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[RicMisc]

Hello everyone,

I am 17 years old and a true reader. The thing is; I would really like to switch from reading fantasy to reading literature. Not that I don't enjoy reading fantasy anymore, it's just that I've sort of read most really good fantasybooks out there already and a change of genre would be nice.

I have already read some literature but really sporadically and most of it was dutch (since I'm dutch). The books I HAVE read in English are:
- Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)
- Persuasion (Jane Austen)
- Animal Farm (George Orwell)

I am currently turning over the last couple of pages of 'The Great Gatsby' by Fitzgerald and I am looking for some help in finding new titles to read. So if you would like to leave your recommendations for me here that would be much appreciated :)!

[Charles Darnay]

There are quite a few of these threads floating around.

Is there any way to get a sub-forum on "literary recommendations for 'new readers'"?

[Alexander III]

Wikipedia, you ought to learn how to use it.

[Veho]

Hello, welcome to the forum.

There are other threads like this one but don't worry we're not all rude and we do help :D

I recommend Brideshead Revisited, A Room with a View, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Jane Eyre, The Catcher in the Rye, Far From the Madding Crowd just to name a few classics that I've enjoyed.

I hope you find something you enjoy.

[RicMisc]

Hi, thanks for your reply Veho I'll be sure to check those out :)! A subforum as suggested by charles darnay would be splendid because it would be easier for newbies such as me to find the things we scearch for. Furthermore, I use wikipedia frequently so I believe I know how to use it. I am of course sorry if it's wrong to ask for people's opinions on a forum meant for such things. I just like the interaction with other people about the books, wikipedia is not the place be then.

I do actually apologize because I only thought of using the scearch tool after posting my thread, I'll be sure to not let such a thing happen again. I look forward to spending more time on this forum and hopefully I will come to love literature as much as some of you do!

[Charles Darnay]

You don't have to apologize: this is a good place to help find what you are looking for. Take some time to look for the other threads that have been posted on this subject. And the more specific you could be about what you like, the better we can point you in the right direction.

[PeterL]

Before you start reading things just because they are on a list, you should understand that Fantasy in literature, and there is nothing inherently wrong with reading it, if that's what you want to read. All works of fiction re fantasy; they are composed of things that have not actually happened in the observable world.

The classics and such are simply pieces of literature that have gotten a stamp of pproval from some critics, professors, or whatever; and many of those classics are not especially good. If you are looking for depth and subtlity, then you will find as mush in Science Fiction as in the classics.

One way of finding new things to read ws to go into a used book store and just reach out and grab something. It was usually as good as somehting tht I would have selected.

[KCurtis]

I am currently turning over the last couple of pages of 'The Great Gatsby' by Fitzgerald and I am looking for some help in finding new titles to read. So if you would like to leave your recommendations for me here that would be much appreciated :)!

I'm impressed with your reading efforts so far. I hope you liked The Great Gatsby, it is my favorite book. I am currently reading John Steinbeck- if you like American authors, he is also a great one.

[RicMisc]

Before you start reading things just because they are on a list, you should understand that Fantasy in literature, and there is nothing inherently wrong with reading it, if that's what you want to read.

I know there's nothing wrong with reading fantasy, it's just that I wanted something else to read. Something maybe a little more challenging. After having read almost nothing else but fantasy over the last three years I have come to the conclusion that I need to try other things as well.

As to what interests me; as might be clear from the books I have read so far I prefer stories that are over a century old, especially ones that feature aristocracy or the upper class. The parts of the world I am most interested in are Britain, Italy and the Far East. Also ancient Greece and Rome are among my favorite time periods, but I have already read many of the classical authors in school during Latin and Greek.

About The Great Gatsby KCurtis: I really liked the book and the message about not clinging to past things is an important one :).

[kiki1982]

We are indeed not all that rude :).

I agree with Brideshead.

If you like Austen then read some more by her. Pride and Prejudice is great as well as Northanger Abbey. They are both simpler and more sparkly than Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion. Mansfield Park is a bit more symbolical and long-winded, but it's not 'worse'. For a quick, entertaining read, definitely choose one of the first two.

Wuthering Heights is good. Profoundly strange, though.

If you like early nineteenth century then try some Sir Walter Scott.

Byron should also fit in there somewhere, but he is quite difficult. Although you shouldn't have a problem as you read Austen. Byron is a must for his model hero which would go on to lead its very own life in English lit.

Jane Eyre is of course very good.

Welkom op ons forum, trouwens. (Een Vlaming hier ;)).

And, no, wikipedia is certainly not the greatest place for discussing things ;).

[RicMisc]

Thank you all for your recommendations and suggestions, I have started to compile a list of books to read in the next couple of months and I'm really looking forward to reading all the great works. After reading The Great Gatsby my literature teacher advised me to read To Kill A Mockingbird, so I have started reading that today and am so far enjoying it thoroughly. I am of course still open to any further suggestions as to what should be on my to-readlist.