50 books to read before you die discussion

Hi ! I read 6 of the books in this list.
I looooved Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice ! Absolutely my favourites so far ! I liked To kill a mockingbird as well. Didn't really like Wuthering Heights but maybe that's me.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the books on the list ;)

Michele wrote: "There's so many great books excluded from this list. It's hard to comprise a great list no matter whether the most avid readers are thrown into one room to make their decisions. I noticed Huckleberry Finn wasn't on there... that's considered one of America's greatest novels. I'm not sure about this list...."

43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I decided to join because I'd read about 20 of these already. I'm pretty sure I read Brave New World. I'll have to double check. I know I came close to finishing Catcher In The Rye and a few of the others. I have to agree with Michele, Huck Finn should be on this list. If you ask me, if Frankenstein is on this list, Dracula should be here too. I actually liked it better than Frankenstein. There ought to be a Jules Verne on the list too. And why not read Dickens's masterpiece, Bleak House, instead of A Christmas Carol? Or even A Tale of two Cities?

I'll freely admit, I never made it through the last 100 pages of Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Hard to believe I got that far and didn't finish, but then I was never able to crack them at all before I saw the movies. Before that I started the first book a dozen times and never got past page 10. Tolkien's writing style just never agreed with me.

Here are the ones I've read:
1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
2 1984 by George Orwell
4 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5 To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
12 The great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
15 Brave new World by Aldous Huxley
17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
18 The Bible by Various
24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
25 Moby Dick by Herman Melville
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
44 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
50 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Steven wrote: "Mayra, here are the seven that I haven't read:

Men without Women by Ernest Hemingway
A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
Money by Martin Amis
The Way We Live ..."

You still have more than me lol... i just finished life of pi, so i can cross one more off the list lol

David wrote: "I decided to join because I'd read about 20 of these already. I'm pretty sure I read Brave New World. I'll have to double check. I know I came close to finishing Catcher In The Rye and a few of the..."

maybe onece we get through the list we can start making our own lol.... recomending to eachother what we think should b the 50 bks to read b4 u die :)

ive always wanted to read a tale of two cities, and im sure dracula is on my list too.... some day lol....

This must be sheer coincidence or what..... Cuz the books I've read are in the top 15's list #5 To kill a Mockingbird§ #9 The Lord of the Flies§ & #13 The Catcher in the Rye. & I read em all n I own n love these novels especially the unlucky 13....;-)

I have the same list on a metal bookmark, from Waterstones (I guess it's the British version of Barnes and Noble) ... just joined the group but I've had the bookmark for a few years now. I made it to my 25th book before Christmas (sort of, that does include Harry Potter and His Dark Materials). At the moment I'm reading a non-list book (Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy) but after that I plan on taking on Lord of the Rings.

I'm not reading in order, obviously. At this point, I want to find the longer books in the list and tackle them so that the final few books are easy. For the most part, I've enjoyed every book I've read, except maybe two.

Thats great. Welcome to the group. i came across the list on the bookmark too and then decided to start thr group, although i am way behind most of u in the group lol... i read alot but since i started the group ive only knocked off about 3 or 4 more bks

and which one's they might siobhan!!
even I'm new to this group 25 books huh...,! nt bad for a beginner ;-) :-P. if it's your hobby started just earlier. if it ain't keep it up!!!

I have read 21 of the 50 books. I just finished The Grapes of Wrath and not sure what to read next! Any suggestions?

Hello, care to tell which 21 have you completed Amara ?

Amara wrote: "I have read 21 of the 50 books. I just finished The Grapes of Wrath and not sure what to read next! Any suggestions?"

wow that's great. i attempted reading it in high school and it didnt go so well lol.... i've only read about 8 off the list so i really wouldnt know wich to recomend.

I've read 24 out of the 50. So many good ones on the list, I hardly know where to start. I know a bunch are reading the Tolkien books, but I've read them multiple times already.I think I might want to try The Catcher in the Rye?

Pretty good list. I've read 16 of them and have quite a few on my to-read list.

Many of the books on the list are my faves: To Kill A Mockingbird, 1984, Harry Potter, Frankenstein, Brave New World.

I've read:
2 1984 by George Orwell
4 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5 To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
12 The great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
14 The Bell Jar by Sylvie Plath
15 Brave new World by Aldous Huxley
16 The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
19 The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
31 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
41 Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
45 One flew over the Cockoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
48 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I'm thinking about reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy next. Should I?

i tried reading it but i couldnt get through it.

