Top 10 Books You Should Read In Your Lifetime

[@ameliarose1180]

Some books are for escaping reality, but these books help us get through reality. Thank you!

[@ompawar4050]

That Skyrim stat thing becoming 100👍👍👍

[@knels5288]

So true!

[@aqm5239]

Think that when it comes to fiction, escaping reality (or taking us momentarily out of our own experience) and also showing us something that is undoubtedly real, (even if we don't consciously appreciate how at the time) are two elements that are always necessary. That's the beauty of fiction, it uses the subjective to reach to explore the objective the way that direct or rational speech never really can. I think that's why we can have classics. The lessons or concepts that they touch on are age-old and very common.

[@moeball740]

Oh come on, Merphy, you can tell them Count of Monte Cristo deals with someone unjustly accused of something without giving away the story. People unjustly accused of things still happens today, it's relevant.

[@kenzasettini1911]

Beautifully said... thank you

[@mjalen1234]

0:38 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 1:59 - The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy 3:25 - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 4:50 - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 7:21 - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 8:34 - Things My Son Needs To Know About The World by Fredrik Backman 10:06 - She Came To Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar 11:18 - Pet Sematary by Stephen King 13:50 - And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman 16:15 - Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

[@areaakhil7266]

Thanks

[@Bhawanabhatt1281]

Very helpful.thanks

[@jhanlynpanganiban5887]

ty

[@abdirizakdahir8150]

Some people stand for helping others. Thanks for the summary, you saved almost 19 minutes of my time. Thanks again.

[@umartangent]

Bro Thanks alot, this was really helpful.

[@devitabeata1683]

Everyone should read The Count of Montecristo.

[@annabees]

I hope this becomes the top liked comment XD

[@majesticmundanity]

Anna Little so far it is

[@rachaelbaker6864]

It’s so good. They made us read it in sophomore year in high school and I couldn’t pronounce half the French words, but my mom and I made it fun and read the whole thing. Always been on my favorites list. Should reread it soon.

[@ilan8468]

Does it matter if I read the book in German instead of English?

[@ilan8468]

Jonathan Parks Well I didn’t know that. But what I meant: Is there a major difference when you read a book in it’s non original language?

[@foolishme]

It's called a "biography" if it's a book about a person's life written by someone else. It's a "memoir" if the author is also the subject. Memoirs are also autobiographies. The difference between memoir and autobiography is that a memoir is usually a collection of stories and essays featuring snip-its about a person's life, but an autobiography is a more indepth timeline of a person's life.

[@cedricwestmoreland]

Thank you I have wondered about the difference for awhile

[@amandarosa2492]

It's like you've read my mind and answered my questions. Thanks!!

[@woundedidiot429]

An autobiography is written by the person himself

[@barchetta575m]

This is my personal list: 1. 1984 (highly relevant to what we are experiencing in the world right now) 2. Anna Karenina (It is not a work of literature, it is a symbolism and definition of life and romance itself) 3. War and Peace (A masterpiece of literature, the equivalent of the Mona Lisa in the world of literature) 4. Great Expectations (It's desert-island kind of book. It makes you cry, but it also makes you laugh, it scares you too and then it makes you feel love and pity and disgust...it's got everything.) 5. A Tale of Two Cities ( The language, if you love the English language, this is it. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...you get the idea.) 6. East of Eden: (Steinbeck, what is there to say about him? His style is raw and throaty, and his characters are little bits of pieces of him.) 7. Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet (The characters, the mystery, the twists, if you want quality entertainment and love solving mysteries, this is the one for you) 8. Walden: or, Life in the Woods (Henry David Thoreau is the definition of transcendentalism. If you enjoy philosophy and nature, this is it! Pay attention to his message about following your heart and inner light) 9. The War of the Worlds (A highly influential science fiction book by H.G. Wells, along with The Time Machine. It cleared the path for other science fiction novels and cinema) 10. Alice in Wonderland (Carroll’s mastery over sarcasm, nuance and wordplay is understood best by readers with a certain level of maturity, and my appreciation for his writing has only improved over time. Alice has taught me the power of dreams, the strength of my imagination, to question the strange and accept the weird)

[@peggyfranzen6159]

" WE", by Eugene Zamyatin

[@waynemarkc6862]

Love love this list....

[@sreyawilson7251]

Amazing

[@ofstarsandmoonlightt]

The first 5 are also on my own list, and I've read Sherlock Holmes, an all time favourite

[@ba-gg6jo]

Great choices I would add Cancer Ward, Quiet Flows the Don, The Magic Mountain, Silas Marner, Death of a Penguin, and about another couple of hundred. Thanks for posting your list.

[@TimCools_WithALongO]

'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is the only book I've read so far where I had to cover up the right-hand page while reading the one on the left, because the scene was so tense and I was so keen on finding out what was about to happen, that I was worried my eyes would skip ahead to the next page before I properly got there. If I can still experience that feeling, then I can't wait for the next book that makes me.

[@carlostrump9076]

Me reading IT by Stephen King lol

[@KevinsKontentKorner]

I have the 1945 movie on my dvr

[@moeball740]

Thank you Merphy for recommending Dorian Gray. Many Christians consider it blasphemous because author Oscar Wilde was gay. As an older person I can tell you I remember when many bookstores wouldn't even carry it because it was considered inappropriate.

