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Just joined this group when I read the list of great books to read. I have read some and look forward to reading the rest. In fact I read some of them so long ago I may end up reading some of them again.

US 50 List from B&N
Read - 1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
Read - 2 1984 by George Orwell
Read - 3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Read - 4 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Read - 5 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Read - 6 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Read - 7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Read - 8 A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
Read - 9 The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Read - 10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Read - 11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
Read - 12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Read - 13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Read - 14 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Read - 15 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Read - 16 The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
Read - 17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Read - 18 The Bible by Various
Read - 19 The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Read - 20 Ulysses by James Joyce
Read - 21 The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Read - 22 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Read - 23 Money by Martin Amis
Read - 24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Read - 25 Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Read - 26 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Read - 27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Read - 28 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Read - 29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Read - 30 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Read - 31 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Read - 32 On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Read - 33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Read - 34 PThe Way We Live Now by Antony Trollope
Read - 35 The Outsider by Albert Camus
Read - 36 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Read - 37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Read - 38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Read - 39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
Read - 40 Man without Women by Ernest Hemingway
Read - 41 Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Read - 42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Read - 43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Read - 44 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
Read - 45 One flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
Read - 46 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Read - 47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Read - 48 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Read - 49 The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
Read - 50 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde


THE OTHER LIST - 100

1 We Need to Talk About Kevin- Lionel Shriver
2 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
3 Mossflower - Brian Jacques
4 The New Jim Crowe Laws - Michelle Alexander
READ - 5 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
READ - 6 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
READ - 7 Middlemarch - George Elliot
READ - 8. The Discworld Series - Terry Pratchett
9. The Collected Works - EE Cummings
10. The Thirteenth Tale - Dianne Setterfield
READ - 11 The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
12. I am the Messenger - Markus Zusak
13. A Bell for Adano - John Hersey
READ - 14 East of Eden - John Steinbeck
READ - 15 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
READ - 16 A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
17. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
READ - 18 Tess of the D'urbavilles - Thomas Hardy
READ - 19 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson
READ - 20 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
READ - 21 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
READ - 22. The Shining - Steven King
23. The Shack - W. Young.
READ - 24. The Last Man - Mary Shelley
READ - 25 Foundation Trilogy - Isaac Asimov
26. My First White Friend - Patricia Rayon
READ - 27 Persuasion - Jane Austen
READ - 28 The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
29. Very Bad Men - Harry Dolan
READ - 30 Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
READ - 31 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
READ - 32 Watership Down - Richard Adams
33. Night - Elie Wiesel
34. Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe
35. The Stand - Stephen King
READ - 36 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
READ - 37 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
READ - 38 Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
READ - 39 The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
READ - 40 For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
READ - 41 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
READ - 42 Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
READ - 43 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte
READ - 44 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffeneger
45. Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Jack Finney
READ - 46. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
READ - 47 The Hyperion Series - Dan Simmons
48. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
READ - 49. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
READ - 50 Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
READ - 51. The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
52. Descartes Bones - Russell Shorto
READ - 53 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
54. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
55. A Separate Peace - John Knowles
READ - 56. The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
57. Looking for Alaska - John Green
READ 58 12 Years A Slave - Solomon Northup.
59. Dove - Robin Lee Graham
READ 60. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
61. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
READ 62. Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald
63. The Power of One - Bryce Courtney
64. A Testament of Youth - Vera Britain
65. Burr - Gorr Vidal
66. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Anne Fadiman
READ - 67. Pet Cematary - Stephen King
READ - 68. Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
READ - 69 American Psycho - Brett Easton Ellis
70. The Human Comedy - Honore de Balzac
71. Winesburg, Ohio - Sherwood Anderson
READ - 72 The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
73. The discovery of heaven - Harry Mulisch
74. The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow - Rita Leganski
75. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
READ - 76 Emma - Jane Austen
READ - 77 Of Human Bondage - W Somerset Maugham
READ - 78 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
79. The Forgotten Seamstress - Liz Trenow
80. Freedom from the Known - J Krishnamurti
81. Foam of the Daze - Boris Vian
82. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
READ - 83 The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
READ - 84 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
85. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Pirsig
86. Moon and Sixpence - W Somerset Maugham
READ - 87 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
88. Johnny got his gun - Dalton Trumbo
READ - 89 Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Patrick Suskind
READ - 90 How Green was My Valley - Richard Llewellyn
READ - 91 Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe
92. The Jungle - Upton Sinclair
93. Scaramouche - Rafael Sabatini
94. The Age of Reason - Thomas Paine
95. The Faiths of the Founding Fathers - David L. Holmes
96. The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx
97. The Prisoner of Zenda - Anthony Hope
98. Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany
99. The Marid Audran Sequence - George Alec Effinger
100. When The Sacred Gin Mill Closes - Lawrence Block


