Here are the books that often appear on high-school reading lists for 12th-grade students, and are often discussed in greater depth in college literature courses. The books on this list are important introductions to world literature.

The Seagull

By Anton Chekhov

Price:$40.4

The book is a scene-of-life read set in the Russian countryside at the end of the 19th century. All characters are dissatisfied with their lives. Some want love. Some want success.No one, however, ever seems to get happiness. Some people view The Seagull as a tragic (悲剧的) play about always unhappy people. Others see it as a humorous and bitter book,making fun of humans’ foolishness.

Candide

By Voltaire

Price:$48.6

Voltaire offers his view of society in Candide. The book was published in 1759, and it is often considered the author’s most important work. A simple-minded young man, Candide is sure his world is the best of all worlds, but a trip around the world opens his eyes about what he believes to be true.

Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Bronte

Price:$128.6

Charlotte Bronte’s heroine was one of the first in English literature to serve as first-person narrator(讲述者) of her own life story. Jane falls in love with a rich man, Rochester,but on her own terms, and only after he has proven himself worthy of her.

The Bluest Eye

By Toni Morrison

Price:$28.6

It tells a story of Pecola Breedlove, a young African American girl who dreams of having blue eyes-a sign of acceptance in a world ruled by white conceptions of beauty.

You’ve finally got into bed and opened the detective novel you’ve been waiting all day to get back to. Three pages later, your eyelids are becoming heavy. 【小题1】, and the story in the book was becoming interesting. So, what is resulting in your sleepiness now?

As the BBC’s Science Focus explains, the comfort of your quilts could be working against you. 【小题2】. That condition happens to be suitable for sleep. Reading also frees your mind and draws its focus away from whatever preoccupations might otherwise keep you awake.

“For many people, reading can be relaxing and enjoyable. It allows your mind some time to rest and relax before turning off lights to fall asleep. 【小题3】.” Dr. Raman Malhotra, a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s board of directors, told Refinery29.

The concentration required to process every word can be pretty exhausting, too, especially if you choose a large and scholarly book. Reading line after line can make you feel like giving your eyes a break.

【小题4】 if you’re looking for ways to fall asleep faster. But if your sleepiness is continually keeping you from enjoying a good book, there are some tricks to battle it. Book Riot suggests reading in the morning, or trying an audiobook instead. Reading in a spot that isn’t your bed — preferably one where you’re sitting up, rather than lying down — can help, too. 【小题5】.

Recently I’ve been drawn to books which motivate me to look at myself, and hopefully make me a better “me”. The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koya, has a title I just can’t go past.

The book has taken Japan by storm, using the theories of philosopher Alfred Adler to create conversations between a fictional philosopher and a young man. The conversations cover many broad, interesting and touchy topics. The philosopher character sticks by the theories of Adler, and explains how we are competent to determine our own lives, and be free of the influence of past experiences and others’ expectations. It’s a way of thinking that allows us to develop the courage to change and to ignore the limitations placed on us.

These often complex topics are played out in a conversational style between the two men. While it’s easy to follow the conversations, the topics will knock around in your own head as you work out whether you sit on the side of the philosopher, the young man, or somewhere in between. The book is well-received by readers primarily owing to the fact that it presents two well-balanced perspectives in the arguments. You’ll find yourself doing household chores, or at your keyboard, unpacking all the information in your mind and coming to your own conclusions.

You will wholeheartedly agree on some points and want to throw the book at the wall at others. Its content is polarising (两极化的) and I certainly don’t agree with everything the philosopher or the young man says, but I think that’s the point. The Courage to Be Disliked is there to spark a conversation with yourself and do some slightly uncomfortable soul-searching.