30 Books to Read Before You Die (Pt.5)

There are still so many books to get through, and as we speak I have created more and more as a part of my list that is ever-expanding. I love this journey you're coming on with me through various books that you should definitely add to your reading list for those you want to read before you die.

The whole point of my list is that it is accessible. It is not filled with links and pictures, it is simply the books, and various bits and pieces of information. A quick read, I hope I give you some ideas of what you can add to your own lists, and what to read next. Again, I never put anything on these lists that I haven't read myself. If you can think of a book I haven't mentioned yet, it's probably because I haven't read it, or it hasn't come up in the list. Don't hesitate to mention a recommendation to me if you think of something (my social media handles are in the bio). But most of all, I hope these lists are inspiring you to at least take up more reading.

We're on numbers 121-150 now, and that means, we've hit our fifth part of the series. Just a reminder of how these lists go. I'll go through the thirty books and speak about some intermittently with tiny anecdotes, or explain why they are particularly poignant. I will also mark my personal favourites with (*), and maybe speak about them as well. Be that as it may, I don't want to overload you with masses of information and large summaries—I'm going to make it as interesting and relevant as I can.

Let's get on with part five of our series then...

121-130

121. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

122. The Orestian Plays by Aeschylus

123. The Epic of Gilgamesh* by [Unknown]

124. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens*

125. The Leopard by Tomasi de Lampedusa

126. Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

127. The Complete Tales by The Brothers Grimm

128. I, Claudius by Robert Graves

129. Lysistrata by Aristophanes*

130. 'The Bacchae' by Euripides

The amazing story of Dionysus becoming vengeful upon the act of slander in Thebes is one of the most incriminating pieces of evidence that blasphemy was well punished in Ancient Greece. In this play, based upon a very well-known myth, Dionysus comes to destroy King Pentheus. With everything from ripping people apart, sticking heads on pikes, and drinking lots of wine—there are many great reasons to read and enjoy this play. Personally, it is my favourite Ancient Greek Play, and to my chances, my favourite podcast (literatureandhistory.com) released their episode on "The Bacchae" on the morning of my 21st Birthday. It was only by chance, but it was a lovely present!

131-140

131. The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa*

132. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

133. The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

134. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

135. Le Morte D'Arthur by Thomas Malory*

136. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

137. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene*

138. 'Billy Budd, Sailor' by Herman Melville

Okay, so not a complete novel, but instead a short novella. This book was something I read whilst in school, and I was absolutely taken by it. All the symbolism of religion may be pretty obvious, but the theme of vengeance isn't so easy to see first time around. I love the characters, and how they are in direct opposition to each other, how Billy Budd has one certain downfall (which I won't tell you). But it's one of those books that will leave you thinking "if the novella ended right there, then why is there another 100 or so pages?" It's absolutely brilliantly written, and so damn clever that I feel sorry for Melville that he didn't publish it in his lifetime. It would have been a huge success.

139. The Book Thief by Markus Zusack

140. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

141-150

141. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke

142. The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch*

143. 'The Executioner's Song' by Norman Mailer*

I found out about this book through someone who was selling it online, and all I could think was, "that's way too long for me to read right now, I'm trying to write my dissertation..." But, in the end, I caved in and bought it anyway. I was going through a huge true crime phase, and had just finished reading Flip de Mey's Cold Case Kennedy, and a bit of Jeff Guinn (also when I say dissertation, I mean MA not BA). The Executioner's Song was definitely one of the better ones I'd read, and possibly one of those books which could, in description and research, present rivalry for Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I said it could present rivalry, it is by no means better than.

The one thing The Executioner's Song does have is brilliant writing technique. It is written so well that you couldn't possibly believe it actually happened. How could Gary Gilmore be that human, yet that inhumane? And the final question, like In Cold Blood, stands as: is that aspect of character within all of us? Mailer's greatest book gives us true crime like we have never seen, pieces together by researching interviews and holding his own; his magnum opus was definitely this very book. It doesn't matter how long it is, just read it, and you'll see what I mean. It is fascinating from start to finish.

144. The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells*

145. The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

146. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover*

147. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

148. Call it Sleep by Henry Roth*

149. Blindness by Jose Saramago

150. Breakfast on Pluto by Patrick McCabe*