Here are a few alternatives to reading classic novels:
Greek Myths Short stories Short Nonfiction Movies
Greek myths are easy and fun to read. They even count as classics, though they're easy as kids' stories.
I recommend Online Mythology
Other mythology collections online include the following:
The Internet Sacred Text Archive
Regional Folklore and Mythology
Many short stories count as classics, and they're only a few pages long! Here are some of my favorites:
World English Many many classic short stories
Classic Shorts Many many classic short stories
The Lady or the Tiger? Frank Stockton. Would you have your sweetheart eaten by a tiger or married to your rival?
To Build a Fire Jack London. Survival in the harsh Alaskan wilderness.
Araby James Joyce. A boy dreams of journeying to an exotic place.
The Dead James Joyce. How will death affect us?
Science Fiction by HG Wells (quite a list)
Many short stories by Mark Twain A fun, light, American style of writing.
Many short stories by Chekov One of the great short story masters.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Fun, exciting mysteries, from the greatest detective pair ever.
Many stories by Kate Chopin: an early feminist writer with a nasty twist.
Many stories by Edgar Allen Poe Creepy, Gothic horror stories
Tales from Shakespeare: A classic book summarizing the stories of all Shakespeare's plays.
The Adventures of Ulysses A classic book summarizing the adventures of the Greek hero.
The Declaration of Independence-- Believe it or not, wonderful as an example on essays. And it's only a page long!
The Gettysburg Address is just a paragraph.
Also, the lesser-known Senneca Falls Convention wrote their own Declaration of Rights for Women.
A Modest Proposal: why people should eat their children!
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Civil Government Second Essay by John Locke
Letter from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address by Ronald Reagan
The Space Shuttle "Columbia" Tragedy Address by George W. Bush
American Rhetoric offers the most famous American speeches.
History and famous people are wonderful examples. You can use quick
biographies of Nobel Peace
Prize Laureates.
The Big Secret: Many teachers won't tell you this, but if it's a classic play, then the movie producers make no changes at all. No adapting, no changing details, no cleaning up the language. Since plays are meant to be seen live, watching the movie version is just fine. (Note: if this was once a novel, don't do it. Only plays.) There's a complete list of classic plays at http://www.empirecontact.com/plays/ Any of them are just fine, live or on film. Some of the best movies you can watch and then use as classic examples include the following works: CLASSIC PLAY MOVIE PAGE
Happy Watching!
Read Henry Potty and the Pet Rock: The Unauthorized Harry Potter Parody