50 Short Classics you should try

[@nadineebada6557]

If anyone wants a reference to the book titles to come back to here you go! i know i always love it when someone does this under book rec videos. (though you should really watch the video ruby talking about books is always so fun ) - - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - The Greengage Summer - Animal Farm by George Orwell -Breakfast at Tiffany's -De Profundis by Oscar Wilde - The Stranger/ The Outsider by Albert Camus - Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville -A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Songs of Innocence and Experience - Macbeth - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -Fahrenheit 451 - The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Ariel by Sylvia Plath -. Picnic at Hanging Rock - The Nutcracker - The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe - On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts - On the Pleasure of Hating - The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - The Professor's House - Death in Venice - Meditations by Descartes - Meno by Plato - Hero and Leander - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson -The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (and other short stories) by Ursula K. Le Guin - Blithe Spirit -The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - The Problem of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell - Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - Oranges are Not the Only Fruit -Don't Look Now (and other short stories) by Daphne Du Maurier - Song of Myself by Walt Whitman - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett -The Sandman by E. T. A. Hoffmann -The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot - A Night to Remember - The Painter of Modern Life by Charles Baudelaire - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie - I am David by Anne Holm if i missed some please let me know and ill add them on !

[@RubyGranger8]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this!

[@teal7602]

Thank you!

[@کیملارکیان]

Oh thank you so much

[@ChristianKyleCCruz]

14:47 😢 14:48 😢 14:55 😢😢😢 14:57 😮😮😮😮

[@jeremiahbok9028]

Who else would've been all for a 50 minute book video? Ruby, if you're reading this, when it comes to books, long videos are pure tea with some dark chocolate eaten with it.

[@spalanai]

5:03 A Christmas Carol 5:54 The Greengage Summer 6:15 Animal Farm 6:48 Breakfast at Tiffany’s 7:16 De Profundis 7:44 The Stranger 8:36 Bartleby, the Scrivener 9:15 A Room of One’s Own 9:55 The Great Gatsby 10:23 The Diamond as Big as the Ritz 11:13 Songs of Innocence and Experience 11:23 Macbeth 12:17 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 12:43 Fahrenheit 451 13:05 The Hound of Baskervilles 13:41 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 14:16 Ariel 14:53 Picnic at Hanging Rock 15:09 The Nutcracker 15:24 The Tell-tale Heart 16:06 On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts 16:27 The Pleasure of Hating 16:50 The Metamorphosis 17:32 The Professor’s House 18:05 Death in Venice 18:49 Meditations 19:21 Meno 19:42 Hero and Leander 19:50 Frankenstein 20:27 Gulliver’s Travels 20:46 Nature 21:04 The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas 21:29 Blithe Spirit 21:39 The Woman in Black 21:55 The Problems of Philosophy 22:10 Of Mice and Men 22:27 Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit 23:02 Don’t Look Now and Other Stories 23:21 Song of Myself 23:38 The Secret Garden 24:01 A Little Princess 24:40 The Sandman 25:12 The Waste Land 26:21 A Night to Remember 26:40 The Painter Modern Life 26:57 The Yellow Wallpaper 27:20 Peter Pan 27:38 I Am David Do correct me where I am wrong or if I have missed any! Also, thank you Ruby

[@RubyGranger8]

Thank you so so much for this!!

[@spalanai]

@@RubyGranger8 a pleasure!

[@Artistomaniacshorts]

Thank you✨️

[@BunnyWatson-k1w]

I have read 27 books from the list.

[@jeremiahbok9028]

Ruby be taking a spin into booktube territory and I love it. She's done a lot of book videos in the past but it seems to be a regular thing now and I am all freaking for it.

[@RubyGranger8]

ah I'm so pleased you do! I just love talking about books so much!

[@jeremiahbok9028]

@@RubyGranger8 Thank you so much for the hearts and the reply! You clearly do love talking about books, it shows. I truly believe books are one of the most rewarding and happiest ways to spend one's time.

