Rupert Holmes recommends 6 timeless books
The novelist and songwriter suggests works by George Orwell, A.A. Milne, and more
![Rupert Holmes](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jj3j8CHuJXzaNaYcXjJyuT-415-80.jpg)
When you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Rupert Holmes is a novelist, playwright, and songwriter whose hits include 1979's "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)." His new novel, Murder Your Employer, is a comic thriller set at a college that teaches students how to get away with justified homicide.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
Reading this masterpiece in my teens, it felt like the tale of a nightmarish but thankfully distant future. Rereading it in the 2020s, it feels as if Nineteen Eighty-Four has been waiting patiently for us just around the next corner — or haven't you noticed the word "Orwellian" popping up a lot lately? It's also as searing a love story as Wuthering Heights. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker (1944)
People will enthuse, "I just loved all that witty Dorothy Parker-type dialogue!" But how many of us have actually sampled her stories of romantic civil wars in which no prisoners are taken? Or her bruised and chagrined poems, as in: "O, life is a glorious cycle of song, / A medley of extemporanea; / And love is a thing that can never go wrong: / And I am Marie of Romania." Buy it here.
The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)
The original hero-chased-by-police-and-villains yarn. It's the archetype for such Hitchcock films as Saboteur, North by Northwest, and, oh yes, The Thirty-Nine Steps ... and even Ian Fleming's 007 classic, From Russia With Love. Buy it here.
The Troll Garden by Willa Cather (1905)
Renowned for her prairie stories, Cather was luminescent when writing of the big city's opulence. This collection features "Paul's Case," a Catcher in the Rye circa 1905, with a flawless, disturbing, yet palliative last paragraph. Buy it here.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
In the best of Doyle's four Sherlock Holmes novels, Holmes and Watson face the Hound from Hell on the fog-drenched moorland of Devon. We feel safe enough when Holmes is around, but at one point Doyle brilliantly leaves us alone in Dartmoor with only Watson for protection! Buy it here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne (1928)
I get it: As an adult, you'd be embarrassed to be caught reading these wry, captivating stories. So ... read them aloud to a child. Voice the unforgettable characters well enough, and the kid may not even realize you're doing it. Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Did Kamala Harris kill brat?
Talking Point Pop culture phenomenon co-opted by presidential candidate sparks claims brat is over
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
Paris Olympics: will it be a success?
Today's Big Question Organisers hope the 'spectacle' of the 2024 Games will lift the cloud of negativity that has hung over the build-up
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 July
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peng Shepherd's 6 favorite works with themes of magical realism
Feature The author recommends works by Susanna Clarke, George Saunders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Laura van den Berg's 6 favorite books with hidden secrets
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Lockwood, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
26 of America's most unexpectedly banned books
In Depth From 'Harriet the Spy' to 'Little Red Riding Hood,' these books have all fallen afoul of censors
By The Week Staff Published
-
Conn Iggulden recommends 6 unforgettable books with historical themes
Feature The British author recommends works by Patrick O'Brian, Richard Dawkins, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Five books chosen by Nina Stibbe
Feature The author recommends works by David Sedaris, Alba de Céspedes and more
By The Week UK Published
-
Julia Phillips' 6 favorite books that explore the beauty and brutality of life
Feature The Novelist recommends works by Alice Walker, Colson Whitehead, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Joseph Earl Thomas's 6 favorite books that tackle social issues
Feature The author recommends works by Fernanda Melchor, Adania Shibli, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Ivy Pochoda's 6 favorite books that explore the dark side of human nature
Feature The thriller writer recommends works by Cormac McCarthy, Rachel Kushner, and more
By The Week Staff Published