Top Ten Classic Books I Want To Read (32)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Every week, book bloggers post a top ten list based on a bookish prompt. For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, we could choose Top Ten Favorite Classic Books or Top Ten Classic Books I Want to Read or some variant thereof. I chose...

Top Ten Classic Books I Want to Read

When it comes to the classics, I have so many favorites, books I’ve cherished and that have lasted with me for long after I've finished them. These are books that I return to time after time, such as Jane Eyre, Dracula or The Great Gatsby, and they are books that I will never tire of. I’d love to share them all with you, and I'm sure I have mentioned most of them in earlier posts. But I decided to go in the opposite direction today, and focus on the classics that I still need to read and have been meaning to pick up for some time. I’ve been neglecting the classics lately, and I’m hoping this post will give me the push I need to read some of these well-loved books. So here we go…

1. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville – I’m ashamed to admit that I still have yet to read this one. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long, just waiting to be cracked open. This was my college advisor’s favorite book, and since he was the best advisor ever, and this English major was lucky to have him as both an advisor and teacher, I feel like I owe it to him to read this one pronto. The size may be intimidating, but from what I heard, it’s well-worth the read.

2. Persuasion by Jane Austen – I have read three Austen novels, and loved every single one of them. Well, I sorta loved Northanger Abbey. I also tried to read Sense and Sensibility, but I guess I wasn’t in the right mood at the time. Yet I still haven't read Persuasion. For some reason, I feel like this one will be my favorite one of all, even over Pride and Prejudice. While I’m more into Gothic novels, I cannot help but appreciate Austen’s writing skills, and I’m very anxious to read this one soon.

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – It’s a tragedy that I have yet to read Little Women, as I’ve heard so many good things. I plan on reading this sometime in the future, hopefully soon.

4. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess – This book sounds like it’s right up my alley. I have it waiting for me on my bookshelf, and I’ve tried starting it a couple of times now. I think I just need the right moment, as I’m a mood reader.

5. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – I’m especially eager to read this one, as it takes place during the Great Depression. I’d love to learn more about this time period, and I think I remember enjoying Of Mice and Men, so I hope I like this one as well.

6. Native Son by Richard Wright – I’m trying to read more diverse novels, and I believe Native Son fits the bill perfectly. This novel tells the story of an African American youth living in an impoverished area of Chicago in the 1930s. Amanda loved it, and since I trust her taste in books, I think I need to read this one ASAP.

7. The Color Purple by Alice Walker – This is another novel that features diversity, and like Native Son, it also takes place in the 1930s, but in the south instead of in Chicago. I’m curious to see if this book deserves all of the hype it’s received. Yet if it was popular enough to be adapted into a film and musical, it must be worth reading.

8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I want to read this because a) it takes place in Russia, b) I have yet to read anything by Tolstoy, and c) it features doomed love and for some sick, twisted reason, I love classic novels that feature heartbreak and ill-fated lovers.

9. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins – I bought this book some time ago, and it is terrifyingly huge. This book could be used as a weapon; it is dangerous and will tire my hands quickly if I hold it too often while reading. But I am determined to read this one, as it looks delightfully creepy.

10. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez – I've been wanting to read this book, or really any book by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez, for awhile. I have the book in my possession, so it's really only a matter of time.

How about you? Have you read any of these? Or do you have any classics you'd recommend? Let me know in the comments!