My list of 100 books

I want to preface this. There may be lists of this nature that will probably be much better at expanding your mind, that probably have a lot more classic literature that you really should read and all of that. That's fine. This is my list. Not a list of my favorite books either, some I loved, some I sort of hated in all honesty some I haven't even read. So it goes..
(also forgive any spelling errors or mistakes, I finished this up in one go around midnight)
I am going to sort of break this into lumps, first one:

Books I loved that I think you should read

1. Nine Stories by JD Salinger.
This is my favorite book of all time. I love it, just as it says it is a collection of 9 stories. They are abrupt, sad, shocking and full of squalor. My daughter is partially named after one of them.

2. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
If you are an introvert and have ever been a misfit, just read it and know you have found your tribe.

3. Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Listen I could put every book by him on this list but I won't. This is his most commonly read book, I liked it. Some people like Holden, some people hate him, I both love and hate him, he's a whiny bastard but he's not wrong.

4. Tiffany Aching Series by Terry Pratchett
Technically a young adult series but they are good and I love the emphasis on standing on your own two feet and finding your own way to do things.

5. Bossypants by Tina Fey and/or How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
You don't need to read both. If you were a geeky kid growing up who tried to be cool but ended up being captain of the debate team, Bossypants is most likely going to seem familiar to you. If you decided who the hell wants to fit in when you can do things your own damn way (and you will go down fighting over things you knew were mistakes just to save face) go with How to be a Woman.

6 and 7  Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit by  JRR Tolkien
I don't think I have to tell you why you should read these. They are good. Start with The Hobbit and don't try to rush the trilogy. It is is easy to get bogged down in Two Towers.

8. Girl With the White Flag by Tomiko Higa
A heartbreaking account of the battle of Okinawa by someone who was painfully young when it happened. Worth reading, be prepared to cry.

9. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
The story of a girl who was just a baby when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and how she developed cancer years later because of it. This has been one of my favorites since I was a child. It is a true story and there is a statue of her in the Peace Park in Japan that has the inscription "This is our cry. This is our prayer. Build Peace in the World"

10. Princess Bride by William Goldman
I know you have seen the movie, and you really aren't missing that much story wise by not reading the book but the way this book is written is just fantastic and you need to experience it for yourself.

11. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I read this in school and it became a favorite of mine. I love Atticus Finch, I love basically everything about him. He was portrayed perfectly by Gregory Peck. The movie is good but it leaves out many things, read the book.

12. Hitchhikers Guide series by Douglas Adams
I am not even going to try to sell this, just read it. It's good.

13. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Two of the best modern authors wrote a book together, really this book recommends itself. For added fun get really use to each author's writing style and try to figure out who wrote what.

14. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
It's good, it has an interesting premise (gods are brought to the US by immigrants but they never seem to take root) and you should read it before they make it a TV series.

15. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
A story on the importance of belief and how it colors our world. It's by Terry Pratchett which is recommendation enough.

16. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Really the only work by Steinbeck I have read, but I liked it well enough.

17. Big Sur/On the Road/Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
I think everyone should read something by Kerouac, I am not going to say you have to read On the Road though, find one that seems interesting and plunge in.

18. Drawing with the Right Side of your Brain- Betty Edwards
Just kind of a cool book about learning to tell the left side of your brain to stfu for a little while so the right side can have some fun.

19. Tao of Jeet Kune Do- Bruce Lee
A little exercise routine, a little philosophy. This is one book that anyone who is hoping to achieve calm in their life should read.

20. Foxfire Series-The Foxfire Fund
A collection of books that cover knowledge and stories of the Appalachians, you will learn weird skills like making your own soap (100% from scratch, I mean making your own lye and everything). I am gonna say you can't appreciate America until you read at least one of these books.

21. Cat's Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut
It's all a lie and it is absolutely the truth. See the cat? See the Cradle. Busy, Busy, Busy.
Now if you had read the book, some of that would make sense.

22. Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
It might be that I just like Kurt Vonnegut

23. Siddhartha-Hermann Hesse
Find your own path to enlightenment and you are more likely to find it.

24. Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
This has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. If I want to be philosophical I could talk about how the fact that the same horse can end up having so many different roles reflects our own tendency to morph as we grow up, but really, it's just a good book about a horse.

25. Chronicles of Narnia-CS Lewis
I mean yea it has that whole religious thing about it, but it's a pretty good story as well. Except Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

26. God Bless you Doctor Kevorkian- Kurt Vonnegut.
Listen. Do yourself a favor and just go out and read everything he has ever written.

27. Dune- Frank Herbert
I didn't read it, but I watched the movie. My sister has read this book like 40 times. I am really not exaggerating that number, so it has to be a pretty good book.

28. Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins
Alright, there might be better books about dystopian futures and the barbarism they create and making kids fight for sport and stuff, but I haven't read them.  I read this after watching the movie, the movie made me feel very, very uncomfortable. The book went into things better. Read the book.

29.  Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
It always breaks my heart how she carries on more or less normally while hiding in an attic.

30. A day no Pigs would die-Robert Newton Peck
I had to read this book in high school. I am not going to say that it is some amazing piece of literature, but this book made me cry my eyes out. That, my friends, is the sign of a good book.  Also the bits about baptists are funny.

31. The Jungle-Upton Sinclair
One book changed the way an industry operated. Parts of it are disgusting and will make you want to be a vegetarian. I like the wedding.

32. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance-Robert M Pirsig
Be the type of person who takes the bike apart to figure out how it works, not the type that takes it to a shop for an oil change.   Something I am still working on

33. Perfume- Patrick Suskind
Being honest I haven't read it.  I saw the movie and I need to read it eventually.  Why am I recommending it? Because it is about 'orrible murders and one man's strange quest for perfection.

34. Are you there God? It's me Margaret- Judy Blume
I didn't read this one either. I read other things by the author so I can speak for her writing ability, and I love the idea of this book. Even though I am no longer a preteen struggling with finding my identity I think the book holds value.

35. One Hundred years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I was told about this book in 9th grade by my Spanish teacher and I keep intending to read it but then forgetting before I get the chance, then seeing something about it and thinking I should read it all over again.  I need to actually get to it. A book that after 15 years I still feel I ought to read has to have something going for it.


Books of a Political/Subversive/Counter Culture nature

36. Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
As screens become bigger I am worrying more and more about this becoming true. I like to think I would be the old lady with the match, going down with the ship.

37. 1984- George Orwell
This is a book you should actually read, because it is one of those stories that has become so embedded in our culture that most people haven't actually read it. It is probably not quite what you think it is.

38. Days of War, Nights of Love-crimethInc
You probably won't agree with most of the stuff in this book. That's fine. I don't agree with a lot of the things in this book. This book will make you think about what you do and why you do it  and I think everyone should embrace a good opportunity to examine their own lives.

39. Naked Lunch- William S Burroughs
This book is bizarre and I can't figure out if it would make more sense if I was on drugs or not, I haven't gotten all the way through it. I get bogged down in the middle. Some how that is my recommendation for it though.

40. Animal Farm-George Orwell
Perfectly shows off how an unchecked government uses the good intentions of the people and turns them to benefit only themselves.

41. A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
Read this 3 times until you actually understand the slang. I sort of love how this book follows a completely horrible character and makes him just short of actually likable.

42. Catch 22- Joseph Heller
This one took me two tries to get through but it is a great book. What's the catch? Catch 22.
It is best summed up here "Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to." Life is a lot like that, most of the time.

43. Art to Choke Hearts and Pissing in the Gene Pool- Henry Rollins
You didn't think you would get through this list without some Henry Rollins did you??

Kids/Young Adult books

44. Just So Stories- Rudyard Kipling
Because you need to know how the leopard got it's spots

45. Howl's Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones
I loved the movie by Studio Ghibli, and I think it did a good bit of honor to the story. This book is awesome though, and I say that as someone who read it as an adult. It has an awesome twist they left out of the movie about Howl's origin.

46. Neverending Story- Michael Ende
It is very long, it is sometimes tedious and you often want to slap the characters around a bit. You should read it once through anyway.

47. Anne of Avonlea- Lucy Maud Montgomery
I like Miss Anne Shirley (with two n's) she talks too much, she is a bit dreamy but she doesn't put up with other peoples crap and she goes for what she wants. Sounds like a book I want my kid reading.

48. Calvin and Hobbes- Bill Watterson
If you haven't read any of these in a while go read some. They are surprisingly enlightening.

49. and Tango makes Three- Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
A cute story about a pair of penguins that adopted a baby penguin. They happened to both be boys.  For some reason this has upset people even though it is a true story.  Whatever. It is cute, Niko loved it. Support banned and challenged books.

50. The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling
Filing this under, you saw the movie, read the book

51. Charlotte's Web- EB White
Good story, pretty sad, I still don't like spiders

52. Harry Potter Series- JK Rowling
This series pretty much got people into reading again. It helped create a demand that was filled with more awesome young adult series that are also well worth reading, even as an adult. It was ridiculously well thought out and planned as well.

53. Aesop's Fables....by Aesop..
You should read them, I mean you probably already know a handful, but some of the less common ones are pretty interesting.

54. The Giver- Lois Lowry
An important book for kids, we all must at some point open our eyes to things that happen in the world or decide to keep them shut and pretend that it is OK.

