Summer Classic Novels Reading List to Read in 2024

 

——Heart to the bright moon, everything is empty

Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, The Moon, and Sixpence are W. Somerset Maugham's ode to the powerful forces behind the creative genius. The main character Charles Strickland is a staid banker, a man of wealth and privilege. 

He is also a man possessed by an unquenchable desire to create art. As Strickland pursues his artistic vision, he leaves London for Paris and Tahiti, and in his quest makes sacrifices that leave the lives of those closest to him in tatters.

Based on the life of the famous French painter Paul Gauguin, British author W. Somerset Maugham's The Moon and Sixpence celebrates the powerful driving force behind the creative genius. The book's protagonist, Charles Strickland, is a staid banker with money and power. 

At the same time, he also has an irrepressible desire for artistic creation in his heart. In pursuit of his artistic vision, Strickland left London for Paris and Tahiti. And in the course of his quest, the sacrifices he made completely destroyed the lives of those closest to him.

You can hate Strickland because he's selfish and ruthless, abandoning his wife and children and betraying his friends for personal pursuits, but he's more than selfish, he doesn't even see himself. He said: "I have to paint like a drowning man has to struggle. 

So he abandoned everything he once had, and let himself suffer from illness, hunger, and cold, only because of the huge creative impulse in his heart, did he embark on the road of sacrifice to art. The moon and sixpence are obviously two extremes, one is noble and bright, out of reach, and the other is vulgar and full of copper smell. 

While we were struggling for the endless sixpence, he looked up and saw the moon, the noble ideal. After reading this book, my disgust for Strickland had long since vanished, leaving only a deep sense of awe. 

Can't help but ask yourself: Have you ever left a bright moon in your heart? Or let it drown in the mundane world? This novel will take you into deep thinking about life, ideals, and happiness with great shock.

--here's to never grow up 

Holden Caufield is this 16-year-old kid who flunks out of school, right before Christmas vacation. He is not a good student and has a lot of problems at other schools. 

He leaves school early and goes to New York City. So then he's in NYC and spends time with a bunch of different people. Then he goes back home and sneaks into his house to see his younger sister, Phoebe. She's mad because he failed school. 

Then Holden has a nervous breakdown and seeks help from his family. It's up for debate where he winds up—it's suggested that he tells the story from a hospital in Hollywood.

Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old, was expelled from school just before the Christmas break. He was not a good student and had many problems at other schools. He left school early and came to New York City. So then he spent a period of time in New York City with a gang of various people. 

Then he got home and sneaked into the room to see his sister Phoebe. She was very angry that he was expelled from the school. Holden later had a nervous breakdown and sought help from his family. How he ends up, in the end, is up for debate - but the text suggests he was in a Hollywood hospital when he told the story.

I read this book when I was the same age as Holden, I didn't like the way he was always cynical and foul-mouthed, I sneered at his attitude that he couldn't accept everything, and I also looked down on his conceit, incredible. Yes, none of these made me give up this book. 

Instead, I read it every day and night like an addiction. Maybe this is the power of words. In fact, I did not fully understand the novel at that time but left a small corner in my heart for Holden, a uniquely troubled teenager. 

A few years later, when I opened it again, slowly, I saw the sensitive and soft heart of Holden's anger and burnout, and read the goodness hidden by the "bad boy" label on him. 

With sincerity, he also understood his disappointment and escaped from hypocrisy and selfishness in the adult world. Perhaps, there is a Holden in each of us, because he evokes the complex feelings of our fading youth because we are all like Holden - refusing to grow up.

- when dreams come true 

The Princess Diaries is a Young Adult book series by Meg Cabot following the exploits of Amelia "Mia" Thermopolis, a teenager who goes to Albert Einstein High School and lives with her strongly liberal single mom. Her life changes drastically when her father comes for a visit. 

After being treated for cancer, he is no longer able to have children. Because of this, he finally tells Mia a secret he, her mother, and her grandmother have been keeping from her for years: He is really the Prince of the fictional principality of Genovia. Because of his illness and treatment, Mia is now Her Royal Highness of the country and the heir to the throne of Genovia.

