Top 10 - Classics

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I have attempted to read this book many times. It took me a very long time to get into it. Every time I got stuck somewhere, put the book down and stopped reading it for a very long while. When I picked up the book again I would start over, and everytime I got a little further into the book. Eventhough the book was sometimes a struggle to read it was also very rewarding. I love how immensely detailed the world is that J.R.R. Tolkien created. Because of this it truely feels like Middle Earth has existed long before the book begins and continues long after the story has finished.


2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

One of my favorite childhood books, this book will always be amongst my favorite classics as well. This book has a special place in my heart because it truely made me fall in love with reading. Also I gained an appreciation of the outdoors because of this book.

3. The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

Another childhood favorite. This Dutch classic was translated into English about two years ago which made me very happy. This book really made me fall in love with the fantasy genre. The setting is sort of medieval and the main character gets an assignment from a knight which has him traveling to another country.

4. Emma by Jane Austen

I always have a hard time picking my favorite Jane Austen novel. I love Pride and Prejudice and Emma almost equally, but at the moment I love Emma just a little more. Eventhough Emma Woodhouse has many flaws she still is a very likeable character and it was hard not to root for her.

5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Elizabeth Bennet is one of my favorite literary characters. She is smart and not afraid to say what she is thinking. She is very honest and she is also not afraid to admit that she is wrong. Eventhough the book was written long ago it still succeeds at being witty.


6. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Since The Hobbit was written before The Lord of the Rings and it is a childrens book it does not yet contain such a detailed world as in the later books, but the story already introduces you to an interesting world that is very promising and the story itself is very adventurous. I read this one when I already was a little older, but I am sure that I would also have loved it if I had read it when I was younger.







7. The Tintin graphic novels by Hergé

When I was younger I loved reading the Tintin graphic novels and recently I have sort of rediscovered them. They are very adventurous and those are precisely the kind of stories I like. My favorite Tintin novels are probably Explorers on the Moon and The Secret of the Unicorn.

8. Krabat & the Sorcerer's Mill by Otfried Preußler

I have read this book many times and everytime this book managed to creep me out. The story is scary in its simplicity. The fact that the boys cannot leave the mill always made me feel very uncomfortable.

9. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

When I was younger I probably wouldn't have loved this book, but thanks to the Tim Burton movie adaptation (which is very different from the book though), I can appreciate this book in al its crazyness. If you want a coherent story this book is probably not for you, but I find it a weird but enjoyable read.

10. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Rovert Louis Stevenson

When I picked up this novella at the library I wasn't really expecting all that much from it, and maybe that's the reason why I ended up enjoying it so much. The story felt sort of 'comfortable creepy', the idea of the book is creepy, but it was never really scary.







The next classics I hope to read are The Catcher in the Rye, The Time Machine and stories by Jules Verne. They have been on my shelves for ages. I also have to admit that I never read any Narnia stories, so I also need to do something about that...

Do you like reading classics? What are your favorites?