Top 10 Classic Books For People Who Don't Like Classics 📚

[@Cal_ta]

I've been pleasantly surprised by some classics this year, and I'd recommend "Heart of a dog" by Mikhail Bulgakov, "Maurice" by EM Forster, "Carmilla" by Sheridan le Fanu and "Giovanni's Room" by James Baldwin 🧛🏻‍♀️

[@aiscahill]

I actually can’t believe I forgot to add Giovanni’s room to this list 😅 I haven’t read any Bulgakov yet so I really appreciate the suggestion. I was pleasantly surprised by A Room With A View by Forster so Maurice is a great shout. I’m 100% going to pick up Carmilla this October. Thanks so much for your suggestions ☺️

[@ellieberry]

“Read 5 classics” is literally one of my goals for this year, so thank you! 😄❤

[@aiscahill]

Ah excellent. Some of the shorter ones might be a good shout ☺️ I try to read just one classic a year and even at that I sometimes find myself struggling with it 😅💛

[@marjoriedybec3450]

That's a great goal. How's it going?

[@sarahloomis2034]

For people new to classics, I recommend checking out the origins of genres or tropes you already like, picking short books (including children's classics), and using annotated editions if you are unfamiliar with the historical context.

[@aiscahill]

Thanks for these suggestions. I never even considered how accessible that children's classics are, and in hindsight I've read and loved quite a few!

[@TeryCoelho]

I thoroughly enjoyed your video. You are honest and speak from your heart. You have probably heard this before but you are an old soul. I have a copy of Frankenstein on my shelf waiting for me. I plan to collect more classics after watching your video.

[@aiscahill]

Thank you! If you enjoy Frankenstein even half as much as I did, you’ll be doing very well ☺️

[@selmaalina07]

currently rereading frankenstein and it’s so powerful-it has got to be one of my favorite novels of all time. i would recommend it to anyone dabbling in classic or gothic literature. thank you for including it on this list!

[@aiscahill]

I was so surprised with Frankenstein. I put it off for SO long, thinking I wouldn't like it, but it's such an indescribable reading experience. Thanks so much for watching! ☺️

[@williamfragaszy6016]

War and Peace is an amazing book. Don’t be afraid of it, it is well worth taking your time reading it. The characters are so well developed and complex. And it is so well written.

[@aiscahill]

I wholeheartedly agree!

[@valquiria_garcia]

Great recommendations! I would also add The Yellow Wallpaper and White Nights to this list, super short and accessible (and incredible!) books.

[@aiscahill]

Thank you! I came very close to buying White Nights recently but decided to hold off a little while but I'm 100% planning on reading The Yellow Wallpaper this October 🎃

[@valquiria_garcia]

@@aiscahill prepare some tissues 🤧❤️‍🩹

[@Tolstoy111]

Some years back, a Lit Prof did a poll of colleagues and created a list of the greatest novels of all time in terms of literary stature/influence. Thought it would be interesting in this context. Here are the top ten. 1 Don Quixote 2 War and Peace 3 Ulysses 4 In Search of Lost Time 5 The Brothers Karamazov 6 Moby-Dick 7 Madame Bovary 8 Middlemarch 9 The Magic Mountain 10 The Tale of Genji

[@aiscahill]

I love the idea of reading every one of these until I come upon Ulysses. I have tried to read that book so many times and a few years ago finally accepted that it's one that I'll never read. I do really want to read The Brothers Karamazov and Moby Dick someday though. Thanks for this list! ☺️

[@Tolstoy111]

@@aiscahill There is a really good Chapter by Chapter guide to Ulysses on KZbin. I've read it twice and love it. I can see how it might be intimidating but it's worth the effort! Every section is different.

[@shaf1485h]

Read 7/10 of the books mentioned. The Count of Monte Cristo is an epic read.

[@aiscahill]

So many people have recommended The Count of Monte Cristo! I’ll absolutely have to pick it up soon ☺️

[@darkwitnesslxx]

Its also in my top 10 books all time, and the highest rated non-English book.

