50 books to read before you die discussion

I've read...
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Bible by God (I've read most of it.)
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante (I've read the Inferno.)

Ellie wrote: "I've read a few of these books but I really recommend Lord of Flies I loved it. I have so many of these on my TBR pile but just haven't got round to reading them. #thestrugglesoflife"

I just finished Lord of the Flies for literature class!

Just joining. I've read 33 of the 50. Several of the others are on my tbr.

I have read 8, but it was so long ago, that I wish to read them again. I have not added them to my "read list" because I can't remember when I read them. I think it was while in high school.

I feel like I need to re-read the one I read in high school to. Its been so long, it might be a good thing to go back and refresh. Maybe I will like them more or less then I did then.

Have read 16, but only remember 12. Guess I need to go back read those forgotten 2.

1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien (Highly Recommend!)
2 1984 by George Orwell (Forgotten)
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Recommend)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Recommend)
8 A Passage to India by E. M. Forster (Highly Recommend)
9 The Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Forgotten)
12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Recommend)
24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling (Highly Recommend)
29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (OK)
32 On the Road by Jack Kerouac (Tried but couldn't get into it)
33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (OK)
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Recommend)
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (Highly Recommend)
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Recommend)
48 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (OK)
50 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Recommend)

1984 is worth rereading

I have read about half of them. The only one I have read that I did not care for was Catch-22 by Heller. I just recently read Plath's The Bell Jar, which while sad, it was definitely compelling. It gives an insight to mental illness that can only be told in first person.

I've read 7 of them and looking forward to read everything :)

I read the Potter series and I love the book of Dorian Gray! Oscar Wilde was such a gifted writer. Next goal are Tolkien's books cause I'm interested in that genre and I've only seen the films. (They must be quite expensive in Germany when I want to read the English original.) I know 1984 by Orwell and sure I know parts of Lord of the Flies, Alice in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol and the Count of Monte Christo but I haven't read the whole books from beginning to the end. But I will go on!

I've read 18 of the books. My favorites so far have been 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre (my favorite love story of all), Rebecca and Memoirs of a Geisha.

I read Frankenstein right after I had a tumor removed from my neck. I had a cut across my neck and all I kept thinking was, "I feel like Frankenstein." So I read the book. Gotta say, it was the book I needed the most at the time. For that, it holds a special place in my heart.

My all-time favorite book is "The Picture of Dorian Gray." This is another book that I needed in my life. I read it at the right moment and it helped me to make a difficult decision that I do not regret.

My all-time favorite books are those books that came into my life right when I needed them the most. They helped me to see a side of myself that was hurting or lost. It dove deep into that pain and then brought me into enlightenment.

I read 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 29, 42 and 50 and I certainly would recommend them all. Great readings, impeccably written, filled with introspection, moral, able to inspire the imagination.
Most of the other books.... I saw in movies. Gotta read them at some point, don't I?

It's a great list.

**2. 1984 by George Orwell
**5 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
**7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
9. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
**12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
14 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
16 The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
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
26 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
**29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
36 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
**37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
45 One flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
**46 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
**49 The Divine Comedy by Alighieri Dante

Exactly half!

**Recommend

I hate that I'm never gonna finish this list, because I'll (most likely) never gonna read the bible. :(

Read:
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
9 The Lord of the Flies by William Golding (recommended)
10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman (highly recommended)
29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (highly recommended)
37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel (recommended)
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (recommended)
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Only read 9 yet, so a long way to go!

If you are wanting to, you can read a few chapters each day to finish reading the Bible. I read the whole thing in about 2 years. I still read parts on a daily basis.
I may never finish the list either. I am not sure that I am interested in all of them; plus, I get sidetracked by books not on the list.

3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (love it so freaking much. miniseries is just as good as the book and the movie is meh, but has great moments.)
7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (recommend)
12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (recommend)
24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling (Yes, yes, yes. Read it. Listen to it. Watch it.)
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman (HIGHLY recommend)
29 Alice´s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (recommend - is this what being on drugs is like?)
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (recommend and then go watch A Muppet Christmas Carol)
43 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (recommend)
48 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (recommend)

Nenia wrote: "I hate that I'm never gonna finish this list, because I'll (most likely) never gonna read the bible. :(

Completely agree, I'm most likely never going to read the Bible, it's just not my cup of tea. Such a shame because i'm really gonna make an effort to complete this list (minus the Bible), as a lot of the 50 are on my to-read list already

I’m probably also not going to read Hamlet, I firmly believe that Shakespeare (and all plays for that matter) shouldn’t be read, they need to be experienced in a performance of them as that’s the way they are intended to be consumed.

