10 to read before the apocalypse?

pauline fayne · 06-05-2009 06:27AM

Madame Bovary- Flaubert
To kill a mocking bird- Harper Lee
Amongst Women- John Mc Gahern
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
The woman who walked into doors - Roddy Doyle
Star of the sea - Joseph O' Connor
Jude the obscure - Thomas Hardy
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne -Brian Moore
The End of the world (and other stories)-Bryan Mc Mahon
Paradise -Toni Morrison

GalwayGunner · 06-05-2009 08:10AM

1. High Fidelity :: Nick Hornby
Utterly brilliant book. For any guy who’s even been in a breakup this book maps out every type of girlfriend you’ve ever had. The little introspections and views he has are just hilarious. Read it loads of times – would definitely recommend it.

2. LOTR :: JRR Tolkien
Epic novels. Worth reading alone to get a tiny glimpse of the entire worlds Tolkien created to tell his story. First one can drag a bit at the start but persevere – it’ll be well worth it.

3. 1984 :: George Orwell
Read this a few times but the first time I read it was around 2003 when the U.S. were stampeding towards Iraq and anyone who presented an alternative viewpoint or questioned Bush & Co’s intentions were labeled ‘unpatriotic’ and accused of ‘not supporting the troops’ and considering that it truly was amazing how a book written 60-70 years ago could still be so relevant today. Brilliant read – really gets you thinking.

4. Animal Farm :: George Orwell
A really simple story hiding some seriously complex issues. Very thinly veiled attack on communism. Genius in its simplicity.

5. The Shining :: Stephen King
Do you know the episode of Friends when Joey is reading this book and stores it in the freezer when he’s not reading it because it scares him so much? Yeah you may have laughed then but if you read this book you really understand how he felt!! Scares the bejaysus out of you. Loved every page though ;-)

6. To Kill A Mockingbird :: Harper Lee
Fantastic story, beautifully told. Brilliant characters that really get you involved in the plot. A must read.

7. Dogs Of War :: Frederick Forsyth
I love all of Forsyth’s books but for some reason this book stands out. About a mercenary who’s been hired to stage a rebellion in a small African state so a corporation can mine its resources – great story.

8. Fatherland :: Robert Harris
The plot of this book is very good but it’s the setting of a post WW2 Nazi controlled world that Harris paints that is the most amazing thing about it.

9. Short History Of Nearly Everything :: Bill Bryson
This book was written for people who just didn’t bother listening to science lessons in school and spent the rest of time since thinking about what they might have missed. Bryson is a fantastic writer – he breaks down what should be really complex stuff and makes it all very readable and really really interesting.

10. Angels & Demons/Da Vinci Code :: Dan Brown
Gonna get slagged for adding these books (I know its 2 books but they are pretty much the same story just different setting). You may dismiss them because they may not be the most literally brilliant of books but you have to admit for sheer entertainment they are fantastic stories that are really hard to put down. Just good fun.

11. Different Seasons :: Stephen King
4 novellas/short stories in one book. Proof that King can do so much more that cheap horror. Brilliant short stories that have led to films such as ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Apt Pupil’ – fantastic read.

Yeah I know that's 11 but it was hard enough shortening it down to just that!
Brilliant thread by the way - always looking for recommendations for good books so this should keep me busy for a while!!

Denerick · 09-05-2009 04:24PM

Rob Roy (Walter Scott)
Point Counter Point (Alduous Huxley)
Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
Snow (Orhan Pamuk)
Lord of the Rings (Do I need to spell his name out?)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Fever Pitch (Nick Hornby)
Kane and Abel (I'll defend Jeffry Archer's good name till my last breath

)

Just off the top of my head...

turgon · 09-05-2009 05:47PM

No 1984 Denerick?

Denerick · 09-05-2009 06:29PM

turgon wrote: »

No 1984 Denerick?

