Did you read any books in 2025 that are widely considered classics? If so, which ones and why?
OK, so after I posted this question of the week, I got to wondering what would be considered a classic. What do you think?
The only three Iâve read that Iâd say most people would call classics are:
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
ButâŚ
Iâve got some others that I kind of consider classics, and I guess thatâs because theyâre still widely read and thought of as âgood booksâ many decades after they were published:
The Devil Finds Work by James Baldwin
Bloodchild, The Parable of the Sower, and The Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler
Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood
Cider House Rules, by John Irving
Iâm really curious about othersâ opinions on this topic. Please opine away!
In honor of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austenâs birth, my two-person book club â my sister and me living half a continent apart â reread Pride and Prefudice. Jane was just as good as we remembered.
1 Like
For my personal retro-reading assignment (ahem), I read and loved East of Eden and found The Light in the Forest sad. I tried Faulkner, an author Iâve read and studied in college, but just wasnât in the mood for one of his classics.
1 Like
My reading list was really light on classic reads this year. The only two that might be considered more well-known, as well as âmodern,â classics were Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry) and Foundation (Isaac Asimov). My other classic reads were more obscure:
Spain in our Hearts. Pablo Neruda
The Queen of Spades. Alexander Pushkin
The Turkish Embassy Letters. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
I tend to think of the listed Butler books as classics, too.
Oh, yes, Asimovâs Foundation series! When I was in grad school I mentioned to a fellow student that I hadnât read much if any sci-fi or fantasy. He couldnât believe it, and so he gave me a list of must reads; the classics of sci-fi. Thatâs when I âmetâ Asimov. This opened up an entirely new genre for me to enjoy. I was so enthused that I created a course of independent study, for credit, and read many books. The department head was my instructor on record. We had great discussions.
1 Like
What an incredible door opened! I have stumbled into sci-fi in the past two years and have been enthralled by some of the novels out there. By any chance, do you still have the recommended list of classics? I would love to read more of the classics. My sci-fi reads to date have tended toward relatively recent publications. I have really enjoyed the more positive, hopeful and humorous sci-fi out there but am open to further exploring the genre. Would appreciate recommendations. 
1 Like
Well, Donâs list was given to me in 1975! Nope, I donât have it anymore. Here are some noted authors (many are deceased.) Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Frank Herbert. Herbertâs Dune series has been made into movies twice. Worth reading the original, though.
Iâve enjoyed Andy Weirâs books. The Martian, starring Matt Damien, was excellent. Also his Project Hail Mary.
Fantasy crept into my exploration, too. Tolkein, Ursula Le Guin, C.S. Lewis, George R.R. Martin, N.K. Jemisin.
Some books were introduced in adolescent lit including Anne McCaffreyâs Dragonriders series and the newer books of the Hunger Games series. Rowlingâs Harry Potter.
If you begin with older authorsâ books, youâll see a progression in the sciences as we learned more, invented more, etc. What was once sci-fi might be reality now.
Also, youâll soon learn there are many subtopics in the sci-fi genre. e.g. outer space, techno-weapons, aliens on earth, medical mutation mysteries.
Fantasy also has variations and subthemes and is usually characterized by magic, mythical settings, and/or âcreaturesâ.
There are some basic themes that transcend all genres. e.g. Humans vs Nature; Humans vs Humans; Love/Hate; Good vs Evil. Star Wars was a western set in space! Same with Avatar fantasy series.
And then there are the questions: Which is it? How do we know? Might there be an Avatar like planet somewhere in the universe? Maybe Oz exists. Planet of the Apes?? Whatâs beyond black holes? The human mind, at least mine, likes to ponder, which is why I like sci-fi and fantasy.
My best advice is to google, explore and create a reading list with a variety of authors. I know Iâve missed many, many names in both sci-fi and fantasy. Perhaps our BB readers will add to the âmust readâ list.
Enjoy your own flights of fancy!
1 Like
Wow!!! Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed response. I will definitely check out books from the authors you have listed. Jules Verneâs and Ray Bradburyâs books have been on my TBR forever. Time to read them! Have you read Becky Chamberâs Monk and Robot series? I thought it was a delightful series and it was what pushed me to explore the sci-fi shelves, where I found a variety of wonderful options across the genre. Thank you again for your response! I saved a screenshot of it!
The Motherâs Recompense/ Edith Wharton, Night/ Elie Wiesel, Age of Innocence/ Wharton, Lolita/ Nabokov, Nineteen Eighty Four/ Orwell, the last two for bookclubs.
I read a few books by Octavia Butler and a few by Joan Didion but not sure if they would be considered classics.
When I retired in 2015 I told myself I wanted to read a lot of classics. Each year a lot has not happened! If you saw my personal library you would know why I want to read classics. Many would be rereads from years ago. I have all of Thomas Hardy, Dickens, Austen just to name a few!
So many new books are published each year that I tend to read them. Maybe 2026 will be the year of enjoying more classics!
1 Like
I havenât read Chambers so will explore that series. Thanks for the tip. Enjoy your reading adventures.
P.S. George Orwell, too!
1 Like
The Monk and Robot series books are short and unique to what is out there in the sci-fi genre - kind of a âcozyâ Sci-fi.
If youâre up for more recent Sci-Fi, I love John Scalziâs work. My favorites are the Old Manâs War series, the Interdependency series, and the Lock In series.
1 Like
These are the classics I read (or reread) in 2025:
1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
2. A Room With a View
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
4. The Great Gatsby
5. Jane Eyre
The two I read with a special purpose were Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Why? I read them in preparation for reading âJamesâ by Percival Everett.
That probably says all you need to know about my (a bit obsessive?) reading personality. Ha!
3 Likes
I donât know if itâs a classic, but I read Bastard out of Carolina and woah it was a lot. Didnât really know what it was about before I got into it. There were a lot of parallels with Demon Copperhead which I thought was an incredible book and âenjoyedâ a lot more.
Iâve not read Scalzi and appreciate the author/books recommendations, Kim.
1 Like
I am in a library book group entitled âRequired Readingâ - I have discovered that there are some classics that I havenât read and some I didnât remember very well. This year we did Catch 22, Never Let Me Go as well as A Christmas Carol and A Farewell to Arms. We have had lots of great discussions; itâs been a fun group.
2 Likes
Our book club read George Orwellâs 1984â dark, heavy and oh so pertinent!!! Many of us assumed we had read it in high school, but I suspect we may have only read excerpts. Much of it was ânewâ to meâ there were plenty of parts I donât think I would have forgotten. The novel was âenhancedâ by viewing the recent documentary, â2 + 2=5. Iâd strongly recommend reading or re-readingâit is eye-opening and so disturbing; but definitely worth the effort!!
1 Like