# A few books which everyone should have read..



## Pawn (Feb 25, 2004)

*Lev Tolstoy - Anna Karenin*

I just finished reading a beautifully bound, ancient edition of this, and can't possibly recommend it highly enough. Dostoyevski's Crime and Punishment is next on my own 'to-read' list, then War and Peace (i'm in a Russian mood).

*Franz Kafka - The Trial*

Read it if you can. I can't stand book analysis in general, so I won't go further than saying it's an interesting read, and that Kafka is a genius.

*Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray*

A truly remarkable book. Oscar Wilde is undoubtedly one of the greatest persons of all history (one my rolemodels, I have to admit), and his writing in this is that of a true master at the height of his powers. The book has further meaning in connection with the authors tragic fall from grace, and in view of his later writing.

*Robert Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance*

A great, great book. Something that really makes you look at the way we personally, and society look at the world. Also an astounding story, and not only that, but a true one.

*Isaac Asimov - Foundation*

Just thought I'd get some sci-fi in here, and this is the real core of the genre. Asimov has all the imagination and ideas of an exceptional science-fiction writer.. You might want to give this a try even if you don't like sci-fi. While i'm on the genre, Dune is worth a read several times over.

*Robin Hobb - The Liveship Trilogy*

I feel slightly wrong putting a fantasy trilogy in here, but as I let Asimov in I'm gonna let this one in too. I doubt you've read this, but it is by far the best fantasy I've ever read. It might be better than LOTR... The characters are superbly written, as is the world and setting. The plot is fascinating and the prose are vivid and never boring... Read it.

--

OK enough. As an afterthought, you'll want to take a look at Larkin, Byron, Keats and Wilde for poetry (particularly The Ballad of Reading Goal by Wilde and the horribly overused This By The Verse by Larkin) and Pratchett, Adams and Rankin for comedy. If you want to rule the world, I suggest Michiavelli's 'The Prince' and Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations'. Musically, you should be shot if you don't own Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon', Bob Dylan's 'Blonde on Blonde' and Led Zeppelin's 'LedZepp4' (I could go on...).

Please do add some of your favourite books etc, I always like getting recommendations.

Peace.


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## Kitten Courna (Feb 25, 2004)

Russian Heavyweights indeed.  I'm glad Crime and Punishment is up there, it's one of my favorites.  

I'm afraid though, I can't see what you see in Wilde.  I couldn't even finish Dorian Gray.  As an author, I would agree he is was talented, but that book drives me up the walls.  I like his plays and children's stories better.  

Herbert and Asimov are certainly staples and worth every praise they're given, but you should take a look at Orson Scott Card if you haven't.  I'm not sure you need the recommendation but there it is.

Kind of a romantic when it comes to poetry, eh?  I don't blame you.  Cooleridge is worth a read, or at least "Kubla Khan."  For comic fantasy I love Adams, but have a soft spot for Asprin, though he hasn't any plans to finish the Myth series, I think.  

And did you say Rankin? As in Ian Rankin?  As in Rebus?  Comedy?

As for ruling the world, I think you should take a look at Plato's Republic.  Devious; very devious.

Also a classical type for music I see?  I won't comment on the selections, and am far too inept at choosing my own favorites.

Good to meet you, by the way.

-Kitten


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## Pawn (Feb 25, 2004)

Thanks for the post!

Shame about your stance on Wilde, but I suppose we all have our opinions. I often have to remind myself that my opinion is also just an opinion, rather than the sum of all human wisdom and knowedge. At least you like his plays, which are truly brilliant.

Orson Scott Card is an author I clearly need to make more effort to read. His name has several times got lost in an endless stream of books I need to read. Needless to say I'll correct that as soon as I'm able. Speaking of sci-fi, have you read much of the classic Arthur C. Clarke? Pretty good, in my humble opinion. God, i'm such a traditionalist. Maybe I should get more.

Romantic poetry! Yes indeed. I've got a soft spot for the great Romanticists. Cooleridge should have made the list, in reflection. I've never read any Asprin, though I've taken plenty (haha.) Poor Adams.. that film they made is a disgrace. I meant Robert Rankin, as opposed to Ian. I can see where your bewilderment came from. A good author, Ian, but not exactly laugh out loud.

