Book Haven's own list of "Books to Read Before You Kick the Bucket"

[BK]

Ok, here it is. Our own list of books we think anyone and everyone should read before they die. I don't mean just a good book.

I am looking for books that changed the way you think, made you look at things in a different perspective, opened your mind to something you'd never considered before, took you out of your comfort zone and forced you to acknowledge it, etc. In short, a book that made an impact. It can be a book for children or even a horror novel. It doesn't matter what genre.

Feel free to explain why the book had an impact on you. It makes for good discussions! :)

...Plus, lists are just fun.

[BK]

Animal Farm
1984
The Giving Tree
Invisible Monsters
Animals in Translation Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Call of the Wild
Flowers for Algernon
To Kill a Mockingbird
Hardcore Zen Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality
A Wrinkle in Time

[Lisa]

East of Eden
Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books
The Giver
Sophie's Choice
The Things They Carried

[SoBeA]

I've got just a few:

[Book:Ender's Game|375802]
[Book: The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts|30852.]
[Book:Family|830985]

[stormhawk]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values (reread every 5-10 years, the book changes as you do)
Atlas Shrugged
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Book of Five Rings The Classic Guide to Strategy
The Art of War

Probably should throw in New and Old Testament, The Koran, The Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, any other spiritual classics I'm missing?


(I second several of the books already listed)

[BK]

Okay, so far we have:

1. Animal Farm
2. 1984
3. The Giving Tree
4. Invisible Monsters
5. Animals in Translation Using the Mysteries of 6. 6. Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
8. The Call of the Wild
9. Flowers for Algernon
10. To Kill a Mockingbird
11. Hardcore Zen Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality
12. A Wrinkle in Time
13. East of Eden
14. Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books
15. The Giver
16. Sophie's Choice
17. The Things They Carried
18. Ender's Game
19. The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
20. Family
21. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values
22. Atlas Shrugged
23. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
24. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
25. Book of Five Rings The Classic Guide to Strategy
26. The Art of War

@stormhawk Feel free to add whatever you think fits this list.

[J.D.]

1. Animal Farm
2. 1984
3. The Giving Tree
4. Invisible Monsters
5. Animals in Translation Using the Mysteries of 6. 6. Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
8. The Call of the Wild
9. Flowers for Algernon
10. To Kill a Mockingbird
11. Hardcore Zen Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality
12. A Wrinkle in Time
13. East of Eden
14. Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books
15. The Giver
16. Sophie's Choice
17. The Things They Carried
18. Ender's Game
19. The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
20. Family
21. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values
22. Atlas Shrugged
23. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
24. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
25. Book of Five Rings The Classic Guide to Strategy
26. The Art of War
27. The Secret Garden
28. Great Expectations
29. Little Women
30. Island of the Blue Dolphins
31. Wit'ch Fire
32. The Da Vinci Code

[stormhawk]

Are we just making a list based on everyone's suggestions, or are we going to winnow the list as the result of discussion?

[BK]

Not sure yet. If we get a lot more suggestions we might slim the list after discussions. If that's the case I was thinking maybe the top 30 or 50. :) That's if we'd ever be able to choose. lol

[J.D.]

I'm surprised that I have only read 8 out of 32 of these books! LOL I guess it is a good idea that our group makes its own list. Besides, I trust the members of this groups suggestions more, than I would trust the suggestions from a random article. :) I like the look of some of these books... :)

[Terri]

Blindess - Jose Saramago
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Stand - Stephen King

[Elvia]

I am definitely putting a number of these books on my tbr shelf!

I also second The Da Vinci Code.

[Allan]

I'd like to add
All Quiet on the Western Front
Dune
The Divine Comedy

and would like to second The Things They Carried, Flowers for Algernon and Ender's Game.

[Pam]

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
First Things First by Covey (non-fiction)
Empire by Orson Scott Card
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

[stormhawk]

Oooh ... Seeing Allan add Dune reminded me ...

Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein

[Pam]

I greatly enjoyed The DaVinci Code, but liked his Angels and Demons even better. I would put that higher on my list, perhaps after The Help.

[Em]

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Equus by Peter Shaffer
Amadeus by Peter Shaffer

(The Peter Shaffer books are actually plays, but they certainly changed the way I think)

[Dennis]

The RoadCormac McCarthyThe StandStephen KingA Prayer for Owen MeanyJohn Irving top Three

[J.D.]

This is our list so far...

1. Animal Farm
2. 1984
3. The Giving Tree
4. Invisible Monsters
5. Animals in Translation Using the Mysteries of 6. 6. Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
8. The Call of the Wild
9. Flowers for Algernon
10. To Kill a Mockingbird
11. Hardcore Zen Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality
12. A Wrinkle in Time
13. East of Eden
14. Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books
15. The Giver
16. Sophie's Choice
17. The Things They Carried
18. Ender's Game
19. The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
20. Family
21. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values
22. Atlas Shrugged
23. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
24. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
25. Book of Five Rings The Classic Guide to Strategy
26. The Art of War
27. The Secret Garden
28. Great Expectations
29. Little Women
30. Island of the Blue Dolphins
31. Wit'ch Fire
32. The Da Vinci Code
33. Blindess - Jose Saramago
34. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
35. The Stand - Stephen King
36. All Quiet on the Western Front
37. Dune
38. The Divine Comedy
39. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
40. First Things First by Covey (non-fiction)
41. Empire by Orson Scott Card
42. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
43. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
44. Angels & Demons
45. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
46. Equus by Peter Shaffer
47. The Road-Cormac McCarthy
48. The Stand-Stephen King
49. A Prayer for Owen Meany-John Irving
50. Amadeus by Peter Shaffer
51. Harry Potter- J.K. Rowling

[Nicole]

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Uncle Tom's Cabin

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Night by Elie Wiesel

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally

Last Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi

[Nada]

pride & prejudice by Jane Austen
the three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
the count of Monte cristo by Alexandre Dumas
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Lord of the rings by J.R.R.Tolkien

[Anne]

My Name Is Joe by Stefan Bourque. If you're ever questioning your own self-worth or value, this is a great read.

[sonya]

A Christmas carol--charles Dickens

[Jonathan]

The Great Gatsby
By F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The book for which I have an "unaffected scorn".

[Cary]

Jez there are so many. John Paul Van & America in Vietnam, Winston Churchills The River War, Dispatches Michael Herr, My War Gone by I loved It So, Christopher Loyd. Dracula, Ben Hur, Caesars Conquest of Gaul, The True Conquest of Mexico by Bernal Diaz, Oliver Twist, Dune, I Claudius & Claudius the God. There is so much stuff. Lord of the Rings,

[Charlotte (Buried in Books)]

The book to have the biggest effect on me so far would probably be Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

One of the characters still stays with me now, his completely selfless love of another, and how his sacrifice is honoured by others.

[[deleted user]]

I want to add
I want to second the help and also add

[Heann]

A Child Called "It"

[Tammy]

I would recommend "bridges of Madison county," "wicked" and the original "wizard of oz."