The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Paperback)

Three very different brothers, one monstrous father, and a murder. Dostoevsky's final novel is a crime story wrapped around the biggest questions a man can ask: faith, freedom, guilt and responsibility for one another.

Read it if: you're ready for the book many writers call the greatest novel ever written.

Third Shelf — a heavyweight. Save it for when your attention is back in shape.