Hey...

animalfarmgo

I'm a 19 year old student and have recently just discovered my love for reading.

In the past few weeks I have read

Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
1984 (George Orwell)
Homage to Catalonia (George Orwell)




However I don't know where to turn to from here? Anyone got any recommendations for me please?


Cheers.


Z

animalfarmgo

Should I go Leo Tolstoy or what?

Da Shins Kelly

First of all, well done on getting into books! You're at a pretty good age for tackling some of these books now too.

I'd recommend The Great Gatsby as a must-read for everyone. An American classic, without doubt one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) novels ever written in the English language.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a great novel too, also one of the greatest ever (in my opinion). Quite risqué content, very controversial for its time and made the name 'Lolita' a term in popular culture to refer to a sexually advanced young girl (might give you an idea of what the novel deals with).

A Clockwork Orange is a great coming-of-age novel. It's written in a very strange way however (a mixture of Russian and Cockney-rhyming slang) which can be hard to adjust to at first, but it's well worth sticking with. It's a very interesting exploration of morality, and the ability to choose between right and wrong. Again, very controversial for its time due to the level of violence in the novel and the accusation pointed at author Anthony Burgess for creating a culture of violence among the youth (cases of teenagers acting out copy-cat attacks of those committed by the teenagers in the novel).

If you want to try out some Gothic novels (always interesting reads), I think Dracula is something everyone should read. It's one of the ultimate classics of the genre, and even though everyone pretty much knows the gist of the story, nothing compares to actually reading it. It's a beautifully written novel (written entirely in letter and diary form), very exciting and no movie version does it justice. There is nothing like reading it, and getting your own image of what Dracula actually looks and sounds like, and experiencing the atmosphere created in the novel and reading through all the old vampire myths. While the idea of vampires may seem silly (especially now given all this Twilight rubbish, and the endless other vampire-based tripe out there), Dracula has a very authentic feel about it, as though you are genuinely reading first-hand accounts of a strange phenomenon and there is a genuine feeling of horror and fear.

These are just a few, but you might find something you like! Good luck!

El Inho

just to agree with the previous poster...

im a english and history student and have done papers on both gatsby and dracula..man check em out...really good stuff

and i always advise reading a book - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beginning-Theory/157629184292947

now this is really if your an english student...what it will do is give you the set of skills to never be able to take a book at face value again

animalfarmgo

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

First of all, well done on getting into books! You're at a pretty good age for tackling some of these books now too.

I'd recommend The Great Gatsby as a must-read for everyone. An American classic, without doubt one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) novels ever written in the English language.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a great novel too, also one of the greatest ever (in my opinion). Quite risqué content, very controversial for its time and made the name 'Lolita' a term in popular culture to refer to a sexually advanced young girl (might give you an idea of what the novel deals with).

A Clockwork Orange is a great coming-of-age novel. It's written in a very strange way however (a mixture of Russian and Cockney-rhyming slang) which can be hard to adjust to at first, but it's well worth sticking with. It's a very interesting exploration of morality, and the ability to choose between right and wrong. Again, very controversial for its time due to the level of violence in the novel and the accusation pointed at author Anthony Burgess for creating a culture of violence among the youth (cases of teenagers acting out copy-cat attacks of those committed by the teenagers in the novel).

If you want to try out some Gothic novels (always interesting reads), I think Dracula is something everyone should read. It's one of the ultimate classics of the genre, and even though everyone pretty much knows the gist of the story, nothing compares to actually reading it. It's a beautifully written novel (written entirely in letter and diary form), very exciting and no movie version does it justice. There is nothing like reading it, and getting your own image of what Dracula actually looks and sounds like, and experiencing the atmosphere created in the novel and reading through all the old vampire myths. While the idea of vampires may seem silly (especially now given all this Twilight rubbish, and the endless other vampire-based tripe out there), Dracula has a very authentic feel about it, as though you are genuinely reading first-hand accounts of a strange phenomenon and there is a genuine feeling of horror and fear.

These are just a few, but you might find something you like! Good luck!

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I've put an order in on Amazon for The Great Gatsby and Lolita, I'll let you know how I get on

eldwaro wrote: »

just to agree with the previous poster...

im a english and history student and have done papers on both gatsby and dracula..man check em out...really good stuff

and i always advise reading a book - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beginning-Theory/157629184292947

now this is really if your an english student...what it will do is give you the set of skills to never be able to take a book at face value again

Cheers!

chasmcb

animalfarmgo wrote: »

Should I go Leo Tolstoy or what?