Does reading all these mean we're smart or just nerdy? Both? :) I'm an English teacher and part time writer and many of these have been on my list for years. I'm hoping the sense of community gives my motivation a boost.

i think smart :) i dont think that we r nerdy bc we love to read, although i do get called a nerd by my friends when i say i cant watch a movie bc i need to read the bk first lol... and also when i hold off on buying the next bk in a seried bc i want it paperpack to match the rest lol

Mayra wrote: "i think smart :) i dont think that we r nerdy bc we love to read, although i do get called a nerd by my friends when i say i cant watch a movie bc i need to read the bk first lol... and also when i..."

I do the same thing! I get very upset if publishers redesign covers or bindings before I get the whole series purchased. They have to match!!

Holly wrote: "Mayra wrote: "i think smart :) i dont think that we r nerdy bc we love to read, although i do get called a nerd by my friends when i say i cant watch a movie bc i need to read the bk first lol... a..."

lol, im glad to know im not the only one... :) my siblings will often just give me cash as a gift on my day and say "well we werent sure wich ones u wanted, and we didnt want to ruin it, so here it is so u can choose." .... :)

I have read 9, currently 60%through a 10th, and own 19 others on the list. I do want to read most if not all of the rest as well.

I've read 7 of the books. I'm reading wuthering heights but i just don't think it is as good as Jane Eyre for example

These are the named books:
1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien*
2 1984 by George Orwell*
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5 To kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee*
6 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
8 A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
9 The Lord of the Flies by William Golding*
10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare*
11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
12 The great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
14 The Bell Jar by Sylvie Plath
15 Brave new World by Aldous Huxley
16 The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
17 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
18 The Bible by Various*
19 The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
20 Ulysses by James Joyce
21 The quiet American by Graham Greene
22 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulke
23 Money by Martin Amis
24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling*
25 Moby Dick by Herman Melville
26 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman*
28 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll*
30 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
31 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
32 On the Road by Jack Kerouac
33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
34 The way we live now by Antony Trollope
35 The Outsider by Albert Camus*
36 The colour Purple by Alice Walker
37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
38 Frankenstein by Mary Selley
39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
40 Man without Woman by Ernest Hemingway
41 Gulliver´s Travels by Jonathan Swift
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain*
44 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
45 One flew over the Cockoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
46 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
48 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
49 The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante
50 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I've read 22 of these and am within 10 "books" of finishing the Bible. "Ulysses" is an all time favorite that I've read several times. A group from my college got together every other year for a marathon out loud reading. Took about 30 hours and untold quantities of wine!

a marathon of reading, sounds fun! :) and that seems like a good way to knock off the longer books that we might not be able to get through on our own.

Hmm.. I think I've read 20 books from the list, but I haven't read like five of them for a while. The list is great (which is why I joined at the first place)! My all time favorite is (other than the Bible) Pride and Prejudice and To Kill the Mocking Bird.
I don't know which book I should read next... prob I should start off with George Owell.... :)

So far I have read:
Pride and Prejudice *
To Kill a Mockingbird *
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
Hamlet *
Great Gatsby*
Diary of Anne Frank
The Bible
Harry Potter series
Anna Karenina
Frankenstein*
The Picture of Dorian Gray *

And right now I'm working on Huckleberry Finn.
*The ones that I loved

Hi all I am Sam and avid reader and blogger about books.

I have just been through the list and I have read 27 of them. Still have quite a few to add to my to read list though

Hi all, just joined.
I've read 22 of these books. Some many years ago. This group is a really interesting concept.

How Many of these books have you read and do you recommend them?

The compiler of this list thought all of these are great books, or they wouldn't have included them. So far, I've read twenty on the list. Some are great, some just don't belong there.

Of the twenty I've read, these are the ones I most highly recommend:
2 1984
4 The Grapes of Wrath
38 Frankenstein
45 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
46 Catch-22

The ones I don't recommend are:
3 Pride and Prejudice
20 Ulysses
35 The Stranger (The Outsider)

I am surprised that they chose man without woman as the Hemingway book. I would have thought either, farewell to arms or the sun also rises or the old man and the sea, even for whom the bell tolls. I never could get through wuthering heights maybe I will try and actually read that one.

Steve wrote: "I am surprised that they chose man without woman as the Hemingway book. I would have thought either, farewell to arms or the sun also rises or the old man and the sea, even for whom the bell tolls..."

