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20 Books Everyone Should Read!


Nollaig

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1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

(Both of these for the reasons Andy stated above.)

3. 1984 by George Orwell

4. Animal Farm by George Orwell

5. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

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Top Posters In This Topic

1. Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird

2. Marjorie Blackman: Noughts and Crosses

3. Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice

4. Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre

5. Mark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

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Is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult extremely big hits in the UK or something? I have read To Kill A Mockingbird, and though it is a great book, there are other books that are really raw that hits on race, class, and morality. I have also read My Sister's Keeper and it is a very forgettable book. It reminded me of a book you would buy at a grocery store.

 

I will be kinda disappointed at the must reads for 2009 if To Kill A Mockingbird and My Sister's Keeper end up on the list again.

Edited by Ahsilet
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To Kill a Mockingbird would be the most well-known of the lot, I guess. And not just in the UK - it's popularity spreads right around the world.

 

Perhaps other people are the same as me and studied the book in high school. I'm pretty sure it gets a lot of exposure that way.

 

For me, all the elements of a great book come together in TKaM. Great characterisation and beautiful story-telling along with, obviously, the themes that you mentioned in your post, which I think are dealt with wonderfully.

 

What other similar books would you recommend?

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I've no idea what My Sister's Keeper is doing here, although I've not read it. Jodi Picoult is very popular in the UK, though, which might explain it.

 

To Kill A Mockingbird is actually a great book, but also lots of people will have read it at school meaning that it's more likely to get voted for.

 

You have to accept that there's inevitably, in a poll such as this, going to mostly be focus on the books that are most widely read. Not quite lowest common denominator, but certainly most wide-spread. You'll end up with best-sellers and stuff people read in school, I think, at the top of a poll like this, unless you deliberately only search out narrow groups of readers to do the voting. There's a reason Bohemian Rhapsody is always voted best song in Britain, and Lord of the Rings voted Britain's favourite book. It's not because they're the best (not by a long, long way), but because they're most widespread.

 

And, if it's "the books everyone should read", you would hope that the results are roughly similar from year to year.

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Well the general reason for this thread was that the old one got a bit confused. Some people were picking their own favourites which they might not recommend to others, others were trying to 'recommend' books that they thought they should, and so on. So this one, regardless of their reasons, is clearly books that people think everybody else should read.

 

To be honest, I agree with what you just said. But the general point of this is to get the average reader's view, as opposed to narrow groups. They know what the conditions are, if they choose to pick things like Jodi Picoult, well thats up to them. Notably its not 'best books' - theres a difference. While certain people will be tempted to say 'x shouldn't be here because -' as am I, x is perfectly entitled to be here even if its a load of ****, if its a book somebody thinks everybody should read.

 

I'm curious about whether the list will change too - but its not just that, I'm actually hoping for more definitive results this time, as last years were mostly 2 votes and 1 votes.

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I agree with all of that. I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing, it's just that you shouldn't expect a bunch of Carlos Castaneda and Albert Camus and Naguib Mahfouz or even James Joyce on a wide public vote.

 

I've read 1 Camus: The Outsider. Meh. It was OK. :lol:

 

If anyone else is like me, then James Joyce is one of those I'll get to 'eventually'. :D

Edited by Kylie
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I've given this a lot of thought and held off on posting, because I didn't know if the books I listed would be "right," or even what factors I should consider when deciding if it's a book I think EVERYONE should read. Finally, I stopped overanalyzing it and decided that, for me, the best list I could put out there was a list of stories that I think have the potential to teach some valuable life lessons to, or have an impact on, as many people as possible. So for better or worse, this is my list of the 5 books (in no order) I think can make a big impact on people regardless of genre preference, race, religion, age, gender, etc. :lol:

 

Fortune's Rocks -Anita Shreve

Great Expectations -Charles Dickens

A Thousand Splendid Suns -Khaled Hosseini

The Scarlet Letter -Nathaniel Hawthorne

Midwives -Chris Bohjalian

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I've read 1 Camus: The Outsider. Meh. It was OK. :lol:

 

If anyone else is like me, then James Joyce is one of those I'll get to 'eventually'. :D

 

Funnily, I've read one Camus (except the last 20 pages because it was stolen with my rucksack at a music festival). And it, too, was really a bit "meh". I was just picking intellectual sort of stuff when I was giving that list. Not stuff I think is any good but stuff that overwrought intellectuals claim is worthwhile or meaningful.

 

By the way, the surprise for me so far on this thread has been the lack of bible, and the lack of self-helpy or spiritual kinds of books. It's almost all novels.

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And I say: thank God. :D

 

I've read more Bible than my christian friends have. When I was a smartass kid I read the book of revelation, then went to school and asked when we were going to learn about that.

