An essential book isn’t just a book that remains relevant today. An essential book’s themes become more relevant with each passing year since its original release. The following titles continue to have a profound effect on its readers — and for good reason. Covering multiple genres on the list, there is something for everyone here.
The following list consists of either best sellers, works praised by critics and readers alike, underrated gems, or life changing stories. There’s a good chance you’ll be referencing them for years to come. Without further ado, let’s begin!
1. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
“A man can be destroyed but not defeated”
At a mere 127 pages, it is truly remarkable what Ernest Hemingway encapsulates in The Old Man and the Sea. The book takes place in a small fishing village in Cuba right off of the coast. The central character, Santiago, is an elderly man who once was a well respected fisherman in the village. Lately, his reputation has been tarnished due to his stamina declining and his incapability to catch a single fish in 84 days. This doesn’t discourage him however. He sets out to sea alone, far from the shore, to try and catch a big fish. Most of the story takes place with Santiago out at sea by himself.
This novella will force you to question how age should really be defined, the honor of struggle and how success is more attainable than you think it is.
2. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
“My excellence confused them.”
Published posthumously, John Kennedy Toole wrote a tragicomedy novel about life in New Orleans during the 1960s. Ignatius J. Reilly is a well educated, yet slothful unemployed 30-year-old. Due to his complacency, he is solely dependent on his overly emotional mother, Irene Reilly. One night, Irene is driving the two of them back from a bar she forced Ignatius to go to with her and ends up crashing her car. She is forced to pay a large fine and, in turn, forces Ignatius to get a job. Ignatius, being the courageous yet cynical man that he is, agrees. What follows is a hilarious odyssey of luck, misfortune, misunderstandings, frustrations, and redemption. There are multiple substantial characters that later correlate with each other to create some of the most hysterical literary climaxes ever written.
A Confederacy of Dunces is an easy read, due to its comedic pace, but it doesn’t lose the reader despite Ignatius J. Reilly’s garbled way of analyzing the world around him. There’s no other book quite like it; answering and leaving certain themes open to interpretation such as inertia, manipulation, family dynamics, deceit, racial discrimination, love, wealth, and greed.
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
“We bombard people with sensation. That substitutes for thinking.”
Imagine a world where self expression, freedom of speech and literature are banned, along with the consequences. If you were a fan of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 should be your next read. Vaguely set around the year 2022, Guy Montag is a “fireman” who hunts down books and sets them on fire. The fire department is determined to terminate any and all expressions that aren’t regulated by the government. It isn’t until Montag is approached by an innocent young woman one night who questions his profession; forcing him to dwell on why exactly books are banned. What comes next is colossal.
Originally published in 1953, the novel genuinely has become more relevant than ever. Fahrenheit 451 tests the government and the character’s motives, integrity, open-mindedness, censorship and identity. This is an urgent read.
4. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.”
The Prophet is about a wise man about to sail back to his homeland after spending 12 years in exile. As he is about to go back home, the community asks him questions about life: Freedom, work, time, love, joy, sorrow, good, evil, self-knowledge and much more.
Written in 26 prose poetry fables, author Kahlil Gibran has a way of tackling serious issues with a gentle approach. Regardless of your background, this is a story for everybody. It is an ideal template on how to deal with certain worries and desires we all exhaust. There isn’t much more to say that the book can’t say more succinctly. After you set the book down, your life will start to make sense.
Final chapter
The next time you ask yourself, “What book should I read?” or “Is this book going to waste my time?,” these books will engage you. Some classics, some underappreciated – something for everyone. There is no denying the meteoric impact these titles will have on you. Like any great book, there will be more to discover as time goes on.
Books are never meant to be forgotten on a shelf. There is something to find within each page: Morality, identity, self-reliance, growth and perseverance are themes that will never leave our side no matter what age we are. These books will last you, and many more to come, for a lifetime.
Featured image: Photo by Link Hoang on Unsplash
Edited by: James Sutton
