Books everyone should have read.
- Thread starter Onslow
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Lysistrata
Well-Known Member
What a fantastic challenge! I've picked some books which should give a good cross section of styles and settings:
Our Man in Havana - Graeme Greene
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula le Guin
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
It would be great to hear what you think of them as you read them!
Our Man in Havana - Graeme Greene
To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula le Guin
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
It would be great to hear what you think of them as you read them!
vauxhallmum
had to scrap the cheap car
English Passengers- Matthew Kneale
Andy the Don
Wise men say only fools..
The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
I second danny la rouge's recommendation for The Communist Manifesto - provided you remember that it was written in a few days for a political situation on the verge of kicking off. It's a great piece of pamphleteering, but don't expect to find a fully worked-out political philosophy in it.
It's actually really difficult to think up a few books that are so important you feel everyone should read them. I've thought of loads and then rejected them as too specific, too limited or whatever.
I'd recommend Tom Paine - The Rights of Man, because it was such an influential (and subversive) book in its time and such a powerful exposition of a very enlightened and forward-looking viewpoint.
Noam Chomsky and Edward S Herman - Manufacturing Consent. The first half of it, where Chomsky lays out his view of how the media works and how challenging or possibly subversive information is sidelined is really thought-provoking. The second half, where some detailed examples are given, has dated a bit, but it's still worth a read.
Richard J Evans - In Defence of History. I wonder about recommending this, because it's quite a self-referential book about a discipline, but I will because I think its interest is wider than that. It deals with, or hints at, very big questions on how confident we can be of our knowledge of a world we've not seen - be that contemporary or lost in the past. A fascinating read, IME.
It's actually really difficult to think up a few books that are so important you feel everyone should read them. I've thought of loads and then rejected them as too specific, too limited or whatever.
I'd recommend Tom Paine - The Rights of Man, because it was such an influential (and subversive) book in its time and such a powerful exposition of a very enlightened and forward-looking viewpoint.
Noam Chomsky and Edward S Herman - Manufacturing Consent. The first half of it, where Chomsky lays out his view of how the media works and how challenging or possibly subversive information is sidelined is really thought-provoking. The second half, where some detailed examples are given, has dated a bit, but it's still worth a read.
Richard J Evans - In Defence of History. I wonder about recommending this, because it's quite a self-referential book about a discipline, but I will because I think its interest is wider than that. It deals with, or hints at, very big questions on how confident we can be of our knowledge of a world we've not seen - be that contemporary or lost in the past. A fascinating read, IME.
QueenOfGoths
Fuck you Dave!
"Earthly Powers" - Anthony Burgess - his use of language is phenomenal and combined with a fascinating story this is a great read
"A Delicate Balance " - Rohinton Mistry - actually I'd suggest any of his novels they are beautifully written, if a little depressing
"Rebel Angels" - Robertson Davies - fantastic, compelling novel
"Rites of Passage", "Close Quarters" and "Fire Down Below" sometimes known as The Sea Trilogy" - William Golding - this just draws you in so that you don't want it to end. The only book ("Fire Down Below") ever to make me cry!
"A Delicate Balance " - Rohinton Mistry - actually I'd suggest any of his novels they are beautifully written, if a little depressing
"Rebel Angels" - Robertson Davies - fantastic, compelling novel
"Rites of Passage", "Close Quarters" and "Fire Down Below" sometimes known as The Sea Trilogy" - William Golding - this just draws you in so that you don't want it to end. The only book ("Fire Down Below") ever to make me cry!
Boogie Boy
Rockin' on the 1210s
I would read the 'Metamorphoses' by Ovid, as it offers a fascinating insight in to how narrative works and develops. Many of the stories contained therein will also seem frighteningly familiar. The same can also be said of 'The Iliad' and 'The Oydssey', not technically to be regarded as books as such, but they are of fundamental importance to what is perceived to be 'western culture'. In this vein it would be worth having a read of Aristotle's 'Poetics' too.
Although not a book (clearly!) it is always worth getting a decent copy of Shakespeare's First Folio - although usually this will involve buying separate editions of the plays (unless you want to stretch to a Norton facsimile edition!!).
