29 Books That Will Enrich Your Inner Literati
Correction appended, March 31, For anyone who wants to attain the vaunted title of "being well-read," it's more about breadth than depth. As for feeling well-read, read the postscript., To "feel" well-read in literature, it's all about the categories, not the books themselves. Read a few books in a few different genres, time periods, points of views. I've thrown in a few controversial books, just so you know what all of the fuss is about. Here's how you can feel like a regular literati!, Western Classics Ancient  Modern to give you a good foundation for the who's who of Western literature. Dystopia the stuff of our worst fears and nightmares. Science Fiction  Fantasy we can't overlook the geeky cousin of the classics, can we?, Great American Novels these zeitgeist works practically defined a time period of U.S. history. Literary Heavy Hitters books that make people go "Whoa, dude!" when you say that you've read them. Popular Fiction those guilty indulgences that everyone has read but won't necessarily admit to it. Warning this is U.S.-centric, feel free to indulge in your country's guilty pleasures. Immigrant Experience U.S./U.K. ah, the magical experience of being thrust into a new culture. Non-Western Classics Ancient if Westerners get theirs, so should the rest of the world. Non-Western Classics Modern the stuff that you should read to feel worldly and well-read. More applicable if you're from the U.S. or Western Europe., Satire throw in a little giggle into your reading list. This is where I reach the end of my endurance. I haven't even gotten into the non-fiction stuff, but alas  I must eat. With this list, you'll feel like you can dominate the Trivial Pursuit literature section! Life is good. Postscript since this question is more about sentiment than reality  I hate to break it to you, but if you're truly a well-read person, you will never feel well-read. They're always on the lookout for their next bookthat category that they're missingto add to their impressive list. It's a Sisyphean goal, really. If you feel well-read, you're probably not. Correction The original version of this story misstated the title of the book Things Fall Apart. ,