35 Classic Books You NEED TO READ 📚 (that you haven't read before)

I love classic literature and today I'm sharing the ones that have been life-changing to me. Spiritual, philosophical, cultural, and historical - this list has 35 classic book you should read!
Most of these books are classics, but there are a few modern classics - technically speaking - that I thought fitted in on this list.
Have you read any of these? I'd love to hear what you think!!!
00:00 Intro
00:25 History - Elsa Morante
00:55 Therese Raquin - Emile Zola
01:19 Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
01:31 All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
01:49 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
02:02 Tip for reading Russian literature
02:35 Notes from the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky
02:50 The Long Ships - Frans G. Bengtsson
03:13 The Trial - Frans Kafka
03:34 Amerika - Franz Kafka
04:04 100 Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
04:33 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
04:57 The Death of Virgil - Hermann Bloch
05:18 Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse
06:02 The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
06:25 Ulysses - James Joyce
06:54 The Good Soldier Svejk - Jaroslay Hasek
07:21 Faust - Goethe
07:25 The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
07:41 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
08:13 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
08:41 A Letter to a Hindu - Leo Tolstoy
08:55 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
09:05 Journey to the End of the Night - Louis-Ferdinand Celine
09:16 In Search of Lost Time - Marcel Proust
10:08 The Mater and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov
10:45 Kristin Lavransdatter - Sigrid Undset
11:13 The Charterhouse of Parma - Stendhal
11:45 The Red and The Black - Stendhal
11:55 An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser
12:25 The Emigrants - Vilhelm Moberg
13:20 Candide - Voltaire
13:31 Kallocain - Karin Boye
14:02 The Aleph and Other Stories - Jorge Luis Borges
14:41 A Room of One’s Own - Virginia Woolf
15:19 Miss Von Pahlen Series - Agnes von Krusenstjerna
16:04 Why to read
17:36 Bloopers
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Books to read before you die, Classic Literature, Classic Books You Have to Read, Books to read in your twenties, Classic Books, Russian Literature, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Bulgakov, Virginia Woolf, Literature, Comparative Literature, American Literature, Swedish books, Vikings, Swedish Literature, Swedish Classic Books, Scandinavian Books, The Emigrants, Nobel Prize, Nobel Prize Literature Winners, classics for beginners, classic books for beginners, easy classics

[@SagaJohanna]

Hi friends! You might not know this about me, but I love classic literature more than anything - and it's also what I studied at university! 📚If you want to get a better feel for the books mentioned I suggest pausing the video in case you need more time to read the quotes! Time stamps are in the video and in the description box. I actually never read about a book before I read it, I just enjoy it 📖 And that's why you won't hear anything about plots in this video! xxx

[@rjaydriskill]

Saga, you’ve just filled my next 14 years of reading. Lol. I love the way you come to life discussing these books. Your love for them is obvious. :-)

[@SagaJohanna]

Haha! 😊 Thank you!!

[@maxd1744]

YEES, I actually made a comment asking for literature recommendations on your latest video. Thanks for this!

[@SagaJohanna]

Oh this is so perfect!!

[@IAmSherry12]

I'm surprised by some books that aren't here - books that seem to make all the lists. That impresses me. I appreciate this list - Thank you!

[@SagaJohanna]

Thank you so much! That is the greatest compliment 😊

[@BobLikesPizza99]

I read classics too and I love how your list includes some Scandinavian works which I am not familiar with. I will definitely add many of these to my list of books to read. One recommendation for you: My Antonia by Willa Cather

[@SagaJohanna]

Thank you! I've not heard of it so I'm so excited! :)

[@winamortenson9125]

I have read it, but prefer another book by Willa Cather called, "O Pioneers!". Have you read "Giants In the Earth" by Ole E. Rolvaag? I am going to try to find "The Emigrants".

