First of all,
To Kill a Mockingbid by Harper Lee. =-) I'm sure most everyone's had to read it in High School, but I remember I hated it in high school. I read it again a few years ago, though, and I loved it. =-) Harper Lee always maintained it was just a simple love story between a father and his children (which it is =-), but it is also very much about prejudice and standing for what is right, even if it means standing alone.
Tolstoy's
Anna Karenina is another good one, in my opinion. It is a book about the sanctity of marriage and the destruction of adultery. The book does not preach morals, but it certainly shows the consequences of sin. The book is not all sadness though, there is also a message of goodness and hope. =-) Also by Tolstoy is a short story called "Where Love is, God is" It's a really great story and you can read it right now with this link! -->
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion04092.shtmlDostoyevsky wrote a couple that I like;
The Brothers Karamazov and
The Idiot.
Crime and Punishment is also good. =-) It is difficult to say what it is I like about Dostoyevsky's work.... I guess it is the same sort of fascination I have with Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes is one of the first books I read in the Bible, and the one book which served as a launch-pad for my faith.) Many people find Dostoyevsky depressing (just as Ecclesiastes can be depressing, I guess), but for some reason i do not. Anyway, if there's anyone out there who reads Ecclesiates and finds themselves greatly encouraged by it (as I do), give Dostoyevsky a try. =-)
Almost done, =-)
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. First of all, the current complete and unabridged version is almost 1500 pages, and that is the one to read. =-) The Bishiop of Digne is my favorite character. =-)
I enjoy poetry as well; Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sara Teasdale, Elinor Wylie, and Christina Rossetti are among my favorites. I tend to like the simpler poetry rather than the complicated and long-winded stuff like Whitman. =-) No offense to Whitman fans. =-)
At any rate, there's tons of stuff I can list, but I think these are my favorite of favorites. =-) Take care, everyone.
