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For those who don't know, today is World Book Day! Well actually, it's the first of two World Book Days this year. The other is on April 23rd, so make a note in your diary. Why two? Well, it doesn't really matter why. After all, EVERY day should be World Book Day!

To celebrate this awesome occasion we've decided to come up with a list of books to read before you're 30. Some of them can be read in one sitting, others are sprawling epics, but whether long or short, they all have one thing in common: they're all masterpieces of literature. Don't see your favorite in the list? Then feel free to share your own, and don't forget to comment!

#1

The Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupery

The Little Prince By Antoine De Saint-Exupery

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AgnesAuxiliatrix
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This book definitely isn't my childhood, but I wish it was. It would've saved my a*s when I was a moody elementary brat

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#2

The Lord Of The Rings By J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord Of The Rings By J.R.R. Tolkien

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#4

Animal Farm By George Orwell

Animal Farm By George Orwell

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#5

1984 By George Orwell

1984 By George Orwell

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#7

This Booked Has Been Banned In Some Schools... It's An Amazing Read

This Booked Has Been Banned In Some Schools... It's An Amazing Read

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MarcoAndreas
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

how ironic that it's banned in some schools, this makes the book even better ...

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#8

The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

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SusannaVesna
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Read it in 7th grade! Loved it! Had to skip some never-ending philosophical conversations between Dorian and his friend Lord Henry :P

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#9

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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#11

Hamlet By William Shakespeare

Hamlet By William Shakespeare

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#12

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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#14

The Catcher In The Rye By J.D. Salinger

The Catcher In The Rye By J.D. Salinger

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#15

War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy

War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy

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#16

Jonathan Livingston Seagull By Richard Bach

Jonathan Livingston Seagull By Richard Bach

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#18

The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

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RichWillson
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hated this book when I read it but now years later I hold a deep appreciation..

#19

The Art Of War By Sun Tzu

The Art Of War By Sun Tzu

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Ted Borgerding
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7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It requires objectivity and maturity -- probably a good exercise for younger readers.

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#20

The Republic By Plato

The Republic By Plato

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#21

A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess

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#22

Anna Karenina By Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina By Leo Tolstoy

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SusannaVesna
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All the s****y Hollywood adaptations discouraged me from coming close to this book!

#24

The Myth Of Sisyphus By Albert Camus

The Myth Of Sisyphus By Albert Camus

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#25

Persuasion By Jane Austen

Persuasion By Jane Austen

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#26

Lolita By Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita By Vladimir Nabokov

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NatashaKotova
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8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

By the way Nabokov never wanted the book to be printed with any images on it and it was said directly when the book was published first. This is what he never wanted to start: the "nymphette" cult. I have read this one in Russian although the original one was in English. And I feel very sorry that this book created so much mess around 12 year olds "asking for it" in this world full of sexual violence that even girls of such young age face all over the world. :( Makes me sad...

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#27

Cloud Atlas By David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas By David Mitchell

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#28

Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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#29

On The Road By Jack Kerouac

On The Road By Jack Kerouac

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#30

All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque

All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque

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#31

The Black Swan: The Impact Of The Highly Improbable By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Black Swan: The Impact Of The Highly Improbable By Nassim Nicholas Taleb

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#34

Siddhartha By Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha By Hermann Hesse

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#35

For Whom The Bell Tolls By Ernest Hemingway

For Whom The Bell Tolls By Ernest Hemingway

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#36

The Power Of Myth By Joseph Campbell

The Power Of Myth By Joseph Campbell

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#37

Meditations By Marcus Aurelius

Meditations By Marcus Aurelius

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#38

White Teeth By Zadie Smith

White Teeth By Zadie Smith

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#39

Middlemarch By George Eliot

Middlemarch By George Eliot

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#40

The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins

The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins

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#41

The Prince By Niccolò Machiavelli

The Prince By Niccolò Machiavelli

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Tho Nguyen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My father was just a teacher but he adored this book, occasionally quoting it at the dinner table. To this day, I still can't understand the reason why he was so fascinated with it.

#42

The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao By Junot Díaz

The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao By Junot Díaz

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#43

To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf

To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf

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#44

The Corrections By Jonathan Franzen

The Corrections By Jonathan Franzen

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#45

Between The World And Me By Ta-nehisi Coates

Between The World And Me By Ta-nehisi Coates

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#46

First They Killed My Father By Loung Ung

First They Killed My Father By Loung Ung

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#47

Heaven Has No Favorites By Erich Maria Remarque

Heaven Has No Favorites By Erich Maria Remarque

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#48

Fun Home By Alison Bechdel

Fun Home By Alison Bechdel

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#49

The God Of Small Things By Arundhati Roy

The God Of Small Things By Arundhati Roy

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#50

The Beggar Maid By Alice Munro

The Beggar Maid By Alice Munro

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#51

The Dharma Bums By Jack Kerouac

The Dharma Bums By Jack Kerouac

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#52

The Year Of Magical Thinking By Joan Didion

The Year Of Magical Thinking By Joan Didion

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#53

A Little Life By Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life By Hanya Yanagihara

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#54

Milkweed By Jerry Spinelli

Milkweed By Jerry Spinelli

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#55

The Man:s Search For Meaning-viktor Frankl

The Man:s Search For Meaning-viktor Frankl

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#56

Paper Towns By John Green

Paper Towns By John Green

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#57

#61 To All The Boys I Loved Before And Ps I Still Love You By Jenny Han

#61 To All The Boys I Loved Before And Ps I Still Love You By Jenny Han

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#58

#54 A Wolf At The Table By Augusten Burroughs

#54 A Wolf At The Table By Augusten Burroughs

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#59

Running With Scissors By Augusten Burroughs

Running With Scissors By Augusten Burroughs

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#60

Ken's Guide To The Bible By Ken Smith

Ken's Guide To The Bible By Ken Smith

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