Thread: Good Classic Literature

I haven't seen much said about classic literature, so I wanted to put forth a few of my top recommendations.

- Leo Tolstoy; I recommend his novels, as they are quite good, but even more strongly I recommend the collections of his short stories and his essays particularly. Tolstoy was a fantastic essayist, and he wrote on a broad range of topics including religion, drug use, war, oppression, poverty, etc.

- Anton Chekhov: one of my favorite authors of all time. Chekhov was a doctor by trade, and he once likened medicine to being as his lawful wife, while writing was his mistress. He died before his time, unfortunately, or else I think we'd have many more stories to remember him by. He is most famous for having written several acclaimed plays, but I recommend his short stories, particularly 'The Duel', which is my favorite piece.

- Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince
This book is important to anyone who would hope to be master of his own domain, and I cannot praise his chapter concerning flattery highly enough.

- George MacDonald; I consider his masterpiece to be 'The Lost Princess'. MacDonald was one of the best, and his novels and short stories contain timeless insight and wisdom.

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Gulag Archipelago

- Boris Sidis: The Psychology of Suggestion
This book contains knowledge useful to anyone, but is most suited to those who are interested in basic human psychology, or those with a keen interest in mind-sciences.

Those are just some of my recommendations, so I hope you all enjoy.

- Toadling

I'll second Tolstoy's short stories, as I would Chekhov's, Leskov's, Kuprin's, Gorky's, Pushkin's, Turgenev's, and whoever else I seem to be forgetting right now. I personally thought War and Peace served much better as a doorstop, leaf presser or deadly weapon that it did fine literature...

Solzhenitsyn's A Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich was a much better read than Gulag Archipelago, at least in my opinion. The harshness of the conditions, the political atmosphere of the day, and the mindsets of those brought in on a whim is really hammered home, without the needless several hundred pages of padding.

Second all the others. Good list.

Originally Posted by philistine

I personally thought War and Peace served much better as a doorstop, leaf presser or deadly weapon that it did fine literature...

That made me laugh. Yes, certainly War & Peace is large enough to be used as a weapon. Probably my favorite novel was Resurrection, though.

I think Goethe's 'Faust' should be on that list as well, I quite enjoyed it.

- Toadling

Originally Posted by Toadling

That made me laugh. Yes, certainly War & Peace is large enough to be used as a weapon. Probably my favorite novel was Resurrection, though.

I think Goethe's 'Faust' should be on that list as well, I quite enjoyed it.

- Toadling

Definitely. I've read the play on the topic by Marlowe, too, though it wasn't nearly as good. Then again, there's so many depictions of that old Faustian tale...

I have read the prince. A classic indeed. The psychology of suggestion is a great book. It shows different dimensions of human psychology. I loved this book.

I tried reading War and Peace last year (for the second time, maybe the third). I just couldn't finish. I gave up, and I haven't given up on a book in a long time (dare I say the last time I tried reading it?). I don't think I'll be trying again!

I do have an ongoing list of books I'd like to read, so maybe I will add some of these suggestions to it.

"She" by Henry Rider Haggard is a great book, good stuff about life and death. More thought-prevoking than any book you will ever pick up.