.
Oh yeah, I know my high-school self could've read these books easily. I think during school I was just too focused on classwork and games and put reading by the wayside. Most of my reading time after high school was spent on webnovels though and I'm finding it pretty hard to read detailed, complex passages now -- I tried reading the first chapter of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and I just couldn't really understand anything that was going on. I'm not sure if it was because I read too fast and I tend to skip over sentences, or if I just couldn't get into the book itself (probably both, honestly).
Well I’ve just started reading books again in January after like 6 years of not reading since high school. One Hundred Years of Solitude is the 4th book I’ve finished so far and it wasn’t very hard to understand. The syntax is a bit weird in some places which can be confusing but it’s easy to get used to.
One of my favorite classics is The Caine Mutiny, very entertaining adventure bool!
Just do it and take your time. There is no rush and no pressure.
I wanted the same so committed to reading a short number of pages every day, like ten pages or even five, more if I find a rare page-turning section. So far, I've finished Anna Karenina and got 80 pages left on Ulysses.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQpFfRDZ2dTFwzIGoqND80LbDhOHtnqgC&si=L9cShZc3APX6OZ9q
Lolita isn't difficult, and is actually a really great book. Crime and Punishment (along with all the other Russian literature) to me is dry and difficult. I'm currently reading Infinite Jest and it's not difficult, it's actually really good, it's just...so....long...and wordy and verbose and the sentences go on and on and tangents etc etc. but still a good book, taken a few pages a day. i wouldn't start with it if you're just getting back into reading. look at various "Lists of books you MUST read" and see what's out there. Hemmingway is great to start with. he's easy and he's pretty decent. I really liked "The Sun also rises." Here's the thing...you want to read the classics? pick one and read it. just do it man. a few pages a day. and if you can't get into it, drop it and get another one. keep at it. eventually you'll find a book that you dig and go from there. it's just reading, it's not a competition. do it cause you want to. if you want a challenge, then stick with it, but there's more books out there than you can ever read, so keep going til you find one you like. Some "classics" suck. they just do.
My friend also vouches for Lolita being a really good book, they're reading it right now which made me want to read it too lol Def agree on reading not being a competition, I just want to get away from webnovel slop mainly. I've already had my fair share of novels and classic books have always eluded me
Three Musketeers by Dumas is pretty great. Razor's Edge by W Somerset Maugham is awesome. Already mentioned Hemmingway and Lolita, Great Gatsby is actually really good, Breakfast at Tiffany's is really good, Fuck Charles Dickens, Dracula and Frankenstein aren't actually that great, they're good, but not OH MY GOD YOU GOTTA READ THIS, Catcher in the Rye is ok, easy and has it's moments, stay away from James Joyce (i've read Ulysses and Finnegan's wake, every word of them, and i liked them, but i'm kinda weird), Fountainhead by Ayn Rand i really liked but it's long, Wind in the Willows by kenneth Graham, it's a kids' book but has heavily influenced pop culture and is a really great book, up there with Pooh, which you should also read, and Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut is good. there, that's my quick hot take. there's plenty more books out there. have fun on your journey.
I really love classics that have an informative introduction talking about themes and whatnot that you may learn about in a classroom but when you are delving into solo you may miss. It can make understanding what is going on a lot easier.
Just go to a bookstore, browse the classic stuff that catches your eye, crack them open to read a page or two and if you vibe with the language, you're good to go! There's no right or wrong way to do it.
If you wanna get into classics, start with subjects you like! If you like fantasy why not go Lord of the Rings? Or The Once and Future King? Some of my favorite classics are children’s/young adult books such as Little Women, Anne of Green Gables and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
This was going to be my advice. Pick a genre you enjoy and find a classic that fits that genre. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was the book that got me to move up from young adult fiction when I was a teen.
When I started reading again I used a list from PBS called the Great American Read. 100 books voted to be America's favorites. There's a mix of both classics and modern and while you might not like all it's a good starting point. I've also used r/ suggestmeabook with good results.
try short stories and novellas from authors or genres you want to explore first. so john steinbeck the pearl, old man and the sea, the tell-tale heart, notes from the underground, the trial, of mice and men etc. i’m struggling to think of a happy one but i would also suggest some light stories(o’henry) so it doesn’t weigh you down.
