Body & Soul1 min ago
Ultimate Books
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I have decided to improve my general reading over the summer. I am looking for what you think are the ten most neccessary books to have read. They can be any genre and any period, let me know your thoughts!
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I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird at the moment and endorse Alijangra's reco. I never realised it was written in the 1960s; thought it was much older. Am also reading Pride and Prejudice and it is excellent; so much more than a mere romance novel. Austen was an extremely accomplished wit, if this work is any guide.
I have the same thoughts as you, confusedpink, regarding improving my reading. A deathly tedious chore at school, but am better equipped now to appreciate good writing.
I'm with alijangra on both counts. Both To Kill A Mockingbird & Great Expectations are my all time favourite books.
Others on my list include 'Of Mice & Men' by John Steinbeck, 'The Stand' by Stephen King (sorry, I am a fan!), and 'H' ~ the autobiography of a heroin addict & child prostitute (if that doesn't keep you off drugs nothing will!!).
A bit of an eclectic mix (I won't go into my Spike Milligan addiction!) and maybe not considered 'necessary' to most, but still my choices :o)
I reiterate what the others have said ..To Kill a Mockingbird is a must .
Other books I would consider a must
Lord of the Flies..William Golding
Anything by Dickens especially Oliver Twist, Great Expectations , A Tale of Two Cities.
The Brontes,Jane Austen ( anything)
Cranford and North and South ..Gaskell
Catch 22.. ..Joseph Heller.
My Son My Son ..Howard Spring..very underrated ..brilliant author.
The Stars Look Down ..A J. Cronin.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
James Lee Burke ..although he writes thrillers his feel for the deep south of America is unbelievable...White Doves at Morning is excellent ..all about the civil war.
Anything by Robert Goddard...the modern day Graham Greene .....anything by Greene too.
Toss in a bit of Agatha Christie and you should be sorted.
If you have never read the Just William books by Richmal Crompton then do .Childrens books from a bygone era but hilarious.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.
Other books I would consider a must
Lord of the Flies..William Golding
Anything by Dickens especially Oliver Twist, Great Expectations , A Tale of Two Cities.
The Brontes,Jane Austen ( anything)
Cranford and North and South ..Gaskell
Catch 22.. ..Joseph Heller.
My Son My Son ..Howard Spring..very underrated ..brilliant author.
The Stars Look Down ..A J. Cronin.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
James Lee Burke ..although he writes thrillers his feel for the deep south of America is unbelievable...White Doves at Morning is excellent ..all about the civil war.
Anything by Robert Goddard...the modern day Graham Greene .....anything by Greene too.
Toss in a bit of Agatha Christie and you should be sorted.
If you have never read the Just William books by Richmal Crompton then do .Childrens books from a bygone era but hilarious.
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.
You should consider either Animal Farm or 1984 by George Orwell both damning commentaries or dictatorships.
As already pointed out "To kill a mockingbird" growing up with tolerance and predujice in the Deep South
I also think that Zen and the art of motorcyle maintenance is a great book that got an undeserved reputation partly due to it's title and the "hippy adoptation" - his ideas revolve around what "quality" really is.
If you've never had much of a scientific background then Bill Bryson's "A short history of almost everything" is a very accessible whirlwind tour of the major scientific events - "How do they know how old the earth is?"
This last one is not well known though and I discoverred it by accident. It's called the Saddlebag http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0747552967/sr=1-2/qid=1150184042/ref=sr_1_2/026-5939942-7506864?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books&v=glance
It's a story written in chapters about a small event, the theft of a bag, that happens in the middle east. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a member of a different religion as they encounter the bag. The story unfolds and you also see how the religion of each person affects their viewpoint of events.
Some books I think ought to be read:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
David Copperfield or A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Hobbit (to be followed by Lord of The Rings) by JRR Tolkein
Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone by JK Rowling
The Railway Children by E Nesbit
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
The Day of The Triffids by John Wyndham
Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Truckers (or as the complete trilogy - The Bromeliad) by Terry Pratchett
Whatever you choose, happy reading. I've always got a book on the go - at the moment I'm reading the tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, even if you know the basic plot it's good to read the actual book, you learn so much more about it. I saw the film A Town Like Alice a couple of weeks ago and couldn't believe that the film ended two thirds (if not half way) through the book, it didn't even get round to why the title is what it is!
