Classic novels that are easier to start than their reputation
Here is a straightforward look at this topic for Crazish.
Many classics have a forbidding reputation that the books themselves do not deserve. Short, fast and funny openings are common: a satire of small-town manners, a ghost story told in one night, a detective who solves a case from an armchair. Starting with the shorter titles of a famous author gives you the voice without the thousand-page commitment.
Read a modern edition with notes, listen to an audiobook for the first chapter if the language feels strange, and do not worry about catching every reference. The older the novel, the more generous you can be with skimming a slow passage. Most of these books are free online, so trying one costs nothing but an evening, and a surprising number of them are page-turners.