Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront

This is often known as a romance novel, but its actually a revenge story. The book tells the
story of Heathclif, a rather strange chil who is ao!te by a family an is later mae to
be their servant. Eventually, he runs away after being "ilte by a lover, an when he
returns, hes obtaine wealth an re#nement, but also has a burning esire to estroy both
of the families he believes has one wrong by him.
$reat E%!ectations by &harles 'ickens
This book tells the tale of (i!, an or!hane chil who climbs u! an own the social laer
of $eorgian Englan. There are a lot of wonerful things going on here) family loyalty,
coming of age, a few nice action scenes, an some really memorable characters *of which
every 'ickens novel has a few+.
Bleak House by &harles 'ickens
This is a legal rama, believe it or not, that basically e%!oses how !ainfully the wheels of
"ustice can turn an how some court cases can rastically afect the lives of many. ,t oes
elve a bit into s!eci#cs of how the law worke at the time in Englan, but get !ast that
an you have an interesting novel with a lot of sub!lots that are all tie together by a
!ainful an ramatic trial.
Walen by Henry 'avi Thoreau
Thoreau s!ent two years living in a self-mae cabin on Walen (on an uring that time,
he took own his thoughts on the value of solitue an self-reliance. This is a wonerfully
thought-!rovoking book on what it means to be an ine!enent an self-reliant !erson,
mi%e in with some great tales of ine!enence an nature.
The Three .usketeers by /le%anre 'umas
This is "ust a really wonerful action story, with ouble crosses, #ghts, romance, an
humor. There have been countless #lm aa!tations of this an the various se0uels to the
story, an no woner 1 its "ust a really fun aventure.
2es .is3rables by 4ictor Hugo
, have never rea a better story about a !erson growing, changing, maturing, an
evelo!ing a strong sense of right an wrong than this one. The slow change in 5ean
4al"ean from the beginning to the en of this book, along with his interactions of !eo!le of
various moralities, is sim!ly wonerful to rea. There are about a o6en ee!ly memorable
characters in this novel who will stick with you for a long time.
The (icture of 'orian $ray by 7scar Wile
This is a horror story, but also a very timely commentary on the !ublic face that !eo!le !ut
out there while they sometimes hie arker things. Wile cant write a novel without
incor!orating some humor, but there is a lot of thoughtful arkness in this novel.
8ihartha by Hermann Hesse
This tells the tale of 8ihartha, a man who sim!ly wants to unerstan how life works. He
starts of being an ascetic in that he gives u! worlly !ossessions, but eventually he moves
on from there through various stages an eventually reaches some !owerful conclusions
about life.
/nna 9arenina by 2eo Tolstoy
,n :;;<, Time eclare this to be the greatest novel ever written. 7!rah !icke it for her
book club. =ea it. >ou will be gla that you i.
2eaves of $rass by Walt Whitman
This is, hans own, my favorite collection of !oetry. ,t inclues my single favorite !oem
an countless other great !oems, incluing the ama6ing , 8ing the Boy Electric. ,f you
rea a book of !oetry in your life, make it this one.
Heart of 'arkness by 5ose!h &onra
This is an ama6ing story about an iniviual riven to maness by the arkness of the
&ongo wilerness an the arkness of the reality of Euro!ean colonialism of /frica.
.arlows iscovery of 9urt6 after a long rie u! the river is "ust chilling. The book was re-
mae into the !owerful #lm /!ocaly!se ?ow.
(rie an (re"uice by 5ane /usten
/s my wife once sai, @They ont write romance novels this well any more.A While theres
a romance going on, the book also looks at u!bringing, morality, eucation, gener, an
marriage in u!!er mile class Englan in the early BCth century. /usten ha great
observations an coul also create some very strong characters.
=obinson &rusoe by 'aniel 'efoe
/ man survives for twenty eight years on a tro!ical islan, surviving cannibals an attacks
by mutineers while also builing some semblance of a life for himself. ,ts a !owerful novel
of self-reliance an aventure.
The /ventures of Huckleberry Dinn by .ark Twain
Theres a wonerful aventure story here, but what makes Huck Dinn stan out is the stark
!ictures of !re"uices an eucation at the time is how Huck Dinn largely ignores societys
ieas of right an wrong to o what he thinks is the right thing. He oes this over an over
again, which causes him enless !roblems with !olite society.
The /utobiogra!hy of Ben"amin Dranklin by Ben"amin Dranklin
This is a wonerful telling of the story of a truly ama6ing life. ?ot only is it a great recor of
an absolutely vital early /merican, its also 0uite fun to rea. Dranklin is one of those
!eo!le with such a varie an im!ressive life that you cant hel! but be ama6e with all of
the things he achieve.