I think what I will do is replace these with two other Classics. If anyone has any recommendations for replacements I’d be happy to hear them

So these are the 12 I’ve read so far

1 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
2 1984 by George Orwell
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (highly recommend)
6 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
15 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (highly recommend)
24 Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
27 His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
30 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (highly recommend)
31 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
44 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe

Kayleigh wrote: I think what I will do is replace these with two other Classics. If anyone has any recommendations for replacements I’d be happy to hear them

Members of this group nominated books and our moderator (Lisa) complied them into a list we call 100 Books They Didn't Tell Us About. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

You're sure to find some good recommendations there.

The following 8 books are the best from our list of 50:
2 1984 by George Orwell
4 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
5 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9 The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
30 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
45 One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest by Ken Kesey
46 Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

The following 17 books are good or very good:
1 The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
6 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
7 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
10 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
22 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
24 Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
29 Alice in Wonderland 2 books by Lewis Carroll
31 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
32 On the Road by Jack Kerouac
37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
42 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
44 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
47 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
50 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

So, 25, half the list, are great or good.

I did not care for the following 5 books:
11 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul
20 Ulysses by James Joyce
23 Money by Martin Amis
33 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
35 The Outsider (a.k.a. The Stranger) by Albert Camus

The remaining 20 books are not bad.

These are my opinions. Others may not agree, but this is the real truth.

I've read just under 20 of them, but it's curious to me what made and what did not make the list. It's very eclectic which is both good and bad.

For instance, The Bell Jar. I read it over 30 years ago when I was in college. Is it really that great? I barely remember it and certainly don't recall it being that far above the cut.

And Harry Potter? I've not read the series but consider it adolescent literature at best, not "to read before you die."

A few I've never heard of, despite being a lifelong reader -- so I wonder if they truly belong on the list above other titles we all know.

Kafka's "The Trial" seems more appropriate for this list than some of the recent titles which have not really passed the test of time. (Though I agree with the inclusion of the somewhat recent "Life of Pi".)

Despite being somewhat "recent" "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is another title I'd have on the list far earlier than several inclusions. Or Adams' "Watership Down."

I was perhaps too old (mid-20s?) when I first read "Catcher in the Rye" and I didn't like it at all, despite it being a mainstay on such lists as these. I was also not impressed when I finally got around to reading "Heart of Darkness."

Also, "A Clockwork Orange" (Burgess) is a book I'd recommend before many on this list. Any of several titles by Vonnegut should be included. Gore Vidal's "Messiah" is truly great and overlooked.

Such lists are always going to be subjective and I enjoy such lists, agree or disagree.

So far I've read 23 of these books. Some I've never heard of. There are 1 or 2 I started in the past but never finished.

Greg wrote: "I've read just under 20 of them, but it's curious to me what made and what did not make the list. It's very eclectic which is both good and bad.

For instance, The Bell Jar. I read it over 30 years..."

Read my post, immediately preceding yours, to learn the truth. :)

The group was formed around this list, The Bookmark. Everyone pretty much agrees that there are books that should be on the list but aren't, and books that are on the list but should not be. Did you notice that no author is repeated? It also can be argued that a listed book may not be that author's best work. Hemingway? Dickens?

So that's why we made our own list of 100, which was an impromptu process, and the same criticisms can be made of our own list.

My personal list of books everyone should read hasn't reached 50 yet, and it has some authors more than once.

My own list, top 26:

1 The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2 1984, by George Orwell
3 To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
4 Time Quake, by Kurt Vonnegut
5 A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
6 Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
7 On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
8 The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
9 Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
10 Doctor Faustus, by Thomas Mann
11 The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami
12 The Recognitions, by William Gaddis
13 Therese Raquin, by Emile Zola
14 Watership Down, by Richard Adams
15 In This Sign, by Joanne Greenberg
16 Messiah, by Gore Vidal
17 Jude The Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
18 The Trial, by Franz Kafka
19 Nausea, by Jean Paul Sartre
20 The Mezzanine, by Nicholson Baker
21 Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
22 Our Lady of the Flowers, Jean Genet
23 Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins
24 All the Names, by Jose Saramago
25 All that Glitters, by Thomas Tryon
26 Foucault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco

I have read 10. I have 6 on my bookshelf I haven't read but plan on reading.