[@felicialegg8845]

I love that book! I read it when I was very young and couldn't put it down!

[@annemontgomery3890]

I loved this as a teenager and thought he was so wild (hehe) and witty. And I reread it as an adult recently (I'm 35), and the wit was gone, and the story was only darkness. Weird how it can change as you reread it.

[@sammorgan9526]

The Count of Monte Cristo really is so incredible, I'm glad that someone on booktube has finally talked about it

[@ILLRICARDO]

I love the book, I was so excited when There was a Japanese anime adaptation of the book which was as equally stunning as the book. It's called Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

[@Tolstoy111]

It gets talked about on BookTube all the time it seems.

[@KierTheScrivener]

Two years ago my friends and I were frustrated with unwanted attention. So my friend and I decided to make a rule that we'd tell people to read our favourite book before they could ask us out. My friend's favourite book is Count of Monte Cristo and her now husband asked her out by buying it and starting to read the thousand and some page book. And it was really cute and it sits on their night table now as newlyweds ❤

[@merphynapier42]

I'm in love with this story

[@KierTheScrivener]

@@merphynapier42 I thought you'd appreciate it. Seeing your initial thoughts reminded me a lot of her joy and shock and satisfaction of reading it the first time. And reader love is always cute ❤

[@sciencystuff2106]

It's nice cause my favorite book/ series is wheel of time😂

[@annarehbinder7540]

Ayushi Shukla in that case try appriciate S M Sterling

[@desireeskumachan]

I’m going to try and implement this in looking for romantic relationship

[@lindsaymorrison7519]

What I should be doing: reading one of the dozen recommendations from Merphy that will indubitably improve my knowledge as a writer and dreamer. What I'm doing instead: Watching another video of Merphy recommendations.

[@Descro382]

Hey, research is still productive lol

[@Greathannibal1]

Loved How to Win Friends and Influence People! My personal takeaway form that book was to act like a Golden Retriever in every situation; greet everyone, every time, like they are the greatest thing in the world- it leaves everyone feeling happier.

[@maryclaireyabut9010]

I just finished reading that book today. The biggest takeaway for me was to appreciate and respect one another. It was a wonderful read.

[@louannhuber2651]

I loved this book too and have read it several times. My main takeaway was, if, during a conversation someone insists they are right, I let them have it even though I know for a fact they are wrong. Then we move on and the other person feels good about him/her self.,

[@slandergames9494]

I actually finished this a month ago. Learned a few things and definitely reinforced alot of stuff I learned over the years. One of my biggest takeaways though was how people will be far more interested in you if you're interested in them

[@abc_13579]

⁠@@slandergames9494I’d put it this way: “People will be far more likely to like you if they sense you like them.” And of course, if they sense you don't like them, they'll probably not like you very much.

[@Lioralon1]

WOW how much I loved wuthering heights. It gets so much hate for being "depressing" and "the characters are horrible people", and like, yes and yes! That's why the book is so amazing! I guess that if you expect it to be a romance and read it as if it's a romance you might hate it. For me, from the very beginning I felt like it was meant to be very VERY dark and twisted. It's a story about obsession, possessiveness, abuse, extremely toxic people and relationships. It starts with semi-insect and ends with ghosts. Fascinating and I love it.

[@valeriag9443]

I thought I would hate Wuthering Heights but I still picked it up because a friend recommended it and I’m so glad I did. LITERALLY the only thing I hated about it was the way Joseph talked. There was so much drama and so many strong feelings it was like watching a great show or movie it’s one book I’ll always recommend. Also yeah people hate it because the characters are depressing and horrible people but that’s the way gothic books work AND THATS THE FUN PART

[@r.22r]

Wait wuthering heights is hated?! 🤯 i understand how it might be too heavy for some people but its a fantastic piece of fiction

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

I tried, I really did. But it's so depressing and all the people are rotten. On top of it, the dialect is brutally hard.

[@eclecticdog2k901]

The Count of Monte Cristo is amazing! I love it too! And coming up with a top 10 is very difficult (putting them in order near impossible) but these are high up there to be sure: God's Way of Peace - Horatius Bonar The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred D. Taylor The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare The Penderwicks on Gardam Street - Jeanne Birdsall

[@robertthomasdouglasp6564]

Loved all of these except three I have not heard of, thanks, like your list best.

[@eclecticdog2k901]

@@robertthomasdouglasp6564 Wow, thanks! Out of curiosity, which ones are the ones you've read?

[@Carlosmgcosta]

After a week at the cottage, reading and writing. This is arguably the best video to come back to.

[@rashidal-heidous181]

On Dale Carnegie books, I recommend "How to stop worrying and start living" I keep returning to that book as it is more concerned with communication with one's self. Thanks for the recommendations 🙏

[@koritsi2142]

The Picture of Dorian Gray is my favourite book of all time. I'm actually currently writing a paper about it, it's the absolute best, I love it so much

[@TheDrawmaniac]

My parents and I have a tradition to read books aloud with one another. As a child they always did this for me. Memorably chronicles of narnia, Peter Pan, Stuart Little, and so many others. But during my high school years they wanted to continue reading aloud. We started with the count of monte Cristo, and I cannot begin to articulate my feelings and thoughts on that book. Reading it aloud with people you love is a joy I wish everyone can have, because as you read you can reflect together and gush, and fully take in what the book is offering. I will hopefully read the other books in your list I haven’t already read, but thank you so much for such an insightful list!

