What should I read next?

[Sarah's_Chanson]

I don't claim to be a genius in literature, although I do love to read. If I give you my favourite five books of all time, then perhaps you could suggest the next thing I should read.

My favourites are:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. Persuasion by Jane Austen
4. The book was called Constance but I don't remember the author.
5. I capture the castle by Dodie Smith.

I'm 14 and I usually like old books, but I'm willing to give pretty much everything apart from sci-fi and religious books a try.

[Miss Darcy]

Welcome to the Forum Sarah's Chanson! :)

If you like Jane Eyre (so do I!) I'd recommend Shirley, also by Charlotte; it's my second-favourite Bronte novel (after Jane)...though some people think her Villette is better, Shirley's always been a personal favourite...love the characters...

Have you read Pride and Prejudice? Because, to me, that's Austen's best novel, though Northanger Abbey and Sense & Sensibility are good too. (I haven't read Persuasion yet, but I've seen 2 movie adaptations...)

I'd also recommend Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (both long books but very worthwhile and plenty of adventure), and The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (that's the original Phantom and no Hollywood can ever duplicate the passion, the intensity, and the skill that Leroux has). War and Peace is great, too, when you get into it...

Darcy

[Nightshade]

Why dont you try the last Bronte sister, Anne?
Agnes Grey was alright and its avialbe free on the net.
L. M montgomry's books I loved when i was in my I wont read anything post 1950 stage.

LM Alcott there all the Little women books but also some of the others are good too
I forgot to say hello and welcome :wave:

[Logos]

That's a great reading list Sarah's_Chanson.

May I suggest Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140435387/103-7584325-2019043?v=glance) it's one I've read many times.

Oh and welcome to the Literature Network :)

[Aramis]

If you enjoyed one of Jane Austen's books, you might enjoy others. I found Pride and Prejudice (http://www.online-literature.com/austen/prideprejudice/) to be very interesting once I got into it, as Miss Darcy apparently did.

Overall, you seem to enjoy romances by female authors. Do you enjoy romance-related mysteries? If so, you may want to try some of Agatha Christie's (http://www.online-literature.com/agatha_christie/) works. They don't actually have much of a selection on this site, but there has been a decent-sized Christie section at every library I've been to, so you shouldn't have much trouble there if you are in the USA. They aren't very old, though.

One other classic romance that just came to mind wasIvanhoe (http://www.online-literature.com/walter_scott/ivanhoe/). That was a really great novel.

[Scheherazade]

Looking at your favorites list, all the suggestions above are the kind of books you might like. Give Austen a try (may I add here that the Book Club might be reading one of her books in September? :D Come and join us!).

As Logos has suggested, Hardy is a good choice too... Jude, Tess and Far From the Madding Crown are all very good.

If you would like something a little more light hearted, you might like to try Jean Webster's and Betty Smith's books as well.

[NNoah3]

Welcome Sarah's


I'd also recommend Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (both long books but very worthwhile and plenty of adventure)

I stand up for Miss Darcy choices.

I also recommend "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins, kind of mixing romance and mystery.

Enjoy all of them!!!! :wave:

[blp]

Vanity Fair by William Thackeray - romance and social satire. And it's genius.

[Sarah's_Chanson]

I was really hoping you'd all suggest books I already own!!

I'm actually sort of reading Vanity Fair at the moment, but finding it a little dull and predictable thanks to stupidly watching the movie version earlier this year!

I've actually read tess of d'Urbervilles and it should be on my top 5 list! I loved that book!

I'll have a look for the rest of them when I can. I especially want to read Phantom of the Opera as I absolutely love the new film (and sing along to every word), so I'd like to see how the book compares.

I haven't read Pride and Prejudice! I've read every other Jane Austen book, but never that one. I have seen the Colin Firth movie adaption and will probably go and see the new Keira Knightly version despite it looking a bit boring!

[Sarah's_Chanson]

And also, although I have mentioned a lot of female writers and romantic novels I am open to other types as well. I like books that really make you think, and I love trying to form my own opinions about complex characters, like Heathcliff and The man Jane falls in love with in Jane Eyre whose name has vanished from my memory!

[mono]

Hello, Sarah's Chanson, again welcome to the forums.
Along with works by Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, I cannot agree more with all of the above suggestions, but, if you like the classical romance and narrative caprices, as I do also, you may enjoy Charles Dickens (I recommend Great Expectations or David Copperfield), D.H. Lawrence (Sons And Lovers, The Rainbow, or Women In Love); as others suggested, I think you would greatly enjoy Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, but also, perhaps, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (though such a long read!).
Good luck! ;)

[byquist]

My daughter, 13, so you are in the same general arena, read and really enjoyed, "Modoc - The True Story of the Greatest Elephant that Ever Lived," by Ralph Helfer. I broused through it, and it really looks superior. On back cover a newspaper quote says, "Heartwarming, captivating ... a beautifully written true story that will make you think twice about the incredible and very real feelings of elephants.

