What classic authors would you recommend to me?

Question

I'm 16 and have real passion for writing, reading, and the English language in general. I want to try a really classic author for once, perhaps not their most famous works, but something by one of the greats by which I mean the likes of Dickens or Carroll.

My only limit is I don't want anything like Shakespeare where it takes a good few reads to understand what he's saying. I've read some Shakespeare and managed fairly well with the language, but want this to be less of a trying read as I plan to read it while camping.

My favourite genres (if this helps at all) are comedy, sci-fi (doubt this will be of much use but you never know), mystery/suspense and fantasy (the type of fantasy with dragons, castles, that sort of thing).

Answer 1

Hi there.

Classic authors, eh? I see Jules Verne has been mentioned, but I find his language a bit strangulated.



So for classic sci-fi, H G Wells is your man. The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and The Man Who Could Work Miracles are the ones to start with.



Classic comedy, you want Three Men In a Boat by Jerome K Jerome and from Dickens, The Pickwick Papers. Also try The Diary of a Nobody by the Grossmith Brothers.



For classic mystery and suspense I would suggest Wilkie Collins, creator of the detective novel - The Moonstone and The Woman in White are the two to start on.



Classic fantasy is very tricky and actually rare, so pick up The Monk by Geoffrey Lewis (short but punchy!) then a good modern english translation of Beowulf (NOT the "old English" versions!). Seamus Heaneys is good.



Enjoy, Steve.

Answer 2

Poe is definitely a good idea, especially his short stories.

If you liked the Shakespeare that you read even though it took a while, I would suggest the Folger Shakespeare Library editions of Shakespeare's works. They have full explanations of the language on the page itself and make the play much less of a trying read. The notations helped me to read King Lear and Romeo and Juliet with decent comprehension at 14.

Answer 3

Book Recommendations

(as of August 1, 2010)





Here are some general book recommendations (adventure, mystery, drama, conspiracy, thriller, romance, historical, educational, etc.):



1) The Harry Potter series



Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone



Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets



Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban



Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire



Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows



2) Books by Dan Brown



The DaVinci Code



Angels and Demons



The Lost Symbol



3) Books by George Orwell



1984



4) Books by Ray Bradbury



Fahrenheit 451



5) 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey



6) Books by Jim Collins



Good To Great



7) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond



8) Left Behind (Novel #1)



9) Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse



10) Books by Glenn Beck



Glenn Beck’s Common Sense



The Overton Window



11) Books by John Steinbeck



Of Mice and Men



12) Books by S. E. Hinton



The Outsiders



13) Books by Walter Mosley



Devil in a Blue Dress



14) Books by Agatha Christie



And Then There Were None

Answer 4

Two suggestions.



Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle - His Sherlock Holmes books are some of the best mystery and detective books ever written. Plus, they're very readable - it's almost modern English.



Jules Verne - Since you like Sci-fi, you should try him. His work is the basis of a lot of modern sci-fi.

Answer 5

i could advise any of Jane Austen's paintings, besides as most of the different books already stated, all have their very own quirks and foibles and are very relaxing. i could additionally advise Howards end by potential of EM Forster that's strategies-blowing besides as seconding the action for long previous With The Wind. that's a extensive e book and took a good 60 pages formerly my mind's eye grew to become into extremely captured, even though that's astounding and you will fall head over heels for Rhett Butler hehe. i could additionally recommend the Dollanger series by potential of Virginia Andrews that are frequently confusing to verify via content textile, yet nevertheless dazzling books. additionally Elizabeth Jane Howard's books are deserved of a examine. Very exciting kind. additionally advise The final of the Mohican's, Little women and the sequels, practically any Thomas Hardy, any Dickens, each and every of the Bronte sisters, nevertheless Anne is my typical, and additionally Wilkie Collins who wrote such classics via fact the female In White. regardless of you go with for, appreciate analyzing :D

Answer 6

*takes a look along his bookshelf*



Comedy:



'Catch 22' by Joseph Heller

'Gulliver's Travels' by Jonathan Swift

'Carry On, Jeeves' by PG Wodehouse

'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens (I found it funny, your mileage may vary)

The short stories of Saki or Nikolai Gogol might be worth checking out too.



Sci-Fi:



'The Time Machine' by HG Wells

'War of the Worlds' by HG Wells

'Childhood's End' by Arthur C Clarke (not sure if he counts as a 'classic' author, but it's a good read.)

'The Day of the Triffids' by John Wyndham (ditto about him being a 'classic' author. Ditto also about it being a good read.)



Also, if you like sci-fi, you may enjoy magical realism. Try 'A Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez or 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie.



Mystery/suspense:



'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James

Answer 7

CLASSICS



To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskill

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift

The Inheritors by William Golding

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

A Room with a View by E M Forster

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Aesop’s Fables

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Watership Down by Richard Adams

The Professor by Charlotte Bronte

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene

The Awakening and other stories by Kate Chopin

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain



Also check out manybooks.net, they have thousands of free and legal classics to download to various gadgets or pc. I download to my Sony Readers.

Answer 8

Jack London-

To Build a Fire

Call of the Wild

White Fang

Answer 9

Steinbeck



Kerouac



Jack London

Answer 10

Edgar Allan Poe

Answer 11

Try "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Heavy reading, but it's a great story.