There are just some things that make your life a little more worthwhile, and a good book is one of those things. These books will help you feel more equipped for life.
Books are a great source of adventure and education. With a bit of imagination, one could experience a thousand lives and absorb the insight they offer, all from picking up some books.
Whether it's a self-help book to help you make the most of your life, something comedic to lighten your mood, or something to help you make sense of life, here are twenty books to read before you hit the forty-year mark.
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Price: $6.95
"Eat Pray Love" is a classic book and number one bestseller on Amazon. This novel tells the story of Elizabeth Gilbert relinquishing all the outward markers of success to explore something different in life.
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Price: $14.44
Take some lessons from the wise words of Oprah Winfrey. The book recalls some of her life events and lessons that the media mogul has learned throughout.
Price: $11.99
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From the widely decorated Toni Morrison is her first published book, "The Bluest Eye." The book is characteristically thought-provoking with themes including race, gender, and beauty standards.
Price: $11.72
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While we wait for season four of "The Handmaids Tale" to drop, immerse yourself in the highly dramatic "Sunday Times" number one bestselling book.
Price: $18.93
"In Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age" explores the idea of being middle-aged. It looks at the history and how it would become at the "center of American society."
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Price: $13
From comedian and co-creator of one of the most revolutionary programs to have been aired on television, "30 Rock" come this memoir. Tina Fey reveals parts of her life, including her pursuit of physical beauty, unrequited love in college, and life as a mother.
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Price: $9.05
From the first black first lady of the United States comes this intimate and highly rated memoir. Obama reminisces and reflects on her life and, most notably, her time as FLOTUS and life outside the role.
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Price: $11.99
This book is the literary equivalent of having a handbag-sized, wise best friend when you need one. The author Cheryl Strayed answers deep questions about love and life.
Price: $2.12
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From the author of "We Should All Be Feminists" comes yet another culturally significant piece of literature. It tells the story of a young woman who immigrates to the United States from Nigeria.
Price: $35.83
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The book has been described as funny, sexy, and wildly entertaining. After being together with a man she met at seventeen, Pamela Madsen shares the sexual yearning she felt and how she fulfilled it, subsequently helping her marriage strengthen.
Price: $19.93
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The profoundly wise Maya Angelou captures the freeing nature of words for the longing child or from the insult of bigotry.
Price: $6.98
From the author "The Power of Now," Eckhart Tolle writes another life-altering book helping readers to realize the control the ego has on the quality of lives and happiness.
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Price: $8.34
A New York Times–bestselling novel follows three characters from the pinnacle of their youth, through middle age, as their talents, wealth, and ultimately their satisfaction with life as they grow apart.
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Price: $5.98
This novel was initially met with rejection over the strong, black female protagonist portrayed in the story. However, since it's reissuing, the book has become something of a classic. The novel is an unfolding of a love story and the love and cruelty therein.
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Price: $13.95
Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook. Sandberg is also on the Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World." In this book, she explores ways that women hold themselves back from success.
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Price: $9.65
Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel tells the story of the personal growth and development of an orphan nicknamed Pip through a world of poverty, prison, and deathly fights.
Price: $11.81
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"Them" is the story of the gripping story of a family living "on the edge of ruin" in Detroit during the time of the race riots (during the 1930s to 1967).
Price: $6.61
The iconic author, Joan Didion recently released her most anticipated book "Let Me Tell You What I Mean". In "The Year of Magical Thinking," Didion explores passion and honesty in a portrait of life and marriage.
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Price: $22.64
Why not learn a new skill before you turn the big four-oh? Making special meals for occasions and on the odd casual day sounds like the gift that keeps giving.
Price: $12.24
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Born at the stroke of midnight, Saleem Sina is blessed with powers and destined for greatness. However, a mix-up at birth leads Saleem into a difficult life.
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