30 Books to Read Before 30

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Thirty Books Everyone Should Read Before TheyreThirty

By: Marc and Angel Hack Life (View Profile)

The Web is grand. With its fame for hosting informative, easy-to-skim textual snippets and collaborative writtenworks, people are spending more and more time reading online. Nevertheless, the Web cannot replace theauthoritative transmissions from certain classic books that have delivered (or will deliver) profound ideas aroundthe globe for generations.

The thirty books listed here are of unparalleled prose, packed with wisdom capable of igniting anew understanding of the world. Everyone should read these books before their thirtieth birthday.

1. Siddhartha by Hermann HesseA powerful story about the importance of life experiences as they relate to approaching an understanding ofreality and attaining enlightenment.

2. 1984 by George Orwell1984 still holds chief significance nearly sixty years after it was written in 1949. It is widely acclaimed for itshaunting vision of an all-knowing government, which uses pervasive, twenty-four/seven surveillance tactics tomanipulate all citizens of the populace.

3. To Kill a Mockingbirdby Harper LeeThe story surveys the controversial issues of race and economic class in the 1930s Deep South via a court case ofa black man charged with the rape and abuse of a young white girl. Its a moving tale that delivers a profoundmessage about fighting for justice and against prejudice.

4.A Clockwork Orange by Anthony BurgessA nightmarish vision of insane youth culture that depicts heart wrenching insight into the life of a disturbed

adolescent. This novel will blow you away leaving you breathless, livid, thrilled, and concerned.

5.For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest HemingwayA short, powerful contemplation on death, ideology and the incredible brutality of war.

6. War and Peace by Leo TolstoyThis masterpiece is so enormous even Tolstoy said it couldnt be described as a standard novel. The storylinetakes place in Russian society during the Napoleonic Era, following the characters of Andrei, Pierre and Natasha and the tragic and unanticipated way in which their lives interconnect.

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7. The Rights of Man by Tom PaineWritten during the era of the French Revolution, this book was one of the first to introduce the concept of humanrights from the standpoint of democracy.

8. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques RousseauA famous quote from the book states that Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. This accuratelysummarizes the books prime position on the importance of individual human rights within society.

9. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garca MrquezThis novel does not have a plot in the conventional sense, but instead uses various narratives to portray a clearmessage about the general importance of remembering our cultural history.

10. The Origin of Species by Charles DarwinFew books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis ofhumankind.

11. The Wisdom of the Desertby Thomas MertonA collection of thoughts, meditations and reflections that give insight into what life is like to live simply andpurely, dedicated to a greater power than ourselves.

12. The Tipping Point by Malcolm GladwellGladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociologicalchanges. Specifically, he analyzes the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.

13. The Wind in the Willowsby Kenneth GrahamArguably one of the best childrens books ever written; this short novel will help you appreciate the simplepleasures in life. Its most notable for its playful mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie.

14. The Art of Warby Sun TzuOne of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. Its easily the most successful written work on themechanics of general strategy and business tactics.

15. The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. TolkienOne of the greatest fictional stories ever told, and by far one of the most popular and influential written works intwentieth-century literature. Once you pick up the first book, youll read them all.

16.David Copperfieldby Charles DickensThis is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to onesemotional and moral life. Dickens states that we must learn to go against the first mistaken impulse of theundisciplined heart.

17.Four Quartetsby T.S. EliotProbably the wisest poetic prose of modern times. It was written during World War II, and is still entirelyrelevant today heres an excerpt: The dove descending breaks the air/With flame of incandescent terror/Ofwhich the tongues declare/The only discharge from sin and error/The only hope, or the despair/Lies in the choiceof pyre or pyre/To be redeemed from fire by fire./Who then devised this torment?/Love/Love is the unfamiliarName/Behind the hands that wave/The intolerable shirt of flame/Which human power cannot remove./We onlylive, only suspire/Consumed by either fire or fire.

18. Catch-22by Joseph HellerThis book coined the self-titled term catch-22 that is widely used in modern-day dialogue. As for the story, itsmessage is clear: Whats commonly held to be good, may be bad what is sensible, is nonsense. Its one of thegreatest literary works of the twentieth century. Read it.

19. The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald




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Set in the Jazz Age of the roaring 20s, this book unravels a cautionary tale of the American dream. Specifically,the reader learns that a few good friends are far more important that a zillion acquaintances, and the drive createdfrom the desire to have something is more valuable than actually having it.

20. The Catcher in the Ryeby J.D. SalingerThis novel firmly stands as an icon for accurately representing the ups and downs of teen angst, defiance andrebellion. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder of the unpredictable teenage mindset.

21. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor DostoyevskyA smooth-flowing, captivating novel of a young man living in poverty who criminally succumbs to the desire formoney, and the hefty psychological impact this has on him and the people closest to him.

22. The Princeby Niccolo MachiavelliThis book does a great job at describing situations of power and statesmanship. From political and corporatepower struggles to attaining advancement, influence, and authority over others, Machiavellis observations apply.

23. Waldenby Henry David ThoreauThoreau spent two years, two months and two days writing this book in a secluded cabin near the banksof Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. This is a story about being truly free from the pressures of society.The book can speak for itself: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the

essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that Ihad not lived.

24. The Republicby PlatoA gripping and enduring work of philosophy on how life should be lived, justice should be served, and leadersshould lead. It also gives the reader a fundamental understanding of western political theory.

25.Lolitaby Vladimir NabokovThis is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption andat times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each. The story is as devious as it is beautiful.

26. Getting Things Doneby David Allen

The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done. Nuff said.

27.How To Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale CarnegieThis is the granddaddy of all self-improvement books. It is a comprehensive, easy to read guide for winningpeople over to your way of thinking in both business and personal relationships.

28.Lord of the Fliesby William GoldingA powerful and alarming look at the possibilities for savagery in a lawless environment, where compassionatehuman reasoning is replaced by anarchistic, animal instinct.

29. The Grapes of Wrathby John SteinbeckSteinbecks deeply touching tale about the survival of displaced families desperately searching for work in anation stuck by depression will never cease to be relevant.

30. The Master and Margaritaby Mikhail BulgakovThis anticommunist masterpiece is a multifaceted novel about the clash between good and evil. It dives head firstinto the topics of greed, corruption and deception as they relate to human nature.

31. BONUS:How To Cook Everythingby Mark Bittman900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating. Pretty much thegreatest cookbook ever written. Get through a few recipes each week, and youll be a master chef by the timeyoure thirty.




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32. BONUS:Honeymoon with My Brotherby Franz WisnerFranz Wisner had it all a great job and a beautiful fiance. Life was good. But then his fiance dumped himdays before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him. So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica forhis already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back around the world they went for two full years.This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self-discovery.

Originally published onMarc and Angel Hack Life

First published May 2010Find this article at:http://www.divinecaroline.com/22189/98450-thirty-books-everyone-read-they-reclick to print

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30 Books to Read Before 30