Well that's my 2023 TBR pile done! Thank you so much for this great list. I can't wait to spend time with a few old friends and make some new ones. And a video on building a classics library would be much appreciated!

So I just discovered your channel YESterDaY and now I want to read every single book you talk about. 😂

I just started The Woman in Wite. Totally blown away by the beauty of the book and I am on page 64! An example: “Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service.” So very true.

Hey man, your subscriber count has more than tripled since this video came out a year ago! Can’t wait to see it grow even more

I have never heard of Captain Blood. You talking about Rebecca and To Kill a Mocking Bird makes me want to reread them this year. They are two of my most favorite books ever.

Just read Rebecca, One of the greatest pieces of literature I have ever read. Thank you for these recommendations. Looking forward to another one from the list.

I just finished 'A Month in the Country' based on your recommendation and it was an absolute treat. I don't think I can describe it better than you did. The last paragraph is one of the most touching things I've ever read.

For those of us who want to take this list along to the library! 12 classic books to read ( by Tristan and the classics) Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca Charles Dickens - Great Expectations Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird Raphael Sabatini - Captain Blood Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes/A Study in Scarlet Jerome K. Jerome - Three men in a boat Baroness Orczy - Scarlet Pimpernel Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey George Eliot - Silas Marner Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White P.G.Wodehouse - The world of Psmith Omnibus JL Carr - A month in the Country Huxley - Brave new world Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Christo

I just yesterday finished THE WOMAN IN WHITE. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and you are right I did sit up reading it at night.

Merle Oberon and Leslie Howard did a marvelous rendition of The Scarlet Pimpernel😃

A Study in Scarlet blew me away. I’m an Anglophile but also a resident of the Great Basin Desert which I love. I was amazed to discover that much of this novel is set in my Wild West “stomping grounds.” It’s a detective novel, western and Mormon historical fiction.

I am so glad you covered Wodehouse who is indeed a classic writer even if not in the traditional sense of what people think of when they consider classics. His wit is just unmatched! I’ve read most of Jeeves series and the Blandings series and watched the TV series numerous times and still going back to it. Hugh Laurie’s portrayal of Wooster is just special and of course Stephen Fry’s Jeeves! I had borrowed Pigs have wings (from the Blandings series .i think) instead of my college books and was reading it sitting in every corner of the college (because I couldn’t wait to finish it!) and was laughing till my belly ached (by myself!). Be warned if you try to read it when a class is going on, you’re sure to get caught.

In high school we read The Woman in White; Rebecca; Silas Marner; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Great Expectations; ❤❤❤Then re-read them all as an adult and fell in love all over again. Thank u for ur channel.

Rebecca is great book and film. I highly recommend the Alfred Hitchcock/ David O Selznick version from 1940, starring Laurence Olivier as Maxim and Joan Fontaine as the new wife. Black and white of course but looks a million dollars, the best Danvers I’ve seen. I like your take on the classics and the different types and styles for different levels and experience of them, it makes a lot more sense than someone just rattling off recommendations for Don Quixote, Crime & Punishment and other giant tomes. Reading is a process and a journey. I started by reading comics as a child and wasn’t a very good student at school, a bit of a handful, my teachers would say, but I always read and still do. Middlemarch or Anna Karenina is next, after my current read. It’s taken me 58 years to get to these, well worth the effort though. I still read thrillers, espionage, serial killer paperbacks too and enjoy them very much, but to me they are dinner, whereas the classics I read are my dessert.

So many of my favorites! I *love* Rebecca, A Study in Scarlet, To Kill A Mockingbird, Great Expectations, Three Men in a Boat, The Woman in White and while I have only read *Leave it to Psmith*,* I love Wodehouse. I do consider myself to be a Janeite and you're right - Northanger Abbey is at the bottom of my list. However, hearing you talk about it makes me want to give it another re-read! 📚 Now I just need to get to reading the other books from your wonderful list! 🤓 Thank you for this, Tristan! 👏🏻

I am so frustrated. I am unable to read books anymore but have loved reading all my life. My library has all the books but not as audiobooks. So now I’m frustrated. Thank you, Tristan, I love to hear you talking about books.