[@lillysummeroriginals1213]

@@RubyGranger8 I love your book videos Ruby. I have never taken a book recommendation from you that was disappointing

[@MrVladier]

I like that you put in a lot of philosophy works. Great philosophy is usually great literature!

[@RubyGranger8]

I completely agree!

[@jimcooper5447]

My absolute favorite thing about your book vids is how your eyes literally light up with excitement when sharing your thoughts on these wonderful stories. A fantastic list of recommendations, I took copious notes! 🙂

[@sprivaRRT]

Enchanted April is one of my top 10 films of all time. It always felt like a mini vacation, soul-soothing, and at the end felt like I was there. I read the book after seeing the movie which made the imagery so much more vibrant for me. Looking forward to reading it again!

[@sophiaisabelle027]

We wish you well, Ruby. We appreciate your effort and hard work through the years.

[@circleofleaves_zigzag]

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is *not* Jeanette Winterson's memoirs. It is a novel. It is metafiction novel that is autobiographical, yes, but still a novel. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal is her memoir. They do tie together though.

[@doctormimi9486]

I’m reading both now -you’re correct of course and I highly recommend them 🎉

[@JulEnglefaris]

YES Steinbeck. Glad he made the list. He has quite a bit of short books. The Pearl and The Red Pony are also great books by him.

[@carolynmarshall1968]

I love listening to you AND your recommendations. I soo wish I could go back in time and study literature, I hated reading as a child but now at 58 cannot be without a book and like you very much like Classics. Wish my English was as good as yours, you would make such a good teacher 📚

[@katyajohanna]

What a lovely collection of classics. This definetly lenghened my books to read list. I already have read a bunch of these books and can only recommend it. For this year I set myself the goal to read many classics and it is going very well so far. As a german I have to add Faust by Goethe (we had to read it in school and even though I wasn t super enthusiastic in the beginning I ended up loving it, though I liked Iphigenie on Tauris better), Dürrenmatts plays, the visit and my favorite the Physicists, which are both rather short and very exiting, I also am a big fan of Hermann Hesse. There a books for each season, I am reading the spring one right now. The edition I own even has paintings by Hesse in it. If you are interested in Dracula, but it seems intemitating, try Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. From the same author as the Sandman I loved Mademoiselle de Scuderi. It is a criminal story set in the 16th century Paris and very investing. Speaking of criminal stories we cannot forget the queen of crime Agatha Christie. While she has plenty phenomenal stories, I started my Christie reading journey with Murder in the Vicaragy. I love about it, that while Ms. Marple is an important character it is told from the pov of the priest. A book I read for a class in just one night was the novella Linewalker Thiel. It is almost set up like a fairytale, but super tragic and dark. I just love the allover vibe of it. That is all I can think of right now. I am not sure, if all of them are under 200 pages, but I read all of them in just some days, or even one evening, so I believe they should be about that long. Have fun reading.

[@smrutiranjannayak1864]

Watching your videos takes my anxiety away❤. Love you.

[@carolaustin3785]

I loved this video, Ruby. You are so articulate and have reawakened my interest in some of these books, as well as introducing me to new ones.

[@rachelwalker3017]

This made me realize I had read a lot more of the (shorter) classics than I thought! I, unfortunately, should reread a few as I had a poor English professor who dampened my love of reading for a time when I read most of them

[@HeyyyitsBell]

Voltaire’s Candide is another great classic, and it’s only just over 100 pages. Super underrated imo, and it’s surprisingly funny.

