If you ever wonder how millennials feel about classics, a quick internet peruse will reveal that many of us love the feel of them in our hands and the sight of them on our shelves, but absolutely dread the idea of having them in our brains. A lot of millennials don’t delve into classics at all, and while I find the reasons behind that quite justifiable, I still feel that we are missing out on a great deal of literature, which is why I started a classics reading challenge last year, and now here I am recommending some of my favourites!

Those With Great Adaptations

The first classic I remember reading is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. I had no interest in that book at first, but seeing 21-year-old Leonardo Di Caprio in the film intrigued me enough to pick up the book. Now, I am not a big fan of this particular story, but I think a good adaptation can help ease anyone into a book, such as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and its 2005 adaptation, as well as Macbeth by Shakespeare and its 2015 adaptation.

Those That Read Like Telenovelas

If you are a fan of scandalous tales of romance and ambition, absolutely pick up The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough and Bel Ami by Guy De Maupassant. These two might intimidate some because of their sheer number of pages (more than 400 each),  but they are page turners and read like the most ludicrous romance drama you have ever seen.

Those Key To The Mystery Genre

The these two books have shaped the genre and became an integral part of our mystery DNA. I am of course talking about And Then, There Were None by Agatha Christie and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I am afraid I can’t say much about these books that haven’t been said before, apart from the fact that they read as masterpieces for the twenty-something I was when I picked them up.

Those Relevant To Today

Sometimes, we just need a book that reflects the current conjectures we live in. A book, that, while still being a fiction, helps us mull over our thoughts and fears for the future. Animal Farm by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury did just that to me, plus both are fairly short but still pack a punch to the gut.

Those You Won’t Be Able To Get Enough Of

These next recommendations will leave you with a smile on your face and a whole lot of thoughts in your brain. My favourite in this list is On ne badine pas avec l’amour, or in English, Don’t Trifle With Love by Alfred De Musset, probably because I find it introspective in the most charming way. But I also love the cunning violence Shakespeare writes in Richard III, or the smart comedy Molière delivers in L’avare.

What was the first classic you ever read? Tell us in the comments below!

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How many of us have struggled with our reading challenges? And how many of us have gone through reading slumps that interfere with our reading schedules?

The answer is, we all have! That’s why we’ve made a list of books that will help you get rid of that terrible reading slump, and make you feel like you’re one step ahead of your reading challenge too!

Read on to discover some great short reads to help boost your reading challenge!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
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You may remember this movie from your childhood, and guess what? There’s a book! The adventures of Jess and Leslie in their magical kingdom by the woods is  quick read with around 130 pages and a lot of nostalgia.

Animal Farm by George Orwell
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Some of us didn’t get the chance to read classics like Animal Farm while we were in school so why not start now? Animal Farm is about a society of mistreated animals and their mission to create a just environment.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
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A mystery novel about eighteen year old Mary Katherine Blackwood, who lives in an estate with her sister and uncle. There were more members of the Blackwood family until a tragedy struck, and only three members survived. The remaining Blackwood’s live in isolation, but Mary senses that danger is approaching.

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
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A feminist essay that discusses women’s right to an education, financial independence, and many other interesting topics.

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
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If you’ve read the Throne of Glass series, this is a collection of five short novellas surrounding the famous Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan’s most feared assassin. Here we sink into the many adventures of Celaena before we came to know her in Throne of Glass. Whether you’ve read the Throne of Glass series or not, this collection is a great place to start as it’s such an intriguing and fun read. Plus you’ll feel accomplished every time you finish a novella, especially since you can even mark each novella on Goodreads. What could feel more satisfying?

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
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I read this book earlier this year and loved it! The story is about a middle-aged man who goes back to his childhood home. Memories seem to return to him, and he remembers the farm-house that was at the end of the road and the peculiar girl who lived there. He hasn’t thought of her in quite some time, but just by sitting there he begins to remember the strange and frightening situations that happened to him as a little boy.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
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A story about a Shepherd boy who longs to travel and search for treasure. Although this book is fictional, it’s more known for teaching the readers about wisdom and following your heart and your dreams.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
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We Were Liars is one of my favourite reads and it focuses on a group of four friends who stay on a private island during the summer. A fun story until devastation strikes and you’re hit with an ending you didn’t expect.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
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The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of fairytales that the Wizarding World grew up with, especially since we’ve all wanted to hear about these tales since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
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Who wouldn’t want to explore the magical world of Narnia? A land that can be found at the very end of a wardrobe full of magic and adventure that you’ll love no matter how old you are.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
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You might have heard about this book from your childhood or from the movie adaptation earlier this year, so I decided to read the book before seeing the movie. When Meg’s father disappears, it’s up to her, Calvin, and Charles Wallace to find out what’s happened to him, and rescue him from whatever is holding him captive. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
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Coraline has just moved to her new home, and she’s decided it’s time to explore when she finds a strange door in her house that seems to lead to another apartment just like hers. However, this one has another mother and father who want Coraline to stay, and she needs to find a way out.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
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A twenty-three page book about society that will contribute to your reading challenge and teach you a thing or two about life. All about choices and justice and what we are willing to put up with if it means our happiness will continue.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
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If you’re a fan of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters series then you’re bound like this one, which is a collection of eleven short stories about Magnus Bane. Through these stories you’ll get to know a little bit more about his life and his various adventures, as well as meet a few beloved characters.

