50 Books to Read Before You Die

[houseelf25]

* The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien*
* 1984 by George Orwell*
* Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen*
* The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
* To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee*
* Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte* (not in a long time, i should re-read)
* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
* A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
* Lord of the Flies by William Golding (i was supposed to read this but i never did...)
* Hamlet by William Shakespeare*
* A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
* The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald*
* The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger*
* The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
* Brave New World by Aldous Huxley* (i really really enjoyed this one!)
* The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank * (ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES!)
* Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
* The Bible by Various
* The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
* Ulysses by James Joyce
* The Quite American by Graham Greene
* Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
* Money by Martin Amis
* The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling*************
* Moby Dick by Herman Melville
* The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
* His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
* Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy* (that's supposed to be a half star, i'm about halfway done)
* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol*
* Rebecca by Daphine du Maurier
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
* On the Road by Jack Keruac (i want to read this one)
* Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad*
* The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
* The Outsider by Albert Camus
* The Colour Purple by Alice Walker (need to read this one, saw the movie)
* Life of Pi by Yann Martel
* Frankenstein by Mary Shelley *
* The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
* Man Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
* Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift
* A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
* Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain* (not a fan of twain...)
* Robbison Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
* One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
* Catch 22 by Joseph Heller (want to read this too)
* The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas *
* Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
* The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante* (does it count if i read only the hell part?)
* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

17. most of these were required reading for honors/ap at some point.

[luvlunalovegood]

I'm not going to list 50. I'm just going to say that I think the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer is really good. (Twilight, New Moon. Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and possibly Midnight Sun.) It's a well written series of true love, with many obstacles in the way.

I love it!

[Outnitwit]

I must say I read the Twilight series, before I died (will die) and have to say I regret it.

I could have read four other books instead. I'm sad for missing out on those.

[xhanax315]

Originally Posted by Outnitwit

I must say I read the Twilight series, before I died (will die) and have to say I regret it.

I could have read four other books instead. I'm sad for missing out on those.

Me too, as someone else has said, I know I've lost brain cells in reading that.

[winky123]

here's a few more:

-The Invisible Man
-Catcher in the Rye
-Catch 22
-Angels and Demons
-Da Vinci Code
-Snow Falling on Cedars
-Twilight Series
-HP series

[nina__]

1984 by George Orwell
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Rebecca by Daphine du Maurier
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain



Oh Gosh. That's really bad. 9/50?
I'm only sixteen, though, I have time

[CROOKshanks1919]

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
1984 by George Orwell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank *
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
The Bible by Various
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer*
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Quite American by Graham Greene
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Money by Martin Amis
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling*
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol*
Rebecca by Daphine du Maurier
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
On the Road by Jack Keruac
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
The Outsider by Albert Camus
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Man Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift *
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens*
Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain *
Robbison Crusoe by Daniel Defoe *
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas *
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde


11/50..well, not so bad for a 14 yr old i guess!!!! 11dwon, 39 to go

[MTBB]

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien *
1984 by George Orwell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee*
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte *
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte *
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Hamlet by William Shakespeare*
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald*
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank *
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
The Bible by Various *
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Quite American by Graham Greene
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Money by Martin Amis
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling*
Moby Dick by Herman Melville*
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame *
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman *
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol*
Rebecca by Daphine du Maurier
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
On the Road by Jack Keruac
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
The Outsider by Albert Camus
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker *
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley *
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Man Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift *
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens*
Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain *
Robbison Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey*
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden *
The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I think that you should add Wild Swans to this list, it was a superb story about 3 generations of Chinese women and a look at the history of China. Very well written by the grandaughter.

Nice selection of books, and I really must start reading those on the list that I haven't already read.

Thanks for this.

[lovehedwig]

I've only read these:

* To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
* Lord of the Flies by William Golding
* The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
* The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
* The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

However, Heart of Darkness, Catch 22, Hamlet, and the Great Gatsby are on the reading list of my AP Lit class, so I'm really excited to read them.

I think I'd like to add some modern literature, as well, maybe a few Jodi Picoult books? Also, I'm a bit skeptical about the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time being a must-read before you die. Yes, it was a brilliant novel, but it wasn't exactly my favorite. Then again, I read it when I was still in junior high, so maybe I should do a re-read of it.

[Perlidia]

I Have read all but three.

After reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, I fail to see why it should be included on the bookmark the list.
On the Road by Jack Keruac is the only book I could not bring myself to finish and I have struggled through Ulysses. I can read Burroughs but I can't take Keruac!

[planetary]

Only ones I've read:

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
I've read almost all of Anne Frank, but right near the end I got so absolutely bored of it. I don't really like diaries.

Ridiculous XD I have tried to read a lot of those. Classics of literature are just not my type of book, I guess.

Originally Posted by Perlidia

I Have read all but three.

After reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, I fail to see why it should be included on the bookmark the list.
On the Road by Jack Keruac is the only book I could not bring myself to finish and I have struggled through Ulysses. I can read Burroughs but I can't take Keruac!

