by George Orwell -- there's not much I can say about this novel, because it speaks for itself, but if you REALLY want me to say more on it, read my review of it here.
2. Gone With the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell -- I know the movie is wonderful, I know you don't think reading the book will do anything else for you that the movie hasn't but that's just wrong. IT WILL.
by Charles Dickens -- "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," yes, but did you know it goes on from there, and it's really quite wonderful and perfect?
by John Steinbeck -- Everyone raves about The Grapes of Wrath, but in my opinion, this is Steinbeck's true masterpiece.
by JD Salinger -- the showcase example of teenage angst running deeper than you think in that signature stream-of-consciousness, this book is simply a must-read.
by JK Rowling -- cliche, yes, I know, but you just can't deny -- this is one amazing series. Favorite book in the series would definitely be #6, hands down.
by Virginia Woolf -- (which should also be accompanied by The Hours
by Michael Cunningham) I know, I'm cheating, putting 2 in one, but trust me, they're worth it, and they should be read together, and then watch the movie of The Hours as well.
by Sylvia Plath -- fantastically written, wonderfully important autobiographical novel, and when you get it, you should also pick up her collection of poems, Ariel
and Black Boy
by Richard Wright -- these ones tie, because Richard Wright is brutal and beautiful. Writing in the early-twentieth century civil rights wave (pre-60s MLK stuff), he was a violent opponent to the civil injustices against blacks, and his writing definitely shows it -- reaking with anger, his writing still manages to be calculated, captivating, and haunting.
, which is also probably tied for this one, about two wives forced into polygamy with the same man in Afghanistan.