Upon first hearing the news, Mia objects to the idea of ​​having to become a princess and having to rule over Genovia. She also fears that this new status will make her an outcast at her school and would rather just be a normal teenager. The series follows Mia as she slowly adjusts to becoming a Princess and coming to terms with the idea of ​​being a ruler.

The Princess Diaries is a teenage literary series by Meg Cabot about the saga of teenage Emilia "Mia" Temepolis. Mia attended Albert Einstein High School and lived with a very open-minded single mother. Her life was completely changed by a visit from her father. It turned out that her father was diagnosed with cancer and could no longer have children. 

In view of this, he finally told Mia a secret that he and Mia's mother and grandmother had kept for many years: he was actually the king of the Principality of Genovia (the author's fiction). As he was ill and required medical treatment, Mia is now the country's princess and crown prince.

When she first heard the news, Mia was reluctant to be appointed as the princess to rule Genovia. She also worries that her new status will isolate her at school, so she prefers to be just an ordinary teenage girl. In the series, Mia slowly adjusts to being a princess and embraces the idea of ​​being king of a kingdom.

In every girl's heart, there is a dream of becoming a princess. We would dream of going from ugly duckling to white swan, dreaming of going from Cinderella to Snow White. Although we grow up, we gradually understand that the reason why fairy tales are beautiful is that there are few fairy tales in reality. 

So, like Mia, we were simply dreaming, never thinking that this dream would one day come true. When the dream really becomes a reality, will everything still be as beautiful as a fairy tale? The identity of the princess will attract the envy of others, but it may also attract the rejection of others. 

Elegant speech and manners will make people look noble, but behind this nobleness may be the loss of your true self. We may have only noticed the halo of a princess and never considered the responsibilities of being a princess. Maybe it's a dream come true story for you and me. But for Mia, it was a transformation of growth and a hymn of youth.

- when you smile at life 

When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables, Prince Edward Island, send for a boy orphan to help them out at the farm, they are in no way prepared for the error that will change their lives. The mistake takes the shape of Anne Shirley, a redheaded 11-year-old girl who is very talkative. 

Fortunately, she has a sunny nature and an odd imagination, which quickly wins over her reluctant foster parents. Anne's feisty spirit soon draws many friends—and much trouble—her way. Not a day goes by without some melodramatic new episode in the tragicomedy of her life. 

Lucy Maud Montgomery's series of books about Anne have remained classics since the early 20th century. Her portrayal of this feminine yet independent spirit has given generations of girls a strong female role model.

Marilla Cuthbert and Matthew Cuthbert live at Green Gables Farmhouse in Prince Edward Island, and when they ask someone to send an orphaned boy over to help them on the farm, they are definitely not ready for these mistakes that will change their lives. 

The mistake was Anne Shirley, a very chatty 11-year-old red-haired girl. Fortunately, she has a cheerful personality and a peculiar imagination, which quickly won the hearts of her reluctant adoptive parents. Anne's dynamic personality soon brought her many friends and, of course, a lot of trouble for herself. 

Her life is a tragicomedy, with some dramatic new episodes appearing every day. Lucy Maud Montgomery's series on Anne has been a classic since the early 20th century. The feminine but independent character she portrays has provided generations of girls with a strong female role model.

Although she lost her parents very early, even though she was lonely and poor in the orphanage, she still worked hard and never gave up her optimistic nature. After arriving at Green Gables Farmhouse, she infected the two siblings, Matthew and Marilla, with her lively and cheerful personality, and gained a lifelong friend. She has a wild imagination, loves fantasies, and loves to name everything around her. 

She's talkative, always chattering, but her words are so lively and funny. Grandma Josephine in the novel comments on the protagonist Anne: "She is as colorful and unpredictable as a rainbow." In fact, all their qualities of Anne are probably derived from her passion for life. 