55. The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
Such a simple book, such a beautiful story.

56. Serendipity books- Stephen Cosgrove
Beautiful, sometimes sad stories that always have a decent moral without smacking you over the head. My favorite series as a child and I still enjoy the stories.

57. Matilda- Roald Dahl
I particularly like Matilda, but you can't go wrong with any of his books.

58. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
Again, read the book, don't just watch the movies. It is much trippier anyway.

59. Oz series- L Frank Barum
Oh the wonderful land of Oz, movies keep trying to capture it but there is so much there. Also you can't appreciate the political allegory from the movie.

60. Peter Pan- JM Barrie
One last time guys. Book is better.

61. Cautionary Tale for Children by Hilaire Belloc (I prefer the one illustrated by Edward Gorey)
They are abrupt and not very nice and sometimes that is what children need.

62. The Tongue Cut Sparrow- Japanese folk tale
I love this story, I read it often to Niko. I like that most of the time in Japanese folk tales the people who are cruel get way more than they deserve.

63. Hans Christian Anderson collection
64. Brothers Grimm Collection
Both of these just need to be read by people, as they were written. You should know the real story and not what Disney and other people have changed them to over the years. Cinderella's sisters cut off their toes and heel to try to fit the shoes and later have their eyes pecked out. The Little Mermaid does not have her happy ending. They were made this way for a reason.

Classic Books that I have read (at least in part)

65. Shakespeare
I won't say that you have to read everything by him, but I think everyone should read a few plays and sonnets, get comfortable with his work, get to the point where you understand what he is saying. Some of the jokes are hilarious.
66. Paradise Lost- John Milton
67. EA Poe
68. Arabian Nights
69. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
70. Call of the Wild-  Jack London
71. A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
72. Jumping Frog of Calaveras County- Mark Twain
73. Gulliver's Travels- Jonathan Swift
74. Once and Future King- T.H. White
75. Don Quixote- Miguel De Cervantes
76. The Courtship of Miles Standish- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I read it because I was told I was related to John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, but it is a pretty good story as well.
77. Moby Dick- Herman Melville
78. A Modest proposal- Jonathan Swift
79. Greek Mythology- whoever
Okay I am not going to go into each and every one of these, but they are classics for a reason. They are not the only ones you should read, but I think they all have their own merits and lessons. I tried to pick a few things over a range of subjects and origins and I tried for a few things that don't always come up in lists but I think everyone should take a peek at.

Classic/Other books that I haven't read but intend to at some point and you probably should read as well.

80. Pygmalion- George Bernard Shaw
It's what My Fair Lady was based off of!

81. Lord of the Flies-William Golding
Kids fighting for dominance and the human nature and stuff

82. Common Sense- Thomas Paine
It is part of why we are our own country

83. War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy
Just to say you conquered this behemoth

84. Middlemarch- George Eliot
It's about ladies and education and marriage

85. Little Women-Louisa May Alcott
It's about sisters and growing up and stuff

86. The Iliad- Homer
Trojan War!

87. Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I have read a few of the stories, but not enough. Also you can think of Benedict Cumberbatch while you read.

88. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea- Jules Verne
Honestly, I think everyone should read something by Jules Verne. I picked this story at random

89. Dracula- Bram Stoker
90. Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
These two are on here because, classic monster books! Also, it's the same idea of you shouldn't be content to watch the film.

91. Uncle Tom's Cabin- Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is on there because of the King and I. That made me feel like I should read it, I still feel that way. I will get around to it.

92. Lolita- Vladimir Nabokov
It is kind of an uncomfortable story, and one that has permeated our culture, so I think it should be read.

93. Divine Comedy- Dante
Reading just The Inferno doesn't count. Read the whole damn thing.

94. The Canterbury Tales- Geoffrey Chaucer
I remember we sort of picked at this in English class one year. It picks at elements of society and I am always for that

95. Les Miserables- Victor Hugo
I have seen a few film adaptions, curious as to how they stack up against the book.

96. Phantom of the Opera- Gaston Leroux
Who doesn't like mad opera ghosts?

97. Three Musketeers- Alexandre Dumas
I feel like the movies are always missing something, maybe the book has it?

98. Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
I dunno if it is because I am a lady, or because it is so well known, but it seems like one of those books that you just sort of have to read eventually.
Zombies are optional.

99. Don Juan By Lord Byron
Who doesn't like reading about sort of slutty guys?

and 100 is a special Mention (also I forgot to put it in the first section and realized when I was already in the 80's and I am NOT renumbering all of that)
Silver Hollow by KL Little.
I might be a little biased because I know the author, but it is really genuinely good, it's a nice little collection of short stories and they all sort of intersect and cross over one another in great ways. And it's like a $1. You can't beat that.