Your twenties are definitely the years that you’re supposed to be finding yourself and discovering how to solve problems. Mostly this will be the most transformative decade of your life. You’ll face adversity and go through things you’ve never believed. Sometimes reading books can actually help you cope. I know reading is a get-away for most, like myself. Reading is like exploring; every chapter is a new setting and every book is a new adventure. Now I haven’t read some these but I will because I would never give my faithful readers a list of books that I didn’t think would be relatable in any situation. So without further ado, 17 books you should read in your twenties.
1. Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Tells a heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman, and Hassan, the son of his father's servant.
2. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, "Firefly Lane" is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.
3. Half the Sky: Turning oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDun
Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, and clarity and, ultimately, hope.
4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath's shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity.
5. Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Set in a near future English society featuring a subculture of extreme youth violence, the teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities’ intent on reforming him.
6.The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz
In "The Mastery of Love," Don Miguel Ruiz illuminates the fear-based beliefs and a description of a true kind of love is one that I believe in.
7. She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.
8.The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Originally written in French, this is a tale about "The Little Prince's"travels and those he met along the way.
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Fifteen-year-old Charlie is coping with the suicide of his friend, Michael. To lessen the fear and anxiety of starting high school alone, Charlie starts writing letters to a stranger, someone he heard was nice but has never met in person. (I definitely recommend this, I literally cried reading this.)
10. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
A story of loss, disillusionment, and, ultimately, healing while on a 1,000-mile solo journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. (Now a major motion picture.)
11. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
A classic from the 1950’s, this novel is the embodiment of the terrifying energy young people feel after launching into the world on their own.
12. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
A contemplation on an inescapable, cyclical past and a future that’s new, different, and uniquely one’s own.
13. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez
The insanity of your twenties can distort your perception of time. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a deeply profound look at the nature of time, history, solitude, and an ever-present past.
14. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A reminder to appreciate your family, to travel, and to seize opportunities — because you never know how quickly your life can change.
15. The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
Shortly after graduating from college in 2012, Marina Keegan died tragically in a car accident, leaving behind a trove of beautiful short stories. The title essay is a look at the unique experience of college and, given the circumstances, a poignant reminder of the preciousness of life itself.
16. Beloved by Toni Morrison
Haunting, gripping, beautiful, this novel is the story of the lingering effects of slavery and how characters, once freed, come to terms with their past, their present, and their future.
17. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Maugham’s masterpiece ponders three elements of love — love for oneself, love for someone else, and the love of others — in a way that’s still relevant today.