The 5ungle by E!ton 8inclair
This is a harrowing story about workers in a meat-!acking !lant aroun the turn of the
twentieth century. The escri!tions of the work that they o will really shock you an make
you want to investigate where your foo comes from. The novel ene u! having an
enormous im!act on the foo inustry in the early twentieth century.
/ &onnecticut >ankee in 9ing /rthurs &ourt by .ark Twain
, cant tell you how many times ,ve rea this novel. ,ts "ust a lot of fun. What ha!!ens if
you take a very intelligent moern man an ro! him into 9ing /rthurs worlF Thats the
!remise here, an Twain tells it with humor an thoughtfulness.
The ,nvisible .an by H. $. Wells
What sort of evil things might you o if you were invisibleF /n what oes that say about
the !erson that you actually areF Those are the real 0uestions aske in this great science
#ction novel.
The .ysterious ,slan by 5ules 4erne
This is somewhat a se0uel to :;,;;; 2eagues Ener the 8ea, but this one is better an you
ont really nee to have rea the #rst novel to en"oy it. 8everal !eo!le become
shi!wrecke on a strange islan where things ont always ha!!en as you might e%!ect
them to.
Drom the Earth to the .oon by 5ules 4erne
, thoroughly en"oye this novel, as it is a very entertaining #ctionali6ation of what !eo!le in
the late BCth century believe that travel to the moon woul actually be like. .ostly, this
novel is a @s!ace raceA of sorts, with an iniviual overcoming all kins of obstacles to
evelo! an buil a evice to launch a man to the moon. The se0uel /roun the .oon is
also entertaining, but more fanciful.
The ,slan of 'octor .oreau by H. $. Wells
Whats the line between science #ction an horrorF This novel ries that #ne line. 'octor
.oreau lives on a strange islan where he creates sentient beings by combining the !arts
of various animals. The novel wells 0uite a lot on the issues of !ain in the name of
!rogress an animal cruelty, while telling a strong story.
4anity Dair by William .ake!eace Thackeray
, foun 4anity Dair to be increibly funny. ,t makes fun of society as a whole, !articularly the
hy!ocrisy of !eo!le an how theyll willingly ste! on someones neck to reach a few inches
higher. ,t ens u! with an intriguing murer mystery, one that , use to fre0uently argue
about with an ol frien.
=oughing ,t by .ark Twain
7n a rather iferent note, =oughing ,t is .ark Twains memoirs of his years s!ent in the
wil West. Twains humor is evient here, but its also a great aventure story that reveals
0uite a lot about the nature of the ol West.
,vanhoe by 8ir Walter 8cott
,f youre intereste in knights, chivalry, an =obin Hoo, youll en"oy ,vanhoe. ,ts as sim!le
as that. ,ts a very fun aventure story, vibrant an yet realistic, though the language is
"ust a touch ate in !laces.
Beyon $oo an Evil by Drierich ?iet6sche
This is a very !owerful look at what morality is an how we can internally an e%ternally
etermine right an wrong base on ob"ective truth, not on the ieas of the society aroun
us. .ore often than not, they overla!, but a sense of whats right base on what we
ob"ectively know to be true is a much more !owerful guie than "ust following what others
tell us.
The 2ast of the .ohicans by 5ames Denimore &oo!er
This is a wonerful aventure story set uring the Drench-,nian War of the B<G;s. Be
careful when reaing &oo!er, thoughH if youve rea one book by him, youll get a feeling
that youre "ust re-reaing the same book if you rea more. 7ne is very well worth reaing,
though, an , suggest this one.
/ccelerano by &harles 8tross
/ccelerano is a :;;G science #ction novel that 8tross has release as a free e-book for
anyone to rea. ,ts actually a series of nine somewhat interconnecte short stories telling
the story of a family before, uring, an after a technological singularity 1 in other wors, a
merging of man an machine for a level of su!erintelligence that neither coul achieve on
their own. ,ts a very en"oyable rea with lots of thought-!rovoking ieas.
2ittle Brother by &ory 'octorow
2ittle Brother is a :;;< novel by &ory 'octorow that escribes how four teenagers res!on
to a terrorist attack in 8an Drancisco. 'uring the aftermath of that attack, the 'e!artment
of Homelan 8ecurity tries to crack own on civil rights in the area, an the main
characters #ght back against it in various ways, often utili6ing technology in a clever way.
.uch like /ccelerano, this one is a great new novel thats free for anyone to rea.
Ho!efully, you now have !lenty to rea without e%!loing your !ocketbook.