Here, roughly in order of how much I like them, are books that I recommend. Allowing for time and bookshelf space (I keep running out), I will progressively add more. If you need something good to read, this is the right place to be.
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I have a bookmark with a list of “50 books to read before you die”, but I heartily disagree with it, especially because one of them is the Bible. So here we are:
50 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE (REVISED):
- If you must read the Bible, also read the following: the Qaran…
- …the Tao te Ching…
- …Nietszche….
- …and one other book on Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Native American or African tribal beliefs, atheism, or something that isn’t Christianity.
- The Iliad/The Aelid/The Odyssey
- Romeo and Juliet
- Hamlet
- Macbeth
- Twelfth Night or A Midsummer’s Night Dream or The Taming of the Shrew (a Shakespearean comedy, in short)
- Pride and Prejudice
- Jane Eyre
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- The Divine Comedy
- Fahrenheit 451
- 1984
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time
- Great Expectations/A Tale of Two Cities/Oliver Twist/ something else by Dickens
- Huckleberry Finn
- Catcher in the Rye
- Night by Elie Wiesel
- Grimm’s Fairy Tales
- Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales
- The original Beauty and the Beast,
- The original Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
- Harry Potter series (7 books total)
- The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights
- The Subtle Knife
- The Amber Spyglass
- The Hobbit
- The Fellowship of the Rings
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
- Eragon
- Eldest
- Brisingr
- Inheritance
- Wheel of Time series (14 books total)
- The Alchemist
- Veronika Decides to Die
- The Shadow of the Wind
- A Certain Slant of Light
- The Book Thief
- The Help
- White Oleander
- The Trumpet of the Swan
- Charlotte’s Web
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- The Orphan’s Code by CRR Hillin (see what I did there?)
So yeah if you count the series that’s well over 50. Enjoy!
Recommendations
SERIES
- Harry Potter by JK Rowling (I once naively believed that I could assume everyone had read this, but that is not the case. Still, read it. And if you’ve read it, read it again).
- Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
- His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
- The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin
- The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
- The Witcher by Andrez Sapkowski (I HIGHLY recommend the PS4 game as well)
- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
- The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
- Maximum Ride by James Patterson (I’m reluctant to recommend this one; it had a lot of potential, but the story never actually went anywhere. I’m deeply disappointed).
- The Expanse by James S.A. Casey
- The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
- The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (only books 1-3, skip 4-6)
- Dhampir by Barb and J.C. Hendee
- Redwall by Brian Jacques
Enjoy your bookalanche.
NOVELS
- A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb (one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever read in my life and I recommend it to everybody).
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, pere
- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- The Irregulars by Will Nixon (on Kindle and edited by yours truly, easily one of the best books I’ve ever read)
- The Help by Katherine Stockett
- Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (don’t bother with the movie)
- White Oleander by Janet Fitch
- A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Aphrodite’s Brew by Delle Jacobs (looks like a trashy romance, definitely isn’t)
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- Pinocchio’s Sister by Jan Slepian
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (I lived in Rome for awhile and I still didn’t know half of those places existed)
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- Step Children by J. T. (also edited by me, also on Kindle)
- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (the somewhat lackluster sequel to Angels and Demons, I don’t know why everyone’s obsessed with it, but it’s fun).
- The Immortal Cure by CJ Olsen (a random Amazon find that I love so much)
- The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
- Veronika Decides to Die by Paolo Coelho
- Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques (there are sequels but I don’t like them as much)
There are hundreds more but start with these, the rest won’t be as good.
OTHER
- Bioshock Infinite (not all video games are as good as books, but this one certainly is)
- The Elder Scrolls and Fallout (more or less educational, they certainly fill up time)
- The Legend of Zelda (there must be 20 of them by now but I love them all, though not equally – Spirit Tracks, you know what you did)
- Yu + Me = Dream (sounds like an anime, isn’t; be patient, once it gets into the colored parts it’s incredible)
- Girly (looks raunchy, is raunchy, but strangely beautiful all the same)
- Dominic Deegan
- Marry Me
- Gunnerkrigg Court (unfinished)
- Questionable Content (unfinished)
- Daughter of the Lilies (unfinished)
I have declared that webcomics count as literature. The ones above are certainly far better than some trashy vampire novel (looking at you, Twilight).