Plato's got to be read, it seems. I'll get into it when i'm done trauling through Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness', Foucault's 'The Order of Things' and any Camus I can get my grubby mits on. Sigh. No rest for the wicked.

As for music, well you got the classics as that's what the post said on the tin, but hey, they're still brilliant.

Good to meet you too


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## Kitten Courna (Feb 26, 2004)

Classic Arthur C. Clarke?  I may have read a short story here and there, and from my vague remembrances I get the feeling I enjoyed it.  It's evident you're a classicist, to a deep degree.  Though I can't recommend many, I suggest you break out of that, at least to a minor degree, or you'll miss som brilliant new authors.  A Canticle for Liebowitz and Neuromancer (the author of which I have forgotten at the moment) are well worthwhile.

I have to admit that Asprin could be a favorite just because it was one of the first full series I read...but nonetheless, he's a favorite.  I haven't heard of your Rankin, although you've heard of mine.   Somewhat of an unfair exchange, wouldn't you say?  

I'm stodgy when it comes to poetry (hence I don't review it here, unless under special circumstances).  So sometimes the Romantics are jsut the thing I want to hear, and then sometimes they go out just a little too far.  I forget whether he was considered Romantic...I just have the word 'Pastoral' in my head for him, but I'm a fan of Thomas Hardy's poems.  Dismal, of course, but there's something charming about them, I think.

And I'm not actually a fan of Plato myself.  Though I appreciate his devious ways, I'm just not a fan. Though if you're looking into being and non-being, I suggest you start with the Theatetus as opposed to Republic.  As for Foucalt, Sarte, and Camus, the education I'm pursuing at the moment will let me have at them later.  Whatever I read of Sarte when I was younger I've forgotten.

I can hardly criticize the music choice.  They are indeed known as classic for good reason.  

-Kitten


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## Pawn (Feb 26, 2004)

I'm not all that bad. I have actually read and enjoyed Nueromancer. Woopee.

I would appreciate it, however, if you would force me to read any good new books that come your way -- I find second hand bookshops infinitely preferable to new ones, and constantly have so much to read that new books just don't get bought. Sigh.


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## Kitten Courna (Feb 26, 2004)

Unfortunately, I'm almost as immersed in dust.  However, I'll keep a sharp eye out.  I've a feeling the relaxation would be a good cahnge.

-Kitten


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## Pawn (Feb 27, 2004)

Addition:

*Herman Hesse - Steppenwolf*


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## Zachary Glass (Feb 27, 2004)

Hesse's Siddartha led me to his Steppenwolf...but truthfully I did not like it as much.  Still, a good read.  Albert Camus's Stranger is a great read...should it make me feel happy?  I think not, but it does just the same.  We're all so ME ME ME.  It seems so nice to see NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING.  The book puts me in a great mood every time I read it.  It's perfect that it's a one sitting read.


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## Zachary Glass (Feb 27, 2004)

Incidentally, (to use the favorite word of my namesake) The Stranger was made into a song by The Cure.  "standing on the beach with a gun in my hand...staring at the sea staring at the sand...whichever I choose it amounts to the same, absolutely nothing, absolutely nothing.  I'm alive, I'm dead...I am the stranger."  "Looking down the barrel at the Arab on the ground..."

The words are something like that.  It's funny...the Canadian Government attacked the Cure for having racist lyrics with that song...they didn't even know it was a homage to Camus' classic.  Nerds in Canada...I kid you not.  (I feel a rant mood coming on!)


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## Pawn (Feb 28, 2004)

Mmm... Siddhartha could be considered a better book. It's certainly a beautiful and uplifting one. There was just something about the Steppenwolf which I liked; his solitary nature I suppose. And the whole thing with the magic theatre was great.

By the way, my new avatar is highly sexual.


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## Zachary Glass (Feb 28, 2004)

Yes penguins are really quite riveting.  There is something about a penguin walking away from me that really turns me on.  It's the waddle...yes it's definitely the waddle.


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## Lily (Mar 1, 2004)

Pawn- you mentioned Orson Scott Card. If you're short on time and looking at his Ender series, I recommend starting with _Speaker for the Dead_- in my opinion that's the best book in the series. It works as a stand-alone, and delves pretty deep into Ender's character (at least as I recall) and his relationship with the world around him. _Ender's Game_ isn't too bad. _Seventh Son_ is also very good, and I, personally, liked _Treasure Box_ a lot, though a lot of people seem to dislike that particular work of his.