[@smritiagarwal4534]

This kind of bookish video is what I crave for. So many new book recommendations. Thank you

[@paulec2634]

Hi Ruby I could never read as much as you do, but I love hearing you talk about the books you have read. I love to read literature occasionally but I don't have a big capacity for reading. Your critiques of the books you've read are like my window into the wider world of literature. I now go to sleep and wake up listening to the audio of your videos and vlogs, as well as watching them during the day when I'm not busy. And it's been amazing watching you start at Oxford this year when I know you have wanted to go there for so long. -Paul

[@alice.taylorsversion]

Loved this video so so much! I always adore hearing you talking about books, Ruby! One of the many books that particularly interested me was Camus' The Stranger, and then I realised that I will be studying it for my French A-Level next year, which will be so exciting to compare between French and English! ❤

[@gwenhughes8650]

One of my favorite videos of yours so far! Thank you for the recommendations.

[@amyremington381]

Once again, you made my day!!! Heading to Fable now! Then I'll come back and make a list of the classics that I haven't read on your list!!! Thank you, Ruby!

[@iterumm]

F451 was the book that made me start reading adult literature when i was 13, after that i just needed more! i just picked up anne carson’s translation of the bacchae yesterday which is only about 90 pages as well

[@ektachauhan1836]

Your videos are really therapeutic 🧡

[@themoores9817]

This is a great video to watch when you are enjoying the spring sunshine in your kitchen while having your morning coffee 🙂 I never hide the fact I LOVE rubys book review/recommendation videos. I even have a playlist to listen to while I do my chores 🙂 also, I went in a charity shop not long ago- and was looking through the books-and found huck Finn, got all excited and said to myself, what would Ruby do, smiled to myself, and I bought it 🙂 so now, the tradition is when you see a book, say WWRD, and then buy it 🤣 Also, Mary Shelly write Frankenstein at 17? Geez, I didn’t know that! That’s madness!! How can a 17 year old be that good? Crazy!!!! I still can’t believe I lived a 5 min walk from her resting place when I was 20. Also, have you seen the woman in black original version of the movie from 1989? It’s soooooo much better than the remake. When Alice’s the woman in black walks through the graveyard - it’s so scary!

[@GladysHunnam]

I wasn't expecting to find Fahrenheit 451 on this list but I'm glad you included it! 🥹🥹 Bradbury is one of my fav authors 💙 I've added a few other titles to my tbr :)

[@islamadam8502]

Hi Ruby I found your channel recently and I like your content very much. I like the classical Anglo-American literature much and you speak about it in a very motivational way. Also your house and family are nice to watch. Your love for books and enthusiasm about old England are quite captivating. Keep the good work 👏

[@laurengoode4195]

Thanks for this. Took lots of notes and will be picking up several of these books.

[@areadersalmanacwithceleste1366]

Hi, Ruby! I just subscribed to your channel. I recently started a BookTube channel and also happen to be reading The Enchanted April right this moment. Thank you for the great recommendations. I have several added to my TBR! : )

[@julianalfarochacon3842]

I've read Sherlock Holmes & The hound of Baskervilles. Such a good book, can confirm it's worth the read

[@karamoceesay9725]

Absolutely. It´s by far the best Sherlock Holmes novel there is, in my opinion. There are some short stories i find even better, " The Yellow Face" for example or "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" but the Hound of the Baskervilles is definitely one of the best pieces of writing by Arthur Conan Doyle.

[@joesephjoestar4449]

I'm envious of your hardcover books!

[@noirita2306]

I love this video and I wouldn’t mind if it was 50 minutes long. Please make more videos about classic books.

[@bryanbearsley8314]

i wish you well too ruby. i am so happy for you. your a hard worker ❤

[@estar8320]

Yessss finally Ruby's book club I've been waiting for✨️

[@abdallahmahmoud3391]

Thanks for the list. I've just finshed bartelby and it's great and just in time for me so i wanted to thank you 🌻

[@itsshayene]

thank you for putting so much effort and love into making these videos ❤

[@samk6051]

Love love love all your videos. 💜

[@june_as_in_the_month]

I would also recommend Sam Selvon's 'The Lonely Londoners'. It's a modern classic and comes in at 160 pages. It follows Jamaican immigrants who arrive in London to help rebuild the city after WW2 and describes their experiences of racism as well as more comical cultural adaptations. I recommend this book to everyone. The Jamaican patois it is written in really draws you into Moses' narrative, yet it isn't hard to read. TLL is the first book in the 'London' trilogy.