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
David Copperfield or A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Hobbit (to be followed by Lord of The Rings) by JRR Tolkein
Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone by JK Rowling
The Railway Children by E Nesbit
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
The Day of The Triffids by John Wyndham
Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Truckers (or as the complete trilogy - The Bromeliad) by Terry Pratchett
Whatever you choose, happy reading. I've always got a book on the go - at the moment I'm reading the tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, even if you know the basic plot it's good to read the actual book, you learn so much more about it. I saw the film A Town Like Alice a couple of weeks ago and couldn't believe that the film ended two thirds (if not half way) through the book, it didn't even get round to why the title is what it is!
Eleven books you must read (sorry, couldn't leave any of these out):
1. Great Expectations - Dickens
2. The Great Gatsby - Scott Fitzgerald
3. Noughts and Crosses Trilogy - Noughts & Crosses, Knife Edge, Checkmate - Blackman
4. Lucas - Brooks
5. Candy - Brooks
6. Skarrs - Forde
7. Tamar - Peet
8. How I Live Now - Rosoff
1. Great Expectations - Dickens
2. The Great Gatsby - Scott Fitzgerald
3. Noughts and Crosses Trilogy - Noughts & Crosses, Knife Edge, Checkmate - Blackman
4. Lucas - Brooks
5. Candy - Brooks
6. Skarrs - Forde
7. Tamar - Peet
8. How I Live Now - Rosoff
Okay, so they've already been mentioned, but I too would have recomended 'To kill a mockingbird' and 'Lord of the Flies', thet're both books I read at school, but have gone back to a quite a few times since, and each time I get something else from them, obviously from growing up and seeing things from a different perspective.
But remember, reading should be fun, so throw in a few light reads, okay so 'chic lit' doesn't always get a good press, but there's nothing better than just picking up something light to pass a few hours, and leave you with a smile. Give the 'Tales of the City' books a try (there's a whole series, starts with 'Tales of the City', 'More tales of the City', 'Further tales of the city'.....the list goes on!), by Armistead Maupin, they're great, had me in tears and fits of laughter. Have fun.
To add to the above list - not neccessarily classics but books I go back to over and over again.
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Brandon by Angela Thirkell
Anything by Terry Pratchett - already hugely popular and was described as a modern day Charles Dickens. His books are very funny and satirical - don't let the fact they are set in a parrallel universe put you off. I reckon it's only a matter of time before they become part of the school syllabus.
Childrens Classics always a great summer read
Little Women - Good Wives - Little Men and Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcot
What Katy Did - What Katy Did at School and What Katy Did Next (there are 2 less well known ones in the series Clover and 'In the High Hills' or somthing like that)
If you read Little Women you will also enjoy March by Geraldine Brookes
Winnie the Pooh and Paddington are always worth a revisit! I read them to my son and I'm enjoying them all over again.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson
The Railway Children by E Nesbitt
If you fancy something more modern good Private Eye stories are the Matt Scudder books by Lawrence Block they seem to capture a hot town summer in the city feel of New York's underworld.
Life of Pi by somebody Yann weird but keep going with it.
Oh and Possession by AS Byatt another Booker Prize winner but a fab book that stay's with you.
In no particular order:
Emma - Jane Austen Most people go for Pride & Prejudice which is terrific but Emma is the better book in my opinion
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte Very evocative of its landscape and some genuinely creepy bits
War of the Worlds - H G Wells It blows my mind to think of how groundbreaking and frightening this must have been to Victorians
Small World - David Lodge: Very funny parallel of the Grail quest.
The History Man - Malcolm Bradbury Dark intense a very acidic commentary on 60s radicalism going sour in the 70s
The Go-Between - L P Hartley One of the best ever books about memory
What A Carve-Up! - Jonathan Coe Anyone who had misgivings about life under Thatcher should read this novel
The Lost Continent - Bill Bryson First of his travel books and the absolute best
Last Chance To See - Douglas Adams His overlooked masterwork, he & a zoologist travel the world trying to find endangered species
Spielberg Truffaut & Me - Bob Balaban An actor's diary of working on Close Encounters and the friendship he struck up with Francois Truffaut
The London A to Z The A to Zs for whichever city are a staggering achievement. I can sit and leaf through this without even planning to go anywhere. As Paul Merton once said: "The story isn't up to much, but the places... they seem so real!"
