# Books that everyone should read



## jen5079

What are the books that you think that someone must read? I've read a few of the classics, but I just want to know what you guys think is a book that is so good that if you had it your way everyone would read.


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## J.S.S

American Psycho is a must read, it is on a lot of books to read before you die lists. Glamorama is also good and it kind of stuck with me, with certain lines resonating in my skull but maybe that is just me.
Wind-up Bird Chronicle also made me think about a few things. Great book if you can get through it.


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## RebelGoddess

Instead of suggesting my favorite author, which I do wayyyy too much LOL, I'm going to go with another favorite of mine.

Jane Eyre

It's an amazing story that everyone should read at least once.

Racheal


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## thechair

I personally didn't like American Psycho or Wind-up Bird Chronicle. I think everyone should have some exposure to Nabokov; Lolita and Pale Fire are my favorites by him. Also any of T.C. Boyle's short story collections. Also Slaughter House V and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.


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## Burns the Fire

For those of you thinking about death.. read EVERYMAN by Philip Roth. It's a deceptively simple book, written by a master.


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## blackthorn

My favorite book is The Car by Gary Paulsen. I think everyone should read that. It's a REALLY good book!


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## Sam

Hmm, that's a hard one. I think everyone should read _Clear and Present Danger _by Tom Clancy at least once in their lifetime. I think it's his magnum opus_. _I've read it no fewer than ten times.


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## buyjupiter03

_Lonesome Dove_ by Larry McMurtry, _Odyssey_ by Homer, and _The Demon Haunted World_ by Carl Sagan.


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## karax268

The Lord of the Rings.
Greatest book ever writen.


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## Sam

karax268 said:


> The Lord of the Rings.
> Greatest book ever writen.



Says you. I don't think it's all its cracked up to be. 

Sam.


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## TJ Cruse

I agree with Sam that _Clear and Present Danger_ is probably Clancy's best (although my personal favorite is _Red Storm Rising_).

But, how do you say a book is a must read? It depends on *why* you're reading I guess. 

If we're talking about the classics, I'd say include _The Brothers Karamazov_ by Dostoevsky. It was a very prophetic book for its time with regard to the influence and consequences of humanism in Europe and in Russia particularly (this was pre-USSR).

Tolkien's LOTR was a great good vs evil story (sorry Sam).

I also agree that McMurtry's _Lonesome Dove_ was great. He's awesome if you've never read him.

_The Stand_ by Stephen King
_A Farewell to Arms_ by Hemingway

Sitting here thinking about it, there are plenty of others but I'll stop here.

TJ


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## buyjupiter03

TJ Cruse said:


> Tolkien's LOTR was a great good vs evil story (sorry Sam).
> 
> I also agree that McMurtry's _Lonesome Dove_ was great. He's awesome if you've never read him.


 
I don't cry when a book ends very often, but with those two I absolutely bawled. I didn't want the books to end. I'd invested a lot of time into those characters and kinda felt like they were friends. Oh, I hate to be predictable and push a book everyone and their mother knows about, but _Tuesdays With_ _Morrie_ is incredible. I bawled at the end of that one too, even though I knew what was coming. Sheesh, it sounds like I cry a lot, but I don't really.

(I read a lot of fantasy/sf, and since I know quite a few people on here don't care for it I had a hard time coming up with "must reads".)


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## Sam

TJ Cruse said:


> I agree with Sam that _Clear and Present Danger_ is probably Clancy's best (although my personal favorite is _Red Storm Rising_).
> 
> But, how do you say a book is a must read? It depends on *why* you're reading I guess.
> 
> If we're talking about the classics, I'd say include _The Brothers Karamazov_ by Dostoevsky. It was a very prophetic book for its time with regard to the influence and consequences of humanism in Europe and in Russia particularly (this was pre-USSR).
> 
> Tolkien's LOTR was a great good vs evil story (sorry Sam).
> 
> I also agree that McMurtry's _Lonesome Dove_ was great. He's awesome if you've never read him.
> 
> _The Stand_ by Stephen King
> _A Farewell to Arms_ by Hemingway
> 
> Sitting here thinking about it, there are plenty of others but I'll stop here.
> 
> TJ



No need to apologise, TJ. Your opinion is your opinion. Mine is mine. Everyone doesn't like the same thing. For example: you say King's _The Stand _is a must read. I say it's about a thousand pages too long. I got eight-hundred pages into it and lost the will to live. The opening five-hundred pages are brilliant, but the middle dies a horrible death -  and I don't even know what the ending is. 

_Red Storm Rising _wouldn't be one of my favourite Clancy books, but it's still regarded as one of his best. I think everyone should read at least one of the series of books about Jack Ryan. I think it's safe to say they are revolutionary. 

Sam.


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## Tiamat

I would say _LOTR _is a must-read, even though I hate reading it.  I love the story, but I hate the writing.  But hey, that's what movies are for.

I would say _Something Wicked This Way Comes _by Ray Bradbury is a must-read.  I've read it something like seven times, and I still adore it.

