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50 Books to Read Before You Die
with year published, my rating, and date read

1 The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien 1954-55 � **** 1970s
2 1984 by George Orwell 1949 - 4 times, most recently Feb 2013
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 1813 � *** June 2013
4 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck 1939 - Aug 2013
5 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 1960 - Aug 2013
6 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 1847 - **** December 2013
7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 1847 - **** March 2014
8 A Passage to India by E. M. Forster 1924 - *** September 2014
9 The Lord of the Flies by William Golding 1954 - Oct 2013
10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare 1602 - **** December 2013
11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul 1979 - ** June 2014
12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925 � **** July 2013
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger 1951 �**** in high school, & Jan 2015
14 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 1963 - *** Sept 2013
15 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1932 - *** 2nd time, June 2013
16 The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 1947 - *** November 2013
17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes 1605 - *** May 2016
18 The Bible by Various
19 The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 1372 - *** December 2014
20 Ulysses by James Joyce 1922 - ** Sept 2013
21 The Quiet American by Graham Greene 1955 - *** March 2014
22 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks 1993 - **** June 2015
23 Money by Martin Amis 1984 - ** November 2014
24 Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling 1997-2007 - **** February 2015
25 Moby Dick by Herman Melville 1851 - *** September 2014
26 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 1908 - *** January 2014
27 His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman 1995-99 - *** July-Sept 2014
28 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 1873 - *** February 2015
29 Alice in Wonderland 2 books by Lewis Carroll 1865 & 71 - **** April 2014
30 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 1938 - Oct 2013
31 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon 2003 - **** Aug 2012
32 On the Road by Jack Kerouac 1957 - **** Dec 2012
33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 1899 - ** January 2014
34 The Way We Live Now by Antony Trollope 1875 - *** Jan 2015
35 The Outsider (a.k.a. The Stranger) by Albert Camus 1942 - ** Mar 2012
36 The Color Purple by Alice Walker 1982 - 1980s
37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel 2001 - **** Dec. 2013
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 1817 � Aug 2013
39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells 1895 - **** Oct 2012
40 Men without Women by Ernest Hemingway 1927 - *** Sept 2013
41 Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift 1726 - *** October 2014
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 1843 - **** December 2013
43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 1884 - read in high school
44 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe 1719 - **** March 2015
45 One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey 1962 - 1970s, reread April 2014
46 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller 1961 - 1970s
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 1844 - **** July 2015
48 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden 1997 - *** Oct 2013
49 The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante 1320 - *** August 2016
50 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 1890 - **** Oct 2013

49/50

So far, I’ve read 20 of the 50. When I joined this group, I had only read 13, I think. I decided to use strikethrough to indicate books read on my list because it’s easier to see than putting read or done before or after the book. I was curious about the publication dates of the books on our list so after looking them up, I added them to the list, so I wouldn’t have lost them. I added my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ star rating, indicated by asterisks, to the books I’ve read. I added the date that I read the book and whether or not I read it more than once.

My intent is to edit the list as I read the books, and to add a brief comment, not a review, about each. As time goes on, maybe I’ll actually keep up with it.

Commentary

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien - The Hobbit is the prequel or back story to the great trilogy. It should be read first.

2. 1984 by George Orwell - One of my all time favorite books. 1984 is the only book I’ve ever reread more than once. Orwell is known for Animal Farm too, which is quite good. I’ve also read a collection of essays by Orwell that was rather dry.

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - This book is on every list of great books. I think it’s overrated. The prose is stilted and pompous, or perhaps I should say prissy, and the story could definitely be classified as chick-lit. The language used by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein, written at about the same time - the early 19th century, is much better.

4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck � Our list has no author more than once, or Steinbeck’s other masterpieces Of Mice and Men and East of Eden would have been included.

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee � I saw the movie long before reading the book. Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch.

12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald � There have been at least two movies made of this novella. I haven’t seen either, but would like to see both. It’s a good story.

13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - This was required reading in high school, of course. I was so taken by it that I immediately read Salinger’s Frannie and Zoe and did not like it at all.

14. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath � This is the disturbing first-person story, autobiographical I believe, of a college girl’s descent into mental illness. It was pretty good, but I wouldn’t have put it on a list of books everyone should read.

15. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley � This book is often grouped with Orwell’s 1984. To me it is quite different and I don’t think it is as good. Rather than dystopian, I would say it is utopia gone wrong, along the lines of Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day.

20. Ulysses by James Joyce � On almost all lists of must-read books, Ulysses is said to be a daunting read, so in preparation I read Joyce's The Dead, which was quite good. Joyce is obviously a skilled and artful author. However, I can confirm that Ulysses is a difficult book to read and to follow. In hindsight, I don’t think it was obligatory for me, or anyone, to have read Ulysses, but now I do have that red badge of courage. What a strange book.

31. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon � This is the most recently published book on our list, I think, except for some of the Harry Potter books. It was pretty good, but I don’t think it will stand the test of time for greatness. I suspect that this was simply a recently read favorite of whoever made the list.

32. On the Road by Jack Kerouac � Keruoac typed this on one long piece of paper in 1951. The version I read was the original scroll. It used the real names of the people in the book. When it was first published in 1957, fictional names were used. What a couple of wild and crazy guys.

35. The Outsider (a.k.a. The Stranger) by Albert Camus � The translation I read was entitled The Stranger. Had I compiled our list, this book wouldn’t be on it.

36. The Color Purple by Alice Walker � I read this when it was first published. I just couldn’t get past the vernacular. Later, I saw the movie, which was not too bad. Perhaps I’ll take a shot at the novel again someday.

38. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley � A teenage girl wrote this, the first great science fiction novel, nothing like those old Boris Karloff movies.

39. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells � The novel is set in late 19th century England but it was the basis for the great radio scare by Orson Wells (I wonder if there is a relation) set in New Jersey in 1939, and a couple of movies both set in contemporary America.

40. Men without Women by Ernest Hemingway � This is a collection of short stories, none of which I’d ever heard of before reading the book. The two longest were the best, I think - one about a has-been matador and the other about a boxer at the end of his career. I wonder why this book was listed instead of one of Hemingway’s great books, For Whom the Bell Tolls or The Old Man and the Sea. If the intent was to include Hemingway’s short stories, which initially gained him recognition, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber are better.

43. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain � This is better than anything else of Twain’s I’ve read.

45. One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey � After reading this, but before seeing the movie, I just could not imagine the casting of Jack Nicholson in the role of McMurphy, but of course he did a great job.

46. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller � A lot of people don’t like this book, or don’t get it. I thought it was a great satire.

Jane Eyre and Rebecca are probably my favorites on the list, closely followed by Wuthering Heights and LOTR!

Lisa wrote: "Jane Eyre and Rebecca are probably my favorites on the list, closely followed by Wuthering Heights and LOTR!"

Rebecca is on my library wish list. I expect to get to it within the next several weeks. I read the Tolkien trilogy many years ago and did enjoy it. Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights aren't a high priority for me, but I will read them eventually. Please tell me they are not too much like Pride and Prejudice, with which I have always categorized these two books, unjustifiably I hope.

how do you do the strike through?

It is done with html. Click on (some html is ok) above the comment box for instructions. Type an s between the less-than and greater-than symbols at the beginning of the text you want to strike through and /s between the less-than and greater-than symbols at the end of the text you want to strike through. When you post your comment, the html code disappears and the text has a strikethrough.

Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are incredible! They far out rank P&P in my head. Jane Eyre redefined Gothic novels. WH is a destructive novel about obsession. Both incredible.

Lisa wrote: "Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are incredible! They far out rank P&P in my head. Jane Eyre redefined Gothic novels. WH is a destructive novel about obsession. Both incredible."

Thanks. I added Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, as well as another gothic novel from our list The Picture of Dorian Gray, to my library wishlist.

Dorian Gray was good, read it about 10 years ago and don't remember it too well. Love Oscar Wilde. I suggest Jane Eyre first, WH tends to illicit mixed feelings.

I didn't like Jane Eyre the first time I read it, but about a year later, I read it again & really liked it a lot. Wuthering Heights reminds me of the Lemony Snicket books - you just keep waiting for SOME kind of happiness . . .

WH is so psychologically dark! I mistrust people who call it a beautiful love story (they haven't read it). Patty, I like your Liminy Snicket analogy

haha! Exactly. Who wants that kind of love, right?

Really, Devon? I didn't see 'love' as much as obsession and control. I'm glad you liked it. I'm glad I read it, and I liked it, but it was sure different than I thought it would be.

It's cool you enjoy it so much Devon, sounds like we are polarized about it, also think its obsessional. I guess my point is that it's more complex than Austen. And yes, trust your choices and opinions.

50. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - A very good story, with the climax culminating in the final sentence.

9. Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Disturbing. One wonders how far they would have gone had not civilization finally intervened.

Exactly! It's terrifying!

30. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - This book gets off to a bit of a slow start, but once things start happening, it's gripping. This is a perfect book for Alfred Hitchcock, whose film (which I haven't seen) won the best picture Oscar in 1940.

Glad u liked it.

48. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - A very interesting intimate look into an unfamiliar culture, (to an American, a somewhat bizarre culture). The memoir has a story like the plot of a novel. It wasn't until I finished the book that I learned that it is in fact a novel, a fictional memoir. A good story, but great literature it is not.

16. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - The thoughts and feelings, albeit precociously written, of an adolescent girl confined amidst the boredom and the bickering in cramped hideout with seven other people. Her writing matured over her two years in hiding, however the book is more notable for the tragic circumstances under which it was written than for the writing itself.

A minor milestone, the halfway point - 25 of the 50.

Congrats!

Well done.

