A Study In Scarlet / Arthur Conan Doyle

Title: A Study In Scarlet

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Subjects: Fiction; Detective; Mystery

The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in popular fiction. It was the first work of detective fiction to incorporate the magnifying glass as an investigative tool. A Study in Scarlet was among the first to be adapted to the screen. 

Anthem / Ayn Rand

Title: Anthem 

Author: Ayn Rand

Subjects: Fiction

In the present book mankind has entered another Dark Age. The concept of individuality has been eliminated. Everything is now carefully planned. A young man try to rebels. He flees into the wilderness with the girl he loves. Together they plan to establish a new society based on rediscovered individualism.

Hamlet / William Shakespeare

Title: Hamlet (The Tragedy of Hamlet) 

Author: William Shakespeare

Subjects: Play; Drama; Tragedy 

The play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. The story is endlessly retold and has many adaptation by others. It is one of the most powerful and influential works of world literature. 

Dream Psychology / Sigmund Freud

Title: Dream Psychology (Psychoanalysis for Beginners) 

Author: Sigmund Freud

Subjects: Psychology

In Dream Psychology Dr. Sigmund Freud shares his exciting early discoveries that there was indeed a connection between his patients' dreams and their mental disturbances. Sigmund Freud was one of the first people to examine dreams seriously and interpret them in the context of our waking lives. This book is indeed one of the foundation stones of Freudian psychoanalysis and marked a water-shed in the attitude towards dreams. A must read for psychology students.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man / James Joyce

Title: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 

Author: James Joyce

Subjects: Classic; Fiction

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to fully come into themselves. it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of Joyce and an allusion to Daedalus, the consummate craftsman of Greek mythology. 

Casino Royale / Ian Fleming

Title: Casino Royale

Author: Ian Fleming

Subjects: Fiction; Spy

It is the first James Bond book. The story concerns the British secret agent James Bond, gambling at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux to bankrupt Le Chiffre, the treasurer of a French union and a member of the Russian secret service. Casino Royale deals with themes of Britain's position in the world, particularly the relationship with the US in light of the defections to the Soviet Union.

The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth / H. G. Wells

Title: The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth 

Author: H.G. Wells

Subjects: Classic; Science Fiction

The novel is about a group of scientists who invent a food that accelerates the growth of children and turns them into giants when they become adults. The gripping, newly relevant tale combines fast-paced entertainment with social commentary as it considers the ethics involved in genetic engineering. 

When the Sleeper Wakes / H. G. Wells

Title: When the Sleeper Wakes 

Author: Herbert George Wells 

Subjects: Classic; Science Fiction

The book is about a man who sleeps for 203 years from 1897 to 2100, and suddenly waking up in a completely transformed London. Now he has become the richest man in the world. And not just the richest man but master of the world. The future revealed to him is horror to him. Then he escaped.

The War in the Air / H. G. Wells

Title: The War in the Air 

Author: H. G. Wells

Subjects: Classic; Fiction; Science Fiction 

Wells's this works is notable for the use of the aircraft for the purpose of warfare and the coming of World War I. Actually there was no such planes in the world when this book had been written. the visions conjured by Wells were prophetic of the Second World War rather than the First one.

The Island of Doctor Moreau / H. G. Wells

Title: The Island of Doctor Moreau 

Author: H. G. Wells 

Subjects: Classic; Science Fiction 

A mad scientist creates human-like hybrid beings from animals. The novel deals with a number of philosophical themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature. This book is a great masterpiece of science fiction of its own kind. It is inspiration for several movies.

Apology / Plato

Title: Apology (The Death of Socrates) 

Author: Plato 

Translator: Benjamin Jowett

Subjects: Classic; Philosophy

Apology of Socrates is the dialogue that depicts the trial, and is one of four Socratic dialogues, along with Euthyphro, Phaedo, and Crito, through which Plato details the final days of the philosopher Socrates. Socrates defence against the charges of "corrupting the youth" and "not believing in the gods in whom the city believes.

