More Classic Literature I Need to Read Sometime Soon!

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

Wuthering Heights released in theatres back in February. With its release came a wave of people reading the novel for the first time and finding out how insane it is. My thoughts on Wuthering Heights are very clear, I am not going to reread and review the novel today, nor am I reviewing the film two months late. Instead I am going to talk about some classic literature I actually want to read.

I genuinely need to read more classic literature. I’ve read very few classic titles since I graduated from college. That was too many years ago at this point. Since then, I’ve read a small handful of Gothic lit classics, all three parts of The Divine Comedy, and Othello. Insane. As much as I love horror and mystery novels, I need to push myself to read other genres and books out of my comfort zone. So today I’ve listed five pieces of classic literature and they’re all pieces I actually want to read because they deserve it.

5. Starting things off today is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. True crime is fascinating to me. What I mean is I am fascinated by the psychology of a killer's mind; which is something Truman Capote offers to me on a silver plate with this read. In Cold Blood is the first book in the true crime genre and it deserves its laurels. Truman Capote was meticulous when crafting this story, and it’s a shame I’ve never read it.

4. Next up is The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. The Castle of Otranto is considered the first Gothic literature novel, and I’ve never read it! I have read so many of the Gothic lit classics, yet the first, the OG, does not adorn my bookcases. An issue that needs rectified.

3. The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco comes in at number three. I’m sorry! I know I started this post with me saying I mainly read mystery titles and how that needed to change. How I needed to push myself to read more genres and classic lit, but I’m a sucker for a mystery! I'm sorry! The Name of the Rose is calling to me. Add in historical fiction and I am sat.

2. At number two is The Narrows by Ann Petry. I only recently learned about this book from 1953, and I am intrigued. A doomed interracial love affair between a black man who recently graduated from Dartmouth and now works for little pay and a white heiress? An exploration into love, class, and race? Yeah, sign me up. I want to read that right now.

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy comes in at number one. I want to read the train scene. I know exactly what happens, and I want to experience it first-hand. I want to experience this tragic romance!

Thus endeth our list!

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I hope you had a lovely time here this week, and I hope I’ve inspired you to read some classic literature in the near future. I will see you all again next week with a new review. If you can’t wait that long then I highly suggest giving Reading Has Ruined My Life a follow over on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily so come back often to revel in some literary goodness. You can also follow the blog on Twitter and BlueSky (@RHRMLBlog). If you want something not related to books then I highly suggest checking out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. The show stars me and two of my dearest friends. And while I do talk about books there every once and a while, we have over one hundred episodes full of insane topics. We talk Disney, Barbie, Scooby-Doo, meat rain, weird people from history, ghosts, cryptids, bad wrestling, and so much more. There is bound to be something that strikes your fancy. You can currently find the show on Spotify and YouTube. New episodes go live every Wednesday evening.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!