HappyLifestyleJournal
Some books are timeless. They are so incredible that no matter how many times you read them, you find something new and enchanting about them each time you pick them up. These are our personal picks and, for such novels, you should definitely make time to read them at least once in your life. If you haven’t read these 7 novels already, believe us, you can’t make a mistake with them.
1. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
This diary of a Jewish Dutch girl written during the last years of her life, turned into the most famous and powerful monument of World War II. Her family had been hiding in a house in Amsterdam for two years when they were found and sent to a concentration camp. Anne, her sister and her mother died in the camp, while the only survivor, her father Otto, found and kept the diary.
13-year-old Anne beautifully conjured up the hardships of life in confinement under the constant fear of death. The Diary of a Young Girl is war seen through the eyes of one girl, through describing relationships with other people, boredom, fear and love. Her life was tragically cut short, but her diary will make her memories live forever.
2. 1984 by George Orwell
This novel was published in 1949, imagining a dark future to come and even though the prophecy wasn’t fulfilled word by word, author George Orwell wasn’t far from the truth. Sixty-six years later, we are only moving closer and closer to the events in his book.
1984 is a dystopian novel set in what used to be Great Britain and in a world which is constantly at war. The only important thing is power and individual thinking is persecuted and thought of as a “thought crime”. Big Brother is the face of tyranny but that face is never discovered. The only truth is that one presented by the Inner Party and nobody can doubt it. Sounds familiar? It’s because our society is dangerously close to Orwell’s gloomy predictions.
3. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
From the mind of the genius J. R. R. Tolkien, comes the best epic fantasy novel Lord of the Rings. Even though it was created as a sequel to his previous novel The Hobbit, it soon became much larger than planned and turned into a trilogy. Not only did Tolkien tell an amazing story, he created a whole new world and a language for his book.
This epic novel tells the story of “One Ring to rule them all, one ring to conquer and rule the whole Middle Earth”. The plot follows a hobbit, Frodo, on his quest to take this powerful ring to Mordor where it will be destroyed forever and Middle Earth saved. During his adventures he is followed by numerous colorful characters, hobbits, elves, dwarfs, humans and wizards.
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
One of the most skillful female writers ever brings us this masterpiece of Victorian literature. It tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet, one of five sisters living in a traditional 19th century family in a small town. But Elizabeth is quite different from all her sisters and most of the people in her town – she is smart, driven and not afraid to speak her mind.
As all of her sisters dream of getting married and their mother pushes them into courtship and marriage, Elizabeth must persist in her intention to keep her individuality, but she meets the rude and pretentious Mr. Darcy who steals her heart anyway. Pride and Prejudice’s most interesting aspect is definitely their verbal dance of witty comebacks and sarcasm while they fight their emotions.
5. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
No matter how old you are, you are bound to be drawn to the fascinating world of wizardry, magic potions and spells as you read through the seven novels of the Harry Potter series. Writer J. K. Rowling crafted this exciting book series and sent us to another world making us believe we all have some magic in us.
Harry is a regular 11-year-old boy until he is suddenly taken away from his abusive aunt and uncle and taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As it turns out, Harry is actually a wizard who will continue his journey as he trains to become one of the most powerful wizards that ever lived. Once you pick the first book up, you won’t be able to stop until the last one.
6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
One of the best classics of the twentieth century perfectly paints a picture of the Roaring Twenties in America, the time of parties, money and carefreeness. In this world, walks in a mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby who becomes the center of attention and the host of lavish parties attended by the whole Long Island. But even with all this, his life is empty because he longs for a woman he can’t have – Daisy Buchanan.
You will step into the fabulous Jazz Age for a moment if you decide to read this novel, but also realize everything wasn’t so perfect back then since this is a classic tale of “money doesn’t buy happiness”. Even though it wasn’t so well received when it was first published, it is now considered one of the greatest American novels.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Another exceptional female writer Harper Lee tackled a very serious problem of racism when she wrote and published her book in 1960, but even though the themes are very serious, Lee tries to keep a very humorous and light tone. The book was a success from the very beginning and it even won a Pulitzer Prize.
The novel is loosely autobiographical, following the lives of her and her family members and neighbors. It is a story that deals with problems of racial inequality, loss of innocence, love, courage and kindness – and all the opposites. This deeply moving story about growing up during the Great Depression, which inspired an Oscar-winning movie and theater plays, is surely not going to leave you indifferent.
