Top 10 Books Everyone Should Read at Least Once in Their Lives
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The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
I really love this book as well as the movie which was made from this great, beautiful book that one can't ignore. It's a story of true friendship, bringing tears to my eyes.
The story of Amir, as he tries to find his best friend he's ever had, despite abandoning him due to ethnic and religious differences that were prominent in Kabul, Afghanistan.
We watched the movie in class last year. It's a really heartfelt story. You need to at least watch the movie to understand.
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The Prisoner of Zenda - Anthony Hope
It is the first novel which I read in 2009. I just love it!
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To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
I read this in 9th-10th grade. I even saw the movie.
Pulitzer-winning book, a masterpiece of Lee. Humor entwines the strands of hypocrisy, hatred, prejudice, love, and innocence to create one of the best novels ever written.
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1984 - George Orwell
Delve into the life of Smith as he struggles with the developing human nature in a world where individuality, free will, and love are forbidden.
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The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
While I love the Harry Potter series, they are not a one-time read. You read them over and over again and feel the exact same emotions. But with this, I knew instantly I could never read it again. I had gone numb reading it and felt a whole wave of new and intense emotions the following day.
I had cried the hardest reading this book, not because some people died, but because I knew this happened to real people. I got so connected and acquainted with the character, who felt so real and true to me. It was so unexpected, so sudden when, you know. How the author described it. I could feel everything. I knew exactly what he was intending to say and how beautifully written this was, how finely cut and trimmed this story was. All I can say is read it. If you don't, you'll never know what real writing is. But, if you can't, read Harry Potter, which includes half of the feels this book has.
Also, I read this fairly young (before my teens, even), so you can just imagine the emotional wreck I was in (and I still am not a teen, believe it or not).
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Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
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The End of the Affair - Graham Greene
It tells the story of the adulterous relationship between Maurice Bendrix and Sarah Miles, set in the past against the turmoil of World War II. The personal battles of love, guilt, hate, and the search for truth and redemption are all made more poignant.
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The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
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Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
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Dracula - Bram Stoker
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The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most influential pieces of fantasy fiction of the 20th century.
Do I even need to tell anything about it?
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Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
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Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Most people haven't heard of this book, but it's an amazing book series. It's about superheroes.
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Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
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Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
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The Stranger - Albert Camus
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No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
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Once - Morris Gleitzman
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The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
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The Stand - Stephen King
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The Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice
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Memnoch the Devil - Anne Rice
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Emma - Jane Austen
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Scythe - Neal Shusterman
A lot of people probably don't know much about this series, but it's a truly wonderful read. It's set in a world that seems so utopian on the surface, but when you go deeper, you see how trying to create a perfect world will result in one more flawed than the original.
There are three books in this series, and I totally recommend them. Admittedly, the last one is a little messy and rushed at times, and the second one can be occasionally messy as well, but the first is beautifully written.
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The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allan Poe