I have read 47 of the 50. I haven't read the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings trilogy. I've also never read Memoirs of a Geisha.

Rosie wrote: "I have read 47 of the 50. I haven't read the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings trilogy. I've also never read Memoirs of a Geisha."

Congratulations Rosie, you're almost there. You only need to read eleven more books to cross off the last three. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is a must read. Definitely deserves to be on the list. Same for the Harry Potter series. Memoirs of a Geisha, eh, not bad.

I have read 10 books on the list. I have 6 of the books on my bookshelf to read. I recommend Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Frankinstein . They were my favorite books on the list.

I just thought I'd check my progress against the List of 50 Books. I've read 30/50. I'm going to be adding at least five of the twenty I haven't read to my 2017 reading list. However, i will NOT read Moby Dick. I started it once. Just can't do it (and I taught American Literature for twenty years). I'll just sub in another book by Melville. I also won't read The Color Purple, because of content that I cannot mentally handle. Not a big fan of Hemingway, but I can give him another try. Why is Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth not on this list? She did win a Nobel Prize for Literature, and I love her books. I'm planning on reading 65 books in 2017.

I've read 11 of the 50 books to read before you die. And that's not including the rest of the Harrry Potter books. I'm so familiar with Pride and Prejudice because of the A&E 6 hour long version that I feel like I have read the book. I started reading it and it was almost verbatim to the movie that I stopped.

I have read twenty of them. Hope to have the rest read in the next couple years.

Donna wrote: "I just thought I'd check my progress against the List of 50 Books. I've read 30/50. I'm going to be adding at least five of the twenty I haven't read to my 2017 reading list. However, i will NOT re..."

Hi Donna,
You can post your progress in the 'Everyone's Progress' folder, it's a good way to keep a tab on what you have read and gives everyone else a nosey too. Why don't you nominate Pearl S Buck's 'The Good Earth' in the Open Nominations folder for February's group read.

Christine

I have read 6 of the books, maybe a couple more, but that is so long ago they deserve a re-read. Some deserve an annual read, such as the Bible and Jane Eyre. I just love the prose of Jane Eyre. Some deserve a biannual re-read. The Jane Austen books fall into this category.

Even if only 6 of the 50 have been read, I read a lot. This list is a nice guide of what should be worthwhile reading.

I have read 28/50

I have read 7 out of the fifty of these. That being said I have read many more of these same authors. Like I haven't fully completed Hamlet but I have King Lear, R and J, Midsummer, and some other works of Shakespeare. Hemingway is one of my fav authors, but I haven't read the book of his on this list. There are several others like that on this list. Then there are the ones that I started and just never got around to finishing. Those are books we were supposed to read in high school that I skimmed the book, got the overall meaning and faked the best book reports and papers you ever saw. I am definitely wanting to go back and reread those books like Lord of the Flies, Heart of Darkness, ...

I have read all of the books except Anne Frank's, which I'm just starting. Before starting this list I had only read one Steinbeck, 'Of Mice and Men', he has now become a favourite author for me. The Hemingway book for me wasn't his best. How it made the list is beyond me, however, any list like this is very subjective. Who made up the list and what was on their mind at the time, who knows?

I've enjoyed reading them all for different reasons and I will read many of them again, Rebecca, Birdsong, Jane Eyre. Ulysses by James Joyce was mind boggling but I might be persuaded to give that another read. My least favourites were Catch 22 and Men without Women.

What Christine said.

When I joined this group I had read 13 of the books, and now I have finished. There are no more than one book for any author, and for Hemingway, for some unknown reason, his best didn't make the list. And for me also, Steinbeck has become a favorite author.

I've read 11 and I would quickly recommend " The Catcher In the Rye"

I want to read The Log from the Sea of Cortez by Steinbeck. I've read Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath - the latter in German. I never noticed that I've read all these books by Steinbeck.

Tanja wrote: "I want to read The Log from the Sea of Cortez by Steinbeck. I've read Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath - the latter in German. I never noticed that I've read all these books b..."

The Log from the Sea of Cortez is about a trip Steinbeck made with his dear friend Ed Ricketts. At the end of it you will find Appendix: About Ed Ricketts. This is a good precursor to Cannery Row, whose main character is based on Ed Ricketts. Sweet Thursday, the sequel to Cannery Row, is similar in style to Tortilla Flat, but better, IMHO.

