500 Essential Cult Books provide an excellent source for those looking for something to read. I know we readers are never out of books to read but I also know that we are always on the lookout for new books to add to our neverending reading lists. These cult books have influenced the masses to a great extent and have been read by a lot of people. They’ve (mostly) been made into films, plays and they have stayed with us for a long time.
I buy books on books to create a more active reading list. One of them is 500 Essential Cult Books, which was a gift from my husband. When I quickly scanned it, I felt so sorry for all the books I missed. But it is never ever too late to read. And, yes, I wish I have hundreds of lifetimes to read the books I want to read!
Also, there is the fact that I am not going to read every book in500 Essential Cult Books. Because, as you know, cult classic books are the ones that influence people and turn them into fans. So Twilight and the like are also in there. And as you can guess,500 Essential Cult Books is incredibly whitewashed; there isn’t much diversity on the list.
But still,500 Essential Cult Books is an interesting list of books. These books have changed minds and circulated for a lot of time. We still hear about them and they are here to stay. If you are looking to read diverse books, this is not for you. But you can check out my Read Around the World reading project to discover more worlds.
500 Essential Cult Books divides cult books into ten different chapters. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a Top 10 list. If you are interested in specific chapters and books, there are also recommendations for further reading. For every book, there are plot and review sections so you can have a general idea about the book, which is extremely useful.
What makes a book cult?
In the introduction, it states that: “What characterizes all the books included here is a peculiar ability to speak to the reader, a kind of authorial empathy, which allows the cult book to transcend being merely liked, or even loved, and inspire a fierce, unquestioning devotion. Recommend-ability and covetousness are also key symptoms.
Here we have the kind of book that, the minute the last page is turned, it is pressed into the hands of your best book buddy as you mutter, “You’ve just got to read this.” Here are the books that you buy in each and every new edition (and you might well find yourself doing this a lot – cult books are seldom returned by borrowers). Another symptom is youth appeal: these are the texts that caught your imagination as a teenager or young adult, and which stay forever embedded in your brain, a kind of emotional literary baggage that you won’t ever lose and wouldn’t want to.”
Even if you cannot find a worthy read in500 Essential Cult Books, it surely is a conversation piece. Whenever I have friends over, we check this out and talk about the books and their effects on society. With wine, it is a lot of fun. You get to see what your friends are made of! I like checking it out from time to time to discover new genres and authors. And, let’s face it, it is always fun browsing books and adding new books to your reading list. Isn’t it? This is one of those good and fun books to keep in your library. Enjoy!
If you want to see how many have you read, check out this website: List Challenges.
500 Essential Cult Books: The Ultimate Guide
500 Essential Cult Books gathers the finest trade paperbacks, hardbacks, collections, novellas, biographies, poems and graphic novels from around the world into one giant volume that reveals what makes a read, not just a success and not just a classic but a cult book. From fiction to non-fiction, poetry to self-help titles, 500 Essential Cult Books covers a huge range of literature and is sorted into thematic genres.
Each entry includes a brief plot breakdown, critical review and suggested further reading. Whether you’re looking to broaden your literary horizons, reacquaint yourself with old favourites, or find recommendations for other titles you might like, this compendium of cult classics is sure to have something to appeal to your inner bookworm.
This is the most definitive collection of cult classic books ever compiled, and readers will surely have fun debating and discussing the 500 choices. Not only does it include the classics of English literature, but it also takes an international perspective. Sci-fi, horror, nonfiction, dramas, comedies, memoirs, mysteries-all the books that have endured due to their devoted and growing audiences are here!
The 500 includes:
Naked City o The Anarchist’s Cookbook o Howl o Carrie o The Killer Inside Me o Candy o Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas o Naked Lunch o I’m With the Band o Watership Down o A Walk on the Wild Side o Geek Love o Dune o Fahrenheit 451 o And many, many more!
About the author: Gina McKinnon
Gina McKinnon lives in Brighton, safely on the other side of the world from her mother and although she fears she is truly turning into her, the distance between them might just slow the process a little. She works in publishing but has started to display the traits of her mother collecting empty jars and yoghurt pots (you never know when they might come in useful), bleaching her coffee mugs (those stains are very unsightly) and ironing her underwear (freshly ironed underwear feels so much more comfortable). Help! I’m Turning Into My Mum! is her first Prion book.
Other books from Gina McKinnon include: What Would Grace Do?: How to Live Life in Style Like the Princess of Hollywood, 1001 Ridiculous Sexual Misadventures,
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
