Read 30 Books Before 30

1/2/2016 30 Books Everyone Must Read Before They Turn 30
Sep 29, 2015 at 14:02
30 Books Everyone Must Read Before

They Turn 30
by Manimanjari Sengupta
  
The sound of the parchment and their warmth inducing fragrance, the
feeling of holdingand savouring our favourite works of literature, are
possibly the most reassuring experiences in the drudgery that life is. Books
are an escape, a guiding light through life, our constant companions in the
discovery of our own selves and the beauty that our world holds.
While it is absolutely impossible to list down all the

enthralling novels that have been penned by the
thousands of brilliant minds that have come before
us, this is an attempt to enlist some of the most
essential works of literature that we have been
graced with, in no particular order of preference.
1. Animal Farm
A deceptively simple tale, George Orwell wrote this in 1943 as an attack

against the darker side of Communism. Animal Farm is about an animal
uprising; written in the style of a fable, this satirical masterpiece has some
deep connotations. This brilliant novella is a perfect treatise on our society
and will give you an understanding of the role of power in society and how
it corrupts those who are in possession of it.
http://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/books-everyone-must-read/ 1/18
2. The Little Prince
Essentially a book written for children, The Little Prince is more for grown
ups who remember being children. It is an ode to magic and innocence. As
the Prince lands on the earth from his asteroid, a charming tale of love and
loss unfolds, which will leave you feeling ecstatic and strangely
heartbroken at the same time. Going back to The Little Prince as an adult
will hit a spot, I promise.
3. The Kite Runner
Set in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini's debut novel is bound to leave you

deeply affected. The rawness with which Hosseini deals with abuse,
violence, neglect, suicide, and terrorism will leave you with a hole in your
heart, in the best possible way. It is a beautiful, haunting and powerful tale
of friendship; one that you won't forget in a lifetime.
4. To Kill A Mockingbird
Hailed as 'The American Novel' To Kill A Mockingbird is about having the

courage to stand by your convictions. Narrated through the ingenuous
eyes of a child, this novel explores the importance of integrity and duty
when faced with intolerance and injustice. With a message of anti-racism
at its core, Harper Lee breaks down stereotypes with finesse and teaches a
thing or two about being respectful to our fellow human beings.
5. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger's classic The Catcher in the Rye has always been ever so
relatable since it's publication in the 50s. 16-year-old Holden Caulfield and
his antics have since been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Salinger
captures the essence of teenage angst and alienation with an edgy
narrative and through Holden's constant wry observations.
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6. One Hundred Years of Solitude

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One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of six generations of the
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of quirks, ancient
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mysteries, family secrets and peculiar contradictions culminates into
Following one of
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7. The Diary of a Young Girl Tech Freak
A very unusual document in the field of Holocaust literature, Anne Frank's

LIFE
diary depicts an oddly optimistic tale of one of the darkest
57periods of
Mesmerizing
Poems
history. Filled with quiet moments of happiness, the thirteen yearByold
Rupi Kaur
girl's
That Explore The True
Meaning
diary documents the budding of a precious life. It is fascinating Of equally
and Love, Life
& Loss
heartbreaking to read about the unfolding of events in her life, and we are
LIFE
indeed fortunate to have been privy to a perfectly intimate record of youth.
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8. On the Road
This roller coaster of a book follows Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty on
their journey across North America in their quest for self-knowledge and
experience, fuelled by poetry, jazz and drug use. This classic novel on
freedom and longing is a definitive work of what constitutes the Beat
Generation.
9. Anna Karenina
While it might seem excruciatingly long, Tolstoy's evocative narrative will

keep you hooked to this intricate tale of the politics of relationships and
love. You will find yourself feeling deeply involved in the worlds and minds
of the complex characters. Anna Karenina' s triumph lies not just in
Tolstoy's impeccable and heartbreaking portrayal of the protagonist and
the stark drama of her fate, but in it's exploration of the deepest questions
about how to live a fulfilled life.
10. Ulysses
Hailed as being blasphemous in its initial years of publication, Irish author

