Keeping up-to-date with literature is important. There are always so many interesting new release books to read, but do not forsake the classics. And no, not all classics are written in overly difficult language. Sure, “Beowulf” and “The Odyssey” are great, but you can also read more modern books. And trust me, they are classics for a reason.

1. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”

Czech author Milan Kundera tells a story of four people and how their lives interact in Prague during the 1960s and 1970s. Tomáš, Tereza, Sabina and Franz are all connected through love and sex. Philosophy pins the story together, as Kundera determines how people live. Life is fleeting, so our actions are ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe, meaning that they are light. Happiness comes from an acceptance of this “unbearable lightness of being.”

2. “Slaughterhouse-Five”

Kurt Vonnegut’s writing is interesting and unique, and this certainly holds true in “Slaughterhouse-Five.” This novel follows Billy Pilgrim through a series of flashbacks. This book is written in a non-linear format. If you like that, try one of his other books, like “Galápagos.”

3. “Things Fall Apart”

This book is part of “The African Trilogy,” which focuses on Nigeria and the nation’s interactions with the British. Okonkwo is a “strong man” in his Ibo village who follows tradition. Eventually, things fall apart due to an accident within his clan and the arrival of the British. Follow Okowkwo as he tries to rebuild his community, his family and himself.

4. “One Hundred Years of Solitude”

Travel to Colombia with Gabriel García Márquez and follow the story of the Buendía family. This novel is particularly famous because it is a magical realist text that was representative of the booming literary production from Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s.

5. “The Cairo Trilogy”

Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz published the three books of this series in the 1950s, but the story actually spreads from the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 to the end of World War II in 1944. This story traces a family, centered on Al-Sayyid Ahmad ‘Abd al-Jawad, and provides a keen insight into this time period.

6. “Lord of the Flies”

William Golding’s classic novel follows boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. This novel is fictitious, but its story posits great philosophical questions, like are humans naturally good or evil? Prepare yourself to be uncomfortable as you confront the darkness that is potentially within us all.