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Books Every Human Being Should Read
Books have played an important role in my life and honestly have helped shape my opinions and ideas about the world (not to mention my writing style!), and I think it'll be a good idea for me, both as a human and as an English major, to read some truly amazing books. The problem is, which books? And why?
So I'm hoping to compile a list, but I need your help. So, if there's been a book that you owe a lot to, a book that changed your life, or simply a novel you feel that everyone should read in their life, let me know about it! This isn't the classic 100 book list, so feel free to recommend any sort of book, no matter how obscure or childish! I'm open to everything (even children's books, nonfiction, you name it, I'll read it!), so long as it comes HIGHLY recommended.
Help shape my future- recommend your favorite book!
So I'm hoping to compile a list, but I need your help. So, if there's been a book that you owe a lot to, a book that changed your life, or simply a novel you feel that everyone should read in their life, let me know about it! This isn't the classic 100 book list, so feel free to recommend any sort of book, no matter how obscure or childish! I'm open to everything (even children's books, nonfiction, you name it, I'll read it!), so long as it comes HIGHLY recommended.
Help shape my future- recommend your favorite book!
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 201 |
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The 4-Hour Workweek
by
Timothy Ferriss (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 327,060 ratings
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| 202 |
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Fierce Love: Creating a Love that Lasts―One Conversation at a Time
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4.29 avg rating — 6,855 ratings
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| 203 |
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The Complete Persepolis
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4.40 avg rating — 201,261 ratings
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| 204 |
|
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
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4.48 avg rating — 350,480 ratings
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| 205 |
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Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
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4.30 avg rating — 121,177 ratings
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| 206 |
|
The Glass Castle
by
Jeannette Walls (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 1,335,299 ratings
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| 207 |
|
Mere Christianity
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4.36 avg rating — 449,263 ratings
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| 208 |
|
Transcending Depression: Quest Without a Compass
by
Larry Godwin (Goodreads Author)
4.44 avg rating — 469 ratings
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| 209 |
|
Redshirts
by
John Scalzi (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 115,803 ratings
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| 210 |
|
Naked
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4.10 avg rating — 271,634 ratings
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| 211 |
|
The Call of the Wild
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3.91 avg rating — 463,925 ratings
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| 212 |
|
The Gone World
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3.92 avg rating — 26,284 ratings
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| 213 |
|
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
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4.16 avg rating — 215,962 ratings
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| 214 |
|
Strengths Finder 2.0
by
Tom Rath (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 56,549 ratings
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| 215 |
|
Twelfth Night
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3.96 avg rating — 192,469 ratings
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| 216 |
|
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
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3.97 avg rating — 190,027 ratings
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| 217 |
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Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
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3.93 avg rating — 74,091 ratings
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| 218 |
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Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt, #1)
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4.15 avg rating — 652,986 ratings
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| 219 |
|
Tao Te Ching
by
4.29 avg rating — 178,646 ratings
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| 220 |
|
The Trial
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3.94 avg rating — 381,033 ratings
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| 221 |
|
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
by
Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 31,990 ratings
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| 222 |
|
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
by
Annie Duke (Goodreads Author)
3.82 avg rating — 22,159 ratings
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| 223 |
|
The Fountainhead
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3.89 avg rating — 334,870 ratings
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| 224 |
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The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
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3.95 avg rating — 117,680 ratings
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| 225 |
|
The First Step (A Thousand Li, #1)
by
Tao Wong (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 6,538 ratings
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| 226 |
|
The Origin of Species
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4.01 avg rating — 120,651 ratings
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| 227 |
|
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
by
4.12 avg rating — 129,886 ratings
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| 228 |
|
The Blood Legacy: A Xianxia Cultivation Fantasy (The Divine Elements Book 1)
by
Daman (Goodreads Author)
4.20 avg rating — 1,618 ratings
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| 229 |
|
The Burning God (The Poppy War, #3)
by
R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 152,202 ratings
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| 229 |
|
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
by
Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
4.45 avg rating — 101,632 ratings
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| 231 |
|
The Ophiuchi Hotline
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3.89 avg rating — 3,871 ratings
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| 232 |
