10 Classics on My Reading List

                  It’s probably my favorite room; a white comforter covers the bed in its center, a mountain of pillows line up against the headboard, nightstands supporting burlap-shaded lamps on either side.  Above hangs distressed black picture frames, displaying frozen moments from our wedding day with the words uttered from Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi (Ruth 1:16) hanging in the center. An antique white dresser faces opposite that inviting bed, holding a preserved bouquet of once white lilies. On the two walls running parallel to the nightstands hang shelves filled with books. Books that have transported me to far off places. I have travelled from the mountains of Montana, to the hallowed halls of Hogwarts, to Wisconsin’s big woods, and even to Forks, Washington.  They have allowed me to visit the mansion of Manderley, the New Jersey home of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and the town of River Heights. Then there are the books that wait to take me on a magical journey. They rest on one of those nightstands. To many they might lend to the idea of clutter or disarray, but to me this cluster of books is but a mountain for to climb. Among this pile rests the words from the creator of Duck Commander, the recollections of a child actor, and the story of a dog at ground zero. There is no particular order to their arrangement. It is a mismatch of fiction and nonfiction-with a few biographies in between, but there is something missing from this stack. Classics. I have read classics. I’ve listened to Kate Chopin describe the summer getaway place of Isle. I’ve imagined the grandeur of the parties thrown in West Egg, Long Island. I’ve longed to visit the Coleman home in the beautifully described Ozark Mountains, but I have never looked between the cover of Panther in the Sky. I can only assume the content of War and Peace is true to its title. There are many classics I’ve simply never read. That’s right I’m admitting it…there are classics I have never read. Of course, I plan to change that starting with these ten.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle

So there you have it-ten classics on my reading list. What do you think? Have you read these? Would you recommend them? What classics are on your TBR list?

A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.

-Italo Calvino