Sometimes it is a good idea to turn off your phone or computer for a while and read a book. While there are millions of options available, here are some especially important and interesting novels that have captivated readers for decades. These classic books that often have important messages hidden within their pages that are as relevant today as when they were written down.
As he is one of the most famous characters ever, Sherlock Holmes doesn’t really need an introduction. He has been the subject of four novels and several short stories, which may make it difficult to start at the beginning of his escapades, but his first appearance is in “A Study in Scarlet” from 1887. People should read this because it spawned the modern detective genre and it is a very entertaining story with a peculiar protagonist. If you like it, you might be inclined to read “Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children”, even though it is fantasy, it has a strong mystery as the central plot.
The next novel on the list is a strong contender for the beginning of the science fiction genre. The 1895 post-apocliptic novel “The Time Machine” is remembered as a classic for a reason. It has fascinating and scary predictions of the future, and it mostly takes place in 802,701 A.D, where the protagonist encounters two distinct groups of humans, the Eloi and the Morlocks. After this, he jumps further and further ahead in time, eventually discovering the last species on earth before life goes extinct. If you are a fan of science fiction or adventure stories, this is an excellent pick. some novels that you might like if you’re a fan are “The Invisible Man” and “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”
This next novel is about friendship overcoming family bonds. The classic novel “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and highlights the class tensions between the working class and the upper class through the lens of a teenage boy. The plot revolves around the conflict between the Socs and the Greasers, two groups of teenagers who hate each other because of their differences in economic standing. The main message of the book is that you have to stay out of conflict and focus on doing good. If you like this novel, you might also like “Holes.”
Man’s strange relationship with the sea is the central focus of this next book. The oldest book on this list, the arguable king of classics, written in 1851, “Moby-Dick” follows the experience of a man named Ishmael on a whaling ship. The plot revolves directly around the captain, Ahab, and the white whale Moby-Dick is chasing down. Ahab is chasing the whale down because it bit off his leg on the last voyage, and the captain is set on a mad quest to conquer nature itself. The book is very long for the time with a whopping 461 pages, but if you are into long books you might like it, as it is very easy to get into. If you like it, you might also like “The Lord Of The Rings” or “The Old Man And The Sea.”
Though the final book on this list is the shortest, it is also the most important. Although the political allegory of “Animal Farm” might seem unimportant because of its short length, it is, in fact, one of the most important books written in the twentieth century. Published in 1945 by George Orwell, it is a direct and brutal parallel to Stalin’s takeover of the Soviet Union, and the collapse of the communist ideals into a brutal dictatorship. Stalin is represented by the pig Napoleon, Trotsky, the person who fought for true communism is represented by the exiled pig Snowball, and the supporters of Stalin are collectively represented as Boxer the horse, with the masses being represented by the other farm animals. This is easily the most important book on the list by far, and everyone should read it at least once.
Hopefully you pick up at least one of the books on this list, get lost within its pages for a while, and maybe learn something about the world along the way. These novels have stood the test of time and, with any luck, one of them will speak to you.