|
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
by
3.71 avg rating — 160,524 ratings
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| 233 |
|
Future Proof
by
David Atkinson (Goodreads Author)
4.42 avg rating — 2,585 ratings
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| 234 |
|
The Art of War
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3.95 avg rating — 555,980 ratings
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| 234 |
|
Time Risk: A Time Travel Thriller of Pearl Harbor – Book 1 (Time Risk Series)
by
Elyse Douglas (Goodreads Author)
4.59 avg rating — 915 ratings
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| 236 |
|
Digging for God
by
Tom Hillman (Goodreads Author)
4.31 avg rating — 5,773 ratings
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| 237 |
|
A Tale of Two Cities
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3.88 avg rating — 1,000,695 ratings
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| 237 |
|
Alexander Hamilton
by
4.22 avg rating — 196,296 ratings
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| 239 |
|
Wishful Drinking
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3.82 avg rating — 91,842 ratings
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| 240 |
|
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
by
Chris Voss (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 201,577 ratings
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| 241 |
|
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
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3.95 avg rating — 267,696 ratings
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| 242 |
|
Cat’s Cradle
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4.15 avg rating — 430,731 ratings
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| 242 |
|
Persuasion
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4.15 avg rating — 758,370 ratings
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| 244 |
|
Outliers: The Story of Success
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4.19 avg rating — 851,089 ratings
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| 245 |
|
Last Chance to See
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4.32 avg rating — 25,824 ratings
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| 246 |
|
The Year of Magical Thinking
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3.93 avg rating — 289,019 ratings
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| 247 |
|
10% Happier
by
Dan Harris (Goodreads Author)
3.91 avg rating — 113,909 ratings
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| 247 |
|
Long Walk to Freedom
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4.36 avg rating — 92,870 ratings
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| 249 |
|
I'm Just Saying: A Guide to Maintaining Civil Discourse in an Increasingly Divided World
by
Milan Kordestani (Goodreads Author)
4.25 avg rating — 7,568 ratings
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| 250 |
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1776
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4.10 avg rating — 244,705 ratings
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| 251 |
|
What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures
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3.85 avg rating — 104,267 ratings
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| 252 |
|
The Republic
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3.97 avg rating — 221,662 ratings
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| 253 |
|
Into the Wild
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 1,172,833 ratings
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| 254 |
|
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
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3.75 avg rating — 206,338 ratings
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| 255 |
|
Business Model Generation
by
Alexander Osterwalder (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 58,456 ratings
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| 255 |
|
The White Dragon (The Dragonriders of Pern, #3)
by
4.20 avg rating — 50,186 ratings
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| 257 |
|
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
by
Ashlee Vance (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 437,747 ratings
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| 258 |
|
The Stranger
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4.03 avg rating — 1,337,109 ratings
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| 259 |
|
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by
3.87 avg rating — 106,148 ratings
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| 260 |
|
A Street Cat Named Bob
by
3.99 avg rating — 59,556 ratings
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| 261 |
|
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
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4.06 avg rating — 152,613 ratings
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| 262 |
|
The Lighthouse Effect: How Ordinary People Can Have an Extraordinary Impact in the World
by
Steve Pemberton (Goodreads Author)
4.28 avg rating — 6,264 ratings
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| 263 |
|
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story
by
Diane Ackerman (Goodreads Author)
3.49 avg rating — 91,111 ratings
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| 264 |
|
Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
by
3.85 avg rating — 78,361 ratings
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| 265 |
|
All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small, #1-2)
by
4.35 avg rating — 156,144 ratings
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| 266 |
|
Steve Jobs
by
Walter Isaacson (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 1,338,764 ratings
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| 267 |
|
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by
3.84 avg rating — 493,033 ratings
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| 268 |
|
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
by
4.17 avg rating — 62,067 ratings
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| 269 |
|
Rebecca
by
4.25 avg rating — 704,739 ratings
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| 269 |
|
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
by
Susannah Cahalan (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 234,491 ratings
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| 271 |
|
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works
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3.99 avg rating — 8,727 ratings
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| 272 |
|
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt
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4.14 avg rating — 89,319 ratings
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| 273 |
|
Meditations
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4.28 avg rating — 327,432 ratings
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| 274 |
|
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
by
4.30 avg rating — 572,330 ratings