[@annatiscio1009]

Wow thanks a lot!

[@thelaurels13]

Hi Ruby. Any chance you could do a video like this for some of your favourite nonfiction books? Something for us nonfiction readers. Many thanks. 👍

[@WEYffles]

Hello Ruby, thanks for introducing me to Fable, I don’t read as much as I’d like and I just started using the app but getting other people’s opinions on each chapter will probably make my attention span a little less short 😅

[@hannihonigkuchen8003]

Thank you Ruby! :)

[@throughtheshire]

Loved this video! So many wonderful books 🤍

[@schalkem7478]

Thank you Ruby ❤

[@daliadivicpuskarski7453]

So glad you mentioned Fahrenheit 451, Ruby! Read it recently and it left me speechless. A world where books are forbidden and burnt? Sounds like a horror story for me. Anyway, the book was brilliant - made me think a lot about people and the world we have today.

[@wonderwoman5528]

Such a useful video! Thank you, Ruby

[@lolasunflower6350]

That was a great video idea! I will get the books from the library and read some of your recommendations😊

[@mitushimahodaya3033]

I am reading Jane Eyre at the moment and i have a feeling that it's going to be a new favorite😍

[@salty_peg]

Great list! Some old favorites and some I've been wanting to read but didn't realize how short they were. Excited to find someone else who knows The Yellow Wallpaper - I think I've met one other person who remembers it! Which is sad with how often I manage to reference it.

[@jadehazellok]

So excited to read some of these over the summer! Thank you for all the recommendations, Ruby! :)))

[@RubyGranger8]

Let me know what you think if you try any of these :)

[@jadehazellok]

@@RubyGranger8 Thank you so much for the reply! I absolutely will :)))

[@WONDERfpsTV]

Lol, this is my favourite list of books to read Ruby! I love shorter, novella type books. Great list :)

[@aishashere7332]

so amazing thank u ruby

[@harmonyln7]

I love The Secret Garden and seen the film of Peter Pan, but never read it. Great suggestions.

[@newjeans1998]

Hi Ruby!! I haven't watched you in a while, and even though we don't know each other, immediately when I clicked on this video, I missed you!! I love your content, and it makes me so happy when you post.

[@felixalvarez7296]

Amazing reading recommendation! Thanks a lot

[@alexandrag7812]

Great video idea! Thanks, Ruby! 😊

[@ravensandblots]

I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of some of these but ordered them once I heard you talking about them (especially the sandman!! Ohhh creepy!) hope you have a wonderful week!

[@JudeDuarte-ip7re]

If anyone here is interested in classic literature where the topic is vampires, I heavily recommend reading Carmilla! It’s quite short, but so fun to read, and it’s widely known as being the story that inspired Dracula.

[@candelariabarbieri7159]

Hey Ruby! I’m curious if you are interested in reading any Latin American classics. I’m from Argentina and I would love to recommend some Borges books. Amazing video as always 🥰

[@skinni_the_P00hBear]

I've got about two weeks left in the semester. I'm gonna revisit this once the summer starts. I haven't been able to read recreationally since last semester and I'm heartbroken 😿

[@lukehannigan70898]

I can't believe you left out: - The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway - Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

[@circleofleaves_zigzag]

Nature and the written word are my two main passions too. You've got to read Emily Dickinsons Gardening Life: The Plants and Places that Inspired the Iconic Poet, by Marta McDowell.

[@harryjamessmithmusic7762]

Very nice video, Ruby! ... Btw. Today, I finally understood what the word "daunting" exactly means. I was so confused about this word for a long time, but now I know what it means exactly. Cool. Thanks!

