Amazon 100 books to read in a lifetime (part one)

I’m always interested in lists like this and the extent to which they impact what I decide to read. I have a very bad habit of constantly rereading my favourite books meaning there are lots of amazing books that I’ve yet to read. I’m intrigued to look at this list and see what it includes. 😊 I’m going to highlight the books I’ve read and write a lil bit/ramble about them.  

1. 1984- George Orwell

I definitely started this book a good few years ago, I’m unsure why I forgot to finish it but I’ll try it again at some point! (Maybe soon,because strangely lockdown has put me in a dystopian mood)

2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius- Dave Eggers

3. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier- Ishmael Beah

4. The Bad Beginning- Lemony Snicket

I love A Series of Unfortunate Events, such childhood favourites. I remember my uncle bought one for me and my sister, but accidentally got us the 3^rd and 5^th in the series. I read these and loved them before eventually reading the series from the start. The Bad Beginning isn’t my favourite but I’d definitely give these series a try. 😊 These books are also good for children as they include lots of vocab, grammar, latin and general life lessons in an interesting way (although maybe a little pretentious at times haha). I love the quirky writing style of this series.

5. A Wrinkle in Time- Madeline L’Engle

6. Selected Stories, 1968-1994- Alice Munro

7. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass- Lewis Carroll

I’m unsure why I felt this way because I love absurd, dreamy almost psychedelic stories, but I didn’t like Alice in Wonderland very much when I read it. It almost felt a little bit annoying at the time. However, it maybe just wasn’t what I was expecting at the time, so I’d like to reread these books in the future to see if my opinion changes.

8. All the President’s Men- Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

9. Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir- Frank McCourt

10. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret- Judy Blume

11. Bel Canto- Ann Pratchett

12. Beloved- Toni Morrison

13. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Ever Seen- Christopher McDougall

14. Breath, Eyes, Memory- Edwidge Danticat

15. Catch-22- Joseph Heller

This is another book I started, but this is a book I definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to read.

16. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl

I love Roald Dahl, his stories are interesting, imaginative, full of dark sarcastic humour and feel very original. I also love the sense of justice and meaning these stories create for children in an adult dominated world where children are often seen as passive beings. I’d recommend Roald Dahl if you haven’t read any of his books before. 😊

17. Charlotte’s Web- E.B. White

I definitely read this book when I was wee, although the cartoon film sticks in my mind more (probably because I made my poor Gran watch it with me at least once a week haha). From what I remember, this is a powerful story with themes of friendship and loss (and I might now have to rewatch it for nostalgia’s sake).

18. Cutting for Stone- Abraham Verghese

19. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead- Brene Brown

20. Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Jeff Kinney

21. Dune- Frank Herbert

22. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury

23. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream- Hunter S. Thompson

24. Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn

This was a book that I was definitely influenced to read by all of the reviews, discussions and advertising surrounding it. Mystery/crime/thrillers aren’t my favourite genre but I loved this book! It’s very easy to read, engaging, has good twists and I’ve reread it a couple of times. This book would also be a thought-provoking one to think about from a feminist perspective, and the dynamics between the characters are very interesting.

25. Goodnight Moon- Margaret Wise Brown

26. Great Expectations- Charles Dickens

27. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies- Jared Diamon, Ph.D.

28. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone- J.K Rowling

One of my favourite books of all time, this is just so nostalgic, funny, touching and really does feel like coming home (cheesy stereotype but it’s true). I appreciate Harry Potter and its incredible impact so much and I reread this series every single year. There’s not much to say about Harry Potter because I’m yet to find someone who hasn’t read it (or at least seen the films).

29. In Cold Blood- Truman Capote

30. Interpreter of Maladies- Jhumpa Lahiri

31. Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison

32. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth- Chris Ware

33. A Brief History of Time- Stephen Hawking (this is actually number 2, I mixed up the list haha)

So far I’ve read 6 out of 33 haha, oh dear. I can never decide if not reading popular books and classics means I’m missing out and uncultured, or if it’s a good thing in that I’m not really influenced to read books unless I feel like it. Either way, there are some I’ve never heard of on this list, some that don’t appeal to me, and some I would like to try in the future. Have you read any that you would recommend? 😊

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