30 Books to Read Before You Die (Pt. 21)

Told you, didn't I?

We're nowhere near finished with these lists and yet, we've already been through so much together. I find that there are more good books than bad books out there. But the ones you want to read you also have to be willing to look for. It's like finding a needle in a haystack if your haystack isn't hay, instead it's made out of needles. Find the shiniest needle and you've hit the jackpot. At the moment, I'm actually sipping a cup of tea and reading some books by Jean-Paul Sartre. I don't really like Sartre that much, but I have to read this book in order to understand an aspect of modern philosophy I've been struggling with since I tried reading it in school.

Books are always a good source of entertainment though, as well as clearing things up that you didn't fully understand. If I don't understand something I really want to learn, I just read a book about it. Do I want to understand the history of the Bourbon Kings of France? Then I read the book The Bourbon Kings of France by Desmond Seward. How about understanding the social injustice surrounding the music scene in mid-twentieth century America? Then I wanna read Dream Boogie by Peter Guralnick. Would I like to learn about the Kennedy Assassination? Well, as many books as there are, I think I'll choose Flip de Mey's Cold Case Kennedy for myself. There's so many books that can teach you things. But books are also a form of relaxation and entertainment. I feel that people often forget that part.

If I don't want to "learn" things and I don't want to keep opening my mind to different situations—if I would like to relax, take a breather and get on with life afterwards. I want to disappear into a different world. Fantasy books are normally great for this. I think that it could possibly be proven that mental disorders like depression and anxiety could be treated (not solved, treated) by reading fantasy novels. For example: before my university examinations, I was very anxious, so I put away all my Shakespeare and the night before, I read Charlie N Holmberg's Paper Magician series. Yes, I read three books in one night (they're pretty short and yet completely immersive as an experience). The Paper Magician is probably one of my favourite fantasy books out there, and it was able to calm my mind and take my away from the present world for a short time. It really helped a lot. I thank Charlie N Holmberg for creating such a world in which Ceony Twill and Emery Thane can calm my anxiety (they're characters from the book!).

But enough about me.

Let's get on with it. You know how it is. I'll put a (*) next to my personal favourites, talk about some meaningful and memorable experiences reading the books and we'll all have a great time. Remember, I never put in books I haven't read, so if you think of anything you haven't seen on the lists, then don't be scared to tell me what it is. Chances are, I haven't discovered it yet! Or, we probably haven't got there and you're thinking ahead. So let's begin, number 601 to 630...

601-610

601. The Caravaggio Enigma by Peter Robb*

602. Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh

603. Selected Poetry by Rumi

604. The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory*

605. 'The Return of the Native' by Thomas Hardy

I was so lucky that I read this book, Desperate Remedies and The Woodlanders amongst other lesser known Thomas Hardy novels. To be honest, at the time of reading them, I didn't really see much of their importance. They just sounded like shorter bits and pieces of what he had already written into Tess, Jude and Far From the Madding Crowd. But recently, I found out what the importance of reading them was. I recently finished reading Life With a Capital L by DH Lawrence, and if you want to read it too, then I suggest that you first read all the shorter Thomas Hardy novels. Why? Well because DH Lawrence spends a great deal of time in Chapter 3 of the book talking about them! If you haven't read the shorter Hardy novels and would like to read the DH Lawrence book, then read the Hardy novels first—it'll make the whole experience of Life with a Capital L far easier to understand.

606. Scoot by Evelyn Waugh

607. The Collected Poems of Robert Frost*

608. Judas by Amos Oz

609. The Praise Singer by Mary Renault

610. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

611-620

611. The Sport of Kings by C.E Morgan

612. The Marriage of Figaro by Pierre Beaumarchais*

613. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker*

614. The Optician of Lampedusa by Emma Jane Kirby

615. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami

616. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

617. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes

618. Swing Time by Zadie Smith*

619. Orphans at the Carnival by Carol Birch*

620. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

621-630

621. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe

622. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

623. The Selected Poems of Lord Byron*

624. Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford

625. Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves

626. The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

627. Austerlitz by WG Sebald

628. Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud*

629. Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre

630. Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw