33 Classic Books That Will Make You Forget Your Smartphone

If you’re a reader, you may remember the book that took you down. The one that hooked you, that made you realize: I love to read. When we asked our Facebook fans to name that book, the outpouring of answers was both great and passionate. These classics were among the favorites. The readers themselves tell you why.

For more suggestions, see 50 Books Real Simple Readers Love.

I could read before kindergarten, but the day I started reading The Grapes of Wrath, reading brought on a whole new meaning. —Helen Zanone 

To buy: $17, amazon.com.

It was so exciting, it made me feel like I was there with the characters. Still my all-time favorite. —Kristal Bellamy 

To buy: $15, amazon.com.

My mom read a chapter every night before bed. Now I read every night before bed. —Sandra Roberts 

To buy: $3, amazon.com.

His writing style just pulled me in! I was reading it during my first East Coast snowstorm, but I could feel the salt of the sea spray and fatigue in my arms like I was holding the marlin with my own hands! I could not put the book down until I finished, and it ignited my passion for reading that had been completely depleted with the intense amount of required reading during college. So thank you, Ernest! —Kristin Gebhardt 

To buy: $12, amazon.com.

I sobbed. I can still go back to that moment. . . —Joanne Cropper 

To buy: $5, amazon.com.

I got lost in the entire thing. When it was over, I read it again and again until I couldn’t get that feeling any longer. After that I have always loved getting lost in a good book!! —Laura Bridges 

To buy: $19, amazon.com.

I got an A+++ on a report [on it] in seventh grade in 1988, which gave me the confidence to work hard in school despite a life filled with obstacles. —Rosa Frazier 

To buy: $17, amazon.com.

I was so amazed by how closely my personal views and opinions matched the author’s. —Heather Christina

To buy: $11, amazon.com.

My grandmother gave me my first “‘big” book: All Creatures Great and Small. I can remember it was the first time I felt immersed in a story, like I was truly an assistant to this young British country vet. I devoured the rest of his books, and the path was set for a lifetime love of reading. —Kelly Nunn Holdcraft 

To buy: $16, amazon.com.

My dad was a voracious reader who read to us faithfully at night and, thankfully, I inherited his love of reading. I panic if I go somewhere and realize I have forgotten to bring a book. —Shelley McGeady 

To buy: $3, amazon.com.

Still my favorite. —Mandy Nelson 

To buy: $16, amazon.com.

The Scarlet Letter was a real page-turner for me. It made me want to read more historical-fiction books. Since that time long ago, I became a teacher, then a librarian. I am retired now but continue to share my love of books with my grandchildren and those where I volunteer three days a week. There is nothing like a good book! —Mary Ann Koonce 

To buy: $11, amazon.com.

My mom would read a chapter from a children’s version to my sisters and me before going to school every morning. It made me love reading and the ancient world (I’m a historian now). —Eugenia Villanueva Viso 

To buy: $36, amazon.com.

I got it as a gift when I was 10 and it set me off on a book habit that’s lasted 23 years. —Tracy Bower 

To buy: $3, amazon.com.

It is to this day my favorite book. —Rachel Montoya 

To buy: $15, amazon.com.

Gifted to me by my grandmother for my eighth birthday. Every birthday and Christmas thereafter she gifted me with books, mostly classics. To this day, I still have them. —Geraldine Asis 

To buy: $8, amazon.com.

It was my first “epic” tale. —Lucinda Gray 

To buy: $10, amazon.com.

[The book that made me love reading was] Les Misérables, when I was in high school 50 years ago! I love reading, read about a book a week, and can visualize the “movie” as I read, kind of like I was the director! —Jacqueline Ledoux McGann 

To buy: $10, amazon.com.

It was a gift for my fifth birthday. I wanted to learn how to read so I could read my book! —Kelly Morris 

To buy: $4.50, amazon.com.

The first full-on chapter book I read as a kid. Every time I finished it, I would pick up another book, read a few pages, and think “No, I have to spend time with Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, and the gang again.” I have been a fan of reading (and pirates) ever since. —James Holstein 

To buy: $7.50, amazon.com.

My mom gave me her childhood copy of Tales From Shakespeare. I was reading a kid-friendly “Twelfth Night” at age 6 and haven’t stopped reading since! —Ceci Suhre 

To buy: $6, amazon.com.

It captivated my mind as a child, and truly showed me the power of a book. —Randall Fowler 

To buy: $3.50, amazon.com.

For me it was Moby Dick and after that, I used to go to the library as often as I could as a child to check out all the books about the sea and pirates, etc. . . . I love reading just as much now at 55 years old as I did when I was a young girl. —Rhonda Kimball 

To buy: $13, amazon.com.

Pride and Prejudice reinvigorated my desire to read more and more as an adult! —Leslie Bradshaw 

To buy: $10, amazon.com.

The Dalai Lama is living inspiration for all. —Tanu Mann

To buy: $14, amazon.com.

My fourth-grade teacher read us Robinson Crusoe and I was mesmerized. Have been reading ever since. —Tammy Gigot 

To buy: $3.50, amazon.com.

Got me hooked in ninth grade! —Patty Hinton 

To buy: $18, barnesandnoble.com.

I don’t remember a time without a book in my hand, but a collection of Aesop’s Fables set me on the path to a lifelong love of fiction. —Sujatha Nair 

I read them over and over. —Lynn Emenheiser 

To buy: $3, amazon.com.

It inspired me to read all the Beat Generation authors’ books. But I always go back to On the Road. —Chris Schmitt 

To buy: $17, amazon.com.

I’ve always been a book nerd since learning to read. But when I was 16 I read Anna Karenina and completely fell in love with Russian literature. Books went from being a hobby to something I am really passionate about. —Tina Brandon 

To buy: $7, amazon.com.

My sister gave me Frankenstein in fourth grade. It was way over my head but I was hooked! —Jessica Taul 

Just amazed that a young British woman from that era could write a story like that. —Lynn Chisholm 

To buy: $4, amazon.com.

My parents always encouraged me to read, and my dad gave me this to read when I was around 15. My life was never the same after. —Kyrie Kuehn

To buy: $8, amazon.com.

I was 10. The librarian said I was too young to understand it. I took it home and worked to comprehend the book. It never left me. —Kristi Jonasson-James 

To buy: $8.50, amazon.com.