[@awkwardsity]

When I was a kid my dad would read to me every night before bed. He read me so many books but the one that sticks in my head the most is him reading me the little house on the prairie books. He was so tired after work that sometimes he’d fall asleep in the middle of a page but I’d wake him up and tell him to go to bed and he always had to finish the chapter first. One winter in was particularly cold and it just so happened that “The Long Winter” was the book he was reading at the time. Hearing the wind literally howling while listening to someone describe a cold winter was fantastic.

[@TheDrawmaniac]

@@awkwardsity My dad read me those books too!! I was fairly young when he started those, probably 4 or 5. I remember him falling asleep mid sentence as well. He always had a habit of reading ahead, so his brain knew the next few words. Whenever he fell asleep his eyes would close but he would keep speaking the next few words until it turned into gibberish and soft snoring. Memories like these are treasures to keep!

[@awkwardsity]

@@TheDrawmaniacsometimes my dad would read ahead too. We were reading the sideways story series once and he read ahead and saw something so funny that he couldn’t finish talking and just laughed for like three minutes. It was great

[@alisoni4992]

The boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse was a Christmas present from my mom last year and it makes me cry every time I open it. It's one of the loveliest books I own. It's perfect for anyone in any situation but it was especially helpful for me in transitioning from university to basically the rest of my life

[@matthewgallant3622]

A few of mine: 1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy 2. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 3. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 4. Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky 5. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 6. Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala 7. The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein 8. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway 9. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 10. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

[@makarovdude]

Thank you for your picks! I've read three of them, but will have to give the others a look. I'm trying to branch out from my usual genres. Here's my list: 1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee 2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 3. The Once And Future King by T.H. White 4. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis 5. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 6. Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield 7. The Stand by Stephen King 8. Intensity by Dean Koontz 9. The Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy 10. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Two honorable mentions: 11. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 12. A Long, Long Way by Sebastian Berry (One of the most beautifully-written books I've ever read and it's about World War I!)

[@madalinafurdui799]

Such a love/hate relationship with Wuthering Heights, hated all the characters but loved the story!! Glad I read it in the end..

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

My ten: 1. 1984 2. Pride and Prejudice. 3. Anna Karenina 3. Great Expectations 4. Crime and Punishment 5. Catch-22. 6. The Great Gatsby. 7. Huckleberry Finn. 8. David Copperfield 9. The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 10. The Picture of Dorian Gray. I've read them all more than once. None of them will bore you.

[@devlindoesthings]

Saying that the Great Gatsby will bore no one is an objectively incorrect statement. I'm not saying anything about the quality of the book, but I know many people who both hated Great Gatsby or found it dead boring.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

@@devlindoesthings I'm guessing maybe you're not American. It's very American in its message and sensibilities. But I can see someone being bored with. The story's fairly incoherent. It's impressionist. But Fitzgerald really was a fine writer.

[@alexandrathiele9109]

Are you German ?

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

@@alexandrathiele9109 Parents were

[@alexandrathiele9109]

@@nicholasschroeder3678 cool

[@etherealephemera2210]

So, I read "And Every Morning The Way Home Get's Longer and Longer" on your recommendation from a video a while back and let me tell you, that book was the first book in my life that I cried so hard reading. It just hit me towards the end and I ugly cried. That book made me ugly cry and that doesn't happen when I read books. Such a great book though, Short as it may be and even though it got me so hard I would definitely read it again.

[@balrajsingh1492]

It was blandddd for me.... I thought it was overrated but now I don't .it's just something that didn't work fr me (because it works for. Soooo many people.

[@sciencystuff2106]

@@balrajsingh1492 almost same, I feel emotional throughout the book but didn't cry then I suggested this to my friend and she called me crying and it took her 3 days to get normal.

[@Amanda-qt6lc]

I just read a man called ove. At first I was confused why it's so popular. By the end I was in tears.

[@christianbjorck816]

@Amanda I really dislike that book, but I am in a minority there. Thought it was too on the nose and didn’t by the moral cookie I was being served. So yeah I was like you when you started, after I had finished it haha.

[@shibina]

i’m currently hearing its audiobook and I’m only 20 minutes in and i’m tearing up at how the grandpa forgets his grandson and how the grandpa sees things, it’s really emotional when you have a grandpa who is going through the exact same thing

[@aragorniielessar1894]

I agree with The Count of Monte Cristo and Wuthering Heights.

