8 Classic Books Everyone Should Read at Least Once

Alright, let’s just get this out of the way: “classic literature” sounds boring. Like, school-assigned, dusty-library, annotated-by-someone’s-grandma boring. I get it. But hear me out — some of these so-called “classics” are actually weirdly good. I mean laugh out loud, feel something in your gut, stay up past 2 a.m. kind of good.

Here’s a bunch I either suffered through (and then weirdly loved) or still talk about to this day, like an unhinged bookstore employee who won’t stop recommending that one book.

1. Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison

Not to be confused with The Invisible Man (the spooky one with science-gone-wrong vibes), this book is way more grounded — and way more haunting. It’s about identity, race, and being unseen while standing right in front of people. The narrator — whose name we never get — is constantly shoved into other people’s definitions of who he should be. And the writing? Electric. Furious. Sad. Necessary. You won’t walk away from this one untouched.

2. The Stranger – Albert Camus

Look, this book is cold. The main guy, Meursault? He doesn’t cry at his mom’s funeral, shoots someone for seemingly no reason, and just kinda floats through life like none of it matters. And that’s exactly the point.

3. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Before you roll your eyes and go, “Ugh, not another love story,” stop. Elizabeth Bennet is savage. Mr. Darcy is peak slow-burn. And Austen? That woman had jokes. She wrote with the sass of a modern-day Twitter user, except in Empire waist dresses. It’s not just about romance — it’s about class, assumptions, pride (duh), and honestly just people being messy in a very British way. Highly recommend reading it with a cup of tea and a raised eyebrow.

4. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Let me just say it: Gatsby was kind of a loser. Like, he threw wild parties hoping one woman might show up?? That’s not romantic — that’s sad. But that’s also kind of the point. Plus, Fitzgerald’s writing is... chef’s kiss. It’s short too, so even if you hate it, it’ll be over quick.

5. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

Alright, I have a complicated relationship with Hemingway. Half the time I want to punch him in the jaw, the other half I want to sit in a bar with him and talk about feelings we’ll never admit to having. This book is very “sad people drinking and running away from themselves,” but in a good way. It’s about the post-WWI generation (aka The Lost Generation), bullfights, heartbreak, and that weird emptiness that follows you even on vacation. Also: so many drinks. I’m honestly impressed their livers survived.

6. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov

This book is bananas. Like, the Devil shows up in 1930s Moscow with a talking cat (who drinks and carries a gun, by the way), and just… causes absolute, delicious chaos. It’s political satire, surrealist fever dream, love story, and philosophical deep dive all in one. I don’t even know how to explain it without sounding like I’m having a breakdown, but trust me — once the cat shows up, you’re in it for the ride.

7. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

This one’s heavy. Like, emotionally weighted-blanket-on-your-soul kind of heavy. But it’s also one of the realest depictions of mental illness I’ve ever read. It’s sad, yeah — no sugarcoating it. But it’s important. And if you’ve ever felt like the world is just... off, like you’re watching everything through glass, this book will find you.

8. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë

Don’t dismiss it as just another romance, please. Jane is not your average Victorian damsel — she’s got a backbone, a sharp tongue, and actual boundaries (gasp). Also, the love interest? Literal goblin man who keeps secrets in his attic. No, seriously. There’s so much drama. It’s Gothic and moody and full of repressed feelings and wind-whipped moors. Read it during a thunderstorm with a candle and a blanket and get full spooky-heartache vibes.

Conclusion

So yes, classics don't necessarily have to be amazing. Some of them are incredible, but these eight? They're true.

Anyway, if you’ve got a dusty old copy of one of these sitting on your shelf — or, let’s be honest, in your parent’s garage in a box labeled “college books” — maybe give it a shot. Worst case? You get to say you read it. Best case? You actually love it. Stranger things have happened.