![\"mockingbird\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/mockingbird.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSome people make a bucket list of things to do before they hit the milestone age of 30. We\u2019ve got some books you can add to it! Take a look at some of the literary classics \u201d\u201c old and new \u201d\u201c that you must indulge in before you say hello to your newest decade.<\/p>\n
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One of the best-loved novels of the 20th<\/sup> Century, appearing on countless school curriculums across the world, To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em> is the pinnacle of essential reading. Set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, the story is rife with racism, difference and harsh lessons. The Bildungsroman focuses on Scout, who lives with her brother Jem and father Atticus as her mother sadly passed away. A well-respected lawyer, Atticus takes on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young white girl, Mayella Ewell. Despite the evidence overwhelmingly showing the accusation is simply untrue, Robinson is convicted which shakes the faith of both Atticus and his son. Jem, Scout and their friend Dill become infatuated with their reclusive neighbour Boo Radley, immersed in town rumours about him and consider ways to coax him out of his house.<\/p>\n The title of the novel is a bit of a giveaway, and before we can immerse ourselves into this great piece of literature, we\u2019re met with the damning realisation that our protagonist won\u2019t last very long. Oscar de Le\u00c3\u00b3n is the focus of Junot D\u00c3\u00adaz\u2019s novel \u201d\u201c Oscar is an overweight, Dominican kid growing up in New Jersey. He\u2019s typically seen as a \u201d\u02dcnerd\u2019 as he\u2019s interested in comic books and science fiction; because of this he\u2019s constantly concerned that he won\u2019t be successful with women. He makes attempts to end his own life but are unsuccessful; when he finally gets the girl, this is what kills him. Although the novel was only published in 2007, it quickly became one of those novels you simply have to read.<\/p>\n Set in the decedent era of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby<\/em> shows us just how far some people will go for love, wealth and status. Pitting the nouveau riche against those who inherited their fortune, Jay Gatsby vies for Daisy Buchanan\u2019s love \u201d\u201c he buys a house across the bay from her and throws lavish parties in the hope that she\u2019ll come. A self-made man, Gatsby aggravates Daisy\u2019s husband Tom, despite the fact he\u2019s unfaithful to his wife with Myrtle Wilson. Gatsby\u2019s neighbour Nick Carraway is intrigued by Gatsby and his escapades; Nick finds himself in the mix with this new bunch although he doesn\u2019t quite fit in. Gatsby\u2019s house may be full every weekend, but when he\u2019s dead and gone, many of those who claimed to love him don\u2019t show up \u201d\u201c except, of course, for Nick.<\/p>\n The Catcher in the Rye<\/em> is typically a novel to read when you\u2019re still a teenager. We\u2019ll give you some leeway but it has to be read before 30! Salinger\u2019s protagonist Holden Caulfield struggles to adjust to just about everything; he flunks out of a\u00a0number of schools and is caught in a tough spot between childhood and adulthood. He\u2019s desperate to be accepted as a grown up (and attempts to act as one) yet it still very much a child. The novel takes place when he returns to New York for Christmas \u201d\u201c he chases girls, drinks and spends some precious times with his beloved little sister Phoebe. There\u2019s a sad backstory as to why Holden struggles and if you\u2019ve ever had any difficulty fitting in, your heart will go to him.<\/p>\n Angelou\u2019s autobiographical work derives its name from a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The caged bird symbolises a chained slave; a recurring theme in Angelou\u2019s work. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/em> begins when Maya is sent to live with her grandmother at the age of three, along with her older brother. It chronicles racism and childhood trauma; after the man who attacks Maya is murdered, she becomes mute as she fears her voice has the power to kill. She overcomes this with the help of her teacher who opens her up to a world of literature. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/em> has held significant importance for more than 40 years, as Maya is seen as being symbolic character for every black girl growing up in America.<\/p>\n Tiny Beautiful Things<\/em> is jam-packed with brilliant essays and poignant advice to carry with you into your third decade. Stemming from Strayed\u2019s column in The Rumpus, and following her major success with her memoir Wild<\/em>, this series of essays gives advice to a whole range of people from all walks of life. An agony aunt for the modern age, Stayed draws on her own personal experiences in order to dish out advice. There\u2019s plenty of wisdom you may just need that you can hold on to; there\u2019s plenty of heartache strewn through those pages too. Strayed uses some tough love but she\u2019ll give you a better perspective than the holier-than-thou advice pages you\u2019ve seen before.