6 'Easy to Read' Classics of English and American Literature your Teacher Recommends

6 books your teacher recommends plus a bonus book.
If you like reading the classics but want something that is not too difficult, either because you are a non-native speaker or you are just starting on the classics, I've got six great books for you today that you can read from level intermediate upwards + a bonus book that can be enjoyed even by someone with a basic level of English.
I indicate the suggested English level for reading each book. Some are advanced but others you can tackle at intermediate level.

Purchase these books on Amazon (affiliate links)

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Also by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Grey

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Also by Frederick Douglass
The Complete Autobiographies of Frederick Douglass

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Bonus book
Tales of American Life. Edited by Paul Auster.

0:00 What is an easy classic?
03:15 The Catcher in the Rye
07:32 The Importance of Being Earnest
10:54 Animal Farm
13:57 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
17:33 Pride and Prejudice
20:05 Cold Comfort Farm
22:38 Tales of American Life

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[LetThemTalkTV]

ERRATUM: OSCAR WILDE was IRISH (not English) sorry for my mistake. And George Orwell was born in India...

[futbolgamer]

1 The Catcher In The Rye
2 The Importance Of Being Earnest
3 Animal Farm
4 The Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
5 Pride And Prejudice
6 Cold Comfort Farm

[dorotamakarzec]

Please, I need more book recommendations from you. I say let that be a whole series. All agree? Great. Done. Cheers.

[peterschultz]

Foreigners I have known who studied English have generally admired the novels and stories of the American writer Ernest Hemingway. He tended to use a very simple and straightforward kind of English while conveying deep emotion and irony. Example: "Of Mice and Men."

[ldcmain]

In my opinion, "Of Mice and Men" would be a good addition to your list🤔.

[alinapala]

I consider myself as having an intermediate level of English (I'm a native Spanish speaker from Argentina), and I remember enjoing very, very much reading more than a decade ago "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" (the author is Ken Kesey), of course in English. I highly recomend it!

[CornbreadOracle]

Another recommendation from a native English speaker (American) and voracious reader: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It takes place in the 1930s but it was published in 1960, so the language is modern and straightforward. There may be some few obscure vocabulary words because the story takes place in the rural south, but these will be slight and even humorous. Deeply touching novel. Also I second the recommendation for Pride & Prejudice. It’s surprisingly easy to read. Jane Austen wrote the novel in her early days and it was rejected; she spent something like a decade refining it before she presented the work for publication again and it shows. She doesn’t waste a single word in that novel. Simply excellent writing.

[infocan-immsolutions]

I have read The picture of Dorian Gray, it was amazing.

[_Snafu_]

I think Anthem by Ayn Rand is a pretty good read. Only a little over 100 pages and it illustrates the same problem with collectivism as animal farm does. Then ending also to me is very uplifting and a call to action to the reader.

[nellytereshchenko]

Thank you very much for your great lessons, they are really awesome, l enjoy all of them. I have read half of the books you have given. But l want to write about the book, which is neither light nor easy, it is vitally important now, when my country is bravelly fighting against russia. The book is 1984 by George Orwell, this book should open the eyes of the people to the country which unfortunatelly has already appeared on our planet, but must be stopped, until it is too late.

[brassen]

I was 22 when I first read Catcher in the Rye. I'd been taking English lessons for about a year or so and had just passed a B2-level exam but all that mattered to me was to become "fluent in English", so I decided to start reading "proper books" ... Anyway, I was a bit confused with the story because even though I'd heard about Charles Dickens, the only David Copperfield I knew was a magician who'd appear on Sunday TV shows here in Brazil ... it must have been the first time I used "WTF" in a genuine way.
Gideon, I really appreciate your videos, there's always something unique to learn in them. Thank you

[maridela]

I love reading in English
Since I started to learn English reading has became a passion for me, more than in Spanish which is my mother tongue.
I've read Pride and Prejudice. It's a wonderful book .

[DitaVeneration]

Love this video! Thank you!
Something that has helped me learn is listening to the audiobook whilst reading the paper book.

[nadiachaibi]

The problem i encountered with "animal farm" is the vocabulary revolving around farm life. I had to use the dictionary very often. Reading "pride and prejudice" was much easier. Thank you for the recommendations.

[pinellafranich]

I love The catcher in the rye, i read it several times, i think its a masterpiece .

[kerendn]

I've read most of these books. The Picture of Dorian Gray was fantastic in my opinion. Might I recommend for the beginner a book named The Phantom Tollbooth. I first read it in third grade, and although it's written for children, there's so much in it that's relevant to adults. It's a book I'll never forget. I would also recommend the Anne of Green Gables series for intermediate readers.

[hannekevoskuilen]

I would love to suggest TO kill a mockingbird. Apart from the accents that are written in the dialogue, it's a really great and good read! English is not my native language and I never really cared about literature until I read that book. It's all written from the eyes of a child so apart from that being an interesting viewpoint, it also limits the difficult sentences. That book changed my life, I've read it almost a year ago and sometimes, when I'm on the train or something, I find my mind slowly wandering back to that book.

[xDreamerNadi]

When I read The cather in the rye the first time, I was only about 12 and I thought it was a boring book about a moping teenager doing nothing. But I gave it another try when i was around 16 and absolutely loved it. In fact I think it is time for a re-read.

[saifonlawrence]

Steinbeck wrote many beautiful easy reads books.

[الباحثالعربي-حخ]

First of all, my Arabic is the original
And English is my second language. I read a copy of the Sherlock Holmes story by Conan Doyle
And I found it an easy book, then I read the story of Muhammad Ali, written by ANDREA STRTO, and I found it an easy and interesting book.