War and Peace and Anna Karenina are both terrific reads, totally absorbing. Some of the classics of world literature can be heavy going at times but Tolstoy just sweeps you along, there is so much incident and drama in the novels and he is always in complete control of his material, and his insight into his characters' inner lives -their desires, fears and motivations- is incredible.

kickarykee

I suggest to not just go for the classics - not meaning you shouldn't read them at all, just try and give other books a chance, too.
In time you'll find out what kind of genres and stories you like most and then there'll be more books you want to read than you can fit into your schedule

animalfarmgo

chasmcb wrote: »

War and Peace and Anna Karenina are both terrific reads, totally absorbing. Some of the classics of world literature can be heavy going at times but Tolstoy just sweeps you along, there is so much incident and drama in the novels and he is always in complete control of his material, and his insight into his characters' inner lives -their desires, fears and motivations- is incredible.

Thanls for the insightful reply

kickarykee wrote: »

I suggest to not just go for the classics - not meaning you shouldn't read them at all, just try and give other books a chance, too.
In time you'll find out what kind of genres and stories you like most and then there'll be more books you want to read than you can fit into your schedule

Thanks for the advice. The only reason I am starting with books that are regarded as classics is because I'm not really sure where to start.

[-0-]

Catch 22 is amazing. Check it out.

coffee_cake

[-0-] wrote: »

Catch 22 is amazing. Check it out.

love it, very funny

r3nu4l

Another vote for 'Catch-22' here.

I'd also recommend Charles Dickens, particularly 'The Pickwick Papers'.

Another good read is Wilkie Collin's 'The Moonstone', regarded by many as the first 'modern' detective novel.

'Crime and punishment' is an excellent read, something that kept me gripped.

If you want to venture away from the older Classics then and read what could be described as 'essentials of the genre' in other genres there's always 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the rings' in the Fantasy genre, 'The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy' in the humour/sci-fi category and 'The Stand' for classic Stephen King horror (probably his best work tbh). I'm a big fan of HP Lovecraft for horror as well, brilliant work.

EDIT: If you liked 1984 then read Brave New World by Huxley, you'll love it.

Mr. Fancypants

Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East Of Eden.....anything by Steinbeck really

analucija

For whatever reason I dislike Steinbeck with passion.

I really love Great Gatsby and Lolita. I remember that The Stranger or The Outsider (depends of the translator) by Camus was mandatory read towards the end of high school and everybody I know was in love with the book. Maybe because it offered something completely different after the realism and naturalism of Flaubert, Tolstoy, Dickens, Zola... Although I do think that realists and naturalists are among more attractive authors if you want to read some older stuff. I would try some more recent booksf too. Skippy Dies and An Evening of Long Goodbyes by Paul Murray are great reads.

[-0-]

r3nu4l wrote: »

Another vote for 'Catch-22' here.

I'd also recommend Charles Dickens, particularly 'The Pickwick Papers'.

Another good read is Wilkie Collin's 'The Moonstone', regarded by many as the first 'modern' detective novel.

'Crime and punishment' is an excellent read, something that kept me gripped.

If you want to venture away from the older Classics then and read what could be described as 'essentials of the genre' in other genres there's always 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the rings' in the Fantasy genre, 'The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy' in the humour/sci-fi category and 'The Stand' for classic Stephen King horror (probably his best work tbh). I'm a big fan of HP Lovecraft for horror as well, brilliant work.

EDIT: If you liked 1984 then read Brave New World by Huxley, you'll love it.

+1 for Douglas Adams!

Denerick

A good age to read books like that, your opinions and your politics is in constant flux, so Orwell is obviously a great person to start with.

If you're more interested in an exploration of individual guilt and morality, I can't recommend Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky enough. Its surprisingly accessible for such a towering work of literature.

I also echo the Catch 22 recommendation, incredibly funny and it attracts to the quiet misanthropy of youth.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

[-0-]

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Apple cheeks.

quickbeam

Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger: you're at a good age to read this for the first time, I think.

The Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas: another excellent classic. If you think you know the story because you've seen the film then you really don't - there's so much more to it.

Some more modern stuff like: Watership Down, Day of the Triffids, His Dark Materials trilogy.

I like mixing up fiction with non-fiction too, so maybe try some non-fiction like A Short History of Nearly Everything too.

Scealta_saol

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

something to get started on

I wouldn't expect you to want to read them all but I took a few that interested me from that list that I hadn't read before and it was completely worth it

Happy Reading!

oh and I just remembered one that is not on this list. Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Shadow of the Wind - one of the Best books I have ever read.

grohlisagod

Scealta_saol wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

something to get started on

I wouldn't expect you to want to read them all but I took a few that interested me from that list that I hadn't read before and it was completely worth it

Happy Reading!

oh and I just remembered one that is not on this list. Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Shadow of the Wind - one of the Best books I have ever read.

The Big Read was actually a fantastic series and that is an excellent list. +1 on His Dark Materials even if the last one was a little disappointing.

King is always interesting. His latest work Under the Dome is brilliant.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde is another excellent book. An extravagant style of writing.