For my English class, I have to compile a list of ten "great books" that everyone should read, and we're supposed to ask around and see what other people think. So, do you think you've read any books (or plays) that you think are of such a high quality as to be worth putting in a "top ten" list of all literature?
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Ready any good books?
- Thread starter Fox_Rocks
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Fuelbi
Banned via Warnings
Im currently reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad". Its one of those get rich quick books but with a twist. IT ACTUALLY WORKS! If you follow that advice youll stay rich for the rest of your life. It talks about the guy who made the book and his childhood. He had 2 fathers (one was kinda not family but anyways) one rich and one poor. It talks about the mentallity your supposed to have when you make a business. If you work for the money youll never get anywhere.
"Don't work for money, let money work for you"
If I got that quote wrong then woops but I would say that this quote would wrap up the whole book's premise. But Ive only read it 1/4 of the way through... anyways if you want to get rich quick or are about to start a business (even if your a kid) then read this. Im sure itll guide you through your material life
"Don't work for money, let money work for you"
If I got that quote wrong then woops but I would say that this quote would wrap up the whole book's premise. But Ive only read it 1/4 of the way through... anyways if you want to get rich quick or are about to start a business (even if your a kid) then read this. Im sure itll guide you through your material life
Book -- Author, in no particular order
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -- James Joyce
Waiting for Godot -- Samuel Beckett
House of Leaves -- Mark Danielewski
Crime and Punishment -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Things They Carried -- Tim O'Brien
The World is Flat/The Lexus and the Olive Tree -- Thomas Friedman (the books are fairly similar)
The Black Swan -- Nassim Taleb
The Republic -- Plato
Hamlet -- Shakespeare
Tie between Catcher in the Rye and A Farewell to Arms -- Salinger and Hemingway, respectively
I'm sure there's a lot of books I'm forgetting, some classics I haven't read, and a couple of these aren't exactly literature. But they are some of the best books I've read and/or have been the most influential in how I think.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -- James Joyce
Waiting for Godot -- Samuel Beckett
House of Leaves -- Mark Danielewski
Crime and Punishment -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Things They Carried -- Tim O'Brien
The World is Flat/The Lexus and the Olive Tree -- Thomas Friedman (the books are fairly similar)
The Black Swan -- Nassim Taleb
The Republic -- Plato
Hamlet -- Shakespeare
Tie between Catcher in the Rye and A Farewell to Arms -- Salinger and Hemingway, respectively
I'm sure there's a lot of books I'm forgetting, some classics I haven't read, and a couple of these aren't exactly literature. But they are some of the best books I've read and/or have been the most influential in how I think.
Cease Tick
Smash Ace
1984 - George Orwell
sammy p
Smash Lord
im hoping you didnt forget about the harry potter series?? lol
but ive also read a series of unfortunate events. great series! very depressing though! totally worth reading!
and there is another series that i am reading as of now, but im SURE no one has heard of it... >.>
i know its not book series or anything like that, but each of these listed have MANY great books in each one!
but ive also read a series of unfortunate events. great series! very depressing though! totally worth reading!
and there is another series that i am reading as of now, but im SURE no one has heard of it... >.>
i know its not book series or anything like that, but each of these listed have MANY great books in each one!
GunmasterLombardi
Smash Champion
October Sky by Homer Hickam (I think, I can't remember).
D20
Smash Lord
Ten books that everyone should read? I can only suggest what I've actually read, so this list cannot be as accurate as I'd like it to be.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Ambassadors - Henry James (or any of James' late masterpieces)
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (although I believe this work is extremely overrated)
The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Paradise Lost - John Milton (although this could easily be considered an example of epic poetry)
The Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
King Lear - William Shakespeare
Twelve Angry Men - Reginald Rose (courtroom based drama/play)
Dune - Frank Herbert
These are just the works that came to my mind first, and I think they provide a fairly good cross section of genres. If you'd like me to, I can provide a bit more insight for why I mentioned each of these titles.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
The Ambassadors - Henry James (or any of James' late masterpieces)
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (although I believe this work is extremely overrated)
The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Paradise Lost - John Milton (although this could easily be considered an example of epic poetry)
The Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
King Lear - William Shakespeare
Twelve Angry Men - Reginald Rose (courtroom based drama/play)
Dune - Frank Herbert
These are just the works that came to my mind first, and I think they provide a fairly good cross section of genres. If you'd like me to, I can provide a bit more insight for why I mentioned each of these titles.
Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises
Smash Hero
The Ramayana - The ancient Indian epic that is one of the two holy books of Hinduism. [Warning] Adult content at times.
Harry Potter and the Series of Harry Potter.
Guns, Germs, and Steel - A novel by Jared Diamond about how humans have created inequality among each other via war, epidemics, and technology.
Parts of The Quran - The Holy Book of Islam (NO, I'm not Arabic or Muslim, although I love their culture, I just READ IT!)
Harry Potter and the Series of Harry Potter.
Guns, Germs, and Steel - A novel by Jared Diamond about how humans have created inequality among each other via war, epidemics, and technology.
Parts of The Quran - The Holy Book of Islam (NO, I'm not Arabic or Muslim, although I love their culture, I just READ IT!)
D
Deleted member
Guest
1984. Shaped the way I think today. To a lesser extent, the Lord of the Rings series.
Scott!
Smash Lord
Camus' The Stranger was always one I enjoyed. I read it in English in high school, and in French in college. The second reading was better, even though it was a lot harder for me, since I understood more of what Camus was trying to say.
Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is probably my favorite piece of absurdist lit. We didn't do much absurd lit in high school, but this play was all it took. I went from thinking that absurdism was... absurd to understanding and appreciating its purpose quite a lot. The coin flipping stuff was hilarious as well.