[Schokokeks]

How about "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell? THE classic romance for me, that's what I read when I was 13 or 14 (not so long ago, that is! ;))

Another one, a rather tragically painted romance, might be "A Harlot High and Low" by Honoré de Balzac. It takes you into the streets of Paris in the time of romanticism. You'll meet heart-warming characters and for their counterpart "one of the greatest villians in world literature" (said on the back cover of my copy) ;)

[EAP]

Hey Sarah,

To offer you a more contemporary American outlook,


If you liked 'I Capture the castle' you might enjoy 'A Tree Grows In Brooklyn' by Betty Smith. Very uplifting story of a girl growing up in a working class family in brooklyn (pre 1950) and her struggle against the elements.

Also, try getting your hands on anything by Maeve Binchy, a progessive romance/fiction Irish author. Her best work is 'A Circle of Friends'.

Other great books in the same vein are,

'My Antonia' - Willa Cather (19th century), 'She's Come Undone' - Wally Lamb, almost anything by Paul Zindel (My Darling, My Hamburger), Cynthia Voight (Homecoming) and Robert Cromier (Chocolate War).

In romance, a particular favorite of mine is Nicholas Spark's 'A Walk To Remember.' It's a very short book though very sweet and very poignant.

[EAP]

Phantom of Opera is just fantastic. And it contains one of the best descriptions of a women's body I have ever read! le'sigh...

[Aurora Ariel]

If you like Jane Austen I would suggest you read Pride and Prejudice or Mansfield Park or even Emma.Out of all of her books I enjoy the first two best and found the characters to be really interesting.MP I only read earlier this year,but found it to be utterly absorbing and thought-provoking.Also I would suggest the novels of the great early 20th century writer Virginia Wolf, whoose novel "The Waves" I am actually reading myself right now, along with a few other works by other writers.Also try Dumas for great adventure stories with romantic edges.If you choose to go gothic consider authors such as Mary Shelley(The Modern Prometheus or "Frankenstein") and Anne Radcliff, who wrote "The Mysteries of Udolpho" which is considered to be one of the prime examples of early gothic literature.Charles Dickens is also a great author for young readers and I've enjoyed reading many of his works myself! :) I would recommend "A Tale of Two Cities" and especially "Great Expectations" which I read a few years ago, when I was younger, and it is one of my all-time favourites and a Dickens story standout for me.

[Aurora Ariel]

....I just read a few more of the above posts and I would also agree with a few here.I love "I Capture the Castle" and also the book "Snow Falling on Cedars" and last year I also read "Madame Bovary" for the first time.This is such a unique book which should be read be many book-worms.After reading Flaubert's most famous novel I came to admire him as a writer and I would include him also on my list of favourites(I actually forgot to list him earlier-I think with a few others also).Another great book I read at the start of this year was called "The Shadow of the Wind" by international author Carlos Ruiz Zafron and I would give it five massive stars!It was such an exceptional book in its theme and intensity as it created a vivid atmosphere and predicament for the protagonist Daniel Sempere, who is taken to the "Cemetery of Forgotten Books" by his father as a child, and selects a book to "adopt".That is the start of an almost obsessive connection with the author who wrote the chosen book and what results is a strange state of searching for possiblities and answers-the truth behind the elusive being and his origin and mysterious fate-while dealing with his own evolving situation.This is a book which has memorable characters and a shocking turn in plot-I was surprised and almost horrified by some of the twists-which has drawn inspiration from the very best of gothic literature and Romantic intrigue.The whole story is wrapped in this one author,his young admirer and the events which will collide into something more.While been very thrilling and exciting-it's a love song as well.It is true that it is quite an escapist novel in many ways, but a very good one while at it.There's a sense of universality in the story so it can be read by a book lover of any age!Bye:)

[Pensive]

I don't claim to be a genius in literature, although I do love to read. If I give you my favourite five books of all time, then perhaps you could suggest the next thing I should read.

My favourites are:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. Persuasion by Jane Austen
4. The book was called Constance but I don't remember the author.
5. I capture the castle by Dodie Smith.

I'm 14 and I usually like old books, but I'm willing to give pretty much everything apart from sci-fi and religious books a try.

I love Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. If you like Jane Eyre then in my experience you should like 'Rebecca' by Daphne Du Maurier. It is a great novel. You should read it. :)

[Mark F.]

Forget what you said about Sci-Fi and read 1984, Brave New World, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Dune.

[Lady19thC]

I would recommend:

Northanger Abbey-Jane Austen
Cranford-Elizabeth Gaskell
Mill on the Floss-George Eliot
Tess of the D'Urbervilles-Thomas Hardy
Far from the Madding Crowd-Thomas Hardy
Great Expectations-Charles Dickens
The Old Curiosity Shop-Charles Dickens
Lark Rise to Candleford-Flora Thompson

Enjoy!!!

