Must Read Books

The significance of this write-up titled 'must read books' does not in any way stress the fact that one must read these books which are enlisted here, if one does not want to. In fact, it does not make any sense reading a book in compulsion. People who love reading, love to taste every droplet of the vast ocean of literature, know that they must read.

Some people read books with a sense of gaining some knowledge and some read to drive away boredom. However, there are some, who just do not read books, but find themselves engraved in them. So for all those voracious readers, here is a quick review on some great books to read.

Macbeth is truly one of the most amazing masterpieces ever produced by William Shakespeare. This drama is a tale of a man hoping against hope. Macbeth, a brave kinsman of the King is led by the witches' prophesies to harbor his ambitions of getting to the throne of the King of Scotland.

His ambitions would have remained weakened and unstructured, had it not been for Lady Macbeth - his wife, who hatches a plan to get the King of Scotland murdered and secure the prophesy. And so what happens. Macbeth murders the king and that was when he begins to pave his way towards his own demise.

More prophesies and warnings are made as the story goes on and what happens eventually is... Well, it would not be a good idea to break the suspense here itself. So, get the book and decide, if it was a must read for you.

Another great piece of philosophical excellence using the allegorical elements of literature - The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho was rewarded with the Guinness Book of World Record for getting this book translated into 56 different languages. No wonder, there is no reason this one should not be included in this list of the must read novels.

The story begins with a quiet, domestic life of a young shepherd, Santiago, who has a dream of a treasure that lay somewhere in Egypt. So he begins his journey of following his dream and what he comes across is what which makes up the core of this book.

Believe, doubts, insurmountable obstacles, tests, love, despair and nearly all elements of life and their purpose have been portrayed in this story of this young shepherd... "When a person really desires something all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream."

The very first novel of Khaled Hosseini and a big hit in 2003 among the masses - 'The Kite Runner.' Khaled depicts the picture of Amir, belonging from a well-to-do family and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. These two lads grow up together, roaming through the streets of Kabul and enjoying their childhood.

Life was fair and easy, until an event occurred which caused a turmoil in the lives of both these friends. Then comes a part where the Soviets invade Afghanistan and situation becomes worse and Amir and his father had to make an escape to California, USA.

The story also depicts the death of Amir's father and how he comes to known that Hassan was his half-brother. Unfortunately, Hassan gets killed too and now Amir has to rescue Hassan's son Sohrab and so he does. This story has been divided into three parts and trust me, the work which Khaled has done, will surely keep you busy.

Stephen King's 'The Long Walk' uses an excellent example of marathon to run his story. 'The Long Walk', in the story, is an annual walking contest which is participated by a hundred of teenage boys. It is also the national sport. The stipulation in the game is that each participant has to keep up a speed of at least 4 miles per hour.

Not being able to keep up with this speed for 30 seconds fetches the player a verbal warning. If the player, after having received three warnings, slows down again, he gets a ticket. This 'ticket', is no ordinary one. But as you keep reading, it would be shown that getting a ticket means getting shot by the soldiers riding along the roadside.

Interesting thing about this walk is that there are no rest periods, no stops or definite finish line. It would end only when only one player is left alive. The blood spilled in this long walk is accompanied by tremendous physical and mental torture.

Deception Point is a techno-thriller novel, pictured around the Arctic Circle. It speaks about the findings of a meteorite that might be a turning point for NASA. It might give the officials an important evidence of extraterrestrial life.

But little that they know about the 'Delta Force' led by an unknown commander, whose mission is to keep the secret from unveiling to the masses. The methodology which Dan has adopted in describing the events in this novel is appreciated by his style of culmination. And that is why this book an involving one.

• Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
• The Trial - Franz Kafka
• The Bet - Anton Chekhov
• The Way of the World - William Congreve
• Lord of the Flies - William Golding
• The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
• The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
• 1984 - George Orwell
• Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean Auel
• The Turn of the Screw - Henry James

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Díaz
• Then We Came to the End: A Novel - Joshua Ferris
• A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
• Out Stealing Horses: A Novel - Per Petterson
• The Fountain Head - Ayn Rand

• Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
• One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Breakfast At Tiffany's - Truman Capote
• Contest - Matthew Reilly
• Laughable Loves - Milan Kundera

• Up From Slavery - Booker T. Washington
• A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
• The Lives of a cell - Lewis Thomas
• The Civil War - Shelby Foote
• The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story - Richard Preston

• Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia - Jean Sasson
• Conquering the Mysteries and Lies of Grief - Sherry Russell
• Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey - Rachel Simon
• It's Not About the Bike - Lance Armstrong
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt

So there we are at the edge of our review on some of the most famous must read books for college students, professionals and anyone who has the taste to honor and appreciate the work of such great authors. If the aforementioned names are not enough to give a spark to your taste, you still have a myriad of books to choose from.