'Don Quixote' by Cervantes is an absolute must read, offerring an insight in to the development and purpose of narrative, the role and existance of 'the author', and it will also throw up fascinating insights in to issues regarding race, culture and identity. And then you could read Borges' 'Labyrinths' and the essay regarding Pierre Menard - and consider if this is innovative or a mere sketch masquerading as intellectual profundity. The idea of a story within a story within a story might lead you to Chaucer or Dante or Boccacio or perhaps....
'The Arabian Nights'. It is truly awe inspiring. I would go for the translation by Sir Richard Burton. It is old fashioned but Burton's translation is undoubtedly superior to that offered by N.J Dawood (Penguin), which reduces the tales to little more than children's stories -which they are certainly not. Issues of sex, morality and racism are to be found in abundance.
'War And Peace' Tolstoy. A huge book, physically and in respect of the framework being used. But utterly dull. Read it to understand that you will never have to read it again!
I'll stop for the moment.
BB
Although not a book (clearly!) it is always worth getting a decent copy of Shakespeare's First Folio - although usually this will involve buying separate editions of the plays (unless you want to stretch to a Norton facsimile edition!!).
'Don Quixote' by Cervantes is an absolute must read, offerring an insight in to the development and purpose of narrative, the role and existance of 'the author', and it will also throw up fascinating insights in to issues regarding race, culture and identity. And then you could read Borges' 'Labyrinths' and the essay regarding Pierre Menard - and consider if this is innovative or a mere sketch masquerading as intellectual profundity. The idea of a story within a story within a story might lead you to Chaucer or Dante or Boccacio or perhaps....
'The Arabian Nights'. It is truly awe inspiring. I would go for the translation by Sir Richard Burton. It is old fashioned but Burton's translation is undoubtedly superior to that offered by N.J Dawood (Penguin), which reduces the tales to little more than children's stories -which they are certainly not. Issues of sex, morality and racism are to be found in abundance.
'War And Peace' Tolstoy. A huge book, physically and in respect of the framework being used. But utterly dull. Read it to understand that you will never have to read it again!
I'll stop for the moment.
BB
If you are going to include the bible i'd also include The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins (in addition to origin of species.)
A day in the life of Ivan denisovich by Solzhenitsyn is superb, well, Solzhenitsyn is generally superb anyway, but i've not come across a more gripping book (with the possible exception of 1984 or The Social Contract by Rosseau, i've carried a copy of that around with me for over two years now, dipping into it when ever i've been depressed.)
Thinking of 1984, i would recomend reading The Handmaids Tale by Margeret Atwood, an excellent post-apocalyptic dystopia
Oliver Twist and Great Expectations by Dickens.
On the lighter side Small Gods by Terry Pratchett is a good laugh, and very re-readable (if you don't mind comic fantasy)
Gosh. Thinking about it there are loads... I think i'm going to use this thread to buildup my own reading list.
A day in the life of Ivan denisovich by Solzhenitsyn is superb, well, Solzhenitsyn is generally superb anyway, but i've not come across a more gripping book (with the possible exception of 1984 or The Social Contract by Rosseau, i've carried a copy of that around with me for over two years now, dipping into it when ever i've been depressed.)
Thinking of 1984, i would recomend reading The Handmaids Tale by Margeret Atwood, an excellent post-apocalyptic dystopia
Oliver Twist and Great Expectations by Dickens.
On the lighter side Small Gods by Terry Pratchett is a good laugh, and very re-readable (if you don't mind comic fantasy)
Gosh. Thinking about it there are loads... I think i'm going to use this thread to buildup my own reading list.
SpookyFrank
Don't swallow the cap
The Panda's Thumb by Steven Jay Gould will show you why evolution is actually better than anything god could come up with, even if he was real.
Ned Pointsman
Sells Tac to Bairns
The Crying Of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon.
We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (what Orwell based on 1984 on.)
We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (what Orwell based on 1984 on.)
Superdupastupor
fun to funky
Oh my so many books I would have recommend have already turned up in this thread. A few more.:
Something by Hubert Selby JRN. Either Last exit to Brooklyn (1964) or Requiem for a Dream(1978) both deal with broadly the same issues, the really interesting thing is the way American society had changed in the intervening years.
Kurt Vonnegut , Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) easy read, funny, whacky and massively poignant.
Those would be my suggestions off the top of my head.
BTW. Reading loads don't help with spelling and grammar IME: I read more than anyone I know (my brother exempted) and most folk laugh at my pathetic writing skillz....