James Joyce's Ulysses is a modernist masterpiece. Ulysses is the
Latinised name of Odysseus , the hero of Homer 's epic poem Odyssey ,
and the novel establishes a series of parallels between its characters and
events and those of the poem. The narrative unfolds in a stream of
consciousness technique and we become privy to the thoughts, emotions
and memories of the characters in the novel.
11. 1984
This brilliant novel is one that dwells on dystopia and is startlingly original
and haunting. George Orwell creates an imaginary world with his prophetic,
nightmarish vision of where the world is headed. Orwell's writing is so
visceral, it will leave you feeling intrigued and disturbed at the same time,
in the best possible way.
12. The Bell jar
The Bell Jar is a key text of Anglo-American feminism and focuses on a

woman's struggles with her identity in the face of social pressure. This
powerful semi-autobiographical novel by Sylvia Plath is the only novel she
wrote during her lifetime. It is an intensely emotional and palpably real
narration of Esther Greenwood's downward spiral into the grips of insanity.
13. Midnight's Children
In Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie deals with the portrayal of India's

vast cultural identity in the post-colonial times laced with magic realism,
and he does so with elan. The narrative traces the course of Saleem's life
which is inextricably linked with that of his motherland, and every act of his
is mirrored in the events that shape the newborn nation of India. The
beautiful and complex language that Rushdie employs in his novel brings
to life the curious characters and lush imagery.
14. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Most definitely one of the funniest, if not THE funniest work of science
fiction, Douglas Adams' space odyssey is a wonderfully clever piece of
literature. Replete with impish-wit, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
is extremely well-written and provides an enchanting commentary on the
human condition. What is a characteristic quality of this roller coaster of a
novel is a beautiful absurdity that is tinged with mystery, whimsy, and
oodles of wonder.
15. Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds

History
Another brilliantly penned Holocaust memoir, Art Spiegelman's

masterpiece is the story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son,
a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history
itself. The fact that it is a graphic novel brings to life the atrocities of the
time- you’re not only reading, but almost watching, the Holocaust. Jews
depicted as mice, Germans as cats, this is a poignant story of surviving the
Holocaust and life afterwards.
16. Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi's autobiography is a timeless story of growing up amidst

an oppressive misogynistic extremist regime during the Islamic Revolution.
It is a humorous and haunting memoir and the brilliant graphics capture the
myriad of emotions and experiences she goes through in her tryst with a
world where all children are forced to grow up.
17. A Farewell to Arms
Hemingway's war memoir is at the same time poetic, idyllic and tragic. An
expose of the horrors of World War I, A Farewell to Arms is a moving and
beautiful book about love and war.
18. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The first of Maya Angelou's series of autobiographies, I Know Why the

Caged Bird Sings is a social record of a young black female growing up in
America in the 1930s. It is a raw and powerful coming of age story with
the backdrop of racism, violence against women and the problem of
identity.
19. Vernon God Little
DBC Pierre's debut novel is a postmodern version of Catcher in the Rye.

Replete with wry humour, Vernon God Little is Pierre's assessment of
American pop culture and is barely about a school shooting as it appears
to be on the outset. This book has the very rare quality of simultaneously
being wildly funny and startlingly meaningful.
20. Infinite Jest
David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest is a philosophical quest with a just the
right amount of funny. Uniquely American, this book is about how our
desires are moderated and mediated by culture. It explores the passions
that make us human and the extent to which entertainment has come to
dominate our lives.
21. The Brothers Karamazov
Dostoyevsky's genius shines through in this dense work of philosophy

disguised as a simple murder mystery. The plot revolves around the lives of
three brothers and how they evolve and deal with their struggles based on
their differing world views.The enthralling prose of The Brothers Karamazov
captures a spiritual drama of moral struggles concerning faith, doubt, and
reason, set against a modernizing Russia.
22. Everything is Illuminated
In his debut novel Jonathan Safran Foer fuses slapstick humour with a
palpable melancholy that looms through the course of the novel, to give
you an exhilarating tale of friendship, love and most importantly, loneliness.
Foer's clever narrative, and the bizarre and heartrending unfolding of
events makes Everything is Illuminated one of the most touching narration
of stories revolving around the Holocaust.
23. Catch 22
Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is the story of a US airman's attempts to survive