As far as Shakespeare is concerned (as he must be in a topic about the greatest lit out there), Hamlet is still king. I personally enjoyed Othello more, but Hamlet is still probably the most important. King Lear I found overrated. While it was certainly very good, there were inconsistencies in the plot that my teacher pointed out, and they bother me too much to rank it in the greatest.
Dante's Inferno was one of the most enjoyable classics to read for me. All the different levels of Hell were so twisted and messed up in their punishments, but they all fit their crimes well. The suicide woods stand out in my memory as particularly cruel and miserable.
The last classic I enjoyed enough to mention now is Wuthering Heights. It's truly a magnificent book. It's a tough read, especially cause everyone names their kids after themselves, but there's a powerful story in there.
Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is probably my favorite piece of absurdist lit. We didn't do much absurd lit in high school, but this play was all it took. I went from thinking that absurdism was... absurd to understanding and appreciating its purpose quite a lot. The coin flipping stuff was hilarious as well.
As far as Shakespeare is concerned (as he must be in a topic about the greatest lit out there), Hamlet is still king. I personally enjoyed Othello more, but Hamlet is still probably the most important. King Lear I found overrated. While it was certainly very good, there were inconsistencies in the plot that my teacher pointed out, and they bother me too much to rank it in the greatest.
Dante's Inferno was one of the most enjoyable classics to read for me. All the different levels of Hell were so twisted and messed up in their punishments, but they all fit their crimes well. The suicide woods stand out in my memory as particularly cruel and miserable.
The last classic I enjoyed enough to mention now is Wuthering Heights. It's truly a magnificent book. It's a tough read, especially cause everyone names their kids after themselves, but there's a powerful story in there.
No, seriously. Tintin is awesome.
But you should also check out:
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- Watchmen by Alan Moore
- After Dark by Haruki Murakami
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
- Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Oops, that's eleven books. Oh, well.
+Shakespeare's Macbeth
+Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451
+The Moribito series (the novels the moribito anime was based off. 10 novel series)
+Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
Thats all i can really think of at the moment
+Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451
+The Moribito series (the novels the moribito anime was based off. 10 novel series)
+Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
Thats all i can really think of at the moment
¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯
Smash Legend
Media Metropolis, yo.
Oh and World War Z is pretty legit.
Oh and World War Z is pretty legit.
I was considering it, but I figured it wouldn't be too bad in here.
I also find it kind of funny that 1984 has been mentioned multiple times; that was pretty much the only one I myself had in mind.
And thanks for the help so far.
Some of you have tastes similar to mine.
Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
1984 - Orwell
House of Leaves (I'm rereading this right now)
Slaughterhouse-Five - Vonnegut
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Catch-22 - Heller
At the Mountains of Madness - H.P. Lovecraft
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut
The Stranger - Camus
Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
1984 - Orwell
House of Leaves (I'm rereading this right now)
Slaughterhouse-Five - Vonnegut
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Catch-22 - Heller
At the Mountains of Madness - H.P. Lovecraft
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut
The Stranger - Camus
Proverbs
Smash Lord
The Bible, really. I'm an English major and I say it is the best book I've ever read in my entire life.
However, outside of the Bible I'm reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which I'm really enjoying. I loved all of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I read some of Unfinished Tales, but The Silmarillion was like a text book o_X;; I couldn't push through it. C.S. Lewis' non fiction is amazing, but I'm not a huge fan of his fiction. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe wasn't too great. It was a good story but I felt like the writing was generally pretty poor. But when I read The Magician's Nephew I was really impressed with how his writing had grown since writing that first one, it was leagues better. Also Till We Have Faces, also by Lewis was great, although not a Narnian story.
But I've stopped reading a lot of fiction and have gotten into theology a good deal more, I guess it just suits me better. I enjoy non-fiction a ton more than fiction these days, which seems to be the opposite of everyone else. I just tend to like books that have a real impact on my life practically instead of books that are fun.
Some of the books on here I enjoyed to a point. I loved the idea behind 1984, but a good chunk of the middle of the book was all sex. Not a fun read. I felt like it was just a waste of paper and ink. The rest of it was great. The Stranger was just an acid trip, I think it's all hype. *shrug*
However, outside of the Bible I'm reading "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which I'm really enjoying. I loved all of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I read some of Unfinished Tales, but The Silmarillion was like a text book o_X;; I couldn't push through it. C.S. Lewis' non fiction is amazing, but I'm not a huge fan of his fiction. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe wasn't too great. It was a good story but I felt like the writing was generally pretty poor. But when I read The Magician's Nephew I was really impressed with how his writing had grown since writing that first one, it was leagues better. Also Till We Have Faces, also by Lewis was great, although not a Narnian story.
But I've stopped reading a lot of fiction and have gotten into theology a good deal more, I guess it just suits me better. I enjoy non-fiction a ton more than fiction these days, which seems to be the opposite of everyone else. I just tend to like books that have a real impact on my life practically instead of books that are fun.
Some of the books on here I enjoyed to a point. I loved the idea behind 1984, but a good chunk of the middle of the book was all sex. Not a fun read. I felt like it was just a waste of paper and ink. The rest of it was great. The Stranger was just an acid trip, I think it's all hype. *shrug*
D
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Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Catcher in the Rye, and Fahrenheit 451 are all great.
Fuelbi
Banned via Warnings
I heard that catch 22 was not too enjoyable due to its abrasiveness or something. Anyways I want to read persepolis. It seems quite enjoyable
Catch-22 is really quite good, but I had a hard time getting into it at first. It's one of those books that pays off in the long run. Stick with it.
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