NOT american literature you should read.

The King James Version of the Bible (for obvious reasons)

Paradise Lost, by John Milton (my favorite piece of literature)

The Pardoner's Tale, by Geoffrey Chaucer (my second favorite piece of literature)

The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence (maybe the finest example of an autobiography)

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne (as Steve Coogan said, the first postmodern novel. one of the funniest books you'll ever read, and one of the best novels)

Essays, by George Orwell (the man was a genius and a prophet)

The Road to Serfdom, by Friedrich von Hayek (also a genius and prophet, and the spokesman for true conservatives in the traditional sense)

Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan (you simply have to read this one)

A History of Philosophy Volumes 1-9, by Frederick Copleston S.J. (the best of its kind, and more entertaining than you might think)

Titus Andronicus, by William Shakespeare (Aaron the Moor)

The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien (best fantasy, best Christian novel, best modern epic)

Njal's Saga, by anonymous (if you've never read an Icelandic saga, this is the best place to start; you won't find more violence or snappy one-liners in even the best Schwarzenegger movie)

The Scarlet and the Black, by Stendahl (my uncle thought this was the best novel ever written; I wouldn't go that far, but it's up there)

Fear and Trembling, by Soren Kierkegaard (the greatest Christian philosopher writes on the things that matter most)

Twilight of the Idols & The Anti-Christ, by Friedrich Nietzsche (the greatest Pagan philosopher writes on the things that matter most)

The Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin (theology as it was always meant to be--apprehendable yet deep, intellectual yet applicable and spiritual)

The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, by John Knox (first of all, the man knew how to title a book; second, the monstrous regiment was comprised of Elizabeth I, and his arguments are compelling)

If on a winter's night a traveler...., by Italo Calvino (so brilliant it's hard to understand why anyone since him has tried writing fiction, or whatever you call it)

The Master of the Day of Judgement, by Leo Perutz (a supernatural mystery story that actually makes sense and is actually scary)

Barnaby Rudge, by Charles Dickens (underrated and largely unread, this is a masterpiece in every sense)

Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens (if Dickens had written nothing else, he'd still be the greatest novelist of all time)

The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by John Owen (the Puritans are my heroes; this book is pure devotion to Jesus Christ)

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers (who knew Germans had such a sense of humor??)

Hunger, by Knut Hamsun (never has deprivation been so carefully rendered)

A Universal History of Infamy, by Jorge Luis Borges (why isn't this required reading everywhere?)

The Gormenghast Trilogy, by Mervyn Peake (post-World War II Europe in a fantasy setting; this novel will blow your mind and remind you that fiction can indeed be great and worthwhile)

The Tain, by anonymous (an Irish cattle raid in the roughest poetic language you'll ever encounter)

The Kalevala, by Elias Lonnrot (when Vainamoinen sings the world into existence, if you don't lose your breath you're heartless and inhuman)

Mr. Standfast, by John Buchan (spies who use codenames from Pilgrim's Progress AND a veteran of the Boer War who ends up in a fighter plane)

The City of God, by St. Augustine (duh)

and finally

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (because really, he accomplished something great there)