Today the world celebrates World Book Day, an event that inspires a love of reading among children and young people around the globe. With over 100 countries participating, the event promotes easy access to books through affordable or free options, engaging activities to explore stories, and even exciting competitions.
In 2025, World Book Day marks 30 years of championing literature. To mark this occasion, here we have picked five timeless classics everyone should read;
War and Peace
By Leo Tolstoy
This historical novel, written in the Napoleonic period, offers peek into the Russian society caught up in the turmoil of war. It traces the entangled existences of five noble families exploring love, war, and the essence of existence, while weaving historical events with individual challenges.
Gone with the Wind
By Margaret Mitchell
This Margaret Mitchell’s classic narrates the tale of the American Civil War and its aftermath. This novel follows the story of a tough Southern belle. Fighting against society’s breakdown, heartache, and survival difficulties, her story displays both her persistence and the intricacy of her relationships.
Crime and Punishment
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
You can argue Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment is the best book written of all time and it will be hard to disagree. This classic, tells the story of psychological agony and ethical struggles, and the theme of guilt, redemption and human conscience.
Also read:
‘Catching Dreams’: Meet Huzaifa, Karachi’s 12-year-old fishmonger-cum-vlogger
‘No WiFi, just conversations’: Unique Karachi Café promotes real-life interaction
Don Quixote
By Miguel de Cervantes
In this classic, Miguel de Cervantes created a romantic character who fantasizes being a knight-errant. With the faithful squire Sancho Panza by his side, his misadventures blur the boundaries of reality and fantasy, presenting profound observations on human folly and ambition.
To Kill a Mockingbird
By Harper Lee
Based in the volatile American South amidst racial tensions and the Great Depression, the book describes the world through the perspective of a young girl. When her father defends a black man wrongly accused of a heinous crime, she, along with her brother, come face to face with the cruel realities about justice, morality, and racism in US society.