Also, _The Blind Assassin_ by Margaret Atwood.  I've only read it twice (but the first time was only about a year ago).  I think it's actually on that list of 1001 one books you need to read before you die.

I've seen the movie _American Psycho_ but was so uninterested in it that I never bothered about the book.  I'll assume the book is better, but, meh.

If I had to list one more, I would say _If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things_ by Jon McGregor.


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## Katastrof

TJ Cruse said:


> I agree with Sam that _Clear and Present Danger_ is probably Clancy's best (although my personal favorite is _Red Storm Rising_).



Ha, someone agrees with me! I loved _Red Storm Rising_ too, but I wouldn't suggest it either. Defiantly, an acquired taste. 

I'm going to suggest anything by Kurt Vonnegut (master of satire) and one that I don't think anybody has read: _The Baroque Cycle _by Neal Stephenson

Now I'm going to explain this one because I can't even understand it myself. It's a series of three books (about 700 pages each) set in the late 1600s. Now the first book _Quicksilver _is hard to get into (because the Mr. Stephenson thought it would be smart to get smart at the start of the book by centering most of the narrative on scientific principles) but even when it does dabble into Issac Newton it is still good.

Why? Because at the end of the series it feels like you have known all the characters for most of your life and they evolve from characters into real people; I can't say that for any other book I've ever read.


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## TJ Cruse

and one that I don't think anybody has read: _The Baroque Cycle _by Neal Stephenson

I loved _Snow Crash_ and _The Cryptonomicon_ but I haven't started _the Baroque Cycle_. The thought of committing to three LONG books is a little daunting. But, many people liked it.

_Something Wicked This Way Comes_ by Bradbury is one I've been meaning to read forever. Thanks for reminding me!


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## papertears

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Ceremony by L.M. Silko
Great Expectations by Dickens
A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky (only because I actually did)


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## Welshman

Could I suggest Sebastian Faulks book 'Birdsong'.  A deeply disturbing account of life in the First World War.  On a chirpier note you might also want to look at AJ Cronin's 'The Citadel' or RF Delderfield's 'A Horseman Riding by'


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## desm

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck is a great, humorous, and short novel. I'd say it was a must read.
Alongside some of Arthur C Clarke's short stories, which are excellent for pieces so short, well constructed, with great plot twists, as well as being inspiring.
And "Nothing's Changed" by Tatamkhulu Afrika. It's a poem, so it doesn't actually count, but its better than almost anything else I've ever read. It should be compulsory reading for poets.


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## geminye

Watership Down, Frankenstein, The Trial (Vonnegut), to name a few


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## Wintermute

I'd like for everyone to read the DMV driver's manual before they get behind the wheel again, because some of these schmucks out on the road need to brush up.


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## lilacstarflower

count of monte cristo

Pride and Prejudice

mine...if it's ever published lol!


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## For me with Squalor

C'mon guys *Milan Kundera* eg. 'the Unbearable lightness of being'.
Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.
Joseph Heller if you can stomach him.
JD Salinger: Everything he ever published (not much) 
And so so so so so many more.........you could spend your whole life reading great books.


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## arakha

_The Great Gatsby _
_To Kill a Mockingbird _


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## Mike C

For me with Squalor said:


> C'mon guys *Milan Kundera* eg. 'the Unbearable lightness of being'.




Oh yes! Most choices are subjective, but this is a novel that anyone who wants to write a novel should read because he breaks the rules. Stunning, stunning book.

Ditto Salinger.

Also Blindness by José Saramago, it'll blow you away. 

Crash by JG Ballard because again, he took the novel in a different direction and the reader to places they probably shouldn't go.

Burning Valley by Phillip Bonosky because it will remind Americans what their dream was built on. I'd urge you to read this essay by Bonosky also: Odyssey of a Writers Workshop in the 1950s by Phillip Bonosky

Jazz by Toni Morrison because it fills in some conveniently forgotten history, and is beautifully written.

Mother London by Moorcock, possibly the finest thing he's written to date. 

I could go on for weeks...


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## Damien.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Catcher in the Rye by Salinger... I feel like I can't recommend silly sci fi books on here because these are books you read before you die, so they should be important... screw it. Calvin and Hobbes.


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## Kayleigh7

_To Kill a Mockingbird_ was a great book. I also really enjoyed Frank Peretti's The Oath. It was really hard to put down. As for authors i am a sucker for..

Patricia Cornwell
Tami Hoag
James Patterson


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## Mike C

Damien. said:


> I feel like I can't recommend silly sci fi books on here...



Really? You don't think there are landmark SF novels?


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## Sam

The first one off the top of my head - James Joyce's _Ulysses. _Considered by many to be the best literary work of the 20th Century.


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## ThePinkBookworm

Wow, this is a hard question.  Well, I would have to say that just ONE book is hard, so I will suggest a couple that I think that people should read or at least glance through at least once in their lifetime:  

The Bible.  Even if you are not a Christian, this is just a wonderful book with the Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, etc.  which are beautiful and true at the same time.  