 

:lol:

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Learning about revelation properly is actually fascinating stuff. As long as you ignore the deranged nutters who think it's prophecy about to come true. It is, in fact, the ravings of an old man gone a bit mad because he's seen so much death - and it's the history of the destruction of the state of judaea and the death of the jewish nation during the wars of Vespasian after the revolt of 70AD and, eventually, the fall of Masada.

 

As I say, fascinating stuff because the history is actually spot on. And people who are deeply traumatised by war to tend to see their history also as apocalyptic prophecy.

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The Northern Lights triology. - Phillip Pullman. (Most read for anyone.)

The Davinci Code. - Dan Brown.

The power of five series. - Anthony Horowitz.

Twilight saga. - Stephenie Meyer.

Harry Potter series. - JK Rowling.

Edited by Ben
*I thought about it abit more.
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Funnily, I've read one Camus (except the last 20 pages because it was stolen with my rucksack at a music festival). And it, too, was really a bit "meh". I was just picking intellectual sort of stuff when I was giving that list. Not stuff I think is any good but stuff that overwrought intellectuals claim is worthwhile or meaningful.

 

Phew! I'm glad to hear you say that because I half expected to be hauled over the coals for it :lol: I have The Plague on my TBR pile, and I'll be interested to see if I enjoy it any more.

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Hmmm... interesting. I'd say:

 

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

2. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

4. Hamlet by Shakespeare

5. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

 

(Uber-classics all, and nicely spread through time and space, if I do say so myself. :lol:)

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Hmmm... this is tough! Here goes:

 

1. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

2. The Art Spirit - Robert Henri

3. Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

4. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

5. Ordinary People- Judith Guest

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Ok. This thread has been mocking me for far too long; I've wanted to add my five but figured they weren't really worthwhile. But here goes anyway :lol:

Twilight saga - Stephenie Meyer - I chose this for two reasons. Firstly, it's a favourite of mine, so I'm biased. Secondly, I think everyone knows it has such a huge hype around it and I think for someone to make a fair judgment, they need to read them first.

 

Harry Potter series - J.K Rowling - Pretty much exactly the same reason as above. It's a series that you can't go without reading. Even if you end up hating it, at least you'll have given them the chance.

 

The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - I wouldn't say this is a favourite of mine or even one that had a huge impact, rather that I feel it has the potential to be that for someone else. If that makes sense? It's definitely thought provoking and moving but also has some essential life lessons within the pages. A huge page turner too.

For One More Day - Mitch Albom - Again, same as above. The moral of the story is probably evident from reading the blurb and the name of the book. Very easy to read but with huge implications and meanings, it's another 'must' for me.

 

Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman - I'm going purely on my own personal experience with this book as I don't actually know anyone who has read this. It had such a huge impact on me and it's a firm favourite. It's not easy to read as it deals with difficult issues but the story between the two main characters is beautiful so it almost 'balances' out. This book inspired me to write and I really can't recommened it enough.

 

I'm pretty sure the top two will be a popular choice and that doesn't surprise me one bit, they are clear MUST reads for everyone. I know the last three won't make the top twenty but I'm hoping anyone who reads this post will think about giving them a go. :D

 

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I cant think of my 5 books i think people should read right now but i do know of one book i read a few years ago which has stayed with me and i never hear anyone speaking about it so i shall mention it now - Remember me - Lesley Pearce It is based on a true story and i think thats why it stayed with me more than if it was completely fiction.

 

The blurb on the back cover is::lol:

Cornwall, 1786, and twenty yeear old Mary Broad is to be transported to Australia...

Mary is a mariner's daughter who makes the biggest mistake of her short life when she steals a silk hat from a passer-by. Soon she's sent far from home across cruel seas - and it will take all her courage to survive both the horrific conditions aboard ship and the unknown country that awaits her. But Mary is determined to make something of herself in the hope that, one day, she will return...

Based on a true story, remember me brings Mary Broad vividly to life in this moving tale of a woman triumphing against overwhelming odds.

 

 

Well i enjoyed it and just thought it bring it to attention of anyone interested, it left me with the feeling i could overcome anything (when focused) :D

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Here is my humble submission. After 1, which tops the list, 2-20 are in no particular order:

 

1. Ulysses, Joyce

2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce

3. Moby Dick, Melville

4. Metamorphosis, Kafka

5. Collected Fictions, Borges

6. Gulliver's Travels, Swift

7. The Name of the Rose, Eco

8. Don Quixote, Cervantes

9. Pale Fire, Nabokov

10. Nineteen-Eight-Four, Orwell

11. Brave New World, Huxley

12. Hamlet, Shakespeare

13. The Man Without Qualities, Musil

14. Heart of Darkness, Conrad

15. The Captive Mind, Milosz

16. The Complete Short Stories, Hemingway

17. Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais

18. The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner

19. Wuthering Heights, Bronte

20. Frankenstein, Shelley

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