[@muthulakshmivaratharajan2016]

The count of monte Cristo sounds awesome. It's in my tbr

[@peggyfranzen6159]

Those two are classic.🌱

[@storiesaremywayhome]

Great recommendations. My personal list would be: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl Meditations - Marcus Aurelius On the Shortness of Life - Seneca The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu

[@obsoletelobster9258]

My personal list: 1. 1984 2. Brave New World 3. Fahrenheit 451 4. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 5. Norse Mythology (Gaiman) 6. Night 7. The Hobbit 8. Lord of the Flies 9. Where the Sidewalk Ends 10. philip k dick short story collections

[@obsoletelobster9258]

replay by ken grimwood is also very good and underrated

[@ariellelionessofYah]

Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite books ever. I re read it at least once a year. Also Night. I met Elie Wiesel a few years before he died and our brief connection was a moment in time that felt like a lifetime. He was a beautiful human being and I will never forget our brief moment in time together. He held my hand almost the entire 5 minutes we spoke. Literally the most genuine human being I’ve ever met💙

[@sohammmmmm1637]

Lot of dystopia you got there fella

[@mmt6567]

I haven't read a single one from your list - which should i begin with?

[@HansLandaNaranja]

You should add some non english literature to your list. Like The Idiot from Dostoevsky Les Miserables from Hugo 100 Years of Solitude from Marquez Faust from Goethe .... Reading from foreign writers might change your world view. Many of them have another view on the world or way to express themselves.

[@michellesmirnova4471]

Honestly I think fiction is the best way to look at yourself from another perspective. I had a horrible internet experience a few years back and it left me with a severe amount of self-hatred. So, I happened to be reading a story while dealing with this that already meant a lot to me, but soon the story took a turn, and one of my all-time favorite characters started experiencing very similar things to myself. It helped me understand that I am more than this self-hatred and that I need to leave the toxic environment I was in. I don’t think I could’ve done this otherwise. People claim that fiction “isn’t important to read” but it’s SO important.

[@fishbone9159]

May I ask what horrible experience that was?

[@AStangeSoup]

The Yellow Wallpaper, short story but as someone with somewhat similar issues it's surprisingly accurate but also entertaining. I can't even comprehend how many times I've read it and how much it's helped me through the years. For those who don't deal with the issues of the main mistress it can still be interesting and insightful to learn of such a unique problem some people actually have to deal with in life.

[@bethmw28]

I listened to this as an audiobook this year... the second it was finished I had to restart it and do it all over again! I think saying I enjoyed it is the wrong word... but it was definitely an experience and one I'm 100% sure I'll repeat several times!

[@hoanggiangnguyen5919]

i love this book so much

[@kozukitonio740]

Everybody should read vagabond

[@timothyprice1897]

Vagabond by whom?

[@kozukitonio740]

@ Takehiko Inoue he also wrote slam dunk and real 2 other really good manga

[@africanricc3458]

My pops used to call me a vagabond…..

[@juli3836]

I have read The Picture of Dorian Gray and I'm currently reading Wuthering Heights! I've loved both.

[@aqm5239]

"How to find friends and influence people" was really good. You find that it is incredibly helpful for understanding human dynamics for people who are not naturally socially adept. Sadly, the title, in my opinion, is a huge drawback because people then read it hoping to acquire skills to become more influential and popular which, ironically, is not what the book is really about. Its teachings are not inverted or designed to bolster the individual but rather encourage humility, compassion and empathy. Great to see someone who uses the book as a means of valuing others as opposed to simply acquiring more influence or becoming more popular. Also, the most important lessons I think are on the last few pages.

[@tanirtak]

I'm with you on Backman. He fast became my favorite author as well. I love how the diversity of his characters feels genuine, as well as his ability to give depth to each of them.

[@outragedamerican1149]

Yay! Fun! In no particular order: 1. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (One of the most objectively flawless books I've ever read) 2. American Pastoral - Philip Roth (Dark, cynical, satirical. If you enjoy descents, this should be considered) 3. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini (Made me cry. It also made me think about Afghanistan in a way I never had before) 4. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (Also made me cry. Atwood is one of the greatest living authors) 5. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (Obvious choice, but there are so many layers and enduring images to this that it cannot be overlooked) 6. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (Few books have shown the evils of capitalism better than this) 7. Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake (This is a trip. Why hasn't Tim Burton made a movie yet?) 8. House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski (Speaking of trips.....) 9. Waiting for the Barbarians - J.M. Coetzee (Proof that fantasy does not need to be 9000 pages long to tell a meaningful story) 10. The Odyssey - Homer (What could I possibly say about this? Just absorb it.)

[@steveaustin6916]

You have inspired me to try Backman. Ordered a man called Ove. Should arrive tomorrow. I look forward to diving into it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings

[@Jes1919]

very good book

[@sophiaisabelle027]

Honestly, at this point, I wanna write something before I pass away so that I could leave some sort of mark in this world. Times like this needed a lot more setback for literary inspiration. Thanks for the reco!

[@sophiaisabelle027]

@@tylerdavis169 Not really, though...how can you be so sure about that?

[@Rajaas_Reading_Corner]

I have barely read any of these books, Merphy, but I am weeping uncontrollably because you are so beautifully expressive about why these touched you so greatly.

[@32mybelle]

Hi! My list goes like this; 1. The Great Gatsby 2. The Count of Monte Cristo 3. Gone With the Wind 4. To Kill A Mockingbird 5. Catcher in the Rye 6. The Once and Future King 7. East of Eden 8. A Separate Peace 9. Pride and Prejudice

[@SS-xm2hf]

It makes me so happy to see someone speak about Peter Pan so passionately. It is also my favorite book, and has been since I was young. I love seeing all of your reasons for loving it as much as you do.

