The Daily Dahl 7/8/13

The Daily Dahl -- Monday Edition (because Sunday is somehow already over)
8 July 2013

Today I simply Googled the best books to read in college. Some of you may be familiar with the lists of literature's canon. These are hundreds of books that we are all supposed to read before graduating college, but how many of us have the time and resources to read all of them? I think it's great to read the books on these lists as well as explore new books. Anyway, what I liked about this article on the Daily Beast was that it asked current acclaimed novelists their opinion of the best book to read before finishing college. Find your favorite author and read his or her recommended book! This at least gives you a starting point. Many of these authors cited novels from the canon (here's an unsorted list from Goodreads). Listed were some good alternatives to popular books that may be too daunting for even the most literate person (i.e War and Peace). 

Article Title: The Books Everyone Must Read Before Graduating College
Found at thedailybeast.com
Published June 4, 2013

My Summary: 
Leading academics and authors give their opinion on books that are great for college reading and why. Some examples include Jill Lepore recommends Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Charlie Dicken's Great Expectations, Junot Diaz recommends Toni Morrison's Beloved, Cornel West suggests Adventures of Ideas by Alfred North Whitehead, Joyce Carol Oats recommends the Great Tragedies of Shakespeare, and others. This was a fun article to read (especially the comment section), but it doesn't truly offer an expanded list of recommended readings. I appreciated the insights of today's authors and scholars whom I have read and studied. There are books they suggested which I haven't read yet, and intend to read for my last semester of college. 

Of course, there are some personal favorites of mine that I was sad not to see listed by any of these authors. What are some books that you would take away or add to this brief list?

Citation:
"The Books Everyone Must Read Before Graduating College." The Daily Beast. Ed. Tina Brown. Newsweek, 4 June 2013. Web. 8 July      2013. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/04/the-books-everyone-must-read-before-graduating-college.html>.