At this point in my life, I’ve graduated from college with a BA. I studied English and creative writing, so I definitely have a lot of reading under my belt. Having said that, there are still quite a few books and other literary works that I noticed many of my classmates had read before college which I had somehow never cracked open.
This is my embarrassment reading list, or the top 15 books and other works I feel like I should have read by now (in no particular order).
- The Great Gatsby
I have no excuse for this one…except that I lost my copy until literally today and have been planning to read it since long before the film came out. It figures I would finally acquire a copy, then lose it in the move from school back to my parents’ house. - Hamlet
You read that correctly. How have I avoided this? I have to read it. I’ve read Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and King Lear, but not this. - Of Mice and Men
I knew someone who read that one in 9th grade. I don’t know what I’d think of it but I feel like I should have read it by now. - Pride and Prejudice
Truth be told, I tried to read this one in high school and couldn’t get through it. Tried some other Jane Austen books too and couldn’t get through those either. Now though, having read much harder material, I feel as if I owe it to her to at least give her one more chance now that my brain is fully developed. - Frankenstein
As a sci-fi nerd, this one’s an absolute must-read, even without the embarrassment factor, since it’s such an important piece for the genre. - Gone with the Wind
- Macbeth
- Wuthering Heights
- Animal Farm
- The Diary of Anne Frank
Much like Jane Austen, this is one I started but didn’t finish, though I was more than halfway through this one. My excuse is I had to return it to the friend who lent it to me and I never bothered to go to the library and borrow myself another copy. - The Grapes of Wrath
- The Catcher in the Rye
- A Tale of Two Cities
- Lord of the Flies
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. That’s right. Never read ’em.)
For crying out loud I’m pretty sure I even have a copy of one of these somewhere. Possibly on the bookshelf in front of me.
OK, so that was technically 16 books and literary works. As you can probably tell by my commentary, some of these are high on my reading priority list, while others are just titles I hear people mention in disgust when talking about high school. Regardless, I feel like there must be a reason why these books are assigned again and again, and I want to give each one a fair chance at holding my interest. I’m definitely reading The Great Gatsby and Frankenstein in 2016. Shakespeare’s always good too. If nothing else, I have to read his major plays.
Are there any works of literature that you feel you should have read by now? Do you feel strongly about one of the books on this list one way or another? Leave a comment below!
The Fountain Pen Blog 
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Hi. Interesting list you have here! I would definitely recommend THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN. Although written in 1885, it still is worth reading today–as not only a period piece of those times, but what it has to say about human relations. Hemingway considered it the “one” novel from which all other American literature stemmed. I enjoyed this post. Keep us posted on your progress of conquering this list! 🙂
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Hi Mark, thanks for the comment! I’ll definitely try to keep things up to date. I finally found The Great Gatsby so that’s the first one I’m tackling, since I already have it.
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Another excellent choice! F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work is high on my list, too. 🙂
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Also, I really appreciate hearing such great things about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, especially coming from Hemingway. That alone ups the priority on that one. It turns out I currently have a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but I’m sure I can easily pick up a copy of Huckleberry Finn as well.
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Actually, you should read Tom Sawyer before Huck Finn, if you want to keep things in sequence. I’d say you can’t go wrong reading them both! Let me know how it goes. 🙂
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Forget Hamlet. Read and learn Othello, the best! Read Joyce: The Portrait of an Artist. Forget Ulysses, but maybe the short stories. Forget the whale book, Moby Dick.. But read Poe’s stories. Stephen King would not be without Poe. Your list is good. Grapes of Wrath is real America; Gatsby and the green light is so important. Are you afraid of The Scarlet Letter? NEVER in high school. But now? maybe. Whitman poetry. Catch-22 would be nice. Good job.
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Thanks James. I’ll definitely take your suggestions into account. I’ve read a great deal of Poe. He’s fantastic. I also read The Scarlet Letter in college in my free time. Definitely worth the read.
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