I'd put the following as Must Reads
Catch 22
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Watchmen (yeah ok so its not a typical book)
Its not about the bike
Touching the Void
Three men in a boat (not in the same league as the others but a personal favourite)
Albert Camus--The Outsider.Existentialism at its best
The Outsider - last book I read which was very good
My must read is almost certainly "If This Is A Man/The Truce" by Primo Levi. Read only once, but the most powerful book I've ever read, and one that you really should read before your last breath.
for an oz flavor.
Hell West and crooked - tom Cole
a fortunate life - a b facey
The goldfields journal by cannibal jack 1851-1853
I recently read "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens.
It wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be.
That's my coat by the door thanks-
Maybe not must read, but a favourite of mine - Shogun by James Clavells.
KT1973, I wouldn't worry about it, I find Dickens interminably boring. Willing to accept it's me though, not him...
Stalingrad by anthony beevor, incredible true story of the battle that turned the course of WWII.
Dickens! Boring, What?
It's a very long list of books that made a lasting impression / I can read repeatedly but off the top of my head they'd include:
"If not now, when?" [i]Primo Levi[/i].
"Crime & Punishment" [i]Dostoevsky[/i].
"Love in the Time of Cholera" [i]Gabriel García Márquez[/i]
"Catch 22" [i]Joseph Heller[/i]
"The Metamorphosis" [i]Franz Kafka[/i]
"Germinal" [i]Zola[/i]
"Midnight's Children" [i]Salman Rushdie[/i]
And then maybe I'd say that the Rabbit books by Updike are worth a read, The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner was also memorable. As others have mentioned though, it's very difficult to argue that any book is a 'must read'; interpretations are so subjective - where, when and why you're reading a book I reckon is important, I still can't get on with Austin and Elliot having being forced to trawl through them during college for example.
I guess the Koran and the Bible might fall into the category of 'must read' though not necessarily for literary reasons...
Favourite book of all time? Either the Iliad or The Decameron.
totally out there, i would suggest trying Sophocles or Euripidies, maybe Plato, they aren't always the easiest read but what you learn is that in 2,500 years nothing has really changed. Our lives for all our progress are as petty as they have always been. You also learn how few stories there are. If you are willing to read something a little odder try Gilgamesh. It is where stories began.
God Remained Outside....by Genevieve de Gaulle Anthonioz (De Gaulle's niece). An inspirational book on her survival from Ravensbruck concentration camp.Only 40 pages long and small enough to fit in your pocket you will not want to put it down once you start....I defy you not to read it at least twice (IMO).
Earth Abides by Gearge Stewart
Swine flu ?
Earth Abides, a 1949 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Berkeley English professor George R. Stewart, tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and its rebirth. Beginning in the United States in the 1940s, it deals with Isherwood (Ish) Williams, Emma, and the community they founded. The survivors live off the remains of the old world, while learning to adapt to the new. Along the way they are forced to make tough decisions and choose what kind of civilization they will rebuild.
Everyone should read a Shakespearean tragedy...
Why? I can see that for his time he's peerless and his work has had immeasurable influence on those who've followed, but personally I'd struggle to sit and read one.
Surprised anyone would choose Stephen King as an 'only book'. Good writing but do you re-read them finding something new??
Just finished 'First Light' by Geoffrey Wellum, his experiences of being a 19 year old Spitfire pilot in WW2.
Inspiring stuff and makes me realise how ****less I was aged 19 in comparison!
THe other must reads in our house at the moment are 'The Happy Waving Game', 'See The Pretty Flowers' and all the other In The Night Garden books. And 'That's not my fairy' is fairly popular too. 🙂
Bill Tilman's sailing/mountaineering books are very good. make you want to get out there in a small boat.
Anything by Bruce Chatwin especially In Patagonia.
Fair point deadlydarcy.
Must reads then:
still most fo the Steinbeck cannon
lord of the flies
catch 22
cathcer in the rye
to kill a mockingbird
1984
I notice when listing them that these are all 20th century classics and I've read alot of others but if I could only read these books again I think I could cope.
you can keep shakespeare.
Lister, lol.
Don't forget the very hungry caterpillar and the tiger who came to tea. These are literally MUST reads in our house at the moment.
Most often read book would be Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
Best as opossed to most enjoyed was Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T E Lawrence. The paralels between then and now is amazing.
Catcher in the Rye and As I walked out one morning my favourites.
Glue by Irvine Welsh was a good one.