Great list! Already in my stack to read: "A Study in Scarlet" and "Great Expectations". I've read "To Kill a Mockingbird" several times, but will reread. I've also read "Rebecca" quite a few times. Ordered just now: "Captain Blood" and "Three Men in a Boat." I've listened to "Woman in White" and didn't care for it - but I plan on reading it, regardless. The others that caught my attention: "Northanger Abbey," "Silas Marner" (I've only listened to this one) and "A Month in the Country." Thanks for re-introducing me to my love of reading - which was laid aside 39 years ago when I started having children. I'm flashing back to what life was like in early life when I had a book with me at all times. I'm happy to say that, thanks to you, I'm again reading constantly when not at work or in the kitchen: in the early morning, late into the night, and while in line at the bank and grocery stores. Audiobooks filled in a huge gap for me over the years and I'm grateful for them - but it's just not the same experience as lingering over the word.

I found your channel a couple of weeks ago and have become hooked. I've always been a reader, but for the majority of my life it had been SF. I still enjoy some of the older SF, but I do not like the direction it's been going. So, I have been reading classics and your channel has filled a need for me. Thank you.

im happy you included jane austen. most people think her stories are too romantic and cliche. I've read Northanger Abbey 4 times already (from when i started classics) and it never loses its charms

I hated reading in school because of... school (which I hate to this day and I'm 34) But suddenly I found Captain Blood in my house and I played videogames about pirates a lot. So, I started to read. And I was blown away - I read all days for the week until I read all Captain Blood novels and I never ever experienced something like this. It was absolutely transcendental. Since that time I read books. But CB to this day is one of the best things I've ever read.

Thank you! I have never read Captain Blood, 3 Men in a Boat, or A Month in the Country. Will do!

I’m in the middle of Don Quixote. Loving 🥰 it. I have to go slow because of the way Cervantes has written it. Lots of new vocabulary for me. I’m becoming emotionally involved now with the beloved “knight errant”. We touch on all the books of chivalry from the past. We look at the history of Spain 🇪🇸 🌎 at that time. Anyway…❤ and cheers 🥂 to the Knight of the Mournful Countenance! By the way one of my favorite songs is The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha. 🎤 singing it as I take my walks.

I'm happy I found your channel. In another video you posted you taught iambic pentameter. I was amazed at how quickly you brought understanding to this dull mind in a way my professor in college was unable to do in 2 semesters of Shakespeare. That was 50 years ago. Thank you. for all your posts.

You are a fantastic story teller. So inspiring, so exciting 😊

I just found your channel and I love it! I find it interesting the book you mentioned to possibly not use as an introduction to classic literature. Over the summer I decided to dive back into books. I used to be extremely bookish years ago, though not particularly drawn to classics, and I never realized how much I missed reading until I picked up, in June, “Middlemarch” which had been staring at me from my bookshelf for a long time. To be sure, though an unbelievable book (and definitely at the top of my favorites list having now read it) it’s challenging to pick up if you’re just starting to cut your teeth on classics or reading in general, and for all the reasons you mentioned. It’s a big book, beautifully written but verbose and at times I did find myself jumping back to the beginning of a paragraph to re-read, and from the perspective of social roles and expectations it was both fascinating and confusing at times. Overall, however, I found it easier to comprehend than I was expecting, and I broke the book down into its individual parts and read it as if I were reading the originally serialized novel. That is, I would read one part of “Middlemarch” and then read an entirely different book (one that bore no chance of being confused with George Eliot’s much larger tome), before returning for the next part of the book. This made the entire process of reading almost more enchanting to me, because as I would get to the end of whatever book I was reading between parts I would start to reflect on the story of “Middlemarch”. I would think about Mrs. Casaubon- what a lovely character she is!- and Will Ladislaw and Mr. Lydgate who I was not nearly as fond of in the beginning as I became, through his various trials, later in the book. This approach really had me looking forward to the next installment, rather than feeling exhausted which I think would have been very possible without breaking the novel up. I really re-discovered my love of reading with “Middlemarch” and the other books that I read as well, but there are few books that have transported me the way that “Middlemarch” did and few characters that I’ve cared about as much as I did so many of those that George Eliot penned here. I’m looking forward to reading more of her work (and re-reading “Middlemarch” at some point as well). I found her use of words to be so engaging and her ability to create complex, truly human characters fascinated me. Any suggestions for my next date with George Eliot? I’m so excited to explore her work! And to those considering “Middlemarch”, especially if you are (like me) rediscovering reading, take it slow, break up your reading of the book if that feels right to you, and enjoy it! It’s a fantastic experience!

