Rule of thumb, skip female authors, especially if they aren't from this century. Terribly boring period drama bullshit. Pun.
Mark twain is ok, long winded at times.
I would recommend camus, but you are approaching kafkaesque territory.
Robinson Crusoe is fun and simple.
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Sexist, but in this case I agree. Jane Austen would have been an incredible author in her time, but while many people still enjoy her books, they've served as the base for so many dramas that they no longer seem as good as I'm sure they once did. Because so many stories ripped of her novels, they no longer seem like anything special anymore, but just another standard drama. In the case of Pride and Prejudice, I spent my entire time reading the book furious with the incredibly stupid characters (which I understand was part of the humor of the book, but it didn't appeal to me) to actually enjoy any of the intelligence of the other characters.
Remember that there are some incredible female authors of the past, though. These authors, while good in their own way, are not good examples of female authors in general.
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I don't think it is sexist to create a rule of thumb based on personal experience.
Another rule of thumb is to read German authors if you like contrived bullshit.
Outside of JK Rowling, I cannot think of a female author that has written anything I like. I am not saying there aren't good ones, just that they seem to be a lot more rare...
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The only one i read is Robinson Crusoe and it is one of my favorite books!
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Can you read any other French books? If so, The Count of Monte Cristo is the best book I have ever read.
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No offense little dude(?), read some books. This will sound stupid to you now, but in college, being able to reference this to that (even if tenuous) can do a lot to string a paper along and make you seem smarter than you are. It really only works with books and thinkers though, unless you're into B&W film.
Robinson Crusoe is probably the most fun; Huckleberry Finn gives you the most room to talk about legit paper topics like race or economics or whatever. For Finn, you could talk about how what you read about reflects and contrasts whatever in modern times... Crusoe is more about a personal struggle, so you'd have to get personal on the topic as well. Great if you're a bser, horrid if not.
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I'm going to second this, both the point about reading some books and the point about Huckleberry Finn. Ideally, by the time you're in college you should have read most, if not all, of these books, so don't just look for the shortest books you can get away with reading.
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I'd go with
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I would go for Romeo and Juliet, but don't purchase one of those crappy "translations" of it like "No Fear Shakespeare". It's not easy, but you miss out on a lot if you don't read it from the original.
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I'd recommend either Huckleberry Finn (an easy read filled with humor) or Pride & Prejudice (a fairly easy read with romance and drama). Both are strong "period" pieces that will teach you a lot about many different things.
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I'd choose Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It's kinda short (160-something pages in a very small book), and it's uhh... interesting. Prepare to lose all hope in humanity while reading it. It's also available freely on the 'net.
If the ones listed are your only choices, then David Copperfield. I mean, the guy made the the Statue of Liberty disappear... Noone did that aside from him, ever. Even the Cloverfield monster could only get its head.
Okay, I kid, but it's really interesting though, so pick that one if you need to.
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I haven't read all of these, but I'll give you my opinion of a few.
Wuthering Heights is fairly short (I believe I read it in one weekend), but incredibly depressing. If you don't like depressing books, avoid this one.
Huckleberry Finn is also fairly short, and I hold both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in very high regards. If you're looking for an interesting book about the adventures of a young boy, this would be a good one to choose.
Romeo and Juliet is very short, but will seem much longer than it is. If you're not familiar with Shakespeare's writing style, you might want to look into it before choosing this play. Also, similar to Wuthering Heights (very similar, actually), it's incredibly depressing and will make you wonder why this was ever considered a romantic tale.
As for Pride and Prejudice, I'll be honest with you - I hated this book. Some people I know loved it for its humor, but the humor didn't appeal to me at all. I spent too much time furious with the characters to enjoy the book at all.
Charles Dickens is an amazing author, and while I would normally recommend reading anything by him, I'm getting a vibe that tells me this might not be the book you're looking for. I still highly recommend him, though.
Depending on the type of books you enjoy, you might find Robinson Crusoe very interesting. By the time I read it I'd read adventure books I felt were superior, though, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have if I'd read it at an earlier age.
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Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe
I read it years years ago and still remember it, so this has to be a good book.
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I recommend doing what I did in school: reading none of the assigned reading. I personally find that assigning books that most people find boring just discourages reading. I'm actually a big fan of reading but have little to no interest in most of the books that are typically read in school.
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Note: I have time until next week, so, if you can also tell me which are the most interesting AND short. Thank you!
English writers:
French writers:
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