The Unseen Hand by A. Ralph Epperson.  Yes, it is about conspiracies, but do not crush it until you read it.  You have to read it to understand it.

And finally

The Teenager Liberation Handbook, by Grace Lewllyn.  Great book on education, unschooling and the freedom to learn.  Must read for parents, kids and even just the average Joe.  

Just my thoughts

:read:


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## froman

Not just _Enders Game_ but _Speaker for the dead_, _Xenocide_, and _Children of the Mind_.  I personally think the latter three are better than _Enders Game_.  These are the books that made me want to start writing.

Also Card's _The Tales of Alvin Maker_ series is great.

_Atlas Shrugged_ by Ayn Rand. (I don't really agree with her philosophy and the 60 page speech at the end was painful, but the rest of the book was awesome.)

_We All Fall Down_ by Robert Cormier. (I haven't read it since middle school but I can't remember a novel that affected me as much.) Also _The Chocolate War_ and _I Am the Cheese_ were great.


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## Airborneguy

Wintermute said:


> I'd like for everyone to read the DMV driver's manual before they get behind the wheel again, because some of these schmucks out on the road need to brush up.



Wow... 100% I agree with this although I never would have thought to include it here! Honestly, it would do the world ridiculously more good for people to go back and read a DMV manual than for everyone to read even 10 of the suggested must-read literary classics! Bravo!

But I do have a suggestion I am surprised no one has mentioned: Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley....


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## Tom88

Anna Karenina by Tolstoy.

Epic read, but incredibly rewarding.


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## VinrAlfakyn

_Winter's Tale_ by Mark Helprin. One of my favorite books.
_The Count of Monte Cristo_ by Alexander Dumas. Someone already suggested it, but it's another of my favorites.
Someone already mentioned this one too, but _The Lord of the Rings._ That's the very first book I'm grabbing if my house catches on fire.
Another of my personal favorites is _Someplace To Be Flying_ by Charles de Lint. He's a modern fantasy writer, and I know not everyone is into fantasy, but it was a fun read, and very moving, at least for me.
Finally, _The Lovely Bones_ by Alice Sebold. All I have to say is "wow."


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## Swift84

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. 

Poe is not only one of the most entertaining American writers--he is arguably the most influential.


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## RuthUnwritten

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - Kate Wilhelm
Sacagwea - Anna Lee Waldo

It's been years since I've had a chance to re-read either of these, but ones that I vividly remember images of, and keep them in mind for the awful moment that I might ever be without new lit to read.


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## Tsaeb XIII

I agree with Lord of the Rings being on the list not because I enjoy reading it (I can't stand some of the writing in it), but because of the incredibly detailed world in which it is set. Admittedly, I haven't read that widely, but I doubt too many authors have created worlds as in depth as the LotR universe.

Also, I think 1984 probably deserves a mention here. Not the most enthralling story, but definitely thought-provoking.

Oh, and if we're allowed to mention short-stories, 'All You Zombies' by Robert A. Heinlein has to be on the list. I still can't quite get my head around that one.


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## VinrAlfakyn

VinrAlfakyn said:


> _Winter's Tale_ by Mark Helprin. One of my favorite books.



I'd like to change my opinion and suggest _all_ of Mark Helprin's books. They're all equally amazing and worth reading.


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## Peejaydee

1984 by George Orwell.
A very important book and subject matter in my view, given the state of today's world and the direction our governments are taking us in.  People need to be made to think more.


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## LoveLetter,

_The Most Dangerous Game_, by Richard Connell.


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## CountBlabula

Fast Food Nation

I can never think of artificial and natural flavors the same since reading it.


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## kidstaple

1776. Amazing book. All Americans should have to read it. And actually, it should be a mandatory book for anyone in a history class in highschool to read, or in the military.

~Rodney


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## Mike C

ThePinkBookworm said:


> The Bible.  Even if you are not a Christian, this is just a wonderful book with the Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, etc.  which are beautiful and true at the same time.



The Bible was ruined for me when I sneaked a peek at the last page. The devil did it.


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## RAlanCook

The Outsiders.
The Catcher in the Rye
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird
Social Blunders by Tim Sandlin


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## Mugician

*Definitely my number one book of all time: Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Suess*

The rest are in no particular order:

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran

The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury

Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

1984 - George Orwell (Eric Blaire)

That's all that I've read (that I consider must-reads) SO FAR that I can think of.

Confession: Kite Runner was the first book I had finished (2006) in 6 years, before then I hadn't really gotten into reading yet. I hate myself for it. But don't worry I'm reading much much more these days. If a month goes by where I haven't finished at least one book, I read two the next month...


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## A. Mann

For me with Squalor said:


> JD Salinger: Everything he ever published (not much)


Couldn't agree more. Taken as a whole Salinger's works achieve far more than they do individually. Changed my life.

