a disclaimer for the following post: i wrote this at a time when i was incredibly insecure. i felt incompetent in many areas of my life, and you can see that reflected in the books i chose to include in my list. although i did not lie (i really did enjoy all of the books on the list), these are not books that i think everyone should read. most of them did not change my life; they were good literature, and nothing more. i have grown up a little bit since making the list, and i recognize now how immature it was to make this list of books everyone βshouldβ read, in an attempt to sound educated and feel intelligent. iβm not going to delete the list, because it does have some really good books on it, but life is too short to read books out of a sense of obligation. so either read these because you want to, or read something else instead :)
20 books everyone needs to read at least once because people will reference them in front of you your entire life:
βthe faerie queene,β by edmund spenser. this poem is both an epic and an allegory, written in (mostly) iambic pentameter. it is divided up into six books (plus a little bit of a seventh) which you should read, if for no other reason than the fact that thereβs supposedly an exclusive book club at harvard university for the select few people who have finished all six sections
βromeo and juliet,β and βothello,β both by shakespeare. these plays both involve two lovers who die because of communication issues. and theyβre both super important to read because there are so many references to them, both in other pieces of classic lit., and in modern culture
βthe picture of dorian gray,β by oscar wilde. if you canβt tell, this is my favorite book ever. if you can get past the purple prose, itβs one of the most βdark academiaβ books ever. itβs got references to other famous pieces of literature (which iβll include on the list), lots of gay shit, a dramatic young adult who loves shakespeare, and ofc, murder
βthe brothers karamazov,β by fyodor dostoevsky. actually started reading this one to impress a boy; i think that perhaps he and i have different concepts of what is considered impressive, but the book has turned out amazing, so iβm happy. it has lots of wonderful philosophical and theological discussions. the one thing you may not like is that Dostoevsky constantly goes off on little tangents (like Herodotus). it simultaneously fascinates me and makes me want to smack him with a stick
βthe prince,β by niccolo machiavelli. this isnβt classic literature so much as it is political science, but honestly, so many people talk about βmachiavellianismβ without ever having read the original Machiavellian treatise, and it would be so much better to just read the book and then be able to cite machiavelli himself at your next political-philosophy discussion.
βthe canterbury tales,β by geoffrey chaucer. these are classics. theyβre filled to the brim with medieval language and sexual innuendo, but thatβs part of what makes them so wonderful. if thatβs not enough of a selling point, βthe tale of the deathly hallowsβ from βharry potterβ is super similar to βthe pardonerβs taleβ from this book.
βthe divine comedy,β by dante alighieri. includes a crap ton of great history references and some super sick burns directed towards the corrupt people of danteβs time.
βmeditations,β by marcus aurelius. the original metaphysical journal. probably the epitome of βlight academiaβ if iβve ever read one
βthe great gatsby,β by f. scott fitzgerald. jay gatsby is low-key super relatableβ¦and so is nick, the third wheelβ¦and so is daisy, who feels like women are forced by society to be βbeautiful little foolsβ
βthe iliadβ and βthe odyssey,β by homer. i will never ever be able to read βthe iliadβ again without sobbing hysterically. :β((
βfrankenstein,β by mary shelley. not only is this a great book in terms of philosophical potential, but there are so many great things to debate about in it. and, itβs written by a woman :)
βoedipus rex,β by sophocles. my favorite book in 9th grade, though god knows why my mother let me read it then
βmetamorphoses,β by ovid. a collection of my all-time favorite myths, which every single person needs to read because it explains how the ancient romans believed the world operated, from the way the sun rises, to the reason we hear echoes.
βthe aeneid,β by virgil. suggested by @catilinas :) the final addition to the holy iliad/odyssey/aeneid trinity, written hundreds of years after the last part, by a different author, and in latin instead of the original greek. chronologically ocurrs at about the same time as the odyssey, although from the trojan perspective.
β1984β (suggested by @alexickotowaffle) and βanimal farm,β both by george orwell. iβm sticking them together because although the plots are completely different, they both remind me of todayβs culture in rather unfortunate ways. but theyβre very well written, and i do adore orwellβs style :)
βdon quixote,β by miguel de cervantes. an absolutely hysterical book; i kept laughing out loud the entire time i was reading it. it satirizes getting wrapped up in the world of books, to which iβm sure we can all relate.
βhamlet,β by william shakespeare. finally crossed this off of my βto readβ list and i absolutely loved it. hamratio (is that the ship name for hamlet x horatio?) is wonderful, the whole play is excellent, and i would highly recommend it
sugurugetos
stormborns
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