[@BobLikesPizza99]

@@winamortenson9125 O Pioneers is really good too. 😀

[@mikemetague7973]

I've read only a few of them, but I can see they are books that give so much understanding of the vast human experience. Also love your outtakes!

[@SagaJohanna]

Thank you! That's exactly why I love them!

[@niniferlo]

I love this ! Would be great if you could mention how many pages each book have :)

[@LowerTheBoom]

The Emigrants series are literally my favorite four books of all time. Since I am a descendent of Swedish people here in the U.S., reading those books was so impactful for me. It helped me put myself in my ancestors' shoes when they had first came to America in the 1800s. I also love Moberg's History the of Swedish People two-volume set.

[@SagaJohanna]

Oh I love to hear that, they are so good aren't they? And how incredible to read them with your perspective and history!!

[@LowerTheBoom]

@@SagaJohanna Once I started reading them, I finished all four books within probably three weeks or so. I couldn't put them down. Every free moment I had I was reading those books until I'd finished The Last Letter Home. It was the most vital, moving, "locked in," period of reading I have ever done.

[@almabove2010]

This is great! I also love books. Thank you Saga! 😊

[@SagaJohanna]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching 😊

[@winnie5464]

I haven't read all of the books you recommended but I am somewhat familiar with some of the authors. and YOU HAVE A GREAT TASTE IN BOOKS!!!😘 I'd love to see you talk about any of them in depth in your future videos.

[@SonamHoani]

I’m so excited for this one!

[@SagaJohanna]

[@nowbacktoyourprogram]

Saga is beautiful ❤

[@peyvandf]

Refreshing as the list is so different from common and popular books in North America. I’m glad you added this video. Maybe you could discuss some in your future videos too.

[@SagaJohanna]

Thanks so much! I would love to!!

[@amandaallen3422]

I love Russian literature and really appreciate your tip for reading Russian works. I love love love your list - definitely some of my favorites on your list, so I'm going to dive into your other suggestions.

[@SagaJohanna]

You're so welcome!

[@valorielynwhitman8531]

Because I have dyslexia, reading is difficult for me. I have actually read a few of these books, but your joy over each one makes me want to try. I read as much as "I" can or am able. Your love of literature is truly apparent and appreciated. Thank you for sharing this love with us. ❤️🇺🇸👵

[@SagaJohanna]

Oh thank you so much Valorie! You are truly such a kind hearted soul!

[@mermaidshostkatrine]

Wauw that's a list of treasures, thank you dear Saga. You encourage me to start my journey with Russian litterateure. I'm Danish and enjoy reading books preferably in their original language. So, books in Swedish, English and surely in Danish. I like litterature with an historic perspective and wil absolutely recommend the books in the latest series written by your famous Swedish author Ian Guillou 'Det stora århundradet' in 10 extradinary books jam packed with historical insights and great details that make you spellbounded reading from cover to cover 😊 The Norwegian author Herbjorg Wassmo's 3 book series on Dina is also captivating ❤ you just filled up my bucket list with more bools 😂🎉

[@Ratatouilles]

Thank you! I got so many good reading ideas from your video ❤. I recently read " the Copenhagen trilogy" the biography of Torve ditlevsen, it is so beautifully written and tragic, I think you will love it!

[@dmg7104]

Hey Saga, I wanted to ask you: Does your minimalism extend to not buying books and frequently visiting the library? I'm thinking of decluttering, and I can let go of anything - but my books. I find it very tiresome to read e-books, and to be quite frank- I don't like the idea of reading that way. My eyes are light and sensitive as well. And also, I wanted to recommend my favourite author- Jose Saramago (a portuguese author). His books are more modern, but his style is unparallel and a modern must read. Specific books I would recommend are: All the names, Blindness, The Cave etc.. (By the way, I discovered your channel very recently, at a time in my life when I can understand a bit more and be more self aware and conscious about the world, so I thank you for that 💚)

[@randomvlogbr]

