Classic Books Everyone Should Read

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say. - Italo Calvino

The first thing that comes to the mind of many people when they think of classic books is 'boring'. In terms of books, classics are often described as those 'books that every person is forced to read at school'. Most of us prefer to read comic books and other novels that are easy to read and understand. However, many of us do not understand the fact that classic books are termed as timeless not only because the authors have followed certain structural guidelines or the book depicts the time in which it was written, but also because these books that were written several centuries ago, continue to allure the readers even in the modern world. Though there are over 100 books everyone should read, here are a few classic books that are an all time favorite among many book lovers.

List of Must Read Books

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen): Pride and Prejudice is one of the many classic books everyone should read. It is Jane Austen's second novel which was published in 1813. It is a tale about the misunderstandings and prejudices that creep between Elizabeth Bennett and William Darcy, and is set in the backdrop of Victorian England. This novel is among the most popular novels of Jane Austen and has been adapted into films various times.

Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert): Gustave Flaubert's 'Madame Bovary', which is a set in 19th century France, is a classic tale of a young married woman, Emma, whose romantic expectations about love are not fulfilled by her husband. Due to this, she commits adultery which finally leads her to destruction.

To Kill a Mocking Bird (Harper Lee): The major theme of Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mocking Bird', which was published in 1960, is racial inequality. The story is told through Scout Flinch, who is a 6-year old girl, and is set during the period of the Great Depression in America.

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens): A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859, is a book where Charles Dickens, through his principal characters, portrays the oppressive nature of the French aristocracy towards the class of the peasants.

Paradise Lost (John Milton): John Milton's 'Paradise Lost' is a classic poem written in 12 books and published in 1674. In this poem, Milton tells the story of the fall of man from the grace of God by using a variety of poetic devices.

Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy): Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is a majestic novel divided into eight parts which was published in the periodical 'The Russian Messenger' between 1873 to 1877. The main character of the novel is Anna Karenina, and the book deals with a variety of themes like marriage, fidelity, hypocrisy, society, family, desire, etc.

Tragedy of Hamlet (William Shakespeare): Hamlet is one among the four great tragedies of Shakespeare. It is the longest, and most popular, play written by the great playwright and is often referred to as the most powerful. William Shakespeare, in this play, depicts the conflict of Prince Hamlet who faces a dilemma where he has to choose between personal revenge and moral values.

Ulysses (James Joyce): Ulysses, written by James Joyce, was published as a book in the year 1922 in Paris. This great saga consists of 18 episodes and 265,000 words. Joyce has structured the poem with the help of stream of consciousness technique. Though the book went through lots of criticism when it was published, it is considered to be the greatest work of modernist literature.

Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell): The novel, 'Gone with the Wind' depicts the period during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction, and has a lot of social and historical references. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize in the year 1937 and has also been made into a movie with the same name.

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte): Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' was published in the year 1847. The novel depicts the tale of Jane Eyre, an orphan girl, and how she finds true love after going through various trials and difficult situations in life.

In addition to these, there are some more must read novels that are a part of the rich world of literature and have stolen the hearts of many readers throughout the centuries. The following is a list of books that everyone, at some point in their lives, should read.

David Copperfield

Must Read Book List
Lady Chatterley's Lover	Rebecca
Animal Farm	Iliad and the Odyssey
The Catcher in the Rye	Catch 22
Oedipus the King	A Farewell To Arms
Gulliver's Travels	Utopia
No Exit
One Hundred years of Solitude	Crime and Punishment
Saint Joan	Poetics
The Way of the World	War and Peace
Frankenstein	Don Quixote
Little Women	Wuthering Heights
Vanity Fair	Emma
Lolita	The Scarlett Letter
The Canterbury Tales	A Doll's House
Beloved	Color Purple
The Birds	Moby-Dick
Oliver Twist	Robinson Crusoe
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn	The Trial
The Republic	A Midsummer Night's Dream
Far from the Madding Crowd	The Lord of the Rings
The Great Gatsby	The Prince
The Grapes of Wrath	Lord of the Flies
East of Eden	A Portrait of the Artist
Mill on the Floss	Silas Marner
Women in Love	1984

These are some of the classic books everyone should read, at least once. Each of these classic books is distinct from the others and readers have mentioned that every time they read the book again, they came across something they had not noticed before. Pick up some of these books and I am sure you will enjoy reading these timeless classics.