I love your channel. You've made me appreciate classics. I read three men on a boat last year. It's hands down the funniest book I've read.

Are you going to try the Classic Book A Month challenge in 2023? Which of these books catch your interest.

Tristan, just want to say thank you for your videos. I don’t get to read much because I have work so much at the warehouse and sometimes I’m just too tired after. But you inspire me to keep on pushing and it makes me excited for the next time I can sit down and read something. You have a good energy man and you should know it makes a lot of peoples days just to see a new video from you. Anyways, I better get to reading some of these, ive heard so many good things about great expectations and I think I may try that next (I read David copperfield which was one of the best books ever made). I really want to check out northanger abbey too. Love the shoutout to to kill a mockingbird. We read that in high school and it was intensely moving. I still remember many lines from it despite not picking it up in well over a decade. Anyways happy New Years, greetings from Detroit, Michigan

What a wonderful list! I was so pleased to see Wodehouse included! He is often overlooked and is such a delight to read! I am unfamiliar with A Month in the Country but have ordered it and I am very much looking forward to reading it!

Thanks, Tristan! I'm so glad you included Three Men In a Boat. I just read that one for Victober and laughed all the way through it.That's the perfect book to start reading the classics!! You've sold me on Captain Blood and The Scarlet Pimpernel. And I'm ashamed to say I've never read PG Wodehouse. I know. I'm missing out and I really have no excuse.

I’m so glad I found your channel, been reading a lot this past week

Yes! We need a video for building a classic library

I’m so happy to have come across your channel. I have gotten back into reading after a break and I want to read the classics. The passion and knowledge you have when you talk of these books is inspiring. I’m adding all these books to my TBR and am determined to read at least 5 this year.

Best recommendation list for classics I've seen! Thank you!!

You’re a master story teller! I added so many books to my audible wish list!

Great choices and interesting introductions--makes me want to reread the ones I know and start on the others!

Hello ! Thank you for your always cheery introduction :) . As always, you've presented us with a great selection of books. Thank you. Daphne Du Maurier is always a great place to start with classics.

Thank you for your channel. It has gotten me back into reading. I'm now a voracious reader. I just finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird last month. LOVED it! My favorites are Silas Marner, A Tale of Two Cities, and James Michener's Centennial. Reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I've read several of Charles Dickens' books.

Hi, new sub here! Can't believe I've never come upon your channel before. You've got me interested in digging out my old Sherlock Holmes books, and rereading some of them; also I'm definitely going to start Northanger Abbey and Rebecca!

so happy I stumbled across your video! I am working on my 2024 reading plan right now and will definitely add three men in a boat and quite a few of the rest of this list to my plans! SUBSCRIBED! I' read the Count of Monte Cristo this year - Awesome, rip snorting page turner , totally agree with your recommendation. I just read Tale of Two Cities and Christmas Carol , loved, so I'll add Great expectations to my 2024 list, I've read a BUNCH of woodhouse but not in a while and also Jane Austen. Great list!! I Adored Middlemarch so I'll add Solas Marner for this coming year.

