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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.
| 301 |
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Between the World and Me
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4.40 avg rating — 359,333 ratings
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| 302 |
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How to Be a Woman
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3.71 avg rating — 110,166 ratings
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| 303 |
|
Orange Is the New Black
by
Piper Kerman (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 205,188 ratings
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| 304 |
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Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
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4.34 avg rating — 99,598 ratings
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| 305 |
|
Becoming
by
Michelle Obama (Goodreads Author)
4.44 avg rating — 1,169,720 ratings
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| 306 |
|
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
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4.38 avg rating — 30,677 ratings
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| 307 |
|
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
by
David Grann (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 107,882 ratings
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| 308 |
|
Lab Girl
by
Hope Jahren (Goodreads Author)
3.98 avg rating — 71,208 ratings
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| 309 |
|
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
by
Timothy Snyder (Goodreads Author)
4.27 avg rating — 93,068 ratings
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| 310 |
|
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
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4.05 avg rating — 43,466 ratings
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| 311 |
|
A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership
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4.09 avg rating — 49,206 ratings
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| 312 |
|
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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4.37 avg rating — 286,825 ratings
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| 313 |
|
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
by
Amy Chua (Goodreads Author)
3.66 avg rating — 53,847 ratings
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| 314 |
|
Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up
by
Marie Kondō (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 43,734 ratings
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| 315 |
|
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
by
Steve Martin (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 106,052 ratings
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| 316 |
|
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar
by
Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 138,794 ratings
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| 317 |
|
Stumbling on Happiness
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3.82 avg rating — 63,271 ratings
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| 317 |
|
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
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4.18 avg rating — 364,768 ratings
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| 319 |
|
This Is How You Lose the Time War
by
Amal El-Mohtar (Goodreads Author)
3.85 avg rating — 315,703 ratings
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| 320 |
|
Twelve Years a Slave
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4.23 avg rating — 123,664 ratings
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| 320 |
|
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
by
Sebastian Junger (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 118,151 ratings
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| 320 |
|
Path of the Berserker (Path of the Berserker, #1)
by
Rick Scott (Goodreads Author)
4.44 avg rating — 2,458 ratings
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| 323 |
|
Everyday Sexism
by
Laura Bates (Goodreads Author)
4.26 avg rating — 12,384 ratings
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| 324 |
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Catch-22
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3.99 avg rating — 876,957 ratings
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| 325 |
|
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
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4.29 avg rating — 52,420 ratings
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| 326 |
|
Lucky
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3.77 avg rating — 101,535 ratings
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| 326 |
|
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls: Essays, Etc.
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3.85 avg rating — 149,897 ratings
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| 328 |
|
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
by
3.80 avg rating — 51,987 ratings
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| 329 |
|
Cleopatra: A Life
by
Stacy Schiff (Goodreads Author)
3.73 avg rating — 122,000 ratings
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| 330 |
|
So You've Been Publicly Shamed
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3.93 avg rating — 65,371 ratings
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| 330 |
|
Educated
by
Tara Westover (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 1,795,068 ratings
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| 332 |
|
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
by
David Grann (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 431,296 ratings
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| 333 |
|
Searching for Ganesha: Collecting Images of the Sweet-Loving, Elephant-Headed Hindu Deity Everybody Admires
by
Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (Goodreads Author)
4.36 avg rating — 624 ratings
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| 334 |
|
Assassination Vacation
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3.93 avg rating — 47,073 ratings
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| 334 |
|
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
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4.39 avg rating — 993,376 ratings
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| 336 |
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Consider the Lobster and Other Essays
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4.18 avg rating — 53,281 ratings
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| 337 |
|
Einstein: His Life and Universe
by
Walter Isaacson (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 198,899 ratings
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| 338 |
|
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
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4.01 avg rating — 888,934 ratings
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| 338 |
|
Fear: Trump in the White House
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3.87 avg rating — 64,991 ratings
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| 340 |
|
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
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4.22 avg rating — 145,571 ratings
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| 341 |
|
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
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4.14 avg rating — 81,176 ratings
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| 342 |
|
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
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4.11 avg rating — 287,234 ratings
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| 343 |
|
Syrian Brides
by
Anna Halabi (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 249 ratings
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| 343 |
|
Hamilton: The Revolution
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4.45 avg rating — 54,435 ratings
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| 345 |
|
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by
Elizabeth Kolbert (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 77,870 ratings
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| 346 |
|
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
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4.34 avg rating — 38,886 ratings
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| 347 |
|
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
by
Richard Dawkins (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 55,645 ratings
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| 348 |
|
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
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3.84 avg rating — 167,545 ratings
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| 349 |
|
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
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3.58 avg rating — 33,451 ratings
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| 350 |
