Ernest Hemingway’s reading list: 16 essential novels for young writers
When trying to get youngsters into reading and writing, it is best to start with age-appropriate material. For instance, early learners tend to enjoy reading books about hungry caterpillars, magical chocolate factories and bears addicted to either honey or marmalade. However, as aspiring young writers mature, their palettes become primed for the vast galaxy of adult novels on offer.
Those who thirst for reality and factual information will usually be best reading non-fictional books such as Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything or Stephen Hawking’s The Theory of Everything. These two books seem like a fairly comprehensive dose of reality, but Hawking’s theoretical reasoning won’t cut the mustard when it comes to fictional escape.
In the expansive realm of fiction, there is a multitude of genres to pick from. Those looking for page-turning thrillers should dive into Stephen King’s canon or Ian Flemming’s James Bond books. Meanwhile, those looking to detach into another world should start with fantasy classics like J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
As with anything, a varied diet is preferable, but serious readers and aspiring writers will usually dive into classic fiction in their teen years for a more edifying experience. Classic novels, such as those by Harper Lee, John Steinbeck and F. Scott Fitzgerald that crop up consistently in English Literature class, are classic for a reason. Such novels usually spark the imagination with an engaging narrative but, through allegory or social study, carry moral lessons of eternal importance.
If I were to recommend a classic novel to young aspiring writers, I might suggest one of Ernest Hemingway’s masterpieces, such as The Old Man and the Sea, Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises, or A Farewell to Arms. These books are undeniable classics that endure in the 21st century thanks to ever-pertinent social, moral and psychological allusions.
What makes Hemingway such a great place to begin is his groundbreaking penchant for simplicity. Unlike his friend James Joyce’s labyrinthine masterpiece Ulysses, Hemingway’s books are universally accessible, which makes them a great starting point for youngsters who should never jump in at the deep end, whether reading or writing.
Hemingway is recognised as one of the finest writers of his generation, often referred to as The Lost Generation. For his work, mostly steeped in wartime despair and disillusionment, he won The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Naturally, the writer had aspiring writers approach him on a near-constant basis, looking for a leg-up or a nugget of wisdom to help them in their own pursuits. Among these was a 22-year-old named Arnold Samuelson, who hitchhiked to Hemingway’s home in Florida in 1934.
A grumpy, mid-30s Hemingway seemed at first irritated by the young whippersnapper. “What do you want?” he asked curtly. After realising he stood before one of his biggest fans who sought writing advice, Hemingway softened up. “The most important thing I’ve learned about writing is never write too much at a time,” Samuelson recalled of Hemingway’s impromptu lecture in a diary account later published in the Minneapolis Tribune. “Never pump yourself dry. Leave a little for the next day.”
Hemingway also told Samuelson that it was important to know “when to stop” so as not to overcook the idea. “When you’re still going good, and you come to an interesting place, and you know what’s going to happen next, that’s the time to stop,” Samuelson relayed. “Then leave it alone and don’t think about it; let your subconscious mind do the work. The next morning, when you’ve had a good sleep, and you’re feeling fresh, rewrite what you wrote the day before. When you come to the interesting place, and you know what is going to happen next, go on from there and stop at another high point of interest.”
During the conversation, Hemingway asked, “Ever read War and Peace?”. Samuelson replied, admitting that he had not yet had the pleasure (or the time). “That’s a damned good book. You ought to read it,” Hemingway said. “We’ll go up to my workshop, and I’ll make out a list you ought to read.”
Below is the list of 16 books Hemingway recommended to Samuelson. The range in writing styles, from Joyce’s complexity to Stephen Crane’s vivid poetry, meets a similarly pleasing variety of lessons. War and Peace is a rewarding lesson in endurance, while Fyodor Dostoyevsky offers one of his greatest psychological and philosophical studies in The Brothers Karamazov.
Ernest Hemingway’s book recommendations:
- The Blue Hotel – Stephen Crane
- The Open Boat – Stephen Crane
- Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
- Dubliners – James Joyce
- The Red and the Black – Stendhal
- Of Human Bondage – Somerset Maugham
- Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
- War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
- Buddenbrooks – Thomas Mann
- Hail and Farewell – George Moore
- The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The Oxford Book of English Verse
- The Enormous Room – E.E. Cummings
- Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
- Far Away and Long Ago – W.H. Hudson
- The American – Henry James