I also really liked Robert A. Heinlein's _Stranger in a Strange Land_ when I first read it. Also, Chaim Potok's _The Chosen_ is fairly good. As for Chinese-American fiction, once you've read _The Joy Luck Club_, you've read it all. I'm really disappointed with what I've read so far of Chinese-American fiction- I think I care more because I'm Chinese American (and I consider myself a writer). It seems that we can't come up with anything beyond the conflicts between various traditions and parental wishes, female angst, and inability to get over past pains. I'd really like to see something different, but maybe that's just me being me.


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## Zachary Glass (Mar 1, 2004)

Joy Luck Club was a great read for me, but for Chinese Canadian fiction~~~have to tout Canada, folks!~~~nothing beats Wayson Choy's THE JADE PEONY.


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## Pawn (Mar 2, 2004)

I appreciate the advise  :wink:


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## eggnogg (Mar 10, 2004)

1984 by George Orwell would have to be one of the most influential books I have ever read. His portrayal of the future is chilling.

egg


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 12, 2010)

I wouldn't say you _should_ read, but,
Tom Holland, Persian fire
almost any Rudyard Kipling short story collection and "Puck of pook's hill" and "Rewards and fairies"
Louis de Bernier's trilogy that starts with "The war of Don Emanuell's nether parts"
Christopher Hill, The world turned upside down.

I may well think of some to add to this.


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## garza (Jun 12, 2010)

A few points of disagreement, I'm afraid.

Your first four selections are excellent. Anything by Tolstoy or Kafka I would agree with. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is one of the few books by Wilde I enjoyed. 

Pirsig's account of his travels with his son, interwoven with a basic philosophy of life is fantastic. 

There are a few, a very few, science fiction short stories I have enjoyed. 'Foundation' I couldn't get through when I tried to read it. 

Hobb I don't know. The only fantasy I've read is Tolkien. I've tried to read others and found them all boring as hell. 

I can't believe that you've left out the 20th Century's masters. Faulkner, Joyce, Hemingway, Gárcía Marquez, and the second rank, Capote, Salinger, et al.

For years I preached that 'Absalom, Absalom' was the greatest novel of the 20th Century. Then I read 'Cien años de soledad' and changed my mind. How can you put science fiction and fantasy in your list and leave out these masterpieces?

And what about the Snopes trilogy? What about 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'? What about 'A Farewell to Arms' and 'The Old Man and the Sea'?.

I'll stop now.

Edit - No I won't. Camus. I forgot about 'The Stranger' and it is not about nothing despite what everyone says, including Camus. 

And I forgot some of my favourites, including '1984'. How could I forget that? Along with 'Animal Farm', Brave New World', and 'Man's Fate'. (Grammarians, please note the sentence fragment used deliberately.) Edit - And I was about to leave out Koestler's 'Darkness at Noon'.

I've not even considered the real classics here. That's a whole separate list. Although I will pass on a bit of news. Recent research has definitely proven that Homer did not write 'Iliad'. He may have written 'Odyssey' but we know now that 'Iliad' was written by another blind Greek poet of the same name who lived at about the same time.


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## Linton Robinson (Jun 12, 2010)

Garcia Marquez is the only one you name that would interest me in the slightest.

CAPOTE?????


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## garza (Jun 12, 2010)

'El amor en los tiempos del cólera' y 'Cien años de soledad' ought to be on everyone's 'must read' list. There are English translations which are fair, but like anything else they are best appreciated in the original.

Yes, Capote. More substance than he has been given credit for in the years since his death. 'In Cold Blood' ended his career, and it's a shame. I believe he had more to say but was too emotionally torn up to do anything but sit home and drink. Even his university lecture and writer-in-residence time produced only echoes. Though it did produce one of my favourite quotes. Holding up a student's short story in a writing class, he declared 'This isn't writing. This is just typing'. 

And remember that he was the inspiration for 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.


