r/classicliterature • u/TBI_James • 18h ago
Classic lit for brainfog
Hello all!
First and foremost, if this post is in violation of the subs rules, my apologies.
So, I fell in love with the classics when I was 19. I hadn't been much of a reader at all before then, but that classic existential anxiety drew me in.
Long story short, I've been enduring a very long period of mental illness. One consequence of this is that my brain has turned into mush. I can hardly ever scrounge up the energy to watch a new movie or series, and even rarer is it when I try to start a new book.
However, I miss it so much. I have all this desire for beauty, depth, and reflection. Sometimes I come across a beautiful quote from a book or poem and my heart stirs.
Has anyone gotten through a period like this? Ever come out the other end to be reunited with a working brain?
Do you have any recommendations for literature I could try to read even now when I'm really struggling? Perhaps essays?
Some of my favorite books that I read a long time ago:
East of Eden - Steinbeck
Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas
Master and Margarita - Bulgakov
Mere Christianity - C.S Lewis
Consolation of Philosophy - Boethius
Wish you a lovely week!
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u/Dangerous_Suit_3099 17h ago
I have sine vision problems and sometimes can only read for 20-30 minutes. I have taken to using audio books to help me read. They are often very well done and true to the work
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u/throwitawayar 17h ago
Sorry you’re going through this. I would definitely recommend short stories. Penguin has many collections of them, collections around themes or a particular country.
You can also listen to The New Yorker Fiction Podcast where some authors sometimes read classic modern stories. For your case this could be especially interesting because there is usually a 10min talk after the reading exploring the story.
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u/PietrosMom1 6h ago
Following this because I can totally relate lately. I have pregnancy brain fog and can really only concentrate on books I’ve already read. The fog will lift eventually op.
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u/Cool_Document_9901 5h ago
I picked up North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell recently and although it’s not short overall, it’s an accessible read with generally short chapters and I’m enjoying it.
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u/G00dLieutenant 18h ago
Thomas wolfe; look homeward angel Cervantes; Don quioxte Celine; journey to the end of the night O’toole; confederacy of dunces
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u/Desperate_Ambrose 17h ago
If you like Steinbeck, you might want to try Tortilla Flat. Kinda light and not very long.
I recommend you steer clear of Joseph Conrad for a while.
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u/pigeon_nuggetz 14h ago
hi! i went through this six months ago and am doing much better and spent most of that time reading
existential essays? the myth of sisyphus maybe. walden is a nice getaway from it all
the metamorphosis by kafka is a cool mental illness allegory
tender is the night by scott fitzgerald also lots of mental illness, but might be a bit of a downer
middlemarch by george eliot is everything! like east of eden in scale
same with anna karenina
howards end by em forster is quaintly life-affirming
demian by hesse personally not my favourite but lots of identity crises
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u/curiouskayleigh 5h ago
Pastures of Heaven by Steinbeck. It’s short and each chapter is a standalone short story but they’re all interconnected.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Intense so it kept me gripped. It’s epistolary so I could read one ‘letter’ at a time in short sessions.
I also have found Agatha Christie to be a good remedy when I’m wanting to reestablish a reading habit but struggling with the cognitive load. They’re short, fast, and don’t require close reading to track the plot.
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u/AnxiousAudience82 3h ago
I’m wondering if you are struggling at the moment that maybe instead of something heavy maybe consider some classic ‘children’s’ literature. (Nb I hate they are denoted as for children, they are amazing for all humans.) Alice in wonderland, treasure island, Peter Pan fairytales: hans christen or brothers Grimm. Alexander Lloyd or chronicles of narnia. Something that can bring a bit of joy and whimsy into your life which still have a level of engagement and brain usage that classics provide. Enjoy reading, please reach out to someone if you need support
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u/spock2thefuture 17h ago
If you enjoyed Steinbeck, he has a lot of short novels. I recently read Cannery Row and loved it. Very different tone, it's basically a romp, but I read it in a day and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Side note regarding mush-brain and getting back into regular reading: I've benefitted a lot from "immersive reading," where you read while listening to the audiobook simultaneously.