Books to read b4 you die.........

1984 by George Orwell, it's a book that changed our World I believe and coined more than a few words/phrases.
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - enjoy for the story or read a little bit deeper for a savage critique of society.
Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - they aren't complicated books but very enjoyable.
Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - an excellent story considering the duality of human nature, you could read most of RLS's books though and enjoy them.
White Fang by Jack London - powerful story about a wolf.
The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan - great yarn about a spy, ignore the slight racist connotations to some phrases and accept that they were a part of the time.
Around The World In 80 Days by Jules Verne - foolishness, daring, triumph all in one book.
Lanark by Alisdair Gray - breathtaking vision, amazing, a novel in four parts as it says and what parts they are.

I've missed some obvious ones and I've included some that are perhaps less known or less accomplished than others but they are all books I've enjoyed.

//edit for more books.

The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - it's simply a great satire.
The Three Muskateers by Alexandre Dumas
Othello by Shakespeare - you should read at least one of his and it might as well be this one.
Watership Down by Richard Adams - more than the sum of its parts, for a childrens novel it is remarkably hard hitting.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - great science fiction.
Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi - the book that Goodfellas was based upon
The Godfather Trilogy by Mario Puzo - an epic, need I say more.

I could probably go on all morning but realistically I'd say just get reading, if you allow yourself to read widely enough you'll enjoy books that I wouldn't even think to suggest.
 
Last edited:
NokkonWud said:
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Click to expand...

Or 'Books that double as bricks'. :p Got this sitting on my desk and after spending about 3 months tackling The Brothers Karamazov I'm sticking to some 300 pagers for a bit. :p

Coincidentally, I haven't read the widest range of books but of those which I have:

The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Animal Farm - George Orwell (Most people say 1984 but this is just as good if less relevant now).
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
 
Stay Alive All Your Life - Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Have no idea what it's about but with a title like that it's gotta be high in the list of books to read before you die. Could come in handy.
 
PinkFloyd said:
Haven't read any of them. No real desire to read them either.
I can remember starting to read the first one and got bored.
Click to expand...

I've not read any of them and don't intend to, I think the post can be interpreted a couple of ways but the way I chose to read it was that if you hadn't read them by the age of 13 you probably shouldn't bother. Likely to be the opposite of what Rebellius meant but nevermind.
 
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas. Feels like it goes on a little longer than it really should, but it is an enveloping and enjoyable read. A proper classic IMO.
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Justice, morality, mortality. A fantastic breakdown of the human psyche.
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy. A sophisticated novel (regarded by Tolstoy as his first, though it followed War & Peace) depicting an adulterous woman in a particularly strict and formal society.
LotR - JRR Tolkien. Quite simply the best book ever written. The depth and breadth of the world created by Tolkien (for which a good level of understanding through reading the Silmarillion is required to fully appreciate) is still wondrous to me now, on my 10th or 11th visit to the book.
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde. The original witty dandy, poet, novelist, philosopher and homo.
Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus - Mary Shelley. I never expected to be saddened by the plight of a monster, but I certainly was in this one.

[edit]BTW I wouldn't knock the Harry Potter books. I thought they were brilliant and would recommend them to anyone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom