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50 Books to Read by Age 50

Your essential short list of novels, nonfiction and biographies Got some time on your hands? This list of 50 great books is a good way to raise your literary IQ. It's by no means the "definitive" list, but each of these masterpieces is at least as relevant and powerful today as when it was written. And they're all still terrific reads.
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The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
1
Homer
The Illiad (Homer)
The Illiad
2
Homer
Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
Hamlet
3
William Shakespeare
The Bible (Anonymous)
The Bible
4
Anonymous
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
5
Mary Shelley
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
The Count of Monte Cristo
6
Alexandre Dumas
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
7
Charles Dickens
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
8
Herman Melville
Les Mis (Victor Hugo)
Les Mis
9
Victor Hugo
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
10
Leo Tolstoy
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
11
Mark Twain
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Dracula
12
Bram Stoker
The Jungle (Upton Sinclair)
The Jungle
13
Upton Sinclair
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
14
F. Scott Fitzgerald
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
As I Lay Dying
15
William Faulkner
Tropic of Cancer (Henry Miller)
Tropic of Cancer
16
Henry Miller
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
17
Margaret Mitchell
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Grapes of Wrath
18
John Steinbeck
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
19
Ernest Hemingway
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
The Fountainhead
20
Ayn Rand
The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
The Diary of a Young Girl
21
Anne Frank
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
22
George Orwell
The Naked and the Dead (Norman Mailer)
The Naked and the Dead
23
Norman Mailer
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
24
George Orwell
The Natural
The Natural
25
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
26
Vladimir Nabokov
Profiles in Courage
Profiles in Courage
27
Doctor Zhivago (Boris Pasternak)
Doctor Zhivago
28
Boris Pasternak
Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss)
Green Eggs and Ham
29
Dr. Seuss
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
30
Harper Lee
Night (Elie Wiesel)
Night
31
Elie Wiesel
The Making of the President 1960 by Theodore H. White
The Making of the President 1960 by Theodore H. White
32
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
33
Joseph Heller
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Ken Kesey)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
34
Ken Kesey
In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)
In Cold Blood
35
Truman Capote
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Slaughterhouse-Five
36
Kurt Vonnegut
Burr
Burr
37
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert M Pirsig)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
38
Robert M Pirsig
Ragtime (E.L. Doctorow)
Ragtime
39
E.L. Doctorow
The Tao of Physics (Fritjof Capra)
The Tao of Physics
40
Fritjof Capra
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