If you didn't know already, I love classic literature more than anything,
and I'm the first to say that some classic books are potentially pointless. But these ones on this
list are the absolute opposite! The books I'm recommending today will not only transform your
essence and your life, but they'll also be able to show you the world from a completely different
perspective that you've never ever seen it before - a journey only possible through literature. So
in no particular order here goes! Let's start with one of my favorites, History by Elsa Morante. And
just so that we're all on the same page, all book names and authors will be pronounced in
English because I'm speaking in English. History by Elsa Norante is an amazing incredible book,
absolutely my favorite book about World War II . It's just the most incredible,
beautifu,l crazy journey to go on. I won't tell you more about the books in this video because I
want you to truly experience them for yourselves. But to understand the world as it is today,
I think History is one of the most important books you could possibly read. The next book
is Terese Raquin by Emile Zola. The story of this book may seem simple at first, but the
incredible transformational journey it took me on, and how I view the idea of murdering someone else,
and the incredible description of the guilt and the shame that comes with it, and the anxiety,
it just takes you on a journey unlike any other book, so I highly highly highly recommend this.
The next book is Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. This is a beautiful and colorful book which gives
you insight into Russian culture and history, and I highly recommend it to anyone because it's such
a well-written piece of classic literature. The next book is All Quiet on the Western Front. If
your granddad, great granddad or father was in a war I highly recommend reading this book. It
is incredible, it's tragic and it's also one of the best, in my opinion, there's so many though,
depictions of war in classic literature and I highly recommend you read it. Next one, an
absolute classic by Dostoevsky which is Crime and Punishment. This is of course an absolute classic,
again about murder, guilt and shame, but not only that Dostoevsky writes in one of of the
most beautiful poetic languages possible. My favorite tip though for reading Russian
literature translated into your language is to start with something slightly lighter. Why? Well,
because it's really really difficult, especially if you're not a native speaker, to keep track of
the different names and how they use names to talk to each other. So I would suggest starting with
a thinner book either by Dostoevsky or Tolstoy. For example, the one I'm suggesting next because
this gives you a little bit of insight into how the writing style and the naming style works,
which will make you be able to appreciate these classic great works so much more. My favorite
book by Dostoevsky is Notes From The Underground. Dark, difficult, absolutely beautiful and moody,
this is one of my favorite books in Russian literature and I don't know why it's not more
popular. I'm so grateful it was recommended to me and I highly recommend it to you. There will be a
few Swedish books on this list since I am from Sweden and one of my classic favorite books is
Red Snake. I think this book has a few different names in English, but this is the most epic tale
about Vikings, so if you're interested in history or more epic or storytelling classic literature
this is the book for you. It's such a such a great and fun book to read, probably the funnest on the
list. A beautiful book that I'm absolutely obsessed with that is quite complicated to
read is The Trial by Kafka. This book to me, is not only intricate and anxiety inducing,
but it is a book about trial and the absolute madness of humanity and I absolutely love it.
Kafka for me is one of the greatest authors of all time and I highly highly recommend this book,
it definitely created so many feelings within me and I think it also asks a lot of questions that
are important to ask yourself, where it creates a lot of frustrations or anxiety, that's really
good to think about. And I would also like to mention Amerika by Kafka, it's an unfinished work
but it took me on an absolutely incredible journey towards the Americas. And although unfinished, and
I wish I wish I wish so badly that there was more of this incredible book, it is just incredible,
so please read it. There's not a lot of fantasy on this list, granted it is classic literature,
but some magic comes along when reading 100 Years of Solitude. Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes this
most beautiful, magical, spellbounding story about a small fictional town and it spans generations,
and it creates magic and it also includes history and politics, so I highly recommend reading this
book, not only to experience the absolute beauty of this book but also to give you some
more understanding and insight and inspiration to learn more about our history. The next book
is Madame Bovary. As I say I only know how to pronounce these books in Swedish, not French or
German or Russian, so my bad English it is. But this book is incredibly beautiful and or when I
say beautiful I mean incredibly well written. The words are beautiful, the sentences are beautiful,
and this book was even praised by Proust, who, is if you don't know it already, is my favorite
writer in the whole wide world. Potentially the most difficult book on the list is the Death of
Virgil. I was quite young when I read this, I highly recommend reading this when you're a
little bit older because that's quite, it's quite difficult. So if it's too difficult I'd say skip
it, put it in your bookshelf and come back to it later because it is definitely worthwhile reading.
This book gives you insight into very important perspectives and I won't say more apart from
read it. A bit of an easier read, but definitely worthwhile, is Steppenwolf. This is mandatory to
read in your 20s because it is, you have to just read it in your 20s. It's amazing, it's beautiful,
it's dark and difficult, and not only that, you get to experience the psychedelic trip that is
the most magical trip I think anyone would want to experience in the last chapters of this book.