Tristan, so glad you're back. I have been having so much fun catching up with your latest videos. This is an awesome list. There is something for everyone. I hadn't read Captain Blood or 3 men in a Boat. Have since read 3 Men and will read Captain Blood as soon as I finish re-reading Great Expectations for your Patreon. (Love the videos you're doing for that. They are loaded with so much to unpack that I keep going back to listen again and again.) Take care.

All of these are great choices! A superb TBr. Have read about four - upward and onward. 😃

Hi Tristan, I loved your video! I am going to read SILAS MARNER and a GREAT EXPECTATIONS. I will comment on soon❤❤❤

What a great selection ! I’ve read and loved a few of them (Rebecca is one of my all time favorites, Monte Cristo WOW, Sherlock is fantastic…) so I’m really looking forward to reading those of the list I haven’t ! Having just finished Middlemarch last month, I am really tempted to dive into Silas Marner soon ! And yay to a video on how to build a classic library 😃 Thank you Tristan ! Take care !

So happy to see you recommending "Three men in a boat", it's great fun.

Tristen !! How wonderful to see you again! I thought you had to do other stuff and sent us off to the library to find a Snark !!! Absolutely wonderful to have you back!! I was so pleased to find that the only book I had not read on your list was Scarlet Pimpernel. I do own it and I will find it again and put it on the top of the TBR pile. I absolutely agree with you and your choices. My least favorite was Women in White (I know, what is wrong with me LOL) !! Currently I am filling one of my literary holes and that is Greek and Roman Mythology. WOW has that been fun, I find myself gasping and my jaw dropping all the time with those Titans !! So great to see you ! I will make sure to follow!!! Lee

Love this. I am looking forward to those I haven’t already read

I love that idea for a video about building your classics library. I own way too many books and would be curious to see if I have any blatant holes. I enjoyed this list video and though I have read/studied quite a few, there are some I haven’t gotten to yet. I think Austen and Trollope are great places to start with classic literature. I feel like they are very kind to their readers.

I was simply thrilled when you presented your list of books on this video, The only one I hadn't read yet was A Month in the Country (which I just ordered). I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos and taking notes. I laughed when you mentioned Three Men in a Boat. When the author mentioned that bit about the china being put on display and considered antiques, I had only to look at my Flow Blue pieces on display sitting atop my buffet and chuckle. Woodhouse got me with his characters conversing straight out of the 1920's. I've read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories even all of Agatha Christies. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel (I think it's the letter that does it). I started the New Year off with my favorite book of all time Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham ( which I hadn't read but once about 50 years ago) and it is still my very favorite book. My second read this year was Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M Forster, now I'm working my way through Paradise Lost by Milton. Happy Reading and looking forward to watching more of your videos.

Your channel has grown so much! Love it and love your content :)

Thank man great list. I'm going to use a few of these as palate cleansers from my main reading.

Thank you Tristan! I already read some of the books you mention, others are in my TBR, others are new to me. I think the next book I shall read will be Rebecca! Have a nice day and thanks for your wonderful and useful videos!

this is the first time i have been recommended a classic novela with comedy genre. most booktoks usually recommend the complex genres. great video. i'll read the recommendations because most of the books were on my tbr list for quite a long time

This video just came up in my feed. It’s February 2024. I love your list. I’ve read almost all of the books on your list except the two comedies, A Month in the Country, and The Count of Monte Cristo. I have read Middlemarch and suggest another feel good book, Enchanted April. Oh, I forgot I haven’t read Captain Blood, but loved the movie so I will put it on my TBR. I very much enjoyed this introduction to your channel.

