My favourite classics 📚 classic lit recommendations 

I am 22 years old, and I am severley ill. I have been for two years now. I can no longer leave the house, and am confined to my bed. I want to say that I recieve so much comfort and joy from your videos, Emma. I used to study English lit at uni too, and had always read voraciously before my illness. To borrow a phrase of Anne Shirley's, I see in you a true kindred spirit. Someone in whose deep passion for books and humanity, I see my old self. It is such a bittersweet pleasure to me to watch someone immerse themselves so fully in life the way that you do.

When I retired I wanted to start reading classics. My daughter and I are reading classics together. We have read 16 classics so far and my Favorite is The Count of Monte Cristo.

The reason the coffee doesn’t taste as good is because the process of microwaving works by using electromagnetic forces to move particles in the food but the forces only vibrate the polar molecules (molecules where one part of the molecule is more negatively charged and another more positively charged, e.g. water) and the particles in the part of the coffee that are responsible for the good flavour don’t get heated up as much and therefore don’t taste as good and I just made this whole thing up.

Hey Emma could you do a video about your reading schedule or how you fit reading in to your day or something like that? You obviously read several hours a day at least. It would be interesting to see how a literature major/enthusiast keeps up with the reading. And how do you approach a big book - you said something about 15 pages a day for David Copperfield. Do you set a pace like that for books when you have a deadline? So interested in how you fit in all the reading.

You re-introduced me to Mexican literature and since I’m from Mexico (but haven’t been back) I’ve been reading it in Spanish and it’s been a delight ❤❤❤

Love everything mentioned here Emma! My favourite classics has to be: War & Peace, Pride & Prejudice, 100 years of Solitude, Pedro Páramo, Dorian Gray, Mrs. Dalloway, Anna Karenina and Emma 😊

My grandmother passed away on Tuesday. I needed this video more than ever. Thank you so much for being a shining light ♥️

I love that you have picked a lot of books that you read for your around-the-world reading challenge.

Emma, I gotta say, you're the first person who actually made me want to read Pedro Páramo (and I studied Spanish in uni!!). Listening to you talk about your favourite classics is really a wholesome experience! Especially because you're an english speaking person who reads a lot of non english written books, which is so rare and makes all the difference.

my favorite classics so far have to be - the bell jar by sylvia plath (one of my fave authors) - a room of one’s own/ mrs dalloway by virginia woolf (fave too) - a farewell to arms and the old man and the sea by hemingway - frankenstein obviously! so beautifully written and so philosophical, love that - 1984 orwell was life changing so definitely have to include that here

Things Fall Apart was one of my favorite books we read in high school. I feel Ice Palace calling to me.

honestly i’ve been waiting for another one of these v recently and i was so happy when you posted 😭 i started reading again recently and its safe to say I’ve fallen down the classics rabbit hole so this was amazing timing

Hey! I'm Brazilian and i gotta say: Is SO GOOOOOOD to see Machado de Assis on your list. It warmed my heart.

Bought a farewell to arms this weekend!! Hearing you and Carolyn speak about it made me need to read it, planning on starting it after tests and I’m so exited

I'm brazilian, so I'm pretty happy to see that you read a classic book from my country and you liked! Machado is one of the most important names in our national literature, hope you can read more from him soon, love u 💕

I can listen to her talk about Frankenstein for hours❤

obsessed with the way that you have introduced me to so many classics i had never heard of, especially foreign classics! thank you, emma!

All of those are such amazing recommendations!!! I'm surprised The Blind Owl wasn't on there! It quickly became one of my all-time favorite classics and all-time favorite books thanks to your recommendation! 🥰🥰🥰

my fave classics, my top 3: one hundred years of solitude, the posthumous memoirs of bras cubas, and the count of monte cristo. i actually got most of my classic recommendations from you and a huge THANK YOU emmie for introducing me to south american lit! also i recently bought hour of the star by clarice lispector and collected stories of machado de assis

You just talking about books while holding a cup of coffee in your hand is just so dreamy and cozy. I’m a mom and I read classics too. I enjoy them because they have more substance and essence for me compare to contemporary fiction. I just loveee hearing classic book recommendation!!! I loved Things Fall Apart too. We studied at one of my classes back in college. ❤️

OOOO id love to read your paper on Frankenstein! Such a good list you got here

classic literature yes !!! 😍 i love them so much aaa im such a classics lover ♡♡♡ thank you for introducing them emma^^

Emma, your list of classic lit is nothing, but perfect! ✨✨

the ice palace is so good! it's definitely about to be popular this year.

Not only classics and recommendations, but they're by Emma, cannot possibly get any better.

Thanks for recommending your favorite classics, Emmie. Stay true to yourself no matter what.

Last year, I read some amazing classics because of you. And now I got some more. Thank you girl 💜

i read the Phantom of the Opera because of one of your previous videos and it was amazing. I loved every page of it. Thank you.

This video brings me so much joy! One of my favorite humans with lots of my favorite books 🥰

I read the ice palace a few weeks ago because of you and its amazing! The scene of Unn in the ice palace was genuinely hypnotic. I highly 2nd your reccommendation

This video brought me UNBRIDLED JOY. Frankenstein is my all-time favorite book, so I loved hearing you gush about it.

