Guest Gym Teacher Man Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Into the Wild - Jon KrakauerTo Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kimcatch22 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Franny and Zooey / J.D. SalingerThe Things They Carried / Tim O'BrienA Rumor of War / Philip CaputoThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas AdamsA Tale of Two Cities / Charles Dickens Honorable mention to O'Brien's If I Die in a Combat Zone, which fills in some of the gaps in TTTC. And also to anything Salinger wrote, ever. Speaking of Salinger, I'm curious how many of you who listed Catcher in the Rye have read any of his other stuff. Specifically his stories about the Glass family. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IATTBYB Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Paddle to the Sea - HollingI LOVE this book. I read it over and over as a kid. I gave it to my two nephews who were born in Georgia and are now living in Northern VA, just to make sure that they have an appreciation for the Great Lakes. They love it too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 A Tale of Two Cities / Charles Dickens I've tried to like this book, but to me, it reads like a text book. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Of the stuff I truly loved, these are the five that spring to mind. Snow Crash - Neal StephensonA Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy TooleVineland - Thomas PynchonTypical - Padgett Powell (story collection)Still Life With Woodpecker - Tom Robbins Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I LOVE this book. I read it over and over as a kid. I gave it to my two nephews who were born in Georgia and are now living in Northern VA, just to make sure that they have an appreciation for the Great Lakes. They love it too.Coolio.I have no idea how well-known this book is. I inherited my copy from my father, and it's a perfect balance of story + art + maps... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Someday that will hit me the right way and I'll read it (tried twice). I haven't tried in about 6 years, but when I originally tried reading that book, I absolutely could not get through it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Preferred B Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I'd have to give this more thought, but I'm pretty sure one that's been mentioned here a lot would be on my list: Life of Pi - Yann Martel Also, The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy Stay tuned for the other 3. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 here are the first 5 that popped in: 1. anna karenina - tolstoy2. childhood, boyhood, youth - tolstoy3. owen meany - irving4. metroland - barnes5. the wilco book just kidding on #5. I am 500 pages into Infinite jest, and I am keeping a seat warm for it. I noticed not much tolstoy in this thread. Is this because folks have read him and don't like him or haven't read him? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Infinite Jest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NightOfJoy Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yeah, forgot "Blood Meridian"...that one rocks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I forgot about In Cold Blood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I forgot about To Kill a Mockingbird.One of the few great books that also made a great movie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I forgot about In Cold Blood.Yeah, that could have been on my list. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Griddles Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 The Tipping Point - Malcom Gladwell I have read it out 15 times since I was 13.after the quake - Haruki MurakamiHitchhikers Guide - Douglass AdamsThem - Joyce Carol OatsSatanic Verses - RushdieThe Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith Also everything by Phillip Roth, Vonnegut, and Salinger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
isadorah Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 1. Lady Chatterly's Lover * D.H. Lawrence 2. The World According to Garp * John Irving 3. The Poisonwood Bible * Barbara Kingsolver 4. Lord of the Rings * Tolkein 5. The Harry Potter series * JK Rowling not to sound sexist, but I wonder how many folks that listed Confederacy of Dunces are guys and how many folks that listed The Poisonwood Bible are girls. and i noticed no one listed Ulysses which is supposed to be the book of all books on those top lists. curious. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redpillbox Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 My list: 1. East of Eden - Steinbeck...epic in every way. 2. Ragtime - E.L. Doctorow...wrote my undergrad thesis on this book, much like the "Things They Carried" in that it addresses the nature of storytelling and fiction. 3. The Fountainhead - Rand...Read this in high school during the rebellious years, reread it years later thinking that I would find the philosophy ridiculous and it was still powerfully resonant. 4. To Kill A Mockingbird - Lee...the great American novel? 5. Timequake - Kurt Vonnegut...Love Vonnegut and this reads like he was throwing it all in, the summation of his life, his philosophies...it reads like he knew it was going to be his last book (novel), which it was. honorable mentions: Fahrenheit 451 - Bradbury...don't know how many have read this since high school, but the man predicted reality television in 1952...that's insane. Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 You know, this thread is just making me realize how little i've read over the past few years, and I think this is the reason I feel like my writing is getting worse and I'm getting dumber. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 You know, this thread is just making me realize how little i've read over the past few years, and I think this is the reason I feel like my writing is getting worse and I'm getting dumber.You'll snap out of it - you're supposed to be dumb in college. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
M. (hristine Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 So many of the books listed could be in my top 5 as well, so I'm going to add a few that haven't shown up: Out of Africa ~ Isak DinesenFall On Your Knees ~ Ann-Marie McDonaldIn Watermelon Sugar ~ Richard BrautiganSiddhartha ~ Herman HesseSometimes A Great Notion ~ Ken KeseyEasy Travel To Other Planets ~ Ted Mooney And two 'children's' books: Goodnight Moon ~ Margaret Wise BrownThe Little Prince ~ Antoine de Saint-Exup Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 You know, this thread is just making me realize how little i've read over the past few years, and I think this is the reason I feel like my writing is getting worse and I'm getting dumber.I always took a literature class as electives throughout school to avoid that feeling. Text books don't substitute for good reading. My favorite was a Native American Literature course - Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdich, etc. One of the best, or most memorable, classes I took. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NightOfJoy Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 "The Bingo Palace" by Erdich was pretty good Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I always took a literature class as electives throughout school to avoid that feeling. Text books don't substitute for good reading. My favorite was a Native American Literature course - Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdich, etc. One of the best, or most memorable, classes I took. Love Medicine (1984)The Beet Queen (1986)Tracks (1988) (I recall this was a heck of a wait.) The Bingo Palace (1994) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RaspberryJam Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Ohhh. Handmaids Tale was really good. That was one of the first adultish books I read. Out of Africa has been on my list for a long time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MattZ Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I have started Prayer ay least 3 times and never finished it. Dunno. I know what you mean. I think it's just one of those books you have to finish if you want to have any hope of getting it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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