[@GreenSims3]

And my tbr list expands and expands 🤓

[@RubyGranger8]

It's a danger, honestly!

[@lukehannigan70898]

@@RubyGranger8 tbrs are always going to be large. lol

[@emilygranger]

Great video I was actually watching one of your video's 😘❤

[@RRScott-uz1lg]

Thanks for the video! I may have to read The Sandman. It sounds as though it has some great sleep remedies in it. All the best Ruby!

[@grimSl0th]

Ah, great! Your book videos are helpful. If you enjoy making them, I'd be happy if you made more. ^-^

[@curtwild7392]

I don't really get categorizing books when it comes to the number of pages but it's always nice to watch something about them:)

[@alisonmidd]

I love the woman in black, if you ever get the chance to see the play its a must. Very cleverly done with just 2 actors and the woman in black.

[@RubyGranger8]

I think I'd find it too scary to be honest haha! I've heard it's terrifying!

[@Halyr07]

​@@RubyGranger8 that's what I had read too, but I was really curious how they could achieve this effect on stage. So I went to an afternoon performance. Makes it less scary to walk back alone afterwards 😅 There are a few jump scares, but it's not that it will traumatize you for years. It's such a great acting and stage design performance. It feels like you've become an Edgar Allan Poe character. 😀

[@kyarolyn420]

Hi Ruby! I've been watching your videos for some time now and what you said about loving reading and the changing of seasons made me think of the perfect book recommendation for you. Nagori by Ryoko Sekiguchi. She's a Japanese author but wrote the original book in French. I think you can find it in English as well. It's a short book about the changing of seasons and certain Japanese words they use to describe it. I encourage you to read it 🩷🩷

[@markwilliamson9140]

Hope your book club goes well for you Ruby. 📚🤓

[@JessicaSalenaOrtiz]

☕Very interesting list Ruby. Thank you🍵

[@skinni_the_P00hBear]

6:22 Animal Farm. I cannot get over how the ending of that book messed me up lol. Like, it was really chilling to me. 7:16 I read De Profundus last spring in a Victorian life writing course. It was there that I found out how the charges against Wilde were dropped like 5 or 6 years ago. Edit: I meant to say he was pardoned.

[@mohanv688]

Its the worst book

[@katee3093]

Hi Ruby. Great reading recommendations. I love your video. I've started writing letters recently. Greetings from Poland.

[@birbamour6]

Can I recommend "The Little Prince" by Antoine Saint-Exupéry? It was written in 1943 and is one of the most translated works of literature (after the Bible). I'm sure most people have heard about it or have read it already, but it has philosophy on the way children vs. adults think and it's perfect for all ages.

[@RubyGranger8]

Oh it’s beautiful!!! I can’t believe I didn’t include it on this list! Thank you for mentioning it 😊🤍

[@kaylastarr3822]

I'm literally reading the enchanted April right now😊

[@curtthegamer934]

Very good list. Personally, I'd also add: - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - Heidi by Johanna Spyri - The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham - Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne - The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen (no, not a novel, but long enough for me to recommend it, and a very beautiful story) Also, for anybody that wants to get technical, I'll point out that, depending on text/font size, formatting, illustrations placement, etc, some editions of these books might actually be more than 200 pages. Also, for any foreign language works, you really have to be careful which translation you get because some translations can absolutely break the book you're reading. I'm not aware of every foreign language book in this video, but for The Nutcracker I personally recommend either the Alex Ewing translation (public domain) or the Ralph Manheim translation (copyrighted). Both are excellent. I recommend avoiding the Mrs. St. Simon translation (unfortunately this is the one on Librivox and Wikisource) and the Joachim Neugroschel translation. Both are stunted and don't read smoothly. Also make sure that you're getting the original Hoffmann version and not the Dumas adaptation. Out of my additional book recommendations I recommend the Marian Edwardes translation of Heidi and the Mrs. Henry H. B. Paul translation of The Wild Swans (both are in the public domain). Also note that some of these books have illustrations that go with them officially. Especially Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Make sure whatever copy you buy has the original John Tennial illustrations, as they enhance the story. Same with Winnie-the-Pooh and the E. H. Shepard illustrations. Most of the other books don't have official illustrations, but I personally recommend reading Heidi with Jessie Willcox Smith's illustrations and The Wind in the Willows with E. H. Shepard's illustrations. Neither of those are official illustrations for those stories, but you'll likely compare all other illustrators' art for those stories to those particular ones. They're the standard IMO.

