Going around on FB is a reading list from the BBC. It says that the BBC thinks most people have only read about six of the titles. I've read 38 of them (as of April 2011), but have several more that I want to read. But, this list is written by the BBC, so it is very heavy on British texts, including all of Jane Austin in the 100 titles. It got me thinking about what books I've read I would put on a list of what everyone should read.
This is a work in progress. I tried to have only one text by any author, and tried to keep it diverse in author nationality, time period, and genre based on my reading experience.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Sound and the Fury
Watchmen
A Farewell to Arms
Hiroshima
Of Mice and Men
The Great Gatsby
One Shakespeare tragedy (Othello) and one comedy (Midsummer's Night Dream)
Jane Eyre
To Kill a Mockingbird
Collection of Robert Frost
Collect of Emily Dickinson
The Odyssey
Crime and Punishment
The English Patient
The Little Prince
Frankenstein
The Bluest Eye
The Stranger
The Color Purple
Lord of the Flies
Great Expectations
The Stand
Lolita
Anthem (though I might change my mind if I read Atlas Shrugged)
Watership Down
Feminine Mystic
Complete Maus
Recent titles:
The Help
Secret Life of Bees
Water for Elephants
Memoirs of a Geshia
Short Stories / Essays:
The Lottery
The Yellow Wallpaper
A Modest Proposal
Shawshank Redemption
YA:
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Looking for Alaska
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Speak
Wintergirls
When You Reach Me
Life As We Knew It
Hunger Games
Sold
Out of My Mind
I am the Cheese
Feed
The Giver
Walk Two Moons
Bridge to Teribithia
Harry Potter series (number 1 or 4 if only reading one)
The Fault in Our Stars
