The Next Best Book Club discussion
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If you could make everyone read ONE book...
I'm glad so many people love "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "East of Eden" as much as me! I would have to say one of those. I can't choose. You can't make me.
I'd recommend A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It's heartbreaking but really makes you think about the way you treat others.
Since I've lived a fair number of years I probably should reccommend To Kill a Mockingbird, but recently I read The Help and I definitely believe it will become a classic about that era in American history (late 50's/early 60's)
Wow... I hate to admit that aside from some of the classics, I have never heard of half of these books! You guys are trying to keep my "to read" pile obnoxiously large.I personally think Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is the ONE book everyone should read. This is mostly because you can get something new out of it every time you read it. It has something to offer everyone from every stage in life. He has something for everyone: adventure, leadership, politics, action, military strategy...
My response might change by tomorrow, but right now I'd say it would be Johnny Got His Gun. Powerful stuff.
It will be painful for many, and some might not even survive, but still, if I had to make everyone read one book it'd be Ulysses by James Joyce (don't worry, I'd let people use a guide if they wanted; I'm not that heartless). Yes it's pretentious at times, but I just think it's an amazing novel. In one book about one day you have a lifetime's worth of experience, and I find that incredible.
I'm an English teacher. I'd have to say I'd suggest a collection of Shakespeare's plays. Despite having to struggle to understand the olde English, his plots are quintessentially the story of humanity. (And if you only have one book, you'll have lots of time to figure out the meaning of his words.) He stole plots from older sources, of course, but his work has been used as the basis for so many other works. I tell my students that to be educated in the Western world, they need to be familiar with 3 basic sources of ALL allusions, whether they are literary, or even just an episode of "The Simpsons". Those 3 sources are: Greek mythology (I love Edith Hamilton's translations), The New Testament of the Christian Bible, and Shakespeare. With those in your memory, you are going to get all of the jokes and references...or at least MOST of them!
Fiona wrote: "I'm an English teacher. I'd have to say I'd suggest a collection of Shakespeare's plays. Despite having to struggle to understand the olde English, his plots are quintessentially the story of hum..."@Fiona: And with Greek Mythology, the Bible, and Shakespeare, you could probably write 10 seasons of a sitcom, easy. :)
The Piano Players by Anthony Burgess. I read it a good decade back but the book is still etched in memory.
The Catcher in the Rye1984
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Bridges of Madison County
The Host
......sorry to give more than one...
Oh Fiona that's really true. Hard to top that set.I think I would add The Odyssey and The Annotated Brothers Grimm.
But for the sheer love of it I think I might make everyone read The Secret Garden.
Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley RobinsonThis is the first of an incredible trilogy about scientists, families, and the changing environment. I'd like every politician to read it.
Betsy wrote: "Since I've lived a fair number of years I probably should reccommend To Kill a Mockingbird, but recently I read The Help and I definitely believe it will become a classic about that era in Americ..."I agree, The Help was an amazing book. I read it on audio on my ipod, it was done by 4 different actresses, wonderful!!
As far as books I have read recently, the book that I would most recommend would be The Help. I could not put it down, it was educational and eye-opening, and the characters were real and created with depth.
This is very difficult. I think I would make everyone read The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham. People need to understand that the criminal justice system is broken. This book (Grisham's only non-fiction work) is eye opening. Along the same line, I think that Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a fabulous novel that paints an interesting picture of the types of people who end up sitting in the "criminal defendant" chair.
There are so many great books in this thread. I'd never heard of The Help, but I added that one too!The most recent amazing book I've found is called Powerless, about a girl who discovers she's the only one in the world without a magical power. I loved the story and the characters were so vibrant. I can't wait for the 2nd book to come out!
Great thread! My bookshelves are getting anxious at the prospect of adding all these new books I've found through here! I wish I could make everyone read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
I'm torn between A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, basically anything written by Carl Sagan, and The Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guin. Edit: I do have to agree with what other people have said and add To Kill a Mockingbird to the list as well.
EditEdit: Also 1984. I just can't choose!
This book would have to be Ayn Rand's 'Anthem' none other can compare.
Loved loved loved A Short History of Nearly Everything. Really anything by Bryson is great.I would say Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone because although they aren't classics or about deep subjects they do cover a lot of really important life issues and are basically the reason so many people started reading/do read/got back to reading. They are the embodiment of a simple love of reading.
