Books every person should read in their lives

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 2:43 pm

I have always known that I don't read as much as I feel I should. In this world of movies and video games it's hard to convince yourself to read. I've read some books on my own (outside of school). Mostly sci-fi, though.

The Star Trek thread got me thinking about this, actually. In Wrath of Khan, Kirk and Spock quote A Tale of Two Cities several times. I never read that book and feel that perhaps I'm missing out on something truly great and insightful.

What works of literature have you guys read that you feel everyone should read at least once in their lives?

Matisfaction · Post by **Matisfaction** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:00 pm

Arguably the best in the series by eric Hall. Spot dons the bucket and spade when he embarks on a legendary journey to experience all the sights, sounds and smells of the beach. The golden sand, the dazzling sun and the cool sea are all there for you and Spot to enjoy. A true classic.

Strapping Scherzo · Post by **Strapping Scherzo** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:04 pm

FuriKuri · Post by **FuriKuri** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:24 pm

Post by **|darc|** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:36 pm

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0147503078/

Sigh... I want it so badly... even though it is missing a few essential books.

curt_grymala · Post by **curt_grymala** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:37 pm

I have to echo the sentiment of 1984, and add to that a few other books by Orwell. Obviously, Animal Farm is a great one, but you should also check out Down and Out In Paris and London.

On the Road is something everyone should read at some point.

Alice In Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia (although I, admittedly, only ever made it through the third in the seven-book series), The Crystal Cave (and probably the other three books in that series, although I never got around to reading them), To Kill A Mockingbird, and probably quite a few more that I can't think of ATM.

Jeeba Jabba · Post by **Jeeba Jabba** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 4:35 pm

CupNoodle · Post by **CupNoodle** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 4:40 pm

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:01 pm

I could do better if I had my full collection in front of me, but here are a few mostly-oddball suggestions:

Fiction:

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Einstein's Dreams - Alan Lightman
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K. Dick
The Silent Gondoliers - William Goldman (might be filed under "S. Morgenstern")

Non-Fiction:

Six Easy Pieces - Richard P. Feynman

Number Six · Post by **Number Six** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:43 pm

CupNoodle wrote:

YES!!! I just finished this book the other day. It kicks so much ass!

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:04 pm

"He did not know whether the impossibility of acting had given him this sense of loathing, or whether the loathing had made him lose the desire to act. It's both, he thought; a desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieve it; action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving. If the only goal possible was to wheedle a precarious moment's favor from men who held guns, then neither action nor desire could exist any longer. Then could life? he asked himself indifferently. Life, he thought, had been defined as motion; man's life was purposeful motion; what was the state of a being to whom purpose and motion were denied, a being held in chains but left to breathe and to see all the magnificence of the possibilities he could have reached, left to scream "Why?", and to be shown the muzzle of a gun as sole explanation?"

toastman · Post by **toastman** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:09 pm

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans (actually anything by him)
Code Complete by Steve McConnel
The Joy of Work by Scott Addams
Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover

MulletMan13 · Post by **MulletMan13** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:30 pm

Candide by Voltaire.

The only book I've ever read.

Zealous zerotype · Post by **Zealous zerotype** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:34 pm

A Clockwork Orange.

jaredfogle · Post by **jaredfogle** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:11 pm

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe gives a wonderful portrait of the "pure" hippie culture of the early and middle sixties. Before they really became a political force. It's quite a joy to read.

Shakespeare's Hamlet. Any Shakespeare I've read has been enjoyable, but Hamlet is my favorite.

The Bible. Sounds strange coming from me, eh? I think every thinking Westerner needs to read this book, or at least parts of it. Its absolutely fundamental to our culture. Get an Oxford edition or some other academic/literary translation.

The Tao Teh (Dow Day) Ching. Eastern perspective on the incomprehensible. I lifted a pocket-sized copy from the local bookstore and kept it with me for a few months, reading one or two of the 100 or so poems whenever I felt contemplative. Very moving, very beautiful. If the founder of the Dow Jones hadn't been named Charles Dow, I'd think him to be a brilliant man.

There's plenty more... But those are what immediately come to mind.

JuddWack · Post by **JuddWack** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:43 pm

I would have to second 1984, To Kill a Mocking Bird and Catcher in the Rye. I also really enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath, but maybe not a must.

impetus · Post by **impetus** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 9:35 pm

The New Testament
Dracula
any of Roald Dahl's brilliant short stories

butters · Post by **butters** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:28 pm

LOTR is amazing. I've been reading The DaVinci Code and it's been pretty good. I'm also fond of Grisham's stuff most of the time.

S. Thompson · Post by **S. Thompson** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 10:57 pm

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook

Any of that could easily happen to ANY of us.

- Fuzmeister

Nico0020 · Post by **Nico0020** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 11:03 pm

but to be serious.
Hamlet
1984
The Bell jar = a personal favorite.