|
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
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3.66 avg rating — 139,075 ratings
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| 351 |
|
Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
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4.40 avg rating — 63,433 ratings
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| 351 |
|
Measure What Matters
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3.98 avg rating — 36,617 ratings
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| 353 |
|
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
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4.17 avg rating — 62,967 ratings
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| 354 |
|
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
by
3.69 avg rating — 182,979 ratings
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| 355 |
|
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
by
3.94 avg rating — 47,670 ratings
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| 356 |
|
The Elements of Style
by
4.18 avg rating — 86,454 ratings
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| 357 |
|
The God Delusion
by
Richard Dawkins (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 280,409 ratings
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| 358 |
|
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
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4.21 avg rating — 100,967 ratings
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| 359 |
|
A Stolen Life
by
3.97 avg rating — 142,800 ratings
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| 360 |
|
Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference
by
Cordelia Fine (Goodreads Author)
4.08 avg rating — 11,343 ratings
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| 361 |
|
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
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4.08 avg rating — 261,337 ratings
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| 362 |
|
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
by
4.30 avg rating — 168,777 ratings
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| 363 |
|
The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2)
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4.24 avg rating — 143,624 ratings
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| 364 |
|
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by
Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 119,959 ratings
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| 365 |
|
A Child Called "It" (Dave Pelzer, #1)
by
Dave Pelzer (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 456,554 ratings
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| 366 |
|
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
by
4.19 avg rating — 497,004 ratings
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| 367 |
|
Quantum Radio
by
A.G. Riddle (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 16,373 ratings
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| 368 |
|
Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy
by
Frances Mayes (Goodreads Author)
3.77 avg rating — 329,515 ratings
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| 369 |
|
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
by
4.44 avg rating — 136,766 ratings
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| 370 |
|
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
by
4.08 avg rating — 104,158 ratings
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| 371 |
|
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by
Daniel H. Pink (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 124,173 ratings
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| 372 |
|
A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
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4.14 avg rating — 44,521 ratings
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| 373 |
|
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
by
Sebastian Junger (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 48,604 ratings
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| 374 |
|
The Tao of Pooh
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4.01 avg rating — 128,784 ratings
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| 374 |
|
Diplomats & Admirals: From Failed Negotiations and Tragic Misjudgments to Powerful Leaders and Heroic Deeds, the Untold Story of the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway
by
Dale A. Jenkins (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 5,518 ratings
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| 376 |
|
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
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4.28 avg rating — 197,360 ratings
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| 377 |
|
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
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3.87 avg rating — 62,185 ratings
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| 377 |
|
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
by
Nathaniel Philbrick (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 116,791 ratings
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| 379 |
|
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by
Malala Yousafzai (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 614,764 ratings
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| 380 |
|
The Last Lecture
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4.26 avg rating — 360,457 ratings
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| 381 |
|
Living in Harmony with the Real World Vol 3: Coping with Loss and Grief
by
Gary Edward Gedall (Goodreads Author)
4.33 avg rating — 851 ratings
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| 382 |
|
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
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4.34 avg rating — 111,987 ratings
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| 383 |
|
Notes from a Small Island
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3.92 avg rating — 118,362 ratings
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| 384 |
|
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
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4.16 avg rating — 183,056 ratings
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| 385 |
|
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
by
Mindy Kaling (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 510,833 ratings
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| 385 |
|
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
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4.49 avg rating — 100,820 ratings
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| 387 |
|
H is for Hawk
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3.74 avg rating — 79,388 ratings
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| 388 |
|
Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow
by
4.19 avg rating — 281,361 ratings
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| 389 |
|
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
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3.99 avg rating — 64,960 ratings
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| 390 |
|
What Happened
by
3.92 avg rating — 60,818 ratings
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| 390 |
|
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
by
Adam M. Grant (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 57,154 ratings
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| 392 |
|
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
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4.12 avg rating — 259,445 ratings
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| 393 |
|
Escape
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3.98 avg rating — 46,100 ratings
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| 394 |
|
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
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4.23 avg rating — 81,930 ratings
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| 394 |
|
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
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4.21 avg rating — 38,929 ratings
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| 396 |
|
The Feminine Mystique
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3.87 avg rating — 30,415 ratings
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| 397 |
|
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
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3.93 avg rating — 23,080 ratings
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| 398 |
|
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
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4.12 avg rating — 72,379 ratings
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| 399 |
|
My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands
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3.79 avg rating — 111,475 ratings
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| 400 |
|
Memoirs of a Geisha
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4.16 avg rating — 2,090,024 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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