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## Linton Robinson (Jun 12, 2010)

Yeah, I've heard that remark and always thought if was funny from somebody who basically got a bunch of money and glory for a true crime story.
And one in which, I'd say, he became a sob sister for the killer and ignored the victims.  Probably a swishy crush.    I have never seen why people call him a major writer and I don't know anybody who'd call him a great one or consider that his books are must-reads that do anything for anybody.
But then I think Catcher in the Rye was a bore, too.


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## garza (Jun 12, 2010)

I remember reading 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' in high school and thinking that here was a great writer. Capote's career reminds me of someone running up the backside of a cliff, going faster and faster. He was increasingly recognised as a major figure in the U.S. literary scene, and then came 'In Cold Blood'. That's where he reached the top and jumped off. 

'In Cold Blood' overshadowed everything else he had done, and he never was able to finish another book. You are right that his sympathy ended up being with the killers, though I think he tried to fight that. The fact is that he was gay, and one of the killers was gay, and the execution of the killers killed Capote. There was no way for him to untangle his emotional involvement. 

Capote was a skilled writer, not a great one. My initial impression was formed when I was 15 or 16 years old, and was an impression I gave up a few years later. But he was important in mid-20th century letters and a writer who should not be neglected if we are to understand that era.


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 13, 2010)

Camus, of course, though the one that did it for me was "The plague", the fragility of the society rather than the individual.


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 16, 2010)

Then there is the question of who it is "Should " read these books?
 If it is an aspiring mystery or crime writer could we include something from the Golden age of female crime writers, a Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers or Margery Allingham? My favourite is Margery Allingham.

For anyone who has not yet entered the world of classic lit. "Letters to Alice" by Fay Weldon is a terrific introduction to Jane Austin.


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## MrDeadman (Jun 24, 2010)

Yes. I'm glad someone mentioned it. *Herman Hesse - Steppenwolf *is worth a read if not simply for the crazy ride of an ending Hesse created. Don't let those narrow minded complaints about Hesse's work being simply a story about a grumpy old man that hates everything brought down by his own self-pity, if you do then you'll miss the point enitrely.


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## ppsage (Jun 24, 2010)

Latish 20th & so far 21st century _straight_ fiction (you know what I mean, _contemporary classics_)

Louise Erdrick. I like _Master Butcher_ maybe the most but she's created her own Yoknophatawpha up in Dakota/Manitoba so reading the whole saga is best and quite rewarding. Like Faulkner, the early stuff is distractingly experimental but readable and important for the legend.

Salmon Rushdie. My nominee for THE current literary genius. It all seems extra great, I like _Shalimar_ and _Ground_ maybe the most. I'd say he's probably headed for all time status.

I don't necessarily recommend everyone will like reading _Infinite Jest_ by David Foster Wallace but I'd say it's truly a work with impact similar to _Ulysses_ and a lot of what he's done in there will have important effects on future literature, so don't say nobody warned you if you're writing without taking a look.

Margaret Atwood. I mostly don't like her that well so far but _Moral Disorder_ sets a standard for short fiction.

Umberto Eco. Translates no problem. I really dig the medieval books but _The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana_, which traces societal effects of WWII, is a terrific book and highly pertinent. 

Jorge Amado. He is probably even more hilarious if you can read him in original (portugese?). _The War of the Saints_ is a delightful romp through Bahian Candomblé and Junta Politics.


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## Steerpike (Jun 28, 2010)

I like everything on the original poster's list except Robin Hobb.  Heard a lot of good about the author.  Picked up a book. Meh. 

No list is complete without Fyodor Dostoevsky's THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, which is quite possibly the greatest novel of all time


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## Steerpike (Jun 28, 2010)

ppsage said:


> Salmon Rushdie. My nominee for THE current literary genius. It all seems extra great, I like _Shalimar_ and _Ground_ maybe the most. I'd say he's probably headed for all time status.


 
You ever read Angela Carter?  She was a friend of Rushdie's, and an excellent writer.  No longer with us.

Atwood I can't stand.

Umberto Eco is always a lot of fun.


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## 32rosie (Jul 19, 2010)

I can't wait to read Anna Karenin; I hope it's significantly better than 'How much land does a man need?' though, because I found it a drag to read. What about some Jane Austen?


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## Waste. (Aug 10, 2010)

32rosie said:


> What about some Jane Austen?



