2025 Deep Reading List

From Dante to Joyce: A Year of Imaginative Literature

Dec 09, 2024

Towards the end of each year, I finalize a list of approximately a dozen works of imaginative literature that I want to spend some time with in the following year. Today, I’m happy to share that list with you.

This list doesn’t reflect everything that I’ll read next year. Each year I read between 70 and 110 books, but I don’t approach every book with the same rigor. Instead, I use a focused reading list to target certain books and extract as much from them as possible. I’ve found this approach to allow me to have a nice balance between breadth and depth in my reading.

My intent this year was to build a list that is incredibly rich and varied, a list that contains some of the most influential works in literature. In it you’ll find a variety of genre and form. There’s a balance of epic poetry, novels, satire, and even some magical realism. You’ll find a wide range of historical coverage, from ancient Rome to medieval Europe to modern times.

I can’t tell you much about the books on this list, because I’ve never read any of them very deeply. You’ll recognize many of the names, but if there are any that you want to know more about, I highly encourage you to seek more information online. Instead of telling you about the books, I’ll tell you about why they’re on my list, what I expect from the reading experience, and what version I plan to read.

I’ve set up a Bookshop list where you can review all of the works mentioned in the post below. If you purchase any of the works from this list, I’ll earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

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Let’s dive in to the Better Books 2025 Deep Read List.

#1 - The Divine Comedy by Dante

We’ll begin the year with Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In 2024, I read Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey alongside Virgil’s The Aeneid. There is probably much more that I could read to prepare for Dante’s epic, but I’m ready to dive in already.

My hope is that this epic poem sets a foundational tone for the year that resonates thematically through many of the other works on this list. I’ll be reading the Robert and Jean Hollander translations published by Anchor Books.

#2 - The Metamorphoses by Ovid

Following Dante, Ovid’s collection of myths should explore similar themes of fate, morality, and human nature. I’ll be focused on how the narrative style of Ovid contrasts with Dante and some of the earlier epics that I mentioned from Homer and Virgil. I’m also hoping to be swept away by the beauty and drama of the various stories within.

I’ll be using the Allen Mandelbaum translation from the Everyman’s Library Classics collection. I’ve read that this is a version which is accessible for beginners; perfect for a first-time reader of Ovid like me!

#3 - The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

The beginning of spring (if we’re on a one-book-per-month pace) seems like an apt time for this tale of love, politics, and court life in ancient Japan. After two works that have shaped Western culture, this one should offer a shift in perspective.

Here’s what I’m expecting from this work based on the (very) little that I know about it: (1) psychological depth; (2) an exploration of courtly life and other aesthetics of ancient Japan; (3) a different narrative structure than we’re used to with Western literature; and (4) a mix of poetry and prose. This will be a unique reading experience that I expect to require patience and active engagement in order to extract the most out of it.

I’ll be using the Dennis Washburn translation as published in the Norton Critical edition.

#4 - The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Following our Eastern excursion, Chaucer’s tales should provide a bridge back to more familiar narrative themes and forms. I understand The Canterbury Tales to have been originally written in Middle English. Therefore, I’m looking forward to the myriad linguistic challenges that will come along with reading this one.

I have not decided on which version of this book that I want to read. My goal is to explore a dual language edition so that I can fully engage with Chaucer’s original Middle English. Any recommendations?

#5 - One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

I hear about this book all the time, so I’ve decided to finally read it. I’m hopeful that the magical realism in this one will echo some of the elements of prior works on the list while introducing a more modern and Latin American context to the year’s reading.

I plan to read the Gregory Rabassa translation in paperback. My understanding is that this translation is widely praised for capturing the rhythm and spirit of the original Spanish.

#6 - Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Assuming we’re still on a one-book-per-month pace, summer is now setting in. I get a sense that Thomas Hardy belongs in the summer season even though I’ve never read his works. I understand that he explores pastoral landscapes and rural life in this one that should provide a nice backdrop to the warm summer months. I’m looking forward to my first dive into Hardy’s Wessex and my first experience with his rich, descriptive prose that I’ve heard so much about.

I plan to read the Norton Critical edition of this one, unless anyone has a better recommendation for an annotated copy.

#7 - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I’ve read Anna Karenina before, but it’s been a long time and I don’t remember it well. Full disclosure, I placed it here on the list because the one scene that I do vividly remember involved one of the characters cutting grass, and grass-cutting belongs in the summer months along with Thomas Hardy.

I loved Tolstoy’s War and Peace, so I’m greatly looking forward to devouring more of his work. I plan to read the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation.

#8 - Madam Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

I place this one after Anna Karenina as I imagine that the tale of Emma Bovary’s tragic story will serve as a nice counterpoint to Anna’s narrative. Based on the little I know about this novel, I’m expecting a few things: (1) precise literary realism; (2) a tragic narrative; (3) an intimate look at the main character’s internal struggle between ideals and reality; and (4) a slow and methodical build to a dramatic conclusion.

This is another work for which I have not yet chosen a translation. Recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

#9 - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This is the only other book on this list that I’ve read before. Similar to Anna Karenina, I read this one rather quickly and quite a while ago. This time I want to slow down and truly savor the experience. I plan to approach it as more than simply a horror story, but something deeply complex and philosophical. It’s a novel that invites reflection on our own times, something I neglected to do the last time that I read it.

I plan to read the 1818 version of the text as published in the Penguin Classics edition.

#10 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

After Shelley’s gothic science, Huxley’s critique of society should feel like a natural progression. I’ve read Orwell’s 1984, but I’ve never encountered Huxley’s dystopian vision. Now that we’re getting towards the end of the year, it feels right to read something like this (and Frankenstein before it) right around Spooky Season. I’m expecting satire and themes of psychological control.

I plan to read a hardcover edition of this book from the Everyman’s Library collection.

#11 - The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

This is another one that’s been recommended to me many, many times. After looking into it briefly, I’m expecting further exploration of some of the themes that we’ve seen throughout the year, from Dante through Huxley; themes like good versus evil, love, freedom, and the importance of creative art. I’ve been told to embrace this book’s blend of humor, horror, and philosophical inquiry. It seems like a great all-around option for the penultimate book of the year.

I plan to read the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation as published in the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition.

#12 - Ulysses by James Joyce

Joyce is at the end of the list because his is the work that I’m most intimidated by. I know it’s a monumental task to read this book that encapsulates only a single day in Dublin. I’m hoping that the interconnectedness of characters and themes from all of the previous deep reads will find its zenith here.

I’m open to any and all recommendations on which version to read.

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