I never finished On The Road either, but I love what little I read of Kerouac... even did an arts project with a bit of his text from On The Road as theme.

[xhanax315]

Originally Posted by Perlidia

I Have read all but three.

After reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, I fail to see why it should be included on the bookmark the list.
On the Road by Jack Keruac is the only book I could not bring myself to finish and I have struggled through Ulysses. I can read Burroughs but I can't take Keruac!

Three?!?! Which ones were those? I think that's the most out of anybody unless I mistaken.

[Perlidia]

Originally Posted by xhanax315

Three?!?! Which ones were those? I think that's the most out of anybody unless I mistaken.

I haven't read;
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

And I suppose I never finished On the Road (though I put up with it more that half way through)
And with regards to the bible - I have read the whole new testament (from school) and most if not all the old testament (from staying in hotels) - although I have to say I am agnostic, I just thought it was an interesting read.

My dad loves books and is a huge reader - so I read anything he left around in the house. I also have him to thank for a love of classic films (especially from Ealing Studio) and my love of the Beatles.

[HMN]

Oooh what a list. I have read:

• 1984 by George Orwell
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
  
• His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• On the Road by Jack Keruac
• The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
• The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Some of my all time favorites are on the list. The Grapes of Wrath, Life of Pi and Brave New World to name a few.

[Beatifically]

I have but haven't gotten around to reading yet/Not finished
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Read
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Outsider by Albert Camus
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens


I'm getting there! Most of those books I plan on reading.

[Demonikka]

1984 by George Orwell
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (in the process of reading)
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
The Bible by Various (boredom, and the fact that I own around 50 Bibles.)
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden


I absolutely love 1984 and Memoirs of a Geisha. There are quite a few I want to read that are on there, but many more that I'd want to add to the list.

[teo]

I have read 15/50:

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien - yes
1984 by George Orwell - yes
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - yes
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - yes
To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee - yes
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - no
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - yes
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster - no
Lord of the Flies by William Golding - yes
Hamlet by William Shakespeare - no
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul - no
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald - no
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - yes
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - no
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - no
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank - yes
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes - no
The Bible by Various - parts, but not all
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - no
Ulysses by James Joyce - no
The Quite American by Graham Greene - no
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks - no
Money by Martin Amis - no
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling - duh
Moby Dick by Herman Melville - no
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - no
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman - no
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - no
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol - no
Rebecca by Daphine du Maurier - no
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon - no
On the Road by Jack Keruac - no
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - yes
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope - no
The Outsider by Albert Camus - no
The Colour Purple by Alice Walker - no
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - no
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - yes
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells - no
Man Without Women by Ernest Hemingway - no
Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift - no
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - no
Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain - yes
Robbison Crusoe by Daniel Defoe - no
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - yes
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller - yes
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - no (but I did read all five books of the Three Musketeers/Man in the Iron Mask series!)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - no
The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante - no
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - no

Comments: Surprised that Dracula isn't on the list. I LOVE that book. Also, Christmas Carol is the only Dickens? I guess there's only one book/series per author on here (otherwise the list would be overrun by Jane Austen books ), but I would definitely put Tale of Two Cities in the Top 50.

[Kanksha]

* The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
* 1984 by George Orwell
* Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
* The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
* To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
* Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
* A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
* Lord of the Flies by William Golding
* Hamlet by William Shakespeare
* A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
* The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald
* The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
* The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
* Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
* The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
* Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
* The Bible by Various
* The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
* Ulysses by James Joyce
* The Quite American by Graham Greene
* Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
* Money by Martin Amis
* The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
* Moby Dick by Herman Melville
* The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
* His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
* Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
* Rebecca by Daphine du Maurier
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
* On the Road by Jack Keruac
* Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
* The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
* The Outsider by Albert Camus
* The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
* Life of Pi by Yann Martel
* Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
* The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
* Man Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
* Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift
* A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
* Huckelberry Finn by Mark Twain
* Robbison Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
* One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
* Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
* The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
* Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
* The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

24/50.

Though I have to admit, I've read several seriously abridged version of the Bible, so I'm not entirely sure if that counts.

Also I am surprised at the inclusion of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time. I didn't think it warranted a mention among these books at all.

[Raven_Lenoir]

I've read the following:

* The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
* Hamlet by William Shakespeare
* The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fritzgerald
* Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
* The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
* The Bible by Various (does a short-version for children counts?)
* The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
* Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
* The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

And I plan to read these (i.e., I have them, but haven't read them yet)

* 1984 by George Orwell
* The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
* Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
* Ulysses by James Joyce
* Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
* On the Road by Jack Keruac
* A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
* The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
* The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante

[bellatrix93]

Those are the books that I've read from the list:

-The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

-Hamlet by William Shakespeare

-The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

-Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift

-A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens


Just six. . I have a lot of them, which I haven't read yet, though.