Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940), better known as F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my favorite fiction writers and his book, “The Great Gatsby” is one of my all-time favorite reads.
For those unfamiliar with Fitzgerald, he was a 20th-century American short-story writer and novelist. He completed four novels and more than 150 short stories during his lifetime, and is perhaps best remembered for his third novel, “The Great Gatsby” (1925), which is today widely considered “the great American novel.”
Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith.
Throughout his life, Fitzgerald struggled with alcoholism and in 1936, he ended up at the Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina.
There, he provided his nurse with a list of 22 books he thought were essential reading:
At the top of the page, the nurse wrote, "These are books that Scott thought should be required reading."
The list is a bit hard to read, so here it is typed out:
“The Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant” translated by Michael Monahan
“An Outline of Abnormal Psychology” edited by Gardner Murphy
“The Best American Humorous Short Stories” edited by Alexander Jessup
John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley: Complete Poetical Works
What do you think of this list and have you read any of the books on it?
Although I see a lot of familiar names on here such as Conrad, Faulkner and Wilde, I’m sad to say I have not read any of the books here. Guess it’s time to order some more books.
““That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.””
If you’re looking for more book recommendations, check out the books Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King and J.K. Rowling recommend reading.
For just a few dollars, books give you an enormous amount of valuable information that can help change your life. It’s practically high-robbery. So take advantage of this and read as much as you can.
Also, if you want to check out my list of recommended books, you can find that here.
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This article was based on several articles. The sources can be found here and here.
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