[@dr.dragon8003]

Personal list: (fiction list) 1: The Odyssey- Homer 2: Cat's Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut 3: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams 4: Jitterbug Perfume- Tom Robbins 5: The Fire Within- Carlos Casfeneda 6: International Best-Selling Author Joe Vallen- Joe Vallen 7: Choke- Chuck Palahniuk 8: It- Steven King 9: Animal Farm- George Orwell 10: Lord of the Rings- Tolkien

[@mcl3066]

I love the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy so funny 😆

[@debusinha9015]

if u like hitchhikers guide you will definitely like the discworld series by terry pratchett

[@rome8180]

The horror element isn't the reason I love King. It's the warmth of his voice, his characters, and his wisdom about the world. And I think that shows up most in his later works like 11/22/63, Duma Key, and Lisey's Story. Plus, I think his prose got a lot better. You might like Lisey's Story if you want a book about grief.

[@ilan8468]

Write that down! Write that down!

[@robertoveroyguitar]

Hey Merphy, thanks for the recommendations! Gonna pick up Dorian Grey soon because of it and I am intrigued by the Swedish author you mentioned. My top 10 would be something like: - Brothers Karamazov - Pilgrim's Progress - Ana Karenina - Count of Montecristo - The Odyssey - The Hobbit - Anne of Green Gables - Crime and Punishment - Jane Eyre - The Catcher in the Rye

[@TheRASDEL83]

I have heard so much about "The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse". I like books that you can experience at different levels either as a kid or an adult. A notable mention like this would be "The little Prince". I also like a lot "The Warrior of Ligth's Manual" (that's a literal translation I don't know if that the english name to be honest), some people don't like Paulo Coelho but this was the first book my wife gave me as a gift when we where dating and it has a very special place in my heart. Great video.

[@muthulakshmivaratharajan2016]

Honestly who become a follower of Merphy in this year but became a big fan of her ( count me in )

[@danielpetrone3696]

I have

[@Kal_Al_Thor]

I don't agree with her a lot. Regardless I watch her videos.

[@ilan8468]

big boss wdym racist

[@KianOntong13]

@@bigboss3051 what?

[@slenderman8170]

@@bigboss3051 huh!

[@cejaker]

My list (which is not finished yet!) would include The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas. All of these books I keep returning to and have had the biggest impact on my life.

[@shreyam9958]

Merphyyyyy please watch The Dragon Prince. I know you are not into TV but it would mean a lot if you do a review. I can actually see you liking it. It successfully captures the vibe of Avatar the last airbender. Also just to bait you the voice actor who voices Sokka also voices Callum ( one of the main characters) and there is also a reference of boomerang. 🤗🤗 Loads of lovee

[@analyzationm]

Yes!! Thats a really good show, i really hope that we explore the magic systems more deeply in the coming seasons though

[@ThePlatinumDragon]

I third this! The dragon prince is so good and it gives off so many Atla feels!

[@ThePlatinumDragon]

Also Koh the Facestealer’s voice actor voices a character.

[@shreyam9958]

@@analyzationm I was seriously on cloud nine when they announced the 7 season arc. THe FReAkinG SAGA😍😍

[@richatayal]

Also the guy who worked on avatar ( Aaron ehaaz) made this show

[@craigminto2057]

My Top Ten Books I Share With You Are 1. Hallelujah Corner - John Harris. 2. The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway. 3. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde. 4. To Kill A Mocking Bird - Harper Lee 5. A Kind Of Loving - Stan Barstow. 6. Keep The Aspidistra Flying - George Orwell 7. A Sense of Freedom - Jimmy Boyle ( autobiography ) 8. The Queen and I - Sue Townsend . 9. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck. 10. A Town Like Alice - Neville Shute . Thank You Craig .

[@analyzationm]

Unrelated but if anyone who's reading this likes friendships guys!!!! See Merlin on Netflix its the BEST OF THE BEST friendship in the Universe, this is coming from someone who LOVES and has read many ( including the one between the Gentleman bastards) friendships. The loyalty and love between Merlin and Arthur is AMAZING, if you like bickering and joking between your friendships, its there, LOYALTY and sacrifice, there. Its also a friendship which we see develop slowly cause in the beginning apparently one is a "royal " prat and the other is an idiot. But...just guys, see it! It has 5 seasons and its actually always about these two!

[@lmaolini]

You mean like MERLIN the new adventures xD?

[@mac4951]

You mean the romance in Merlín? Because yeah, it’s top tier.

[@fena_reti]

oh my Gosh this comment made me tear up! I have loved that tv show for so long! I am so sad that not enough people talk about it! It is the best show of all time

[@annabees]

AGREED! I love how this show shows true friendship love and commitment. They both make each other change and grow and be their best selves.

[@crystalrayne2170]

I. Agree. 10/10.

[@benjaminroe311ify]

You know what is beautiful? Seeing someone talk so loving and passionately about such things. When you put your humanity on video like this Merphy it is valuable. Thanks for the recommendations!