I love this book and the author himself Herman Hesse, has said it's been misunderstood in our
world, and I definitely think that's true because I think it's one of the most beautiful amazing
books that definitely, there are a few books that awaken my emotions just from the reading of it,
not only from the words. But for me this is the most romantic story about life, so yes I highly
recommend it, and it's a little bit shorter and a bit easier to read. Of course we have The House
of the Spirits on this list. This book includes magic, tragic and beauty, and it's a story about
life, but not in the maybe sense you would expect it. It definitely went under my skin, and some of
the story through some of the characters lives, but still it's one of the most, it just makes
me so excited because it's such a fun story to be part of and I feel honored that we can read
books like this all the time. This list of course wouldn't be complete without Ulysses. This is just
one of those books you have to read, and I think T.S. Eliot says it better than myself so I'll
quote him: "The next generation is responsible for its own soul. A man of genius is responsible
to his peers, not to a studio full of uneducated and undisciplined coxcumbs." Potentially a quote
even more relevant today... I recommend this book for anyone in any age at any time of their lives,
it will completely transform your life, and if not you just have to read it again. A comedy
on the list is The Good Soldier Svejk. This is a satirical dark comedy, and again it happens
during war, and it's a delightful read, it's fun, it's light. Well, it's a dark comedy, but if you
do enjoy dark comedies I highly recommend this book, and it also is just beautifully written
and shows some incredible perspectives and laughs about the world and the way we're living. So yes,
read this one too but that's what I say about all these books. The German classic Faust is of course
a book you have to read, I don't think I need to say more. A book I love to read was Grapes of
Wrath, and I highly recommend this simply because literature gives us the possibility to experience
thousands difference of lifetimes right, and it also gives us more compassion and understanding,
and that's exactly what I think this book does. The next book is by Jules Verne,
and that is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Personally I didn't realize that this book had
been made into a Disney ride, and it's thought of maybe it's not a classic literature piece because
people haven't actually read it, but it's the most magical amazing book that gives you that feeling
of being transported into a childhood, when you read books of just being completely sucked into
this magical incredible story that you get to play out in front or behind of your eyes as
you read it. Books like this add so much joy and value to our life, and it's pure art. I think no
one could possibly regret reading this book. It is time for Tolstoy who is my personal Russian
favorite ,and we'll start with War and Peace. War and Peace is just one of my favorite books for me,
it's a little bit like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I felt completely transported
into a different world reading it, and not only that but he writes so beautifully I just love
every book that Tolstoy has ever written, so I recommend read them all, but War and Peace is
a great one. Another one I absolutely love that will transform your life, so you have to read it,
is Letters to Hinduism. This is a fantastic book that's written so long ago, but questions some
of our most important questions about life, about dogma and about the world, so I think it's a great
read. And the third book by Tolstoy is of course Anna Karenina. From the absolutely classic first
line to the entire story, is just so beautiful and heartbreaking and romantic in its darkness.
The next one is Journey to the End of the Night. This book, like many of these, are about the human
condition and more. I like to say life, love and death - that's what these books are about,
and that's why I think everyone should read them. The next one, of course we're going for Proust,
In Search of Lost Times. This is not one book, but it's seven books, and for me these were completely
transformative and also have shaped a lot of how I see my life, relationships and the world. One
of my teachers at University described Proust as something you keep by the nightstand table,
and you read one sentence or one paragraph or even one page a day. I did the opposite and read these
seven books in a row, and I got almost severely depressed after finishing them because I've never
felt that lonely in my entire life without Marcel Proust by my side. The most beautiful literature
with every sentence being like poetry, every other page being basically a quote for how to
conduct yourself and live life, and a beautiful and tragic story about life, death, impermanence,
art, aging, social rules, lovem despair, all the humans emotions and The Human Condition. The next
book is technically a modern classic if you want to be nitty-gritty about it, but I'm going to put
it in this list because I think it deserves a place here instead, and that is of course
Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. This is one of those books that's just too good not to read,
and I put it down as getting high on beauty, because that's how I felt. This book was it was
an absolute trip on beauty, on romance, but not in like a modern romantic sense. If you've read
classic literature you understand it better, more like art, but for me this is absolutely paramount
to have in my life and this is one of those books I just I just love more than anything. And another
book that might be a bit more difficult to find, but if you can't find it I highly
highly recommend it is Kristin Lavransdotter. Who knows how to pronounce that in English,
but this is a series of three books written by a Norwegian author who also won the Nobel Prize
for these books. These books have been called a "beautiful depiction of Northern life during the
Middle Ages". Despite this being the Middle Ages these books are extremely relatable. The stories
and the writing is just beautiful and these are books I just could not put away whilst reading
them. A classic book I recently finished by one of my favorite authors in the world, Stendhal,
don't know how to pronounce that in English or in French, but that is the Charterhouse of Parma.
