'beating the rap'

Hmmm, those are some tough questions, Boy.

I've read so many novels that it's tough to narrow down my single favorite. Two of my favorite classics would be F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and George Orwell's "1984." I would recommend them both. Fitzgerald was an American author of the 1920's' post-WWI generation. George Orwell was a British author and his "1984" is a world classic in terms of political literature and science fiction.

Fitzgerald's prose is rather lofty and the "newspeak" of "1984" might be somewhat confusing for someone learning English, but reading literature is an excellent way to immerse oneself in the language and improve stylistic writing.

mjd,

Was reading novels in your school syllabus? Or Was it just your personal passion?

They are old authors. So, it would be a bit easier for me to track down aforementioned classics. There is a big shop where I live, mainly containing
old stuff (novels & stories). I mean, you can not keep in touch with the latest work up there. They are not printed in original sleek pages. So, most books are available at cheaper rates. The least one around 1$ and the expensive one around 2$. I never had an experience for reading and buying them because I had a fricking hell of school homework. So I had even no time for playing sports in the evening. I had very brutal teachers.