12 Books to Read Before 30
So TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! I am turning 29 this year andddddd have noticed that I need more books to read. These books have been on my TBR for way to long so the year before I turn 30 seems like the perfect time to read them. I plan to read one every month so hopefully I can do it!
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Summary:
Anna falls in love with someone that is not her husband and Levin is a landowner trying to gain happiness. Both are struggling to find happiness in nineteenth-century Russia.
So I’ve so many people reading this novel and it has been on my TBR since college. However, Leo Tolstoy and his hefty books have always made me very nervous so I’ve always avoided them like the plague. I wanted to try reading this book before I even thought of attempting the beast that is War and Peace.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Summary:
Ignatius J. Reilly is a 30 year old want to be novelist that keeps his writing pads under his bed, but when a policeman makes a mistakes him for a homeless person and arrests him, he stumbles around looking for a job. Through his search he has weird and entertaining adventures with a cast of very interesting characters.
I’ve had this book on my TBR for so long and I need to get to it soon. I’ve heard such interesting and mixed reviews about this work and I just want to know why it is a book that people talk about. It sounds weird and crazy so I need to know more.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Summary:
Set during the French Revolution, this great work deals with family history and an interesting cast of characters through a very complex storyline.
The only Charles Dickens I’ve experienced is A Christmas Carol and I’m a little ashamed. I’m a terrible English major sooooo hence why this book is on my list. This author has been such a major influence on so many others so this just has be one of my picks. Hopefully it’s as good as everyone says it is.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Summary
Yossarian has saved thousands of lives during World War II, but he is tried. However, the military has a pesky rule, if you pass on mission you can’t get out of the military, but if you don’t, you are considered insane to taking on dangerous missions. It’s a Catch-22…..
I’ve heard so many great things about this creative and unique story that I just have to know if it is as good as everyone says. I am also so intrigued by this book because it has inspired such an iconic saying. I want to read this and watch the series on Hulu right after!
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Summary:
A mental disabled man and Algernon, a mouse, both enter into a science experiment and things get hairy….
Again this book has been talked about by so many people and has inspired so many people. I need to read it and I can’t wait!
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Summary:
Humbert Humbert has fallen madly in love with his landlady’s daughter, but she’s 12 years old.
Soooooo I’ve NEVER wanted to read this book. It sounds perverted, awful, and just PLAIN ICKY! However, after reading Dark Vanessa, I just need to know more about this book. She references it so much that I just need to understand where she was coming from.. DAMN MY CURIOSITY.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Summary:
Hailsham is an English boarding school far away from the city. The students are taught everything they need in order to be perfect citizens of their society or so they thought….
THIS BOOK SOUNDS CRAZY GOOD! It sounds culty and creepy and everything I could possibly want. I don’t know why I haven’t picked up this book yet….
Supper Club by Lara Williams
Summary:
Roberta has spent her life loving and hating food, but when she meets the free-spirited Stevie, she quickly decides that food is always better.
This book sounds AMAZING. I had never heard of it until I was strolling through GoodReads one day. I can’t wait to start this because holy shit, a girl’s club about food sounds like such an interesting and unique story.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Summary:
Sisters Celie and Nettie were separated as young girls, but still find ways to communicate through letters throughout twenty years.
I mean…. I have to read this book. I just have to. That is all.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Summary:
Long ago, the Dark Lord, Sauron created a ring powerful enough to rule all of Middle-earth, but it was taken from him and comes into the hands of someone no one expected. When a young hobbit from a small village finds the ring, he is taken on a journey he never expected.
Soooo this was my aunt’s favorite book so again this had to be read already. She is probably looking down on me from heaven wondering why I haven’t read this yet…. Sorry auntie, I’m getting to this year, I promise.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Summary:
This adventure story follows a group of animals struggling to survive through the threat of natures, the invasion of man, and the daily predators always on the look out.
This book is about a group of bunnies, I’M SOLD Y’ALL!