I agree, Steve. For Whom the Bell Tolls is my favorite Hemingway, (so far). I checked out The Old Man and the Sea from the library this morning. I've read the others you listed plus one or two more. Men Without Women is an early work that helped put Hemingway on the literary map, but in my uneducated opinion, it's certainly not his best.

Of all Hemingways you havent read old man? That may be my favorite, probably because it is the most straightforward story?????? Then again the sun also rises was very good also. Gotta feel for an impotent fella.

I agree, it's an obscure Hemingway!

Also amazed George Elliot isn't here.

Lisa wrote: "Also amazed George Elliot isn't here."
Lisa, have you read Middlemarch? I read Silas Marner several years ago and it is in my top ten ever, I was actually chatting with a friend about that the other day, but I never read Middlemarch and several things I have read say it is the better book, what are your thoughts if so?

Steve, I am currently reading Middlemarch for the Women's Classics group. Is so beautiful. We started last week if you'd like to join us!

Lisa wrote: "Steve, I am currently reading Middlemarch for the Women's Classics group. Is so beautiful. We started last week if you'd like to join us!"

Is that a joke? You did write "for the womens's classics group" and I am not a woman:)
I have about 4 books jammed into my nook, and 6 checked out from the library and a few more just lying around teasing me and begging me to read them, but I will get to it!
You didnt answer if it was better/worse or if you had read Silas though:(
Oh wait, I see its a group that reads womens classics my bad haha

Sigh! It's classics written by women, there are men in the group. Yes, I realize Steve is a male name. It's my first Elliot. I haven't read Silas Marner, but this book is gorgeous. I was thinking about how a book that comments on politics, religion, society, education, being different and feminism could not be on this list. But then, personal preference.
I'm trying to juggle 8 books this month. Finished Farewell to Arms plus a book in my second language. Two down. Happy reading:-)

Hi Steven and Lisa, I have read both Middlemarch and Silas Marner, it was many years ago but I remember enjoying them both. I do like George Elliot's work, she was a great writer.

She's brilliant. I'm loving Middlemarch. Silas Marner is on my prolific to read lost.

Steve wrote: "Of all Hemingways you havent read old man? That may be my favorite, probably because it is the most straightforward story?????? Then again the sun also rises was very good also. Gotta feel for a..."

I read The Old Man and the Sea long ago. I don't remember it well, so I'm giving it another go.

The Sun Also Rises is not my favorite Hemingway, but did, it seemed to me, have some ineffable quality in common with The Great Gatsby.

I have read 19 of these books and by far my favorite is The Picture of Dorian Gray. :-)

i have read Jane Eyre,Wuthering Heights,The Diary of Anne Frank and i recommend,the first two especially to everyone :D

Hi! I'm new to the group, but haven't posted yet. I've read 17 of these ... most a very long time ago. I hope to read the rest and am setting an easy goal for the new year. I plan to read 2 or 3 from this list ... more if the mood strikes me. The 3 are Wuthering Heights, The Wind in the Willows and the first in the LOTR trilogy.

Enjoy,

Martha welcome to e group... And all 3 of those are on my 2014 reading list as well.

I read 22 of the books on the list. I would definitely recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Christmas Carol and Catcher in the Rye (it did take me 2 readings to actually appreciate the book).
I would definitely also include The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury on the list.

I have read 20 of the books, many of my favorites multiple times. I am rereading Pride and Prejudice for the 15th time right now. Can't get enough of Austen. Loved the Harry Potter series but it can't compare to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (but if you're going to commit to LOR then please read The Hobbit too). Liked Life of Pi and various others. Can't remember if Jane Eyre was on the list but I've read that one 5 or 6 times. Wuthering Heights is dark but definitely a great read. I think anyone interested in great novels would be severely remiss without reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon! That being said, I can relate to "delicious" diversions and would place Darynda Jones' Grave series on that list. Happy reading all!

Cammi wrote: "I have read 20 of the books, many of my favorites multiple times. I am rereading Pride and Prejudice for the 15th time right now. Can't get enough of Austen. Loved the Harry Potter series but it ca..."

I read Pride and Prejudice not too long ago. Once was enough for me. I can't imagine reading it 15 times, or any book for that matter. To each his own.

So far I've read 29 of these books and some of them are great and some of them not so great. Some of the ones others rave about didn't do much for me, and vice versa I'm sure. I'll probably read most of the books on the list, (Hey, At 29 of the 50 I've already read most of them). This month I read Hamlet, Jane Eyre, A Christmas Carol, and Life of Pi. None was my favorite on the list of 50 but I recommend them all.