30 Books Everyone Should Read Before They Are 30

[AmandaGal]

Just as a conversation starter:
http://www.marcandangel.com/2008/08/11/30-books-everyone-should-read-before-their-30th-birthday/

It's an old blog post by someone who probably isn't qualified to say what you should read, but I think they're good choices for the most part.

How many have you read? I just turned 30 and I've only read 18.  I've got some reading to do.

Any you guys would add?

[bratpop]

Well I guess I'm two years past screwed then.

I'll just add this guy to my list of people not qualified to tell me what to read, right under "everyone."

I would say all of the books on that list, if you're into unbearable pretention, would be more easily understood and appreciated AFTER you're 30. What's the point of the arbitrary age limit? Do they suddenly become obvious shit when you turn 30? Are you so much of a loser if you haven't read them by that age that people would stone you to death in the village square upon finding out? Shouldn't you be reading comic books and sci-fi and fantasy before you're 30, and THEN read good books? Or is this like Logan's Run and you're supposed to die when you're that old? Or should you follow the hippie credo and stop trusting yourself? I don't know how I can live the rest of my life without having these questions answered.

[AmandaGal]

Way to take the list too literally bratpop

But yes, you should be killed at 30 if you have not read them.  Not all of those are pretentious anyway.  Older doesn't equal pretentious.   Talking about how great you are because you've read all these classics would be pretentious. . . but so would be talking about how great you are because you haven't.

[bratpop]

It's a pretentious by-the-numbers LIST nevertheless. They made us read Lord of the Flies in high school. What a ridiculous, unlikely, misanthropic story. Fuck it. Fuck books. Everything I need to know I learned from Doctor Who.

[Tripe]

I would say all of the books on that list, if you're into unbearable pretention, would be more easily understood and appreciated AFTER you're 30.

Dear god, are you hard of thinking or something?

Siddhartha
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Wind in the Willows
War and Peace
The Art of War
The Lord of the Rings
David Copperfield
Catch-22
The Catcher in the Rye
The Prince
Lord of the Flies

to say the least, should have been read before you get to 15 let alone 30 

None of those are difficult to read or contain messages that are hard to understand. A few are actually written with children in mind.

Oh might as well add The Old Man and the Sea to the list since Hemingway is a nice easy to read author, lots of short sentances and transparent symbolism.

[mrbasehart]

Well, I've got 2 more years to finish that list, but I've only read like, 6 of them.  I've seen a few of the movie adaptations of the others though. 

[bettertomorrowamy]

I've read 9, but most were in High School.

[Thrashalla]

I've read 5, most were in High School. I have little interest in the rest as there is a severe lack of Dragons or Spaceships. Pfft, I bite my dice-chucking-eroded thumb at "high literature"...read what you're passionate about and your tastes will evolve naturally without "classics" being thrown at your head. (I've made a recent transition from heavy Sci-Fi/Fantasy to Historical fiction/Straight up History books...and I absolutely didn't see it coming  )

[Doc Steve]

One major criticism I have of the list is the inclusion of Sun Tzu's The Art of War.  This book is primarily of interest to serious military historians and students of the Chinese classics.  The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu or Confucian Analects would make a hell of a lot more sense. 

We read about half of these titles in AP English in my junior and senior years of high school (1980s). 

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Wow. A grab-bag of "Forced on you in middle school or high school" books, a few "classics", some crap that trendy managers read to make up for a lack of actual business skills, a handful of readable work, and a smattering of pieces of "literary" tripe.


Great Gatsby can get bent, and Orwell is only an interesting read if you've never read any form of future-dystopia science fiction in your entire life.

[bratpop]

But if you never read The Lord of the Rings, how would you learn to walk? 

[Tripe]

Orwell is only an interesting read if you've never read any form of future-dystopia science fiction in your entire life.

Plus 1984 is really an extended bitch session about how wretched it is to work for the BBC

[Jinto]

Wow. A grab-bag of "Forced on you in middle school or high school" books, a few "classics", some crap that trendy managers read to make up for a lack of actual business skills, a handful of readable work, and a smattering of pieces of "literary" tripe.


Great Gatsby can get bent, and Orwell is only an interesting read if you've never read any form of future-dystopia science fiction in your entire life.

Agreed, and on a personal note, I have to add that The Great Gatsby is the most pretentious piece of crap I've ever read.

[AmandaGal]

Wow. A grab-bag of "Forced on you in middle school or high school" books, a few "classics", some crap that trendy managers read to make up for a lack of actual business skills, a handful of readable work, and a smattering of pieces of "literary" tripe.

The concepts of Dale Carnegie book are taught in any entry level business class. You'd be surprised how many managers don't understand the common sense concepts in it.  A poorly trained (ie: thrust into the job with no training) manager at one of my many side jobs recently (last year) read it at my suggestion and she was wowed by the message saying she'd never really thought of it that way.  It really has made a difference in her management style.  Before, I don't think she really understood her job.  She was alienating people and working too hard herself.  I honestly wouldn't call the concepts trendy but "duh common sense" that a lot of people lack.  I wish more managers understood the concepts (I've never had a "good" manager since the time I worked for myself.  I was awesome :-).

I also love the Great Gatsby though.  Darcy is a great leading man.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Actually, I was referring to "The Art of War" rather than Dale Carnegie.