[rodanho]

If you like Persuasion, then you may read Austen's other novels, such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility,Emma,etc. But i think two or three of her novels may be enough, since her style in her novels is quite unvaried. And then, as Wuthering Heights is a classic Gothic novel, another paragon of the genre, Frankenstein, may also be your choice. As to my own taste, I strongly recommend Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, two of my favourite authors. Oliver Twist,or Tess, is really something that you must read!

[Nightshade]

I was thinking recently if you dont live in a country where its still copyrighted then The Blue Castle by L.M montgomry is a romanticish old book mind you its much more modern than everything I recognise on the list barring I capture the castle.

Oh and The Shuttle by Frances Hodgeson Burnett (spelling??) is I book I read about once a year as well a bit melodramatic in places as she had a tendancy to be but one of my all time fav. books :D

[avid_reader]

Thomas Hardy is my personal fav.
'The Return of the Native', 'Tess of dUrbervilles', 'Far from the madding crowd'.. well any Hardy is a great read.
Other books'd be
A tale of two cities(charles dickens)
Wuthering Heights(emily bronte)
Pride and Prejudice(jane austen)
The king's General(daphne duMaurier)
Adam Bede , mill on the floss(george eliot)

[Pensive]

George Eliot's 'Mill on the Floss' is great. You should read it. You will probably like it.

[gumption]

how about you try the time machine by hg wells or harry potter

[Kaltrina]

I've read Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), all were lovely, and now I'm planning to start reading Tess of the D'Ubervilles (Thomas Hardy).

[adilyoussef]

... and now I'm planning to start reading Tess of the D'Ubervilles (Thomas Hardy).
A good one. I have it but don't know when going to read it. I have other novels to read. Now I'm rereading A Portait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Also planning to read Waves by Woolf, and others... Don't really know which to start first.

[Kaltrina]

Yes Joyce's Portait of the Artist is on my list to and I've read some parts of it in a book and I really liked it so I can't wait to read it.
I have a large list also. hehehehe

[Sarah's_Chanson]

Thanks to this post I have a large list also!

I've read every jane Austen book except Pride and prejudice, but I've seen the Colin Firth movie and plan to see the Keira Knightly version.

I also don't mind books published between when books started being published to last month as long as they have a good storyline, interesting characters and are a good read.

I also am not reserved to just romantic stories, despite my list consisting of them!

[subterranean]

I saw the movie version of David Copperfield and I like the story alot. So I'm planning to read this book. Other movies that I have seen and interested in reading the novels too are: Tom Jones, Scarlett Letter, and Last of The Mohicans.

[hellodolly]

Bhagavad Gita

The Upanishads

The Yoga Sutras (Patanjali)

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein)

Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut)

Slaughterhouse Five (Vonnegut)

Universe in a Nutshell (Hawking)

Anything written by Carlos Castaneda

In Search of Zarathustra

The Art of Living (Epictetus)

The Art of War (Sun Tzu)

I Ching (Book of changes)

anything by Lao Tzo

anything by the dali llama

Rig Veda

Any translation of Jesus' true Aramaic sayings

Ayurveda - usually the Ram Dass translations

[ennison]

If you're about thirteen try Sachar's "Holes" or Magorian's "Goodnight Mr Tom". If you're 18 - 12 try the Redwall series by Jaques. If you're a young traditionalist try something by Arthur Ransome or G Henty or W E Johns or oddly amazing Enid Blyton. Or Ingalls Wilder- great for the ten to thirteen ages.

[Senior2315]

You might try Wilkie Collins 'The Woman in White' & 'The Moonstone' both of which are on my all time favorite list.
Henry James is another love of mine 'Washington Square' and 'Portrait of a Lady'
On a completely different tract I recently read a beautiful little book (very short) 'The Housekeeper & The Professor' by Yoko Ogawa (translation for Japanese) A delicious little read.
Enjoy & don't forget to post your views on these or any other books you read.

[rufustfirefly]

Thomas Hardy is my personal fav.
'The Return of the Native', 'Tess of dUrbervilles', 'Far from the madding crowd'.. well any Hardy is a great read.
Other books'd be
A tale of two cities(charles dickens)
Wuthering Heights(emily bronte)
Pride and Prejudice(jane austen)
The king's General(daphne duMaurier)
Adam Bede , mill on the floss(george eliot)

As far as Hardy goes, I think "the Mayor of Casterbridge " is overlooked. I love that novel.

[Seasider]

I love Hardy but there is often an undercurrent of grief, pain and betrayal. But Under the Greenwood Tree is a gentle love story where obstacles are overcome and they do live Happy Ever After.
Well done Sarah's Chanson. A love of books will bring you a lifetime of enjoyment.