# Easy reads for a thirty-something who wants to get started on the classics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922 "2012-02-06T02:24:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/61 "2012-02-07T02:58:44Z")
Maybe so, but it’s also the easiest to fake that you’ve read. Any time someone mentions Conrad, just go, “The horror, the horror!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/62 "2012-02-07T03:01:07Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Maybe so, but it’s also the easiest to fake that you’ve read. Any time someone mentions Conrad, just go, “The horror, the horror!” I almost quoted the other line I use, but then I realized it could be considered kinda spoilery! ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/63 "2012-02-07T03:03:20Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Also, for those of you recommending project Gutenberg, not all, but most of the public domain stuff is free on Amazon. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I had to get from PG but it would have only been 99¢ on Amazon. BTW, can I just plug it into the USB port and move the .mobi file over like it’s a jump drive or do I need to get Calibre? Yup, you can drag and drop the .mobi file you download from Project Gutenberg into the documents folder on your Kindle. You can also email it to your Kindle if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/64 "2012-02-07T03:08:47Z")
> [@Implicit](#): > > Yup, you can drag and drop the .mobi file you download from Project Gutenberg into the documents folder on your Kindle. You can also email it to your Kindle if you like. I forget that I can email things to it, I’ll try that. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/65 "2012-02-07T03:17:36Z")
Emailing worked like a charm. Also WRT the Table of Contents…seems some books do have them. I think the Kindle, in general, still has some quirks to iron out and reading older books that are being scanned in are just multiplying those issues, though Google Reader on my Android phone had a table of contents and page numbers for books that didn’t on Kindle. Sometimes I’ll download the book to both devices just so I can use the TOC on my phone to see how long the chapters are. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/66 "2012-02-07T04:12:50Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > _Animal Farm_, Orwell. A horrible downer but a quick read and fun to analyse. _1984_ is much longer and an even bigger bummer. Given the choice between _1984_ and _Animal Farm_, I’d definitely take _1984_. It’s not really that long (my copy is about 250 pages), and it’s still very relevant to today’s world. _Animal Farm_ is a simple allegory for the Soviet Union up through Stalin’s time. I’d also read _Robinson Crusoe_. Taking place on a deserted island, there obviously aren’t a whole lot of characters or settings to keep track of. Finally, I’m not sure if \*Mutiny on the Bounty \*counts as a novel or even if it’s considered a classic, but I thought it was a very entertaining read. There are also two sequels. \*Men Against the Sea \*details Captain Bligh’s command of the launch they were forced to ride after the mutiny. The final one, _Pitcairn’s Island,_ is about what happens to the mutineers when they finally settle on a place to live. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/67 "2012-02-07T04:29:40Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > … > Anyway, I also recommend Charles Dickens. Start with Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, then move on to Great Expectations. I think I’d start with A Tale of Two Cities–somewhat faster, easier read as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Raskolnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac8455/32.png) [@Raskolnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raskolnikov)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/68 "2012-02-07T04:34:03Z")
if the OP has struggled with ADD I’m wondering if the short story would be a good idea. It’s a genre that’s been quite successful in America and you don’t have to invest a lot of time to get to the end. you could sit down and read 3 or 4 short stories in the time it takes to read several chapters in a novel. the short story may have had it’s heyday back when they were more often published in magazines but in some ways it’s more applicable to today’s busy, modern life. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/69 "2012-02-07T04:47:55Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![charmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/53a042/32.png) [@charmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/charmstr)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/70 "2012-02-07T10:06:48Z")
I thought I posted this yesterday, but apparently not. You seem to have decided on some good books and good luck to you with them. I hope you enjoy them. I too have a couple of recommendations for you though. First a couple excellent websites: [www.goodreads.com](http://www.goodreads.com) is an excellent site where people review books and chat about them. It has online tools where you can let everyone on the site know what you’re reading and what you plan on reading if you’re into that. (It may have some sort of twitter/facebook doohickey for that too). [www.mobilereads.com](http://www.mobilereads.com) focuses entirely on electronic books and it has tons of books available for free download. And finally a couple of authors. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Both of these guys were amazingly good writers. Hammett’s books became such Hollywood films as The Thin Man, The Maltese Falcon and Miller’s Crossing (a concatenation of his books The Glass Key and Red Harvest). The books are better. This is even more true of Chandler, whose main character Philip Marlowe has been played by Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell (probably the best Marlowe), Robert Montgomery, James Garner, Elliot Gould and Robert Mitchum. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/71 "2012-02-07T13:56:03Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > [www.goodreads.com](http://www.goodreads.com) is an excellent site where people review books and chat about them. It has online tools where you can let everyone on the site know what you’re reading and what you plan on reading if you’re into that. (It may have some sort of twitter/facebook doohickey for that too). You would have a lot of Doper friends over there too: [http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/822](http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/822) ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/72 "2012-02-07T18:45:05Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I really enjoyed Twain’s\*\* Life on the Mississippi\*\*. Dunno if it’s a “classic”. Sure it is, if for nothing else, the boasting duel between “Child of Calamity” and whoever the other guy was. Besides, it’s by Twain. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/73 "2012-02-08T07:12:18Z")
