Recently, one of the book clubs I participate in has read two books considered “classics” that a fair amount of the attendees had never read before. This led to a great discussion about how even though as an English major in college I read a ton of books and even obscure ones, there are so many “classics” that I’ve never read. I’m not going to get into a debate about what counts as a classic versus what doesn’t, but there are a lot of books that have persisted in the zeitgest for a reason..they just haven’t persisted on my TBR list.
Here are ten classics I’ve never read:
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
This is another book that my book club is reading soon, and I’ve never read it! I actually don’t know that I’ve read much Faulkner at all, despite being an English major. I definitely did not read As I Lay Dying, though I know some other classes did when I was in high school. I might have read Absalom, Absalom though. My book club is reading The Sound and the Fury in November.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marque
Over my life, I’ve probably answer a hundred trivia questions about this book, and I don’t think I’ve read more than five pages. I like magical realism, and I’m sure this book is great, but I think it feels really daunting for some reason.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
I simply know I would enjoy this book. I do! And yet have I ever even looked at it or for it in a used book store of library? Oddly, no. Maybe I need to suggest this to my book club.
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
I also don’t know how much Woolf I’ve read. I’ve heard…interesting things about this one, and know I should probably start with something more traditionally written, but I think it’s another great potential book club read.
Middlemarch by George Eliot
I have looked for this one in stores before, and been consistently daunted by its size and the conversation around it. Maybe I should set this as my “goal book” for next year. 800+ pages scares me a bit though, when there are so many other books to read in the world.
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
This is another one that I know I would enjoy, that I should read, and yet it’s size daunts me so. For a classic like this, finding the right text size to margin ratio is critical for the mental experience. I probably won’t read this and Middlemarch in the same year…
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
This is a book that I feel like I have read through proxy/cultural references alone, and so I feel less inclined to take the time to read through the pages.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Reading this ahead of the new Netflix show would be a great idea, and I suspect I will watch it because I love Florence Pugh and Mike Faist and putting them together on screen makes me very happy, but will I then want to go read the book AFTER I’ve watched it? We’ll see. Also apparently it’s over 700 pages. See aforementioned phobia of too long books that slow my reading pace down and make me feel further behind in my TBR.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein
That’s right, I’ve never read a single page of a Tolkein book. I never even got around to the graphic novel about his friendship with C.S. Lewis that looked really good. I don’t know why, but nothing compels me to read or even watch these stories. Maybe it’s because I don’t love fantasy. I’m sure they’re good. But just tell me about it, okay?
Anything by Agatha Christie
I’ve also never read anything by Agatha Christie, despite growing up on the Cat Who books and loving a good mystery. This year, one of my goals is to finally read at least one Agatha Christie book, and the plan is to read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in October. Stay tuned to see if I follow through on that or push it to another month.
What are some “classics” that you’ve actually never read?
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