10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare - Any judgment by me of Shakespeare's Hamlet is but a judgement of myself, for Shakespeare and Hamlet have been judged by the ages.

I am surprised by how much of this was familiar to me.

42. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Appropriately read on the two days before Christmas. I had not read Dickens before and now I know why he is so highly esteemed.

Buck wrote: "42. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Appropriately read on the two days before Christmas. I had not read Dickens before and now I know why he is so highly esteemed."
Welcome to the novice Dickens readers club!

I love Dickens and have read most of his novels. My favourite is Great Expectations with Bleak House a close second. I think you get a greater insight to Victorian England through Dickens than through most history books

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I had always equated the books of the Bronte sisters with those of Jane Austen, but I found Jane Eyre to be the superior. Though in the very formal prose of the nineteenth century, it is well written with excellent character development and a compelling story.

So glad you enjoyedit! I love the dialogue, it's rich and sensual.

37. Life of Pi by Yann Martel - This is one of those rare books where the movie is as good as the book.

Definitely

Christine wrote: "I love Dickens and have read most of his novels. My favourite is Great Expectations with Bleak House a close second. I think you get a greater insight to Victorian England through Dickens than th..."

Really? I mean GE is up there but for me its either David Copperfield or a tale or 2 cities that is best??????

Steve wrote: "Christine wrote: "I love Dickens and have read most of his novels. My favourite is Great Expectations with Bleak House a close second. I think you get a greater insight to Victorian England throu..."

Out of those 2 I prefer A Tale of Two Cities - I think it's because after studying David Copperfield in minute detail at school, it lost it's allure for me.

33. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Marlowe, the narrator, tells the story with the smug arrogance of a British colonialist. It left me non-plussed. I just didn't get it.

Buck wrote: "33. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - Marlowe, the narrator, tells the story with the smug arrogance of a British colonialist. It left me non-plussed. I just didn't get it."

Struggled to read this.

26. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - A charming children's book. Someone should have read this to us when we were very small.

Buck wrote: "26. The Wind in the Willows - A charming children's book. Someone should have read this to us when we were very small."

My gran read it to me... I remember loving it

My mother and father read me the Winnie the Pooh stories when I was little. I still have three of the books they read from, printed in 1950. Sadly, one has vanished. I had expected The Wind in the Willows to be similar, a collection of stories, but of course, it isn't.

The Disney cartoons kind of spoiled Winnie the Pooh for me.

Buck wrote: "My mother and father read me the Winnie the Pooh stories when I was little. I still have three of the books they read from, printed in 1950. Sadly, one has vanished. I had expected The Wind in t..."

I was never a Winnie the Pooh fan because of the cartoons. Always felt that they were speaking down to me and not from my level- as a 4-5yr old.

I've just read the first Harry Potter book. Only six more to go. I seldom read a series one right after the other, but it's conceivable that I'll finish this series within the year. The style of writing is reminiscent to me of The Wind in the Willows.

Welcome to an incredible series. Enjoy

21. The Quiet American by Graham Greene - The reader of the audiobook I heard was British and could not do an American accent. Pyle, the quiet American, was from Boston, but he sounded like a Texan with the slightest hint of a French accent. This didn't do the book any good.

Lol. It's one of the reasons I avoid audio books, except for plays. When we read MacBeth in high school the same narrator read all the parts. Our class guffawed and we received a long lecture on tragedy vs comedy.

Buck wrote: "My mother and father read me the Winnie the Pooh stories when I was little.


I read the Pooh books to my children and too my grandchildren. They are comforting...like a warm blanket and a cup of cocoa on a gloomy day.

7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - The archaic formal prose was confounding and the tale was long in the telling, but in the end I was compelled to complete the tome, foregoing a time of convenience. The moods and motivations of Heathcliff surely warrant and perhaps defy puzzling out.

Buck wrote: "7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - The archaic formal prose was confounding and the tale was long in the telling, but in the end I was compelled to complete the tome, ..."

There have been multiple psychological analyses of the characters of this book. I'm sad we didn't discuss it as a group because it always engenders debate. I hope you enjoyed it. It's a challenging book because one expects a fluffy love story but gets a hard-hitting tale instead

I really enjoyed Wuthering Heights. I went into it with preconceptions about some doomed romance on the Yorkshire moors. However, the book contains little romance at all and is in fact much more gothic than romantic. Isolation, obsession, revenge. Heathcliff a brooding romantic lead? I don't think so. Maybe that's why it divides opinion so much, it's not what many perhaps perceive it to be from the outset.

Now I've got two of the Harry Potter series under my belt. Like the movies, the first one was cute and the second was more of the same. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one more of the movies, but it was hard to keep interested. The question is: do I really want to read five more of these?

Buck wrote: "Now I've got two of the Harry Potter series under my belt. Like the movies, the first one was cute and the second was more of the same. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one more of the movies, b..."

Maybe space them out with other books in between? I read the series, but not one book right after the other. I liked them overall, but I remember really liking book 4, and they do become darker as you progress through the series.