_What We Talk About When We Talk About_ Love - Raymond Carver

_The Heart is a Lonely Hunter_ - Carson McCullers
_
To Kill A Mockingbird_ - Harper Lee

_Billy Budd_ - Herman Melville

_Crime and Punishment_ -  Dostoevsky

_Lord of the Flies_ - William Golding


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## RoundEye

What I’m surprised to not see here is Dante’s _Inferno_. I’m really not certain if that’s because it’s such a known classic that it doesn’t need mentioning. 

I don’t know whether it was the mythology or the time frame that drew me into it. For a book that was written almost 700 years ago, it was quite a read. There’s no telling what that man would write today in such an open society.


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## AlittlePlum

I've just started reading "You don't have to be evil to work here but it helps"  by Tom Holt purely by accident. I was looking for a robin hobbs book upon recommendation on this forum and came across a series of Tom Holt books that (despite the well known phrase) sold me on their front covers which were a series of funny stick men cartoons drawn in a very Edward Monktenesque manner. 

The book has surprisingly hooked me. The story's okay but it's the writing that I love. The classic dry sense of humour alongside a fantasy storyline. Although the actual _book_  may not come into my fav top ten (though it is good) I think Holt has definately made a reader out of me and I recommend him to anyone who's looking for a light take on fantasy.

Oh and sorry if I'm ridiculously behind and you've all heard of Tom Holt and are thinking 'yeah we know plum, get with the programme.'


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## Dr. Malone

I've never made it all the way through Dante.  I've read an abridged version, so I know all the high points, but the full-length original just kills me everytime I try to read it.  It's gathering dust on the bookshelf.  Has been for years.

EDIT: I'm gonna have to go break the book out and try it again tonight.  Maybe in the bath when I won't be able to put it down and grab something else.


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## SparkyLT

_Melusine_ and its sequels by Sarah Monette.

_Tithe_ by Holly Black.

_Uglies, Pretties, Specials,_ and _Extras_ by Scott Westerfield.

Anything I write... :-\"


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## PSFoster

I agree with Dante's Inferno.  Had to read it in college and I loved it!  Strange thing to say about a book about Hell.

Also Grapes of Wrath, Watership Down, Crime and Punishment, To Kill a Mockingbird


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## jackthelad

Read the classics: Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Dumas,Trollope, Melville, Huxley, Hardy, deCervantes, for starters. Then you can say you're beginning to read. Get back to me at any time for discussion.

                                                                     Jack the Lad


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## Dr. Malone

PsFoster:  You've hit on some great books, but none I've been forced to read.  I've only read the first half of Crime and Punishment (brilliant!  Unfortunatly, I only have it in eBook format).  I'm gonna work on finishing it now.  The rest:  you're right: wonderful.  Grapes of Wrath can get boring, but that can be said oif all Steinbeck's works.  It is. amazing.  One of the best things that's happened to me in literature.  "To Kill A Mockingbird" is absolutely priceless,.  I believe that book can stand up against any other American literary classic.

I think you and I would get along.


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## Winterman

Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Three Cups of Tea, Brave New World, and Cradle to Cradle are all I would recommend for relevancy today.  

For pure pleasure, I have enjoyed Hyperion, LOTR, and Wheel of Time, and yes, I am a nerd.


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## geminye

I just finished "The Road" by Mcarthy.  It was excellent.


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## Isabella Swan

Has anyone read Paulo Cuelho's Eleven Minutes? if anyone has, what kind of characteristic do you think Maria has?


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## Eluixa

Isabella Swan said:


> Has anyone read Paulo Cuelho's Eleven Minutes? if anyone has, what kind of characteristic do you think Maria has?


 
I read it, but I had a hard time relating to the character Maria. Characteristic? Hmmm. See, that was the problem for me. I did take something away from that read though. The alchemist was better.

As far as books to read:
Bridge of Birds! I have given this to two people now as gifts, and I just don't think they got it. But it is worth it!
The assassins apprentice by Hobb and then of course all the rest.
The clan of the cave bear and the rest
All of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series! If you can buck up and bear them. They are fantastic.
And I agree, you have to read calvin and Hobbes!

Everyone has mentioned the classics, and I need to go back and consider them again. I was scared off in high school. I don't think those books are for children really. 
I do think they are important, some have alot to offer. I learn just as much from a really good writer of anything though. 

Oh, and how could I forget Sharon Shinn? Love her. All her works.


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## flashgordon

I'd change the thread title to "Books That I Recommend." I've yet to run across a book that "everyone" should read. Some like the deep emotions and existential angst of the Russian writers. Others like the sureal, magical realism of the Latin American writers. Some even like the overly detailed, highly descriptive writing of the old English writers. Each has a style that appeals to a different type of reader.


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## Beja-Beja

The Cat in the Hat

Green Eggs and Ham

Watchmen

The Alchemist

A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Kite Runner

To Kill A Mockingbird

Narrative of The Life Of Frederick Douglass


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## Mugician

geminye said:


> I just finished "The Road" by Mcarthy.  It was excellent.