I just finished Pride and Prejudice, absolutely loved it, in the beginning I was determined not to love Darcy but of course it ended up happening! I am on a mission at the moment to read many of the classics, I have Emma and Wuthering Heights waiting for me. 

I have to agree with the original take given on The Picture of Dorian Gray, this book was wonderful and had some characters that really interested me =]


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## Nefieslab (Aug 10, 2010)

eggnogg said:


> 1984 by George Orwell would have to be one of the most influential books I have ever read. His portrayal of the future is chilling.
> 
> egg



1984 by George Orwell (Eric Blair) is one of my favourite books of all time. The distopia in the book is all consumingly brilliant because it was not seen as too far from reality when the book was published. As a avid historian I loved this book as a piece of history as much as a book. It was a brilliant display of the world mood at the time of it's conception. Dictatorships were growing and the fear that they would conquer democracy was mounting. And it is all shown so flawlessly within the book itself, without taking the reader away from Winston's suffering.

Also, the way he wrote the book made it accessable to all age groups. I originally read 1984 when I was ten because I had taken to reading books that were much to advanced for my level and the teachers used it to try and discourage me (room 101 being 'scary' was their reasoning). Throughout the book, I fully understood everything that was written, almost as if the author had written with all age groups in mind. 

I believe that everyone who tries to complain about their current government should read this book and be damned grateful for what they've got and not what they could have.


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## Olly Buckle (Aug 11, 2010)

> I believe that everyone who tries to complain about their current government should read this book and be damned grateful for what they've got and not what they could have.



I was right with you up to here, I would see it as a reason to keep kicking, not a cause for complacency.


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## The Backward OX (Aug 11, 2010)

The Magic Pudding ~ Norman Lindsay

These lists are subjective.

Many of the posts are no more than grandstanding. I have little time for that.


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## Olly Buckle (Aug 11, 2010)

Good point Ox, early reading is really important, I know some people read adult books young, but I would include E.Nesbit's "Phoenix and the carpet" and Kipling's "Puck of Pook's hill". I would not include AA Milne or Ms Rowling in any list of essential authors. "Ivor the Engine" might make it in, "In the top left hand corner of Wales there was a railway, it wasn't a very big railway or a very important railway, but it was all there was ...", also "Ace dragon limited", "Limited means I can do some things but I can't do everything ...". I loved having kids, it was a great excuse.


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## 32rosie (Sep 18, 2010)

Waste. said:


> I have Emma and Wuthering Heights waiting for me.



Have you read Emma yet? Sometimes I feel like throwing the book across the room and giving Emma a good smack in the face. She can be so obnoxious.


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## Danvok (Sep 26, 2010)

1984, as everyone said, should be essential reading. The same goes with Animal Farm.

Apart from this I thinik Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, A Farewall to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea and of course his short story The Snows of Kiliminjaro. That short story is the best I've ever read. Actually, all of his short stories are great.

Joyce's Dubliners, A Portrait of An Artist as a Young Man and Ulyssess should also be mandatory.

Also essential, I tihnk, is every single short story or flash fiction Kafka wrote and The Trial.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby? One of the best novels ever written.

Also Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund and my favourite: The Glass Bead Game. All by Hesse.

Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, Slaugherhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions and Bluebeard.

At least some poems by e.e cummings. Start with "Buffalo Bill's"

Faust by Goethe.

Poems by Odysseus Elytis.

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Road, The Pearl and East of Eden (AMAZING!)

Shakespeare is also a must! 

So yeah there's a few...

My own reading list will bog me down for years yet. I'm looking forward to Thomas Mann, William Falkner, Dante's Inferno, Jean-Marie Gustave le Clezio, Italo Calvino, more Orhan Pamuk, Coetzee, Lessing, and on and on...


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 26, 2010)

The concepts of "Essential reading" and "Books one should read" require some qualification, essential to what? Why should one read them? 1984 and Animal Farm might be seen as essential reading for citizens, for writers seeking style and an erudite literary ability the novels of Margery Allingham might be more appropriate. If your interest in in convoluted plots read Dickens. Without such qualification I am afraid that I must agree with the Ox, that the lists people give are little more than grandstanding and subjective.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 27, 2010)

Olly Buckle said:


> I am afraid that I must agree with the Ox


Let’s knock this tired old “I am afraid I must agree” cliché on the head, once and for all.