[@astoldbymaddie]

The intro describes me perfectly lol i needed this video 🤭😍 A short classic? Sign me up!! Omg yay we have always lived in the castle is my fave shirley jackson book 😍

[@aiscahill]

I’m so reluctant to pick up classics. Like, I will do anything to not read my book when it’s a classic 🫠 but I think it’s just a silly mental block because I’ve loved so many of them at this point. What a book, Maddie. Shirley Jackson is incredible. Thanks again for sending it to me ☺️💛

[@suzannebousquet2710]

The Count of Monte Cristo is very long but.....such an engrossing, fun read. I am also almost through Don Quixote, fun, but not for everyone.

[@aiscahill]

I’ve just gotten my hands on a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo and am looking forward to picking it up. I’m not quite sold on Don Quixote, but maybe one day! ☺️

[@von20808]

I don’t like Pride and Prejudice either. I don’t like Anna Karina because I don’t like to read about adulterers. However I did read The Count of Monte Cristo. This was an excellent book. I thought I wouldn’t like it but I did, all 1,243 pages! I wish it was 200 pages longer and I’m new to classics.

[@aiscahill]

I’m so glad to hear this! It’s my birthday later this month and I’ve asked for two books, one of them being The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s been on my mind for such a long time now and it seems to come really highly recommended. Thanks so much! ☺️

[@von20808]

@@aiscahillYou’re welcome 😊

[@onourpath]

This is so funny because, I often get asked about how to get into classics -- probably my favorite customer question! Most of your books were on the lists that I'd give, minus W&P, lol! The thing that scares most people is the language, but if you pick one up, it's just like our language for the most part. I usually added in Ethan From, Wharton; short stories of Guy de Maupassant, Animal Farm, and some more I'm forgetting. Great video!

[@aiscahill]

Haha W&P is a bit of a push, but for some reason I enjoyed it so much in spite of really struggling with classics in general. Thanks for the other recommendations ☺️

[@azu_rikka]

The Ice Palace, We have always lived in the castle, Dracula and Frankenstein are on my classics tbr. I agree that it's easier to start reading short classics. I lost my fear of reading long classics, when I decided to read them over months.

[@aiscahill]

Yes, I do exactly the same. I tend to not have them as my primary read, and just read a few pages of them every day ☺️

[@cloalex5o]

my partner bought me frankenstein for my birthday and and i haven't been able to put it down, it's so marvelous

[@aiscahill]

Right? It’s such a captivating read 😍 Also, happy belated birthday to you!

[@Jodi9810]

Thanks for this list - there are a couple that weren't on my radar screen that I'd like to check out. I tried War and Peace a year or so ago and put it down after only about 40 pages - one day I'll have to try again. 😊 Have you read Great Expectations or The Count of Monte Cristo? Those are two classics I picked up in the last year or two that I've liked very much.

[@aiscahill]

I can imagine W&P not being for everybody, but once I got into it I was surprised to find I really loved it ☺️ I haven’t read either book yet, but it’s my birthday toward the end of this month and the one book I asked for is The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s been on my mind for a long time and I really feel like it’s time that I give it a go 😊

[@aldovergara9035]

I think you might be the kind of reader who would love East of Eden by John Steinbeck, published in September of 1952. You have exquisite taste, and your video was charming.

[@aiscahill]

Yes! I got about halfway through it as a teenager and just never picked it up again but it’s been on my mind again lately and I think it’s a book I’ll appreciate a lot more now that I’m older and have more life experience. Thanks for the kind words ☺️

[@jwi1085]

Starting at my shelves while coming across your video hoping for future recs but no, you've made me pick up Shirley Jackson.

[@aiscahill]

Never a bad choice ☺️

[@rozaganser3016]

I read a lot of classics, but I have always been afraid of War and Peace. I think if you can recommend it for people who don't like the classics, I might give it a go. Loved your video!

[@Tolstoy111]

It's not hard to read. Just long. But completely enveloping.

[@aiscahill]

It’s really intimidating in its length but for the most part I didn’t find it difficult to read once I settled into it. Tolstoy can say a lot about a particular subject, so can be a bit wordy at points but some of the language and descriptions are so captivating. I didn’t have much background knowledge about the time it was set, or the culture, but I just took what I could and left the rest. Best wishes to you if you do get around to it one of these days ☺️

[@jay_poet]

I have yet to read Dracula but the rest are bangers! I would encourage you to read more of Steinbeck’s work if you loved Of Mice and Men. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by him. Anna Karenina is awesome too - I found it even more accessible than W & P.

