For the last few years I’ve been on a quest to read more broadly and also rediscover—or in some cases discover—some of the literary classics that have garnered much-deserved praise and awards. Since I know many of you reading this blog are also avid readers, I thought I’d share my reading list in hopes that you will share your list, or a few recommendations, with me. Many of the books below I have read and or listened to on audio, but I still have several titles to checkout from the library. In no particular order, here is my list of 50 interesting books for your reading fancy.
1. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
2. Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen
3. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
4. The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown
5. The Color Purple – Alice Walker
6. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
7. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
8. White Oleander – Janet Fitch
9. Memoirs of a Geisha – Author Golden
10. Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
11. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
12. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
13. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
14. Jazz – Toni Morrison
15. Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
16. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
17. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
18. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
19. The Hand I Fan With – Tina McElroy Ansa
20. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
21. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
22. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gariel Garcia Marquez
23. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
24. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
25. The World According to Garp – John Irving
26. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
27. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
28. The Poinsonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
29. She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb
30. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
31. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
32. The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
33. The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
34. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
35. The Green Mile – Stephen King
36. Outlander – Diana Gabaldon
37. Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D.H. Lawrence
38. The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton
39. A Woman of Substance – Barbara Taylor Bradford
40. Kane and Abel – Jeffrey Archer
41. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
42. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson
43. Tar Baby – Toni Morrison
44. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
45. Wizard’s First Rule – Terry Goodkind
46. In the Skin of a Lion – Michael Ondaatje
47. The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields
48. Rebecca – Daphen DuMaurier
49. The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
50. The Shack – WM. Paul Young
Quick question for you guys. How many of the 50 books on the list have you already read? Are there any books on the list you’d like to read?
Related Posts:
From My Audio Library – A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
From My Audio Library – The Shack by WM. Paul Young
Filed under: Special Features Tagged: | 50 interesting books, avid readers, interesting books, list of 50 interesting books, literary classics, reading list
I’ve read 8.5 of them. LOL–one of them I just. couldn’t. finish. But, the 8 that I read in full I really enjoyed. This list reminds me of some of the classics I should read, also.
Georgiana, I tried reading Moby Dick awhile back and couldn’t, for the life me, get in to it. I’ve decided to stick with the classics that still grab me like To Kill a Mockingbird because it’s like finding a hidden treasure once lost.
Oh, we are reader soulmates FOR SURE.
Of your list, I have NOT read White Oleander, The Hand I Fan With, Time Traveler’s Wife, Outlander (on my TBR list), Outsiders, Kane & Able, A Woman Wizard’s First Rule, In the Skin of a Lion (but loved his The English Patient), and Celestine Prophecy
In case you don’t BYTE travel back to my blog, my current raves are What is the What, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and The Help.
AMAZING!!!!
I’ve read 30 of them. Of those 30, I loved The Shack, To Kill a Mockingbird, Time Travelers Wife. Stone Diaries, Grapes of Wrath, Tuesday’s With Morrie.
One book I highly recommend is The Curious Case of the Dead Dog in the Road at Midnight. (Something along those lines). It was written from an autistic man’s pov. What a GREAT job.
Patti, thanks for the recommendations. I’m adding all three books to me reading list.
Carol, thanks for letting me know about the book. I’ll be sure to add it to my list with a few others.
Hi Sharon -
I’ve read seven of these books, some of them many years ago. My favorite was, “The Shack.”
Blessings,
Susan
Susan, I loved, loved, loved The Shack! I know there was a little controversy surrounding the book, but I enjoyed it and found the whole story made me delight in thinking about Jesus.
It was required reading in high school :
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
One of these days I’d like to get around to reading the following:
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
One of the best books I’ve ever read was Moby Dick. Just finished Atlas Shrugged which is fantastic.
Oh my goodness, Mary, so many books, so little money–and time.
Thank goodness for the library or I’d be in the poorhouse because of my reading passion. It’s so nice to revisit the classics. I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and so enjoyed it.
Sharon,
I’ve read 11 of the books listed (13 if you count seeing the movies “The Secret Life of Bees” and “The Secret Garden”).
My favorites are:
1. The Color Purple (on my top 10 list of best books ever)
2. The Poisonwood Bible
3. The Kite Runner (and also a Thousand Splendid Suns)
4. Life of Pi
One you should add to your reading list is “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” – took me a chapter to really get into it, but then I couldn’t put it down. Good stuff!
Tonia, it looks like you and I have similar taste in books.
Your top books are also on my top 10 list. Cool!
U r just great
Thanks, Rizvan!
What an interesting list, thank you so much! I have read probably about half of the titles, they are really good books and I particularly like The Great Gatsby. Like you, I enjoy re-reading old favorites – you always discover something new about them. Ok, as you asked, here are a few books that I would recommend:
Martha Gellhorn – Travels with myself and another
Diana Athill – Stet
Alfred Andersch – Flight to Afar (though I read it in German)
Marina Lewicka – Strawberry Fields
They are very different books but worth a go! Enjoy!
Oxforduli,
Thank you for the list of books you recommend. I’m not familiar with any of them so your comment was a real treat! Have a great weekend.
Here’s one – “The Known World” by Edward P. Jones. Intense, but worth the journey. One of my favorita books ever.
Probably 18 months too late but try these as well:
‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Adichie
‘Kafka by the Shore’ by Haruki Marukami
‘The Famished Road’ by Ben Okri
‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundathi Roy
‘A Fine Balance’ by Rohinton Mistry
‘Disgrace’ by J M Coetzee