10 books one should read in their 20s

Indian Express

4 hours ago

Written by Prachi Mishra
Our twenties are a paradox: we're meant to enjoy ourselves, discover our future, find our tribe, and somehow remain sane throughout it all. It's also the first time most of us really venture out of the comfort of our habitual lives. Some of us are warm and trusting, others guarded and cold. Some enter shyly, others with boisterous, extroverted energy. But whatever we are, our twenties require us to be independent, without the protection of school schedules or parents wrangling solutions behind the scenes. We enter a world that is unpredictable, often intrusive, and sometimes brutally honest. And somewhere during this process, we are compelled to confront the most vulnerable aspects of ourselves – our fears, our doubts, and our insecurities.
That's where books come into the picture. These ten books won't provide you with all the answers, but they'll definitely encourage you to ask the right questions. They won't fix our twenties, but they'll guide us better through them.
'There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.'
In a decade that worships hustle, noise, and social media visibility, Quiet is a whisper of resistance. Cain goes all in, exploring the inner psychology of introverts, celebrating those who think twice, work quietly, and lead from behind. For the twenty-something who's ever been 'too quiet' for the world, this book is a game-changer in the sense that it redefines quietness not as a flaw, but as a strong ability.
In an extrovert culture that worships boldly going where no one has gone before, Cain's Quiet raises up the introvert's inner life. With research and anecdotes, she demonstrates how introverts introduce creativity, leadership, and richness into the world. The book draws on psychology, cultural commentary, and narrative nonfiction and provides straightforward advice about how introverts can succeed in their work and relationships.
'We are all unreliable narrators of our own lives.'
A sorrowful and lovely memoir of loss and friendship, Stay True, Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Memoir, explores the emotional landscape of young adulthood like few other books have. Hsu's friendship with Ken, his college buddy who was a wild and generous man unlike him, is a prism through which he examines memory, mourning, and identity. It's a close-up reminder that some of our most formative relationships aren't romantic, but platonic and sadly fleeting. It's more than just a coming-of-age narrative, but rather it serves as a reminder of how people affect us long after they're gone.
'You won't understand this now, but some things matter more than the pain.'
This novel is not an easy read, but it surely has an indelible effect on one's memory. Spanning decades, A Little Life follows both professional and personal lives of four friends – Willem, JB, Malcolm, and Jude navigating ambition, trauma, and love in New York City. Through Jude's deeply tragic life, it exposes how childhood pain can ripple through adulthood. Yanaghira's novel is a raw, devastating, yet strangely tender book about friendship as both salvation and sorrow. Through the book, one understands the slow and complicated process of healing.
'The love of money is not the root of all evil. The lack of money is the root of all evil.'
Our twenties often bring us our first paychecks, along with our first financial blunders. In this finance staple, Kiyosaki juxtaposes two kinds of money mindsets: one that chases security, and one that builds assets, and he does so by using two father figures—his biological father (Poor Dad) and his friend's father (Rich Dad). With simple anecdotes and real-world wisdom, this book encourages young readers to rethink wealth, risk, and responsibility.
A bestseller around the globe even to this day, particularly with young businesspeople, the book helps understand the importance of financial independence and early investing.
'And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.'
Just a handful of books manage to strike a chord across generations like The Alchemist does. Half spiritual quest, half philosophical parable, Paulo Coelho's protagonist, Santiago, is a young shepherd from Andalusia who dreams of discovering a worldly treasure. Through deserts and encounters with mystics, merchants, and philosophers, he finds something far more significant, the pursuit of his personal legend.
Coelho's The Alchemist is a very gentle nudge toward courage, intuition, and faith for anyone standing at a crossroads wondering which path to choose. It's simply a metaphorical tale about dreams, destiny, and listening to your heart.
'Happiness is only real when shared.'
An eclectic fusion of biography, travelogue, and philosophical reflection, this book presents the true story of Christopher McCandless, a boy who rejected any material possessions and went into the wilds of Alaska. His trek through America and onward to Alaska ends in tragedy but has sobering questions concerning freedom and human connection.
Krakauer does not romanticize McCandless' choices but probes deeply into his rebellion, his desire for truth, and his singularly tragic end. The read provides to its readers a sort of meditation on freedom, society, and the repercussions of isolation.
In 2007, the book was adapted into a drama film, directed by Sean Penn.
'Claiming your 20s is one of the simplest, yet most transformative things you can do.'
With this assertion, the psychologist Meg Jay sets the tone for The Defining Decade, a book that turns the concept of a throwaway decade into a time that needs to stand as the essential base for adulthood. Blending real clinical stories with a developmental psychological perspective, Jay provides guidance on finding a job, having relationships, and growing personally. She disputes the notion that your twenties are irrelevant, and instead says that those years are the prime time to create one's identity and future. 'Our twenties are the time to build a real life, not just a resume,' she writes, which is a reminder that this decade deserves our intention, not ambivalence.
'If there's one thing we can be sure of, it's that we are always too quick to blame others.'
Against the backdrop of 1970s Bombay, with its political skulduggery and domestic mayhem, this novel tracks Gustad Noble, a bank clerk and devoted family man. Mistry skillfully entwines political turbulence with profoundly human issues—aging parents, filial obligations, and shattered friendships. It's a rich, slow-burning story that reflects the turmoil many experience in their twenties, particularly in a world freighted with tradition and change. As Mistry mentions, 'Sometimes, when there is no one to turn to, when all else fails, you have to make do with your own company.'
The 1998 Indo-Canadian English language film, directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, was based on this novel.
'You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.'
Set in the racially divided American South, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel recounts young Scout Finch's observations of her father, Atticus, defending a black man unjustly accused of assault. With a child's perspective, it is really about justice, kindness, and moral courage. It is not just a commentary upon race and justice but more so a coming-of-age story teaching empathy. As in our twenties, when we are learning to see beyond our world, this book amplifies our moral imagination. The novel was adapted into the coming-of-age legal crime drama film of 1962.
'So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.'
Excess, illusion, and yearning are the elements that disassemble the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby's nostalgia for an idealized past is horribly attractive and painfully tragic. To young adults facing a culture consumed by image, desire, and nostalgia, this book poses the question: What are we chasing, and why?
Set amid the fertile life of the 1920s, it is a story of Jay Gatsby who, an enigmatic millionaire, keeps throwing mad parties to win back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. The whole story is a scathing indictment of the American Dream and explores illusion, love, and greed.
Many adaptations of the novel exist, but the most famous is Baz Luhrmann's 2013 romantic drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Our twenties are half mess and half magic. These years instruct us things that no syllabus has ever taught us, i.e., about ambition and failure, about friendship and money, about heartbreak and identity. And although no book can live our life for us, some may just help us live it better.
And, as J.K. Rowling has said, 'I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book'. Whether we're picking up a classic or a memoir, reading can offer few things that we need in our twenties: perspective, stillness, and the comforting knowledge that we're not alone in trying to figure it all out.
The author is an intern with The Indian Express.