Couldn't put it down in fact
Dickens boring? Dickens was the daddy. Later stuff is gripping: Great Expectations, Bleak House, David Copperfield. They were serialised weekly or monthly so he had to include regular cliffhangers: doof doof moments.
Must-read books for me would include On Liberty and Utilitarianism by JS Mill. And Leviathan by Hobbes.
Irvine Welsh - Marabou Stork Nightmares
I'm not big on classics, but a Steinbeck should sort you out...Heart of Darkness, perhaps.
Obviously not big on Steinbeck either, that's by Joseph Conrad 🙂 Have you read The Secret Agent?
I'm encouraged to see so much mention of Steinbeck here, as he's my favourite author. Here are the first lines of Cannery Row:
[b]Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, "whores, pimps, gamblers and sons of bitches," by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, "Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men" and he would have meant the same thing.[/b]
Who wouldn't want to read about that?
The must read Steinbeck is East of Eden in my opinion. It seems to combine the technical brilliance of The Grapes of Wrath and the humanity and characters of Cannery Row. The character of Sam Hamilton, Steinbecks grandfather, is simply marvellous.
I would also recommend One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It describes a single day spent in the Gulag system of Stalinist Russia. The author was imprisoned for many years by Stalin, giving a special credence to the writing. Far from being depressing, I found the book to be a truly uplifting story about man's innovative skills and will to survive
I also think Brave New World is well worth a read, horribly prophetic, I prefer it to 1984.
Steinbeck is just brilliant in every way it's great to know he is so popular.
If this is a man, I can't see how it couldn't be top of the list of "must reads" a truly remarkable book and essential reading.
steinbecktrackworld?
The God Delusion- Richard Dawkins
I've read a few of his books. It's impossible to argue with the guy.
+1 for The Road, McCarthy is a brilliant writer!
Some of my other favourites:
1984
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Dice Man
+1 for Its Not About The Bike
Stephen King - IT, blew me away when I was a kid
Bernard Hare - Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew, superb and it shouldn't be happening on our door step
As stated all depends on your mood... Don't even know if I could narrow it to a must read book
I love Tom Clancy books for a no thinking read.
I'm also enjoying some biographies/life stories. Clearly "It's not about the bike" is up there. Ellen MacArthur's "Taking on the World" is another great read. Fiennes "Living Dangerously", "Eastern Approaches" by Fitzroy Maclean etc.
Berlin and Stalingrad by Antony Beevor are frightening for the death and destruction described.
Randomnly I enjoyed Marley and Me and Life of Pi too.
Fatal Storm by Rob Mundle is another good book.
Just so many out there. Maybe "Touching the Void" is my must read book; such raw emotions.
Tunes of Glory by James Kennaway aswell
In short no single answer but lots of thoughts after other peoples posts here
Wow I love reading people's opinions on books! I read loads, library is great as if it's pants you aren't so bothered about not finishing it!
Steinbec k - Of Mice and Men
John Boyne - Boy in the striped pyjamas
Iain Pears - An instance at the fingerpost.
Jon Krakow - Into thin Air (about everest disaster in 80's).
I read The Road and wasn't that impressed found it a bit dull to be honest! Some good suggestions though that I'm going to get out of the library. The above is jus a snippet I could list loads more!!!
Great Apes by Will Self deserves a mention.
And personally I can't relate to anyone that doesn't love Douglas Adams.
Graham Greene also highly recommended.
I love reading too.
Must read? The Highway Code.
Books/authors I love? Terry Pratchett's Disclworld series.
Orson Scott Card: Enders Game, Speaker for the Dead ( Enders Saga)
All of the Shadow Saga
All of the Home coming saga
[url= http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=2884 ]Must read.[/url] 8)
Best book ever. The Secret History by Donna Tartt.
Best series of books. The Patrick O'Brian novels. But they have to be read in the right order.
Oh, and to add to the Steinbeck stuff above, The Grapes Of Wrath is the most powerful novel I think I've ever read. Cannery Row is excellent. I've tried East of Eden a couple of times though, but just can't get into it. Is it worth perservering with?
The Warhound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock. Probably not as "intellectual" as many of the above but it works for me.
[i]It's impossible to argue with the guy.[/i]
Actually it's pretty easy. He's a self-opinionated fool. I probably am too mind you.
I'm currently reading Bill Bryson's Complete Notes (Notes from a Small Island and Notes from the Big Country). Laugh out loud funny and an entertaining look at life.
