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30 Books You Should Read Before You're 30

Great literature grows out of periods of change, and there are few transitions more more, well, transitional than the end of your twenties and the onset of the whole rest of your life. Whether it's Edith Wharton in The House of Mirth or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Americanah, authors have made narrative hay of that period in life. Here are 30 favorites from an informal poll of TIME staffers. (Sarah Begley)
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Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
1
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rich and Pretty (Rumaan Alam)
Rich and Pretty
2
Rumaan Alam
Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin)
Giovanni's Room
3
James Baldwin
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
4
Charlotte Bronte
Kindred (Octavia Butler)
Kindred
5
Octavia Butler
Open City
Open City
6
You Shall Know Our Velocity
You Shall Know Our Velocity
7
The Veins of the Ocean (Patricia Engel)
The Veins of the Ocean
8
Patricia Engel
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (Elena Ferrante)
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
9
Elena Ferrante
Fates and Furies (Lauren Groff)
Fates and Furies
10
Lauren Groff
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Mohsin Hamid)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
11
Mohsin Hamid
Far From the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy)
Far From the Madding Crowd
12
Thomas Hardy
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Never Let Me Go
13
Kazuo Ishiguro
The Best of Everything
The Best of Everything
14
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
15
Fear of Flying (Erica Jong)
Fear of Flying
16
Erica Jong
You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine (Alexandra Kleeman)
You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine
17
Alexandra Kleeman
The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner
The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner
18
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri)
The Namesake
19
Jhumpa Lahiri
Quicksand and Passing - Nella Larsen
Quicksand and Passing - Nella Larsen
20
10:04 (Ben Lerner)
10:04
21
Ben Lerner
The Group
The Group
22
On Chesil Beach (Ian McEwan)
On Chesil Beach
23
Ian McEwan
Waiting to Exhale (Terry McMillan)
Waiting to Exhale
24
Terry McMillan
The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud
The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud
25
Jasmine (Bharati Mukherjee)
Jasmine
26
Bharati Mukherjee
Ceremony (Leslie Marmon Silko)
Ceremony
27
Leslie Marmon Silko
NW (Zadie Smith)
NW
28
Zadie Smith
The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton)
The House of Mirth
29
Edith Wharton
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
30
Hanya Yanagihara
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