1984 by George Orwell
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I have to read one of the two books mentioned above, and I can't seem to make a decision based on the first chapter of reading alone. If anyone could provide input to help me decide between the two, that would be great, thanks.

Both are brilliant writing and message-wise but Frankenstein is def the best work I've ever had grace my thoughts.

1984 asked a lot of thoughtful questions like where society is going and why but Shelly really dug into deep thoughts of existence, what it means to be human and inhuman, good and evil, epic shit.

That said, 1984 is a more masculine, street-smart book while Frankenstein is a more emotional, personal novel; so you should pick whatever's your style.

Thank you, great answer.

I never read 1984, but Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is okay, I almost cried reading it at one point.

Bear in mind, Frankenstein is a romance (not love, but the old school meaning). That means a lot of descriptions of landscapes and wordplay about mountains. If you've read LotR, you know what this looks like since tolkien loved the romantic writers.

That being said, if you want to read a book that goes into a lot of details and descriptions in a well-written way, go with shelly. If that sounds boring and you hated LotR or other romantic writers, go with 1984. Both are awesome books and personally I think you should read both.

1984 was a really good read. I tried to read Dracula, but it couldn't keep my interest, and I believe Frankenstein is supposed to be very similar to Dracula (Romance, era?)