Thanks for the inspiring and enticing video. I studied Portuguese and English literature, but my favourites when I went to uni were novels... could you share your all-time top 100 classic books list (I remember you mentioning something similar in another video)? As I am in Brazil I wonder if I will get the same list as you if I Google it! Thank you!❤

[@SagaJohanna]

Thank you! Same :) Yes, here it is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A4rldsbiblioteket

[@winamortenson9125]

I have been reading a classic book every so often for years. In between I read cozy mysteries, historical fiction, and many books for young people. I love some of the classics, but some I have to stop because they are so deep and dark that I become unhappy reading them or I need an escape rather than hard work. Several of yours sound like that, but I have written down a few like Doctor Zhivago. Also, I couldn't finish 20,000 Leagues, because I got so tired of him going on and on describing the fish/sealife in the window. 😆 I was listening to an audiobook so I couldn't just skim past it. I thought I would like it, so I was disappointed. Here's two English ones I enjoyed very much, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot, 1871. (That is the pen name of a woman writer, maybe you already know that) and "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. I love your passion for classic literature, and how much it means to you.

[@SagaJohanna]

That sounds so cosy! And yes, I do agree! Haha, and that's funny :) Audiobooks are great too, and I loved Heart of Darkness as well

[@myaunteffy1440]

I really vant to read each of these book. I have only read four of them so far. Thanks so much.

[@SagaJohanna]

You're so welcome! They are truly incredible!

[@JohnPaul-158]

God morgon! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the weekend!

[@SagaJohanna]

You too! And thank you!

[@JohnPaul-158]

@@SagaJohanna 🤩😍🥰😍🤩

[@philipbrackpool-bk1bm]

Have you discovered in reading books from writers of different cultures that basically we’re all the same.

[@SagaJohanna]

Same same but different as my dad likes to say :)

[@philipbrackpool-bk1bm]

@@SagaJohannaI’ll remember that.

[@venjo639]

It’s a very nice idea to read books in original language, to get the full experience of the Autors art! Therefore I will try Steppenwolf. I could recommend you books from Paulo Coelho, those are not that hard to read, but truly amazing!

[@SagaJohanna]

Right! Now I just wish I understood Russian, German and French haha :)

[@venjo639]

@@SagaJohanna you can still learn the languages, a new challenge :)

[@lidiamelnichuk7590]

If you really want to know more about Russian culture, read Fyodor Sologub "The Petty Demon" or "Bad Dreams". Real gems! Will give you real insights of mysterious Russian soul.

[@SagaJohanna]

Oh thank you so much! I will add them to my list!

[@JekyllHyde967]

So many books, so little time...

[@SagaJohanna]

So true!

[@randomguy-xs3mu]

I dont have many books at home ive got a bible a book on nordic mythology books on science engineering mathematics and history

[@SagaJohanna]

That sounds very interesting!

[@Fruit_bee]

Book by Dostoevskiy was the most depressing thing I have ever experienced reading I’m Ukrainian so I read in original

[@SagaJohanna]

Haha! Yes I see what you mean. Tolstoy and Bulgakov on this list are for sure less depressing!

[@AlyoshaKaramazov.]

Thank you for pronouncing foreign words in English rather than suddenly shifting into a Hispanic accent. I am Hispanic, and I fail to understand why folks who are speaking English insist on pronouncing a name like Morante with a Spanish/Hispanic accent. It reminds me of an old SNL skit about "huevos rancheros," wherein the characters persistently try to sound Hispanic again and again and again.

[@adrianr650]

Thank you for all the effort and passion in telling us about these books. I am just reading Frederik Backman and love his take on life and wit. Not classic but have you read his books? I will try one of your recommendations but wish I had better concentration as I easily loose the plot.😮😮🤍🤍Love to you.

[@miriam2293]

Are you not living in a van anymore?

[@SagaJohanna]

No, we just sold it and now we’re house sitting :)