I am a writer, and part of
being a great writer means reading--a lot.
But reading has so many other benefits that people tend to forget, one of
which being it works your brain in a different way than reading blogs or magazines or social media posts. Reading a
masterful novel and immersing yourself in the story is a workout for your
brain. You'll be amazed how much richer your creativity will be after finishing
a classic piece of literature.
Here are 5 of
my favorite novels ever written:
1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita was, and will forever be, an extremely controversial novel. It was
written in the 1950s, and is the story of an older man who loves from afar a
very young girl. Even in today's society, you can imagine people's response to
an older narrator that speaks delicately of the temptations this teenage
girl arouses in him. It makes sense then why in the 1950s this story raised
hell.
Honestly, this
book is tied for #1 for my favorite books. If you haven't read it, you must. It
is far from the "creepy and inappropriate" tale my synopsis paints it
to be. The narrator is darkly hilarious, and will leave you laughing and
astounded that something so uncomfortable could be so rich with material. It's
a beautiful story, to say the least.
2. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip
Roth
Another
uncomfortable but uncontrollably funny story, Portnoy's Complaint was
written in 1969 and is a fictional story about what it was like growing up as a
child in a Jewish household. Philip Roth, himself, was Jewish, so I'm sure
you can imagine the storm this novel caused when it was published. Of course,
he chalked it all up to fiction, but later admitted of course that he used his
own upbringing as inspiration.
There is a
reason this book has become an American classic. The writing style is
brilliant: It is told from the perspective of a boy, many years later, on
a therapist's couch, reflecting on his childhood. It is extremely self
deprecating, and that is what makes it so fantastic.
If you haven't
read it, you must.
3. The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
An American
classic and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1953, The Old Man And The Sea is
a novella and tells the tale of a fisherman and a young boy. In less than 130
pages, Hemingway has wrapped his characters so tightly in description and
quirky traits that you can't help but wonder what the story is truly about--is
it the fisherman, the boy, their relationship, the old man's relationship with
the sea, etc.
This is a very
short story, but it is intended to be read slowly. Its writing style speaks of
the story as much as the words themselves. Its rhythm moves like a tide, its
sentence structure vast with a depth and yet still so very simple. The book is
a reflection of the sea, and should be taken as such.
You will
emerge from this novel feeling renewed, that much I can promise you.
4. The Glass Bead Game by Hermann
Hesse
An obscure but
magical story, The Glass Bead Game was published in 1943 in
Switzerland. The author, Hermann Hesse, would go on to receive the Nobel Prize
in Literature in 1946, for his "classical
humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style."
The Glass Bead
Game is not an easy read. It is a challenge
because it is filled with so much: so many themes, so much symbolism, and so
many deeply complex messages. It is about a futuristic world existing without
all the flying cars and robots and blah blah. Its primary setting, Castalia, is
instead a place where extreme intellectuals devote themselves to what is called
"the glass bead game"--a highly complex combination of music, mathematics,
history and sciences.
One of the key
themes, of course, is the idea of mastery--and how far one will go to master
their craft. It is a book that takes a few readings to fully understand, but
even the first read will leave you more open minded than when you began.
5. The Firm by John Grisham
And of course,
a candy read. The Firm, later adapted into a film, is the book that put John
Grisham on the map. It wasn't until this book was published that his first
book, A Time To Kill, really picked up traction--and then from there, the rest is history.
The Firm is a thick book that, I swear to you, I read in less than 24
hours, holding my breath the entire time. If there is one reason John Grisham
has become such a successful author, it is the feeling he evoked in me, the
reader, during The Firm. The story moves pages, and keeps you
barreling towards the end the entire way. One part law, two parts mystery, you
will be hooked from the first chapter.
BY NICOLAS
COLE
http://www.inc.com/nicolas-cole/5-famous-novels-that-will-re-ignite-your-creativity.html?cid=em01020week31a
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