Read it too long ago to include. I don't think one truly grasps the subject matter at 13 years old...

greendom · 09-05-2009 06:46PM

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
1984 George Orwell
Weaveworld - Clive Barker
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Collector - John Fowles
Indecent Exposure - Tom Sharpe
Hitchiker's Guide to the calaky - Douglas Adams
Perfume - Patrick Suskind
His Dark materials - Philip Pulamn

turgon · 09-05-2009 06:59PM

You should read it again! Amazing stuff

postalservice · 10-05-2009 12:04AM

GalwayGunner wrote: »

1. High Fidelity :: Nick Hornby
Utterly brilliant book. For any guy who’s even been in a breakup this book maps out every type of girlfriend you’ve ever had. The little introspections and views he has are just hilarious. Read it loads of times – would definitely recommend it.

2. LOTR :: JRR Tolkien
Epic novels. Worth reading alone to get a tiny glimpse of the entire worlds Tolkien created to tell his story. First one can drag a bit at the start but persevere – it’ll be well worth it.

3. 1984 :: George Orwell
Read this a few times but the first time I read it was around 2003 when the U.S. were stampeding towards Iraq and anyone who presented an alternative viewpoint or questioned Bush & Co’s intentions were labeled ‘unpatriotic’ and accused of ‘not supporting the troops’ and considering that it truly was amazing how a book written 60-70 years ago could still be so relevant today. Brilliant read – really gets you thinking.

4. Animal Farm :: George Orwell
A really simple story hiding some seriously complex issues. Very thinly veiled attack on communism. Genius in its simplicity.

5. The Shining :: Stephen King
Do you know the episode of Friends when Joey is reading this book and stores it in the freezer when he’s not reading it because it scares him so much? Yeah you may have laughed then but if you read this book you really understand how he felt!! Scares the bejaysus out of you. Loved every page though ;-)

6. To Kill A Mockingbird :: Harper Lee
Fantastic story, beautifully told. Brilliant characters that really get you involved in the plot. A must read.

7. Dogs Of War :: Frederick Forsyth
I love all of Forsyth’s books but for some reason this book stands out. About a mercenary who’s been hired to stage a rebellion in a small African state so a corporation can mine its resources – great story.

8. Fatherland :: Robert Harris
The plot of this book is very good but it’s the setting of a post WW2 Nazi controlled world that Harris paints that is the most amazing thing about it.

9. Short History Of Nearly Everything :: Bill Bryson
This book was written for people who just didn’t bother listening to science lessons in school and spent the rest of time since thinking about what they might have missed. Bryson is a fantastic writer – he breaks down what should be really complex stuff and makes it all very readable and really really interesting.

10. Angels & Demons/Da Vinci Code :: Dan Brown
Gonna get slagged for adding these books (I know its 2 books but they are pretty much the same story just different setting). You may dismiss them because they may not be the most literally brilliant of books but you have to admit for sheer entertainment they are fantastic stories that are really hard to put down. Just good fun.

11. Different Seasons :: Stephen King
4 novellas/short stories in one book. Proof that King can do so much more that cheap horror. Brilliant short stories that have led to films such as ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Apt Pupil’ – fantastic read.

Haha.
I dont read....but i've seen over half of those in movie form.

Animal farm 10+ times:P

Who needs books when you have tv;)

jbree · 10-05-2009 04:16PM

randomguy wrote: »

Some great books there alright - I am guessing number 8 is "A Goat's Song" - I wouldn't be so pedantic except that it's a great book and I'd encourage everyone to read it. I read it about 10 years ago and it blew me away at the time. Have been meaning to go back and read it again to see if it stands the test of time.

For Anthony Burgess, I'd rate Earthly Powers ahead of Clockwork Orange, but I suppose it makes more sense to say that they are very different books rather than saying one is better than the other.

Yea sorry for the glaring mistake, don't know why I put it in as that!
Ihaven't read Earthly Powers yet although I loved both Enderby and End of the World News, i remember getting them both second hand in the same bookshop at the same time and when i was finished them i said, "right, my head hurts, no more burgess for a while," that was a while ago so i suppose i should be on the lookout for Earthly Powers.

By the by...just started One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest this morning, it has Jack Nicholson on the front cover, anybody else hate this idea of putting characters as actors on the slip? I want to make up in my own head what characters look like, not have it shoe-horned in. I remember buying an Elmore Leonard book (name escapes me) that had been made into a film with clooney and j-lo, i had to throw the goddam thing out, couldn't take Clooney as the character at all.
Apart from that I'm enjoying it.

nerdysal · 10-05-2009 06:35PM

My favourite book of all time has to be The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough- amazing!

