In this video I’m sharing the classics I want to finally pick up in 2026—because, honestly, classics are a new genre for me. I don’t typically read classics (I usually lean more into historical African fiction), but I’ve been collecting a few here and there and I don’t want to keep buying them just for the sake of having them on my shelves. So I’m making it intentional: five(ish) classics that I can slot into my TBR across the year. I talk you through each pick, why it made the list, and what I’m expecting going in as a first-time classics reader. The books are: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (published in 1818—wild), Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (and yes, I’m obsessed with how pretty the Paige Classics covers are), Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (I genuinely don’t know what I’m in for, but people love it), and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (recommended to me as a great place to start, with a bit of mystery and gothic vibes). While editing, I also added The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde because the Collins Classics edition was too cute to leave behind. I also ask you to recommend more classics for me—especially African classics—because I’m still figuring out what I like in this genre.