Thirty books everyone should read before they turn 30

1. Siddhartha by
   Hermann Hesse – A powerful story about the importance of life
   experiences as they relate to approaching an understanding of reality
   and attaining enlightenment.
2. 1984
   by George Orwell – 1984 still holds chief significance nearly 60 years
   after it was written in 1949.  It is widely acclaimed for its haunting
   vision of an all-knowing government which uses pervasive, 24/7
   surveillance tactics to manipulate all citizens of the populace.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
   by Harper Lee – The story surveys the controversial issues of race and
   economic class in the 1930’s Deep South via a court case of a black man
   charged with the rape and abuse of a young white girl.  It’s a moving
   tale that delivers a profound message about fighting for justice and
   against prejudice.
4. A Clockwork Orange
   by Anthony Burgess – A nightmarish vision of insane youth culture that
   depicts heart wrenching insight into the life of a disturbed
   adolescent.  This novel will blow you away… leaving you breathless,
   livid, thrilled, and concerned.
5. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway – A short, powerful contemplation on death, ideology and the incredible brutality of war.
6. War and Peace
   by Leo Tolstoy – This masterpiece is so enormous even Tolstoy said it
   couldn’t be described as a standard novel.  The storyline takes place in
   Russian society during the Napoleonic Era, following the characters of
   Andrei, Pierre and Natasha… and the tragic and unanticipated way in
   which their lives interconnect.
7. The Rights of Man
   by Tom Paine – Written during the era of the French Revolution, this
   book was one of the first to introduce the concept of human rights from
   the standpoint of democracy.
8. The Social Contract
   by Jean-Jacques Rousseau – A famous quote from the book states that
   “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”  This accurately
   summarizes the book’s prime position on the importance of individual
   human rights within society.
9. One Hundred Years of Solitude
   by Gabriel García Márquez – This novel does not have a plot in the
   conventional sense, but instead uses various narratives to portray a
   clear message about the general importance of remembering our cultural
   history.
10. The Origin of Species
    by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the
    way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.
11. The Wisdom of the Desert
    by Thomas Merton – A collection of thoughts, meditations and
    reflections that give insight into what life is like to live simply and
    purely, dedicated to a greater power than ourselves.
12. The Tipping Point
    by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product
    concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes. 
    Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change
    becomes unstoppable.”
13. The Wind in the Willows
    by Kenneth Graham – Arguably one of the best children’s books ever
    written; this short novel will help you appreciate the simple pleasures
    in life.  It’s most notable for its playful mixture of mysticism,
    adventure, morality, and camaraderie.
14. The Art of War
    by Sun Tzu – One of the oldest books on military strategy in the
    world.  It’s easily the most successful written work on the mechanics of
    general strategy and business tactics.
15. The Lord of the Rings
    by J.R.R. Tolkien – One of the greatest fictional stories ever told,
    and by far one of the most popular and influential written works in
    20th-century literature.  Once you pick up the first book, you’ll read
    them all.
16. David Copperfield
    by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of
    attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s
    emotional and moral life.  Dickens states that we must learn to go
    against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”
17. Four Quartets
    by T.S. Eliot – Probably the wisest poetic prose of modern times.  It
    was written during World War II, and is still entirely relevant today…
    here’s an excerpt: “The dove descending breaks the air/With flame of
    incandescent terror/Of which the tongues declare/The only discharge from
    sin and error/The only hope, or the despair/Lies in the choice of pyre
    or pyre–/To be redeemed from fire by fire./Who then devised this
    torment?/Love/Love is the unfamiliar Name/Behind the hands that wave/The
    intolerable shirt of flame/Which human power cannot remove./We only
    live, only suspire/Consumed by either fire or fire.”
18. Catch-22
    by Joseph Heller – This book coined the self-titled term “catch-22”
    that is widely used in modern-day dialogue.  As for the story, its
    message is clear: What’s commonly held to be good, may be bad… what is
    sensible, is nonsense.  Its one of the greatest literary works of the
    20th century.  Read it.
19. The Great Gatsby
    by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Set in the Jazz Age of the roaring 20’s, this
    book unravels a cautionary tale of the American dream.  Specifically,
    the reader learns that a few good friends are far more important that a
    zillion acquaintances, and the drive created from the desire to have
    something is more valuable than actually having it.
20. The Catcher in the Rye
    by J.D. Salinger – This novel firmly stands as an icon for accurately
    representing the ups and downs of teen angst, defiance and rebellion. 
    If nothing else, it serves as a reminder of the unpredictable teenage
    mindset.
21. Crime and Punishment
    by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – A smooth-flowing, captivating novel of a young
    man living in poverty who criminally succumbs to the desire for money,
    and the hefty phychological impact this has on him and the people
    closest to him.
22. The Prince
    by Niccolo Machiavelli – This book does a great job at describing
    situations of power and statesmanship.  From political and corporate
    power struggles to attaining advancement, influence and authority over
    others, Machiavelli’s observations apply.
23. Walden
    by Henry David Thoreau – Thoreau spent two years, two months and two
    days writing this book in a secluded cabin near the banks of Walden Pond
    in Concord, Massachusetts.  This is a story about being truly free from
    the pressures of society.  The book can speak for itself:  “I went to
    the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the
    essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to
    teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
24. The Republic
    by Plato – A gripping and enduring work of philosophy on how life
    should be lived, justice should be served, and leaders should lead.  It
    also gives the reader a fundamental understanding of western political
    theory.
25. Lolita
    – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to
    conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes
    you deeply question your own perceptions of each.  The story is as
    devious as it is beautiful.
26. Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done.  Nuff said.
27. How To Win Friends and Influence People
    by Dale Carnegie – This is the granddaddy of all self-improvement
    books.  It is a comprehensive, easy to read guide for winning people
    over to your way of thinking in both business and personal
    relationships.
28. Lord of the Flies
    by William Golding – A powerful and alarming look at the possibilities
    for savagery in a lawless environment, where compassionate human
    reasoning is replaced by anarchistic, animal instinct.
29. The Grapes of Wrath
    by John Steinbeck – Steinbeck’s deeply touching tale about the survival
    of displaced families desperately searching for work in a nation stuck
    by depression will never cease to be relevant.
30. The Master and Margarita
    by Mikhail Bulgakov – This anticommunist masterpiece is a multifaceted
    novel about the clash between good and evil.  It dives head first into
    the topics of greed, corruption and deception as they relate to human
    nature.
31. BONUS:  How To Cook Everything
    by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook
    everything you could ever dream of eating.  Pretty much the greatest
    cookbook ever written.  Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll
    be a master chef by the time you’re 30.
32. BONUS:  Honeymoon with My Brother
    by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful
    fiancée.  Life was good.  But then his fiancée dumped him days before
    their wedding, and his boss basically fired him.  So he dragged his
    younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and
    they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years. 
    This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and
    self discovery.