Readers, what do you consider to be a MUST READ book?

I've only read 9 of the top 100 on the list. When I first starting listening to audio books on my commute many years ago, I said I was going to listen to more classics but most of them I got bored with and my mind would wander. So now I just listen to what I enjoy and my "must read" list would be quite different than the Goodreads list!

Agree. Some of my favorite novels never hit it big.

I guess I am more well read than I thought. 😆 I’ve read about 40 of the top 100. Many though were required reading in school, such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Old Man and the Sea. As a young teen, I read “The Outsiders” a million times (or so it seemed like). “Must read” depends on individual taste. I would list something as. “Favorite” but not “must read”. I used to read a lot but slacked off since I stopped taking mass transit to work. Just got out of the habit. Need to start reading more again.

I don't have any fiction "must read" books.
I have several favorite fictions books. But all are in the "romance fluff" type of genre.

My "must read" books are in the "self help - self care" category. 

I’ve read most of those and I’d say it’s a decent list. I think “must read” needs to be better defined. I’m a lifelong avid reader and I subscribe to “anyone should read whatever they want and not be shamed for it”. However I think some books merit being denoted as a must read because they expose the reader to certain perspectives or subjects that are important or beneficial to society, they may not necessarily be fun or page turners. One of my all time favorites is The Grapes of Wrath and most people I know hate it LOL. There are quite a few classics that I think are awful, Hemingway and Hugo ugh.

I don’t read nearly as many heavy books as I used to because it’s too hard on my mental health. My reading these days is mostly for escapism.

It is interesting, isn't it? It seems to me that most people use reading as a form of entertainment and in doing so, they do not like to be told by others what they think are must read books, they are there for the entertainment value. So I get the pushback on the "must read" thing. With that said, I've read about half the books on that list. And the vast majority were read because of a class I was taking high school/college. It seems to be a theme with these "must read" books that they are often used for the purposes of literary education, not generally entertainment. So I think we need to define the term "must read." Is it for entertainment or education? Because education, I get there possibly being some consensus. Entertainment is subjective.

I was trying to go through the "must read" list, but I finally decided that I am not in school, I have read a lot of these back in the day when they were on a reading list that I had to finish. I enjoyed some, hated others, but was glad to have read them.

But now. Now I do what I want. I mostly do audiobook. I am alone most of the day, and I enjoy the audiobook with my airpods as something to distract me. I just go the newest Joe Pickett book. Is it high brow literature. Nope. But I love those series and others like Longmire, Mike Bowditch, etc.

I do some Audible and a lot from my Library. If I am iffy on a book, I try to go through my Library, so it is free. The newest Joe Picket was just released and I know the list at the library for the audiobook was months long - so I bought that one. My husband might enjoy it while he plants this spring, so I though double the value! Long hours in the tractor that time of the year.

I've read 46 of them, so I have a good start. This list is different than most in that it includes many of the more readable classics. My very favorite on the list: Les Misérables. I loved that book so much--although I did skim some of the more preachy sections I'll admit.

Looks like a typical classics list. I've read a few but I don't really care if what I read meets someone else's standard. I like more current fiction.

I've read 29 of them but I was an English minor who took honors Shakespeare so I know my experience is different than most.

But are any of them MUST reads? Not really. Maybe the dystopian ones like 1984 and Brave New World, but that's because I have a jaded world view.

To me MUST reads are more non-fiction.

Nabby, I am currently re-reading TOG for my 5th or 6th time. I've read SJM books as they're released, so I'm definitely biased in saying TOG is my absolute favorite of hers. I know some people who read ACOTAR first can't get into TOG because of the 'slow' parts, but I hope you love it. My DD is on a Greek kick and has been listening to Epic, too. I handed her my copy of The Oydssey and she's yet to start, but has been deep diving Percy Jackson and all the spin-off series.

To your topic though, I use reading to escape so I've become more picky about what I pick up and finish. Life's too short to read crappy books. I've read some of the books on that list simply because it was assigned.

I have read all but 17. The Bible being one I haven't read. I don't think that makes me smarter or better. It just means that I love to read and read a lot.
I agree there shouldn't be any pressure to read certain books. Read what you want.

I've read 46 of those, but quite a few of them were back in the Dark Ages when I was in school and I'd be hard pressed to tell you any details beyond the basic setting. lol. The thing is, so many of those are what we'd call the old classics. Key word being old. Nothing wrong with reading old books of course, but there are so many other good books that have been written since then. 

Also, I have some issues with anyone saying that the Bible is a must-read book, and especially the King James version which isn't even a good translation. 

I'm trying and failing to think of how exactly I would define "must read" since different books appeal to different people. I would go more for "must read categories" rather than specific books. I think kids (and adults if somehow they got to adulthood without knowing anything about the topic) absolutely should read about the Holocaust (at an appropriate age of course), and about slavery, and about authoritarianism, and about the Middle East... But which books to read about those subjects would be up to the individual teacher or school system. 

I remember my daughter read "We Belong to the Land" by Archbishop Elias Chacour as an assignment in high school for a class called something like "reading the world's issues"... I've forgotten exactly what it was called. After she graduated from college she and I went to Israel. We spent the night at the guesthouse of the Mars Elias school in I'billin where Archbishop Chacour spent several hours with us. So that book wasn't necessarily a "must read" but some book on the topic of the Palestinians would be (in my opinion). This one just happened to work out great since we were able to spend that time with him.