You see them all the time don’t you, lists of books to read before you die, lists of bucket list books and lists of books that will enlighten you and change your life. Many of these lists are written by academics and we wondered how much those lists might differ from our own if we asked you for your suggestions.
You were all very enthusiastic, giving us almost 800 replies in all and so after tallying them all up and skimming off the ones that got the most votes we have a top 52 books everyone should read at least once!
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Maybe an unsurprising first place, but outstripping second place with two and a half times as many votes is To Kill a Mockingbird, the timeless warning of bigotry and acceptance.
1984 – George Orwell
Next up is the cautionary, and it seems ever current story of the political nightmare endured by Winston Smith in 1984. The novel that gave us ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Room 101’ is second on our books everyone should read.
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
A true classic and always popular in our polls is Pride and Prejudice, taking third place on our list with many saying ‘especially for girls’
Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom
Mitch makes it into the list more than once, and the memoir Tuesdays with Morrie about a young man’s visits to a professor with a terminal illness is jam packed with life and advice and thoughtful moments.
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
Although considered by many to be young adult fiction, Zusak has stated several times that although Leisl is a young girl, the book wasn’t written with children in mind. This beautiful story of a young German girl during WWII takes joint fourth place with Tuesdays with Morrie on our list.
The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner is a sensational novel about growing up and getting on, and it seems that while this is set in Afghanistan, the world over we’re all just trying to get on.
The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
Taking joint sixth place with The Kite Runner is Coehlo’s The Alchemist, always popular on our page many of you said it’s simply a ‘must read’ book.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – J. R. R. Tolkien
They say the truth is found in fiction, and in eighth place is The Lord of the Rings with many of you saying it’s one of those series you just have to read at least once!
The Catcher in theRye – J. D Salinger
In joint ninth place, completing our top ten is the hugely popular and sometimes controversial The Catcher in the Rye, considered an American Classic and chosen by many of you.
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
And completing our top ten is Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury’s classic dystopian future where books are burned and knowledge is feared is a book that many of you felt everyone should read!
11. The 5 People you Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom
12. Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank (review)
13. Night – Elie Wiesel
14. Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
15. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
16. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
17. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
18. The Stand – Stephen King
And after the featured top 20, here we take the list to the full 52 books:
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Animal Farm – George Orwell
The Outsiders – S. E Hinton
Sophie’s World – Jostein Gaarder
Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Franki
The Giver – Louis Lowry 4
East of Eden – John Steinbeck
The Shack – William P. Young
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
The Physician – Noah Gordon
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Ishmael – Daniel Quinn
The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
Dune – Frank Herbert
The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
Good Omens – Neil Gaiman Terry Pratchett
Mockingbird – Sean Stewart
The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand
Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafron
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt
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Who compiled this list, Mitch Albom’s literary agent?
As it states in paragraph one, the question was thrown out to our 400,000 FB users. I just added the results and collated them.
This is actually one of the best lists I have seen. Sort of a combination of quality and popularity is represented. I did not feel all aggrieved when I disagreed, because I could still see why a particular book was chosen.
All in all this is a pretty good list. Some must read lists are too geared toward the classics, which is usually “old dead white guys” or others are too young adult oriented and have a lot of fantasy or sci-fi that many older readers don’t relate to. I think that I will try to read the books on this list that I am unfamiliar with or haven’t made the time to read. I do wish that there was one or two from Latin or South American writers, not just Anglo-American or northern European writers.
I read 14, I’ll have to get busy
I have probably averaged a book every 2 weeks since I was in 7th grade, 1981, and have only read 3 of these. I think I will work my way through your list. Is there a version of this list that can be printed?
This is probably the whitest list I’ve ever seen.
We just ask our readers and put the list together from there. 🙂
we know that there is not just one Sherlock Holmes book but in fact a handful of novels and a truckload of short stories…
I have to agree that these are must reads – classics that pass the test of time. I am making my next year resolution to read more classic books.
No ‘Beloved’? No ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God?’ No ‘Another Country?’ No ‘Color Purple?’
This just in: African Americans have been a vibrant part of American literature for hundreds of years. This list is shamefully white-centric.
Great list! Given me lots of inspiration. Glad to see A Thousand Splendid Suns on the list – one of the most moving books I’ve ever read
What a rubbish list!!!Consists only of American and British writers. Surely you aren’t familiar with Russian and French literature…What a pity
As the opening paragraphs state, this list is made up of reader choices. We asked people on the page to recommend books and added up their replies to create the list. It’s not a list of literature I’m familiar with, it’s a reader generated list of recommendations.
Great list book theif is my favorite but you should include Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta, it is a great book everyone should read.