So Many Great Classics on Kindle but I Need to Enter the 21st Century!

Be sure to check out the bargain book and free book threads here in the "Book Bazaar" forum.

If you're into fantasy and/or sci-fi, stop by the Baen Free Library (you can't beat free when you're looking for cheap).

I'm having the same problem. There are all those great classics out there that I read 40 years ago and have now mostly forgotten. Very tempting to read almost all of them again, to see how my gray-bearded self will react. I got the free download of The Metamorphosis a couple days ago and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was even more baffling than I remembered.

But I feel like there must be some great, contemporary, self-published classics-in-waiting and I'm a bit frustrated that I don't really know how to find them. Tips?

I think you are doing it.  Reading reviews and asking questions is the best way to find good books.  Once you find a few reviews that have similar taste, start reading other books they recommend.

arshield said:

... Once you find a few reviews that have similar taste, start reading other books they recommend.

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Conversely find a reviewer that has the opposite taste to you and read all the books that they slate

DeclanStanley said:

Conversely find a reviewer that has the opposite taste to you and read all the books that they slate

Click to expand...

Ha! That's clever, I liked that one. Come to think of it, I've used that advice in non-reading scenarios too.

I just finished a collection by Nancy Fulda-- Dead Men Don't Cry  and highly recommend it.  It's sci-fi/fantasy.

Neil Gaiman...that's hard because he's written a few things with various styles (kind of why I rec'd the collection above.)  Have you looked at authors such as Scott Lynch?  C.S. Marks?  China Mieville?  Marks is very much a bargain, the other two, not unless you find them on a sale.    Here on the board, you might also check out Jason Lets, and David Dalglish.

I hate to commit heresy, but I cannot stand what most people consider "classic" literature.  I am avowed pop fiction fan.  Austen, Dickens, Mellville...snore....  I find them unbearably boring.  If I had to pick a classic author it would be Shakespeare - and he was considered a pop writer in his day, too.  Villains, murderers, ghosts, witches and wizards galore in his work...which I love.

Ok, now that I have angered you classic literature fans....adieu!

Not necessarily cheap, but here are some 21st century novels I've read lately and enjoyed a lot.

Shantaram--Gregory David Roberts
The Kite Runner--Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns--Khaled Hosseini
Juliet, Naked--Nick Hornby
The Imperfectionists--Tom Rachman
Water for Elephants--Sarah Gruen