[@terezamatejkova2042]

I would like to recommend plays by the Czech author Karel Čapek. For example, R.U.R. - Rossum's universal Robots, from which the word robot comes. Then also The Mother from 1938 and Power and Glory from 1937. He was a philosopher and journalist and his plays and other works are really great. You might like them. Also thank you for all the recommended books.

[@lina5699]

I want to read more shorter books because ive been reading this chunky 500 600 page fantasies which take 3 weeks for me to listen. Thanks for the recommendations

[@nightowl334]

That's such a lovely video!!! Thank you so much!!😊❤ Random Question: Do you know what you want to do after your masters? And would you do a second bachelors if you have the opportunity to?

[@lordbyron2099]

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is not a classic though, even if JW is very highly regarded in the literary world. I think the "sequel" (Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal) is even better.

[@delaneyjewel]

You said “seasonal book club” and I dropped EVERYTHING

[@Nate1975]

Oooooo you do like quite dark books 👍

[@maf6544]

Hey Ruby could you please make a video on how to write a thesis statement for argumentative essay please a detailed video

[@13o436]

These books are perfect for me since I’m so slow at reading classics. This has given me so much motivation to read more!!

[@lillysummeroriginals1213]

I really recommend animal farm is short but incredible. Actually just recommended it to a 12-year-old like a week ago and they loved it. I hear that not to indicate it’s a book meant for children one bit but rather to share it’s easy to get through give it a read if you do let me know how you like it. Also I am legally black

[@iwritetotastelifetwice]

2 more books I'd recommend are - 1. The Picture of Dorian Gray (not under 200 pages but pretty easy to read) and 2. The Story of an Hour

[@TheZacman2]

I have a lot of catching-up to do; I've only read two of the books on this list: The Great Gatsby and Gulliver's Travels.

[@cosplayannie]

Love this ❤❤

[@nisansalajayaweera9762]

I really expected vanity fair on this list , Its a short classic and the story is really good ....

[@islamadam8502]

I wanted to ask you (if I may) about the edition of The Secret Garden by Walker Books, the one illustrated by Inga Moore, have you read it? And if so what are your impressions about it?

[@punjabseth260]

so nice

[@cat2helen]

I loved this list but if I may I'd like to recommend Leone Leonie, by George Sand it's only 164 pages but its so worth it. I've read it twice but still consider it to be in my top ten. Also The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

[@beverleyhawkins7720]

Malory towers is about education at boarding school after wartime in Cornwall which the TV series was filmed at beautiful spot and manison

[@Billy33753]

Love your content

[@evelynthompson755]

An FYI, The Yellow Wallpaper is about postpartum depression. Back when the book was written, it was common practice to isolate women after giving birth if they showed signs of postpartum. Sadly, as pointed out by the book, the practice was not a very healthy one.

[@trichmomma]

I have that edition of Alice in Wonderland. I enjoy that one often- especially on lazy rainy days.

[@leesweets4110]

I didnt realize all these movies were turned into books.

[@miral9241]

I would add “Letters to a young poet” by Rilke ❤

[@ieatgremlins]

Didn't you already have a book club?

[@annatiscio1009]

Fabulous, could you recommend any contemporary books(Brutish English)?

[@emmabarnes609]

i loved matilda the musical movie i am half way through the film

[@staceysreadingcorner]

Read Silas manner by George Eliot short classic and such a beautiful book