There are books that we all need to read, either because they are incredibly popular or because they are classics that we should have read in school. Due to some repetition issue, I ended up doing The Taming of the Shrew a few times in a row and missed out on some absolute classics.

 

  1. 1984 – George Orwell

This seems to be in nearly every list I come across. I have read Animal Farm but never 1984. My brother read it for school but somehow I am 26 and still haven’t read it. I have downloaded it onto my Kindle though so hopefully I can get to it soon. I have heard many good things about 1984.

2. On the Road – Jack Kerouac

This book has been referenced in a lot of my favourite T.V. shows including The O.C. and Gilmore Girls. I am super keen to get my hands on this book and hopefully I will enjoy it as much as my favourite television characters!

3. Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

Catch-22 has sat on my shelf since about 2011. It is one of those books that I will definitely read next, you know the one you tell yourself you will read next but never actually do. Luckily this is on nearly every single on of my challenge lists. Soon I will actually get around to reading it.

4. Emma – Jane Austen

I loved Pride and Prejudice, yet it is the only Jane Austen novel I have ever read. Don’t ask me how this happened. I really don’t know. I even own Emma and Persuasion, yet have never read either of them.

5. Lord of the Flies – William Golding

I truly feel like I am the only person on the planet that has not read this book. I will read it, eventually but if you haven’t read this book, please let me know that I am not the only person in existence!

6. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

Up until this year, I had never actually finished Dracula so I am not that surprised that I still haven’t read Frankenstein. I need to get my butt into gear as I have seen a few Frankenstein movies now. There are so many references to Frankenstein throughout literature, movies and television, it’s a bit of a disgrace that it has taken so long.

7. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

This book has been made into a movie and all that jazz but I still don’t even know what it’s about, let alone having read it. It appears on a few lists so I am sure I will read it in no time.

8. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

This is another book that seems to be frequently referenced throughout pop culture. It is on nearly every single one of my lists. And again, I feel like the only person who has never read it.

9. Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

You know what really cracks me up about this book and Catch-22? Everyone seems to mix up the authors for these books. But I know who is who by where Catch-22 is on my bookshelf. It might be more confusing if I ever purchase this book though. Again, I don’t even know what this book is about but it is on all the lists and everyone else seems to have read it but me.

10. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

I absolutely adore this movie! I have seen it so many times it is ridiculous. My mother and aunt absolutely adore the books and both like to imagine themselves as Scarlett. I cannot believe that with my love of this movie, that I haven’t read the famous book that started it all!

What books do you think you should have read by now? Are there any of these you haven’t read?

Cai xx