The Jungle / Upton Sinclair

Title: The Jungle 

Author: Upton Sinclair

Subjects: Classic; Fiction; Political 

The novel portray the life of immigrants in the United States in Chicago when it is published in 1906. The book depicts working-class poverty, harsh and unpleasant conditions, and a hopelessness among workers. These elements are contrasted with the deeply rooted corruption of people in power. A review by the writer Jack London called it "the Uncle Tom's Cabin of wage slavery.

Utopia / Thomas More

Title: Utopia 

Author: Thomas More

Subjects: Classic; Non-Fiction; Political Science; Philosophy

The book is about a fictional island society and its religious, social, and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries. Utopia was the book that invented a new genre of fiction and made up world, a “Utopia” in its framing. More wrote this story to make a point about collectivism, whether in defense or as a criticism. Must read for every Political Science student. 

The Moonstone / Wilkie Collins

Title: The Moonstone 

Author: Wilkie Collins

Subjects: Classic; Fiction; Mystery

The Moonstone and The Woman in White are widely considered to be Collins's best novels. The Moonstone of the title is a diamond. It is protected by three hereditary guardians on the orders of Vishnu, and waxes and wanes in brilliance along with the light of the moon. The moonstone considered to be the first detective novel, and it established many of the ground rules of the modern detective novel. Very interesting read. 

The First Men In The Moon / H. G. Wells

Title: The First Men In The Moon 

Author: H. G. Wells

Subjects: Classic; Science Fiction; Fiction

It is the story of a journey to the Moon of two men, a businessman narrator, Mr. Bedford, and an eccentric scientist, Mr. Cavor. Bedford and Cavor discover that the Moon is inhabited by a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilization of insect-like creatures they call "Selenites". Like other books from Wells, this book also inspire a lot of people. 

Me-Smith / Caroline Lockhart

Title: 'Me-Smith' 

Author: Caroline Lockhart 

Illustrator: Gayle Hoskins
Subjects: Fiction

This may not be considered as a classic and not recommended by many but it is a kind of its own and have its own reader base. Smith, is an insufferable with an overblown sense of self-importance. Susie is just annoying, and so is her mother, the Indian woman. Dora is the cliché woman that all men would like. The character MacArthur seemed intelligent.

Master and Man / Leo Tolstoy

Title: Master and Man 

Author: Leo Tolstoy 

Translator: Louise and Aylmer Maude 

Subjects: Classic; Short Story

A land owner with peasants find themselves losing the road and getting lost due to snow. They Nikita, soon finds himself about to die from hypothermia. Vasily Andreyevich decides to leave Nikita to die and sets out on his own on the horse. He wanders through the snow in circles and eventually falls off the horse, finding himself back by Nikita and the sleigh. The master then lies on top of the peasant to keep him warm through the cold night. In the morning, peasants dig out the sleigh, which was only half a mile from town. They find Vasily Andreyevich and the horse dead but Nikita is still alive.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles / Agatha Christie

Title: The Mysterious Affair at Styles 

Author: Agatha Christie

Subjects: Classic; Fiction; Detective; Mystery

In this novel introduced Hercule Poirot. Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When the woman is killed, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery.

The Murder on the Links / Agatha Christie

Title: The Murder on the Links 

Author: Agatha Christie 

Subjects: Classic; Fiction; Detective; Mystery

It is a detective fiction. The story takes place in northern France, where Renauld had been stabbed and left in a newly dug grave adjacent to a local golf course. His wife, Eloise Renauld, claims masked men broke into the villa and took her husband away with them. Monsieur Giraud of the Sûreté leads the police investigation, and Poirot's involves.

Arms and the Man / George Bernard Shaw

Title: Arms and the Man 

Author: George Bernard Shaw

Subjects: Play; Drama; Comedy

Arms and the Man is a humorous play that shows the futility of war and deals comedically with the hypocrisies of human nature. A must read play from Shaw. It is filled with witty and amusing dialogue. It attack the idea of war as heroic and magnificent act.