Brilliant video! I consider myself as a beginner classic reader so this list is really helpful. I only read three from the list. Rebecca remind me of Jane Eyre (I am not obsessed with Jane Eyre 😂). I also read Great Expectations and To kill a Mockingbird I am planning to read Woman in white and the count of Montecristo and hopefully read some others from this list next year. I agree with you about Middlemarch, the more I hear people talk about it the more I am intimated. I would take your advice and read Silas minor first and maybe another one or two of her works before attempting Middlemarch. Thanks for this video ☺️

New to the channel. Love it!

I appreciate your recommendation of Captain Blood ~ intrigued about reading an early pirate story and the opportunity to look for tropes 🙂

You have bitten me with the classics! There are not enough hours in my day to get to all the books you have recommended. Also, we saw two adaptations of “Rebecca” and loved them both!

Yes, I agree with you about "The Woman in White." It's a spectacularly entertaining novel. So is "The Moonstone." "Armadale" is awfully good too.

So informative, enthusiastic. Rebecca is the first one from the list that I have started this week!

Excellent recommendations. I'm currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo and loving it! I’d like to read A Month in the Country next. Thanks Tristan. Happy Reading! 📚😀

I just found you Tristan! It's a pleasure to listen to you. I haven't read Wodehouse, but I'm sold. And yes, I would love a video about building a classics library. Thank you for teaching me!

Very true words about " Great expectations"!

I am currently reading Three Men in A Boat, and it is indeed laugh out loud funny. Thank you so much for the recommendation Tristan!

I’m so happy to find your channel! I guess I’m a little behind as this was last years. lol. just what I was looking for!

Loved this list, I've read 6 of them. I read A Month in the Country earlier this year upon your recommendation and loved it. I know i will go back to it when I need something calming. Thank you!

I love this list!! I shared it on Instagram too encourage others to get back into classics. I can't wait to read more film this list that I haven't read yet. I've read a handful of these... The Count of MC, Rebecca, Northanger Abbey and I can't remember the rest. Lll

You've really made me want to read Willie Collins Woman in white, I have had it on my shelves for years, now thanks to you it will be read.

Vivid terrific descriptions/synopses of books

Ok, so the bonus book I read in under a week on my first go. I know most people aren't like that, but it pulled me in. I also read Jane Austin's works (not all of them), rather quickly. I know people like the Brontë sisters also, and I read them quickly as well. They were easy to get into I felt. I don't know if these are so much starters for the classics books, but I found them easy to lose myself in. You did have some new finds for me. So thanks so much.

I have also just begun, the woman in white. Thoroughly enjoying it so far. Thanks for the inspiration.

Well it appears that "GREAT EXPECTATIONS" was finally in one of your lists! Bravo. By the way, there were 13 books in your 12 book list. Thanks again for sharing. Love your channel and just subbed it.

I love this - it's so true that people just recc classics without thinking about people who're just getting into older stuff and can't just read middlemarch for fun yet. Such a good video.

New subscriber here! Looking Forward to this!

I just ordered my copy of *The Woman in White*. Cannot wait to get my hands on it! Thank you so much for this video. This video introduced me to new and amazing authors.

Very clever list, thank you, and a great introduction. There's no reason readers shouldn't start with accessible texts instead of the heavies. I hope there are teachers who recommend your channel to their students.

So many great books to read. Some are already on my shelves and lists. I’ve just recently bought A Month in the Country and I can’t wait to start reading 👍👍👍

I was definetly inspired to buy and read Huxleys Brave new World now that I've gained insight a bit about the plot. Recently i bought Dumas Count of Monte Christo, its a big one :D I got the English Oxford pocket version, a good tip to read bit by bit while reading other books because the sheer size of the novel is a bit intimidating. Thanks for another great video. Always a joy to take part and listen.

I love your videos and your pleasant manner. I can't wait to read some of your suggestions from this list. I also have lost a lot of books that I have loaned to people. It is a strange phenomenon that many decent and good people don't feel the need to return books. I have stopped lending now except to my very best friends.

