The most read books of our time * Articles

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The greatest books are not just called "classics." Created by the outstanding minds of their time, they open to the reader a new world of incredible characters, experiences, feelings and opportunities that are relevant at all times. Some of them can be called the ancestors of entire genres, trends and movements, not only in literature, but also in art as a whole.

So, TOP-16 books defining the most significant stages in world literature. Some novels have been tested for strength for centuries, some can rightly be called the giants of our time, but they are all definitely worthy of attention, reverence and perpetuation in history. Everyone should read them, at least once in a lifetime!

Content:

1 “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee
2 1984, George Orwell
3 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rawling
4 The Lord of the Rings, J. R. Tolkien
5 The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
6 “Pride and Prejudice,” Jane Austen
7 “451 degrees Fahrenheit,” Ray Bradbury
8 Animal Farm George Orwell
9 Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
10 Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
11 “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,” Douglas Adams
12 “About Mice and People,” John Steinbeck
13 Runner in the Wind, Khaled Hosseini
14 “A Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens
15 “Alice in Wonderland”, Lewis Carroll
16 “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Clive S. Lewis

“To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee

An unforgettable novel about childhood in a sleepy town in the South and about a crisis of conscience that shocked him. The novel takes readers to the origins of human behavior: innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hate, humor and pathos. This story of a young woman from Alabama goes beyond the standard American novel and becomes its symbol. What today is considered a canon and a measure. The fact that today is a classic American novel.

Harper Lee has always considered her book a simple love story. This modest woman was stunned by the avalanche of unexpected success, but did not even take advantage of the created conditions and did not begin to stamp prose in the same spirit under the terms of a lucrative contract. So this book is one of a kind.

1984, George Orwell

The plot is based on a dystopian totalitarian society, where everyone’s life is under comprehensive control. Humans coexist humiliatingly in fear and deception, not thinking of freedom. But Winston Smith’s fate fell outside the framework of Big Brother’s unified script. He is trying to defeat a system that prohibits any hints of personality, independence and love. Will it be possible to straighten the state of crooked mirrors, where the world is a war?

The splendor of the novel lies in the phenomenal foresight of modern life: the dominance of television, the distortion of news, the substitution of concepts and the primitive, nagging propaganda.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J. Rawling

And, of course, what a list without the famous “boy who survived”. Start your journey through the world of magic hand in hand with the great Harry Potter. Spend an unforgettable time at Hogwarts, get to know all your favorite characters and become part of the world where Harry Potter becomes not only the greatest wizard, but also the most famous character in the world.

Potteriana has become one of the largest sagas of our time. She covered literature, cinema and other areas of art. Toys, souvenirs, clothes - products with Harry Potter and his team swept the shops and became an indispensable attribute of every second student.

The Lord of the Rings, J. Tolkien

This is the most read and influential fantasy epic of all time, everyone knows about it, even those who have never opened science fiction books. The author described a journey through the lands of Middle-earth - a universe that has become the basis for hundreds of novels, games, quests, films and songs. Thanks to the calls of the mysterious wizard Gandalf, the young hobbit Frodo Baggins sets off on the road to destroy one ring. This ring, created and then lost by the Dark Lord many centuries ago, is the weapon of evil that Sauron desperately wants to return. But our heroes must prevent him and save Middle-earth from a cruel fate ...

The Lord of the Rings trilogy gave rise to a myriad of fantastic works, as well as a whole trend in art - Tolkienism, in which the authors expand the famous universe.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jay Gatsby is a man who has it all. But one thing will always be beyond his reach. Day and night his mansion on Long Island is buzzing, the brightest youth is gathering there. They drink, dance and discuss its mysterious character. For them, Gatsby - young, handsome, and fabulously wealthy - always seems alone in the crowd, watching and expecting, although no one knows what. And soon this destructive obsession will cause his whole world to collapse.

The novel became a symbol of the "age of jazz" - a beautiful, but short-term era when young people were looking for oblivion from the war and other social disasters in a new drive straight from the black neighborhoods.

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

One of the most famous and delightful English novels. Jane Austen's art has transformed this sparkling fairytale of rural romance into a witty, perceptive satire about the Victorian era. This is a romantic story taking place in 19th-century England about the rebellious Elizabeth Bennett, a strong-willed young woman, and Mr. Darcy, a mysterious and arrogant rich man. Her unwillingness to marry him threatens the future of her family.

Jane Austen became the progenitor of female prose. Prior to her, only Sappho could be called famous. It was liberal England, led by Austin and the Bronte sisters, who proved to the whole world that a woman can not only raise children, but also write talented, original books.

451 degrees Fahrenheit, Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury’s world-famous novel, a twentieth-century work of literature that tells of a dark, despotic future, led by a fire that incinerates the legacy of centuries.

