Best Classic Books of All Time

[hartleystudio]

This is a great thread! My Dad was an English teacher so I have always been an avid reader. My choices aren't going to be conventional classic literature but books I have read that changed the way I look at things and gave me a great escape from life!

1. The Harry Potter series (seriously, it's awesome, read it at least 20 times)
2. anything by JD Salinger

3. Peace Like a River (new but VERY good)

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

5. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

I love reading what others like, good suggestions for book club!

[cdjack]

Ok, I know it's already been said, but To Kill a Mockingbird.
Also:
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
As You Like It by Shakespeare

[Plantgoddess+]

When I was younger I enjoyed reading books by Leon Uris such as Trinity and others whose names I don't remember. I also read Herman Wouk and James Mitchner. The Lord of the Rings is also an incredible read.

[Jan in CA]

1. The Harry Potter series (seriously, it's awesome, read it at least 20 times)

Oh yeah, I didn't include this, but thought about it. Love Harry Potter. So fanciful and fun!

[miccisue]

Wow, I'm an avid reader, so this is gonna be tough. But, to stick to classics, I'd have to say...
1. Gone With The Wind
2. To Kill A Mockingbird
3. Little Women
4. Where The Red Fern Grows (OK, maybe a kid's book, but I love it!)
5. Rebecca

[knitgal]

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (if you read no other Austen it must be this one)
2. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (the whole series-8 books)
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (my favourite high school English book)
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (my mom's absolute fav)
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (beautifully woeful and happy at the same time)

Honourable mentions:

Tess of the D' urburvilles by Thomas Hardy (tragic!)
The Odyssey and the Illiad by Homer (the original hero story)
The Divine Comedy by Dante (seriously good)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (amazingly vivid and fascinating allegory)
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (hilarious!)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
North and South, Wives and Daughters, and Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Just a few of my favourites!

[Hildegard_von_Knittin]

Just to add, instead of repeat...
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
The Thorn Birds

[Debkcs]

Some of mine are not so serious as to be considered classics, but:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. The Anotated Sherlock Holmes a two volume set,(the first books my sweet husband ever bought for me, some thirty five years ago).
3.Anything Tolkien.
4.Anything C.S.Lewis.
5.Ireland by Frank Delany

This list could go on, we don't check books out because we want to keep them all.

[rachejm]

In no particular order:

1. Jane Eyre
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. The Lord of the Rings (hard to read but if stranded on a desert island I'd make the effort!)
4. The Book Thief
5. Romeo and Juliette

I adore Jane Eyre, couldn't get stranded on a desert island without Mr Rochester! Darcy is also a must have. I love Lord of the Rings but it took me about 18 months to finish all three books, I found it a bit hard going in places but worth the effort. The Book Thief is the newest book I have read recently, I tend to prefer classics like Austen and the Brontes, but it was a wonderful read even if it did make me cry. Finally, my favourite Shakespeare just because.

[Mirl56]

Most of my picks have already been mentioned so I won't list them again. I would add The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas.