Classics to read more than once in your life

If you are looking for some great classic books to add to your reading list, take a look at these curated by the Readplot review team.

Scoop by Evelyn WaughPartly

Based on Waugh’s personal experiences, Scoop is a satirical take on reporters’ lengths – and newspaper magnates – will go to for a story. With modern exposés on hacking scandals and the like, Scoop feels as relevant as ever. This is a funny story wrapped around absurdity, journalism and war.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

After 18 years in the Bastille, Dr Manette is released and sent to live in Britain with a daughter he’s never met. Split between Paris and London, A Tale of Two Cities is a mammoth story set during the brutal years of the French Revolution. Sitting alone at 16 years old after the family had gone to bed, tears streamed down my cheeks as I finished this novel.

Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith

Diary of a Nobody follows a respectable middle-class man, Charles Pooter, and his attempts to live a decent middle-class life. This riotously funny novel created such an impression that it inspired an adjective in honour of its main character: 'Pooterish,’ a self-important person who takes themselves far too seriously.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina is a woman who seems to have it all. She’s married, she’s wealthy, she’s well-liked – but she feels her life is empty until she meets Count Vronksy. Tolstoy’s novel is essentially a philosophical meditation on the meaning of life and happiness, but it’s a very readable one.

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