Classics
We asked our readers and library staff, "Which classic book has stood the test of time?" Read below to see which books made the cut!
Library Staff Recommendations
by Alice Walker
Recommended by Amanda Betz, Library Assistant
A groundbreaking modern classic, a powerful story of resilience, sisterhood, and finding your voice. It shows how love and courage can transform even the hardest lives.
Pride & Prejudice: A Counting Primer
by Jennifer Adams
Recommended by Leigh Ramey, User Experience Librarian
Jane Austen's classic novel is a favorite of many, and there are so many different versions out there like graphic novels and even board books for babies! For something a little different, check out the BabyLit Classics series for bite-sized retellings of stories like Little Women, Walden, The Secret Garden, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, and more.
by Madeline Miller
Recommended by Alyssa Krob, Digital Resources Librarian
In all transparency, I'm not much of a classics reader. I'm fond of the retelling of classics and seeing the modern take on them. One book that I really enjoyed was The Song of Achilles. Madeline Miller has a lyrical way of telling a story and you can tell that she put a lot of research into the myths surrounding Achilles and Patroclus. This title is easily one of my favorites and I highly recommend it to everyone.
by Voltaire
Recommended by Collin Stiglbauer, Information Services Librarian
A hilarious, sardonic work poking fun at the world at large. Quick, accessible, and enjoyable; truly, a book that could only have been written in this, the best of all possible worlds.
by L.M. Montgomery
Recommended by Olivia Perry, Library Specialist
Anne is clever, witty, kind and imaginative. L.M. Montgomery does a great job of showing what it is like to find a family, friends, and your place in the world through a young red haired Anne.
by Jane Austen
Recommended by Rachel Dowden, Library Assistant
Emma is my all-time favorite classic because it gives you a glimpse into the interesting social standards of the early 1800's while also being an entertaining tale that focuses on Emma, a wealthy, stubborn young woman determined to be a matchmaker.
by George Orwell
Recommended by Debbie Henderson, Information Services Librarian
I am a sucker for dystopian novels; and, George Orwell's 1984 is one of the best. He explores themes of surveillance, propaganda, censorship, and the manipulation of truth, painting a chilling portrait of a society stripped of privacy and individuality. It was first published in 1949, but remains a powerful warning against authoritarianism and the erosion of civil liberties.
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Recommended by Cassandra Knoppel
Technically, this is a poem, but it is long enough to be a novella and carries readers through the heartbreaking romance of Evangeline and her beloved during the Expulsion of the Acadians. It was one of the most famous poems of its era and remains a classic for good reason. There are lines in this poem that leave me swooning, and others that bring me close to tears.
by John Steinbeck
Recommended by Grace Cordial, Senior Librarian & Archivist
A story about a family forced off their land in Oklahoma by the Dust Bowl in the 1930's and their struggles for dignity as unhoused people. Three generations migrate westward together in search of work to support themselves. The images from the final devastating pages have remained imprinted into my brain since high school.
by Zora Neale Hurston
Recommended by Emma Maines, Information Services Librarian
This was one of the few required readings in high school that I actually enjoyed (I reread it recently and it still holds up)! Zora Neale Hurston's Harlem Renaissance classic isn't one to miss. You'll root for Janie as she moves through life and learns that following her heart can lead to both freedom and heartbreak.
by Alexandre Dumas
Recommended by Katharine Argall, Library Assistant
I have a jolly memory of taking this mammoth of a book on a family beach vacation. The weather was unseasonably chill, so I sat at the pool reading this book wrapped up in towels and nibbling a chocolate bar. If you're tired of dreary classics where the characters contemplate the wallpaper, this one might be your style. There's treachery, dungeons, treasure, caves, kidnapping, bandits, lavish masked parties, and one elderly man that communicates solely in blink language. Dumas' tome is long purely to fit all the dialogue, political intrigue, and swashbuckling! As an added bonus, its sufficiency of pages means you'll only have to pack one book for your next vacation!
by Iris Murdoch
Recommended by Ryan Easterbrooks, Information Services Librarian
The Bell tells the story of a lay religious community living beside a convent, where personal struggles disrupt their search for spiritual renewal. The discovery of an old bell in a nearby lake coincides with plans for a new one, creating tension among the members. Through the experiences of Dora Greenfield, Michael Meade, and others, the novel explores love, faith, guilt, and the gap between ideal hopes and human reality. I recommend this book if you enjoy exploring themes such as existentialism, materialism, spirituality, and religion.
Classics recommended by our readers