UK 50 List from Waterstones
Read - 1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Read - 2. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Read - 3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Read - 4. 1984 by George Orwell
5. Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Read - 6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Read - 7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Read - 8. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
9. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Read - 10. To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Read - 11. Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Read - 12. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Read - 13. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
Read - 14. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Read - 15. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Read - 16. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Read - 17. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Read - 18. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
Read - 19. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes
Read - 20. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Read - 21 Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery
22. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Read - 23. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Read - 24. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Read - 25. Persuasion by Jane Austen
26. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Read - 27. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
28. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
Read - 29. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
30. Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishigur
31. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
32. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Read - 33. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Read - 34. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Read - 35. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Read - 36. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
37. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
38. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
39. Mein Kampf by Hitler (I think this must be one just to educate you)
40. The Man Who Listens to Horses by Monty Roberts
Read - 41. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Read - 42. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Read - 43. Atonement by Ian McEwan
Read - 44. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Read - 45. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
Read - 46. Middlemarch by George Eliot
Read - 47. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
Read - 48. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Read - 49. One Day by David Nicholls
Read - 50. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

I just read Wuthering Heights. I was looking for clues about Heathcliff's origins and ended up reading the whole book again.

Just finished reading Grapes of Wrath. My immediate thoughts are that history is repeating itself.

Christine wrote: "Just finished reading Grapes of Wrath. My immediate thoughts are that history is repeating itself."

Unfortunately, you may be right in some ways...

Rosebud wrote: "Christine wrote: "Just finished reading Grapes of Wrath. My immediate thoughts are that history is repeating itself."

Unfortunately, you may be right in some ways..."

Hi Rosebud - Here in the UK and the rest of Europe we have had people leaving their home's and moving all over the place to find work and a better life, especially since the economic crash. However, as in the book they are being exploited, resulting in wages and standards of living being pushed down everywhere - it makes my blood boil.

The book had the same effect on me, however, the ending really gave me food for thought. I came to the conclusion that Steinbeck was showing us how the human spirit can overcome the most dire of circumstances. Rose of Sharon's act was the most selfless and compassionate thing I have read.

Just finished Lord of the Flies. I will post a review after I have had a good think about it.

Christine wrote: "Just finished Lord of the Flies. I will post a review after I have had a good think about it."

I'm in Lord of the Flies now, an audio book read by the author.

We did it at school, then as a play- very chilling

Lisa wrote: "We did it at school, then as a play- very chilling"

What did you think of it?

I found it frightening, how everything and everyone becomes corrupt so quickly. But I read it 17 years ago.

Now I have thought about it, I think William Golding was pointing out how thin the veneer of civilisation is. As children we slowly learn the norms and values of our society but most of these children hadn't learnt enough, so the older ones could use it to their advantage. Unfortunately the bullies outnumbered the more intelligent ones (Piggy, Ralph and the twins) and took over.

Most def

Christine wrote: "Unfortunately the bullies outnumbered the more intelligent ones (Piggy, Ralph and the twins) and took over. "

Even in the civilized world, leaders often gain their positions through force and treachery. Even those who are chosen by their charisma can be terrible.

I finished Lord of the Flies this morning. Disturbing.

Buck wrote: "Christine wrote: "Unfortunately the bullies outnumbered the more intelligent ones (Piggy, Ralph and the twins) and took over. "

Even in the civilized world, leaders often gain their positions thro..."

Yes, I'm English and I think all the Prime Ministers we have elected over the last 35 years have got there either by being smarmy, bullies or treacherous to their then party leaders.

A bit off-topic, but Amazon gives many classics away free for Kindle & about 20 of the books on the list are available. Enjoy!

Plus goodreads has classics as ebooks too!