the madness of the Second World War, shortly after returning from the
conflict himself. Using satire, black humour and seemingly undefeatable
logic, the book brings to light the apparent madness of the modern world.
24. Three Men in a Boat
What was intended to be a travel guide to a boat trip on the river Thames,
Three Men in a Boat is an amusing account of three friends, and their dog,
on a boating expedition. Narrated in a Wodehouse-esque style, Jerome K
Jerome's classic is replete with misadventures and sheer silliness and will
leave you pleasantly happy by the end of it.
25. The Time Machine
The Time Machine is one of the earliest popular works of science fiction
and is a brilliant commentary on the themes of evolution of the human race
and the prevailing class structures. A prophecy of social doom, in this
brilliant novella, H. G. Wells uses the motif of time travel to highlight the
glaring divide between the rich and the poor in Victorian England.
26. A Brief History of Time
In A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes , Stephen
Hawking provides an insight into the mystique that is the universe we
inhabit. Replete with physics and philosophy, one of the most fascinating
scientists of our time has given us an enthralling historical overview of
cosmology. In his attempt at explaining the world as we know it, while
simultaneously raising pertinent questions, Hawking has awakened our
minds and made accessible the treasures of science and the knowledge of
the universe.
27. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is the
tale of a boy detective who lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in
his pocket. Narrated from the point of view of a fifteen year old with
Asperger's Syndrome, the author provides an insight into the emotional
and moral confusion in the lives of the adults around him with the help of
the narrator's innocence.
28. The Book Thief
The Book Thief tells the story of Leisel, a young German girl who comes of
age during World War II. It is narrated by Death, who has a personality of
his own and is constantly trying to understand the human race. The story
unfolds with lively humour and you will find yourself wrapped within some
of the richest descriptions of one of the most horrific times in recent
history. An unusual take on the Holocaust, it is an unforgettable story about
the ability of books to enrich the soul.
29. Trainspotting
Written in the Scottish dialect, Irvine Welsh's genius novel is a trip in its
own right. It revolves around Mark Renton, an intelligent, somewhat bitter
and philosophical junkie, who in between trying to quit heroin, muses
about the meaning of life and the pleasures and pain of being a
junkie. Trainspotting is a brilliant, haunting and hilarious story about a
group of Scottish junkies- binge drinking, shooting up in squalid
apartments, random sex, and their attempts at a normal life.
30. The Trial
In this haunting novel, Franz Kafka presents a bleak world where a once
respectable bank clerk is suddenly prosecuted for apparently no reason at
all, and does not even have the benefit of an effective lawyer to represent
him. The Trial is deeply thought-provoking in its uncomfortable
presentation of a world where people are observed by the secret police
and suddenly arrested, reflecting the social turmoil in Europe around the
time Kafka wrote it in 1914.
Disclaimer: Yes, I am well aware that I have not included the Harry Potter
series, or Lord of The Rings, and there just isn't enough of Marquez, Kafka,
Huxley or even Murakami. And I really really want to recommend The
Mahabharata. But you see, that's the thing about books. You can never
have an exhaustive compilation of literature that you must experience.
So many books, so little time.

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1/2/2016 30 Books Everyone Must Read Before They Turn 30

Sep 29, 2015 at 14:02

30 Books Everyone Must Read Before

While it is absolutely impossible to list down all the

A deceptively simple tale, George Orwell wrote this in 1943 as an attack

2. The Little Prince

3. The Kite Runner

Set in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini's debut novel is bound to leave you

Hailed as 'The American Novel' To Kill A Mockingbird is about having the

5. The Catcher in the Rye

6. One Hundred Years of Solitude

A very unusual document in the ﬁeld of Holocaust literature, Anne Frank's

While it might seem excruciatingly long, Tolstoy's evocative narrative will

Hailed as being blasphemous in its initial years of publication, Irish author

12. The Bell jar

The Bell Jar is a key text of Anglo-American feminism and focuses on a

13. Midnight's Children

In Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie deals with the portrayal of India's

14. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

15. Maus, I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds

Another brilliantly penned Holocaust memoir, Art Spiegelman's

Marjane Satrapi's autobiography is a timeless story of growing up amidst

17. A Farewell to Arms

18. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The ﬁrst of Maya Angelou's series of autobiographies, I Know Why the

19. Vernon God Little

DBC Pierre's debut novel is a postmodern version of Catcher in the Rye.

20. Inﬁnite Jest

21. The Brothers Karamazov

Dostoyevsky's genius shines through in this dense work of philosophy

22. Everything is Illuminated

Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is the story of a US airman's attempts to survive

24. Three Men in a Boat

25. The Time Machine

26. A Brief History of Time

27. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

28. The Book Thief

30. The Trial

So many books, so little time.

authors books Inspiration inspired Literature

Get more stuff like this in your inbox.

Share This Article

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30 Of The Most Powerful 18 Times Ranveer Singh Was

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You May Also Like

10 Books That Were 11 Desi Versions Of Brace Yourselves

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© ScoopWhoop Media Pvt Ltd

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