Would it be the very first book that you read in Chinese or did you already try graded readers? You can find some resources here: <a href="https://challenges.hackingchinese.com/resources/stories?topic=Reading" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://challenges.hackingchinese.com/resources/stories?topic=Reading</a>;.

The first book that I read in Chinese was a romantic novel translated from Korean that mainly consisted of dialogues, so that was fairly easy to read. I wouldn't start with any classics.

Check the FLP (Foreign Language Press). They have many bilingual books (Chinese/English).

Hello, Matt, I’m a local Chinese and Would love to help.

My suggestion is that before starting, make clear what you want and what suits your level & interest best .

here are some suggestions that might help. I will write down the names of the books as well as the authors.

郁达夫 《春风沉醉的晚上》

林语堂 《京华烟云》

沈从文 《长河》《边城》

萧红 《呼兰河传》

余华 《在细雨中呼喊》《活着》《许三多卖血记》

莫言 《红高粱》

张爱玲 《半生缘

张承志 《北方的河》《黑骏马》

明清时期通俗小说有，长篇小说如红楼梦，三国演义，短篇小说如初刻拍案惊奇，二刻拍案惊奇，还有些色情小说如《金瓶梅》，这些通俗小说已经很接近白话文。

From my point of view, I will say the essence of Chinese literature and culture lies in its poems (before Yuan Dynasty)and 24 official history books, but it’s quite challenging even for Chinese College students who aren’t subjecting to “Traditional Chinese”, because a lot of history backgrounds, tales, idioms and grammar is needed.

Hope My answer might help you. If you have any question, please feel free to ask.

Hi I'm a student of Chinese language, I'm currently learning HSK4 and I have been reading this novel called 《天谴者》, although it's a little bit challenging, but you could use some help from pleco etc. The novel is a mystery ghost stuff one or whatever you call it, it's about a forensic team which is trying to solve various x-files related to supernatural beings. There you could obtain a lot of new words related to criminal laws.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

@Jay W

Traditionally I read a lot of books on: real estate, business, finance, Investing, and self-improvement/self-help. I think these may be hard at my level, but I'm also trying to improve my Chinese knowledge in these areas.

@Miriam

I read a portion of a graded reader (1000 words) about 1.5-2 years ago. but I wasn't really interested in the content so I stopped.