Second vote for:
TO D-L-R: are you from Scotland? I have never met any non-Scottish person that has read this, despite it being a total masterpiece.
Something by Hubert Selby JRN. Either Last exit to Brooklyn (1964) or Requiem for a Dream(1978) both deal with broadly the same issues, the really interesting thing is the way American society had changed in the intervening years.
Kurt Vonnegut , Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) easy read, funny, whacky and massively poignant.
Those would be my suggestions off the top of my head.
BTW. Reading loads don't help with spelling and grammar IME: I read more than anyone I know (my brother exempted) and most folk laugh at my pathetic writing skillz....
Second vote for:
danny la rouge said:
TO D-L-R: are you from Scotland? I have never met any non-Scottish person that has read this, despite it being a total masterpiece.
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Non-fiction
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat - Dr. Oliver Sacks
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schloss
Freakonomics - somebody
Everything ever written by Bill Bryson
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
All the war memoirs by Spike Milligan
Are You Dave Gorman - Dave Gorman
Touching The Void - Joe Simpson
Unweaving The Rainbow - Richard Dawkins
Fiction
The House of the Spirits - Isabelle Allende
A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
Complicity and The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Moon Palace and In The Country of Last Things - Paul Auster
Boiling A Frog and The Sacred Art of Stealing - Christopher Brookmyre
The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Liar - Stephen Fry
Chocolat - Joanne Harris
Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Berniere
Pope Joan - Donna Woolfolk
Cancer Ward - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Daydreamer - Iain McEwan
and from my flatmate...
The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich - Alexander Solsinitsin
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
The Outsider - Albert Camus
I wouldn't listen to him though.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat - Dr. Oliver Sacks
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schloss
Freakonomics - somebody
Everything ever written by Bill Bryson
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
All the war memoirs by Spike Milligan
Are You Dave Gorman - Dave Gorman
Touching The Void - Joe Simpson
Unweaving The Rainbow - Richard Dawkins
Fiction
The House of the Spirits - Isabelle Allende
A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
Complicity and The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Moon Palace and In The Country of Last Things - Paul Auster
Boiling A Frog and The Sacred Art of Stealing - Christopher Brookmyre
The Hundred Secret Senses - Amy Tan
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Liar - Stephen Fry
Chocolat - Joanne Harris
Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Berniere
Pope Joan - Donna Woolfolk
Cancer Ward - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The Daydreamer - Iain McEwan
and from my flatmate...
The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
A Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich - Alexander Solsinitsin
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
The Outsider - Albert Camus
I wouldn't listen to him though.
danny la rouge
Ninja swords for all disabled people
Then you should read Poor Things first. You'd then see what he's about.Papingo said:
It helps if you've already read James Hogg.
And Superdupastupor, yes, I'm Scottish.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
"Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance" Robert M Pirsig.
A bit patchy, but I learned a few things from it.
A bit patchy, but I learned a few things from it.
In no particular order, and missing out a couple already mentioned
voltaire - candide
maxim gorky - my childhood, my aprentiship and my universities
james ellroy - american tabloid
marek edelman - the ghetto fights
franz kafka - the trial
james kelman- not not whilst the giro
jean genet - thiefs journal
tibor fisher - under the frog
dario fo - accidental death of an anarchist
bret easton ellis - american psycho
irving welsh - trainspotting
rivethead - ben hamper
denis diderot - the nun
abbie hoffman - revolution for the hell of it
david beresford - ten men dead
bobby seale - sieze the time
and yes the bible
voltaire - candide
maxim gorky - my childhood, my aprentiship and my universities
james ellroy - american tabloid
marek edelman - the ghetto fights
franz kafka - the trial
james kelman- not not whilst the giro
jean genet - thiefs journal
tibor fisher - under the frog
dario fo - accidental death of an anarchist
bret easton ellis - american psycho
irving welsh - trainspotting
rivethead - ben hamper
denis diderot - the nun
abbie hoffman - revolution for the hell of it
david beresford - ten men dead
bobby seale - sieze the time
and yes the bible
Ms T
Honey-coloured ramparts
Another vote for Crime and Punishment and also:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
The Three Muskateers by Alexandre Dumas
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
The Three Muskateers by Alexandre Dumas
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
or maybe 4 times in my caseMarius said:
(And I still haven't read the difficult bit in the middle
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