Top Ten Free Classic Books On The Kindle Store

Amazon’s Kindle Store, as most of you would know, is not exclusively for Kindle owners. You can use their Kindle app on your iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows 8 PC/tablet, Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone and use it to read the books you have bought/downloaded from the Kindle Store. So Amazon has covered pretty much every platform.

What you probably don’t know it you can also use the app on Cloud i.e. you can read the books and surf across the internet simultaneously. What I’m trying to say, here, is that you can enjoy all the Kindle books in virtually every device you possess.

Which means, you can read those free classic books available on the Store without paying a *single* penny. Then why not use the app? After all, books are awesome, right? And anything free is good?

I presume you now realise that this piece is useful for you even if you don’t own a Kindle?

Fine. Now. Where do you start? Well, from the best ones, of course. Or at least, those which I think are best for you. Hang on, you are going to have to trust me here a bit.

Here’s my Top Ten list of the best free classic books you can download from the Kindle Store. And yes, in no particular order. I hope you like them.

There are many, many more to choose from.

1. The Three Musketeers: A great story, told very very nicely. Originally in French, this is an English translation (telling you only because I didn’t know that until only a while ago). This book is one of those books which are suitable for people of any age. If you can read, this book is for you. A fun story, well written.

2. Pride and Prejudice: Witty, funny and full of interesting characters, this book is one of the most read books even today. I know at least twenty girls who have Pride and Prejudice as their *all-time* favourite book. Tells a tale, doesn’t it, if you pardon the pun? Not that it is a women-only book. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are two characters which are almost impossible to dislike.

3. The Secret Garden: This book was one of my favourites (I had a beautifully illustrated hard-cover copy) in childhood. One of the best children’s classics in my opinion. Centered around a little girl who comes to her home country, England, from India and discovers a mysterious garden near her new abode.

4. Dracula: The book that started it all. The birth of vampire fiction. In its modern flavour, anyway. It is not exactly frightening, but the tension is overpowering throughout. A must-read for vampire fiction fans (get over Twilight, for God’s sake!).

5. The Jungle Book: What? Do I really need to tell you anything about it? Yes? Well, as you say, cave-dweller. The Jungle Book stories were written by Rudyard Kipling about an Indian boy who has grown up with wolves since infancy. The book tells us about him and his animal friends’ (among them a black panther, a sloth bear and a python) adventures in the jungle along with clashes with his enemy, Shere Khan, a lame Bengal Tiger.

6. The Call of the Wild: Perhaps the shortest book in the list. More a novella than a novel. But no less impressive for that. In fact, quite the opposite.

7. Treasure Island: I guess some of you must have read it in your high-school. I certainly did. And a dozen times, if not more. Well, if you didn’t, you didn’t have that good a childhood. No matter, now is the time to fill that crater. This book has pretty lovely writing style and excellent characterisation. I personally think this is one of the best books written for kids and is is enjoyable even for adults.

Unrelated note: If you want your kid to read this book, I suggest buying a hardcover illustrated edition for them. Children like to read books with pictures and colourful illustrations arouse their interest in reading. You can’t get that off Kindle Store (obviously), but with a bit of search, you will surely be able to buy it from Amazon (their main site) itself.

8. The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Aye, every novel and short story concerning the best fictional sleuth penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in one compact package. For totally free.

9. Great Expectations: Frankly, this list would have been incomplete without a Charles Dickens book. Considering the genre “Classic” is ruled by Dickens with ruthless authority. Great Expectations is a typical Dickens novel with his trademark Victorian-style (read classy) prose, great plot and brilliant characters.

10. The Great Gatsby: Considered by many the greatest work of American literature, this book is not exactly a page-turner at first. But moving on, it does get addictive. By the time you are finished, you get a feeling that you just read something really special. Recommended to everyone, even to those who have seen the movie. Whilst the movie is quite good in its own way, take my word, the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer isn’t a patch on the book.

Top Ten Movies That Outdid The Book They Were Based On

That is exremely rare, granted. There aren’t many movies which do justice to the book from which they are derived from, let alone bettering it. But we have had quite a few movies which managed to outdo their source material in many ways. Either their execution of the story was nicer or they just added their own theme to the plot which worked out better than the original one. Or in some cases, they explored greater dimensions, fleshed out the story, characters and so forth.

Some of them even cut out the uninteresting parts and made the plot compact, making easy for it to be digested without having to wade through tedious, dense prose.

Some did all of that.

Here is my list of top ten of them in no particular order…

1. The Shawshank Redemption: Rated the best movie at IMDB, The Shawshank Redemption was based on a novella by Stephen King: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. Surprising, yes?

I read the novella by chance in an old paperback story-collection called Different Seasons. Considering the kind of stories King usually writes, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption came as quite a pleasant surprise. It left me high-spirited, but it was pretty boring as well.

And then I saw the movie some 4-5 years ago. It had none of those irritating lengthy descriptions of things which don’t matter and about which nobody cares about… except King, maybe. And it had Morgan Freeman as the narrator, which sealed the deal for me.

1. Forrest Gump: Arguably Tom Hanks’ best performance yet. And so much better than that draggy book which had some truly awful narration. Admittedly, I watched the movie first but couldn’t spot a single thing which was better done in the book no matter how hard I tried. It is amazing how someone could transform that heap of garbage to such a lovely film.

