10 books to read: list of the most read books

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Russia is one of the most reading countries in the world. A rich literary history boldly offers readers a huge selection of books. In the age of cinema and computer technology, books still stand on the same level with the latest inventions. Books are everywhere: in movies, computer games, performances, productions, electronic media and electronic libraries. Today we will talk about the ten most famous works that each of us has seen more than once on the TV screen, but which we must definitely get acquainted with in paper form.

Next 10 books to read.

Chekhov's stories

Remembering the Russian classics, it is impossible to ignore Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. During his short life (the author lived only 44 years), he managed to write such subtle and ironic works that are still relevant to this day. It would be deceptive to speak of a humorous note, butthis is how Chekhov's stories are positioned, since each of his short stories has a deep dramatic meaning. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov included in his stories the most ordinary feelings, the most ordinary people, and that is why he is so understandable to the reader.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote stories that have become immortal classics of our time, and bitter irony. The most famous of them: "Ward No. 6", "Man in a Case", "House with Mezzanine", "Men", "Duel" and many others.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's stories are always about people who live next to us. And even though the heroes of his humorous stories are more than a century old, they are always reflected in the people around us. Funny and sad, sad and absurd, short sketches about the touching characters of Chekhov's stories end. Young love, loneliness and misunderstanding, madness and greed - these are the everyday feelings that each of us has experienced at least once in our lives. That is why Chekhov is easy to read and so hard to read too much.

Of course, in addition to the school curriculum, every adult reading with pleasure will plunge into the closed world of Belikov, the boring life of Professor Nikolai Stepanovich and the ridiculous case of Andrei Efimych Ragin. All this is funny and sad, but, most importantly, not indifferent. No definitive answer, no predictable ending.

To Kill a Mockingbird

One of the most famous works of the American writer Harper Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a world bestseller. Romance takes overfrom the first page. Written in 1959, it touches on topics that were relevant to the United States at the time. This is a purely American story, which is told in the first person by the main character, a six-year-old girl. Such a sore subject as racism and violence, as well as the Great American Depression, are reflected in the novel with acute pain and contradiction. But despite the sentimental themes, the work is permeated with warmth and love, the sincerity of friendship and the awareness of true compassion.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, a work that many know from the 1962 film of the same name, directed by Robert Mulligan. The film is truly unique, as evidenced by its three Oscars.

The protagonist of the novel is a lawyer who brings up two children alone. It is these children who become the "eyes" of the entire American era and simple human development. Their growing up, awareness of life through the prism of the protagonist, decent and honest, reveals the most touching and important thing in the novel. At the same time, the work is filled to the brim with events, names, deeds. This is what hooks the reader, what makes him immerse himself in the novel with his whole body, with all his souls.

In the US, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is part of the school curriculum, and for good reason. This is what everyone should read, these are feelings that will always be relevant.

Call of the Wild

Jack London lived an amazing life filled with adventurous events and vivid impressions. He started adulthood earlylife and left early. The Call of the Wild by Jack London has become one of the most frequently filmed in the States.

In addition to the world-famous "Mark Eden" and "White Fang", London wrote a fantastic novel "The Call of the Wild", where the plot is generally similar to his stories of that time. The "food" for this piercing novel was the "gold rush" of 1887 in America, into which Jack set off with all the ardor of his adventurous nature. It was in Canada that he found his main characters - dogs - endowing them with a soul. The reader experiences this story very keenly.

The protagonist of the story "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London is a dog named Buck, it is about him that the story is filled with exciting events. Despite the fantastic plot, the work is interesting not only for children, but also for adults. It is worth reading to become kinder, become stronger and believe in yourself.

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous English writers. He began his career as a reporter, and his apparent talent made him early enough one of the most popular writers in England. We know Dickens from the novels "Oliver Twist" and "David Copperfield", which were read by all Russian and Soviet youth.

The novel "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens was written already in adulthood, which undoubtedly influenced his popularity, since the author was already quite famous in his country.

The plot of the noveldedicated to the life of the boy Pip, who, after the death of his parents, is brought up in rather difficult conditions in the family of his sister and her husband. The action of the work takes place during the time of the writer himself, in the middle of the 19th century. A very bright and eventful storyline of the novel makes the reader live with interest the life and passions of the protagonist, his fears, disappointments in love and the test of we alth and hardship. The bold and curious nature of Pip leads us into the jungle of human prejudices, vices and arrogance of the English estates of the stiff reality of that time. "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens is a novel with crazy energy, an ornate plot and a dramatic, but at the same time happy ending. It is not for nothing that this particular novel of the great writer was filmed ten times, and today we can enjoy the amazing work of the directors of both 1917 and 2016.

Throughout the novel, one can notice the resemblance of the protagonist to his immediate creator. It was in this novel that Charles Dickens put a piece of his heart, his experiences, his inner boy. Definitely, this novel deserves the highest marks and is included in the list of great works that everyone should read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

The sad title of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book is by no means as clear as the work itself. The author wrote the novel in 18 months, creating a worldwide bestseller and one of the most complex works of magical realism in Colombian literature. This book is definitely one of the most readbooks of the world.

When you start reading a novel, you need to be ready to imagine a parallel world in which people live who have their own unique history. Moreover, it is quite difficult to get confused in the names of the main characters, and there are more than twenty of them in the novel. The events take place in a fictional village, where for hundreds of years a frightening loneliness envelops an entire generation of the main family of the novel. The philosophical meaning and intention of the work is so strong that, having plunged into the fairy-tale world of each hero and, having felt this thread of a series of sad destinies, the reader will involuntarily feel sad in his empathy.