1) The Fall - Albert Camus 2) The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas 3) Frankenstein - Mary Shelley 4) Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe 5) Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

As an Igbo Nigerian im glad u loved things fall apart i remember my aunt gifting it to me when i was 12 years old and i still remember it ever since!!!

each of your movies affects me like warm tea on winter days. every movie fills me with warmth and it makes me happy to listen to you because you are so wise and aware. you have no idea how your videos help me. I am sending you much love

Hill house is such a hoot to read. While we differ so much between our favourite classics, i love hearing people talk of their favourites. There is always a part of me that thinks « Maybe I should give them yet another reread in case I missed something the first times ». It brings out my optimistic nature for sure. My favourite classics are Anna Karenina, Little Women, and Mrs. Dalloway. They feel so intimate, cozy, flawed, but human.

I’m sooo glad to see Bras Cubas in this list! Another great work by Machado de Assis is Dom Casmurro, a story about a distrusting husband set in the Rio de Janeiro of the Brazilian Empire. Trust me, this is a 5 star book as well.

I only read Frankenstein for the first time a few years ago and I was amazed how moving it was. Totally unexpected. I agree with you. It's so real and gut wrenching.

A Farewell to Arms was a hit for me. I plan to reread it as well. I am loving the Game of Tomes!

Your skits and book recs are elite

You always post when I need distraction and comfort most. Love and books always ❤ 📚

I think my preference of literature matches perfectly with you. Because of your recommendations I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein, and OMG! I can't ever thank you enough for them. I look forward to your videos, just to note down your recommendations, so that I can put them in my TBR and enjoy the hell out of them. Thank you for these videos. Thank you for being the way you are. ♥️

This video is an absolute delight ! ❤️ One of m'y favorite classics are : Grapes of wragh, and Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and Wuthering Height by Emilie Brontë

This year I am focusing on variety and your recommendations have helped tremendously. 😊

Hey Emma I read 100 years of solitude after I watched a video where you recommended it. You spoke about it with such passion, I was very intrigued. I jumped into it blindly. As you say it does come with its challenges but wow ! What a book. Near the end of the book I read a couple of passages to my boyfriend and that’s when I realized I was reading something truly amazing. I’m currently reading the picture of Dorian Gray. Thanks for your videos

Omg i’m adding all the ones i haven’t read from these straight to my tbr

I am definitely going to read some of these! I have never heard of Ice Palace until now. Frankenstein is so good and a great introduction to classics since it’s exciting and a bit easier to understand!

oh, the timing of this video! I've been searching everywhere for classics recs cause out of nowhere I've felt this urge to start reading them and I definitely trust your taste!!

Your videos are always so fun and interesting! I enjoyed hearing about Ernest Hemingway. I just got done with The Old Man and the Sea and loved it, and I remember loving Farewell to Arms when I was younger. I read Things Fall Apart in high school as well, but I should give it another read since I hardly remember some of the details!

You have such a calming voice, I could listen to it all day ❤️😍

I'm very close to finishing Things Fall Apart (almost definitely finishing it today) and I'm really loving it, it's fantastic

My favorite classics (so far) are: -Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, the language was a bit difficult but the story was just amazing. - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, she is such strong character and I loved following her story. - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, so short but every single page was brilliantly written. The ending left me in shock for a while. - Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, I love Mary Shelley and her life story. When it comes to Frankenstein I finished it in one sitting which is not something I would usually do, so it is amazing. - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, a very famous and brilliant story but that one chapter... Still ignoring it... - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, yes I am a man but the whole book just warms my heart... Love it. - Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe, every story was beyond interesting and his writing style is so easy to get through. "The Black Cat" will forever be my favorite story.

Can I just say how well the cover of "Chess" matches your outfit and nails! 😍

I’ve read eight of these books thanks to you and two more are waiting on my shelves. So thank you Emma 😅 💜

I just finished 100 years of solitude and I can honestly say it’s joined my top 10. Got absolutely lost in it and just thoroughly enjoyed reading it

Emmie, so humorous and fabulous YOU are! One of your best reviews of the classics. I love all of your choices!!! Wish I could say I've read them all too, but nevermore...:/

Oh Emmie, I love your videos so much... Your intros and just realness is amazing ... I have all these books, thank you for the recs. I Loved The turn of the screw, Things Fall Apart, Frankenstein, A Farewell to Arms, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Phantom of the Opera, Bras Cuba's was HILARIOUS!!! Dorian Gray is just a MUST READ, War and Peace broke me and I loved it, I haven't read Season yet but it is in my tbr, Haunting of Hill House was good as well... I am still trying to finish David Copperfield and I am loving it... Thanks for another great video Emmie .. love from Ohio

I am half way through War & Peace. I struggled with it in the beginning but am enjoying it now. So far I'd say I definitely prefer Anna Karenina.

As a treat to myself I’m reading The Picture of Dorian Gray on my bday weekend (the last weekend of March) and I’m soo looking forward!

