Book Picks
15 posts
The 10 best gothic novels in the public domain
Gothic fiction is the literature of what civilisation refuses to look at directly. These are the 10 best gothic novels in the public domain -- all free to read.
4 min read
book picksThe best Sherlock Holmes stories to read first
The Holmes canon has four novels and fifty-six short stories. Not all are equal. This is the order to read them and the five stories that reward a first reader most.
3 min read
book picksWhat to read if you loved Pride and Prejudice
Finding something that does what Pride and Prejudice does -- romantic comedy with genuine moral depth -- is not easy. These are the books that come closest.
3 min read
book picksShort classics you can finish in a weekend
Some of the most accomplished works in the Western canon are under 150 pages. These are the best classics you can read in a weekend -- roughly two to three hours each.
3 min read
book picksThe best Jane Austen novels ranked
All six Austen novels are good. The question is which to read in what order. This ranking covers each novel with context and a specific reader recommendation.
3 min read
book picksThe best Dickens novels to start with
Dickens wrote fifteen novels. These are the four to read first -- with reading times, what each does best, and what to save for when you are already committed.
2 min read
book picksFive books that will change how you think about morality
The best moral fiction constructs situations where moral questions become genuinely difficult and then refuses to resolve them cleanly. These five novels do that better than almost anything else.
3 min read
book picksThe best classic science fiction in the public domain
Science fiction was invented in the 19th century, and its founding works are better than most of the genre that followed. These are the essential public domain texts -- all free.
3 min read
book picksThe best Tolstoy books for first-time readers
Anna Karenina is the better entry point for most first-time readers. War and Peace is the fuller scope. The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the 90-page version of everything Tolstoy believed.
3 min read
book picksBooks like Sherlock Holmes: classic mysteries and detectives
Holmes established the template: brilliant detective, bewildered companion, mystery that yields to logic, revelation that reframes everything. These are the best books that offer more of that.
3 min read
book picksThe best Mark Twain books to read in order
Twain's books do not all occupy the same register. This guide covers reading order from Tom Sawyer to The Mysterious Stranger -- and why the arc of his career matters.
3 min read
book picksThe best adventure novels in the public domain
Adventure fiction is the genre where plot and place carry moral weight. These are the best adventure novels in the public domain -- all free to read right now.
3 min read
book picksClassic books for people who don't usually read classics
The classics that convert non-readers of classics are the ones that are gripping, short enough to finish before losing momentum, and deal with things that have not stopped being true.
3 min read
book picksThe best Oscar Wilde works to read on Foxing
Wilde published relatively little and almost all of it is first-rate. This guide covers where to start and what to read next -- including all three major works free on Foxing.
3 min read
book picksThe best free classic books you can read right now
Every novel on this list was written by someone long dead, whose copyright has expired, and whose work is now available to anyone with a phone at no cost. This is the definitive guide to the best.
5 min read