Recent Grads: Nine Books That Can Help to Tackle the World Ahead of You - Guest post by Jason Phillips.

Reading is an important skill and a valuable way to spend your spare time; this is true no matter whether you are a child or a pensioner. Reading will broaden your vocabulary, improve your knowledge of grammar and sentence structure, your knowledge of a subject and they are also an excellent way to improve your cognitive skills and your ability to think outside the box. The following nine books are essential reads for any recent grad; they will help you to prepare for life in the real world.

1. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Jonathan Frazen’s “Freedom” is a witty novel that confronts issues of friendship or love. The book deals with a love triangle which first starts at college and leaves the protagonist with just one option, friendship or love. Everyone should consider the implications of this decision and how they would react 

2. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“This Side of Paradise” is a book that deals with an issue that affects every recent graduate - life after college and during college. Faced with the task of having to reassess yourself, your beliefs and even your goals, it is easy to become disillusioned. The book will help recent grads find the right path forward.

3. 1984 by George Orwell

“1984” is the kind of book that every youngster should read at least once in their life. It was written decades ago, when 1984 was still in the future. Its picture of the future is surprisingly accurate and raises a serious issue for all recent grads. Will you become a part of the system or will you retain your individuality and choose your own path?

4. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dpstoyevsky

This famous story tells the tale of a student who kills an elderly pawnbroker and his attempts to rationalize his actions. As you read you will start to question the moral laws imposed on society and their real place in the world. Not everything is as it seems.

5. A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

“A Brave New World” takes a look at a future utopia where everyone is happy.  The cost of this happiness is individuality.  It raises an important question, is it possible to be happy whilst being the same as everyone else?  As a recent grad you have unlimited potential, are you prepared to follow your own path and fight the system?

6. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Imagine a future where, no matter what you do, you are doomed to be lonely. Love may be everywhere but it is fatal. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” will remind you of the importance of family and true friends.

7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous Great Gatsby deals with the epic highs of life and the disillusionment that comes when it all falls apart. Sometimes you have to know your limits and what you can still achieve. The past is gone and cannot be changed; only the present and the future matter.

8. Lolita by Vladamir Nobokov

“Lolita” tell us the story of a young man’s encounter with a nymphet, and the forbidden love that he simply cannot resist. As the story develops and decisions are made you will gain an understanding and a compassion for his actions. Sometimes in modern society, sacrifice and forgiveness are looked at as weaknesses; in fact they are a forgotten yet vital trait.

9. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom’s Cabin” has received equal amounts of praise and criticism, but it is an important part of the history of many colleges in the United States. It deals with a difficult part of American history and how the values and principles of this great nation arose; and how they have changed.

By Jason Phillips and LoveReading.co.uk!