Kids Teen Sci-fi & Fantasy B&N Reads Search must list 25 Books You Probably Should Have Read Already Jeff Somers In life, there are things you could do, things you should do, and things you must do. The same principles apply when choosing which book to read next. The reasons you read books could be for pleasure or because your book club is meeting in just two days. Classic novels are a great way to expand your reading repertoire and learn a few things. You must also read the most important books in your life, our top picks, whatever age you may be. There are many reasons that books become “must readings”, and not all because they’re literary. There are 25 great books on this list that anyone can read. Paperback $8.99 See all Formats & editions > To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee’s classic novel is one of the rare, perfect novels. This alone makes it a must-read. The timeless nature of the central plot and conflicts elevates it to a great novel. Nearly six decades later, this story about a southern community’s struggles with injustice and racism is still shockingly relevant. The classic American novel from the 20th century is a must-read. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald, NOOK Book 1.99 The Great Gatsby has been called one of the most important novels. Fitzgerald’s depiction on greed and excess challenges the American Dream. She also exposes the insincerity in wealthy people and illustrates that social class plays a significant role in your success during the 1920s. It’s well worth the effort to read it again, whether you are reading it for the first time, third or fourth times. $10.00 Add to Bag This epic book is about an imaginary village in Nigeria. It traces the changes that take place from precolonial times to modernity after colonialism (the novel was published in 1957). Buy NOOK Book at $0.99. Add to Bag. See All Formats & editions.

Joel Patrick * 21 min read https://www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/ [UPDATED Januar 8, 2021] One of my aims is to begin catching up on all the reading I’ve neglected for, well, the majority of my life. The first thing I did was search the internet for ‘books you should read before dying’, ‘100 best books’, ‘books every person should read’, and other similar topics. It was a good idea to look into the sources that have created such lists. Nice, but it still leaves me at a loss for what to do next. Which list do I go with?


After carefully reviewing the available information I decided that I would use the combined wisdom from all sources to compile a list of comparisons (well, Vi was sent from Vietnam via Elance) in an effort to discover how many overlaps existed. I used this information to create a new list of the top books based on the number of times the book appeared as one of the list’s recommendations. The more the book was referred to by the lists, the more the experts agreed, and the more securely that book’s place became in my new and improved books-to-read-before-you-die list.


Below are 8 of the lists that I created, merged, and then culled.


The Big Read 100 Most Important Books You Will Ever Read 100 of the 100 best novels ever 100 books that are worth reading 100 novels everyone should read

This is my collection of 47 top fiction books in any order.


Ulysses by James Joyce – Banned for obscenity in the United States, a stream of consciousness classic that follows one Irish man’s every thought for an entire day.


War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. Often called one of the most important novels ever written. Numerous characters from Muscovite peasants to Napoleon. Modern epic.


Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) – One hundred years ahead its time. Tolstoy’s inquiry into the silent, suppressing life of women has been an unparalleled success.


Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert. A masterpiece of 19th-century realism. A cautionary tale about romanticism.


The Old Man and the Sea of Ernest Hemingway is often considered to be Hemingway’s finest work. A short novella about a Cuban fisherman. This is the Nobel Prize that Hemingway was awarded.


William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury” – The novel tells the story from the viewpoint of many members of the same extended family, as well as the protagonist who is mentally challenged. This novel transcends all limits and is beautifully written.

Wikipedia: Wikipedia list article. This page includes a listing of bestsellers in each language, as well as a complete bibliography. This refers to how many copies have been sold for each title, and not the total number of books being printed.


This list does not include comics books. These books were ranked according to their highest estimated sales, as determined by reliable and independent sources. The complete list of titles is not available because many of them, like The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes The King of the Rings, have been listed.


Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed.


Estimates of other religious printed texts selling at least 800 million copies include 190 million for the Book of Mormon and 190 million for the Qur’an. Amongst non-religious texts, the Quotations of Chairman Mao Tse–tung, otherwise known as The Little Red Book, have produced a variety of figures in terms of distribution and sales, with estimated estimates ranging between 800 million and more than 6.5 billion volumes.


Some claim that distribution ran in the “billions”; others quote “over a milion” of official volumes, including “over a milliard” between 1966-1969. Because these types of books are produced by multiple publishers that may not be related, and sometimes over many centuries, it is possible for exact numbers to be lost or inaccurate. This is why all books of religious, political, philosophical, or ideological nature are not included in the list of top-selling books.


Having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, Harry Potter J. K. Rowling is the best-selling book series in history. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter series, sold more than 120 million copies worldwide, making it among the most popular books ever. Harry Potter has been translated in 80 languages by June 2017 making it one of the most popular literary works ever. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became the fourth and final book of the series to be consecutively the best-selling. The books were released in just 24 hours.