Definitely Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, especially for a bunch of Bibliophiles such as yourselves :)
I don't think I could pick one because I have this thing where if I'm going to force everyone to read one book, I want it to be a book that inspires them to continue reading so higher literacy can be promoted. Since people are so different, it'd be impossible to pick even ten different books and make everyone choose one. I could probably come up with a list of 20 or 25, but definitely not a single book.Some of mine would be To Kill a Mockingbird, A Walk in the Woods, Little Women, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Hobbit.
DFW's Infinite Jest. Hear me out, guys. It's a long book. A lot of people drop out by page 200. Maybe it's not for everyone. But it's a great book, it's so entertaining and has so much to say, and DFW is a legitimate genius. Not to mention the characters. This guy has created the fullest, most realistic characters I've ever encountered in literature. And if I have the ability to make everyone read one book, it'd be this one, because way too many people drop out of the experience before it really begins. I know of very, very few people who have finished Infinite Jest in its entirety and went 'Meh, it was alright.' The only people who really say that are the ones who didn't finish it, mostly. So maybe it's hard to get through, but those who get to the finish line are well rewarded. I just finished it, so I'm still on the post-marathon high, and it's great.
Michelle wrote: "DFW's Infinite Jest. Hear me out, guys. It's a long book. A lot of people drop out by page 200. Maybe it's not for everyone. But it's a great book, it's so entertaining and has so much ..."I have likely read longer... Granted, Amber is ten books in one, but I read the whole thing cover to cover. Yay, 1700+ pages. Some day, I will read War and Peace. I also have Les Mis and want the unabridged version of Count of Monte Cristo (I have the abridged version).
Anyway... enough spamming the topic. I think my list (as mentioned above) would likely include the biggest variety of books I could figure out. And Twilight wouldn't be anywhere near it. Sure, some people think it's wonderful. I don't think it should have been allowed to exist. YA literature would be nicely represented, though, by Hunger Games, the first Gemma Doyle book, and the first Harry Potter book, as well as possibly something else to get something other than sci-fi/fantasy. Hmm... I may have to create a list of books some day that I think would get people interested in reading.
I agree with Sharyl and Brenda that A Fine Balance is a definite must-read. I'd also like to add House of Sand and Fog purely for the amazing job Dubus does in creating those characters and being an English teacher I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend Lord of the Flies
It would have to be Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. Every time I read it I find something else that is pure genius. I carry this book around with me like a shield :)
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt is probably my current top pick. But how do you judge it? I mean, it's not the same question as "if you were stuck on an island and only had one book to read..." because if that was the case you'd want something remarkably deep that you could sink your eyes into time and time again... but if you're giving it to someone to read just once, it can't be something too heavy, or the average person won't like it... but I don't want to pick something overly light and fluffy either...Maybe The Stand by King? Another one that I keep coming back to is The End of the Straight and Narrow. For some reason it seems to be an unread book, but I found it fantastic, and I keep visualizing scenes from it.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen. Because in America our sense of history is virtually non-existent.The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. It has a chapter on critical thinking and how to spot logically flawed arguments. We would all be better off if this book was required reading in all high schools.
The Bible. Seriously. And I'm not talking like a Bible study at church; I'm talking about everyone taking it and reading it cover to cover, with no one else's interpretations clouding your perspective or instructing you on how you're supposed to read it. Why? Because no one reads the thing cover to cover. They just read the sections they feel like reading. I just truly believe that if you're going to quote it at people, use it to try to deny people this or that right, use it to try to bolster your point of view, or use it to try to gain political points, you'd better at least be familiar with the whole darn thing. A healthy knowledge of the history of the creation of said book would also not be amiss. (I am, admittedly, an atheist, but I have read the Bible cover to cover. Three times.)
Jill - You would be proud. My 13-year-old is almost done reading the Bible from cover to cover. I however have only read the New Testament.
Asidefrom the Bible, I'd make everyone read: "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse. The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in the Sanskrit language, siddha (achieved) + artha (meaning or wealth). The two words together mean "he who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has attained his goals".
a toss up between 1984 or A Brave New WorldAnd Jill I love, Lies my History Teacher Told Me, by Lowen and I want to make sure my children read that so they understand that there is much more to history then what is taught in schools.
