Top Ten Books I Hope People Still Read in 30 Years

Tuesday, May 29, 2012


This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for the Top Ten Books Written In The Past 10 Years That I Hope People Are Still Reading In 30 Years

1) The Book Thief
– Seriously people, go read this, then in 30 years make your grandkids read it.

2) John Green’s work
– Green has a way of connecting readers to characters that will never lose its punch. I hope his work still reaches new generations of teens when he’s an old man.

3) The Graveyard Book – I hope this one becomes a classic just like the book that inspired it, The Jungle Book.

4) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – I can’t think of the better book that dealt with the trauma that 9/11 caused. I think that it will be a good representation of the confusion and pain people were feeling at that time to future generations.

5) Interpreter of Maladies – Lahiri’s writing is timeless, as are her themes of blending cultures and coming to terms with living in a new country.

6) Persepolis – This one is 2000, but I’m counting it. I hope people are still reading graphic novels in general. It’s such a wonderful genre and I hope it’s still popular in 30 years.

7) The Harry Potter series – I have a feeling these will be around for a very long time.

8) We Need to Talk About Kevin – Not only is this an incredibly powerful look at the struggles of parenting, it also deals with the acts of violence in schools. We had far too many of those happen in the past 15 years, most notably Columbine and the copycats that followed, and sadly I think that’s something future generations will be curious about.

9) The Year of Magical Thinking – This is the most intimate book on grief that I’ve ever read. Grief is timeless and I think this would resonate with someone who lost a loved one no matter when they read it.

10) The Time Traveler's Wife – I love this book and I hope people never stop reading it.

*Photo from here

14 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

Hey I have read all of these but one! Feeling good about that! TTTW will forever be on my best reads of all time. And Kevin scarred me for life, but is brilliant.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I need to read, We Need to Talk About Kevin - everyone has buzzed about this one. Great list

Elin said...

I love The Time Traveler's Wife :) Its on my list too:)

Falaise said...

Persepolis seems to be coming up quite a lot - I may have to check it out. Interesting list.

Anonymous said...

What a good list - you have some wonderful choices on here!
Interpreter of Maladies is new to me so I'll have to add it to my goodreads shelf… Thanks for the suggestion!

Kimberly @ Turning the Pages said...

Great list, I love Harry Potter and Persepolis (they're the only ones on your list I've read so far) and the other ones you listed have got me very interested.
+New GFC follower :)
Here's my TopTenTuesday Post :)

-Kimberly @ Turning The Pages

Karis Jacobstein said...

Great list! I agree with you! John Green is brilliant!

Check out my Top Ten!

Kat @ NoPageLeftBehind said...

Fantastic group of books you have here! I absolutely agree with John Green and The Time Traveler's Wife (I can't believe I forgot to add either to my list)!

I must read some of these others, Interpreter of Maladies has been sitting on my shelf for far too long.

Anonymous said...

this is a great list! with a few I still need to read--and apparently sooner than later if they rate this kind of list.

~L (omphaloskepsis)

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Sandy - Yes! TTTW gets better every time I read it.

Diane - It's intense, but so good.

Elin - Love that book.

Falaise - It's a great graphic novel if you enjoy that genre.

lostinagreatbook - The writing is beautiful in that one.

MissKimberlyStardust - I don't think that there's any doubt people will still be reading HP in 30 years.

Kat - I think you'd like Interpreter. I'm not usually a fan of short story collections, but it is the exception to the rule.

contemplatrix - My TBR list is out of control, but these are all great ones to add to your's!

Jenners said...

I'm with you on pretty much all of these … except for the ones I haven't read yet but plan to read.

And thank you for the most lovely little postcard I got today. It made my day!

Peppermint Ph.D. said...

The Book Thief seems to be the most listed book this week..and for good reason! I have several others of yours on my TBR shelves. :)

Joie said...

Oooh John Green! Definitely! The Fault in Our Stars is my favorite book of his! I've yet to read The Time Traveler's Wife, but I've heard such great things about it that I really need to go get it soon!

Here’s my TTT

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

Jenners - Glad you got it!

Peppermint Ph.D. - It's such a wonderful book!

Joie - I loved Fault as well. You should definitely check out TTTW.