Read 10 classic novels

“For me it was East of Eden. Prior to this I didn’t know there was a whole world of abstract thought that captures feelings I’ve had and never articulated to myself. This book showed me that there are people that can capture certain aspects of the human experience with surgical precision. There are feelings and thoughts I’ve had that I thought were unique to me and there are certain aspects of relating to other people that I thought only I noticed. This book showed me that I’m not alone.”

“This year I decided to read East of Eden and follow along with a book club sub on Reddit to help make it fun and easier. It was awesome and now I’m on a binge of classics. [...] I love a good, fast-paced read where my brain doesn’t have to work hard. But there’s just something delicious about my brain having to work at what I’m reading. It’s almost like slowing it down helps me to savor the “taste” of the book. I like being challenged when I read but that means I like to read something a little easier and more accessible simultaneously.”

“My first classic I believe was Wuthering Heights. I had just graduated from reading first person YA novels and found the text really dense and struggled to understand what was happening. I read Jane Eyre next and had a much better time. It's always a book I'd recommend to people starting out with classics because it's narration sounds as if it's something that could be written today.”