Repeat after me: “I am very pleased to say I agree with Ox, I am very pleased to say I agree with Ox, I am very pleased to say I agree with Ox..."\\/


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## garza (Sep 27, 2010)

I don't see Faulkner anywhere on that list. All of Faulkner should be on any list of essential English language books. Also, _1984_ and _Animal Farm_ only paint a partial picture. To complete the portrait of the basic driving forces of post World War I 20th Century you need _Man's Fate_, _Darkness at Noon_, and _Brave New World_.

Oh, and yes, if it's necessary, I _do_ agree with Ox. 

Ah, what was the question?


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 28, 2010)

The agreeing with you is fine, it is what we are agreeing about that I dislike.


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## TheGreySentinel (Sep 30, 2010)

For those that are looking to write contemporary fiction in the genre of "fantasy" (since this seems to be exclusively about heavier literary tastes which is just fine) I would suggest that the obvious greats be read: Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Neil Gaiman, and Raymond E. Feist (I think it may be Fiest, but I am half awake at the keyboard so forgive my error if I made one). 

I do not include Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind in this because while Robert Jordan's writings started out as fantastic work it quickly grew, for me, impossible for me to like the characters he was writing _about_ and Goodkind's writing swiftly became formulaic (main characters get separated, main characters will be seperated forever(!), main characters battle unbelievable odds not to be separated...). The first few books of Goodkind's series were nothing short of masterful but the continued employment of the same formula for every book following that that I encountered (I stopped reading at "Pillars of Creation") became rather drab. 

In terms of creating a world, I believe the Feist rivals Tolkein in the depth, breadth, and brilliance of his creating the world his characters inhabit and I truly feel that his writing style was (dare I say it) better. Tolkein was, to me, excessively dry and spent most of the time telling the reader facts about the world rather than focusing on the adventures (at least in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "The Hobbit" is a different story altogether) and so I felt that the deep, vibrant world he created almost got in the way of his storyrtelling. Feist, however, takes an intense, deeply layered, well rounded world and not only populates it with believable characters and VERY interesting parallels to our own history (the world he is writing in is not quite "Medieval Fantasy" but more "Renaissance Fantasy" which is almost unheard of and makes the historian in me quiver). The characters are deep and compelling and the rich fabric of the world that Feist creates is alluded to throughout his stories rather than waved in the reader's face. I felt that often, Tolkein would "info-dump" and that detracts from plot, whereas Feist gives you little teasers of history but keeps the plot galloping along. The only time that I believe that that exciting plot was dampened was his novel "Rise of a Merchant Prince", which was a little drab but I believe it was necessary in the totality of the series in which it was placed. 

Anne McCaffrey... I am not certain what I can say about that woman that has not already been said. I was fed her works along with my breastmilk as a child and have been reading them all my life. I have never been able to get enough of her writing, her worldcrafting, and her compelling, human stories in the midst of alien worlds. While I did enjoy her other series, I felt that the Pern writings were unequivocally her finest selection of works. Her ability to begin the series as a strict fantasy setting and end it in science-fiction was nothing short of spectacular and her characters are intensely memorable and compelling and have been fixtures in my life as long as I have memory. 

Gaiman's writing falls up there with the other greats, though he has just broken onto the scene of literature. His style is delicious and his subject matter is rivoting. "American Gods" is, in my opinion, a "must read" for everyone in this world and its depth and the world in which it was created were nothing short of breathtaking. His writing is absolutely riveting and his attention to detail and lore when creating any of his works is brilliantly executed.


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## wolfiesign (Oct 1, 2010)

> 1984, as everyone said, should be essential reading. The same goes with Animal Farm.


 
I've read both. They are pretty good. It should be a must read, because half the peope when I'm talking, don't know what I'm talking about. I'm always in my book world. 

One of my favorites now, is Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen. Tragic, but gets better. It's I'd say a historic fiction, but I think it's really pretty good. Sad, in a way, but good. I finished it last night.

Now I'm reading The Rifle, also by Gary Paulsen. I really like his works, I've decided.


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## gagoots (Oct 2, 2010)

I would say Infinite Jest and Don Quixote are two of the most rewarding books that I have ever read. Infinite Jest requires a bit of work, but the payoff is incredible.