Emmie make a video of the best short stories.

Thanks for the reccs! I just got done with the Chiltern Classics ed. of Dorian Grey the other week, love love love that range, big recommend. Gonna pick up one of their Frankensteins now, no idea why I always tuned that book out :)

I’m so happy to see Machado de Assis on your list 💕

Your videos are very comforting❤

I love Hemingways writing. It’s just so good

Just what I needed!

1. Orlando 2. Mrs Dalloway 3. The Waves 4. Frankenstein 5. The Picture of Dorian Gray 6. Wuthering Heights 7. Jane Eyre 8. Anna Karenina 9. 100 years of solitude 10. The Pickwick Papers 😊

Loved your list :)) I've already tried to add Things Fall Apart maybe 3 times to my tbr because it sounds so good. Ice Palace also sounds amazing! My favorites include: The Hunger Angel - Herta Müller The Wall - Marlen Haushofer Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck Narcissus and Goldmund + Beneath the Wheel - Hesse The Yellow Wall-Paper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman Loco Afán - Pedro Lemebel Mr Palomar - Calvino The Artificial Silk Girl - Keun The Bell Jar - Plath Marie Antoinette - Zweig Everything by Ingeborg Bachmann (she's a genius)

Sounds fun will definitely check it out!

watching the coffee in your cup being very close to spilling is so stressful ahaha but love your recs

Omg! I got Weyward too!!!! I am so excited to read it! I can’t wait to hear your feelings on it

Thank you !

Wonderful recommendations! I am reading Moby-Dick for the first time, and oh man it is so much better than I thought it would be, and I am loving it!

on top of my head, some of my favorites are: Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka, Frankenstein, 1984, Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović, Uncle Maroje - A Comedy in Five Acts by Marin Držić

It's a pleasure to hear how much you love One hundred years of solitude, It's perhabs the best book ever wrinten in my country. Greetings from Colombia! Love ur content. 🌸

I absolutely recommend All Quite on the Western Front. It is so good and made me cry.

I recommend you anything Kafka honestly. This man and his work has a GRIP on me, unimaginable. For instance as I was reading "the trial", it was so interesting and had so many layers or just generally leaves so much room for interpretation but I KNEW that as I was reading some pages, that I just did not understand the passage and the intention with which Kafka wrote it like- just amazing, beyond amazing honestly. It makes me so emotional and empathetic too like I DO NOT EVEN know this man😭 But yes highly recommend Kafka and also his short stories to start with maybe too!!

Yessssss!!!! So happy for this video

Very happy to see Machado de Assis here. A recommend all of his books

my top 3 classics: Emma, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Les Misérables

im going to go reread frankenstein now!

I'm gonna recommend just one of my favorite classics (and favorite overall): The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. It's one of those books I don't want or know how to talk about, it's so special and unique to me, and it WILL break your heart if you read it.

New to the channel. As a reading polyglot, this video is gold. Most recommendations only stick to things written in their own language.

Love a number of these. My other favorites are The count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Beloved by Toni Morrison, I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou, In our Time by Hemingway, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, and Anna Karenina by Tolstoy

Great recs! We have a lot of classic audiobooks and a couple from the list!

omgg classics and emmie

Thanks for the recommendations, I'm actually reading "In Cold Blood" from Truman Capote which is consider a classic as well. Regards from sunny DR. 🇩🇴🇩🇴

the ice palace has been in my cart for months, just ordered it, all i needed was the push.

Thank you🥰

I love your add skit.🤣 Made my night.

Definitely the best book. One Hundred Years of Solitude 🙌🏾

You mentioned you are studying hotels in lit?? I would love a video essay on your thoughts or even just a Rec video! I am obsessed with the role of houses/structures as characters in literature

Thesis - Yes! Phantom of the Opera! I especially enjoy the edition you held up - the translation by Mireille Ribiere and who doesn't absolutely love her quote about Mozart! (p. 55)

A book that isn't talked about enough in my opinion is Martin Eden by Jack London. It is written so beautifully and it was very thought-provoking. It might seem like a romance in the very beginning, but the book is just so much more than that.

I love that im watching this even though im pretty sure i can guess about 85% of the books you're about to recommend. Also, your book of the month ads are the absolute best! If they ever stop sponsoring you i will start a riot

I've been trying to get into Mary Shelley's biography of late,her parents were incredible people.I have still to finish A Farewell To Arms and some of the names on the page are places I have been to many moons ago so in that sense I feel a strong connection with the book.

you just reminded me to reread the ice palace because it was my first read of summer 2022 and i’m not sure it was the best climate to be reading it in

Good list!

I finished A Farewell To Arms today and yeah, just completely fascinating. I have 2 books of short stories and 4 novels of his to get through next.

Great book recommendations, loved Frankenstein and PotO!! Still hoping for book recommendations based on great dates (in addition to the one inspired by bad dates:))

Your ad skits give me life

100 Years of Solitude was my favorite of all time until I read War and Peace a few years ago. Definitely two masterpieces. Love your analyses by the way.