any books you wish more people have read

thank you anon!

i don't have any particular ones in mind, just... i wish people read more classic books. i know that in school there's this built-up hatred towards classics they forced us to read (i was one of those kids lol, i used to hate la celestina and el lazarillo de tormes) but trust me, those books are classics for a reason! maybe it's the history and writing nerd in me but most of the classic books i've read have made me scream with joy at one point or another, and i think it's pretty cool to learn about how these characters decades or centuries ago viewed life and thrived (or not) in their contexts! and especially i would recommend reading literature from your own culture (i am guilty of not doing this myself), there's nothing like recognizing patterns and places and cultural elements in past settings while being able to fully immerse in the writing craft of the author, as translations will never be as good as reading the original text.

oh and on the topic of classics, i would also recommend going way back and reading texts from the ancient and classical periods! i know they might be scary, but imo they show how humanity has never changed and i think that's neat. i'll recommend some of them below - note that i'll only recommend books written by cultures i've studied, but i would love to read / know about other texts written by asian or mesoamerican cultures as well (if anyone has any recommendations please let me know!):

-i haven't read much of egyptian literature but it has always surprised me with how human it is, i would especially recommend reading the lamentations and the instruction texts! they are not really literature but they're incredible.

-the epic of gilgamesh is a must!!!! it's the oldest literary text ever written, and it makes me feel so much, i recommend it 10/10

-in the greek world there's a bunch of stuff i would recommend: sappho and hesiod are a must imo for the oldest stuff, and like if you want you can read a couple books in the illiad or the odyssey but i have to warn you - they're a bit boring honestly. if you are a geography nerd then plutarch is a must, and a hidden gem i got to read for uni is lucian's a true story (a huge inspiration for gulliver's travels!). plato - contrary to what one would think - has some really light and beautifully written books, i would say definitely check symposium and the book that narrates socrates' death, i don't remember the name but i think it's the critias? could be wrong tho. finally, oedipus rex, lysistrata, medea, and antigone are essential plays, absolute bangers all of them.

-roman literature is my favourite of the four so i don't even know where to start lol. i would say the quintessential roman book is the aeneid, which serves as a mini illiad + odyssey but way more interesting and with lots of hidden themes and references and everyone who has translated it knows that it's a pleasure to read in latin. my professor once said the aeneid was the greatest piece of literature in the ancient world, and i once was against this but... she had a point. i also recommend catullus and martial's poetry, as well as my personal favourite classical book, ovid's heroids. if you are fond of gossip while learning about 'history' suetonius' the twelve caesars is a banger. finally, seneca's medea is my absolute favorite roman tragedy, and it contains my favorite latin phrase so of course i had to recommend it.

i'm sorry that this ended up being so long 😅