I put The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in that category, a pleasure to read from front to back. The association with work made it take me decades to get to some of the books assigned for class in high school, like these. A few were so good that I tried to read Anna Karenina again. Maybe in a few decades more I'll like that one too.
I read Hunchback of Notre Dame around 20 years ago. The ending is until today the only book ever to make me cry. Don't remember much else, probably a good time to pick it up again.
I would highly recommend pairing that with _The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo_ by Tom Reiss --- it's a fascinating look at that period of history.
For fun, if you like fantasy, Steven Brust's _The Baron of Magister Valley_ is delightful, one of his "Paarfi Romances" it is TCoMC w/ the names changed and serial numbers filed off in a fantasy world (which is actually a science-fictional one as noted on Penny Arcade).