[@huangleonjin5985]

i would recommend anyone who is interested to read 'Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by khaled hosseini :)

[@RandomWriter9110]

I love Stephen King’s books (I’ve read roughly 12 of them so far) and can safely say that “Pet Semetary” is my favorite one as well. I absolutely love it! I don’t even have children and it’s still hard to read without getting emotional.

[@kaitlynnelson2139]

The Boy, the mole, the fox and the horse genuinely helps me get through panic attacks! It's incredibly comforting and sweet and gorgeous to look at that my anxiety eases!

[@scottwareham6987]

Just for fun, another list, in no particular order! (*** are placed for the more hectic novels): 1. Of Mice and Men/Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck 2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey 3. Lord of the Flies - William Golding 4. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver 5. No Country for Old Men/***Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy 6. Light in August - William Faulkner 7. The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf 8. ***Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov 9. ***High Rise - JG Ballard 10. Ray Bradbury - Something Wicked this Way Comes

[@Ali093]

I love your take on Pet Semetary! King is my favorite author. Even if one doesn't like him, one has to respect the level of relatability in his stories, and it's a relatability that can change as you age! I find myself relating to different sections of his stories upon reread because I'm older.

[@mattlohr]

My own list, in no particular order: 1. The Feast of Love - Charles Baxter 2. Killing Yourself to Live (85% of a True Story) - Chuck Klosterman 3. The Greatest Game Ever Played - Mark Frost 4. Underworld - Don DeLillo 5. The Mezzanine - Nicholson Baker 6. The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History - Robert M. Edsel 7. Beat the Blues Before They Beat You: How to Overcome Depression by Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D 8. How to Be Happy, Dammit: A Cynic's Guide to Spiritual Happiness by Karen Salmansohn 9. Here by Richard McGuire 10. The Great Movies (four-volume series) - Roger Ebert

[@jordanhunt4493]

I think I've cried at least once with every Fredrick Backman story I've read. Far and away my favorite author and a true study on how to write in a way that makes readers feel and feel deeply.

[@piasandgren3349]

As a swede I didn't know Fredrik was so known abroad. But it is so good to know! What might not get across is how well he discribes the swedish soul. I really recommend "Britt-Marie was here" if you havn't read it. Great list!

[@gamezilla2271]

Wuthering heights is the most intense Novel of all times. I love it.

[@dblair1258]

Great Post. :) My Top Ten "They Influenced Me/Made Me Think/I Enjoyed Them a Lot at the Time" books: The Three Musketeers (Dumas), Angelique (Golon), Priest-Kings of Gor (Norman), High Crusade (Anderson), Shogun (Clavell), Interview With The Vampire (Rice), Ethics (Spinoza), The Arm and the Darkness (Caldwell), Atlas Shrugged (Rand), Endless Universe (Bradley). Honorable Mentions: The Sparrow (Russell), The Dragonriders of Pern (McCaffrey), Jesus: 100 Years Before Christ (Ellegard), The Commanding Self (Shaw), gosh...I could just keep going on....

[@OhAlice1951]

“Wow, that story was depressing, hated that!!” was EXACTLY my experience reading Wuthering Heights in high school. Looks like I’ll be picking it up again after seeing it through your lense

[@petra1995]

I also read it in high school, but I picked it myself because I was pretentious, and I remember liking it a lot 😅

[@hectorluna9653]

This list wasn't easy to come up with, but here's mine: Dune - Frank Herbert Slaughter-House Five - Kurt Vonnegut Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein This Is the Way the World Ends - James Morrow Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K Dick The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs 1984 - George Orwell

[@sarahreffstrupjrgensen7772]

The first time I read "A Monster Calls" I was unprepared for the amount of emotions it evoked in me. It was a time in my life where I struggled with my father's mental illness, because it came on gradually but then suddenly took a drastic turn to the worse, and I didn't know how to deal with it, or even if I actually believed him. He had been a great father and a good man all my life, but now he was scared and angry all the time and he said some awful things to me. But reading that book made me realize that the illness was not him, and my feelings towards that illness did not nullify my love for my father. And that thinking something horrible is not the same as acting on it, and I really needed that right then. So I ugly cried, and I recommend that book to everyone dealing with heavyweight illnesses. Whether it is you or your loved one, just read it, and let go of your guilt ❤️

[@mandarinfox1813]

A Man Called Ove is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

[@MichaelHickerson]

Pet Semetary scared the fool out of me when I first read it in my teens --but not for the whole things coming back from the dead part (which is scary, mind you). What stands out in this book and may be the best thing he's written is the sequence of Gabe running toward the highway and the horror of Lewis as he tries to stop the inevitable. That scene has imprinted on me and chills me to this day. I re-read this one a couple of years ago after becoming a dad and it's even scarier now.

[@teemakarov9375]

Soooo many good books. Can’t forget the classics. 20k leagues, Dracula, Frankenstein, Inferno, Arabian Nights, Confederacy of Dunces, King Lear, Master and Margarita….

[@chelseaely2316]

You look so close to tears for most of this, at least up to the end of the third book and clearly for these to be close to you they’ve affected you and I hope that even if it gets you down, you’ll be okay♥️

[@ryanbartlett672]

Smiled when you listed Monte Cristo first - epic. I'm going to check out your other recommendations. You seem like a caring person. And can I say, I like your clean-cut look.