This enthusiasm makes her not forget to look for hope in the face of adversity, and know how to cherish and be grateful for happiness; this enthusiasm makes her good at discovering the beauty in life, and is willing to laugh at life with a positive and optimistic attitude. When you smile at life, life smiles at you.

——The betrayal and redemption of friendship 

Amir is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling class of Pashtuns. Hassan, his servant, and constant companion is a Hazara, a despised and very poor class. 

Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abandon his friend amidst the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, wrenching them far apart. 

But so strong is the bond between the two boys that Amir journeys back to a distant world, to try to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had.

Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan), is a member of the ruling class Pashtun. His servant and loyal playmate Hassan are a much despised and very poor Hazara. 

At a time when Afghanistan's monarchy was on the verge of extinction and ethnic, religious, and political tensions were growing, Amir chose to abandon his friend Hassan, with whom he had an unusual closeness. 

The relationship then broke down, and the two suddenly became estranged. However, the bond between the two boys is so deep that Amir even returns to that faraway place to try to right the wrongs he's done with his one and only best friend.

During your youth, did you ever have such a friend who relied on you and was loyal to you with a sincere heart, but at some inexplicable moment, with a subtle mood, you destroyed all of this with your own hands and let you Can't go back to the past, can only regret for a lifetime? 

In this novel by the Afghan author Khaled Hosseini (1965), a young Amir flees after committing an irreparable act to his best friend Hassan, who tells him "for "You, thousands of times" Friends eventually left him forever after experiencing unimaginable suffering, leaving him no way to repent or redeem. 

The guilt and remorse that tormented Amir day and night peaked after Hassan's true identity was revealed, but fortunately, Amir finally found a way to redemption and a chance to make amends for his faults. 

More than a heartbreaking tale of friendship, the novel shows the power of reading, the price of betrayal, the possibility of redemption, and the love, sacrifice, and concealment of a father for his son. 

After reading it, you will not only gain deeply moved, sad tears, and a sigh of helplessness but also a feeling of eagerness to cherish and face the troubles you have committed in the past that make you sleepless. wrong courage.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story of Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, in 1930s Alabama. Through their neighborhood meanderings and the example of their God-like father, Atticus, they grow to understand that the world isn't always fair and that prejudice is a very real aspect of their world no matter how subtle it seems.

Through the events of those two years, Scout learns that no matter their differences or peculiarities, the people of the world and of Maycomb County are all people. No one is lesser or better than anyone else because they're all people. She realizes that once you get to know them, most people are good and kind no matter what they seem like on the outside.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story about Scooter Finch and her brother Jem, set in 1930s Alabama. Through their various twists and turns with their neighbors and the example behavior of their god-like father Atticus, they come to understand that the world is not always fair and just and that prejudice is a very real part of the world they live in. No matter how unremarkable it looks.

Through the events of those two years, Scooter learned that it didn't matter how different people or identities were, that everyone in this world, and everyone in Maycomb, was the same. 

No one is inferior or superior to any other because they are all human beings. She realizes that once you get to know them, most of them are good, kind people, no matter how they look.

What is education? You must also agree that it has nothing to do with birth, but isn't a person well-dressed and well-mannered at the dinner table to be considered educated? Not at all. 

When seeing that the father Atticus in the book is a generous, kind, honest, unselfish, humble gentleman when you see that he leads by example, and subtly influences Scooter and Jem's two children, teaching them tolerance, independence, courage, strong, and respect for others, when you see a father who always upholds patience, gentleness, tolerance, and love for his children when you see a father and children face prejudice, injustice, misunderstanding, and even revenge, you must You will understand why killing a robin is a sin, and you will surely believe that having a civilized and noble heart like them is the real education. 

In fact, the theme of this novel is far more than that, but after four years, I read this book again, and I am still attracted by this theme, and I am still moved by such a tough and soft father, who is still two children. The growth is gratifying, but still can't help "old tears".

In this story written by Sandra Cisneros, a young teen, Esperanza, finds herself in the middle of the Latino part of Chicago. She deals with the realities of her neighborhood and life and makes decisions about her life to come, knowing she wants more for herself than the status quo. 

