Can you give me a list of Classical Books???

Question

at my school we have to read Classical Lit. and i need a list of cool Classical books suitable for a teen...

Answer 1

I agree with Jerry on finding out the teacher's definition of "Classical" In my opinion, Classical is Greek or Roman. In that vein I would recommend The Odyssey by Homer, Aesop's Fables, Metamorphoses by Ovid, Medea, anything by Sophocles, Euripides, Virgil, Euclid, or Hippocrates. From the same time, but in Asia, you may want to read Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Confucius, and from the Middle East Omar Khayyam.
Classical all depends on you teachers definition. If Classical means Classic, then what has been recommended (with the thumbs down excluded) is great.

Answer 2

Here you go, a link to the list of the famous Harvard Classics and the Shelf of Classic Fiction.

There are lots of other books considered classics, but it is hard to argue that any of the ones on the list aren't classics.

I also recommend checking back with your teacher and finding out what his/her definition of "Classical Lit" is. There are certainly some newer works that are considered classics of American literature - such as Catch 22 by Joseph Heller and The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.

Most of the books on the list are now in public domain. Try the internet public library to download them for free.

Answer 3

Check out the website of St. John's College.

Also, in terms of personal recommendations, I loved "Tristan" by Gottfried Von Strassburg, "Crime and Punishment" and all other Dostoevsky works, Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby," and Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49," just to name a few.

On the other hand if you mean Classical as in Greek and Roman literature... I hate to admit it, but I'm pretty well lost there. I like Aeschylus, though.

Also, for a general list of good books, get a copy of Harold Bloom's "The Western Canon." He's got the list.

Answer 4

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (my favorite)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
any short stories by Ernest Hemingway

I had to read these and many more in school. They are all great books -- classics for a reason! Happy reading.

Answer 5

To Kill a Mockingbird
Ethan Frome
Frankenstein
The Scarlet Letter
Of Mice and Men
Silas Mariner
Wuthering Heights

These are all works of Classical Literature. They are some of the easiest to read and understand. Enjoy!

Answer 6

You can read The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. Or Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo. Long reads, but absolute classics, and just wonderful, IMHO.

Answer 7

I recommend those classics published by Alfred A. Knopf in the Everyman's Library's series. Please visit the website and find some interesting ones.

By the way, have you read "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Muriel Spark?

Answer 8

The Hobbit, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, 1984, and Huckleberry Finn should give you a good start...

Answer 9

The green mile
Flowers in the attic
Mommy dearest