[@KingHador]

"How to win friends and influence people" is such a gem.

[@francismausley7239]

Great list. For spiritual well-being “The Hidden Words,” can be downloaded free. It contains 153 brief passages revealed by Baha’u’llah in 1858, as he walked the banks of the river Tigris in Baghdad. Direct and straightforward, it holds treasures of meaning that facilitates experiences of inner transformation.

[@Vaelios3292]

Great list ! I should really read the count of Monte-Cristo ! My personnal list : 1. The Little Prince by A. Saint-Exupéry 2. The Stranger by A. Camus 3. Froth of the Daydream by B. Vian 4. The Shadow of the Wind by C. Ruiz Zafon 5. Lum'en by Laurent Genefort 6. La mécanique du coeur by M. Malzieu 7. Dune by F. Herbert (I don't recommand the following books tho, quite disapointing in my opinon) 8. Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo 9. Dangerous Liaisons by C. de Laclos 10. White Fang by J. London And I realized these are mostly french novel, but I guess I can't stop reading books in my mother tongue.

[@abundanceintheson_316]

Oh, how I agree with you about "Dune". I felt like Frank Herbert felt like something was wrong with Paul's popularity as a character and thus he had to be destroyed and thus we have "Dune Messiah". But, I enjoyed seeing Alia developing. The whole concept of the "pre-born" always fascinated me. I liked some of the elements of "Children of Dune" and I think the plot twists really carried the book forward. But then it all crashes and burns in "God Emperor".

[@TheGoofy1932]

My personal favorites: 1.The Princess Bride by William Golding. 2. Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. 3. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. 4.Count of Monte Crisco by Alexander Dumas. 5. Animal Farm by George Orwell. 6.Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. 7.Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews. 8. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie. 9.Written in Red by Anne Bishop. 10. The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald

[@mandarpanchal2405]

It is a bit surprising to see a list of top 10 novels without Russian Classics. Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy have given me a lot to ponder over life.

[@mikeburkall3868]

One big book on my top ten is "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". It's a great read for self examination of one's values and what makes us who we are.

[@jeffwatkins352]

McMurtry's Lonesome Dove and Fowles' The Magus. So glad you included Wuthering Heights on your list. Its premise, a relationship destroyed by society’s condemnation, inspired me to write a modern-day version set in the West, the lovers being two men. I was on my third or fourth draft when Brokeback Mountain was released. So that was that.

[@jrrizzo9876]

the count does not get enough love! such a gem, and the themes and characters are so strong its so easy to love

[@penphoria]

As the Swede, I am ridiculously proud of Fredrick Backman being everywhere on this list😅❤️ I am also amazed by how much you love his language since it’s translated. The translator must’ve done a really good job!

[@petra1995]

As a Swede, I hadn't heard about him, but I googled him in the middle of the video because the spelling of his name seemed suspiciously Swedish. I've been wanting to read more in my native language, now I know what to get 😄 Edit: Oh it's THAT author, I just never paid attention to the author's name lol

[@davidhumphries9323]

I had an abridged kid's version of The Count of Monte Cristo that I loved. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I came across the unabridged version. I don't think I could have made it through the longer version if I hadn't read the shorter version several times. I love and appreciate the longer version now.

[@UdyKumra]

I was pretty sure "And Every Morning" was going to be on this list. While I don't normally like contemporaries, and probably won't read most of his books, I anticipate coming back to this one many times as my grandparents get older.

[@niranjanak8070]

My sister has been insisting me for a long time to read Wuthering Heights, a classic, a genre which I have prejudiced against to contain only thoughts and actions related to the manner, love, and marriage(which I find boring). Now that you have mentioned it and because of the intriguing story, I am definitely gonna read it. (and also I love your channel so much. Keep up the good work, which needs no mentioning because you are constantly progressing in your content).

[@anan-aremere7950]

It's not a love story, it's a hate story

[@satan_overlord]

Finally someone put Peter Pan in their list, my god it must be one of my favorites books of all time, the final always got me tears and I feel so sad, and it makes me think about how time flies and how hard it is to grow up and that fear that the ones you love end up leaving you, omg so many deep themes, now I want to read it again lol

[@shinymetalbits1]

The Count of Monte Cristo is an all time favourite of mine as well. So many great quotes as well 🥰

[@amaliabjornler6688]

No one: Absolutly no one: Merphy: it's like this episode in avatar-

[@ariellelionessofYah]

I compare things to Avatar the Last Airbender a LOT😂

[@amaliabjornler6688]

Ngl same here

[@mariosblago94]

I love how the fans essentially converted her, and now she loves it. XD

[@max1mum0verdr1ve]

As soon as she brought up that episode, I was fangirling like crazy.

[@Definitelynotabot4]

What episode was that?

[@thulani196]

You're the most chilled out Booktuber that i've seen here so far. I love it here. :)

[@RaymondStormbl3ssed]

The one book I would recommend that everyone should read at least once is to kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee It's one of my all time favourite pieces of fiction ever written

[@sruthysk3962]

Same 🙌🏾.. I read it the first time when I was 13 and have since re-read it so many times and each time I took away something new from it. It's beauty lies in the simplicity which it talks of such dark topics.

