5 Classics You Should Give a Second Chance

Think back to the books you were assigned to read in high school, or even in your freshman English class in college. Did you hate the Great Gatsby? Trudge through Bleak House? Only read the Spark (or Cliff’s) Notes for The Scarlet Letter?

Believe it or not, you probably owe some of those books a second chance. We’re not saying you should reread every book you were ever assigned—but there are a few books that deserve to be enjoyed, rather than skimmed so you could answer the test questions. So here are five classics we think deserve a second read.

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee’s masterpiece just hits differently as an adult. As our founder, Mandy Crow says, “When I read this book in high school, I identified more with Scout and Jem. As an adult, I was drawn to Atticus and Calpurnia—and I understood their motivations in ways I never had before.” Get a copy.

Jane Eyre OK, hear us out. We know that reading Jane Eyre is kind of like reading three different books. You’ve got the childhood section, the Mr. Rochester part and that weird interlude with the Rivers family. While it may take a little time to get into, Jane Eyre is well worth the read and is full of drama, intrigue and mystery at every turn. If you’re a fan of Lifetime movies, you have Jane Eyre to thank for a lot of familiar tropes (like secret, crazy first wives). Get a copy.

Great Expectations Our founder “remembered” reading Great Expectations in high school—until she reread it as an adult. “I think I read maybe half of the book and relied on Cliff's Notes for the rest,” she said. Great Expectations is Dickens being Dickens—meaning you should expect a lot of verbose prose and numerous narrative threads that can sometimes be difficult to keep track of. But at its core, the novel is a coming-of-age story, and what’s not to like about that? Get a copy.

Pride and Prejudice Speaking of coming-of-age stories, let us make the case for rereading Pride and Prejudice, arguably Jane Austen’s most well known novel. If First Impressions,Austen’s first title for the book, tells you anything Pride and Prejudice teaches us that our first impressions and snap judgments about people and situations are sometimes very, very wrong. And no matter who you are, that’s a valuable lesson. Get your copy.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Many of us read Anne Frank’s diary as assigned reading—but when you come back to it as an adult, a little more acquainted with the atrocities of the Holocaust and possessing a deeper understanding of human nature, it’s unforgettable. If you’re now a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle or anyone deeply invested in the life of a teenage girl, Anne’s effusive joy set against some of the darkest moments of human history will leave you changed—and in tears. Get your copy.

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