20 Books to Read Before College

Discover the 20 must-read books before college to expand your mind, boost critical thinking, and prepare for academic success. Essential reads for every student!

Invisible Man Cover
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Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this deeply compelling novel and epic milestone of American literature, a nameless narrator tells his story …
The Sun Also Rises Cover
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The Sun Also Rises

by Ernest Hemingway

A group of expatriates travel from Paris to the Pamplona bullfights.
The Great Gatsby Cover
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The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A mysterious American millionaire tries to recapture the sweetheart of his youth, which results in tragedy.
Catch-22 Cover
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Catch-22

by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a …
Wuthering Heights Cover
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Wuthering Heights

by Emily Bronte

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, the year before the author's death …
Frankenstein Cover
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Frankenstein

by Mary Shelley

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read At the age of eighteen, Mary Shelley, while staying in the Swiss …
Jane Eyre Cover
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Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Brontë

An orphan girl who accepts employment as a governess finds herself involved in a family secret and in love with her employer.
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Iliad and Odyssey Boxed Set Cover
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Iliad and Odyssey Boxed Set

by Robert Fagles

This beautiful gift set of Robert Fagles' award-winning translations of Homer brings the energy of contemporary language to these enduring heroic epics.
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[No Title]

 

No summary available.
The Bluest Eye Cover
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The Bluest Eye

by Toni Morrison

From Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison comes the story of a young black girl who longs to be like the blond, blue-eyed children that America loves-a …
No Fear : Hamlet Cover
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No Fear : Hamlet

by Sparknotes Editors

No summary available.
The Canterbury Tales Cover
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The Canterbury Tales

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Nevill Coghill’s masterly and vivid modern English verse translation with all the vigor and poetry of Chaucer’s fourteenth-century Middle English A Penguin Classic In The …
The Fountainhead Cover
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The Fountainhead

by Ayn Rand

The revolutionary literary vision that sowed the seeds of Objectivism, Ayn Rand's groundbreaking philosophy, and brought her immediate worldwide acclaim. This modern classic is the …
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The Annotated Lolita Cover
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The Annotated Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov

Nabokov's wise, ironic, and elegant masterpiece. • A controversial love story almost shocking in its beauty and tenderness. • This annotated edition assiduously illuminates the …
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The Left Hand of Darkness Cover
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The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science …
Cold Mountain Cover
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Cold Mountain

by Charles Frazier

Inman, an injured and disillusioned Confederate soldier, embarks on a harrowing journey home to his sweetheart, Ada, who herself is struggling to run the farm …