We have all heard that acing the GRE test requires learning hundreds of new words. This can often be a daunting task because not all of us are keen on memorizing a barrage of new vocabulary. However, as mundane as it sounds, a well-equipped vocabulary is crucial for the GRE test’s verbal section. The most common route that students choose is they learn specialized words. These words are carefully curated and are likely to show up on the test. You can purchase various great resources for this, such as Magoosh Vocabulary Builder or Manhattan’s flashcards.

Building a stellar vocabulary, in my opinion, should not be rushed. Sure there are exceptions. For example, if you have a couple of months before your test, all you can do is memorize one word after another. However, if you are thinking about taking the GRE well into the future, reading books can be a viable option to learn new words.

What is an alternative way of learning GRE vocabulary? 

The technological boom of the past two decades has undoubtedly affected people’s reading habits. Why read when you can watch a 10 minute Youtube video? This sort of convenience has put many people off of reading. What most people fail to realize is that the act of reading is far more engaging for our brain than watching or even listening to information. This is the reason why you can typically retain information for longer if you read.

Anyway, GRE Verbal places a great deal of emphasis on elevated prose. The passages you will encounter on test day will differ significantly from the day-to-day English most people are familiar with. You will discover words and sentence structures that will leave you scratching your head if you aren’t already familiar with that writing level.

Where may you find such writing, you ask? 

For non-fiction readers, a great place to start is credible newspapers such as – The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and, The Washington Post, etc.

However, since today’s article is regarding novels, some of the best prose you can ever encounter is in classic literature. I am talking Dickens, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and the likes.

19th and 20th-century literary work offers the kind of prose that can elevate your reading comprehension as well as help you discover an array of new words. The quality of the dialogue and the scene descriptions are craftily put together. The words almost have a palpable feeling, making them ideal for learning complex sentence structures and context.

The Best 10 Classic Novels for GRE

I think the following ten books offer some of the best prose in literature. Not only is it more fun to learn words by reading, but it is also more engaging if the story itself is riveting.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Set in a small English village in 1812, this classic novel is one of the greatest love stories ever told!

A developing country squire is trying to find husbands for his five daughters. When one of them, Elizabeth, meets rich Mr. Darcy at a dance, they don’t see much in common. But during the next few months, they overcome their differences and fall in love.

Get it here.

2. Jane Eyre by Chorlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outward of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, sharp wit, and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer, and a rigid social order.

Get it here.

3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations follows the childhood and young adult years of Pip, a blacksmith’s apprentice in a country village. He suddenly comes into a large fortune (his great expectations) from a mysterious benefactor and moves to London, where he enters high society.

Get it here.

4. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

In late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.

Get it here.

5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The novel examines a futuristic society, called the World State, that revolves around science and efficiency. In this society, emotions and individuality are conditioned out of children at a young age, and there are no lasting relationships because “everyone belongs to everyone else.”

Get it here.

6. Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment focus on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money.

Get it here.

7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

A servant in Wuthering Heights’ house tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff. The story of unfortunate lovers Cathy (Merle Oberon) and Heathcliff (Sir Laurence Olivier) is forced by circumstance and prejudice to live their lives apart despite a deep affection for one another.

Get it here.

8. Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

After her impoverished family learns of its noble lineage, naive Tess Durbeyfield is sent by her slothful father and ignorant mother to make an appeal to a nearby wealthy family who bears the ancestral name d’Urberville.

Get it here.

9. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The story centers on orphan Oliver Twist, born in a workhouse and sold into an apprenticeship with an undertaker. After escaping, Oliver travels to London, where he meets the “Artful Dodger,” a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal Fagin.

Get it here.

10. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Set in Jazz Age New York, the novel tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth.

Get it here.