Here are five world-renowned classics that won’t burn a hole in your pocket, since budget paperback editions are easy to find.
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
What happens when a witty young woman with strong opinions meets a proud, mysterious gentleman she is determined to dislike? Austen turns first impressions into a delicious puzzle. You’ll laugh at the gossip, roll your eyes at the matchmaking mothers, and secretly hope the two leads figure each other out. It opens with the famous line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged…”
Pip is a poor orphan boy whose life changes overnight when a secret benefactor offers him a fortune. But who is behind it, and why? Along the way you’ll meet a bride frozen in time, a haunting encounter on a foggy marsh, and a question that lingers long after the last page: what does it really mean to “rise” in life?
Imagine a world where Big Brother is always watching, even your thoughts aren’t safe, and the truth is rewritten daily. Winston Smith dares to dream of freedom. Few novels have given us so many words we still use today, and you’ll find yourself looking at the news, and your phone, a little differently once you’ve read it.
Told through the eyes of a curious young Scout, this is a story of summer games, a mysterious neighbour nobody sees, and a trial that shakes an entire town. It is gentle and heartbreaking at once, and it shows how courage often looks quieter than we expect.
One old fisherman. One enormous fish. Days alone on the open ocean. It sounds simple, yet this slim book holds big questions about pride, perseverance and what it means to win even when you lose. You can finish it in a weekend, and you may think about it for years.