Ultimate Books

[confusedpink]

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!

[cole13uk]

The Blind Assasin by Margaret Attwood

[confusedpink]

Wow, I am completely blown away by all these responses! All these books sound fascinating, I'm going to have to read them all! I'm glad that Jane Austen has had several mentions. I think that she is a truly amazing author and woman. Keep coming with suggestions, I find them all fascinating and thank-you so much!!!

[shaneystar2]

And....if you do read and enjoy her books and are ever anywhere in the vicinity of Winchester do visit her final resting place in the wonderful cathedral.I go to Winchester regularly to visit an schoolfriend and always go to the cathedral.
Her novels were published anonymously, and the inscription on her tomb has no mention of her literary talents.
Happy reading .

[maxi29]

I think there's a distinction between favourite books and great books (or books that are necessary to have read).

I do find some of the selections baffling, not least because not a single person has mentioned a book that was not written in English (which seems like a skewed way of looking at the world). I also find the dominance of books written in the last 50 years rather puzzling too.

I'm also a bit bemused that no-one has mentioned any of the truly great novels of world literature: Don Quixote, Ulysses, Remembrance of times past or Crime and Punishment. Virtually every list of great novels would include those at the top (Americans would probably add Moby Dick as well but I found that incredibly dull).

Nor has anyone mentioned any of the epic poems: The Odyssey, Divine Comedy, Beowulf, Paradise Lost

My ten would include those four novels, a couple of those poems (Homer's a must; the fount of all world literature) plus Madame Bovary, something by Kafka, probably The Trial, Tom Jones, the first great English novel and an Orwell book, probably Animal Farm.

Of course, if you really wanted to be adventurous you could read the great religious books too: someone with knowledge of the Bible and the Koran would really have an understanding of the world today.

[Dolly1308]

Not to forget 'The Grapes of Wrath " by John Steinbeck and 'Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens . I love these two .

[kazza12345]

lol maxi29 what a snob!

i would imagine that the reason most people have named english language books is that the majority of people on this site have english as their first language. Just because a book seems essential reading to you, dosent mean it is to other people does it? (as 25 people have demonstrated) Also a book dosent have to be a "classic" to move you

[shaneystar2]

Oh Lord .. I don' t think I would like to wade through Paradise Lost or Beowulf during my summer hols !!

[confusedpink]

Thanks Shaney for the tip off about the tomb, its tragic that she wasn't acknowledged at her time. However, I must agree with maxi29 about 'great' books. Although some of them are not exactly summer reading I'm a bit of a plodder, not a skim reader! I started Don Quixote once but I never finished it. I was only 15 so don't punish me! I will try again! Thanks again for all the suggestions... love pink (not so confused now about books choices!)

[maxi29]

Not at all snobbish, Kazza. I just think that there's a difference between a favourite book and a great one. There are many books that I love to bits but I wouldn't call them 'great'. And I should point that I haven't read all the 10 books that I mentioned, just that they would be prominent on a list of great books. And English is my first language too but I can't believe that this small corner of the globe has the monopoly on great writers.

As for summer reading,. I read 6 volumes of Proust on one holiday, I was that gripped by it. And I read Don Quixote on another: I find that summer's a great time to tackle those great thick books. But, as you say, it's all a matter of opinion.

[Reenie29]

Not sure these are suitable Summer reads (on hols I usually read something trashy and instantly forgettable) but books I've really enjoyed and would recommend in no particular order are:

Loilita by Nabokov

End of the affair by Graham Greene

The God of small things by Arundhati Roy

Hunger by Knut Hamsun,

Generation X by Douglas Coupland

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Anything by Raymond Carver or Charles Bukowski

Wise Children by Angela Carter

Night Watch by Sarah Waters

The Van by Roddy Doyle

Hmmm...not exactly jolly reading these - to lighten things up a bit I'd recommend Marian Keyes - dead funny.

[Backdrifter]

I just want to say that despite a few minor disagreements this thread demonstrates the breadth of our interests. maxi29 may disagree, but if you scan down all the suggestions, it's quite a spectrum, from maxi's Odyssey through to someone else's Harry Potter. Yes there is a skewing towards work of the last 50 years, but I'm baffled that maxi is baffled by this. I think it's simply the normal run of things. Even Shakespeare got forgotten about until David Garrick revived interest in him about 150 years later. I'd love it if more people had recommended the books maxi listed, but I'm not too confused or perturbed that they didn't. There are some damn fine books listed on the thread regardless, and anyway I'm not sure confusedpink necessarily wanted a list of the "great novels" as such (but he/she will correct me if I'm wrong).

It is a shame though that people automatically think those books can't be summer reading, as though they must be read in some sort of oak-panelled atmosphere of reverence, or something; also, what a pity that someone recommending those books should be called a snob. And I'm sure maxi wasn't saying that books of non-English-language origin have to be read in the original!

[confusedpink]

When I decided to post this I wasn't particularily looking ofr 'summer' reads as it were. I was looking for the literature greats of the past... 5 centuries, shall we say! The bredth of the answers is wonderful. I bought 'To Kill A Mockingbird' today so the summer has begun! I think that although there are few foreign authors there was still Nabokov and Kafka I think! Keep sending in your suggestions, I have a vociferous appetite when it comes to books!

[Reenie29]

To add to that Knut Hamsun wrote in Norwegian but I was referring to the English translation...

[MarciaNZ5]

I'd go for "The Magic Circle" by Katherine Neville.
It's the one book I have that I will not lend again.
I learned the hard way, having to buy 4 copies in total, because borrowers liked it so much they never returned it.