I nourish my creativity by balancing reading and writing. The most challenging part of that effort is finding books worth my precious, limited time.
Mortimer Adler once wrote, “Good books are over your head; they would not be good for you if they were not.” A reading list compiled by one of my favorite authors once again reminded me of this simple truth.
I’m talking about the heartening masterworks Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899–July 2, 1961) recommended to his young protégé, Arnold Samuelson, included in the altogether indispensable “With Hemingway: A Year in Key West and Cuba.”
Here’s Ernest Hemingway’s recommended reading list:
Love reading and writing? Submit a post to our blog.
1. “The Blue Hotel” by Stephen Crane
2. “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane
3. “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert
4. “Dubliners” by James Joyce
5. “The Red and the Black” by Stendhal
6. “Of Human Bondage” by W. Somerset Maugham
7. “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy
8. “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy
9. “Buddenbrooks” by Thomas Mann
10. “Hail and Farewell” by George Moore
11. “The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
12. “The Oxford Book of English Verse”
13. “The Enormous Room” by E.E. Cummings
14. “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë
15. “Far Away and Long Ago” by W.H. Hudson
16. “The American” by Henry James
Complement Hemingway’s reading list from Samuelson’s “With Hemingway: A Year in Key West and Cuba” with Mortimer Adler on how to read a book and then revisit our article about the best Western philosophy book for beginners.
I’m a freelance writer with 6 years of experience in SEO blogging and article publishing. While you’re here, get the latest updates by subscribing to my newsletter.