God, what an incredible book! The conversations between the Father and Son were where the book shined. Very interesting format. Took a little getting used to... those scenic descriptions! I couldn't put it down; was a one-nighter, and what a one night!


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## Mugician

Beja-Beja said:


> The Cat in the Hat
> 
> Green Eggs and Ham



*+ Oh, the Places You'll Go!*


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## Jazzy

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Outsiders
Swan Song by Robert McCannon
And for any writer LKH's Anita Blake series cause it'll scare the Mary Sue right out of you.


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## kidstaple

I'm sure it's already been posted, but what the hell.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Not only is it a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, but it's a stand alone novel that has taught me a lot since I first picked it up in 1999. Made me think, dream, imagine and write. I wouldn't be as far along as I am now, if I hadn't of picked it up. Damn good read.


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## David C.

Damien. said:
			
		

> I feel like I can't recommend silly sci fi books...


 
Silly sci-fi? Puh-leasssse.

_Slaughterhouse Five_ by Vonnegut.
_Foundation Series _by Asimov 
_Farhenheit 451_ by Bradbury 
_The Forever War_ by Haldeman 
_Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ by Dick
_A Stranger in a Strange_ _Land_ by Heinlein. 

The above list is not even tip of the proverbial iceberg. These books are not "silly sci-fi", of that, I can ensure you. And the contemporary sci-fi out there today, written by Ben Bova, Kim Stanely Robinson and David Drake to name a few of today's authors, is well written and thought provoking. Sci-fi may not your be flavor, but that's no cause to call the genre silly.


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## thesarafurter

I am of the opinion that everyone should read the following:

_Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah_ - Richard Bach
_The Blind Assassin_ - Margaret Atwood
_I Know This Much Is True_ - Wally Lamb
_The Fountainhead_ - Ayn Rand
_1984_ - George Orwell
_A Prayer For Owen Meany_ - John Irving

Oh, and I'm going to add _Cat's Cradle_ by Kurt Vonnegut; in my opinion, it's his best.

And I am such a failure for not mentioning one I haven't seen previously on here: If you have never read any of Stephen King's _Dark Tower _series, at least give the first book a shot. _The Gunslinger_ by Stephen King truly is one of the books I recommend everyone read if they haven't already.


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## Mike C

David C. said:


> Silly sci-fi? Puh-leasssse.
> 
> Sci-fi may not your be flavor, but that's no cause to call the genre silly.



Not to mention the 60's new wave SF authors whose influence spread out into the mainstream.


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## spider8

thesarafurter said:


> _Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah_ - Richard Bach
> _The Blind Assassin_ - Margaret Atwood
> _I Know This Much Is True_ - Wally Lamb
> _The Fountainhead_ - Ayn Rand
> _1984_ - George Orwell
> _A Prayer For Owen Meany_ - John Irving
> 
> Oh, and I'm going to add _Cat's Cradle_ by Kurt Vonnegut; in my opinion, it's his best.
> 
> And I am such a failure for not mentioning one I haven't seen previously on here: If you have never read any of Stephen King's _Dark Tower _series, at least give the first book a shot. _The Gunslinger_ by Stephen King truly is one of the books I recommend everyone read if they haven't already.


 
Glad someone's mentioned The Fountainhead. I haven't gone through all five pages of this but am surprised at people mentioning Stephen King and Tom Clancy- each to his own, I suppose. here's a few of mine.

_Magician_ Raymond E. Feist. (just the first book)
_Birdsong_ Sebastian Faulkes
_Watership Down_ Richard Adams
_The Gap Series_ Stephen Donaldson

All are books I've read several times.


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## Alvah

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  by Robert Pirsig.

It's worth reading more than once.

Alvah


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## David C.

Mike C said:
			
		

> Not to mention the 60's new wave SF authors whose influence spread out into the mainstream.


 
Hear, hear...


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## gagoots

David C. said:


> Silly sci-fi? Puh-leasssse.
> 
> _Slaughterhouse Five_ by Vonnegut.
> _Foundation Series _by Asimov
> _Farhenheit 451_ by Bradbury
> _The Forever War_ by Haldeman
> _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ by Dick
> _A Stranger in a Strange_ _Land_ by Heinlein.



It's still on my "to read" list, but what about _Ubik_?


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## David C.

I haven't read Ubik, yet. But, any PKD novel, IMO, is worth the read.


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## zappy

Its probably been posted already, but The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  Absolutely breath taking.


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## Hoot08

No one has mentioned Kerouac? I really enjoy his work, especially The Town and The City and On the Road. Also I was glad to see people showing some love for Vonnegut, Slaughter House IV stands as my all time favorite. Player Piano by Vonnegut was also quite good, very showing of the coming of the techonological age.


