10 Books to Read that should be at least once in a lifetime
Every week brings a new “must Books to Read” making it more challenging than ever to construct a personal reading list that reflects the current cultural mood.
Despite the abundance of novels available, some are deemed more significant or even outstanding than others. This could be due to their groundbreaking ideas, groundbreaking plots, or simply the high quality of their writing. No matter how often or how seldom you read novels, there are a few that everyone should give serious consideration to reading.
We have selected ten novels—many of which are still required reading in schools today—to provide you with a solid foundation in literature. These are the classic novels that you will want Books to Read again and again, starting with Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which delves into racial tensions; Emily Brontë’s gothic romance Wuthering Heights; and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age masterpiece; the Great Gatsby.
If you’re looking for more reading material, check out our compilations of the most compelling thrillers, most heartwarming contemporary love stories, and inspirational memoirs and autobiographies. We have also compiled the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, which includes some of the finest works written by women in recent years, so that you can peruse it right now.
1. Harper Lee, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
One of the most influential Books to Read ever written about racial tensions in the South is Harper Lee’s famous story, which takes place in 1930s Alabama. Tom Robinson is a Black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white lady. The protagonist, Atticus Finch, is a white lawyer who tries to defend Robinson. Scout, Finch’s six-year-old daughter and narrator, is entirely innocent, and her innocence adds to the situation’s unfairness and incomprehensibility.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a masterpiece that has stood the test of time; it tackles the sensitive subject of racism in the United States with wit, tenderness, and compassion, earning it a place among the most renowned novels of the twentieth century. Set A Watchman, Lee’s 2015 follow-up novel, continues the story from its 1950s beginnings and follows the characters’ development over the next two decades. In addition to reiterating To Kill a Mockingbird’s genius, it provides fresh insight into the timeless masterpiece.
2. F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Great Gatsby’
Books to read – Scott Fitzgerald’s brief but exquisite masterwork has come to represent the Roaring Twenties and the demise of the American Dream. The plot of this contemporary tragedy is about Jay Gatsby, a newly-minted millionaire who falls for Daisy Buchanan, his former sweetheart who is now married to another rich man. His collapse is caused by his inability to recognize Daisy for who she really is as a person, as she represents his obsession with wealth and prestige.
Unlike Fitzgerald’s earlier works, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and the Damned, The Great Gatsby did not achieve the same level of success. The Books to Read didn’t become famous until after its author’s death; in fact, it was given away to American troops serving overseas during WWII in an effort to raise morale and appreciation for culture. It is now considered Fitzgerland’s masterpiece.
3. Emily Brontë, ‘Wuthering Heights’
Must Books to Read – Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, a gothic romance, is an essential part of any reading list. It is a darker and more complex story, set within a frame narrative and spanning two generations, written in 1847 in response to Jane Austen’s popular romantic novels.
In the midst of the untamed and feral Yorkshire moors, it depicts the tragic romance between foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, told in some of the most exquisite prose in the English canon. The only published work by Emily Brontë, this novel portrays the brutality of a love that is bound to end in tragedy and the ominous shadow of revenge unlike any other.
4. Margaret Atwood, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
An environmental disaster has rendered most of the female population sterile in the dystopian future depicted in The Handmaid’s Tale, a popular TV series that has recently come to light. Fertile women are picked up and coerced into becoming silent, faceless “handmaids” when a fundamentalist religious sect takes over what was once the United States.
Margaret Atwood’s novel delves into the ramifications of a return to the status quo for women’s rights, making it a significant feminist work. The Handmaid’s Tale is darker and more terrifyingly real than any other work of science fiction because, as Atwood herself has stated, she was meticulous about adding nothing that did not have a historical antecedent or a present point of reference.
5. Chinua Achebe, ‘Things Fall Apart’
His life starts to fall apart after he unintentionally murders a clan member, despite the fact that Okonkwo is the best wrestler and warrior alive and famous across West Africa. After Okonkwo’s exile, he goes back to his village to see missionaries and colonial administrators.
The 1958 novel by Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian-born author, changed the face of African and global literature and has since sold over 10 million copies in 45 languages. In case you’re a fan like us, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s the first in a trilogy that continues with No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God, both of which narrate what happens to this African village.
6. George Orwell, ‘1984’
Not only is 1984 an engaging thriller, but it is also a historical and cultural polemic—possibly the best dystopian portrayal of a totalitarian society ever. Many words from the book have entered our everyday vocabulary, such as “doublethink” and “Big Brother,” and the novel is still widely Books to Read and discussed today.
According to author and critic Jonathan Freedland, “it has become a shorthand for… the surveillance state, for the power of the mass media to manipulate public opinion, history, and even the truth” when discussing 1984. A classic of British literature, it deals with themes such as liberty, betrayal, and the efficacy of protest.
7. Jane Austen, ‘Pride and Prejudice’
The most famous work by Jane Austen, and perhaps the most famous work ever written in English, is simultaneously humorous, sarcastic, contemporary, and evergreen. The tale revolves around Fitzwilliam Darcy’s (one of literature’s greatest feminist heroes) courtship with Elizabeth Bennet, but it’s so much more than that; it’s full of hilarious characters, humor, and sarcasm. It is an excellent entry point into Austen’s work; if you enjoy it, you may also enjoy Persuasion, another classic with a powerful heroine.
8. Toni Morrison, ‘Beloved’
American author Toni Morrison’s magnum opus, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is equal parts a ghost story and an introspective look at the horrors of slavery. The narrative takes place in the mid-1800s, following the American Civil War, and is dedicated to the ‘Sixty Million and more’ Africans and their descendants who perished as a consequence of the slave trade. Having been left by her sons, Sethe now lives with her youngest daughter in Cincinnati.
The memories of her life haunt her as an enslaved person at Sweet Home in Kentucky, and the trauma she endured at that time continues to affect her. She is visited by an enigmatic woman who introduces herself as “Beloved” when she receives a visit from another Sweet Home survivor. In Beloved, an incredible narrative achievement, historical tragedies are entwined with themes of motherhood, family, folklore, and community.
9. J.D. Salinger, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’
The Catcher in the Rye is an enduring classic because it is a clever and humorous coming-of-age tale. The expulsion of Holden Caulfield from yet another school comes soon before Christmas. He drifts aimlessly across New York City, finding comfort in transient interactions while perpetually considering his younger sister Phoebe, the one person who truly comprehends him. This story, originally published in the 1950s, is as pertinent now as it was then: an ode to teenage estrangement that captures the longing for connection and the confusion of puberty.
10. Virginia Woolf, ‘Mrs Dalloway’
Clarissa Dalloway, a stylish, cultured, wealthy, and skilled hostess, goes flower shopping on a beautiful June morning in preparation for her party that night. People who have had an impact on her life surface in her inner monologue as she travels, consumed by both present and previous thoughts and recollections. Innovative and daring, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf is a classic of twentieth-century literature, a watershed moment in the evolution of the novel, and a fantastic, engaging read.
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