Exemplary Literature: The Best Books You'd Recommend Others to Read

Don't forget to thank me in 30 or 40 years.

 

Night - Elie Wiesel

 

I don't really remember any authors but :

World War Z
Alas, Babylon
Babbitt

And there's this book of Steven King short stories that I can't remember the name off....something about a bullet train I think.

 

Wow, lot of Randy folks on here.

A few from me...

Any Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Tom and Huck by Twain

Lincoln and Burr by Gore Vidal

Absalom, Absalom! by Faulkner

The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols (so much better than the movie)

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (so much better than Broadway)

Any poem by Tennyson

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky

The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

The Count of Monte Cristo by A. Dumas (better than the movies)

History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

 

I just have to shake my head at some of the books mentioned. Catcher in the Rye is one I've seen mentioned twice and it just makes me shake my head. I read that book and afterwards caught myself sitting in my room wondering...."why didn't I just put it down". That was a day of my life I will never get back. Thank god it was a short book. The main character had all of this stored up angst and I just kept waiting for something monumentally bad to happen and the worst thing is that he leaves his school.

Another book to avoid like the plague is the Metamorphosis. I kept waiting for this deep hidden meaning that never happened. I mean Franz Kafka must have been on drugs when he dreamed up that book. Really...a whole story about a guy that turns into a damn bug for no apparent reason? No explanation and yet this is suppose to be such a great book.

"Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit" are great stories IMO but I just could not get into the writing style.

As for books that have left me wanting more? Lets start with Terry Brooks, Sword of Shannara. Yes it was (and Terry Brooks admits this) heavily influenced by the Lord of the Rings but with a little different writing style that I could not put down. I have read almost all of Terry Brooks’s books and think he is an awesome story teller and his books always leave me wanting more.

"The Last Testaments of Lucky Luciano", If you like anything about the mob you will love this book about this country's toughest Godfather of all time (Charles Luciano). It's long but worth it and yes it's better than watching the Soprano’s or the Godfather even though I loved the series and the movie. But then again I have always been intrigued by mob books and movies.

Another Biography that I read cover to cover with out stopping is "No One Here Gets Out Alive". Its about the life of Jim Morrison for those who have never heard of it. Regardless if you like rock n roll you will enjoy this book if you like reading about an extremely talented man turn his life into a complete train wreck...and develop a cult like following.

As far as classic books go L'Morte de Aurther is about King Aurther for those that do not already know. This book requires a little patience if you have not read anything with that particular writing style. It took me a couple of days of picking it up and putting it down before I became hooked but then I could not put it down. Very complex story but well worth the investment of time it required from me to read it.

 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Better by Atul Gawande.

Complications by Atul Gawande.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

 

That book is all rah-rah and no good substance. I think it's a good book for people who don't already have the will power to save and live below their means. It might motivate them into doing better. For others, it doesn't tell them anything mind blowing. No details. Save a lot. Invest in real estate and stocks. Very generic.

 

A couple by Tom Wolfe
-A Man in Full
-Bonfire of the Vanities
*Both have some great takes on race relations: one in NYC, the other in the "New" South.

Shadow by Bob Woodward - Regrettably this is the only thing I've read by him. It basically goes through the 21-year history of the Independent Counsel (1978 - 1999) and all their different investigations of Presidential administrations. Good examination of the intersection between politics, the press and the law.

The professor for my non-fiction lit requirement at U of H had us read childhood memoirs. Would recommend all of them, but in order:
-Liar's Club - Mary Kay Karr
-This Boy's Life - Tobias Wolff
-Colored People: A Memoir - Henry Louis "Skip" Gates
-An American Childhood - Annie Dillard


Just about anything by David Sedaris has me on the floor. His books are supposed to be autobiographical; but he's admitted that alot of the info is embellished.

Low Brow Non-Fiction Humor
-Happy Hour is for Amateurs - by Philadelphia Lawyer
-How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Toby Young

 

Oh, and Loser Takes All, by Ed Fowler. Probably the only thing that ever was, or ever will be, written about the Houston Oilers.

 

Which is mostly everybody in today's society, although the recession has hopefully smacked some sense into people.

I've personally never had a problem with overspending, but my dad insisted I read that book a few years ago when I was on the verge of moving out and becoming financially independent. It didn't change my outlook on things because they were mostly already set in that direction, but I can see how it would greatly affect many people and that's why I suggest it. There are a bunch of people in my life who live beyond their means and it's going to catch up with them.

Which is why it's good for a lot of people who don't have a foundation in the principles of long or even short-term saving. It will lead them in the right direction without overwhelming them with any kind of complicated saving program or investing techniques.

I would also suggest Automatic Millionaire as a follow-up. While it also has its fair share of anecdotes, it mainly focuses on paying yourself first, and contributing to IRA's, 401Ks and 403b's. That might seem elementary, and it really should be, but again...most people aren't saving like they should be and many of them just need to be pointed in the right direction.

 

Metamorphosis is poorly written...but it has been given fame due to the fact that it is one of the foundations of existentialism. It's also pretty powerful for those who have experienced sudden alienation (the best example I can think of is someone coming out of the closet) and it's filled with Freudian symbolism (for the kind of people who are interested in that whole school of thought) but other then that, if you don't subscribe to the whole "world is random and we are insignificant" shtick, then you're probably better off with something else.

Might as well add another book...

Life of Pi-Yann Martel

 

books suck. read the D&D if you want some good fiction.

 

The Space Odyssey series by Arthur C Clarke.

 

I guess there is nothing wrong with a thinking book for some, but when they are boring there just seems like no point. I'm the same with movies.

My ex wife talked me into watching "My Left Foot". I understand the whole storie about a man that learns to live within his limitations and that the movie won all these awards...but damn could they have mixed in a little entertainment.

I guess that might make me a little simple but I prefer a book or movie that is just good entertainment to one with some deep hidden meaning. I once started reading a book by L. Ron Hubberd. I picked it up and put it down for about a week before I finally purchased myself a dictionary so I could understand some of the words he was using. After a few more days I just gave up, not because of the words I was forced to look up but because the damn thing was just so boring! I did not feel the book moving my soul plus I was bored.

 

L'Eau des collines (also titled as Manon des sources) - Marcel Pagnol
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
To Live - Yu Hua

 

Some (relatively) recent favorites:

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - Probably the best novel I've ever read.
The Road - Cormac McCarthy - A dark story
Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
The Dew Breaker - Edwidge Danticat - Recently finished this, and thought it was great.

 

I think reading novels is a waste of time. Really, what do you get out of it? Movies are much more fun, you get to see the action and listen to the loud sound.

But some novels that I have read and enjoyed

1. The Pearl
2. Passing
3. The Chosen

 

I just read that story the other day. I think that it was Riding the Bullet. There was a collection of short stories with that one that were all pretty good.

 

I couldn't agree more. I just didn't get it.

 

For non fiction memoirs, I really liked Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man by Frank McCourt who just died.