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## Pendulum

East of Eden is, in my opinion, Steinbeck's finest novel and one of my favourite novels in general. It's just a fantastically written book. Grapes of Wrath is also a given.



thesarafurter said:


> A Prayer For Owen Meany[/I] - John Irving



Agreed. That was a great book, even with some of the elements that I didn't find too engaging. The characterisation was so well done.

Some of these books I'm definitely going to have to check out. The list of 'classic' novels I have read is fairly short.


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## negenki

The Bridge of San Luis Rey.....really philosophically written. perspective of life is one of the biggest matter in this classic.


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## CRIOS

J.S.S said:


> *Wind-up Bird Chronicle* also made me think about a few things. Great book if you can get through it.



*Murakami *is definitely one of my favorite fiction writers. _Magical Realism_ is by far my preferred genre._ Magical Realism_, *Murakami *style, *never *disappoints. I've read all his books; some of them more than once. I am currently (coincidence) rereading the cult trilogy 1Q84. It's just superb. 







_Goodreads_ list of current _Magical Realism_ novels: click *here*. 
My personal list of favored books in the genre:
















Salman Rushdie on _Magical Realism_:

 [video=youtube;EZtdhLndVYg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZtdhLndVYg[/video]


Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community
by Parkinson Zamora (Editor),‎ Faris (Editor) 

My recommendation:











Thanks!
 :congratulatory: :congratulatory: :congratulatory:

_


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## willowarc

The 4 books in the Otherland story by Tad Williams. Yes it is a beast to plow through all 4 back to back, but the story is very well written and enjoyable.


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## badgerjelly

1984. I must’ve bought the damn thing for at least half a dozen people just because I thought they should read it. The only other one I’ve bought for someone was The Picture Of Dorian Grey.

If I was being honest though I’d probably go for Critique of Pure Reason by Kant, because reading his stuff teaches people how to read - or shows then how poor their reading skills actually are.


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## Amnesiac

1984 is available for free online as a .pdf file.


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## EntrepreneurRideAlong

A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson. One of my all time favorites


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## Dan Rhys

Aside from _The Lone Escapist_  I think _Robinson Crusoe _is a novel everyone should try. It is one of the first novels ever written in the English language, and there are some very gripping scenes in it. It also started the whole shipwrecked/marooned-on-a-desert isle sub-genre.


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## R. A. Busby

Okay, I'll bite.

I think everyone who has a father or siblings should read King Lear at least once, but by "read," I mean "see" because it's a play. Bottom line, if you have a parent or are a parent or have siblings, you'll find yourself in this play one way or another.


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## clark

I think every poet or wannabe should read Lewis Carroll's _Alice Through the Looking-Glass_ It is an at-times-scary fantasy for a child, but it is also a consistent exploration of Appearance vs Reality AND a fascinating potpourri of language and meaning. Also very high on my list is Ludwig Wittgenstein's _Philosophical Investigations, _by no means a 'dry' philosophical tome. The book is written in connected aphorisms, some of which will drop any poet to his/her knees: _Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination. . . . . . .etc._ It is a feast of insight about language--how we use it and how it impacts our readers/hearers. Everybody's read William Golding's _Lord of the Flies, _but I find few have even heard of his _The Inheritors_, a very short novel, or novella if you will, about a pre-linguistic band of nomads who encounter a serious problem on their annual migration. Solving the problem requires language and abstract thought, and they possess neither. What they do is both fascinating as Story and insightful about language. A fun read.


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## dragon_fart

Stories and essays of Borges. Choose one of them, enjoy your journey.


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## anubis608

Enjoy Borges. 'The Library of Babel' and 'The Circular Ruins' are favorites.

There is too much to choose from, and none of it really fits for 'everyone.' I can suggest The Samurai's Garden by Tsukiyama. Never Let Me Go by 
Ishiguro, Carmilla by LeFanu, because they are all short, quick reads that I enjoyed.

Non-fiction, Please Understand Me II, Kiersley. I think it helps you understand other people, if you can digest it. Great for understanding characters a little more, too.


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## Joker

No one's said _Starship Troopers _by Robert Heinlein? C'mon


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## thethreetearedeye

I can never recommend the Deltora Series by Emily Rodda enough. Along with The Three Doors Trilogy. The way she writes her fantasy worlds has always been my favorite, especially with the aspects of magic and the creatures. Mostly the creatures. They're short books and for a bit of a younger audience, but if there are any young readers in your life I think its a good set of books to introduce to them.


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## MzSnowleopard

Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams.

This is the book that introduced me to Williams. Amazing author. If you like stories about animals with human personas- you will love this one.


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## Turnbull

I would argue that the Gulag Archipelago is the penultimate history testimonial.  It touches Cold War history, Russian history, psychology, philosophy, and the nature of the mind in a place of pure brutality.  For those not aware, it is the testimonial history of the prisoners in the Soviet Unions prison camps.  It's brutal, it's real, and it displays a strange love of life even in the worst of times.