It’s been awhile, but I think most works by Jack London will qualify as easy-to-read classics. _White Fang, Call of the Wild_, etc. He has some short stories that fit the bill as well. I’m a big fan of _The Sea-Wolf_, another novel-length work by him. I think there are some collections on Amazon for under $3.00 that claim to contain his complete works. They’re available for free, but probably not as a complete collection, and I’ve sometimes found some formatting/misspellings in free e-books. Steinbeck’s mentioned above as well, but I’ll add _Tortilla Flat_ and _Cannery Row_ to the list. Especially _Cannery Row_. Stay away from _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_, by Jules Verne. I just got a Kindle for my birthday last month. I’m loving it. Currently, I’m rereading _The Dresden Files_ series, then maybe I’ll dip into some classics myself. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/74 "2012-02-20T03:49:40Z")
Well, just for an update, I finished Murder on the Orient Express last night. In a perfect world, I start over from the beginning a read it again. Knowing whodunit (and all that implies), it would be interesting to re-read it with that information. But I’m not going to do that, not right now anyways. I’ll also watch the movie if it ever comes out on Netflix Instant. Right now, I have to decide what to read next. I’m thinking Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, Hound of Baskervilles or The Marvelous Land of Oz. I’m also up for any public domain suggestions since I don’t feel like paying for anything right now seeing as how all the things I listed (and then some) are already on the Kindle ready to go. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/75 "2012-02-20T05:28:23Z")
Ok, some of these people are just recommending their favorite classics. Nothing wrong with that, but they are paying no attention to the criteria you set forth. I mean, SHAKESPEARE??? SHAKE-FUCKING-SPEARE??? Easy to read? Fun? Straightforward? You oughtta be ASHAMED!!! Fortunately, I got just the ticket for you: “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In public domain. A very short novel, one of those skinny paperbacks they used to publish way back when. And the thing that makes me think it will work especially well for you is, I found that when I was reading it I was surprised at how crisp and sharp and clean the prose was. It was written in 1908, but it had none of the tedious sentence structure or winding plotlines that characterize many works of that time. The plot rolls right along. Highly recommended. Later books in the series like Thuvia, Maid of Mars aren’t so crisp, but the first book is Princess of Mars and it is gold. I’ll third Life on the Mississippi, except that IIRC it is not fiction, but autobiography, the story of Twain’s early days as a young riverboat pilot. But it is so well written that it reads like fiction. I like it better than his novels, it really draws a vivid picture of a fascinating period in America’s past. Sample it, as the very least, it’ll get you hooked and you’ll be glad of it. It’s kinda long but because it’s nonfiction, you can always put it down and start back up later. Now I can’t speak for this personally, but someone was saying a few months or years ago on another thread that there is a new set of translations out of Jules Verne stories that put all the previous ones to shame. I’ve forgotten who does them, who publishes them, etc., maybe someone can point them out. Verne’s stuff can reasonably be described as great fun. Shakespeare. Sigh. What next, Finnegan’s Wake? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/76 "2012-02-20T06:28:20Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m also up for any public domain suggestions since I don’t feel like paying for anything right now seeing as how all the things I listed (and then some) are already on the Kindle ready to go. I’m going to resuggest _Around the World in 80 Days_ - it’s a great read, one of the last books that I was reading as fast as I could to see what happened next. I think you’ll love it. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/77 "2012-02-20T06:59:30Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > I have a hard time reading “classics” because I get the feeling they’re supposed to be hard to read and full of symbolism and emblems and other literariness that I’m too stoopid for. That said, I would recommend a few: > [ul] > [li]_The Red Badge of Courage_ (Stephen Crane), pretty short, free on Kindle. I don’t usually like war books but I liked this one.[/li][li]_Catch-22_ (Joseph Heller).[/li][li]_Slaughterhouse Five_ (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.).[/li][li]_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ (Robert Heinlein).[/li][li]_The Good Earth_ (Pearl Buck).[/li][/ul] This is an excellent list. I would recommend any of these to anyone looking for short, engaging classics. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/78 "2012-02-20T07:04:02Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > And finally a couple of authors. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. With Chandler, at least, I’d note that he’s uneven. I recommended Chandler to somebody, and later asked how she liked him. She’d given up because it was confusing and stupid. I was “lol wut” but she showed me exactly what she meant by picking out some really crap paragraphs and reading them aloud until I said I was sorry for everything ever. I believe the offending book was _The Little Sister_ but a quick search for reviews turns up a lot of positives so maybe not or maybe the kind of book reviewers you find with a quick search throw a lot of softballs. I guess I’d recommend _The Big Sleep_ for Chandler. If you don’t like it right away, forget it, because it’s not like the style changes. I do admire how he writes, personally, and if Agatha Christie counts as a classic, Chandler on his good days is like extra classic with cheese in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/79 "2012-02-20T07:05:37Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > This is an excellent list. I would recommend any of these to anyone looking for short, engaging classics. _Catch-22_ is 528 pages. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922/80 "2012-02-20T07:31:57Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My recommendations are: > The Haunting of Hill House Jesus, fifty years later and I still sleep with a pillow over my head. (shudder) OP, please realize that most of the books mentioned were not written as Classics, but as Ripping Yarns. They were intended to make the authors some money, and were paced accordingly. Okay, the ones that were serialized can be pretty obvious, but you are used to TV shows like that and can see the point at which, “And this is where we say, ‘to be continued, same Bat Time, same Bat Station.’” Pop Culture hasn’t changed much since 200 years ago. Just the delivery systems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easy-reads-for-a-thirty-something-who-wants-to-get-started-on-the-classics/611922.md?page=5)