This is mostly made up of books I’ve either started and not finished, or at the very least already own and intented to read. Some I was supposed to read in school, and while I may have aced the test (thanks, Sparknotes!), I don’t remember the plot because I only invested enough time and short term memory to get through the test.
- The Bell Jar (Plath)
- Great Expectations (Dickens)
- The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
- The Alchemist (Coelho)
- A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (Hemingway)
- The Beautiful and the Damned (Fitzgerald)
- Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston)
- Little Women (Alcott) ✓
- Sense and Sensibility (Austen)
- Emma (Austen)
Now, I’m not married to this list, and am more than open to suggestions. Again, this list was largely compiled from books I already own, but if you have an absolute favorite that you think I should add, share it in the poll or comments please!
Books are expensive! That’s part of why I chose books I already own. But I realized recently that Spotify actually has a ton of classics in their audiobook selection. I knocked out Little Women in a couple drives to and from Greenville and it didn’t cost me a dime.
I’ve never been a huge audiobook person, I really love the feeling and smell of reading a used book. But I’m a very slow reader, always have been, so it does help to get through a few extra chapters while I’m driving or cleaning the house.
True story: I was intimidated of “chapter books” as a kid because I was self-conscious about the speed of my reading. I was a smart kid and in the “extended learning” classes with the other privileged kids (*sigh*). I was so embarrassed when they all flew through the Redwall series and I couldn’t seem to finish the first book. I loved reading, but I’d quit before finishing most books because I’d get to frustrated at how long it took while I was busy with basketball practice and Vacation Bible School and all that jazz.
Enter: Harry Potter
I know there are a million stories out there about Harry Potter changing someone’s life, but this series really did change mine for the better. I got my hands on my first copy of The Sorcerer’s Stone and went through more than half of it in one sitting because it was so good, I could not put it down. My poor mother had to make a special trip to buy me the next two books that very weekend and I went through them just as quickly.
What I realized from talking about the series with my friends, is that I could recall all the small details of the book while many of them seemed to just get the gist. It made me feel a lot better about my slowness, because at least I was digesting everything I read instead of just getting to the next page as quickly as possible.
So, thanks J.K. and Harry! I can’t wait to check Harry Potter World off the list in October!
As for the list, I sure hope I can get through them all! It will take a big time commitment since I’m so pokey. Please make suggestions if you have them, just please remember I’m sticking to the classics:)