I also really love Napoleon of Notting Hill and The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton.  The first book satirizes the concept of progress and what one-world unity really means, as well as showing how the joke of one silly man can become the deep belief of the person that takes him seriously.  The latter book is a weird "nightmare" (as the author calls it) basically describing how people can go so wrong when they are doing their best to be right.


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## Cautiously Optimistic

Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky expresses all the doubt and angst  over whether to believe in a benevolent God or not. Imagine almost being shot in a firing squad but given amnesty at the last minute. Seems to have created masterpieces of writing genius.


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## Cautiously Optimistic

Love Solzenytzen. Guess I needed Jordan Peterson to confirm it though. How good that book is.  He really changed the world's view of Stalinism.


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## Deleted member 64995

I do not want to repeat, already mentioned book titles.
Among the little known books, I suggest.


" Trilogia sucia de La Habana" - "Dirty Havana Trilogy" by Gutierrez


I don't know the English title of the book, sorry.
Poetic, raw, realistic, gorgeous.


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## jenniferlaura

best books to read during quarantine *tried one them and they are great books *​


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## Matchu

Ach, reading the recommendations...but spending £20 on Wittgenstein is a tall order.  Likewise,Golding at £6 - and that one looks wonderful.  A couple of years back you would buy old books for a penny and they charged you £2.50 packaging...up three or four....

Suppose the second-hand shops will be open soon.  

Second-hand book shops once the caverns of wonderment, recently the pits of vodka, of despair, bad breath & dead paper.  That is my perception.  I did pick up a _Tristam Shandy_ plus newspaper clipping inside from the fifties.  Supposedly the funniest book ever written.  I laughed a lot at the first line, couldn't understand the second line.  Have to go back to that one.

Affected greatly by _Ragged Trousered Philanthropists_. Still am, and wanting to read it again, or quote from the book live on national television: 'so that...is why all vicars and all bosses are frauds and should be banished from our lands...with violence.'  Hooray, great cheer, remember being stopped by old men on trains with _that_ book under my arm...beats Anarchist's Handbook, the pile of rubbish...passed down to my son - so he can be arrested.


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## Matchu

Amazon fit/fix - duration approximately 8 minutes - cost £30

The Inheritors William Golding
In Patagonia Bruce Chatwin
The Fishermen Chigozie Obioma
If You Survive George Wilson
Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe

Golding was referred to by @clarke...neanderthals but not neanderthals, intriguing
Bruce Chatwin - always been on the edge of knowing about him, why not?  Travel writer but not really.
The Fishermen - don't tell no one I googled 'intelligent fiction.'  Seems fun.
If You Survive - don't tell anybody again. US WW2 memoir pow pow
Say Nothing - I might have got the wrong book?  I think I got the right book, Ulster, sectarian stuff, acclaimed possibly.


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## Turnbull

Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky.  I consider it a must-read for science fiction writers.  Basically it's the research of a man who was trying to see if catastrophic events from one culture are reflected in another -- like if in the Bible in Joshua the day was extra long, this would mean that on the other side of the world the night would have been extra long.  Velikovsky did all this research on various cultures, and according to him, Venus was not a planet until the second millennium BC, when it was a comet caught in the sun's pull.  This caused various catastrophes, including changing the tilt of Earth and the length of the year.  This is the explanation of why calendars in ancient cultures were 360 days long instead of 365.25, up until about 687 BC.  

Velikovsky's work isn't entirely proven, but I consider it a mind-stretching book that even if it isn't 100% accurate, it's definitely fodder for the science fiction writer.


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## notawizard

I just finished two books that were socks-knockers.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is absolutely AMAZING.  I couldn't put this book down. I am not giving any information about it because what I loved most was the surprise as nothing in it happened the way I expected.  I also loved The Martian, but I actually think this one was superior.  I am NOT a science fiction fan in general and yet everything about this book was enjoyable. I honestly haven't felt the way about a book that I did about this one since Harry Potter. I cannot recommend it enough.

The second book was The Shadows by Alex North. I have long been a fan of horror/suspense as a genre, and this one was delightfully suspenseful (I kept kicking myself for reading it at night before bed), and it managed to have a twist in it I not only didn't see coming, but that had me rethinking the entire book, which is rare. If you're a fan of suspense, this one is great and I can't wait to see more from this author.


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## MelinaTheWriter

Winterman said:


> Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Three Cups of Tea, Brave New World, and Cradle to Cradle are all I would recommend for relevancy today.


I had to chuckle at that. That was a comment made in 2008 and it is even more relevant now! 
But I do agree with 1984, it is a must-read. 
One other book I would really love for everybody to read is definitely "Gone With The Wind". What a Masterpiece! (And "Scarlett" as well)


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## Sinister

People here have extremely good taste!  It's going to be an effort to come up with titles not mentioned.  If I echo older posts, make allowances, please.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The King in Yellow Robert Chambers
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Dracula and The Jewel of Seven Stars by Bram Stoker
*Any Shakespeare you can get away with.*  (Extra points if it's not Romeo and Juliet)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury


These aren't necessarily books I prize over all others(some of them are).  They're books that would provide someone an opportunity to not only decide their own tastes in genre, but establish a good backbone in some classic literature.  And as an aside, if you see a book on this list that you haven't read, whichever one it is, I recommend it.

