Literary attainments and the outlook on life and world drawn from books are gradually accumulated. It's not good to aim too high. Actually, reading more books is a good thing. As long as you are interested in the content of the book and can read on, you will gain a lot.
Therefore, reading famous books is not the only way to improve one's self-cultivation and depth. Jing M.Guo Han Han's youth literature also contains many assimilated essences. Don't despise others. Being able to read a book by Han Han with great interest is much more rewarding than reading a voluminous masterpiece as a routine.
Of course, the advantages of famous books are also famous books. After all, it is a work that has been tested by history and society, and its ideological and artistic quality is still very high. Let me recommend some good masterpieces to you from the perspective of a college student. You can read them. If you are not interested, don't read them. Believe me, reading is for happiness. As long as you study happily, you can get what you want from books.
Among the four classical novels, I recommend A Dream of Red Mansions and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You must know the story of Journey to the West better than I do. Personally, I think it's a bit far-fetched. There are as many dross and essence in the book. A Dream of Red Mansions is a must-read book for China people. Of course, you may feel confused when you first read it. It doesn't matter. You can buy several books on the interpretation of a dream of red mansions, and personally recommend Mr. Zhou's interpretation series of a dream of red mansions. Mr. Zhou is a leading figure in China Redology.
If you are a boy, you can't miss The Romance of Three Kingdoms. Compared with the Ming and Qing vernacular, the language of the book is a bit awkward, focusing on classical Chinese, but the educational level of high school is sure to be understandable.
I also recommend historical records in ancient masterpieces. You don't have to read classical Chinese, but you must read vernacular Chinese. Then, you can read the history of China, which will open the vertical door in your mind.
In modern literature, Lin Yutang's Beautiful Scenes of Beijing and Shen Congwen's Border Town are recommended. The language of the two masters has reached its peak. Next, we can look at Qian Lao's Fortress Besieged. Liang Shiqiu's prose and Lu Xun's essays are also highly recommended. As for Lao She, Ba Jin and Mao Dun, I don't recommend you to read them.
Foreign literature, Homer's epics should be read, and so should the Bible, which is the cradle and prelude of western civilization. Then, I will take a look at the history of the West. Here, reading history is really crucial, which can raise your horizons to a higher level. After that, I recommend Dumas' works, which is very interesting, and so can Sherlock Holmes. I think foreign literature, especially novels, should be interesting, because the development of foreign novels is ahead of China's, but theirs. As a big book, it is really not readable for high school students. I recommend short stories, and the works of O'Henry and Mo Bosang can also be read. Finally, I can see Stendhal's red and black.
Then there are contemporary works. For foreign contemporary works, you can look at the official novels of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and World of Warcraft. These works with grand background and high readability are very helpful to cultivate lateral thinking. Recommend some domestic works, such as Living by Yu Hua, White Deer Plain by Chen and Ordinary World by Lu Yao. These works explain the broad meaning of life, reproduction and cultural extension, and they are somewhat ignorant at first reading. You need to learn it slowly. You can also look at the novels of the Qing emperor written by February River. If we still pursue modernity, the works of Han Han and Jing M. Guo are really good, and some of Haiyan's works are also very interesting. By the way, I recommend a new work, Jiu Yehui's new work "In a hurry that year", which is about your age. This is a very good story.
I recommend so many first, but there are actually many. When it comes to reading famous books, it is inevitable to read history because most of them were completed in the past hundred years. I still suggest reading history, even if I know a general idea. Famous books are different from novels, poems and plays. A theory can be a masterpiece. If you can read Darwin's On the Origin of Species with great interest, why should you read Tolstoy's great Russian literature with deep pain?
Finally, the most important thing is the feeling after reading, thinking and comparing. These are more critical than simply reading. After reading Balzac, you should think of Hugo. In contrast, they are also French writers. What's the difference between them? What's the entry point for them to show society? You asked if you needed to take notes, but I said no. Notes are also about your feelings, but the leap of thoughts is far stronger than words. I hope you don't let others take notes.
I wish you an early departure from the little P child ~