lou's library

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post all about classics for beginners and it got me thinking about all the classics I have yet to read. And there are loads of them, believe me. But some classics I have very little interest in and highly doubt I will ever get around to. Others I genuinely want to read, just not yet, because I feel like I might enjoy them more at a later period in my life (or because I am too intimidated by them, ahem). There are however also a few classics I want to read soon, and as I tend to keep avoiding them until I officially make it my goal to read them, here is my list of classics I want to read sooner rather than later!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I should know what Rebecca is about (a girl named Rebecca, I suppose?) because I learned about Daphne du Maurier in a university lecture. Please forgive me, it’s been approximately eight years and circa 639 lectures since then. But I do remember feeling intrigued by both author and book, so Rebecca has been on my classics to read list ever since. It got bumped up the list quite significantly this March when a dear friend told me it is one of her all time favourite books. That’s high praise and ever since then, I’ve been itching to read it. That’s a rare occurrence for me when it comes to classics, so I feel like I should make the most of it and read it now. The problem is that I don’t own a copy of it, but that’s never stopped me from reading a book before. Watch me run to the bookstore and get one of the beautiful Rebecca editions out there.

I Served The King Of England by Bohumil Hrabal

Last summer, I stood in a beautiful English bookshop in Prague called Shakespeare and Sons (would highly recommend!!) and spent about an hour in there, perusing the shelves. I ended up buying three books, and I Served The King Of England was one of them. I had never heard of the book or Bohumil Hrabal before, but it was on the Czech classics shelf and I thought it would be a cool way to learn more about the country by reading one of its most famous books. I do generally try to buy a book by a local author whenever I am abroad, but I won’t lie: I chose I Served The King Of England mainly because of its cover and title. The cover I simply find beautiful and the title prompts so many questions for me. Who served the King of England? And why? Was it a master slave situation or a more equal one? I WANNA KNOW. Still, this book has been sitting on my shelf ever since I bought it, but that is about to change. I swear I will read this book this summer, and hope it will remind me of one of my favourite weekends ever, spent with friends in Prague.

Anna Karenina by Lew Tolstoi

Well, what can I say? Anna Karenina is one of those classic classics I feel a reader simply must read once in their lives. Who made that rule? Couldn’t tell ya, but I sure don’t wanna break it. I suffered (I stand by that word) through War and Peace by Mr. Tolstoi this spring, which very nearly made me want to never pick up a book by him again. But then I reconsidered, because Anna Karenina seems much more up my street than War and Peace. Give me the love stories over boring descriptions of battles any day (just ignore me if War and Peace happens to be one of your favourite classics!). I considered taking a long break between the two, but then maybe I will avoid Anna Karenina forever? Perhaps it is best to replace the traumatic memory with a favourable one? And if it turns out Anna Karenina also isn’t for me, then Mr. Tolstoi and I shall simply have to part ways for good. I’m sure that would be my loss, not his. Only time will tell.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

I tried reading Oliver Twist aged 16 while on summer holiday in Italy. Looking back, everything about that screams bad idea. Needless to say, I only made it about 30 pages in before I picked up something else. But ever since then, Oliver Twist has been staring at me accusingly from my book shelf. And I’ve read multiple classics by Charles Dickens since then, some of which I have enjoyed a lot (others, not so much). But let’s just say Oliver Twist has now been slightly tainted for me, because every time I look at that book I remember the miserable half an hour in Italy, trying to make it through the endless descriptions and (at least to me, back then) unusual writing. Now that Charles and I are much better acquainted, I do feel up to the task though. I just have to make myself start this classic, because I have a feeling I might actually like it. I know only the basic plot, but it sounds promising. And even if I hate it, at least I will know that I was right to stop reading it all those years ago.

There you have it, the classics I finally want to get around to reading! If you’ve read any of them, let me know your thoughts on them and also which classics you’re desperate to finally give a try! If you’re not sure where to begin, I have a blog post about the best classics for beginners, and also one with classics I think everyone should read. Enjoy ❤