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Top 10 Books to Read, Not Only for Graduation Exams

TL;DR ✨

While studying at a grammar school, the author read many books and decided to list the very best ones, whose reading was not a waste of time. The author hopes this will inspire younger readers who do not know what to choose and would be pleased to contribute a little to the development of culture, rather than leave bacterial culture as the only culture young graduates encounter for the rest of their lives.

Manon is my destiny. Manon is my destiny. Manon is everything I have not known before. Manon is my first and my final sin, had I not known Manon, I would not have loved. Manon is a butterfly. Manon is a bee. Manon is a rose thrown into a church. Manon is everything that does not lose its pollen. Manon is the reason that has flown away from me! Manon is a child, Manon is a blonde. Manon is my first and my final love.

From the archive

This article was first published on 2013-08-13. It is also a snapshot of its time, so some details and recommendations may no longer reflect the current situation.

While studying at a grammar school, the author read many books and decided to list the very best ones, whose reading was not a waste of time. The author hopes this will inspire younger readers who do not know what to choose and would be pleased to contribute a little to the development of culture, rather than leave bacterial culture as the only culture young graduates encounter for the rest of their lives.

🔍 10. The Satanic Bible - Anton LaVey

  • After the first year of study, everyone is saturated with the sunny side of the Bible. In an imperfect world, it is appropriate to know the other side of the coin as well and gain a broader perspective. The Satanic Bible is not a set of instructions by which one should live, but it is certainly a more realistic account of perspectives on this ambivalent world. It is useful study material that should be approached with perspective.

🔍 9. Karel Čapek - the trilogy (Hordubal, Meteor, An Ordinary Life), R.U.R., The Absolute at Large

  • Almost everyone who has read at least one of Čapek's books seems to have fallen in love with his style and therefore did not stop at one. R.U.R. and The Absolute at Large are not only part of the foundations of a cultured person but also highly enjoyable, compelling reads.

🔍 8. Jean-Paul Sartre - Nausea

  • This is a difficult work to understand. During the first half of the book, the author understood why it was called Nausea. Halfway through, the author became completely absorbed in its psychedelic description of staring at toes, suffused with an existentialist atmosphere. In the author's view, it is a supreme portrayal of a world distorted by the desire for freedom.

🔍 7. J. D. Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye

  • Salinger became a spokesman for young people. The Catcher in the Rye is short and carries a profound idea hidden somewhere in the book, where young readers have to seek it actively for themselves. Perhaps that is why it is so simply complex.

🔍 6. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince

  • The Little Prince is a fairy tale for young children in which very complex questions of human existence are explained very simply. What is wonderful about this book is that someone can read it to a small child as a fairy tale while developing their own cultural awareness.
  • It is, quite simply, a very difficult idea communicated very simply.

🔍 5. Malleus Maleficarum

  • In the author's view, all the wretchedness of Christianity is laid out here in the revolting ruin of the Church's twisted arguments.
  • The author found Malleus Maleficarum so disturbing that it led him to condemn the Bible as humanity's greatest mistake.
  • Readers can see for themselves what was done in the name of Christ.

🔍 4. Three Comrades - Erich Maria Remarque

  • After the First World War, society was dominated by a semi-depressive mood that left its mark on most works of the period. Remarque is among its finest representatives and captured its genius loci very convincingly. The author could imagine this book being adapted into a feature film. There would be good reason to do so.

🔍 3. George Orwell - 1984, Animal Farm

  • Orwell's works are known primarily for confronting communism without restraint. They depict human beings as unfree, powerless, and shackled: tools that must be told what to do, what to eat, and what to listen to. If human freedom matters to a reader, Orwell will instill a desire for democracy and independence.
  • The author read both works four times and always found something new and personally meaningful in them.

🔍 2. Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett

  • This is a highly demanding work, and the author assumes that 90% of people will never understand its beauty. Many likewise do not understand how its author could have received the Nobel Prize for this work.
  • The author personally regards Waiting for Godot as one of the finest works he has ever read because of its absurd idea, embedded in the play like an excision of the mind. The difficulty is that understanding the work is not served up as readily as fresh chickens in a supermarket, so a reader without some experience will never feel the depth of this masterpiece.

🔍 1. Manon Lescaut - Vítězslav Nezval

  • Manon Lescaut is a work that still sends a chill down the author's spine whenever he remembers it. If the author had to call anything patriotism, it would be this small collection of poetry. One need not be a linguist to realize what a beautiful language Czech is in Vítězslav Nezval's hands. May his legacy be honored by future generations. The man was a born genius.
  • The complete work can be downloaded here.
  • The author offers a short excerpt from the work.

Manon is my destiny. Manon is my destiny. Manon is everything I have not known before. Manon is my first and my final sin, had I not known Manon, I would not have loved. Manon is a butterfly. Manon is a bee. Manon is a rose thrown into a church. Manon is everything that does not lose its pollen. Manon is the reason that has flown away from me! Manon is a child, Manon is a blonde. Manon is my first and my final love. Manon, ah Manon, Manon of Arras! Manon is my death for beauty.