So These Are Must Read Books || According to Goodreads

[@BookishChas]

This was a great idea for a video Tom! I didn’t care for the Giver at all, and I remember being bored by Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I feel the same way about Hitchhikers Guide lol.

[@TomOrange]

Thanks! Glad I’m not the only one that feels that way about Hitchhikers. There must be at least a handful of us lol

[@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

I'm a bit surprised that Dickens was so low on this list. I had expected A Tale of Two Cities or Great Expectations to be there. The only titles that I've read that I think should be on this list though is Frankenstein by Mary Shelly and Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. I've said on my channel that Frankenstein is a must-read and something that needs to be studied. As for Red Harvest, Hammett gives us the modern antihero in the Continental Op, a character that I believe changed genre fiction.

[@TomOrange]

I agree that Frankenstein should on the list. After I finished record it felt like an obvious miss

[@eusaypdx]

Kudos for a great video! I think your taste is similar to mine, so I would recommend east of eden, les miserables, and the secret garden. ❤ definitely worth a read. Thank you!!

[@TomOrange]

Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve been meaning to read East of Eden forever and just keep putting it off

[@novasite7795]

Huge fan of Animal Farm. Reread it every couple of years. A good way to explain propaganda (misinformation), corruption, and the dangers of dictatorships for children.

[@TomOrange]

I’m probably due for a re read of it as well

[@gonaye1]

Wow, GREAT list!!! I have read quite a few of these (Potter, LOTR, Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice are some of my all-time favorite books and I re-read them every few years). Lizzie Bennett is one of my all-time favorite heroes (and a legitimate detective, imho). I absolutely love Rowling as a writer and am currently obsessed with her Cormoran Strike novels. I read Animal Farm as a child but got really sad when I reached the end of the book and couldn’t bring myself to read it again (same thing happened with Lord of the Flies). Another book I think is an absolute must-read is Frankenstein. Mary Shelley for me sits alongside Charlotte Brontë and Jane Austen on the pantheon of literary writers whose works will continue to stay relevant (and resonant) for many generations to come.

[@TomOrange]

Yes I completely agree Frankenstein should have been on this list!

[@RPisa2416]

The Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorites of all time. It’s a shame that it is force fed to high school students resulting in why they can’t enjoy the beauty of it. The main criticism is that Holden, the main character, complains for the entirety of the book but that is the beauty of it. It’s a coming of age story that you’ll only appreciate its beauty after life has kicked you in the teeth a few times. Highly recommend!

[@TomOrange]

Schools do seem to ruin some great reads

[@this_alec]

You think Sanderson will ever be on a list like this? Sometimes Stormlight feels genuinely timeless and legendary to me. But maybe I’m naive? Is it just modern pop? 🤔 Maybe it’s depends on how the series/Cosmere ends?

[@TomOrange]

I think its possible but would take a popular adaptation. I know he is the biggest guy in fantasy right now but if you asked most people outside of the fantasy niche they have no idea who he is. I think there are a lot of books that should be must reads but just never catch on enough for most people to push those books. Fantasy still also has the stigma of not being real literature which adds another level of difficulty to it.

[@LittleAngry11]

You should do a video where you read the books you haven't on this list and give us your thoughts!

[@TomOrange]

Good idea!

[@ashleyashleym2969]

I gotta say for Harry Potter I made a conscious choice as a preteen to not read any of those books. I had ample opportunity to but for me theyre definitely something I will never read. Never liked the idea of them from the beginning and the more I've learned about them the more its just reestablished the fact that theyre not for me. For some reason I really hate the idea of wizards (and vampires). Maybe because to me that was a much younger and more childish thing I enjoyed. I was first introduced to them in middle school and a book about wizards was just a hard no for me and honestly still is. I was part of a similar pop culture enjoyment and that was The Hunger Games. Chronicles of Narnia had similar popularity as well and I was also a part of that. No wizards, no vampires and since Ive been an adults, I cant stand any media about zombies either, consumed far too much of it as a teen.

[@TomOrange]

Not everything is for everyone and there’s nothing wrong with that!

[@Silvio67]

i have to reread 'Catcher in the Rye' asap

[@TomOrange]

I should try and get that on my tbr soon

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

I read 1984 first, really didn't like it, then loved Animal Farm. :D It's all up to preference. I also didn't like the Book Thief, but purely because there are so many more important books about WWII in Germany, I don't see why we need this weird one. The Kite Runner is very good, though! I am a big Brave New World hater. xD I woud love to hear what you think must read books are!

[@TomOrange]

That’s what’s great about reading! I may have to make that list at some point

[@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels]

I guess 30 out of 50 isn't bad. Given I've been reading like 75-80% fantasy since I got back into reading alot a few years ago it always amazes me when I do not-terrible on these kind of comparisons.

[@TomOrange]

That’s not bad at all!

[@christhewritingjester3164]

I do find it odd that Dr Suess is on there. We've read all of them with our kids and I think they're great for kids for a number of reasons. But revisiting them as an adult doesn't make much sense. Overall that's a pretty sold list and I've read or watched an adaptation of at least half of them. I did add a few to my TBR.

[@TomOrange]

Yeah his books really did feel out of place. Especially when something like Frankenstein is missing

[@kama3034]

If you read Snow Sountry and enjoyed it you should definitely NOT read Memoirs of a Geisha (maybe only watch the movie). The book had so much controversy that even the Geisha the story is influenced by, wrote a book to tell her story and culture that the book couldn't. If you want to learn about that culture, I highly recommend reading her book instead: "Geisha, A Life" by Iwasaki Mineko.

[@TomOrange]

Thanks for the information!