Many older books are in the public domain, that is, they are not protected by copyright. Books published before about 1920 (I'm not sure of the year) can be sold without paying a royalty. Amazon has many classic ebooks available at no cost. Project Gutenberg also has many. I didn't know that Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ has them as well. So, I'm off in search of Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ classics.

Check under ebooks
Or search specific titles like War & Peace, Jane Eyre
You can also delete once done.
What's project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is a source for free ebooks.

Just finished 'A Passage to India'. The description about the english food prepared by Indians made me smile because I am currently in Spain for 8 weeks (in my RV/motorhome). On one of the campsites a Spanish lady said that the problem with us English, who live in Spain, is that we only wan't to eat English food like Indian curry. I did laugh as it's true, curry has become are favourite food. How times have changed since this book was written.

I did enjoy the book as it highlights so much the way misunderstandings occur through lack of knowledge between different cultures and how the world is viewed differently.

Would you recommend? I've read A Room with a View by the same author and enjoyed it.

Yes, I would recommend it. I haven't read 'A Room with a View' only seen the film and enjoyed that.

Reading 'Brave New World and I thinking what he was trying to highlight has happened. Consuming is the new religion.

Started the 'Harry Potter' series, book 1 finished, half way through book 2. I can understand why children got hooked on these books, you just have to know what happens next.

Christine, I LOVE Harry Potter.

Christine wrote: "Just finished 'A Passage to India'. The description about the english food prepared by Indians made me smile because I am currently in Spain for 8 weeks (in my RV/motorhome). On one of the campsi..."

I downloaded an audiobook of this recently, discovered it was an abridged version, and returned it unheard.

Finished book 3 of 'Harry Potter' only 4,5,6 and 7 to go.

I'm so excited for you! I loved those books. Enjoy every minute.

Finished One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I struggled to get into this book, however, from part 2 it just absorbed me. I don't think the theme has stood the test of time as mental health issues are dealt more sensitively now, but the writing was great.

Finished The Great Gatsby

The latest film captured the book perfectly, although I'm still clueless about the point the author was trying to make. 'All that glitters isn't gold' springs to mind.

Finished The Heart Of Darkness

This is about one mans experience of 19C imperialism in the Congo.

I didn't like the writing style very much and occasionally found the narrative hard going.

Just finished reading Robinson Crusoe. I read it originally many years ago and really enjoyed it again.

Somehow the Millennium trilogy by Steig Larrson refuses to leave my mind. Was obsessed with the books and was done with the trilogy in a week or ten days. Its just another thriller but it is also the manifestation of the beauty and gore of humanity.

I loved the 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' books, they are very dark and scary, however you can't help but cheer for Lisbeth in the end.

Just finished To Kill a Mockingbird - loved it.

Christine wrote: "Just finished To Kill a Mockingbird - loved it."
Who would not like Mockingbird? Have you read 'How Green was my Valley' by Richard Llewellyn?

Hi Narayanan,
No, not yet but I will get around to it someday. There are just so many books to read :)

Just finished The Picture of Dorian Gray

Hehe, me too.

Just finished The Old Man and the Sea from the 100 - reading it made me feel exhausted for the Old Man.

Finished Of Human Bondage from the 100 list - what a great book.

If you liked Of Human Bondage, you should definitely read some of Maugham's short stories. Usually, I prefer novels, but his stories are so perfect and so packed: The Alien Corn, Voice of the Turtle, and my favorite short story of all time--Rain. He also wrote a bunch of stories (Atherton) that drew on his experience as an intelligence agent. Fantastic writer.

Longhare wrote: "If you liked Of Human Bondage, you should definitely read some of Maugham's short stories. Usually, I prefer novels, but his stories are so perfect and so packed: The Alien Corn, Voice of the Turtl..."

I most certainly will read more of his work. This is the first Maugham I have read and I found his writing superb.

Just finished Of Mice and Men - when I read this many years ago the ending brought tears to my eyes. The same happened this time.

Christine wrote: "Just finished Of Mice and Men - when I read this many years ago the ending brought tears to my eyes. The same happened this time."

Yes. It does that.

That happens to me each time I read it too. I cry like a baby!

Finished Fahrenheit 451 - from the 100 list. I'm still gathering my thoughts about it.

Finished Middlesex - from the 100 list - loved it.

Finished Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - from the 100 list - loved it. The descriptions of smells was sublime.

Just read The War of the Worlds again. It was just as good as remember from the first time.