This presentation made me so happy because all of the books you mentioned ( okay, 90%!) are SO BELOVED to me and am scampering immediately to the library for the two I haven’t yet read- Thank you!!! Trixie 💚💚❤️🐾🥰💛💛😍🧡💜

After watching your video, I got myself a copy of Great Expectations by Chiltern. Waiting for it to be delivered. Thank you for the great insights into classics and your unique charisma 🙂

Captain Blood and the Scarlet Pimpernel. I need to read these.

Thank you I have some new books to pick up. A resounding yes to a video about building a library

Your content is great. But I always liked the styles your presentations have.

I already have Brave New World on the shelf! Read it in high school and just had to get it! I'll be adding it to my list of rereads :D

These are books to love! Brilliant choices! The movie A month in the country with the young Colin Flirth is awesome. Thank you and have a very nice week,

Yeeeeees…exactly what I was looking for to help me start my Classics journey! I will say I have read Doyle’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and loved it. Throughout his story I found myself saying such things as “Wait, what?” “But how?” “How’d I miss that!?”. Quite remarkable and I’m looking forward to reading “A Study in Scarlet”. I’m truly looking forward to reading all these. Thank you!

Yes, yes, yes to the Classic library video!

This guy really makes me want to read a classic. I think I’m going to the library tomorrow.

New subscriber here -- I was introduced to your channel by Micah Cummins when he shared your Slow Reader video. Anyways, I enjoyed this video on the Classics, and where to start, because I'm always interested in reading more classics but usually hesitant to pick something up due to the fear of it "going over my head". I can read classic books from 1950s-1970s with no real issue, but it's the 1800s where I begin to break a sweat 😅 I did read Dracula and A Study in Scarlet, and those were a great time. I was surprised by their readability. And Dickens' A Christmas Carol is all I've read of his work. But I am wanting to get more Dickens under my belt, and some Dumas (I own Count of Monte Cristo, and have danced around it for almost 2x years)

I love the idea of building a library. I have read most of the books on your list but I had never heard of Captain Blood.

Great video Tristan! I have read most of the books you mentioned but an still looking forward to Great Expectations, A Month in the Country, and The Count of Monte Christo. I have been trying to pick up a copy of The Count but many editions seem to be abridged even though they don't always say so (their page counts are only 600 to 700 pages). Three more exciting, enjoyable Classics I would recommend are The Thirty-Nine Steps and John McNabb by John Buchan, and The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.

I started reading the Woman in White and I agree, I can’t put it down. I stay up way too late reading one more chapter. Thank you for these great suggestions. I have read quite a few, and agree they belong on this list. I am adding Three Men in a Boat, because who doesn’t need a good laugh these days! Love your channel and the excitement over a good book!

I enjoyed your video a lot! There are some books I've never heard about🙊 I think I'll try to find Captain Blood by Sabatini. I completely agree about The Count of Montecristo, I read it last winter, one of my favourite classics since then.

Tristan, I’ve just finished Captain Blood. I loved it. I would never have read this book without your recommendation - thank you, thank you, thank you. Brave New World next. Peter (Williams, not Blood).

Thank you for the recommendations! I added the book I haven’t read to my Goodreads. 😃 I read The Count of Monte Cristo this year and loved it!

The Count of Monte Cristo is the greatest novel of all time! You make me want to reread A Month in the Country, your description is perfect. Frankenstein would be a good addition to this list.

Amazing video. I'm new to reading and really struggle with knowing what to read next! I'm going to set myself the challenge of reading each book mentioned here, although I don't think I could read bits of the Count of Monte Cristo whilst reading another book, my mind would get lost between worlds haha. Do you have any advice for when it comes to reading multiple books simultaneously? I'm also interested in the "How to build a Classic book library" video if you haven't already gotten round to it!

I read Rebecca and To Kill a Mockingbird decades ago. Looking forward to rereading those and becoming acquainted with the others on the list.

Thank you! Suggestion on best translation(s) for Dumas?