30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Turning 30. Earlier this week, we stumbled across a list over at Divine Caroline of thirty books everyone should read before they’re thirty. While we totally agreed with some of the picks, we thought there were some essential reads missing, so we decided to put together a list of our own. We stuck to fiction for simplicity’s sake, and chose the books below on a variety of criteria, selecting enduring classics that have been informing new literature since their first printing, stories that speak specifically or most powerfully to younger readers, and books we simply couldn’t imagine reaching thirty without having read.
Of course, we hope that you read more than thirty books by the time you hit your fourth decade, so this list is incomplete — but we had to stop somewhere. Click through to read the books we think everyone should read before their thirtieth birthday, and let us know which ones you would add in the comments. The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer The Secret History, Donna Tartt. 10 Books that Changed America. Books There are books that are revered because of their effect on art, and there are books that are remarkable because they literally change the very society from which they came.
Here is a list of ten books that radically changed or shaped American society. I’ve excluded all religious texts because those are just too obvious. So without further delay, here’s the list! Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman, 1855 This 1855 book of poetry ushered in the American equivalent of the Romantic Era of literature. The Clansman Thomas Dixon Jr, 1905 Unfortunately, not every book has a good influence on society.
The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck, 1939 This novel, which won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, was a stunning and powerful novel. Buy this book at Amazon The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass, 1845 The full title of this book is “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”. Silent Spring Rachel Carson, 1962 Buy this book at Amazon Native Son The Jungle. 10 Books To Read Before You Grow Up. Books There are many lists throughout the web about books you should read before you die. I find that peculiar. What good is reading a piece literature that can give you a whole new perspective on life “before” you die?
Wouldn’t it be worthwhile to have a list of titles you should read before you start truly “living?” Young adults have a lot time on their hands. Sprinkling that time with books that will make them better prepared for life’s peaks and valleys can’t hurt. High School isn’t helping either. Here’s a list of books that I’m encouraging my own teen to read before running off to college. Please feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments. Life and Death of Harriett Frean Mary Sinclair Harriett’s psychologically incestuous affection for her parents ultimately leads to misery, for herself, and those around her.
Animal Farm George Orwell Don’t blindly trust your leaders! Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments Robert Brent This book has been out-of-print for a long time. Bel Ami. 100 Must Read Books: The Man’s Essential Library. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe | All-TIME 100 Novels. Welcome to the massive, anguished, exalted undertaking that is the ALL TIME 100 books list. The parameters: English language novels published anywhere in the world since 1923, the year that TIME Magazine began, which, before you ask, means that Ulysses (1922) doesn’t make the cut. In May, Time.com posted a similar list, of 100 movies picked by our film critics, Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel.
This one is chosen by me, Richard Lacayo, and my colleague Lev Grossman, whom we sometimes cite as proof that you don’t need to be named Richard to be hired as a critic at TIME, though apparently it helps. Just ask our theater critic, Richard Zoglin. For the books project, Grossman and I each began by drawing up inventories of our nominees.
Even so, there are many titles we couldn’t fit here that we’re still anguishing over. This project, which got underway in January, was not just a reading effort. There were also first time discoveries. Lists like this one have two purposes. Fiction.