10) 1984 by George OrwellI first read this in tenth grade. My mom recommended it to me when she found out I wouldn't be reading it at any point during high school. I picked it up a few weeks later and instantly loved it! I've been wanting to reread it as of late, as I'm five years older and think I would get a bit more out of it than I did the first time. To anyone who hasn't read this yet, you should definitely pick it up!
Quote: “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”
9)Ethan Frome
by Edith WhartonMy high school class read this in our freshmen year. It's a very short novel, and, I believe, one of Wharton's lesser read novels. I remember this being one of the first books I read that left readers completely divided on how to feel. Many of class discussions were about interpretations and opinions on characters and the situation. It was also one of the first books I read that had an ending that wasn't happily ever after for all of the characters. I remember finishing this book and thinking about it for days, because the ending was just not what I had expected. To this day, it's one of my favorites.
Quote: “She had taken everything else from him, and now she meant to take the one thing that made up for it all.”
8)Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
I read this book just last year, and it was my book by Anne. She may have been the last of the Bronte sisters I read, but I instantly fell in love with her writing. This story was so simple, but so complex all at once. While reading, I felt a very deep connection to Agnes. There were many moments when things she said or thought were almost exact echoes of my own thoughts over the last several years. I still haven't read anything else by Anne Bronte, but I'm looking forward to doing so at some point soon.
Quote: “What business had I to think of one that never thought of me?”
7) North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
This book is amazing. It's heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. I know Wives and Daughters is the more popular novel of Gaskell's, but you guys should definitely read this. Plus, if you read it, you'll probably have a deeper desire to watch the BBC mini series. Which has Richard Armitage in it... Which is honestly just reason enough to watch this. Seriously, if you don't read this book, at least watch the mini-series.Quote: “He knew how she would love. He had not loved her without gaining that instinctive knowledge of what capabilities were in her. Her soul would walk in glorious sunlight if any man was worthy, by his power of loving, to win back her love.”
6) To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper LeeI read this in high school, and it changed my view on lot of things. Law, justice, race, stereotypes, growing up to find things are not how you once believed things to be. If you somehow managed not to read this in high school, you should definitely pick it up now. I know I'll be rereading it next month as Go Set a Watchman is coming out.
Quote: “Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)... There are just some kind of men who - who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”
5) Persuasion by Jane Austen
I read this the first time at the age of fourteen or fifteen, but I don't think I really had a real appreciation for it until I read it again my first year of college. I'm not sure exactly what caused such a change, whether it was more experience (however limited) with relationships or just maturity level, but I felt like I had such a deep connection to Anne and her situation the second time around. If you're a fan of Austen's other books, or have even yet to read Austen, I would highly suggest this novel. It's one of her shorter novels, and it 100% worth reading. You will not regret it!
Quote: “Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.”
4) East of Eden by John Steinbeck
This was the first Steinbeck book I ever read, and I loved it instantly. I think this book may have also been a recommendation from my mom. I read it once at 15, and then just a year reread it during 11th grade American Literature. The characters opened my eyes to how complex people and books can truly be. I fell in love with the intricacies of the character relationships and the inner-workings of their minds. It's a wonderful novel, and I would definitely recommend to anyone who hasn't read it yet.
Quote: “But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.'”
3) A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
I blame this book for my new found longing to visit Italy, specifically Florence. I used to be all about visiting London and Paris, but no more. Italy is calling my name, and it is all Forster's fault. I love the contrast he makes between the two societies, between rationalism and romanticism, between reason and passion. The characters are lovable. The chapter titles are comical. It is a very deep, but hilarious book. Several times during this I found myself laughing out loud because of a certain line or scene. Seriously, you guys, I can't stress it enough: read this book!
Quote: “Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice.”
2) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I first read this book at the age of 13. It was one of the first classics I read, one of the first pieces of Victorian literature I read, and one of the first novels I felt truly challenged by. I actually put it down for about six months because I couldn't get through the first three pages. Six months later, though, and I picked it up and flew through it. It holds a special place in my heart because of how much I love the story and the characters, but also because it opened up a whole new world for me. After this I went on to read Austen and Gaskell and more from all of the Bronte sisters. This book was the start of an obsession that has yet to die.
Quote: "I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you - especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous channel, and two hundred miles or so of land some broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I've a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, - you'd forget me.”
1) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Honestly, no one who knows me will be surprised by this. This book changed my life. This book solidified the fact that I wanted to major in English when I was just 13. This book taught me what it was like to read a book and immediately want to reread it. This book has Elizabeth Bennet in it, a role model of mine since the moment I picked up the book. This book has Mr. Darcy, there for me when all real men simply just can't pull themselves together. This book has gone on to inspire a number of beautiful adaptions that I am addicted to watching over and over again, from the BBC mini-series to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on youtube. This book is quite possibly the best thing I have ever read, and I urge everyone to read whenever I can. Seriously, all of my friends and family have been suggested this book too many times to count. I won't ever stop suggesting it though, nor will I ever stop rereading it.
Quote: “I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this list! Have you read any of these? Are there any favorites of yours that aren't on the list? Let me know in the comments!
See you all Monday with a classic-related book review!
Your Pemberley Reader,
Acacia
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