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever watched the TV show Big Brother, you\u2019ll know this novel was the basis of the experiment. Orwell\u2019s Nineteen Eighty-Four <\/em>is a dystopian novel, set during perpetual war in what was once Great Britain. The population aren\u2019t allowed to think for themselves or else they\u2019ll be convicted of \u201d\u02dcthoughtcrimes\u2019. The regime in which they live is ruled by cult figure Big Brother (who is always watching), and there is an extensive effort to rewrite history to align with the ideas of the Party. Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth helping to rewrite records and alter photographs but when he starts to think for himself, he\u2019s tortured into aligning with the Party\u2019s ideals. It might just terrify you but the thought provoking novel has stood the test of time for a reason.<\/p>\n Albert Camus is best known for novel L\u2019\u00c3\u2030tranger<\/em> (The Stranger), but his work Le Mythe de Sisyphe<\/em> (The Myth of Sisyphus) is the philosophical work you need to read before you part ways with your 20s. It looks into the ideology of the absurd and existentialism. The absurd can be cut throat; it tells us that our constant search for meaning in our lives is futile. We work towards a better tomorrow yet tomorrow brings us closer to death. So, do we just accept that life has no meaning and continue on? The Myth of Sisyphus<\/em>, the final chapter, looks at the legend from Greek mythology who is condemned to a meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain and once it reaches the top, will roll back down for the task to begin again. This makes Sisyphus the ideal absurd hero as he\u2019s struggling for eternity without any hope or success.<\/p>\n Dostoevsky\u2019s 1866 novel focuses on the internal turmoil of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student who formulates a plan to murder a pawnbroker for her money. After he kills her, he\u2019s taken aback by what he\u2019s done and doesn\u2019t steal all of her riches \u201d\u201c what he takes is a very small amount. He\u2019s able to flee the scene but becomes nervous about being found out. What he did take from the woman he murdered, he gave away; he gives money to the destitute widow of Marmeladov when he is struck by a carriage. His actions start to give him away and he becomes a suspect in the crime. He mulls over keeping quiet and confessing \u201d\u201c he eventually confesses and is sentenced to exile in Siberia for eight years.<\/p>\n The Color Purple<\/em> won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, which made Walker the first black woman to win the award. The story focuses on Celie, who is abused by her father and falls pregnant twice, with both children taken from her. She is married off at 14 to a man called Mister, leaving behind her beloved little sister Nettie. Life with her husband isn\u2019t comfortable either; when Nettie flees her father to stay with Celie, Mister makes advances on her. Nettie has to leave and promises to write, but Celie never receives any letters from her sister. Celie finds comfort in her husband\u2019s mistress Shug, who helps her to find her own voice and become a strong woman in spite of her suffering.<\/p>\n We hope we\u2019ve opened your minds to some new workings you might not have been familiar with before now! Plunge head first into some thought provoking pieces; you can grab these titles over at musicMagpie Store. With FREE delivery, why wouldn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n
\n![\"oscarwao\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/oscarwao.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao \u201d\u201c Junot D\u00c3\u00adaz<\/h3>\n
\n![\"gatsby\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/gatsby.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Great Gatsby \u201d\u201c F. Scott Fitzgerald<\/h3>\n
\n![\"catcher\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/catcher.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Catcher in the Rye \u201d\u201c J.D Salinger<\/h3>\n
\n![\"caged-bird\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/caged-bird.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings \u201d\u201c Maya Angelou<\/h3>\n
\n![\"tiny-beautiful-things\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/tiny-beautiful-things.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nTiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar \u201d\u201c Cheryl Strayed<\/h3>\n
\n![\"1984\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/1984.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNineteen Eighty-Four \u201d\u201c George Orwell<\/h3>\n
\n![\"camus\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/camus.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Myth of Sisyphus \u201d\u201c Albert Camus<\/h3>\n
\n![\"fyodor\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/fyodor.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCrime and Punishment \u201d\u201c Fyodor Dostoevsky<\/h3>\n
\n![\"walker\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/walker.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Color Purple \u201d\u201c Alice Walker<\/h3>\n
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![\"SHOP](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/SHOP-NOW.png\")
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