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During the years in high school, english has been one of the hardest classes for me, especially since I'm not a native here in America. This is the reason why I gave up trying to get better at it and chose a path in the math/science field. However, I learned that I won't be able to dodge english any longer as I'm going to college this fall and am desperate to catch up with an understanding of this subject.
I do read occasionally, but those books are purely for entertainment, not for knowledge. Such books I've read are the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, some Stephen King's books, Harry Potter, etc. Probably the only literature book I've read is 1984, which I really enjoyed. It had a good, understandable plot unlike other literature books I came across, such as The Tale of Two Cities and Candide, two of which we went over in class recently. I have never touched books like Treasure Island, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, or any other books a middle school student should be familiar with. Unfortunately, I do not even know the plots of those books.
So if anyone could make a list of literature books in an order of increasing difficulty, starting with a fairly easy and interesting book like 1984, I would really appreciate it. Kind of like learning to 9pool before learning other complex builds as zerg.
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Well you have already named two great books there  If your looking for American Lit. in particular I'll just add To Kill a Mockingbird one of my favorites.
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Kurt Vonnegut is an incredible author who writes really funny/intriguing novels in very simple writing. Reading his novels are just a breeze. His 2 most acclaimed/best books are Cat's Cradle and Slaughter-House Five.
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Wow wow wow, he said
starting with a fairly easy and interesting book
Great books but I dont know about Vonnegut just yet...
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If you want a very good Shakespearean text, I'd recommend Othello. It's not particularly long which is a plus, and the themes within the text are also very relateable (jealousy, assumptions, racism). I'd say its roughly the same difficulty level as 1984
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Slaughterhouse-Five is fantastic. Treasure Island is fantastic. Lord of the Flies is FANTASTIC. I'm not sure which would be easiest, but all are quite good and enriching reads. Your desire to actually further your learning is quite remarkable - very refreshing to see. I hope you succeed - I'm sure you'll enjoy the proverbial journey.
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You should definitely check out The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. You might also enjoy Michael Crichton, since you mentioned you've read some Stephen King.
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Clockwork Orange!
ACK! MY FREAKIN GLAZIES, SMECKED RIGHT OUT OF ME ODDY KNOCKY.
Wonderful tale.
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United States5162 Posts
Animal Farm is another good book written by Orwell that has extra meaning behind the text.
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On May 14 2010 10:03 ramen247 wrote:
The Great Gatsby,
Personally I found Great Gatsby to be amazingly dry and a tedious read.
I would recommend:
-->The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Also wrote The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask, which were both great books as well)--I recommend reading the abridged version, at least at first. The unabridged version can be a little daunting as well as complex.
-->Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
-->Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (An awesome book, must read)
-->The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (More of a short story)
These 4 books are relatively easy and enjoyable reads, being well known pieces of literature yet entertaining at the same time.
If you would like to move to something slightly more complex:
-->Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Actually, almost all of Dostoyevsky's works are worth reading)
-->The Illiad and the Odyssey by Homer--You've probably been assigned to read this in middle/high school, but more than likely you read the abridged version. The unabridged version I believe is worth going back and rereading.
What I would NOT recommend:
-->Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes--This book is a bore. There is no plot, just a series of events of a madman.
-->The Metamorphoses by Ovid (Not to be confused with The Metamorphosis by Kafka)--A collection of myths in which people are transformed into something else. The entire thing is terribly disconnected and difficult to really care about what it's talking about cause it's just BS anyways.
-->Most of the Shakespearean works--Most of the world probably would disagree, but I find that Shakespeares plays are just that...plays. The man was a playwright, not an author. His plays may be good and all, but honestly it doesn't pass as literature. It's like saying Schindler's List is a literary work just cause it had a good story. No. It's a good movie, not a good piece of literature.
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Cant believe I forgot this, "A Song of Ice and Fire". Series of books by George R.R. Martin with a television series of the first book on the way. A seriously addictive series of books, to which many among this community would recommend.
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Just try your best and you will succeed! English is one of the easiest languages, considering you can spell out MOST words.
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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
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There's too many to list...!
I would browse through best sellers and look at categories that I'm interested in.
Some of my favorite authors in no specific order would be:
Asimov, Clarke, Van Vogt, Ballard, Ludlum, Dumas, Aldiss, Tolkien, Crichton, Lovecraft
They are all pretty accessible to any kind of reader, altough I guess Ballard is hit or miss.
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I like 1984 and The Brave New World. You'll never see the world the same again.
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Ernest Hemmingway is famous for his direct, almost reporter like style. His books, particularly old man and the sea, are fairly easy to read while also being considered some of the classics of american literature. Generally, older works are considered more difficult, i.e. dickens, shakespear for the simple reason that they are written with less contemporary language usage.
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On May 14 2010 10:40 sgeng wrote:
-->Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (An awesome book, must read)
Find the short story; skip the novel.
1984 is a great novel; if you liked it, try Animal Farm (as Myles suggested), also by Orwell, dealing with the same subject in a different way. It's very easy to read (probably one of the easiest out there as far as classics go) but none the shallower for that.
On May 14 2010 10:57 TriniMasta[wD] wrote:
Just try your best and you will succeed! English is one of the easiest languages, considering you can spell out MOST words.
LOL? You're not seriously trying to call English one of the easiest languages on the basis of its spelling, right? You're joking.
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The unabridged version of the Count of Monte Cristo is the most rewarding read I have ever had. It's an amazing story and the compexity is easy to follow because all the side stories are so interesting.
If you feel like reading a 2700 page book then go for it.
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Ah, yes! I forgot Ernest Hemingway. He's an incredible writer, and is quite easy to understand and easy to read. You'll quite enjoy him - my favorite of his is For Whom the Bell Tolls.
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EPT