Written as diary-like vignettes, this book shows what determination can do for Esperanza as she struggles through life in an inner-city neighborhood. Esperanza doesn't want to belong to her poor neighborhood or the low expectations everyone seems to have for her. 

Her story is one of struggle and reinvention in the face of hardship. She learns about community and the importance of understanding and appreciating her heritage. The House on Mango Street becomes a symbol of what is possible for Esperanza and her family.

In this story by Sandra Cisneros, teenage Esperanza finds herself in a Latin American immigrant community in Chicago. She deals with the realities of her neighborhood and life and makes decisions about her future life—because she knows she's not satisfied with the status quo. 

Consisting of diary-like short stories, this book shows how determination can work for Esperanza as she struggles to get by in her inner-city ghetto neighborhood. 

Esperanza did not want to belong to the impoverished neighborhood in which she lived, nor did she need those low expectations that everyone seemed to have of themselves. Her story is one of struggling and reinventing yourself head-on. 

She understands the community and the importance of understanding and appreciating her own cultural heritage. The cottage on Mango Street became a symbol of what Esperanza and her family might achieve.

It's a poetic novel, with short stories linked together, outlining the life of the protagonist Esperanza's cottage on Mango Street. The Hut on Mango Street is a red hot in the Mexican immigrant neighborhood of Chicago, where Esperanza lives but doesn’t belong. Like her family and the many neighbors who live here, she is separated from the outside world by a thick wall. 

People "out there" feel intimidated when they come here; they feel intimidated when they enter a community of another color. Living on the fringes and at the bottom of society, they have personal experiences of such words as an indeterminate residence, material deprivation, spiritual emptiness, early marriage, early childbearing, and a high crime rate. 

They have long been accustomed to being isolated, excluded, and discriminated against. However, Esperanza did not despair or give up. She has always had the desire to leave here, and she wants to pursue a better life. More importantly, her departure was "for others to come back" and for those "who can't go out" in this circle.

"She took a look at life because at this point she had a clear idea that life was something real, something private."

Virginia Woolf is a British writer and feminist. The literary world generally considers Woolf to be a pioneer of the modernist trend and one of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century.

In her novels, she experimented with stream-of-consciousness writing methods, trying to describe the subconscious in people's hearts, taking English "a small step in the direction of the light".

"To the Lighthouse" describes the life of Professor Ramsay's family and a few close friends on vacation on an island in Scotland after the First World War. The author attempts to explore the meaning of life and the nature of the self in this simple novel, pointing out that the self may escape the clutches of the passing time and remain immortal despite the threat of death.

Friend @Cobie: Every time I open this book, it is an experience of immersing myself in European classical art, where the limited time is infinitely extended. Woolf's words are very perceptive and speculative. 

The characters in the story almost forget the original intention of their actions, but just save the flowing consciousness in the vanishing self-world. If you try to piece together the plot, it will obviously appear clumsy, which is also the biggest impact on this book. misunderstanding. 

I would like to compare what Woolf's book presents to classical music - timeless and long, and the seemingly scattered descriptions are just an illusion.

This is a famous novel by Lori Lee. The author opens the door of memory with his cry on the hillside of his hometown, leading readers to travel through time and space, return to the insidious gray-white village, and enter into all kinds of fantasy and nightmares in childhood.

If you happen to want to watch a more dreamy and poetic story, then it must be right to choose it~ There is also a movie of the same name~

The fog dissipated, scattered villages, armchairs, boxes, stools with cracks, girls in floral dresses, and boys running on the vast grass. Everything is so poetic fairy tale.

This book is far from the hustle and bustle, and suddenly I want to live in a place like this, where there is no electricity, no car, and there is only beautiful countryside and a carefree time.

This book brings me not only the yearning like a dream but also the sincere and beautiful friendship between people, like a warm wind blowing across my face, with the fragrance of flowers, which makes people feel more relaxed.

11. Middlemarch 

12. Lady Chatterley's Lover 

13. The Portrait of a Lady 

14. Anna Karenina 

15. Tender Is the Night