I'm currently reading The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. From my understanding, it's the source of most of the things we know about Norse mythology. I can see how much it has influenced so many other books, games, movies, art, etc.

I'm also reading (very very slowly) Anathem by Neal Stephenson. The thing about this that captivates me is the how the author is able to transport me into the story. I feel like I'm right there with the characters; I usually don't feel like that with many books I read so it's great for me.

I've recently started reading Beneath The Wheel by Hermann Hesse. I've read some of this other books and short stories like Demian and Strange News From Another Star. His writing is easy to understand and really moves me. He seems to write a lot about spirituality and embracing both the good and evil in things, and finding beauty in it (that's how I interpret it anyway).

You need to figure out what interests you. The genre, author, length of a book, setting, style, the year it was published, etc. are all very important when choosing what to read. Personally, I'll pick up several new books and start reading them around the same time, and eventually I might find that one or two are that I keep going back to.

Battle Royale by Takami Koushun. Most of the characters are high schoolers, but they have to kill each other. Also, I don't think the target audience was for teens back when it was published. I believe this was the book that inspired Squid- and Hunger Games.

I forgot about this book. I remember it being freaky when I was younger. Glad to see this article otherwise I'd never would have remembered it.