Comments on: 30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Their 30th Birthday

By: Ron Sheckler

Ron Sheckler — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 09:06:50 +0000

I have read 90% of the Books on the list but would add:
Guns, Germs and Steel – Jared Diamond
The Martian – Andy Weir
The Goal – Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Moby Dick – Herman Melville
Animal Farm – George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier

By: Ken Ashe

Ken Ashe — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 21:16:15 +0000

Great list. I’m proud to say that I’ve read most of these. Catch 22 has been my favorite book for years. I’ve probably read it about ten times.

By: xecil99

xecil99 — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 19:24:39 +0000

Great list. I would add “Jonathon Livingston Seagull,” a simply parable that I read every so often as it seems to add perspective on my life at any age.

By: xecil99

xecil99 — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 19:22:22 +0000

In reply to Maria. I totally agree! "The Alchemist" is a fantastic read.

By: John

John — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 00:41:01 +0000

In reply to Angela. I thought The Hobbit and Harry Potter were better reads.

By: Janis

Janis — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:11:51 +0000

No “Prayer for Owen Meany?” Changed my life, but then again I read it after I was 30.

By: Angela

Angela — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 13:30:39 +0000

I’ve read lots of your blogs….you write informative and common good sense just as a good life coach should. …..but I can’t believe you have not got the bible as top 30 books the worlds no 1 best seller……..I agree with all you write to live a happy and successful life….I learned all you say through reading the bible for the last 30 years……

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 12:06:16 +0000

Nice list, thank you.
I would add Sigmund Freud’s The interpretation of dreams and JRR Tolkien’s The hobbit to this mix … I know one is a child’s and the other a psychoanalysis book, but for me they should be added to my personal 30 books before 30 list.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 20:38:26 +0000

I would like to start reading some of these books. I’m an extremely slow reader and this makes it hard for me to read all the books that I wish to read. Thus, I need to choose the ones that I REALLY am interested in. I’d like to try the “How to Win Friends and …..” book.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 13 Oct 2014 19:16:27 +0000

I realize everyone who reads this list will have personal favorites… guess I’ll add 5 of mine to your list.
Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)
All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)
Heart of Darkness (Conrad)
Diary of Ann Frank
The Stranger (Camus)

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 15:29:33 +0000

I read 9 of the books on the list (e.g. 1984, Lord of the Rings, Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, The Tipping Point) before turning 30 but missed out on some of these titles. Glad to see that you encouraged some titles from other countries and languages like “War and Peace.”

If you were to write an update to this list, I would suggest adding Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers.” I found it even better than “The Tipping Point.”

By: JanetzJourney72

JanetzJourney72 — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 17:52:37 +0000

Thank You so much for all the time you spend encouraging, and giving thoughtful, helpful information….What a blessing you two are! About all the rude, immature comments on here….Weeell that’s all they are, rude and IMMATURE. Good list of reads will pick one I haven’t read with an open mind! 🙂 Remember that when people comment rudely is that their heart and mind hasn’t been disciplined to respect others opinions and a self respect for ones self. If we do not respect ourselves how could we possibly respect others…just saying…:-)

By: Banilo

Banilo — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 22:27:51 +0000

Fantastic list.
I’d add The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.
The World Is Flat 3.0 is an essential update on globalization, its opportunities for individual empowerment, its achievements at lifting millions out of poverty.

By: Eddy

Eddy — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 03:29:02 +0000

The Watchmen’s gotta be a must-read, no? Or does that not count as a book?

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 15:24:43 +0000

Also another great book is “Believe and Achieve” by Napoleon Hill. It’s a great read about hard work and determination and to make your own life!!

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 15:09:42 +0000

These are all great reads!! I would also HIGHLY recommend not only “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, but ANY of his books. They are beautifully written in a though provoking way while still telling a story. They are all full of life truths! I really like the fact that each book has a theme tied to it. Such as “The Alchemist” is based around wisdom. They are also very short and can really be read at almost any age!

By: Aileen

Aileen — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:01 +0000

I have 15 years more left to read all of these book and I want to read at least 70% of the list . Literally I have one of the book in the list read at this time: How to Win Friends

By: M

Sun, 05 May 2013 23:15:00 +0000

Why specifically by age 30?

Of the books on your list that I’ve read (a little under half of them), the only one where age at reading seems to be a factor is The Great Gatsby — which I re-read last year, and resonated with me much more at age 25 than it had the first time around at age 15.

I suspect it might lose some of that poignancy as I get older — Fitzgerald wrote it in his 20s, and Nick is just about to turn 30 in the book, and the issues that he has Nick contemplate felt very relevant to me at this point in my life, this transitional phase between “youth” and “real adulthood”.

But the others? What would, say, Catch-22 lose by being read at age 45?

By: KOKO

KOKO — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:32:27 +0000

48 LAWS OF POWER IS MISSING…

By: Barbara Cox

Barbara Cox — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:36:26 +0000

Great list but I would add Animal Farm, a short little parable.