Censorsh!t · 12-05-2009 07:55PM

Hmmm...well, I have been meaning to read some of the books people have listed, like Catch 22, Lolita, Animal Farm and 1984, and many more, but have yet to get around to them. This summer, though, I will!

On my list so far:

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt. it's so funny and heart breaking, my favourite book!

The Secret Life of Salvador Dali - Dali. This is Dali's really strange, funny (intentionally? I dont know) and interesting autobiography. I mean, so much of what's in this book is so far fetched and silly, you have to wonder why he wasnt thrown into some sort of institute.

The Shining/Carrie/Salem's Lot - Stephen King - I didn't know which I liked best...so chose all!

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess - Loved this book! It was just so extreme and ultraviolent and the use of 'nadsat', the sort of russian-esque language used in it, made it so interesting and fun to read.

Winterwood - Patrick McCabe - Extremely funny and interesting author, this book was dark and satirical.

Philadelphia, Here I Come! - Brian Friel - Did this one for the leaving cert, and although so many of the people in class hated it, I really loved it. Funny and weird. And although on one hand it seemed miles from reality, I felt a connection and understanding in Gar's character.

The Butcher Boy - Patrick McCabe - funny. funny. odd.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - If I hadn't kniwn what was going to happen at the end, this book would have been fantastic for me. And if that chapter dedicated solely to all those fecking hings Dorian collected over the years had been excluded (although, yeah i get it, it was emphasising his love for material things), great book. A book I felt with a close connection to this was American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. I had the great pleasure of reading this at the age of 12....and it was shocking! I had to hide it from my parents. Only after reading it did I know why they didnt want me to have it. Although, so much of it talks of utter boring ****, all of that does have a point.

That's all for now...

Edit.... I forgot Lord of The Rings - J.R.R Tolkien, and along with that, The Hobbit

Surly · 12-05-2009 08:25PM

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
The Tesseract - Alex Garland
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
Glue - Irvine Welsh
Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane
Last Exit To Brooklyn - Hubert Selby Jr
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Preacher - Garth Ennis
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck

I'm also addicted to Lee Child's books, but am willing to accept that they are by no means 'good'.

ibbie · 17-05-2009 12:14PM

Shantaram- Gregory David Roberts
Life of Pi- Yann Martel
Less Than Zero- Brett Easton Ellis
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest- Ken Kesey
Catcher and the Rye- JD Salinger
Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
Anna Kerenina- Tolstoy
Trainspotting/ Porno/ Glue- Irvine Welsh
On the Road - Kerouac
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- Hunter S Thompson

whatever19 · 02-06-2009 11:25PM

cannot believe some of these havent been mentioned!
-tale of two cities (Dickens)
-the things they carried (O'brien)-BRILLIANT doesnt get enough recognition
-captain corelli's mandolin (De Bernières)
-pullman trilogy
-sophie's world (Gaarder)
-an evil cradling (Keenan)
-the kite runner (Hosseini)
-memoirs of a geisha (Golden)
-wuthering heights (Bronte)
and finally.....
-de profundis (Wilde)

lallychops · 04-06-2009 11:04AM

the lies of locke lamora by scott lynch and the sequel red seas under red skys, reaper man by terry pratchett and twilight

brtoada · 06-06-2009 11:18AM

davej wrote: »

I'd find it very hard to choose just 10. But included in my favourite books would be:

Lord of the Rings (tolkien)
Notes from the underworld (dostoevsky)
The man in the High Castle (Dick)
Dune (Herbert)
Heart of Darkness (Conrad)

When u go through heart of Darkness it is not finished unless u go through Things Fall A Part (Chinua Achebe )

so i need to this book here

khalid

Monkeybonkers · 12-06-2009 07:38PM

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
Lord of the Rings.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
Papillon by Henri Charriere
Wilt by Tom Sharpe
Jeeves and Wooster (any) by P.G. Wodehouse
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I have tried to put a mix of different genres in this list as needless to say a list of 10 cannot do justice to the many brilliant books out there.
I loved each of these books and would recommend them to anyone looking for a good read.