2. Fight Club: Now, this book by Chuck Palahanuik was really good unlike the previous two. Good in a sick, twisted sort of way. But the movie was even better, somehow. I actually can’t explain why. Not even to myself. Perhaps the story was more suited for a movie than a novel?

4. Schindler’s List: I read the book “Schindler’s Ark” when I was young enough to read only fairy tales. It was a dark, depressing story but remarkably moving. But movie was better. More moving and, thankfully, retaining the dark tones of that incredible novel. Not to forget the fantastic cinematography and excellent portrayal of Oskar Schindler by Liam Neeson, of course.

5. The Silence of the Lambs: This movie bested the book by the same name just by the sheer quality of film-making. Also, being a little more blunt. A spine-tingling watch. The book is also recommended, though. Especially if you liked the movie.

6. The Lord of the Rings trilogy: I can almost hear outcries voiced by Tolkien-pedants. Guys, guys, guys! Relax! I know you want my head on a spike but to tell you the truth, I too was unsure about this decision of mine. But later on, after a bit of contemplation, I decided to go with Peter Jackson’s beautiful adaptations because of many reasons. Amazing cinematography, stunning battle sequences and fantastic score are just some of those. In this case, I read the book (that huge red religious tome) first. Not to say that I didn’t like, I surely did. But once again, the prose was too dense. Also, it had those annoyingly distracting poems popping up sporadically. On a different note, I like the children-oriented, playful and lightly funny Hobbit more than the Lord of the Rings. Yeah, I’m going to cover my ears now…

7. Jurassic Park: Second Steven Spielberg’s film in this list after Schindler’s List. Based on Michael Crichton’s book. The book was pretty good, I admit, but it was little more than a jumble of a multitude events pieced together to form a misshapen lump. It was thrilling, yes, scary, even. But fell far short of Spielberg’s mind-boggling adaptation. At a time when 3D animation was still in its infancy, Jurassic Park came and shattered all expectations with its stunningly designed 3D models and high-quality CGI dinosaurs. A truly terrifying depiction of the events which materialise when those monstrous reptiles of the bygone era are thrown abruptly in today’s world with the help of advanced genetic technologies. And above all, the devastating consequences of that audacity.

1. Shutter Island: To be fair to Dennis Lehane, the author of Shutter Island, I knew what was coming at the end of the story as I began to read the book. So probably I couldn’t like it as much as I would have had I read it before watching the movie. As you well know, the magic of the story lies with the climax. Also, this book reminded me of Dan Brown in an uncomfortable sort of way…

9. The Pursuit of Happyness: Well, this film was based on a non-fiction book, a biography. I was never a fan of biographies. I didn’t even know who Chris Gardner was until I watched the movie and read his biography. Writing was strictly so-so, too. An inspirational rags-to-riches story, though, and brilliantly portrayed by Will Smith in the film.

1. The Godfather: Yes, I liked the The Godfather movie more than Mario Puzo’s book. As is usually the case, the book explained things better to me, it was far more detailed; but I don’t think I would have been as attached to the story if they hadn’t made that marvel of a movie. It followed the novel very faithfully whilst embellishing the already great story – one of the many reasons I prefer it over the book. I know many people would disagree but, well, that is just my personal opinion.

Do you know of any more examples? Do comment below.

Top Ten Relevant Things You Can Learn From Game Of Thrones

Note regarding *SPOILERS*: If you haven’t read George R.R. Martin’s Epic Fantasy Series A Song of Ice and Fire and plan to read it in future, please avoid proceeding further as it may contain important plot points. You have been warned.

1. Honesty is overrated: Aye, I do believe so. If you have read the series and/or watched the show, you would be aware of the things which happen to honest people in Westeros (or Essos, for that matter). I have come to realise that the real world isn’t much different in this facet. Honesty has no place here either.

2. Always keep your animal friends close: Or you die. Simple. Your enemies howl for your blood perpetually. Only the presence of your animal friends discourages their advances. If you don’t believe me, well, see what happened to *cough* Robb Stark and, later, to *cough* Jon Snow. Even if you think you are completely safe, you will miss out on their unconditional affection and warmth. KEEP THEM GODDAMN CLOSE.

3. Don’t let those nasty taunts bother you. Learn to ignore: Simply because Tyrion Lannister told you to. You can’t just dismiss the Halfman.

4. Books are awesome. Period: As Jojen Reed said, a reader lives thousands of lives while the people who don’t read live only one miserable, deplorable life. And Jojen is a seer for Old Gods’ sake.

5. Life is not a song: Littlefinger is SO right here. Unlike the songs and stories, the real life lets monsters win.

6. You can’t have courage without fear: Stolen shamelessly from a private father-to-son conversation between Ned And Bran: “Can a many still be brave if he’s afraid?” “That is the only time a many can be brave.” It may seem like a simplistic statement at first glance, I admit. But boy, when you REALLY think about it…

7. Enjoy the current moment, screw everything else: A simplified and more relevant form of “And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first, we’ll live.” as said by Ygritte to Jon Snow is one of their *ahem* passionate moments.

8. Sometimes ruthlessness is a necessity: Just one word. Lannisters.

9. When you are afraid, guffaw at the top of your voice. Your fear will disappear like mist in the sun: Because: Laughter is poison to fear. Unless, of course, you have a hideous way of laughing. In which case, don’t laugh. Try something else.

10. Winter is Coming: The tagline of the series. And certainly not the most cheerful. A metaphorical form of “No matter how well-off you are, things can always go bad.” So watch out!