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20 Books Every Smart Person Should Read

'Because Some Classics Just Shouldn't Be Skipped.' Some classics are definitely worth the read, even if they seem intimidating. This list contains books that can help you expand your vocabulary, change your worldview, and even become smarter.
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Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
Pale Fire
1
Vladimir Nabokov
The Tempest (William Shakespeare)
The Tempest
2
William Shakespeare
Middlesex (Michigan)
Middlesex
3
Michigan
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
As I Lay Dying
4
William Faulkner
The Collected Short Stories of Eudora Welty
The Collected Short Stories of Eudora Welty
5
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
6
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
7
Thomas Pynchon
Howl (1955) - Allen Ginsberg
Howl (1955) - Allen Ginsberg
8
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
9
Harper Lee
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
10
Charles Dickens
To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
To the Lighthouse
11
Virginia Woolf
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
12
Milan Kundera
The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
The Year of Magical Thinking
13
Joan Didion
On the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin)
On the Origin of Species
14
Charles Darwin
Underworld (Don Delillo)
Underworld
15
Don Delillo
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
16
Herman Melville
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
17
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Art of War (Sun Tzu)
The Art of War
18
Sun Tzu
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
19
James Joyce
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
20
Fyodor Dostoevsky
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