Classic Books That We Love

Today we’re recommending some classic books we love, many but not all of them speculative fiction.

You don’t have to be a student, professor, or a fancy person to enjoy classic literature. You might have to school your attention a little bit, but at least you don’t have to give yourself homework!
 
Some books feel like home; some take work to get through. Whatever suits your fancy, grab your snack of choice and curl up with a riveting read! Perhaps one from the list below . . .

1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins: A young drawing master becomes entangled in a web of secrets, identity theft, and madness after meeting a mysterious woman dressed in white who has escaped from an asylum.
 
2. Nicholas Nickelby by Charles Dickens: After his father’s death leaves his family destitute, young Nicholas Nickleby sets out to make his way in the world, battling cruelty and corruption while striving to protect those he loves and uphold his integrity.
 
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker: When the mysterious Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to England, a group of friends led by Professor Van Helsing must uncover his vampiric nature and stop his reign of terror before he claims more innocent lives.
 
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson: A respected doctor’s experiment to separate his good and evil sides unleashes his monstrous alter ego, Mr. Hyde, with horrifying consequences.
 
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: A mysterious millionaire’s obsessive love for a married woman leads to illusion, betrayal, and tragedy amid the glittering excess of Jazz Age America.
 
6. Memoirs from the House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Drawing on his own years in a Siberian prison camp, Dostoevsky depicts the brutal, humbling lives of convicts whose shared suffering reveals both the depths and resilience of the human spirit.
 
7. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: A naïve young woman with an overactive imagination learns to distinguish between Gothic fantasy and real-life romance when she visits the mysterious Northanger Abbey.
 
8. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: Amid the upheaval of the Civil War and Reconstruction, the strong-willed Scarlett O’Hara struggles to survive, protect her family, and pursue her relentless love for the unattainable Rhett Butler.
 
9. The Oz books by L. Frank Baum: Young Dorothy is swept to the magical land of Oz, where she, along with her friends—the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion—embarks on adventures to overcome obstacles, discover courage and heart, and ultimately find her way home.
 
10. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne: During a weekend gathering at a country estate, a curious amateur detective unravels the puzzling circumstances behind a mysterious murder at the Red House.
 
11. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain: A prince and a poor boy who look identical switch places, leading each to experience the hardships and injustices of the other’s life.
 
12. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux: A mysterious, disfigured musical genius haunts the Paris Opera House, obsessed with a young soprano, leading to love, jealousy, and danger behind the theater’s grand façade.
 
13. David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd: A boy befriends a well-meaning but rather hapless phoenix and joins him on a series of whimsical adventures while trying to protect him from a persistent hunter, ultimately learning about courage, wonder, and saying goodbye.
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What’s your favorite classic book? Tell us in the comments!


P.S. – ​If you loved these book recommendations, why not sign up for our newsletter? Twice a month, we’ll send you a themed list of fantasy and/or sci-fi book recommendations, and sometimes music, movies, or manga too. (Not to mention jokes, games, puzzles, memes, and the occasional recipe!)

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