[@KanwarAnand]

- goldfinch by Donna Tartt - laws of Hunan nature by Robert greene - mastery by Robert greene - Shantaram by GDR - picture of Dorian gray - the fountainhead by Ayn Rand - the idiot by FD - Martin Eden by jack london - power of now by E Tolle - green mile by Stephen king Just made this list. Reading Vanishing half. Can’t wait to read at least two of your tops.

[@boudica3356]

This is a good list. I've read most of them. I would like to add One Hundred Years of Solitude The Good Earth To Kill a Mockingbird The Mists of Avalon Moby Dick Pillars of the Earth Call of the Wild The Lord of the Rings trilogy Lord of the Flies I could go on... there are so many others I love. It's impossible to narrow a list down to just 10!

[@ClassicsCats]

Reading Peter Pan for the first time ever based on your love of it!!! ❤

[@Drolywa]

I’ve found King’s story template is to present normal, relatable characters. Then he isolates them. Then he applies external pressure and allows you to watch the characters’ “normalcy” fall away. Pet Sematary, The Shining, Misery, Storm of the Century, The Mist… and on and on and on…

[@maracummings9767]

So pleased to hear Count Monte Cristo being mentioned! I think all works of Alexander Dumas are incredible! My list: 1. The Máster and Margarita by Bulgakov 2. 12 Chairs by Ilf and Petrof 3. War and Peace by Tolstoy 4. The Gadfly by Voynich 5. Consuelo by George Sand 6. The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown 7. The Power of Now by E.Tolle 8. Uncle Toms Cabin by H. Beecher Stove 9. All Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle 10. The Alchemist by P. Coelho

[@Descro382]

Uh.. hate to be that person but you put Stove instead of Stowe

[@emilianoarenas7577]

The most important book that really changed my life and makes me cry every single time I re-read it is The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. The book itself is so meta it makes my head explode, and the character of Bastian goes through such a path of self discovery and by the way you talked about the things you love on these books I'm almost 100% you will enjoy it. It's also a book that deserves more attention than it has so hope you read this message.

[@rockinspock1750]

You say the words that are in my heart

[@idlemidlemuh]

I read it first, when I was 8 years old. It changed my life. It gave me hope while growing up in an impossible situation. Kept reading it regularly to this day. It lost some of it's magic, some spoilery things, I could critique from an adult point of view. But I still love it.

[@fafo867]

its the only book i read in my mother language (German) cuz its the original language and i dislike translations most of the time

[@rockinspock1750]

@@fafo867 Me too

[@ramspencer5492]

Considering reading that. Thanks. The movie had a cool premise. I bet the book is better.

[@whatsupmara]

"I feel like a walked through a real life pain and we've walked through that together." huff that was such a good description and made me teary-eyed.

[@henriquerodrigues7908]

A man called Ove is the best book I’ve read in my life, is so good I could talk all day about it!!

[@bdup159]

I think they made a movie of that. Might be wrong. But it was a foreign film and I watched it awhile ago.

[@henriquerodrigues7908]

@@bdup159 yes, they did! It’s a very good movie, very similar to the book.

[@tahirarahman4491]

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse was such a refreshing read! A must read for everyone.

[@owl2192]

The Picture of Dorian Gray is my second favorite book! An amazing story with an infinite amount of layers of meaning that is as scary is as it is absolutely beautiful!

[@Definitelynotabot4]

What's ur first?

[@Descro382]

Seriously, what's the first?

[@xChickpea]

I’m happy that you pseudo-included My Dark Vanessa. It’s such a hard-hitting difficult book to read - but only because it’s so blunt in its subject/theme. It delves into the mental gymnastics that someone goes through such as the main character in the book. It’s such a good book, but I’m simultaneously yelling at people to read it and wary of recommending it to certain people.

[@nematarot7728]

The prose of Peter Pan are some of my all time favorites! For indispensable reading with deep human themes I always recommend the Earthsea series 💛

[@joshyaks]

1 - Any of the collections of Kurt Vonnegut's essays/speeches/letters (eg. "A Man Without A Country", "Palm Sunday", "Fates Worse Than Death", etc.) 2 - "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving 3 - "The Brothers K" by David James Duncan 4 - "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller 5 - a) The Sarantine Mosaic, and b) The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay 6 - "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo 7 - "Days Without End" by Sebastian Barry 8 - "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens 9 - "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy 10 - "Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown" by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall

[@nessaaaaaaa7]

I'm reading Wuthering Heights for my English Literature class this year! I'm looking forward to reading it now :D

[@lakshanasaoirse48]

Oh are you studying English Literature??

[@nessaaaaaaa7]

@@lakshanasaoirse48 no im just a high school student 😅 i love english lit but i wont be majoring in it

[@MLLatUtube]

I have Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre on my top ten list. Jane Eyre in particular has spoken to me in so many different ways at the various stages of my life. I need to read The Count of Monte Cristo.

[@TheWebknecht]

I am going to add the following Walter Moers books to this list: Captain Bluebear, Rumo and City of Dreaming Books. Those are weird but so full of heart and creativity. Thank me later :)

[@ProspectivePlans]

I need all of these books on my bookshelf immediately! 💫 Keep rising to be who you want to be! 💫 #keeprising #risingtobe #aswerise #riser