This post was originally posted here on January 10th, 2026
The main reason I got into reading classics is when I stopped using Amazon for ebooks and I wanted to focus on buying DRM-free copies so I could keep and read them locally. I found out quickly that there is a very small selection of DRM-free books at the moment, though they're growing every day, and it turns out that classics are a fantastic source of them.
Also, a lot of classics are just really good. Like really good. Franz Kafka feels modern as hell. Aldous Huxley knew where a lot of modern life was headed. Langston Hughes' poetry still fucking slaps. I will continue to stan George Eliot. Alexandre Dumas pere could have been writing prestige dramas today I swear. They're so good and so free.
For Linux desktop, Foliate is the ebook reader I would recommend. It's got several sources for free ebooks already linked up and automatically uses a two page layout which I prefer. Plus it's pretty. Heads up though - the flatpak is fully not working as of the time of this writing, so use the snap.
I use KOReader on my jailbroken Kindle because it's pretty easy to configure and ReadEra on my Android phone mostly because it was the first thing I picked. But there are lots of other good options out there.
I don't have Microsoft or Apple products so maybe someone can leave a comment with their favorite there. Of course if you're already got a collection set up in a proprietary software you can continue to use that and load them in.
Standard Ebooks is my favorite source for ebooks of classics. All their books are put together by volunteers and are free. They're formatted really well and they've taken pains to put them in multiple formats - Kobo, Kindle, ePub, etc. The quality is noticeably better if you've ever tried reading free copies of classics before.
I also love that they put together a lot of collections to help you find books you might be interested in reading.
The Guardian's 100 Best Novels in English
Encyclopedia Britannica's Great Books of the Western World
Mystery Writers of America Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time
There's a lot of great content around classics on YouTube. Several creators focus some or all of their content on recommending classic literature.
Jared Henderson - 8 Classics You Can Read in a Day
Tristan and the Classics - 12 Short Classic Books - 200 pages or less
Great Books Prof - The BEST Five Books I’ve Ever Taught
I hope this helps get you started with a book your really love!