If your attention span has been destroyed by pointlessly scrolling on TikTok, it is time to pick up a book and forget your phone exists. All it takes is the right book to remind you why reading is the perfect escapism. Now, I know classics can be intimidating to just pick up and dive into, so here is a much less dooming list of six classic books that I will forever re-read to reignite my love for literature.
Photo by Dilara on Pexels
1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
For when you want to read something deeply unsettling, yet disturbingly beautiful.
Very few books are as controversial, yet so beautifully written as Lolita. A story told from the perspective of Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, is nothing short of disturbing. And yet, Nabokov’s crafts his sentences with such elegance and lyricism that every page is so intoxicating that it almost masks the horror lurking beneath it.
It is a novel about power and manipulation and how language can distort reality. A masterclass in unreliable narration that will haunt you in the best way possible.
2. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
For when you want a quick existential crisis.
This is a strange tale, yet a gripping tale. Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect, which Kafka creatively taps into complex themes of capitalism, irrelevance, family and many more. Waking up one day to being no longer useful, no longer loved, no longer human.
It’s tragic. It’s absurd. It’s unforgettable. A short story that is perfect for getting back into reading without the intimidation of a doorstopper novel.
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
For when you want a complex, gothic, feminist romance.
Say goodbye to predictable love stories and let Jane Eyre pull you into a world where love is moody, atmospheric, and emotionally intense.
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels
Jane is not your typical 19th-century female protagonist. She’s poor, plain, and utterly self-aware. But, her strength is her refusal to settle for anything less than what she deserves, even when it means walking away from someone you admire.
All in one, you have a love story, a ghost story, and a feminist manifesto. A timeless book to get yourself lost in.
4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
For when you want to feel nostalgic.
Some books just have a memorable aesthetic. The Great Gatsby is one of them. It’s all champagne, jazz, and glittering parties - until you look closer and see the loneliness, the longing, and the flawed "American Dream."
Gatsby himself is one of literature’s greatest tragic figures, a man so consumed by the past, that he destroys his future, reminding us that ‘You can’t repeat the past’.
Fitzgerald’s writing is so lyric, so full of melancholy beauty, that even if this was once read in school, it is so worth revisiting it.
5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
For when you want something so dark, poetic, and painfully real.
A deeply personal, raw, and lyrical novel that I can never stop re-reading. It follows Esther Greenwood’s slow and raw spiral into depression as she tries to navigate the expectations placed on young women.
It’s a book about ambition, disillusionment, and the feeling of being trapped. Trapped by mental illnesses, gender roles, or simply the weight of your own expectations. Despite its darkness, it’s sharp, witty, and observant, making this book overwhelmingly stick with you.
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
For when you want beauty, horror, and philosophy all in one.
This is a book that seduces you with charm and elegance, only to tear your understanding apart with its bleak truths. Wilde tells the story of Dorian Gray, a man who stays eternally youthful while a hidden portrait bears the weight of his sins. On the surface, it’s lush and decadent, full of witty dialogue and glittering parties. But beneath that, it’s a dark meditation on vanity, morality, and the soul.
Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev on Pexels
It’s about how easily beauty can be corrupted, how dangerous influence can be, and how hiding from the consequences of your actions eventually turns you into something unrecognisable. Both chilling and dazzling, it’s the kind of book that lingers in your mind long after the last page.
Reading should never feel like a chore. If it does, you’re not reading the right books. The right book at the right time can do something no movie or TikTok ever could. It can change you and stick with you for life.
