30 Books to Read Before You Die (Pt. 18)
Numbers 511-540
Reading is the most rewarding activity in the world and there are many people who enjoy it—including you and I—thus, we've found a common ground. As I have always said, I don't really care what you like reading, as long as it's a good book. The good book can be Ancient Greek Mythology, or it can be a comic book about Batman fighting the Joker. The good book can be anything from Hesiod to Jack Kerouac, from Shakespeare to Salinger, or even Voltaire to Virginia Woolf.
We've been through many books throughout the course of this series, and we aren't even done yet. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am, and I also hope that you've found at least one new thing to read from my lists. I never ever put anything on my lists that I haven't read myself, and so, everything you see on the lists has been tried and tested by me to begin with. At the moment, I'm actually working my way through any of the Penguin Modern Classics collection I haven't touched on.
So far, we've covered a ton of books, and I want to say thank you for sticking with me if you're still around. I'd also like to say hello to the folks who've just joined us in the middle! There's nothing wrong with joining at any point in the timeline for these are books that can change your life in any order.
Like I have said a million times (and really, I should just copy and paste this now but I don't for some reason)—my personal favourites will be marked with an (*) and I will speak about some of the books intermittently. The books I'll talk about normally have some sort of memorable experience behind them that I consider to be important to my own memory of the book itself. I always love reading experiences, they do place the book in your own timeline of life, and that makes it extra special! Well, without further introduction, it's time for numbers 511-540!
511-520
511. The Nobel Lecture by Bob Dylan*
512. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
513. Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
514. How Late it Was, How Late by James Kelman
515. 'I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream' by Harlan Ellison*
This book admittedly scared the hell out of me when I first read it, and in the best way possible. Normally, in contemporary horror you get the usual ghosts, ghouls, supernatural curses, telekinesis things, and if you go any older than that, you get Dracula, Frankenstein and the gang. But, in I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream you get a cyberpunk horror that is literally written for the modern age. The ending is so damn twisted and dark and yet, it sums up what technology is doing to us on a day-by-day basis. It's one of the greatest modern stories out there, and I think it should be required reading for anyone who wants to study the intricacies of creating an effective piece of horror.
516. The Selected Works of Andrew Marvell
517. The History of the Church by Eusebius
518. Voltaire in Love by Nancy Mitford
519. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
520. 'The Early Stories' by Truman Capote*
I loved this book so much. I don't think I have read something so good by Truman Capote since I read In Cold Blood as a young girl. I must've been about 13 or 14 when I first read In Cold Blood and yet, it was only this year that I had read the Early Stories. Truman Capote's writing genius comes through so much in this very (as I can only call) Shirley-Jackson-blended-with-Evelyn-Waugh style fiction. To be honest, I actually read the entire book in about three hours, because I actually could not put it down. My favourite story in the book? Miss Belle Rankin. It's so provocative and dark, and yet, it is absolutely fascinating and filled with existential philosophy. It's one you need to read more than once to really get it so be careful!
521-530
521. Life with a Capital L by DH Lawrence*
522. Despair by Vladimir Nabokov*
523. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
524. The Lusiads by Luis Vaz de Camoes
525. Brewster's Millions by George McCutcheon
526. The Devil Finds Work by James Baldwin
527. Nabokov's Dozen by Vladimir Nabokov
528. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
529. Tales from the Underworld by Hans Fallada
530. Lonesome Traveler by Jack Kerouac
531-540
531. Nikolai Gogol by Vladimir Nabokov
532. A Short History of Decay by EM Cioran*
533. The Collected Short Stories of Jean Rhys
534. The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories
535. The Blue Room by George Simenon
536. The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
537. The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
538. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche
539. Me by Katharine Hepburn*
540. By Myself and Then Some by Lauren Bacall*
About the Creator
Annie Kapur
190K+ Reads on Vocal.
English Lecturer
🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)
🎓Film & Writing (M.A)
🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)
📍Birmingham, UK
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