The Real Books You Should Read Before You Die

I've been trying to write this blog for quite some time now and I guess it's taken so long because I don't know what I'm trying to write but, luckily, now I do. I was just doing some procrastinating and looking at writers online and the usual "100 books you should read before you die" popped up and it irked me. It irks me because on that list are the books that people deem as "classics" - Jane Austen (shit), Charles Dickens (some good, others awful), Fitzgerald (I don't have an opinion yet), C.S. Lewis (get your kids away from him!) - I do joke about Lewis, he should be read so the kids that read him get an opinion - but anyway the lists are jokes and they irk me. 


Some of the books yes you should read but anyway here's my list and here's why. (They're not in any particular order.)


1. The End of Mr. Y - Scarlet Thomas. (I've already wrote a blog about this wonderful book with the dodgy ending so the reasons are right there.)

2. The Pilo Family Circus - Will Elliot. (Yes it has a weird ending but the book is great, sets a very eerie atmosphere and has the ability to get you excited. What I love in books is when the writer tells you something is going to happen soon and you're excited for it, looking how far ahead it is.) 


3. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte. (This is where I agree with the list because this book is mint. Love it!)


4. Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates. (Of course!)


5. Lord of the Flies - William Golding. (Like no other.)


6. Little Children - Tom Perrotta. (If you love suburban fiction and want to read the brutality of humans then this is the book. I also reviewed it here -  http://www.bookgeeks.co.uk/2011/08/21/little-children-by-tom-perotta/  - as well as the two above.) 


7. Frankenstein - Mary Shelly. (Again this is on those lists and it is a very important book in the Gothic and scientific study. Read it!)


8. On Writing - Stephen King. (The best non-fiction book about writing out there. Any writer - both published and not so published. Awesome!)

9. The End of Alice - A.M. Homes. (Not a comfortable read and not something you would give to your mum to read - I made that mistake - but a very important and interesting and fucked-up book. Not for the faint hearted.)


10. The Suicide Club - Rhys Thomas. (This could be your Catcher in the Rye - it is most definitely mine. I think with this book it comes down to where you are in your life for your enjoyment.) 


11. Rainbow Boys/Rainbow High/Rainbow Road - Alex Sanchez. (Read it and find out why.)


12. The Child Thief - Brom. (Not many people I know have heard of this amazing writer. Dark, fantastical, wonderful.)

13. The Red Tree - Shaun Tan. (If you've ever wanted to read a children's picture book with such brutal honest, breath-taking illustrations and sheer beauty this is the book. There are no more words. It stole them all.) 


14. American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis. (This usually makes its way onto the 'books that were banned' list and I think that's why you should read it. It's plot is a bit naff and the ending is awful but you should read it because everyone should read one of Ellis' books in their lifetime, if you love horror - this is most notable literary horror - then you should and, well, to get an opinion on the book people usually have an opinion about.)


Footnote 1 - If you had asked me two years ago to write this list I wouldn't have put half of the books on here but one book I would have definitely put on here is the 'Harry Potter' series. I'm not going to put in on my list, I would say read it but it's not a must. They're amazing and well groomed - meaning the information Ms. Rowling decides to give each book is well thought out and planned - but they're the kind of books that change the way you read, that challenge you enough to make you think I'm going to read something harder. Fuck it. No. I've changed my mind. This should be number 15. They are important books because they move readers. 15. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling. Footnote 2 - People sometimes don't call these books 'literature' because they're 'popular books', I tell those people to fuck off. 


16. Any Edgar Allan Poe! - I would suggest 'The Black Cat' but his collections are something you need in your life. He was a very fucked-up chap and he wrote some amazing stuff. 


17. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens. (OK you should read him, he is kind of important. I would say read Hard Times just so you can see how boring it is but I would stick with a classic. It is pretty good.)


18. Macbeth - William Shakespeare. (We'll chuck him on the list because it's 'literary' and if you can quote Shakespeare people are impressed but really Shakespeare is not supposed to be read, he is supposed to be produced and enjoyed. Macbeth is the winner with Shakespeare, if you do want to come across as respected and well-read in literary circles.)

19. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown. (Again this is because of the 'banned factor' but it is a good read and is quite interesting. Treat it as fiction - just as I treat The Bible.) 


20. The Edge Chronicles - Paul Stewart. (They're fun and they're imaginative and there's lots of them...and they have cool illustrations.)