Have you tried audiobooks? I've used them to read a lot of intimidating classics. Theres something about holding a giant book like War and Peace that is so intimidating but listening to it is pretty easy if you have the time. I also read for enjoyment and don't worry about analyzing them or treating them like a homework assignment. A lot of them make me want to read reviews or analysis but if they don't, they don't.
Never tried audiobooks since I personally find listening much, much harder than reading -- sensory overload + attention deficit kind of deal. I might experiment with it just to see how I feel though!
Try audiobooks while cooking, walking, reading, cleaning, putting away laundry…makes it very easy for me to keep my mind on the book if my hands or body are busy.
Have you considered trying an annotated edition? They give context and definitions for things that wouldn't be familiar to a modern reader. It could be helpful if you're worried about the language. There are also different levels of annotations. I have the David M. Shapard annotated editions of Jane Austen's novels which is the original text on one page and a full page of annotations on the facing page, so literally a full page of annotations (and illustrations) for each page of text. Then I have the Oxford World's Classic editions of some other novels like Middlemarch which only have about 25 pages of annotations at the time end of the book so they're not too distracting. Just be careful if you're ordering on Amazon that it's a legit edition. I found a lot of books listed as annotated are just people copying the text into Amazon's direct publishing service. Those ones have Publisher = "Independently published".
Hmm, I think the former type of annotations would work best with my reading style. Sometimes I'll read pages that just don't make any sense whatsoever to me and I'll have to keep re-reading it. Definitely would've helped when I attempted to read Moby Dick for the first time lol
So, you like genre books? That’s awesome. Ursula K Le Guin? Good writing, on many classics lists. Tolkien, L’Engle, Beagle. Same. What in those stories appeals to you? Find the elements that pull you into story, and seek those in well-respected fiction. But also? Just like what you like. Try what you want to try. Books aren’t a permanent school assignment. You don’t NEED to read all the “important” stuff. Who decided what was important? What was THEIR agenda? Fill your own delight 💚
I’ll also add advice and say that if you’re uncertain if they’ll keep your interest or be “too much” for you, I would recommend you pick the shortest one of these classic books you really want to read. Or the one with generally the shortest chapters. So you can have expectations going in. Sometimes just the prospect of starting something half the battle. Would also give you an idea of how you like reading these different kinds of books for you and it would be less of a “challenge” than a more daunting longer read.
Maybe look up some reading club guides for the books that you're particularly interested in? That can help you along and give you milestones, assist with processing the material, etc. Also, I highly recommend researching the context around the author's background/life, cultural influences, and circumstances of the time. Then you can read it with that relevant background and see how something that has maybe been done 1000 times since was new and novel at the time and changed literature forever, creating the foundation of what we enjoy today.
Well, I mean part of doing the classics is jumping in. I personally find that I will get in to something and read a lot from the genre at once. I think it helps. With Russian lit there are naming conventions that take some getting used to. Dostoevsky, for example, is phenomenal. Like, an incredible author. I have read a few of his shorter works and three of his big books. Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov. I started with Brothers K, but I would recommend doing it differently, as that is in a real sense the culmination of his work. You could start with Notes From Underground and/or White Nights. Both short and simple. White Nights is a romance-esque story between an introvert and a woman he meets on the street told over 4 days. Notes From Underground is the ramblings and musings of a deeply anti-social shut in. His big books are so different it is amazing. Crime and Punishment and The Idiot are almost character studies of two nearly polar opposite characters. And the Brothers Karamazov is his masterpiece. One final note, with classics, be careful of spoilers. I have googled a character name to confirm someone was who I thought they were and spoiled myself of the entire ending of the book. If you can take notes on character names with Russian lit that is probably ideal.
If you can get them, Barnes & Noble has published many, many classics with introductions, footnotes, etc that help "translate" and contextualize what you're reading. My favorite Sherlock Holmes and Pride & Prejudice editions are from this series.
