I want to read Dostoevsky, Kafka, Camus and other classical authors. I am into philosophy but find it difficult to finish a book. First I want to get a habit of reading. Any book suggestions for a beginner? Give me a reading list in an order.
by dingdong008
14 Comments
The Picture of Dorian Gray is really good choice for starting classics.
Audiobooks also have a lower barrier to entry.
That said – although long – The Count of Monte Cristo is a great book that is fun and pretty low reading level.
Try A Room with a View by EM Forster, that is usually a good entry.
A nice starter book? I robot by isac azimov, short story’s over a period of years, each is self contained.
Was the book that got me into older scifi
Just read shorter and more approachable classics. Kafka and Camus both are, in my opinion, but if you’ve found them difficult there’s always stuff like Steinbeck (especially *Of Mice and Men*) or the short stories or shorter novels of Hemingway. Samuel Beckett’s plays could be a decent entry point as well (and closer to being philosophical than either Steinbeck or Hemingway).
Try shorter stories from those authors! White Nights and A Gentle Creature are excellent starting points for Dostoevsky. They introduce you to his cadence and keep your attention. Really prepared me for the big guys. And Kafka I’d recommend just picking up a collections. The one I have begins with Conversation With a Supplicant which is an 8 page read. Then of course Metamorphosis, which is only 60!
Personally I just dove into the first book a buddy told me about that sounded interesting and got better with practice.
Literally the first book I ever read (aside from stuff in school) was Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy in my early 30s.
His writing style took some getting used to but I jumped right into crime and punishment after a few of his books and it wasn’t hard to follow. By that point it was like I discovered fire. 134 books read last year and 26 so far this year
You want to read Dostoevsky, so read The Gambler. It is shot and fast paced and a banger.
If you want to read Camus I’d say just jump right in and read ‘The Stranger’. It’s not a hard read and it’s very short.
Others I’d recommend are
-“The Old Man and The Sea” by Ernest Hemingway
-“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger
-“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelly
-“The Great Gatsby” by F Scott Fitzgeralds
These are all very approachable and quick reads, and are some of the most well known books around.
Start with Bukowski because he’s poetic yet approachable.
Start with Carrie by Stephen King people crap on king but he is a true master of the word and he has the easiest prose to read in the world. Really read anything by him to get your feet wet in order to fall in love with reading.
Also read The Long Valley by John Steinbeck it’s a collection of his short stories about life in and around his part of California. It will give you a taste of an amazing classic author that’s not too tough to read.
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Lord of the Flies
Silence by Shasuka Endo
An Artist Of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene
The Intuitionist by Coulson Whitehead
Four short, simple, engaging works that I think have some of the vibes you’re looking for from Dostoevsky et al.