The Story of my Life by Helen Keller. It is definately a very inspiring read of an astounding woman and the spirit she has inside of her.
A Handful of Time by Kit Pearson is one that I would like to recommend to children, and of course any adults who want to read it. I Loved that book when I was a kid!
I tend to love a lot of books that I don't think have any real universal appeal - too surreal, too serious, too specialized, too silly, etc. - so I have a hard time designating one I would make everyone read. I think the closest - the one I think most everyone could come away from with something edifying, interesting, and pleasing - would be A Country Year: Living the Questions by Sue Hubbell. The author has a way of writing that is almost spiritual, yet not in a religious way. There's a pervasive sense of wonder, a feeling of both stillness/quiet and energetic enthusiasm. It is naturalist writing without heavy-handed guilt-tripping, a story of living independently while also living in harmony with one's surroundings. Reading Hubbell makes me feel good about being alive - and I am a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist.
The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
... the ultimate in harsh life lessons.
Spoiler Alert if there's anyone who hasn't read this....
A struggle against age, against ill fortune, against scorn of fellow humans, against self-doubt, against the sea, a huge fish, sharks, against losing that which you prized so dearly.
But gaining the renewal of a friendship, and the respect of your fellow humans.
John wrote: "The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
... the ultimate in harsh life lessons.
Spoiler Alert if there's anyone who hasn't read this....
A struggle against age, against ill fortune..."
I would have to agree with you John. I read that book in high school and I loved it and I have since read it multiple times.
S.Leighanne wrote: I would have to agree with you John. I read that book in high school and I loved it and I have since read it multiple times. "
Hemingway's best, imo S.Leighanne. The other tale of his that comes close is one of his short stories, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.
Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn. It will slip it's novel perspective into your brain and make you look at the world and humanity in a slightly different way.Sad thing is, people who don't actually read much will end up with some oddly specific book that they finally do pick as their one read. Since being out of school, my brother has only ever read I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell. At least it taught him that books are better than movies!
I see a lot of good ones here, but I'm going to go with two. The first one is The Lord of the Rings. In my humble opinion the best fiction ever written. It's not for everyone--though I'm not sure why--but it is absolutely brilliantly written. The language is beautiful, and the story compelling. The idea that a handful of ordinary citizens (Hobbits) can save their world, is powerful, and true even for our world.Two, and probably more important, Daniel Quinn's 'Ishmael.' If you want to know why the world is the way it is, he will reveal it to you in the most remarkable way. Great story, but more importantly, great message that might just save us all from disaster.
Both of these books rank at the top of my influences. There are lots more, of course.
Selecting from my very limited collection, I'd humbly put out the name of "The Picture of Dorian Gray". That book did a lot to change my general perception of the world.
I feel that there isn't one book that everyone In the world would like, so I wouldn't 'make' anyone read anything, and never will. I would, of course, recommend a book to them, but never make them read it. There is one series (a fantasy one) that everyone I have ever met seems to have at least liked, but I'm sure that there are people who don't like it, I've just never met one. And that series is the Harry Potter series. It is so beautifully written and, in my eyes, the single greatest series of all time. I think that you haven't lived if you haven't read this series, and I think that everyone who has never read it should pick it up immediately. I will always love this series, and I know that there are a ton of great books out there, but this one set of books is my favorite. So, I will always recommend this series, but never make anyone read it.
"Every Day" by David Leviathan changed my perspective on a lot of things. The main character doesn't have a specified gender (literally, as in he/she does not own his/her own body) and those implications challenged some of my ingrained beliefs. That book opened up a love for more books that were out of my usual palette.
This is a great question. One that I've stewed over :0) Being a sort of snobby purist, a book that "everyone should read" has to be something that will broaden, stir, or change the reader's perceptions of the world around them and the people in it.Religious readings aside, one novel that I think everyone should read (and think has not been aforementioned) is The Kite Runner
. This is one of the few books that left me with tears streaming down my face and remained with me long after I read it.
Also, for the younger crowd, I think that The Book Thief
is extremely powerful and assessable to young adults and should be read and taught. P.S. A Lesson Before Dying
was a close second.
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I also highly recommend Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn. It's a great insight into the "evil" that stalks us all-day, everyday and our need to stay strong in the "light."
In truth, though, I always seem to recommend Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I know, I know...it's not a classic, just one of my all-time favorites.