This book is beautiful. It's about love, it's about death, it's about life, so all my three
favorite topics. This book is just so beautiful and I love it because of its differences and how
it describes classes and lives and circumstances, and my favorite part about this book that I just
is so romantic I don't know what to do is the last line which reads "To the happy few!:. Stendhal has
also written The Red and The Black, that has to be part of this list because it's an absolutely
incredible book, and he's an incredible author and I think they're truly life-changing. The
next book is An American Tragedy, and I love when a book that I I love is in a language
originally that I can read and understand, so if you speak English or if you understand English,
An American Tragedy is a great classic to read to question ideas we have about society, morality,
lov,e death, punishment, politics and incredibly well written and beautiful story, I think, that
takes us on a journey of those pure compassion, angst anxiety and bewilderment. Another book to
read, especially if you were born to Scandinavian immigrants from Sweden and you live in America is
of course The Emigrants. This series is the most beautiful story, I think, written about what
happened in time, but it's also just beautiful even if you don't even care about history. These
four books follow the Swedish immigrants who were promised gold and green meadows as we say
in Swedish, on the other side of the world if they emigrated to the United States. However,
things didn't really turn out as planned and it was difficult and it was tough work and there was
a lot a tragedy but also a lot of love. But really the highlight of this book isn't the story, isn't
the characters ,it isn't the historical aspect but it is the writing, it is the storytelling,
it is that incredible beauty of these works, so I highly recommend reading them if you're interested
in Sweden, Scandinavia, the United States, your heritage or just beautiful historical books.
The next book is Candide by Voltaire. A beautiful and clever book about the human condition that I
highly recommend anyone to read because it's such a classic and it should be mandatory. A Swedish
book I have to include, but I'm not sure if you can find unless you speak any of the Scandinavian
languages, is Kallocain by Karin Boye. This is sci-fi in the 40s. This is every single idea you
might have thought was modern and new but written almost 100 years ago. Absolutely incredibly
clever and a doomsday book about the future dystopian world we might already be living in,
yes, if you can find it read it, or just read her poetry translated into English, because
yeah, that's enough of a trip itself. maybe one of the most transformative books for me
is The Aleph and Other Stories. This collection of short stories I equate to a spiritual awakening of
myself. Not only is the wording and the stories so beautiful that I was about to cry and laugh
and dance whilst reading them - can you tell I love literature - but they are so so good. And
I know The Aleph is the famous one, and even the idea that it's a number that includes all numbers
and the historical aspect and the spiritual aspect but also the literary aspect, personally I really
liked all the stories in this collection of stories and I recommend you read all of
them together. Of course this wouldn't be complete without A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf. The
first time I read it I actually hated it and put it away, I think I was too young and I wasn't used
to reading books in English so I found it quite confusing and stagnant and choppy, but reading it
again with a much better proficiency in English this is one of the most beautiful books ever
written, and it also gives you unique insight into life you know 100, I'm not good at history years,
back that I think is so so important to understand our world and our society and remember the world
that our grandparents and great grandparents and even parents grew up with. And I'm gonna finish
this list by the Miss Von Pahlen series by Swedish author Agnes von Krusenstjerna. These books to me
are some of the best literature I've ever written. They are witty, they are fun, they are crazy and
they also really well describe what it's like being a child seeing adults and seeing them from
a child's perspective, not understanding them, finding them grotesque, finding the idea of aging
vulgar. It's absolutely beautiful. This is another seven books in a series that have been deeply
controversial in Sweden in our past, because of the topics it dealt with, but I think they are so
so incredible. They're called the Miss von Pahlen Series in English so if you can find them either
in English or in Swedish, if you speak Swedish, Norwegian or Danish, they are a life-changing
event. So I know that was somehow a long video for just a few books, but these are some books I think
you should read. I didn't give you so much context to what happens in the books, or why you should
read them, because I simply think that doesn't matter. A few things to remember when it comes
to literature, in my opinion, is that it doesn't matter what the perspective of the author was,
what matters is what you feel like or what you feel when you read it. It doesn't matter what
the story is about. In most of these classic books the story or the narrative is the least
important aspect. The most important aspect is the language, the beauty, the in between the lines,
the hidden deep layers of what they were allowed and weren't allowed to write,
seeing a time different from our, own seeing a perspective different from our own. Literature and
classic literature especialy, I think, is really important to be a full-fledged human that can
have a greater understanding for our world. But it's also art and it's the most important thing
possibly. So if you read any of these books, read them out of pleasure and curiosity rather than
wanting to figure out the story or wanting to get to the end or ticking off a list or reading 100
books in a year. None of that matters. Good art is and should be life-changing, and I believe all
these books are and that's why I'm recommending them, and I hope you love them as much as I do.
If you've read them please let me know what you think, or if you read them and then want to let
me know what you think I'd absolutely love to hear your insights. Thank you so so much for watching,
I hope you like this video, and I'll see you all next week. Bye! I can't pronounce this is I wonder
how you say his name in English the next book is Madame Bovary by Gustav Flippa at University my
Dilbert he's so confused for this and that is calcane by calling
and I'm gonna finish this list with the Angus series
oh I forgot a book oh there'll be another book I just love Dr Jessica I think he is
don't even know what to say morality and um
yeah [Music] foreign thank you [Music]