I’m doing so well with keeping up on these weekly memes! Mind you, it’s probably because I haven’t started work yet. Which reminds me that I should tell you guys that I found contract and freelance work and I’m so relieved and happy! This also means that there will be a giveaway very soon to thank you guys for all of your love and follows on here, my Instagram, and my Twitter!

For those of you who don’t know, here is a quote from The Broke and the Bookish, the genuises behind this weekly meme!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post and, if you want to, add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s posts (typically put up midnight EST on Tuesday) so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It’s a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Aaaaand this week’s prompt is:

Holiday Gift Guide freebie (ten books to buy the YA lover in your life, 10 books to buy for your dad, etc.)

Goodness me, another freebie. I cannot handle making these decisions on my own all the time! No more freebies! Hahaha. And I guess I’ll go with Top Ten Classic Novels to buy someone who really wants to get into reading more classics!

Some of these I may love, or like, and some I may dislike, but I think that it’s necessary for everyone who wants to read classics to have exposure to them! And besides, just because I dislike a book, doesn’t mean everyone else will. Some of these I may also not have read, but have been meaning to. So this list can be as much for myself as anyone else wanting to read more classics, haha!

---

 – ONE –

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities

A personal favourite. I read this book in my Victorian Literature course back in January to April, and I actually ended up writing my term paper on it. Sydney Carton is one of my favourite characters of all time! I do not think that I would have picked this book up if I hadn’t had to for this class though honestly, which is a shame, but I am so very glad that it was on the syllabus. It has introduced me to Dickens, and has made me fall in love with Victorian literature even more.

---

– TWO –

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

I read this book while in school as well, though it may surprise you that the class for which I read this book was called Cyborg Fiction! Most of the theory we covered in that class tied back to Frankenstein somehow, because some scholars consider Frankenstein’s monster to have been the very first cyborg. Very interesting stuff. I miss that class. This book, although not my favourite plot-wise, is beautifully written, and considers some issues which was ahead of their time back then, and are still relevant today.

---

– THREE –

Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

The first book in this list which I have actually not read yet. And I am so so so ashamed! Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite stories, and I have loved every single quote of Carrol’s which I have yet encountered. I also don’t own this book yet, which is why I’ve put it on my Amazon Christmas wishlist, haha. I will read this book as soon as it comes into my possession, I promise!

---

– FOUR –

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

I read this book in my first year of my undergraduate degree, and while I was definitely not ready for it, I still appreciated the writing to some extent, and loved the plot between the two protagonists. The story now breaks my heart, but I will have to go back and read this book, very very soon. I do not really remember the second half of the book too well, which is another reason why I should re-read it.

---

– FIVE –

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Another book which I haven’t yet read. And this is another one which I feel immense shame about. I love the 2005 film with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen (they are amazing together, and I need to re-watch it when my sister is home over Winter break!). My little sister also happens to have read this book multiple times, and she’s a Law major. Yet, I…the recipient of an English undergrad degree, and Master’s degree, somehow have not encountered it while in school, or during my free time. This lovely edition is sitting on my shelf, just calling my name, so I’ll likely get to it soon!

---

– SIX –

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

The text we can thank for all of our classic and modern vampires! It is definitely a must read, even though I myself did not enjoy it. The writing was very good, but it was rather the format which I disliked. Dracula is what is called an epistolary novel, which means that it is composed of a number of letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, etc. I am personally more a fan of third person, past-tense narratives, and this format therefore did not sit too well with me.

---

 – SEVEN –

Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book

Another classic novel which I have not read. Yes, I know. What is wrong with me?! I, like many of you, grew up with the Disney cartoon version of this story, and I have been curious about the novel since my dad told me that it was all based on a book. I was too young at the time though, and would not have understood or appreciated the language. Now I’m just waiting to get my hands on this Penguin clothbound version before I dig in!

---

– EIGHT –

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

Longtime followers of my blog will know how much I love this book. It’s dark, creepy, and romantic. Who wouldn’t love that combination?! Okay, maybe a few people. Even though this was a first-person narrative, I found that I enjoyed it immensely. Maybe I saw a little of myself in Jane, or maybe Charlotte Brontë just knows how to pull her audience into a story. This book also considers some very interesting feminist concepts, which like the issue considered in Mary Shelley’s book, were ahead of their time.

---

– NINE –

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Yet another book which I absolutely still need to read. Many of you will be familiar with the story. It’s been told and re-told since its publication in the 1800s, and with good reason. This is an important story about being compassionate and just good to your fellow human beings, no matter your social status or age. Now that I know how beautifully Dickens’ wrote, I am very eager to curl up with this book close to Christmas time, preferably with some snow falling outside my window. Sadly, this book is not a resident on my shelf just yet.

---

– TEN –

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

And finally, the 10th book, and another classic which I have not yet read. I have encountered quotes from it while in school and also while perusing the internet, and I have liked every single one. I own this book (in this lovely edition) and will read it eventually. I’m not too too drawn to this book, probably because of the plot, but it’s a must-read classic, and I would pick it up to immerse myself in Wilde’s writing alone!

---

DO YOU LIKE CLASSICS? AND IF SO, WHICH ONES? OR IF YOU’RE NOT TOO FAMILIAR WITH THE CLASSICS, WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU READ FIRST, OR NEXT? OR DO YOU DISLIKE THEM? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!