When I hear the word "classic", I often imagine a book the size of a small car that is dry as old bones in a desert. These books, however, are the exact opposite of that stereotype. These books are great for everyone, from those who want to try reading a classic novel for the first time to classical book enthusiasts. I have read and enjoyed all of these and have attempted to order them from most readable to least. These works are all worth reading, but some are more accessible than others.
- Logan
The Adventures of Robin Hood
by Roger Lancelyn Green
Recounts the life and adventures of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. Living as outlaws in Sherwood Forest, they fight against the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham and the evil usurper Prince John. As the stakes, and Robin's romance with the Maid Marian, grow ever more serious he, his Merry Men, and the people of Nottingham will be forced to reckon with the trouble Robin has wrought.
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Tunnel in the Sky
by Robert A Heinlein
This is one of my personal favorite novels and probably my favorite of all of Heinlein's. It follows Rod Walker, a student in an Advanced Survival Class in the distant future. He and his class are sent to take a test on another world, and he is excited to complete the test and begin college. However, when no one comes to pick him and his fellow students up, they are forced to figure out how to survive a hostile planet without the comforts of their distant home.
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Citizen of the Galaxy
by Robert A Heinlein
The story takes place far in the future when the human race has spread out to colonize other planets. In a slave market in the capital of Jubbul, an auctioneer announces, "Lot ninety-seven. A boy." Thorby--the boy--soon discovers that Baslim, his owner, is not the ordinary beggar he appears to be. Master of languages and a superb teacher, Baslim leads a mysterious life. The undercover existence brings Thorby to an adventure on the starship Sisu, and finally to the truth about Baslim's identity, and his own.
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Mark Twain's story of a quick-witted Missouri schoolboy contains tales of everything from fooling friends into painting a fence, to getting lost in dangerous caves, to running away from home to live on an island. Written in 1876, Tom Sawyer became the model for American Boyhood in the 19th century, and for many, he remains as such to this day.
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The Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain
When chance brings Edward Tudor and Tom Canty together, they decide for fun to switch clothes and places. Exchanging their roles as heir to the throne of England and as a pauper's son, they learn how the other half really lives.
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The Jungle Books
by Rudyard Kipling
In the jungles of India Mowgli, a human boy, grows up under the protection and tutelage of a pack of wolves, Shere Khan the tiger, Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, and others, but must choose one day between humans and his animal family.
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The Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkein
This novel thoroughly deserves its eponym as one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time. It follows Bilbo Baggins, a homebody hobbit who is quite fond of second breakfast, as he is reluctantly dragged along by the great wizard Gandalf and the twelve dwarves Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin on the adventure of a lifetime. They get trapped in Goblin caves, face off against Wargs and Elves, and finally face the dread dragon Smaug in a valiant attempt to reclaim the dwarves' homeland: The Lonely Mountain.
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The Once and Future King
by T. H. White
The magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlyn, Owl, and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly; of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece by which all others are judged.
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Captains Courageous
by Rudyard Kipling
The son of a millionaire is swept overboard and rescued by a small fishing boat where he must work to earn his keep and learns about a way of life where money cannot buy everything and a man's worth lies in who he is, not what he owns.
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Mythology
by Edith Hamilton
Monsters, mortals, gods, and warriors: For over sixty years readers have chosen this book above all others to discover the thrilling, enchanting, and fascinating world of Western mythology. From Odysseus's adventure-filled journey to the Norse god Odin's effort to postpone the final day of doom, Edith Hamilton's classic collection not only retells these stories with brilliant clarity but shows us how the ancients saw their own place in the world and how their themes echo in our consciousness today. An essential part of every home library, Mythology is the definitive volume for anyone who wants to know the key dramas, the primary characters, the triumphs, failures, fears, and hopes first narrated thousands of years ago and still spellbinding to this day.
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Hamlet
by William Shakespeare
With his father murdered and the murderer crowned king, Prince Hamlet struggles to deliver justice on his own terms even as the rest of the world writes him off as a madman.
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About the Author
Logan is a Circulation Clerk and started working at EPL in May of 2021. He is studying History at SIUE, and he enjoys reading Fantasy and Sci-Fi in particular, but will give pretty much anything a try.