It holds the record for having printed twelve million copies in its first US edition.

1. Paul Terry is Linked. On page. Articles section. Accessed February 27, 2021.


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2. Terry, P. HERO Blog Page. “Reply Below with Your Favorite Books of All Time” Accessed January 27, 2021.


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3. Fadiman, A . The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Farrar Straus and Grafux, 2012. ISBN: 9780374533403. Retrieved April 24, 2012.


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4. Kidder T. Mountains Beyond Mountains: Dr. Paul Farmer’s Quest for a Cure. ISBN: 978081298055. Top of Form. End of Form. Partners in Health website. Last updated August 25, 2009. Accessed November 30, 2019,

Jeff Somers aEURC/ April 28, 2020 aEURC/ 10 min read Once upon a time, reading was pretty much the only entertainment option. In today’s world of distractions and constant change, reading is a must. Everybody agrees there are books that must be read. No one is able to agree on the order of books. That doesnaEUR(tm), however, mean we should not try. While we believe all of these books are aEURoemust-reads,aEUR a comprehensive list would be impossibly huge, so some great books on your list might not be here. This list contains the top 100 must-read books. Start reading to discover some great books.


Harper LeeaEUR ™, Harper LeeaEUR(tm). ItaEUR(tm).s not often that a first novel is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. However, this masterpiece was. A masterfully written story, this tale takes the reader to an idyllic Southern town that is facing overt racism. The trial unfolds through the eyes and experiences of a six-year-old girl who lives with her father, an ethically-driven, thoughtful man. Lee’s mastery of craft is evident in Scout’s brilliant, realistic point-of-view. The book also features the symbolism that she used without losing its readability. This is a novel thataEUR(tm)s easily accessible but equally rich with humor, drama, and suspense.


You can enjoy Pride and Prejudice purely as a romantic tale, following the smart, independent Elizabeth Bennet as she navigates two suitors: one charming but ultimately unreliable and the other initially boorish but later revealed to be, well, Mr. Darcy (sigh). You could also view it in context of 18th-century social habits and conventions. These include the dangers of marriage, and the consequences of having a baby for young women. The AustenaEURTM sharp, humorous, and sometimes hilarious criticisms of society are what you will enjoy. Some of the advice is still applicable today. You will find this Austen novel entertaining and timeless.


ThereaEUR(tm)s a short list of novels that defined a genre and became inextricably tied to it. One Hundred Years of Solitude can be regarded both as one of Latin America’s greatest novels, and as one of its first truly true books in magic realist style. It’s about the life of a man who escapes Colombia in search of freedom and creates his city from his perceptions of the universe. The book is a combination of historical facts and impossible possibilities. It also focuses on the cultural issues that affect an entire community. If youaEUR(tm)re unfamiliar with magical realism and want a crash course, this is the perfect place to start.


In 1605 this novel might have been published. CervantesaEUR ™, a CervantesaEUR(tm!) masterpiece, was a huge success. The central image of a fooled old man looking at windmills is still a common meme. However, there’s much more to the book than just its humor. Don QuixoteaEUR(tm)s themes of futility, mortality, and the corruption of supposed aEURoenobleaEUR behavior remain powerful. Even modern readers will find the story to be frequently amusing though it may leave them saddened by the perceived cruelty of a chaotic universe.


Nineteen Eighty Four seems never to get old. Its elegant language to its haunting imagery of oppression and mind control, OrwellaEUR(tm)s seminal work always seems to be describing a near-future dystopia thataEUR(tm)s just around the corner. Winston Smith’s tragic tale follows him as he lives in the future England, where truth is meaningless and love becomes a force for good. While aEUR Nineteen Eighty-Four makes frequent reference to the aEURoethought officer, it isn’t just about the perils of oppressive political regimes. It also reveals the basic weakness that we all have. The bookaEUR(tm)s impact is so great that it has supplied most of the vocabulary we use when discussing totalitarian states, and more than 70 years after its publication it still has plenty to teach us about an individualaEUR(tm)s role in society.


Some novels get on aEURoemust-readaEUR lists because of stylistic invention or literary and thematic complexity. Great Expectations is one example of a novel that has been included on this list for its extraordinary storytelling ability. ItaEUR[tm] is one of the two Dickens novels which are entirely narrated by the first-person (the other being David Copperfield’s novel about an abandoned childaEUR[tm]), and clearly demonstrates that Dickens has mastered his art. Telling the story of an orphan named Pip as he makes his way through life, Dickens effortlessly explores universal themes of love, loss, tragedy, and regret. There is something here that will resonate with every reader. It will also remind them of their own lives.