The Difficulty of Reading Classics: Why You Should Do It and Where To Start

By Arts & Literature Editor Michal Gawlik

Reading classics is a big task that many people struggle to tackle, especially if they have not had a bug for books beforehand. Since there are countless books to pick up in your spare time, why does it have to be something written so long ago? It doesn’t, but you will see that when you finally read The Iliad, you will pick up on many new references in popular media, which will repeat for other novels. If you have never read Jane Austen, you will never know that the movie Clueless mirrors Emma almost perfectly, and watching Rick and Morty will leave you with a lingering thought of the importance of The Canterbury Tales because classics have it to themselves that themes and lessons they contain still stand today.  

Anywhere you look for an idea or inspiration on what to read, you will encounter and be guided towards classics. It’s inevitable and good for you, but you need to know how to start reading classics not to get burnt out at the very beginning.

Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are otherwise known as the nightmares of upcoming readers. Do not get me wrong; these writers are revolutionary, unique, and unmatched; their novels struck the world and reimagined reality to a point where a person who has never read a book in their life will know their names. The problem is that they are so popular and widely spread that hardly anyone reads their books anymore and bases their theories on general knowledge derived from social media, movies, unreliable stories passed down by word of mouth and the worst of them all - short summaries of books. When a person wants to have a meaningful conversation about any of these authors, use them as an example to prove a point, or contrast them with some form of media they enjoyed, they will hit a dead end because to fully understand an author is to read their work. And everywhere you look for inspiration to start a new book, you will be guided to read classics. 

 Contrary to a recently popularised trend, you should not read classics to appear more like your favourite TV characters but to understand what they are referencing. I could not count the number of people I have seen trying the “Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge” for entirely wrong reasons and failing at the very beginning. Thinking that “Rory from Gilmore Girls is so smart and I want to be like her” is not the reason to torture yourself with 500 pages of literature that will not bring anything into your life. It is, however, the reason to pick up a classic that more or less corresponds with your current mindset, so read reviews and previews, research what you could start from, and after a few good classics, getting through Leo Tolstoy won’t seem that big of a challenge anymore. What's even better is that you will realise you are more like Rory, not because you simply read a lot but because you know how to apply the knowledge from these books to real life and contrast it with other media, and this is precisely what being well-read is all about.

 We have already established that reading classics is good for you, but where did that idea come from in the first place? First, the previously mentioned references in pop culture play a huge role in your subconscious need to read classics. There is also a motion in movies and television to create and present intelligent and well-read characters; a clever but misunderstood girl will sit under a tree and read Jane Eyre while the emo, anarchist guy references Orwell or Kafka every second sentence. This movement puts a lot of pressure on knowing these books and authors. You might also be a victim of “BookTok gurus” chanting that you cannot possibly call yourself a reader if you have never read [insert any classic book title]. This sort of pressure can crumble your confidence and turn you away from books for a long time because you feel that no matter how much you read, it will never be enough. You will not be allowed to call yourself a reader unless you read (and understand!) every book from the Library of Alexandria.

 You might be right to notice that I am exaggerating the pressure you might be under, and you would be correct, but in my defence, I have turned away from reading classics precisely because of that pressure. I felt like I could not read Metamorphosis in public because I feared being judged that I am twenty years old and have never read it before, or people will think I am pretentious, and I have a feeling you have a book or two that you could say the same thing about. I know it is easier said than done, but let's collectively try not to care what people think and just read whatever we want, wherever we want. Sooner or later, reading Twilight in public will not be embarrassing anymore.

 Now that we have all that pressure and misconceptions about classics behind us, we should focus on what to start our reading with. I know you want to read Ulysses and Anna Karenina but trust me, it will not be enjoyable if you do not have the habit of reading or the knowledge of historical and societal context. I know how bad it feels not to finish a book that reading feels like pure torture, so please do not put yourself through that. Instead, start with something more relatable and lighter, like Little Women, which you might have seen movies of and heard stories about, meaning that you would be at least a bit familiar with it already, and that will make reading much more effortless. 

 If you enjoy themes of human psyche and behaviour, do not start with War and Peace but try to tackle Brave New World. If you have no idea what you enjoy, ask yourself the most straightforward questions: Do I enjoy horror? No? No worries, let’s steer away from that and look at romance, travel, or anything else. As long as you are not starting with something you despise, you will begin to develop a more precise taste with every book you read. 

 Remember that you are not alone in this process, and there are many people who are just starting their journeys with classics. A helpful thing that will motivate you to read a classic back-to-back is getting a friend who will do the same thing. You can make a little book club where you read and talk about the same book every week or two, or to make it even more interesting, read different books and make annotations. When you are both done reading, exchange the copies with each other and enjoy looking forward to a funny comment your friend has left for you! That is exactly how I got through The Catcher in the Rye without falling asleep.

 Keep an eye on Goodreads and Penguin reviews. You can find genuine opinions on novels there, and it will help you formulate your own stance. You will read through many books you do not like, but you will discover many more that you love.

Reading classics will not make you a genius, but it will be worth your time. You will start to appreciate not only the plot and characters but also the narrative and structure of novels, and someday, you might find yourself reading a very dull book simply because it is so beautifully written. You should read classics because they will allow you to notice more things around you and gain a new perspective on matters you never thought to explore, so be gentle and kind to yourself, start small, and gradually expand your knowledge and abilities. Allow yourself to enjoy the classics.