Books to read before I die?

[pontifex]

anything by Lord Dunsany, Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard, Wilfred Thesiger, H.P. Lovecraft

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

vonnegut!

 

[BrokenVisage]

Looks like you got yourself a Book-et List! bahaha

 

[Drekce]

Originally posted by: Canai
The Dark Tower series by King. If you've read some of this other books, mainly the Stand, it's just one huge story, the best one I've ever read.

I second this.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: tenshodo13
Not to be condescending, but aren't these all required HS reading books? Hell, I read 1984 in the 8th grade, LOTR in the 6th, and The Prince in the 10th.

This is a reading list that all graduating seniors should have read..

I didn't read LOTR in high school. In fact, I never read it. I took some interesting classes in high school though. We had Gothic Literature which was actually pretty cool.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'd recommend the books you're going to be required to read in college.

I did enjoy reading science fiction when I was younger. 'Dune' is epic, definitely read 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' as well. I liked many of Robert Heinlein's works too.

 

[Reckoner]

Who Moved my Cheese?

Gates of Fire

Angels and Demons

Da Vinci Code

The Prophet

 

[Muse]

Science-in-layman's terms book:
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

I too recommend this book. I'm a guy who has lots of books sitting around, great books, that I may have started but have yet to work through to the end. However, I read this book happily without stopping in I guess 2-3 days.

Lolita, considered one of the best english language books of the 20th century, Nabakov's use of english is amazing.

Although I read this in high school it has never left my mind. The fact that English was not Nabakov's first language is incredibly impressive. The same can be said for Joseph Conrad, another marvelous writer.

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

I read this in high school too, or maybe my first year at the U. I found this book entirely engrossing and I got completely into it. Interesting that Atlas Shrugged has been mentioned at least 3 times. I know nothing about it, but Ayn Rand apparently hasn't fallen into obscurity, which to me is surprising given the fact that she's regarded in some circles as an arch conservative, someone to make fun of. At least, this has been my impression. Maybe I am mistaken in this.
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Dostoevsky has been mentioned (Brothers K and Crime and Punishment). I read The Idiot in college and again, was completely drawn into it.

Several mentions of Vonnegut. I haven't touched any, and guess I really should.

For sci-fi, I recommend Heinlein (the first I read was The Puppet Masters) and Arthur C. Clarke (e.g. Stranger in a Strange Land or 2001), two titans of the field although they are from way back, the 50's I guess.
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I have read a fair amount of Jack London and liked his The Road and Martin Eden.
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I second Kerouac's On the Road and Dharma Bums.
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Burroughs' Naked Lunch is a total kick in the head.

 

[pcslookout]

The Mist.
Let the Right One In.

 

[SlitheryDee]

White Fang by Jack London
* by R. A. Heinlein
The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
Helter Skelter

That is quite a good book. Amazing and you learn a lot about the legal profession from an insider.

 

[daniel1113]

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
1984 by George Orwell
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The Federalist Papers by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg

 

[Iron Woode]

no one has mentioned:

The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich

as for sci-fi:

HG Wells - The War of The Worlds

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Iron Woode
The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich

Heh... I had that on my list and erased it as I didn't think anyone else would actually spend the time reading it like I did. Fantastic book.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Woosta

Originally posted by: Aflac
harry potter

Read 'em. I think Harry Potter and LOTR are the only books I've read by choice (before 1984 [the book, not the year)).

damn. you suck at reading


here are some:

Ulysses
Molloy
Lolita
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
everything by Kafka
Grapes of Wrath
White Noise
Crime and Punishment
...

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: CallMeJoe
Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita.

I need to read this. I hear the TV mini series is also stellar.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Nix the Steinback, just get the cliff notes. His writing style is like trying to watch paint dry while loaded on extra drowsy pain killers.

Fuck that. He's one of the greatest and most important American writers that ever lived. Winter of Our Discontent, Grapes, East of Eden, of Mice and Men, Cannery Row...all essential..

and don't forget the Faulkner

also, no one should be allowed to finish college without having read James Joyce's "The Dead." (same with Lolita)

 

[ProfJohn]

Originally posted by: Saint Michael
Don Quixote is the greatest book I've ever read.

It is considered to BE the greatest book ever by a LOT of people.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Watership Down - it's about rabbits.

 

[ultra laser]

The World as Will and Representation by Arthur Schopenhauer

 

[TehMac]

We don't read LotR, C.S. Lewis, or the Hobbit because my school bureaucracy deemed these books 'too mainstream' to read. :roll:


However, one book I thoroughly recommend is Brave New World. Amazing book.


Steinbeck is nice and homely, I liked Canary Row alot.


I really like the classics, Sophocles made some ballin' plays, I <3 Oedipus at Colonus, it's so anticlimactic until the very end.

Of course The Iliad and the Odyssey are must-reads.

 

[furie27]

Didn't see them listed, but I highly recommend The Apology along with The Symposium by Plato.

 

[furie27]

Sorry, double post.

 

[Cabages]

I still dont see why everyone recommends 1984, I was very disappointed when I read it. Quite a boring book actually.

 

[furie27]

Originally posted by: Cabages
I still dont see why everyone recommends 1984, I was very disappointed when I read it. Quite a boring book actually.

Same with a lot of books on this list, especially anything by Ayn Rand. No reason to bother with her.