-Sin


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## NajaNoir

Any child who has a birthday party that I'm invited to, receives The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. My favorite book as a kid.
The Neverending Story is the book I'll recommend to everyone. It's so much more than just a kid's book. I have about ten books tied for second place, but nothing will ever top that one. Fantastical, magical, wonderful, I hated finishing it. Everyone should read it to keep that kid in them, the one that's full of wonder, alive.
Also, Macbeth. I think it's a really great account of, "what not to do."
Fight Club, is the one I recommend to my, "I don't have the patience to read a book," friends. super fast paced and fun easy read. Everyone can do it.


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## Megan Pearson

*'Till We Have Faces*, by C.S. Lewis. Its central theme asks, what is love? It is one of the most profoundly captivating novels I have ever read.
*Indian Creek Chronicles*, by Peter Fromm. It has that raw, intimate, and almost mystical feeling of 'what is like' of surviving a winter alone in the wilderness. 
*White Fang*, by Jack London. The metaphorical nature of the wolf-dog's transformation always catches me in the gut. It is perhaps one of the most emotionally moving stories of loss and redemption I have yet read; I am always moved to tears by the end. And unlike the many pro-animal-rights reviews I've read through the years, I'm convinced his anthropomorphic stories are never about animals. It's about people. 
*Jane Eyre*, by Charlotte Bronte
& anything by Jane Austen.


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## Olly Buckle

Megan Pearson said:


> *White Fang*, by Jack London.


I am told that London got caught up in the Alaskan gold rush and ended up broke and stranded. He wrote Call of the wild and White fang to raise the money to get him out. That worked.

Rudyard Kipling is one of my favourite authors, partly for his amazing range, but his children's books, 'Kim' and the two books of historical tales 'Puck of Pook's hill' and 'Rewards and fairies' were read to me as a child and have been read since. They don't lose for being an adult like many children's books do, and I recently read a book which suggests that Kim is very largely based in fact, a lot of the characters can be historically identified.


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## Megan Pearson

Olly Buckle said:


> I am told that London got caught up in the Alaskan gold rush and ended up broke and stranded. He wrote Call of the wild and White fang to raise the money to get him out. That worked.


Yes! I've similarly heard he hated writing dog stories, but that was what was selling. So he'd sit down and write vigorously for ten minutes, drink (coffee? something else? There might have been a cigarette involved in the routine, too. It's been a while since I heard about this.) And then plunge in for another ten minutes of furious writing. Not what I'd call a happily engaged writer--more like a madman in his approach. If that's what it takes to be a 'writer', then I'm not sure I have what it takes!  



Olly Buckle said:


> Rudyard Kipling is one of my favourite authors, partly for his amazing range, but his children's books, 'Kim' and the two books of historical tales 'Puck of Pook's hill' and 'Rewards and fairies' were read to me as a child and have been read since. They don't lose for being an adult like many children's books do, and I recently read a book which suggests that Kim is very largely based in fact, a lot of the characters can be historically identified.


That is fascinating. Thanks for sharing!


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## bazz cargo

I have perused this thread. Shame on you all
Not a whiff of Sir Terry of Pratchett.
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is great for reading to kids. Especially if you do the voices.
Guards Guards! is about the best place to start reading his stuff from. 
The Night Watch is crying out to be a mini-series.

Ummm... This is a bit cheeky, but I recommend my book
The Book of Fighting Climate Change
It would be nice to have a species that can read left on this planet.


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## Tawdry Wordsmith

jen5079 said:


> What are the books that you think that someone must read? I've read a few of the classics, but I just want to know what you guys think is a book that is so good that if you had it your way everyone would read.


I feel like I can't answer the question earnestly, because a book written for "everyone" is a book written for no one. All of my favorite books have very specific target audiences, and people outside of those target audiences probably won't enjoy these stories.

But if I could snap my fingers and force every literate person to read any books I wanted, if for no other reason than to force my own personal tastes onto them in the hopes of converting them, those books would probably be...

_Don Quixote, _by Miguel Cervantes,
_The Divine Comedy _by Dante Alighieri,
_Wake Up, Sir! _by Jonathan Ames,
_Dune _by Frank Herbert,
Almost anything by Mark Twain, but particularly _The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticuit Yankee in King Arthur's Court, _and _Joan of Arc,_
The _Dark Tower _series by Stephen King,
&_ Kristin Lavransdatter _by Sigrid Undset, to name a few.


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## Tawdry Wordsmith

LoveLetter said:


> _The Most Dangerous Game_, by Richard Connell.


I forgot how much I loved that novella.


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## Parabola

The Long Walk, by Stephen King. Some of the descriptions of the world were great, also loved how he wrote The Major. Got a kick out of Stebbins and his story.


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