Any suggestions on an excellent book?

Question

I've recently taken in the hobby of reading classical literature (plus, I'm only 14.) and realized that those books are truly AMAZING. Anyhow, I'd like any suggestions on a great book that wouldn't be too mature or easy for me. Thanks =]

Answer 1

These may not be considered classics; however, your description seems much like mine a few years back when I was 14. I have found Jack Kerouac's work to be fantastic if you want to maybe get into modern classics, start with his most famous, "On the Road" (which pretty much changed my life). Also, if you like reading with poetic description, "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham and "White Oleander" by Janet Fitch are fantastic (two of my favorites).

In the way of "classics", if you're up for a long (but eventually rewarding) read, "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo is really great (also a favorite, and if you enjoy casually impressing fellow readers, this is a great book to read--just make sure it's not the abridged version). "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde is great, "Jude the Obscure" by Thomas Hardy, Shakespeare's "Richard III" is by far the best in my opinion (and I really am not a fan of Shakespeare, whom I believe vastly over rated, along with Mark Twain), many young students relate to the main character of "Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger, and "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker (which deals with first person experience in southern black life in the early century, but doesn't chastise white readers as some other books do, just provides understanding and room for empathy). "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley and "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury are great "What our world is turning into" thought-provokers. Also, Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations" is great and not as overly-wordy as many other Dickens works can be.

Classic plays such as "Medea", "Oedipus Rex", and "Electra" are probably must-reads. More modern plays like Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" and "Death of a Salesman" you'll probably read in class, but if you'd like to impress your English teacher with your literary conquests, read "After the Fall" or "A View from the Bridge" by Miller. My favorite play-write, Tennessee Williams will probably also be skimmed in classes with "The Glass Menagerie", which, in my opinion, is really not even close to his best work. My favorites include "A Streetcar Named Desire" (featuring one of the most important female characters in theatre), "Suddenly Last Summer", "Camino Real" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Also, Eugene O'Neill (who is considered the father of American play-writing) is great at creating scenes from working class America way back when. "The Iceman Cometh" deals with personal anguish, "The Hairy Ape" is shorter and is about a man's struggle with his class and how that affects his psyche and "Long Day's Journey into Night" (which is my favorite) is more about introspection of various characters, etc.

If you're curious about poetry at all, check out T.S. Elliot, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson. Also, Henry David Thoreau is a great guy to get into, "Walden" would be the way to go. If you've ever heard of Ralph Waldo Emerson (and if you have, I don't mean to be demeaning to you or your reading experience), Thoreau was a student of his and surpassed him. They are about living life to the fullest, etc, and very insightful.

Hope this was helpful! And, as a last little note, most if not all of these books are good for guy and girl readers. Maybe "The Hours" and "White Oleander" wouldn't be the greatest for a guy, but being a female reader to hates flouncy girl rubbish like Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" or Jane Austen, it's really great stuff. And also, if you are a girl who enjoys the flouncy crap I just mentioned, they're not too butch to dislike, I promise you!!

Good luck (and it's so great to see other young people who are curious about great literature!! Culture is not dying off completely in the destructive path of technology!!)

Answer 2

I highly suggest Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott, I first read it when I was 12. There are many versions out there the best is always the unabridged. Don't let a novel's thickness scare you just take it a piece at a time. Another excellent book would by The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck, or The Great Gatsby By Scott Fitzgerald. All these are classics than you can comprehend easily. You may even enjoy The Count Of Monti Crisco By Alexander Dumas.
If your still not sure here is a website that has many different recommendations for young adult readers.
http://dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/English/Literature/Classics/

http://www.literature.org/authors/

Enjoy There are a lot of great books out there!

Answer 3

Try Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Borroughs. He is not at all like the Hollywood or Disney version. He breaks the backs of Lions with his bare hands. He doesn't swing from tree to tree. He climbs high up in the rain forest canopy where its so dense, all he has to do is run across the branches. He carries a rope he made himself, which for laughs he drops from a tree around the neck of an unsuspecting native and yanks him out of sight. It has a marvelous affect on that natives friends. There is no Chimp. But the best thing is, his Love for Jane. If Jane is in danger and you happen to be the reason why. You'll wish you were never born. Nothing keeps Tarzan and his mate apart. It would be better for you if you had Tugged on Superman's Cape or Pulled the Mask off the ole Lone Ranger!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

I love literature, but can't get into the classics quite yet. Depending on what you looking for, some of today's great lit authors are: John Irving, John Jakes, Nick Sparks, etc. A book I still can't stop talking about (and I read it over a year ago) is I know this much is true by Wally Lamb. Truly some of the greatest writing I have ever seen. Otherwise the Fortunate Pilgrim by Mario Puzo shows the stresses of a woman's life in the early 1900's in an Italian ghetto. Brilliant as well. Good luck. Let me know if you read them...

Answer 5

The Pearl - John Steinbeck
The Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger

The Anne Of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery (about 7 books altogether)

Answer 6

Girl of the Limberlost, by Jean Stratton Porter
The Bounty Trilogy, (Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, Pitcairn's Island) by Nordhoff and Hall
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy
The Count of Monte Cristo, unabridged, by Alexandre Dumas
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
L.M. Montgomery's Anne series (anne of green gables- rilla of ingleside)
Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom, Little Women, Litlle Men by Louisa May Alcott
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Answer 7

ok, the bible and the koran are not the type of classical literature she is talking about...!!! and if it is...then i would recommend homer (odyssey) aristotle,plato (republic), virgil (aeneid), cicero, thomas aquinas .....

also it is gone with the wind.....

and finally, R.L. Stein is not a classical lit author...more like a waste of brain cells....

some good books not above your maturity...and more modern classics...
1. farenheit 451 by ray bradbury
2. to kill a mockingbird by harper lee
3. the lion the witch and the wardrobe by cs lewis

and in 3-4 years, read these great books (my personal faves)
4. a clockwork orange by anthony burgess
5. lolita by vladimir nabokov
6. the kite runner is a fun read but not a "classic"
7. vengeance is a mature book (non-fiction) about the 1972 munich massacre at the olympics....amazing

Answer 8

Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham

It might start to lose you at some point, but you can always pick it up again when you're older. Some books are meant to be read over and over through life. How about Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights? All good fun reads.

Answer 9

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Answer 10

I agree on Jane Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird. Excellent books. You might like Robin Hood and Ivanhoe (though it gets a little wordy). I personally love Ender's Game, not classical, but very good book.