CallistaRose · 12-06-2009 08:39PM

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived
Stompin' Tom: Before the Fame ( :P )
Motelle (By Gertrude Samuel? It's for a younger audience and Holocaust/ Partisan themed. I enjoyed it and still enjoy it)
The Princess Bride
The Myth series (Robert Asprin. They are hilarious)
Educating Little Tree
Peter Pan
Pride and Prejudice
Othello (Officially the only Shakespeare book I've ever enjoyed...)

These are my recommendations.

I'm a fairly picky reader and I tried to stick to more classical novels. There are a number of feminine novels I could recommend as well but didn't. I tried to make my list neutral.

turgon · 18-06-2009 05:22PM

brtoada wrote: »

When u go through heart of Darkness it is not finished unless u go through Things Fall A Part (Chinua Achebe )

+1 for Heart of Darkness, just added a quote of it to my sig:

The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only

So many quotable nuggets like that. I love the "germs of empire" phrase too. It may be though that when I did read that, I went through it with a pen so I thought about it a load. Some times I just take it down and flick through to read some underlining. I ventured to suggest the company was run for a profit.

Didnt enjoy Things Fall Apart that much, although I can see why it is so acclaimed. I thought part 1 was disproportionately long. The frustration in part 3 though was pretty intense, you could just feel what they were going through.

siobhanher · 24-06-2009 06:47PM

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
The Catcher In The Rye - J.D Salinger
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
The Old Man and The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel García Márquez
Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder
Strange Pilgrims - Gabriel García Márquez
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

MrPirate · 26-06-2009 07:56PM

I honestly hope I did not see Twilight mentioned on this thread...

Nineteen Eighty-four.
Jennifer Government.
The Grapes of Wrath.
My war gone by, I miss it so.
Brave New World.
Motorcycle Diaries.

Babbit · 29-06-2009 06:11PM

Point Counter Point,
Babbit,
Lord of the Rings,
The Road,
Bonfire of the Vanities,
Animal Farm,
Les Miserables,
Misery,
Around the World in 80 days...

A nice mix of high and low brow. Adios!

Spiritoftheseventies · 01-07-2009 09:18AM

The famished road ben okri
Underground don dellillo
The true history of the kelly gang Peter Carey
Ulysses James Joyce
Dracula Bram Stoker
Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy
Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe

Pherekydes · 03-07-2009 10:35PM

Republic Plato
Ethics Aristotle
On the Nature of Things Lucretius
On the Good Life Cicero
Letters From a Stoic Seneca
Meditations Marcus Aurelius
The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius
Relativity Einstein
Principia Mathematica Newton
If This is a Man Primo Levi

greendom · 03-07-2009 10:45PM

Pherekydes wrote: »

Republic Plato
Ethics Aristotle
On the Nature of Things Lucretius
On the Good Life Cicero
Letters From a Stoic Seneca
Meditations Marcus Aurelius
The Consolation of Philosophy Boethius
Relativity Einstein
Principia Mathematica Newton
If This is a Man Primo Levi

I imagine there's been a fair few apocalypses since most of these were written

Pherekydes · 03-07-2009 10:51PM

greendom wrote: »

I imagine there's been a fair few apocalypses since most of these were written

Probably true.

I have them all on my bookshelf. :eek::cool:

Crohuir · 06-07-2009 04:23PM

Wow, that's a lot of books I haven't even heard of! I'm not sure of 10 definates, but this is a start:

Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne)
War of the Worlds (H.G Wells)
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Harry Potter! Don't be snobby, they really are must reads!
I've bought Ulysses, but I'm not really a fan of Moderism, so we'll see how it goes!

I suppose a book called "How to survive the apocalypse" might be a good one to look up...

:P

IrelandSpirit · 14-07-2009 01:49AM

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.

At least you'd go out laughing!

IrelandSpirit · 14-07-2009 01:52AM

And...

The Third Policeman

You'll probably die laughing well-before the Riders of the Apocalypse get a hoof in!

Johnny Volume · 14-07-2009 09:34PM

The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster

10 to read before the apocalypse?

Comments