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| 275 |
|
This Is Your Brain on Music
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3.89 avg rating — 67,035 ratings
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| 276 |
|
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by
Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 791,788 ratings
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| 276 |
|
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
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3.87 avg rating — 34,675 ratings
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| 278 |
|
Scrappy Little Nobody
by
3.85 avg rating — 102,992 ratings
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| 278 |
|
Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
by
Erik Larson (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 70,751 ratings
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| 280 |
|
Emerson, the Stoics, and Me: Timeless Wisdom for Living an Authentic Life
by
Mark Matousek (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 530 ratings
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| 281 |
|
Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant
by
W. Chan Kim (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 85,752 ratings
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| 282 |
|
Girl, Interrupted
by
3.94 avg rating — 271,521 ratings
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| 282 |
|
Brown Girl Dreaming
by
Jacqueline Woodson (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 92,177 ratings
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| 284 |
|
Liar's Poker
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4.15 avg rating — 109,890 ratings
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| 284 |
|
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
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4.18 avg rating — 73,472 ratings
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| 286 |
|
Black Like Me
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4.11 avg rating — 69,341 ratings
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| 287 |
|
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
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3.91 avg rating — 260,427 ratings
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| 287 |
|
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
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4.10 avg rating — 101,391 ratings
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| 289 |
|
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
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3.84 avg rating — 93,330 ratings
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| 290 |
|
God Is the Cure, Love Is the Answer: A Memoir
by
Aimee Cabo Nikolov (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 17,179 ratings
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| 291 |
|
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital
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3.93 avg rating — 39,816 ratings
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| 292 |
|
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
by
3.85 avg rating — 90,475 ratings
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| 292 |
|
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
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4.28 avg rating — 471,371 ratings
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| 294 |
|
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales
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4.05 avg rating — 241,640 ratings
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| 295 |
|
Blind Pony: As True A Story As I Can Tell
by
Samantha Hart (Goodreads Author)
4.31 avg rating — 3,069 ratings
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| 296 |
|
Think and Grow Rich
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4.17 avg rating — 372,758 ratings
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| 297 |
|
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
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3.98 avg rating — 123,076 ratings
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| 298 |
|
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
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3.91 avg rating — 43,766 ratings
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| 299 |
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How to Win Friends & Influence People
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4.22 avg rating — 1,120,544 ratings
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| 299 |
|
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by
Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 855,075 ratings
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Allison
1863 books
63 friends
63 friends
Iva-Marie
2555 books
363 friends
363 friends
Ski
437 books
11 friends
11 friends
League of Native Nations
12 books
3 friends
3 friends
Loren
460 books
62 friends
62 friends
Tiffany
80 books
25 friends
25 friends
Bevin
2227 books
57 friends
57 friends
Jasmine
104 books
0 friends
0 friends
More voters…
Comments Showing 1-13 of 13 (13 new)
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message 1:
by
Allison
(new)
Feb 28, 2009 01:30AM
Please please please recommend your favorites! I need to do some heavy duty reading this summer!
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omg! i haven't heard of any of these books! jeez! i am desperate for recommendations too!
lol! A ton of vonnegut on this list! Some of these I've read, and some I've never even heard of!Thanks for all the input guys!
I loved "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay. I recommend it!
There's already a list just like this. but I went ahead a threw in a few votes.
Allison wrote: "Please please please recommend your favorites! I need to do some heavy duty reading this summer!"Try Something Missing by Matthew Dicks.
Maybe be you'd like to check this interesting new novel, Zero Defect, by an indie author. The books is currently available on amazon kindle - Top Indian Fiction
Brief: A harrowing struggle of a young man with life, a beautiful love story and an unexpected ending.
(view spoiler)[
For the detailed summary go to GoodReads book page... Click on the cover below - (hide spoiler)]
I've voted for 99 books which are definitely worth a read. 27 of them were already on the list, the others I've added. All of the books added are either in English or have been translated into English. (Although I have to admit I'm not completely sure about one of the children's books I've added. But I know there is a French and a German translation, so I'm guessing there is an English one as well).@Allison
You said "Help shape my future- recommend your favorite book!". Well, I've certainly done the last bit by adding 72 books to your list, and who knows, maybe I've also done the first bit... :-)
Getbanking wrote: "Its one of best book to read"What is?
I read what I wanna read and not what people tell me too.
Allison wrote: "Please please please recommend your favorites! I need to do some heavy duty reading this summer!"Salvation war by stuart slade
red rising pierce brown
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