30 Books to Read Before You Die (Pt. 10)

We are now at the tenth part of this series, and though this is a good round number, don't think we'll be ending with this part. No, we'll be moving on to part 11 very soon. For now though, I want you to appreciate how far we've come. We've been through everything from Ancient Greek plays to 19th Century Philosophy, from John Milton to Jack Kerouac and beyond, we've come from the 20th century and made it into the eras of the BC centuries. We have literally been here, there and everywhere when it comes to literature.

I genuinely enjoy reading more than any activity in the world. There is nothing greater than a great book and having it with you wherever you go. Most places I go, I take my book with me because of the fact I develop an attachment to it. Especially if it's one of my favourite books that I'm re-reading. There is nothing wrong with re-reading a book, whatever the reason. It could be that you didn't fully understand a particular thing the first time around, or it could simply to be able to relive that world again, something of enjoyment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with reading a book over and over again as long as you get something from it each time you do.

Well, I know that you know by now that I would never ever include a book I haven't read for myself on these lists because that would be counter-productive to what I'm trying to achieve. What is it I'm trying to achieve? A mutual ground between me and you on a reading level. If you read any one of these books on any one of these lists, then we automatically share a common ground, and that's really what I'm looking for.

As always, my favourites will be marked with a (*) and I will speak intermittently about a few that I have fond memories of. So, let's get on with the tenth part of the series!

These are numbers 271 to 300...

271-280

271. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

272. Just Kids by Patti Smith

273. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell*

274. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

275. The Stranger by Albert Camus

276. A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

277. The Symposium by Plato

278. Candide by Voltaire

279. Letters from a Stoic by Seneca*

280. Utopia by Thomas More

281-290

281. Poetics by Aristotle*

282. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

283. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

284. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

285. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

286. The Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass*

287. 'The Invisible Man' by HG Wells*

I read this book when I was sixteen and the first thing I thought was: did I really just read what I think I read? This book, to me, was much more than just a sci-fi novel, as most HG Wells novels are. This book questions human morality, the sort of animalistic impulses that Wells is more famous for putting into his works like The Island of Dr. Moreau and War of the Worlds. I could never imagine that this book, of all of them, could get as dark as the others. From first glance and upon reading the first few pages—it seems harmless. But, by the end of the book, the story has taken a turn for the tragic, and that's the amazing thing that only Wells can do properly. It is a truly great experience to read.

288. The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier

289. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

290. The Rover by Aphra Behn*

291-300

291. The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster*

292. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory*

293. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare*

294. The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

295. 'The Lady of the Rivers' by Philippa Gregory*

Possibly one of my favourite novels by Philippa Gregory, I did some of my sixth form coursework on this book. A beautiful novel about Jacquetta Woodville, it spans her life out in a series of diary entries and events that took place in first person (something rarely seen in historical novels). My favourite scene, the one I always love to read whenever I re-read this book, is the one where Jacquetta Woodville meets Joan of Arc whilst Joan is in prison. It's a beautiful and brilliantly narrated scene. It has such great emotion and yet, is not even that long. It's a very powerful scene, and I would really recommend reading the book just to experience that particular scene.

296. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

297. Canzoniere by Petrarch

298. 'Haunted Castles' by Ray Russell*

I was reading this book in the car whilst going somewhere like the beach or something like that. I had only just started the book, but after about an hour I was already towards the end of the first, say third, of the book. To be honest, there was a story, the first one, called "Sardonicus," which was so horrible it made me actually put the book down for a while and try to occupy myself. It was pretty unexpected and pretty sadistic. Even though it was dark, it had definitely drawn on influences from Hugo's The Man Who Laughs in order to get it just right.

299. The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell

300. Ring by Koji Suzuki