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5 books everyone must read before they die


Electrophile

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I had a very interesting discussion with some friends of mine about the importance of books and how a lot of people don't take voluntary reading very seriously once they're out of school. So we got to talking about the 5 books we thought everyone must read once before they die. This was my list:

1984

Flowers for Algernon

The Razor's Edge

Gravity's Rainbow

The Road

What do you guys think? You don't necessarily have to choose books, some of you may think plays or short stories are essential as well. I'm curious to see what you come up with because a lot of you strike me as being very well-read.

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Hamlet

1984 (alternatively, The Road To Wigan Pier, Burmese Days, or any other of Eric's books)

Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas

Lord of The Rings

A Clockwork Orange

I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo currently, and this is truly epic novel.

One thing I've been looking into getting is a certain translation of "One Thousand And One Nights" (aka Arabian Nights)

http://www.amazon.com/Arabian-Nights-Husai...y/dp/0393313670

Edit: I've heard of Eco, had to read some of his essays last year.

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I just remembered another great book - Turn Of The Screw.

It's been a while since I read it, and it's over 100 years old, but it definately hasn't lost the ability to freak me out.

Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is both fascinating and heartbreaking. The book really stuck with me for a long time.

For 'light' reading I love early Stephen King. Christine, Carrie, The Shining are spine-chillingly awesome. But my favourite has to be 'Salem's Lot.

And, Yukon, I've never seen the film, but I do adore the book :D

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Many great books already :)

I would add The Stranger by Camus; Pride and Prejudice by Austen; The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer; Macbeth by Shakespeare and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone by Rowling. Honorable mention for A Separate Peace by Knowles.

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Henry IV

(William Shakespeare 1597-98)

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

(Mary Shelley 1818)

The Catcher in the Rye

(J.D. Sallinger 1951)

The Poseidon Adventure

(Paul Gallico 1972)

Amazons: An Intimate Memoir By the First Women to Play in the National Hockey League

(Cleo Birdwell 1980) http://www.perival.com/delillo/amazons.html

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Many great books already :)

I would add The Stranger by Camus; Pride and Prejudice by Austen; The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer; Macbeth by Shakespeare and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone by Rowling. Honorable mention for A Separate Peace by Knowles.

The Stranger I had to read in French! I really should read the English version as it was a real challenge getting through it at the time.

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Wow, it is difficult to pick just five.

And are they my favorite five? I think that we already have a thread on favorites.

Or are they five that contribute to society and civilization? Works of instruction, if you will.

Or are they five great works of literature?

I will pick a combination of all three criteria.

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Iliad and The Odyssey - Homer

The Bible - New Testament and Old Testament

There are so many more. These are just a few that I would choose. I picked these five because they make a statement about life. And they demonstrate the beauty of words and the written language. And they are classics, not contemporary works, so they have stood the test of time.

Edited to say:

I think that everyone should read Ayn Rand, particularly "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead". :)

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I'm going to also say The Hobbit but eagle87 already said that. I've not really read any other books that strick me as really a must read for everyone. There are some that are a must read if you are into certain things (like say music) but not just a basic must read.

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Candide-Voltaire

The Brothers Karamazov-Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cloudsplitter-Russell Banks

The Magnificent Ambersons-Booth Tarkenton

Running Out of Dog-Dennis Lehane (short story)

It is so hard to pick just five. I'm in love with "Elvis Cole" in the Robert Crais novels. George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is the best fantasy series that I've ever read and believe me, I have read many fantasy novels.

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I just remembered another great book - Turn Of The Screw.

It's been a while since I read it, and it's over 100 years old, but it definately hasn't lost the ability to freak me out.

It's a great movie too (The Innocents) with Deborah Kerr.

My list:

'Segovia-An Autobiorgaphy Of The Years 1893-1920'

'Hunchback Of Notre Dame'

'The Old Man And The Sea'

'The Godfather'

'Freewheelin' Frank' (By Hells Angel Frank Reynolds)

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I agree with whoever said Fear and Loathing - I used to read it on the train and laugh out loud...

ANY Jane Austen has to be in the top 5 - too bad there are 6...

Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre - is a good one.

I love Zadie Smith books also... White Teeth, On Beauty and The Autograph man...

The Butcher Boy - Patrick McCabe

The God of Small things - Arundati Roy (I think that is how you spell her name)

I also think all kids should read Roald Dahl books and Harry Potter! hehe!!

I agree with whoever said Wuthering Heights! Love it.

Thomas Hardy - eek depressing but good!

The Female Eunuch - I just read randomly from it sometimes... open up a page...

To Kill a Mocking Bird , Picture of Dorian Grey, 100 years of solitude, Crime and Punishment, 20,000 leagues under the sea, Nights at the Circus, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, ANIMAL FARM, The Scarlett letter...

I don't think there are just 5 that people should read I mean there are 52 weeks in a year... you could read one a week (if you have the time) you live for about 90 years (if you are lucky) so there are probably about 4,680 books you could add to the list. hehe

but who has the time to read one a week?

ohh ohh ohh Hitchhikers Guide - the trilogy in four parts! hehe

eek!

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Two of my faves have already been mentioned: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and Catcher In The Rye. I also loved The Mists of Avalon, though I read that many years ago. I still have it, so maybe it's time to read it again. Let's see....I love Christopher Hitchen's God Is Not Great, but that's the only one of his I've read. I've read a bunch of his articles, though, and really really like his writing. I can't believe how many of the classics I still haven't read. You guys put me to shame. Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees was a really good read, too. That's about all I can think of at the moment, but I'm now inspired to read more than The Onion on a regular basis!

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Two of my faves have already been mentioned: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and Catcher In The Rye. I also loved The Mists of Avalon, though I read that many years ago. I still have it, so maybe it's time to read it again. Let's see....I love Christopher Hitchen's God Is Not Great, but that's the only one of his I've read. I've read a bunch of his articles, though, and really really like his writing. I can't believe how many of the classics I still haven't read. You guys put me to shame. Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees was a really good read, too. That's about all I can think of at the moment, but I'm now inspired to read more than The Onion on a regular basis!

Mists of Avalon was great.

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Good to see you posting again, Suz. :)

To the person that suggested Ayn Rand.....that was bold. It seems like every time I have this discussion with people and they choose either Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead, a political flame war ensues. I hope something like that doesn't happen this time. LOL

Another book that I think is really good and often misunderstood is The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I think if you read it for what it is, a scathing indictment of the meatpacking industry in Chicago around the turn of the 20th century, you'll find yourself able to enjoy it more than if you choose to read it as a scathing indictment on capitalism. I personally don't see it as being that way in toto, although I can understand where some parts of the book would lead people to think the whole book reads the same way.

BTW, I'm really impressed by a lot of your lists. Thanks for contributing, I hope this thread keeps growing.

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5 books that have made an impact on me -- and I hope they would do so for others -- are:

The Holy Bible

Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain (or any Twain for that matter)

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

and like Virginia said above, an Honorable Mention to Knowles' A Separate Peace

5 authors that I intend to explore in depth before I die are:

Shakespeare

Dickens

Dostoevsky

Rand

Homer

and Hemingway (ok, that's 6, it's the honorable mention spot)

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