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

[Logos]

That's a great reading list Sarah's_Chanson.

May I suggest Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure 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 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 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. 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? 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!!!!

[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...