The genealogical tree of the family around which the plot revolves is presented.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude", in the events of which the novel immerses us in real and figurative meaning, leaves a sad and confused aftertaste. Behind the high-profile title lies the tragedy of the soul of the character of the novel, his dramatic life and fate. And despite the presence of love, pure and bright feelings in the novel, even this does not save the whole world of the lonely hearts of a fictional village. Who is this novel for? Probably, first of all, it is for your soul, for your inner loneliness, alone with which we spend most of our lives.

Moby Dick or white whale

Another complex novel by the American writer Herman Melville has become known throughout the world through numerous adaptations. The most memorable of them - "In the heart of the sea" with Chris Hemsworth in the title role. In general, the workexciting and interesting, it can also be read as an encyclopedia about white whales.

The action of the novel takes place at sea, during the whale hunt. Whaling in the United States of the 19th century was the main form of income for many Americans, whales were exterminated for the purpose of obtaining fuel when oil was not processed so actively. A very realistic, one might even say, adventure story. The reader is distracted by biblical inserts and numerous parallel stories. It was these biblical digressions conceived by the author that greatly damaged the glory of the most interesting novel. Initially, many critics downgraded the book significantly.

However, Herman Melville's "Moby Wild or White Whale" has become an American bestseller and is read with great pleasure in the modern world. The author himself was a sailor, and his believable, vivid, emotional essays about the sea do not leave anyone indifferent. In addition, the story itself, as well as the prototypes of the characters in the novel, are quite realistic, because much was taken from the real life of the author.

Gone with the Wind

One can talk endlessly about the book "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. This iconic romance drove millions of women around the world crazy. The work is based on the fate of the wayward beauty Scarlett and her 12 years of life. The action takes place during and after the American Civil War of 1861, but the plot covers not only the American tragedy of that time, but also the social confrontation between England and Ireland in the 19th century.

Courage, pride, coquetry and love of lifethe main character fascinate and fall in love with the reader. A crazy story of love, justice and kindness of the main characters - this is what will be relevant at any time.

The work was filmed by film producer David Selznick and won 8 Oscars. It was a resounding success, what can I say, if after almost a hundred years, all women stick to the screen when Gone with the Wind is shown.

Certainly, Margaret Mitchell's novel is one of the most read books of the last century.

The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the most famous of the mystical Russian authors. One of his most famous novels is The Brothers Karamazov. These are four volumes about the fate of four men, about the Russian character, about love and betrayal. All human passions are collected in this brilliant work of Dostoevsky.

There are several serious themes in the plot of the work. For Russia of the 19th century, love, money and, of course, religion were not alien. Three sons of the same father have different personalities. One can talk about the dramatic fullness of each of the characters for a very long time. It is not surprising that the novel was criticized and sharply analyzed, but the author himself could no longer participate in this, a few months after publication he died. Disputes about the characters of the main characters are still ongoing, one of the most interesting observations is that Dostoevsky himself was embodied in each of the brothers in different years.of his development as a person.

Against the background of the events of the novel, the turbulent life of its characters, the tragedy that befell the father of the Karamazovs becomes completely unexpected - he is killed. And here a detective trail is included in the plot, the result of which for many readers will be surprising.

"The Brothers Karamazov" by F. M. Dostoevsky is a complex work, it is voluminous, with rather tedious religious reasoning. Rather, it is a tragic plot that covers not only the Karamazov family, but also the ordinary population of the city where events are unfolding. "The Brothers Karamazov" was filmed 17 times by different directors in different countries.

The Master and Margarita

Listing 10 books worth reading, one cannot fail to mention Bulgakov, whose whole life, like his works, was shrouded in mysticism, secrets and magic. His main work "The Master and Margarita" is one of the most mysterious, ironic and fantastic. Few people are not familiar with this masterpiece of Russian classics. Today, the novel is not only made into films, but also staged amazing performances and musicals.

You can't say it's a simple piece. Its plot is quite understandable, but the fantastic atmosphere that permeates the entire novel with its strange characters and allegories is not always clear to the average reader. Moreover, the most interesting thing is that the writer did not complete the novel during his lifetime, since he burned the previous versions of it, Bulgakov's widow had to restore the work. This story is a lifetimethe author has been writing the novel throughout his writing career.

Today, the novel was dismantled in parts and quotes, at the mere mention of "Anna, who spilled the oil", everything becomes clear. The Behemoth cat has also forever entered the lives of all lovers of literature.

Bulgakov's best books, such as "The White Guard" and "The Heart of a Dog", are also on the list of the world's most famous works. You can't love literature and not read Bulgakov.

The Master and Margarita is one of the most famous books in the world.

The burden of human passions

The list of 10 books worth reading, of course, should include Somerset Maugham's "The Burden of Human Passion". Speaking of world bestsellers, books familiar to us from school, from childhood, one cannot ignore this brilliant work. British classic Somerset Maugham left us a world bestseller.

The protagonist of the book Philip has a lot in common with the author of the novel. His life, described in the work from childhood to maturity and formation, carries all the hardships of spiritual growth that a person goes through throughout his life. The main character is very burdened by his childhood trauma - a crippled leg, which is the cause of ridicule and bullying. Overcoming this mental trauma is Philip's main struggle in his life.

A very subtle detail related to the religiosity of a boy brought up in the family of a priest - the destruction of established canons and the hero's coming to atheism - cannot be ignored. The work is so strong, captivating from the first pages, that it makes the reader feel and sympathize with Philip, but the main thing is to think.

These are 10 books every educated, curious person should read. All of these works were written in past centuries. They are completely different in presentation, genre and philosophy. They are united not only by world fame and modern relevance, they are all brilliant, written by geniuses in different parts of the world on topics understandable to everyone. The works take you by the soul and introduce you to the amazing world of human destinies, in each of which it is so easy to find yourself.