The benefits of reading are limitless: they can reduce stress, promote enjoyment, and improve IQ. You should be familiar with the books to read before you die, whether you’ve crossed off some excellent books to read or you’re just starting out to widen your literary horizons.
It’s not for nothing that the best literature is referred to as classics. These books contain a global theme, engaging characters, experiences, perspectives, and emotions that are still relevant today, thanks to the best literary brains. In many respects, some of the best and most interesting books to read have influenced modern literature.
For book aficionados, it’s a near-masochistic experience. What would we read if we only had time to read one book in our lives? Which book has best impacted our ideals, shaped our worldview, and served as a pillar throughout our lives?
The response is, without a doubt, subjective. There are, however, some masterpieces that everyone can agree on, whether it’s for the time period they recreate, the morals they teach, the narrative point of view they take, or simply the beauty of the words. We’ve established the definitive rating of novels that everyone should read at least once after analyzing lists from newspapers, editors, authors, and, of course, readers (and of course, it is by no means exhaustive).
1. To Kill a Mockingbird– Harper Lee
This timeless classic examines human behavior and the Deep South’s collective conscience during the twentieth century. This book uses humor to examine hypocrisy, prejudice, hatred, love, and innocence, resulting in an excellent novel that you are sure to enjoy.
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde’s most popular work is a narrative about a trendy young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. The book caused a stir when it was first published in 1890, but it has remained relevant for almost a century.
3. Lolita– Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita is still contentious more than 60 years later, provoking debates about whether it was a love story or pedophilia. Nabokov’s magnificent manipulation of the English language, on the other hand, is universally acknowledged.
4. 1984– George Orwell
George Orwell’s dystopian and totalitarian novel 1984 depicts a future where fear, control, and deception have taken over people’s lives. Look into Winston Smith’s life as he struggles with his nature in a world that forbids free will, individuality, and love.
5. The Lord of the Rings– J.R.R. Tolkien
You will meet the characters of Middle Earth in this book, a beautiful and vast fantasy world that, although brimming with purity, can also be rife with turmoil. Follow the adventures of the protagonist, Frodo Baggins, as he goes on a difficult quest. This trilogy will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
6. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
The Count of Monte Cristo is a historical adventure novel set between the years 1815 and 1838. This piece explores the concepts of vengeance, justice, forgiveness, and mercy by telling the story of a man who pursues revenge after escaping from jail.
7. The Great Gatsby– F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is one of the most thrilling and heartbreaking novels you will ever read. The novel, which was released in 1925, vividly captures the decadence of the Jazz Age. It will teach you an important lesson: not everyone is lucky in love.
8. The Last Unicorn – Peter S Beagle
The Last Unicorn is a 1968 fantasy novel written by American novelist Peter S. Beagle. It tells the story of a unicorn who believes she is the world’s last of her kind and sets out on a quest to find out what happened to the others.
9. Anna Karenina– Leo Tolstoy
This classic novel, a satire of Imperial Russian society, follows Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky and Anna Karenina, now one of literature’s most famous heroines.
10. The Diary Of A Young Girl, by Anne Frank
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is one of the most impactful novels ever published, telling the firsthand narrative of her life as she hides from Nazi forces. Despite the challenges she faces, she remains optimistic that people have decent hearts and that the world is still beautiful. It is, without a doubt, a book that will change your life.
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