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A lot of great books recommended there. In case you are doing some totting up I'll go with
Three men in a boat, Sherlock Holmes short stories and Treasure island for light reading, Vonnegut, Kavka, 1984 for something a little deeper
Dickens. I never liked him until I read "Sketches by Boz". He had to fit those tales into a space rather than get paid by the word, so there's no unnecessary verbiage. Some really good wry humour and still reads well.
"Diary of a Nobody" - I pick this up every so often and read it again.
Mark Twain - almost anything is worth a read.
If you can handle mediaeval English, Chaucer is worth a read. Each tale is exquisitely positioned from the teller's viewpoint. At least the Miller's Tale. 🙂
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Lucky Jim
Cold Comfort Farm
The Code of the Woosters
What a good thread - thanks OP I've been reminded of a few books I need to read.
My personal "classic" is
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway)
But when I get asked on to Desert Island Discs I'll be placing
Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing
as my one book as I love the evocation of an England long gone.
A few people seem to have missed the last word in the thread title..! Chaucer? Moby Dick!? I ask ya. 😆
[i]Sir has not read Moby Dick, I’ll wager[/i]
Ah, this was aimed at me! Yes! I have read the whole of Moby Dick... much more interesting than Dracula. The first few chapters are actually pretty funny. The anatomy of a whale stuff, not so much.
On the Road
@DezB - that's why I recommended Conrad's short novellas and guarded against Nostromo.
The word 'classic' is a bit of a moveable feast. These days, I'd probably consider the best books so far on this thread as Rogue Male and Code of the Woosters. My journey of self-improvement via literature has clearly ended!
I'd probably be looking towards more modern literature, maybe Midnight's Children by Rushdie, Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, something by Cormac McCarthy for the bleak - personally I'd go for No Country for Old Men. Books that were probably consigned to the trash fiction shelf in their time now deserve an upgrade, for example earlier works by authors such as Stephen King: The Shining is a masterpiece and beautifully written.
Traditional classics can be very rewarding, but require even more effort these days when writing has become ever more disposable and functional.
I think a few have not read the OP either.
Project Gutenburg https://www.gutenberg.org/ is specifically FREE classics (out of copyright)
I think Stephen King might have something to say if any of his stuff ended up on there 🙂
jack Kerrowac - On the Road was a good read.
I think I will go and buy catch22
Buy - local library is bound to have it
I think a few have not read the OP either
Yeah - I'm guilty, you can knock my choices off the list.
jack Kerrowac – On the Road was a good read.
really? I thought it was so far up it's own arse I think I lasted half way maybe...
If you try an Austen, rather than Pride and Prejudice, could I offer Persuasion instead? Still bonnets (who doesn't love a bonnet drama) but a bit more subtle and observed.
All of Dostoyevsky's works look like they can be downloaded. He's obv a heavyweight, and so are his books (literally), but they're accessible - good combination of straightforward prose but great stories that delve pretty deep into the human psyche. Bit like Dickens is said to be. The exception to his tome-like output is the very slim Notes from the Underground, so if you're looking for a quick read classic this might fit the bill. Especially if you found Camus too freewheeling and cheerful - it is bleak as hell from memory.