I've been searching for a chonky classic book to read throughout the next year. I'm not much of a classic reader, so I haven't read many. I have Count of Monte Cristo, Don Quixote and War and Peace on my mind. I am also open to any other books. I just don't know if I'm starting right with Classics.
by overthinkingbread
11 Comments
The Prince and the Pauper has always been one of my favorites
If you do Count of Monte Cristo, get the Penguin Classics translation. I suffered through an inferior translation before I found the one by Robin Buss.
Every year I make my new years resolution a big book that scares me but also I want to read. I’m shooting for the ring of Nibelung by Richard Wagner for 2026
I am currently STRUGGLING through War and Peace. I’m more than halfway through and I still have no idea what’s happening.
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
Les Miserablés by Victor Hugo -unabridged
Chesapeake by James Michener is a ginormous book that I love
Dickens. It is a slog to get through ye olde English, but *David Copperfield* is the absolute shit.
My man Chuck really knew how to tell a story.
If you’re down for somewhat of a modern classic, try A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It’s like 750 pages I think.
If you want a modern classic, try *Lonesome Dove* by Larry McMurtry. One of the best westerns (and one of the best novels) ever written.
For a more traditional classic, try *A Tale of Two Cities* by Charles Dickens, or *East of Eden* by John Steinbeck.
If you want something fairly short, maybe *The Bridge of San Luis Rey* by Thornton Wilder.
East of Eden