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## Jenwales (Jan 16, 2011)

I havn't read any but you should have mentioned The Lord of The Rings, it is just an epic story and has to be read. I have been meannig to read Dorian Grey after seeing the film.


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## aye_priori (Jan 18, 2011)

I would raise Atlas Shrugged as a possibility for such a list. It's scope and influence are immense..

In the vein of 1984/brave new world, the dystopian novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is quite a masterpiece in its own right.


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## Dewgee (Mar 7, 2011)

If we're talking dystopian novels here Fahrenheit 451 has to be included. It is about burning books after all... We was a good book, 1984 and Brave New World were both based on it. And plus it was by a Russian author... if any nationality knows about failed utopian orders well... 

Another good book is Demons by Dostoevsky. The character Shigagalov (I think I spelled it right) pretty much describes his system for the new socialist order as subjugating 90 percent of the population so the other ten percent of able society can be truly free... sound eerily familiar? And written before the socialist revolution even took place. Genius.


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## Terry D (Mar 7, 2011)

I find two aspects of this thread very interesting; the first is the title, the second, how few of the books mentioned I have read.

Why should everyone have read these books?  What 'essential' information, or skills will I get from them?  As a writer I can understand the benefits of reading a wide range of authors, styles, and themes, but only as fodder for my own style, and creativity.  Other books, many of which would be far removed from these lists, can provide the same grist for my mental mill.  Tell me you like a book, but please . . . essential?  There is no essential reading (beyond basic composition instruction).

Before you decide that I'm a crotch scratching barbarian; I've read Hemmingway, Orwell, Steinbeck, Vonnegut and others mentioned above -- I even enjoyed a few.  For the most part, though, I found them ponderous and sedative.  I'll never tell someone what they should read.  All I ever do as a teacher, is tell people what I've enjoyed, what has influenced me; names like Poe, Wells, Stevenson, Hemmingway, Steinbeck, Bradbury, Cormac McCarthy, Dan Simmons, Arthur C. Clarke, and even Stephen King.

Well, I must be going now, I see the villagers are gathering their pitchforks and lighting the torches . . . oh! . . . that reminds me, Mary Shelly too!


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## good_i_mean_well (Jun 7, 2011)

Another dystopian novel is "A Clockwork Orange" by  Anthony Burgess.  I think anyone old enough to handle the graphic parts  should read it, for being a citizen, and also for how one treats others.


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## BabaYaga (Jun 9, 2011)

Would just like to say much thanks for all for the recommendations. I have to spend an unholy amount of time in traffic getting to and from the place that pays my rent and have realised the best way to pass the time- and quell my road rage- is with audio books.  I don't know if it's considered cheating, but I don't care anymore. What better way to use time which would otherwise be wasted and to make a dent in my ever-growing 'must read' list? Anyway, quite a few suggestions here will soon make an appearance in my car's CD player, so thank you. 

Of all the great authors and titles here, including the early reading recommendations, I'm surprised Roald Dahl hasn't made an appearance (unless I've missed it). I grew up reading his children's books, which I still delight in, and his adult short fiction made me want to become a writer. Which I will be... one day... when I grow up.


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## Trides (Jun 11, 2011)

[-( I thought this was going to be a "basic repertoire" thing, made up of the literature one should have read in order to understand certain concepts in their most classic form.
My list: 
Anna Karenina and/or War and Peace
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Things Fall Apart
1984 and/or Animal Farm
To Kill a Mockingbird
Fahrenheit 451
Of Mice and Men

... and some Shakespeare.

Oh, wait! I'm not finished!
The Iliad and the Odyssey
Madame Bovary
Frankenstein
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea
Moby Dick
The Great Gatsby
Great Expectations
Civil Disobedience
Common Sense
The Three Musketeers
The Count of Monte Cristo

... and at least some of the Bible, in one form or another... and some of those ole Greek philosophers...

...oh, and The Catcher in the Rye.


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## Kel Sicarius (Jul 11, 2011)

A book I would suggest is Shadowmagic. It's not your normal fantasy - it's a short book with an incredibly fast moving plot. But, it's an interesting read with a developed world and a good group of protaganists who you get to know and relate to quite well.


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