Guy Montag is a firefighter, but not the one who saves people from flames. In a world where television programs control people, and literature and books are on the brink of extinction, his job is to destroy all illegal things: printed books, as well as the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never doubts his actions. Returning every day to his fresh life and his wife Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family,” he does not think about what is wrong, although he dimly feels that something is missing. But soon he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarissa, who introduces him to the past, where people live not in fear, but in the present, where a person sees the world through ideas in books instead of meaningless chatter on television. Montag begins to doubt everything he ever knew. He tries to hide books in his house, and when his former colleagues and "friends" find out about this, the fireman must run and fight for his life.

The Farmyard, George Orwell

George Orwell’s famous satire, in which all animals are equal, but some animals are “more equal” than others. The author’s immortal slander — “against Stalin,” as he wrote to his French translator — can be read in many languages. This sarcastic reading about the stubborn horses Boxer and Clover, the opportunistic pigs Snezhka and Napoleon and the deafening chorus of sheep, remains an unrivaled masterpiece.

It's funny how a peculiar English humor appeared in relation to Orwell and his work. The street in which the Soviet Embassy was located was named after him. So the government of the United Kingdom expressed its attitude towards the superpower.

Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

The story unfolds in County Clayton, Georgia, and Atlanta during the Civil War and reconstruction in America. She depicts the struggle of young Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, who must use all the means at her disposal to break out of the poverty in which she found herself after the march of Sherman to the sea. The source of her income is now out of control: blacks got freedom. Her estate was plundered by the enemy army, her honor almost went after the accumulated capital. But a fragile lady with character will show the invaders and the whole world what a decisive and intelligent woman is capable of.

A stunning story of intricate passion and extraordinary courage. On the pages of Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell enlivens bygone events that determined the course of world history.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

This is a wild, passionate story about the intense and almost demonic love of Katherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, the foundling adopted by Katherine's father. After the death of the head of the Earnshaw family, Heathcliff is harassed and humiliated by Catherine's brother, Hindley, and mistakenly believes that his love for Katherine is not reciprocal. He leaves the place that has become his home, only to return, after years, a rich and refined man. He seeks terrible revenge for his previous suffering.

The Yorkshire tale of love, which is stronger than death, is also a narrative of a metaphysical passion in which heaven and hell, nature and society are always juxtaposed. A unique, mystical, always attractive classic of English literature.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

A few seconds before the destruction of the Earth, a measure was taken to make way for the galactic freeway. Arthur Dent flies off the planet with his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher who, for the past fifteen years, has posed as an idle actor. Together, this dynamic couple began to travel through space with the help of fellow travelers.

Why were we born? Why are we dying? For all the answers, attach a thumb to the stars!

“About Mice and People,” John Steinbeck

The attractive story of two outsiders seeking to find their place in the inexorable world. Rogues in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lenny, have nothing in the world except each other and the dream that one day they will have their own land. In the end, they find work on a ranch in the Salinas Valley of California, but their hopes are doomed, as Lenny, struggling with extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength.

The book shows both sides of the American dream, and not just the alluring title block, which attracts crowds of onlookers. In fact, once again reminds the author, a dream is not enough to make it come true.

“Running after the wind”, Khaled Hosseini

The heartbreaking story of an almost impossible friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant. The book takes readers to Afghanistan, at a tense and decisive moment, a time of change and destruction: during the war.

The reader will learn about the cost of betrayal and the price of atonement. This long-drawn-out story about family, love and friendship, unfolding against the background of the destructive history of Afghanistan over the past thirty years, will tell you what the participant in that Soviet campaign will never mention. It hurts too much.

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

It was the time of the French Revolution: a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was greeted with a thirst for revenge, and rarely distinguished between the innocent and the guilty. Against this turbulent historical background, the magnificent history of Dickens unfolds.

Unjustly imprisoned, Dr. Alexander Manette reunites with his daughter, Lucy, and safely moves from France to England. It would seem that they could take their lives in their own hands and start all over again. However, the couple was summoned to Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman, Charles Darnay, who was falsely accused of treason. The brilliantly constructed novel is rich in drama, romance and heroism, the culmination of all this is a daring escape from prison.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

In 1865, Charles Dodson wrote a fantastic tale for his three sisters. His creative genius and children's ability to represent the universe are combined in one of the most famous children's books. The story of a girl named Alice, who fell into a rabbit hole and fell into an imaginary world inhabited by strange creatures. The Cheshire Cat, the mad Hatter and the Red Queen became cultural icons, not to mention the heroic traveler Alice.

Based on this story, many cartoons, films, performances and quests have been made. She inspires contemporary artists with the brightest images that every child speaks.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Clive S. Lewis

Four brothers and sisters - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - begin their journey in a wardrobe, which leads them to a magical country called Narnia, frozen forever in winter and enslaved by the power of a white witch. But when almost all hopes are lost, the return of the Great Leo Aslan means a change ... and a great sacrifice. Open the door and enter a new world!

A beautiful film immortalized a talented book and engendered the same frenzy that once began with the advent of Harry Potter.

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