Read the Classics
When I read Moby Dick in college, it felt like work. Reading the story of the monomaniacal Captain Ahab’s quest to kill the white whale felt dense. As an adult, however, something kept drawing me to the book, and my desire to re-read it was interesting. That second read was a completely different experience. I understood what it felt like to be so laser focused on something that it overtook all other emotions. I looked at the racism of the time and the way in which it was expressed through the writing. I paid attention to the relationships, the emotions, and wondered what the DSM would make of Ahab.
Reading the classics for the first time is interesting because everything is new. Reading with a critical eye, noting the time period it was written and understanding what was implied in the stories is something else entirely. Both are good reasons to read the classics.
Here are some classic we love, and other books to read that are in the same string:
Let’s start with the whale. Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick is a lofty read about a monomaniacal Captain Ahab’s search for the great white sperm whale, Moby Dick. D.H. Lawrence called it "the greatest book of the sea ever written" so we suggest you take it to the beach with you and spend the week turning the pages as your eyes drift waterside and imagine being one of the sailors aboard the whaling ship, Pequot.
After you read Moby Dick (f you like reading about whales), we suggest adding Grayson to your list. A short work of non-fiction by a swimmer who helped a baby whale find its mama in the Pacific Ocean. Written by Lynne Cox.
Our other favorite human/sea creature read is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. It asks the reader to wonder how grief, empathy and longing might create a relationship between a human and an octopus.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the story of a mysterious, wealthy man named Jay Gatsby, and his love (obsession) for Daisy Buchanan. Come along as the book invites you to over-the-top parties on Long Island in the 1920s. How will Jay fare with Daisy? Find out when you read The Great Gatsby.
Nghi Vo's The Chosen and the Beautiful is a reimagined version of Gatsby, worth reading after you real Fitzgerald’s original. Local Heavens by K.M. Fajardo comes out this fall, and is a “queer, cyberpunk reimagining” of Gatsby, so add that to your upcoming TBR list, too.
Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein at just 18 years old. It’s a gothic tale of a young scientist (Victor Frankenstein) who creates a monster in an unorthodox scientific experiment using different body parts. It’s a really spooky classic, great for summer nights.
After you read Frankenstein, check out Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout. It’s a work of fiction that imagines what Mary Shelley’s life might have been, and the potential roots of her book, Frankenstein.
Creepy not so real humans a theme? Try Annie Bot by Sierra Grier. She’s a robot built to be someone’s partner, and it feels very Frankenstein-esque, but also grapples with AI and begs the question, How do we treat our not-exactly-human lovers.
A newer classic but surely one for the canon is The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. It’s the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove who prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be” as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America.” This book deals with racism and abuse in painfully poignant ways.
After The Bluest Eye, we recommend the rest of Morrison’s books, including Sula, Beloved, Song of Solomon, and Tar Baby.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird follows Scout Finch and her brother, Jem as they navigate childhood in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression. Scout's father, Atticus, is a lawyer who takes the case of defending a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. It is said to have been based off of experiences in Lee’s life.
If you like reading this, check out Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, an the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep. It’s a true crime thriller of a tale that takes you into the courtroom during a fraud trial that ends in murder. Harper Lee returned home to Alabama and spent a year in town reporting on the case, and for years took what she learned, in an attempt to retell the story, her own way.
Animal Farm imagines what might happen if anthropomorphic farm animals came together and rebelled against their farmer. Their hope is to create world where animals can be free and equal to humans, but a pig named Napoleon throws a wrench into the mix. This novella is one that will keep you asking questions long after you’ve closed the book.
1984. The story takes place in an imagined future, the year 1984. The current year is uncertain, but believed to be 1984. The world is at war. This classic is a warning against political and dystopian fiction. It popularised the term "Orwellian" and many terms used in the novel entering common usage, including "Big Brother", and "doublethink."
Before the television series, The Handmaid’s Tale, there was the novel. Margaret Atwood’s, The Handmaid’s Tale, is a near-future patriarchal, totalitarian New England known as the Republic of Gilead. which has overthrown the U.S. government. Themes include the loss of agency of women, suppression of reproductive rights, and what women might do to gain individuality, freedom and independence.