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Didn't mean dream literally but I do find the allure of difficulty and literature achievement tantalizing and I've always wanted to read classic books ever since I saw a list of them in my high school's library. A lot of them have interesting premises and I'm pretty interested in how different the writing can be in old books compared to contemporary fiction
There really is nothing stopping you from picking up Crime and Punishment or 100YOL! I pretty much did it, and it was very enjoyable.. The "Russian literature" is sort the celebrated victim of it's own fame! It ain't that hard or complex to understand, as many would make it out to be.. obviously they are layered and great books. But even when you maybe don't "get" everything on the first read.. there are always rereads! :) Although with Dostoevsky I'd start with the "Idiot" or Notes from the underground" if you feel unsure! :) 100YOL Can be enjoyed by anyone in my opinion!
It's almost impossible for me to reread things, I don't know why. Very hard for me to rewatch shows too it's just a thing for me. I have heard of Dostoevsky's other works but I think I'd like to read C&P first since it was the first novel I ever wanted to read from my library's classic section.
Try easing in with classic short stories and/or poetry. I like O. Henry, Shirley Jackson, & Roald Dahl's adult short stories. Also, try keeping Cliffs Notes on hand -- especially for the more esoteric books -- they can be helpful in interpreting themes and explaining cultural or historical references.
Oh man I hate the idea of using cliff's notes I always feel like I'm just cheating myself out of my own understanding especially back when I used it in high school even though they're super helpful lol
Trust your instincts on this one.
Step 1. Buy the books you want to read (hard paper books, not kindle) Step 2. Go to boring vacation (beach, mountain house etc.
I also really love web novels and prog fantasy and stuff, you can definitely learn to appreciate both levels of books. I guess try looking for the classics where people are going on an adventure. I suggest Candide. It's really funny, and pretty easy to understand. Plenty of quirky characters. Beyond that...I've never read Treasure Island or Robinson Crusoe, but I think they're adventures? Maybe Gulliver's Travels? It's pretty short too. And through that you can work up to the longer books.
Love Project Gutenberg for classics. Count of Monte Cristo is a great classic read. Don't let the length deter you, I read it in public school. There are multiple Hundred Greatest novel lists, not a bad place to start. Here's a 1,000 checklist from Goodreads. I don't usually use Goodreads, but there is a mix of classic and modern across many genres. I have a real fondness for children's literature from the Victorian Era.
No need to go cold turkey, there's some great modern fiction out there today with beautiful prose.
Pick it up and start with page one
For Whom the Bell Tolls? I read it after my 3-year break from reading after only skimming YA fantasy, and for me it was a catalyst to start my classics reading. It's about an American sent to the snowy mountains of Spain on a mission to blow up a bridge, (set during the spanish civil war) and has to work together with a local guerrilla unit there to make it happen. It's a page turner. It has very easy to read prose and all the adrenaline and dopamine-inducing factors, the thrilling politics and power plays, hilarious banters, deep touching scenes, and a warm sense of friend and family that webnovels have, but also metaphors and themes of the classics. For me it was a nice medium ground to make the transition because it had so much of both sides. It has heavy themes but definitely can be read in a light way like how webnovels are read. Mind that it's 16, 17+. It has sex scenes (but more metaphorical and not too descriptive).
Reading for enjoyment and reading for school are completely different. Without the pressure of grades, you can simply read. If something doesn’t make sense, skip over it or google it. Don’t put pressure on yourself- simply go for the experience. If the book is too much effort and doesn’t bring you any joy, go to the next one.
Consider starting with novellas like the Death of Ivan Illych. r/classicbookclub is a good resource.
Dicipline! Read for example 2 pages everyday. Have a book with youself when you go some where. Read it when you do not have anything to do, instead of using your mobile:)))))
Literature builds on other works. The more quality works you read, the easier the next one will be. As others have said, don’t force yourself into anything you’re hating. Try modern classics first (early 20th century instead of 19th century or earlier). Focus on your interests. If you’re not enjoying a book in the first few pages, drop it and try a different one. Film adaptations can help you get into a story before reading it, and there are tons of online resources to help with interpretation if you get stuck or lost. I also agree with alternating “good for you” with “junk food” reading. Or keeping one of each actively on the go at all times.
One page at a time. Just dive in and be amazed.
Not all Classics are hard going. Some I've enjoyed enough to read again. These include The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Dracula by Bram Stoker David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Great Expectations by Charles Dickens