Agree about Bill Bryson being a good read and very funny, the only one of his that i've read that was abit disappointing was the one about australia, the rest are very good.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawlins has been life changing for me, I was an athiest anyway, his book turned me into a Fundamentalist Athiest, if there is such a thing!
The Earth chronicles by Zecharia Sitchin are a good read, 5 books in total and totally, totally mad stuff about aliens/god/ancient history, all nuts but far more beleivable than the bible imo, and a better read!
I've tried East of Eden a couple of times though, but just can't get into it. Is it worth perservering with?
Yes, depending on how far in you get. The fireworks don't really start until the Trask brothers meet up to discuss their fathers legacy. Dickens can be similar in format, where nothing much happens for a few hundred pages, then suddenly all of the plots and characters he's laid the groundwork for become fascinating.
Sunset Song - Lewis Grassic Gibbon
The Escape Artist - Matt Seaton
Psychovertical - Andy KirkPatrick
Spook Country - William Gibson
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
Gravitys Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson (currently reading Anathem which I'm enjoying)
Hmmm, not sure about ‘must reads', as I have my own favourite authors and books that I can keep going back to, and very few would be classed as classics or must reads, and I've not read any of the supposed classics like Steinbeck, but there are some I continually go back to that I would recommend as 'should reads'.
[i]The Lovely Bones[/i], by Alice Sebold, a heartbreaking story of the rape and murder of a little girl, whos' trapped spirit watches over her damaged and grieving family, and the monster who killed her. Curiously uplifting as well, I love the book, but I have to leave long periods between reads.
[i]When The Lights Go Out[/i], by Tanith Lee. I have read and re-read this book countless times, and now have a hardback copy to replace my almost deciduous paperback. A modern take on pagan ideas of sacrifice and rebirth set in an out-of-season South Coast town, wonderful characters, well written and haunting, I just love this book for it's utter Englishness and sense of place.
Bill Bryson-every home should have a collection of his books, funny, educational, and endlessly entertaining.
William Gibson-the man who invented cyberspace and cyberpunk, his latest books are indefinable, a kind of modern techno-noir writing that cannot be categorised but are describing a near future world that is happening as you read; [i]Spook Country[/i] writes about Augmented Reality from a couple of years back that is already happening via the iPhone, for example.
HOUSE OF LEAVES
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Danielewski's eccentric and sometimes brilliant debut novel is really two novels, hooked together by the Nabokovian trick of running one narrative in footnotes to the other. One-the horror story-is a tour-de-force. Zampano, a blind Angelino recluse, dies, leaving behind the notes to a manuscript that's an account of a film called The Navidson Report. In the Report, Pulitzer Prize-winning news photographer Will Navidson and his girlfriend move with their two children to a house in an unnamed Virginia town in an attempt to save their relationship. One day, Will discovers that the interior of the house measures more than its exterior. More ominously, a closet appears, then a hallway. Out of this intellectual paradox, Danielewski constructs a viscerally frightening experience. Will contacts a number of people, including explorer Holloway Roberts, who mounts an expedition with his two-man crew. They discover a vast stairway and countless halls. The whole structure occasionally groans, and the space reconfigures, driving Holloway into a murderous frenzy. The story of the house is stitched together from disparate accounts, until the experience becomes somewhat like stumbling into Borges's Library of Babel. This potentially cumbersome device actually enhances the horror of the tale, rather than distracting from it. The second story unfolding in footnotes, is that of the manuscript's editor, (and the novel's narrator), Johnny Truant. Johnny, who discovered Zampano's body and took his papers, works in a tattoo parlor. He tracks down and beds most of the women who assisted Zampano in preparing his manuscript. But soon Johnny is crippled by panic attacks, bringing him close to Psychosis.
'must-read' is nigh on impossible to justify - what one person takes from reading a book is just that - a personal experience, and without wanting to criticise the other posters on here, the most commonly quoted works do little for me. I can see the importance of Shakespeare, Steinbeck, et al, but can't say I personally got pleasure from reading them - to be frank, it often felt like a chore, or something I should have been doing - does this make me a pleb?
One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn
Novel with cocaine by Agayev
The difference engine by Gibson/Sterling
The new men by CP Snow
anything by Primo Levi
Which Steinbeck books did you read Mitch? Most commonly people have read The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice And Men. I don't think they really represent the joy of his work. If you can, search out Tortilla Flat, which is hilarious. And not liking his work doesn't make you a pleb 🙂
aP, I've never read anything by Primo Levi, what would you recommend?
