There are many timeless books you should read, but even
books are best read at a specific age. If you are in your twenties, you have
already exited your teens happily and started entering adult life, which
introduces an inevitable change in obligations. Life is your best teacher, but
it is always helpful to get some guidance from good writers along your way.
'The things you learn and how you understand the book
depend on the phase in your life' – says Jack Matheson, a content manager at
Essayontime. For this reason, we have
selected some of the best books that may not have read before, but can
certainly shape your identity and your worldview.
1. Crime and
Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
At some point in your life, you will need to make an
important choice. Reading Dostoyevsky's novel is a great way to learn about the
difference between choosing the good and the bad, and the consequences that
come from both.
A gripping story and an argument against nihilism, 'Crime
and Punishment' speaks of a 23-year-old man, Raskolnikov who murders two women
and suffers from the consequences. The story speaks of humanity and how we are
responsible over our actions and the death of others.
2. The Year of
Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
Didion's memoir is an honest story about life after death.
One evening, Didion's husband dies from heart attack and unexpectedly leaves
her to live without him. Reading this story about the essence of grief can
teach you not to take anything for granted and how to cope with loss.
3. The Corrections,
Jonathan Franzen
An accurate, at times sarcastic capture of the path we
take on the switch from youth to adulthood. This is a story of three siblings,
each trying to live their lives beyond their place of birth.
Denise is career-driven, yet caught up in several affairs.
Chip is the middle child that unfortunately, is barred from school, while Gary
is no longer as stable as everyone thinks. This book is about to teach you that
everyone has a life crisis, but will eventually manage to correct it.
4. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
An adolescent psychology book is a great wake-up call for
those on their race to the thirties. This novel will improve your ability to
fight prejudice and start seeing the beauty of life. Toni Morrison uses rich
words to craft a perfect book – even in places where she speaks of
appalling actions.
5. Invisible Man,
Ralph Ellison
Invisible Man is one of those books you will not be able
to leave once you start reading. More importantly, Ellison has managed to write
a masterpiece that changes your worldview and prepares you for what is about to
come. Speaking of betrayals and racism, the narrator presents you with his
trauma and makes you feel angry, leaving you to question the society and its
structure.
6. The Women's Room,
Marilyn French
Speaking of the life of a housewife in 1960, French
unravels all the misery of the novel's heroine. The story of a woman who shed
her husband by earning a degree will make you understand the worst of
discrimination. Read this book to find out about the woman who raised her sons
to become better men than her husband.
7. The Handmaid's
Tale, Margaret Atwood
This is a story of the reproductive women rights and may
leave you in awe and terror at the same time. The heroine of Atwood's book,
Offred had a husband, a daughter and a name. As the story unravels, she is
located in North America where fertility is more important than anything due to
the plummeted birth rate. Her family is gone at this point and Offred has
become the handmaid to an enigmatic man to whom she must bear a child.
8. American Wife,
Curtis Sittenfeld
American Wife is an entertaining, wise book that speaks of
choices people make and marriage. It will teach you how accidents are something
you cannot avoid and can easily befall you, at the same time making you
question about ethics when it comes to love and loyalty.
9. Attachments,
Rainbow Rowell
Being in the twenties means that you already have or are
about to enter the working world. Rowell speaks of what people can expect when
getting out of college and into the real world. You simply must read
'Attachments' to learn the story about two friends who send emails while at
work, and the IT guy who falls in love in one of the women while monitoring
their messages.
10.The Sleepwalker's
Guide to Dancing, Mira Jacob
When you grow up, the time comes to stop seeing your
parents as flawless and start accepting that they are people just like everyone
else in the world. Jacob speaks of a woman who is faced with the hidden past of
her family, having to accept everything life gives her.
11.So Much Pretty,
Cara Hoffman
Hoffman tells the story of a girl that was found dead in a
ditch in the form of a novel that represents the indictment of rape culture.
Who killed the local girl and why? Both young genius and a reporter search for
this answer, waking up every reader to the dangers of our world.
12.Adulthood is a
Myth, Sarah Andersen
And the final one in our reading list – 'Adulthood is a
Myth'. This may sound a bit controversial since all other books have the goal
of helping you grow up, but according to Andersen, adulthood never truly
arrives. The only thing that happens is that we start doing 'adult' things, but
this does not mean that adulthood is real.
Andersen has presented us with a collection of
inspirational comics, illustrating the pain you surely feel as the thirties
creep closer and closer.
Your thirties are fast approaching and you want to get
some insight into life… What better way to achieve this than by reading the 12
books that are best read before you reach this point in your life?
Brenda Savoie is a content marketer, private English tutor, and
desperate dreamer. Writing her first romantic novel. Seeking contentment
through mindfulness. Check her last article “Who Invented
Homework?and Why?”Find her on Twitter and Facebook
I read one of the listed books when I was in high school.
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