[@aiscahill]

I read about half of East of Eden as a teenager, but I’ve been considering revisiting it again lately because I feel like I’d get a lot more from it now. Anna Karenina is on my shelves so I should hopefully get to it within the next year or so. Thanks for the recommendations ☺️

[@BaileeWalsh]

me: *a classics reader* me: *watching a video "for people who don't like classics"* I agree with the ones here I've read- all but War & Peace as of now! great picks for people starting out or with a more negative opinion towards classics.

[@aiscahill]

Haha I think the algorithm just shows us videos related to things we actually actively like, so I get it. I can be guilty of saying I don’t like classics, but when I really think about it, I’ve read and loved some really wonderful ones at this stage and do feel much more open to them than I used to ☺️ Thanks for watching!

[@Abuamina001]

I can recommend "Hadji Murat" by Tolstoy as well - a real gem. (Also, "Death and the Dervish" by Mesa Selimovic and "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk are in the same vein.)

[@aiscahill]

Brilliant, thank you! I haven’t heard of any of these so I’m going to look them up straight away ☺️

[@marjoriedybec3450]

Those are great recommendations. I'm a big "classics" reader. The classics I would recommend to someone who avoids classics: First three unsettling short stories--All Summer in a Day (R Bradbury), Turn of the Screw (H James), The Yellow Wallpaper (C P Gilman); Novels--A Christmas Carol or A Tale of Two Cities (C Dickens), The End of the Affair (G Greene), Jane Eyre (C Bronte), A Room with a View (E M Forster), My Antonia (W Cather), Vanity Fair (WM Thackeray), Living Well Is the Best Revenge (C Tomkins); and Breakfast at Tiffany's (T Capote); and two non-fictions--The Diary of a Young Girl (A Frank) and A Movable Feast (E Hemingway). They can skip Dickens, Thackeray and Eliot, if they must but it would be a shame.

[@aiscahill]

Lovely, thanks so much for these! I’ve yet to read The Turn of the Screw or The Yellow Wallpaper but was planning on getting to them both in October 🎃 I’ve also read and enjoyed A Room With A View (considering reading Maurice soon!) and A Christmas Carol (the only Dickens I’ve successfully finished) but the rest are ones I haven’t read. Some I haven’t even heard of, so I’ll definitely be looking them up ☺️

[@marjoriedybec3450]

@@aiscahill sorry to fill up those empty spaces on your shelves. ;)

[@cre8iveflare]

I might be wrong but I always considered little women to be a classic. I loved it. I have not read any of the ones suggested in this video.

[@aiscahill]

It absolutely is! I haven’t read it yet but it’s on my shelves and I’m determined to read it this winter ☺️

[@jmsl_910]

all great recs! new subscriber here!

[@aiscahill]

Thanks so much for watching ☺️

[@cafeaulivre]

Love the list, but then again, that shouldn't come as a surprise :D

[@aiscahill]

Mr. Classics himself ☺️

[@humanrightsofthementallyill]

The Ghost of casterville by Wilde (really short but wonderful). Anything allan poe. Annnnnd i'm afraid to post this because of the horror and the wtf*kness but, Horacio Quiroga's short stories (he's a latín american classic writer...) ... I don't think I should be recomending this but... It's very different from northern countries classics ... It's pure madness with twists... Although people prefer García Márquez but... I find it very boring to know about the sister of the brother of the aunt of the neighboor... It's lighter but... Yeah

[@aiscahill]

You had me so utterly intrigued by this comment and I immediately went and looked up Quiroga’s works. I’ll definitely aspire to pick up some of his short stories in the not too distant future. Thank you! ☺️

[@humanrightsofthementallyill]

@@aiscahill oh man... The trauma is coming... Sorry. He's a geniuos. But an evil one. Oh man... Sorry 😶‍🌫️👉👈

[@lieffax]

If you don't like Shelley and Verne, there's something wrong with you.

[@aiscahill]

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. If we all loved the same things, the world would be a pretty boring place. I’ve never read any Verne, surprisingly, apart from a children’s adaptation when I was very young. He’s always been on my ‘one day’ list ☺️

[@spexi513]

🧛‍♀️ 📖💚💚💚

[@aiscahill]

Thanks, as ever, for watching 😊💛

[@MaryAmongStories]

💚🌻

[@aiscahill]

Thanks for watching! ☺️