The Boogeyman by Stephen King
Goodreads

A short story written by the king of horror himself. A quick twenty-three page read for those who would like to experience Stephen King’s stories and writing for the first time. The Boogeyman is about a man who is chased by memories of his past, and who remembers the murders of his three children.

Any other short reads you would add? Tell us in the comments below!

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The Book Cook Look Club is a small Australian based book club combining three much-loved activities: reading, cooking and films. Declan, a member of the club, will be recapping his experience each month right here on The Nerd Daily!

BOOK | One person selects a book for everyone to read over the next month.
COOK | The book selector hosts a dinner party with a themed meal related to the book.
LOOK | We compare the film adaptation to its source material.

There are few political writers of the 20th century so well recognised as George Orwell. It only takes a mention of Big Brother or talking pigs to send anyone reeling into flashbacks of high school English. But while 1984 and Animal Farm are fine novels, they are simply fictional expressions of the ideas he first expressed in essay form.

These essays were hugely influential in my own formative years as a teenager. Some of his ideas were articulations of half-formed ideas in my mind; others were completely new concepts that changed my perspective of politics, society, and culture. Both were equally valuable, and were reason enough for me to bring his essays to the book club this month.

Dinner

As the group settled down to the tunes of Glenn Miller, we tucked into a meal of bangers and mash fit for a proletariat. Due to the sheer number of essays written by Orwell, I chose a few for the book club to read so that we all had a common understanding of the subject matter.

Realising five minutes before dinner that Scott hadn’t read any of them yet, I threw my book at him and told him to read The Sporting Spirit, a nice quick essay suitable for light reading. It really did feel like high school all over again—cramming right before an exam, committing key ideas to short-term memory. And to top this off, Scott spoke about it quite impressively, as if he had been preparing his analysis for weeks when it had in fact been minutes.

In this essay, Orwell’s focus is on the brand of nationalism that divides humans, rather than unites them. Orwell’s definition of nationalism goes beyond state borders and races. It encompasses culture, religion, class, politics, and yes, even sporting teams.

His opinion of sporting events is pretty scathing, but he certainly has a point. Our passion for sport is so ingrained in our culture that we are reluctant to criticise it—but that’s exactly the point. When we get so caught up in the heat of a great sporting rivalry, our primary desire is to see one side triumph over the other, often at the expense of rational thought. If there is a tough call for a referee to make, the crowd will invariably side with whatever decision benefits their team, regardless of rules or logic. We prioritise our own pride over any attempts to unite opposing teams in friendly competition.

This is where we left the sport discussion, and we hadn’t even started to touch on the violent behaviour that often comes as a result of sporting rivalries.

So if people’s passion for conflict can arise from something as arbitrary as a sports team, then how savage can we get when divided by something more culturally significant—politics, for example?

There are infinite examples of this from modern society that could demonstrate this, but Jillian touched on just one: the national anthem protests in American football games. What started as one man’s protest against racial inequality snowballed into a movement that has even further polarised the left and right wings of American politics. What one side interprets as a stand for social justice, the other views as a degradation of core American values. And a lot of this can be attributed to political discourse—that is, how we take completely different meanings from a common symbol.

Dessert

As our main meal started to wrap up, I brought out a bread and butter pudding, a British dessert popular among the working class for its use of basic ingredients. During this course I wanted to segue into the more linguistic side of Orwell’s work through Politics and the English Language.

One of Orwell’s central ideas in Politics is very reassuring: if you have ever read a wordy, pretentious piece of writing and do not understand it, don’t feel stupid. There is a high chance that is probably just bad writing. It is often the case that when an author has no solid point to stand on they will hide this fact with long words and confusing phrases.

Being dedicated book lovers, we were careful to clarify here that Orwell isn’t just trashing fancy words for the fun of it. He is simply stating that the function of writing is to communicate an idea from one person to another. So if the intended reader can’t understand what you have written, what exactly is its purpose? Sure, be liberal and original with your writing, but don’t try to cover up a weak idea with unnecessarily long words and clichéd idioms. Get to the point, and be succinct.

Having said that, don’t feel guilty for enjoying books that aren’t of an astounding literary quality. I wanted to highlight this to the rest of the book club, because Orwell makes it his focus in Good Bad Books, as a counter to his more perfectionist tendencies.

As special as the Harry Potter series is to me, J.K. Rowling’s writing is objectively less elegant than that of Victor Hugo’s in Les Miserables. Despite this, Orwell argues that this doesn’t mean books like Harry Potter shouldn’t hold cultural and sentimental value. Instead, we should learn to understand the merits of both escapist fiction and literary masterpieces.

This is the essence of Orwell. He appreciates quality literature and the need for rational thinking in this political age, but he also has a realistic understanding of human nature with all its flaws. Rather than seeing his “rules of writing” as restrictions, they should instead be used as tools to combat ignorance and encourage freethinking. Orwell doesn’t speak for a single culture or time period; he speaks for humanity and its entire course of history.

Have you read any essays by Orwell? What are your thoughts? Sound off in the comments below!

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