Janet's list: I am going to try tracking this here.

25 / 50
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 F. Scott Fitzgerald
√ 13 The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
√ 14 The Bell Jar by Sylvia 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 Faulks
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 Carroll
√ 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 Color Purple by Alice Walker
√ 37 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
√ 38 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
39 The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
40 Man without Women 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 Cuckoo´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 (less)

Janet wrote: "Janet's list: I am going to try tracking this here.

25 / 50
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..."

Hi Janet

We have a place just for this called Everyone's Progress. Here is a link to it: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

You can start a topic "Janet's Progress" or something similar and then easily keep track of it as you read more of the list.

Thank you for the help. I tried to do this, but its says I can't post until I confirm my email. I don't see where I do that, and it just cancels my post. Any advice?

Janet wrote: "Thank you for the help. I tried to do this, but its says I can't post until I confirm my email. I don't see where I do that, and it just cancels my post. Any advice?"

That's odd. But you had no trouble posting to this topic. It's not a group thing. It must be Goodreads. Check your eamil and see if you got a confirmation email you have to respond to, or click on a link letting the sender know you received it. That's not an uncommon practice when you first join a website. Aside from that, I'm stumped.

I'm Alberto. I'm new around. Hello to everybody.
Of these I've read , 1984, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lord of the Flies, The Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World, Don Quixote, The Bible, Rebecca, On the Road, Heart of Darkness, Frankenstein, The War of the Worlds, Gulliver´s Travels, Robinson Crusoe, One flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest, Catch 22(currently reading it) , The Count of Monte Cristo and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
My favorites and the ones I recommend are Grapes of Warth, To Kill A Mockingbird (a favorite of mine), On The Road, 1984 and War Of Worlds. Well, I read those last two some 30 years ago and I know I liked them, but I'm not sure I'd do it if read them today.
Rebecca, Count Of Montecristo and One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest are the ones I liked the less. Actually I didn't like them, although they made great films.

33/50. I would recommend all of them, but perhaps the least favorite would be Gulliver´s Travels and the Great Gatsby. 1984, The Grapes of Wrath, and Memoirs of a Geisha top the list.

I just joined today. This sounds like a good group to belong to and it appears you also select books to read which are not on the "50" list. Of the books on the list, I've read 32 (more if you count those with several titles included as in the series/trilogies). The ones I've not read are
8. A Passage to India
11. A Bend in the River
17. Don Quixote
19. The Canterbury Tales
20. Ulysses
21. The Quiet American
22. Birdsong
23. Money
24. Harry Potter series (Have read the first two and watched all the films, but I do not judge a book by its movie.)
25. His Dark Materials trilogy
33. Heart of Darkness
34. The Way We Live Now
35. The Outsider
39. The War of the Worlds
40. Men Without Women
47. The Count of Monte Cristo
48. Memoirs of a Geisha
49. The Divine Comedy
Several of the books on the list I've read more than once; I enjoyed them that much. I call those books "repeaters." Other books, I didn't enjoy at all, like "The Great Gatsby" and "On the Road." I enjoy being part of a reading group because I get to be in a community of people who also like to read, but may have opinions on the same books which are oceans apart.

Hi Paula, and welcome.

Each month we read and discuss the next book in sequence on the list of 50. We vote on the next book to read from the list of 100, which we compiled ourselves, and we vote on a book to read from open nominations. If you'd like to keep track, we have a place for that, too: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Just joining...
24/50. The least favorite book to read will be The Great Gatsby. Looking forward to reading 1984, A Passage to India and Memoirs of a Geisha.

I loved Memoirs of a Geisha and saw the movie as well. The latter was not particularly well received but I thought it did the book justice. The Great Gatsby is flawed, highly controversial and widely misunderstood. Scott Fitzgerald is at his best and worst in this novel. His eloquence is extraordinary, but the limitations of the characterization is hardly worthy of an allegedly major author. There´s also a limitation to the depth of philosophy in the novel, despite his pointed insights. It´s a real mish mash of a novel-an Icarus endeavor that got singed by its upper elements. There are more than a dozen message threads about the novel on GR attesting to its controversial and elevated rank among America´s literary best.

32/50.
Worst were
Ulysses
The Great Gatsby


Best was LORD OF THE FLIES