Classic books that won't take you forever to read!!!

16 short classics that won't take you forever to read and are great introductions to the world of Classic Literature!!!

Hi Friends!

After talking about reading big books and the ones on my TBR, I thought it'd be nice to recommend you some shorter classics as well!
It's easy to think that all classics are really long, intimidating, and take forever to read...but that's not the case! There are so many fantastic short classics. They're perfect for beginners to classic lit. or avid classics readers who are looking for a quick read!
I tried to recommend a good variety of genres, authors, and moods, so I hope you're able to find a book which peaks your interest!
Please feel free to add on to my list and recommend your own short classics in the comments! (I'm always looking for new recommendations!)

I hope you're all doing very well!
Sending my very best wishes,
Carolyn Marie :)

Videos Mentioned:

My Social Media: CarolynMarieReads

***Want to write to me or send something?
Carolyn Castagna
P. O. Box 773
Greenlawn NY 11740
United States
***Please don't feel like you need to send me anything, but if you'd like to I would be honored!!!*** :)

***About me -
I'm a freelance illustrator and writer who recently graduated from college at the Fashion Institute of Technology with my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in English/Writing.
My greatest passion in life is combining my love of illustrating, writing, and reading!

Happy Reading :)

#classicbooks #bookrecommendations #classicliterature

[vinireads]

Books mentioned -
1) the secret garden - Frances Burnett
2) the little prince - Antoine de saint exupéry
3) pinocchio - carlo collodi
4) A Christmas carol - Charles Dickens
5) the great gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
6) slaughterhouse five - Kurt Vonneghut
7) mary poppins - P. L. travers
8) flush - Virginia Woolf
9) A room with a view - E.M. forster
10) Jiovanni’s Room - James Baldwin
11) We have always lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
12) Ethan frome - Edith Wharton
13) Passing - Nella Larson
14) The Heart of the Dog - Mikhail Bulgakov
15) the night is darkening round me - Emily Brontë
* white nights - Fyodor Dostoevsky

[adamdavis]

I used to work as security guard in a manufacturing plant to get me through college, and these kinds of books were the only ones small enough for me to smuggle in my cargo pant's side pocket. If they were any bigger, I'd have to press the book up against my shin under my pant-leg, and tuck it into my sock, which was rash-city. Suffice to say, this video brought back fun memories. :)

[notpriscilla]

Italian books I think you’d enjoy🇮🇹:

Heart by E. De Amicis
The late Mattia Pascal by L. Pirandello
The Lüneburg Variation by P. Maurensig
If this is a man by P. Levi
The baron in the trees - The cloven viscount - The nonexistent knight by I. Calvino

Love from Rome❤️

[angierodriguez]

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a great short classic story :) so is The Canterville Ghost and Carmilla.

[jolinelam]

as someone who has migraines, this video is so helpful <33 thank you carolyn you're the best

[Julia-ovzy]

Fantastic video, I haven't read some of these books yet. I'd also recommend "Of Mice and Men" by J. Steinbeck, only around 100 pages, one of my favourite novels.

[Ellen_Seokjin]

Great list.
Now books that took me forever to read:
😩
Ulysses -
The Man without qualities -
The Red and the Black -

But the feeling after finish all of them was amazing. I feel like I can read whatever I want.😋

[hikari-.-]

Loved this video!! Can you make more specific recommendations based on literature era or the country? Like favorite American/….. female authors you’ve read for ?
Also make recommendations based on seasons? Like cozy/ winter reads .. Would love to see your recs!

[megamoreb]

I would add Heart of Darkness. It's short, but incredibly jam packed with so much thought-provoking content. Even though it's only 90-ish pages, it took me several hours to read because it had so much layered into a small amount of pages. I can't believe Joseph Conrad didn't learn English until his twenties, and yet he commands the English language so exquisitely.

[eugeniekruijt]

Been wanting to spread some Dutch literature around so here i go, giving some of my favorite short Dutch book recs:
The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse (just an amazing and very short novel and very impactful writing to understand my country's colonial history)
Sunken Red by Jeroen Brouwers (chills, very graphic description of the treatment of Indo-Dutch families in the 'Jappenkampen' or japanese camps in Indonesia)
Falling is like Flying by Manon Uphoff (very very graphic and def a tw for SA but such a beautiful and unique book and a tear-jerker especially considering it is at least partially auto-biographical)
Happy reading!!!

[creativelytorn]

The Old Man and the Sea can easily be read in one or two sittings. I really enjoyed it.

White Nights was great. Notes from the Underground is another short favorite.

[neekeeeyy]

I've been a silent subscriber for so long but I'm gonna brush off the shyness this time just so I could finally say hi. Greetings from the Philippines, Carolyn! Am always looking forward to your uploads :)

[dummybear]

I love the idea of short, relatively simple classics. The stereotypical classic is dense, complex, and I think that repels many people. The ones you recommend seem like sustainable reads for those with very busy lives and I appreciate that very much.

I do hope people take your recommendations into consideration. 💕

[dummybear]

I totally understand reading The Secret Garden in the spring and summer. I do the same with Tuck Everlasting for the summer.
Not only does it specifically take place throughout August but the descriptions are so abundant and vivid that the settings enrapture as much as the story itself (in my humble opinion).

[PaulinaReadsss]

Why is this and Emma’s the only booktube channels that talk about classics?😭 I wish that people were more used to reading them like if they were a contemporary book (you know…they were once contemporary🙄😂)
But thanks Carolyn for such wonderful recs❤️

[Tania.atlasinajar]

🌙 I so needed this Carolyn! This will help me with my Goodreads goal! Your videos are always so warm, inviting, and EASY to digest! You are definitely one of my go to “how to” book tubers! 🥰🧡

[mattkean]

Love this topic. Classics aren't just these big, long monsters!

[normbabbitt]

I love your reviews! My top classics in literature (I've read and loved many you mentioned in this video) that I've read more than once: Moby Dick, Herman Melville; Notre-Dame de Paris - also titled, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo; Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky; The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham. These are all absolute enduring, unforgetable classic masterpieces!

[Sarahac]

You’ve been killin’ it with the content lately! Great video!! ✨

[jasonluis]

I think Lord of the Flies is one of those great short stories that is easy to read but have a such in depth study of human nature. You can just be entertained by the story or, you can really sink your teeth and delve into its themes