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10 to read before the apocalypse?

Caesar_Bojangle

What ten books would you consider as a must, to be read in ones lifetime?

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Hermy

markievicz wrote: »

I'd continue on with it because it's good at the end especially, it's quite revelationary moment for everyone. I just love it! Finish it!

Well I finished it and I'm glad it's over. Reading it was tortuous - Moran is one of the most dis-likeable characters I've ever encountered in literature. His family's ability to forgive the unforgivable only made it all the more difficult to take. That's not necessarily to say it was a bad book but rather that the people in it were not to my liking to put it very mildly.
Sadly I also missed the revelationary moment you mentioned. The way I saw it nothing changed.

Laika_

The Bell Jar
To Kill a Mocking Bird
Wuthering Heights
Anna Karenina
American Psycho (loved this in particular)
Lolita
The Secret History
The Catcher in the Rye - no top ten is complete without!

Reading Homer's Odyssey atm and I have a feeling it could wind up in my favourites, it's compulsive!

girlonfire

The Fountainhead
On The Road
Mrs. Dalloway
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
Things Fall Apart
The Virgin Suicides
Dubliners

Aglomerado

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressell
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
A Widow for One Year - John Irving (don't bother with the film version, the Door in the Floor)
The Third Policeman - Flann O'Brien
The Poor Mouth - Flann O'Brien
Lead us into Temptation - Breandán O'hEithir

(No particular order.)

Slattsy

Many of my top 10 have been mentioned, the more obvious ones like Catch 22, 1984, etc)

Here's a few less obvious ones that are worth the read :

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Cathedral of the Sea - Ildefonso Falcones
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid

grohlisagod

Laika_ wrote: »

T
American Psycho (loved this in particular)
Lolita

Just bought both of these. Really looking forward to American Psycho in particular! I've been avoiding the film for years until I could find the book.

grohlisagod

GO_Bear wrote: »

Just one too add, I think it gets overlooked as its considered children's or Teen fantasy .... but

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Gareth Nix. (Sabriel, Lireal and Abhorsen)

I found it very entertaining and it would be in my top ten along with alot of other books mentioned

I absolutely adored those books. They are probably purely children's books, doubt I'd enjoy them anywhere near as much now. I read an awful lot of his books, like The Ragwitch and some of the keys to the Kingdom books too. Glad to see someone else remembers just how good that trilogy was.

Asphyxia

Am I the only one who didn't like The Catcher in the Rye

Slattsy

Asphyxia wrote: »

Am I the only one who didn't like The Catcher in the Rye

Funny, I'm on the bus in to work and I've just finished the book. I was disappointed too, every second person that posted said it was a classic but i have a feeling similar to a non funny joke, as in 'wheres the bloody punchline'. I was waiting for something to happen, page after page but nothing did. I'm glad I've read it though

Straight to easons now, any suggestions????

emeraldstar

Asphyxia wrote: »

Am I the only one who didn't like The Catcher in the Rye

No, there's loads even on this board who've said they don't like it.

Personally, I just don't get the hype about the book. Bit boring.

sudzs

Just two....

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and The Year of the Flood, also Atwood.

Maybe I'll add To Kill a Mocking Bird too as I've just finished it and it was just lovely to read but still managed to move me to tears. Not something a book does often to me!

Hermy

emeraldstar wrote: »

Personally, I just don't get the hype about the book. Bit boring.

I wonder is it the hype that spoils it for some readers - that your expecting so much given all that's been said about it.

emeraldstar

Could well be, although in my case I was quite young when I read it so I don't think I had even heard too much about it at that stage. Perhaps I should give it another reading, from a grown-up point of view.

littlema

Nope.........don't waste your time-plenty more good books out there besides that awful book.
Now if you want one thats off the wall.............. Mission, by Patrick Tilley.
You may have to buy it second hand on Amazon/e-bay;)

Isard

sudzs wrote: »

Just two....

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and The Year of the Flood, also Atwood.

Oh, I love Atwood too, reading her right now))
I'd recommend Arturo Perez-Reverte's "The Painter of Battles": this one will make you think if you were one of the reasons for the apocalypse:D

Jackobyte

Slattsy wrote: »

Funny, I'm on the bus in to work and I've just finished the book. I was disappointed too, every second person that posted said it was a classic but i have a feeling similar to a non funny joke, as in 'wheres the bloody punchline'. I was waiting for something to happen, page after page but nothing did. I'm glad I've read it though

Straight to easons now, any suggestions????

emeraldstar wrote: »

No, there's loads even on this board who've said they don't like it.

Personally, I just don't get the hype about the book. Bit boring.

I think that book has to be read at a particular point in life, somewhere around your teens by someone who has some form of depression and is feeling alienated from society, peers, etc.

I have to say, while I enjoyed it, there was nothing fantastic about it at the time of reading but most of its impact was looking back on it after.

I don't have anything that far out of the ordinary that I have read. I had always thought that the Eragon series were great but after a Game of Thrones, they seem a bit lacking. Always loved the Harry Potter, but I wouldn't rank them as top 10 before you die.

Animal Farm, yes, exceedingly witty. Romeo + Juliet. The Book Thief. All great reads. I also have loads of the aforementioned books on my "To Read" list.

Slattsy

Mink wrote: »

I've compiled a list of books I'm going to get over the next few weeks based off of the lists on here!

Here are my top ten (that I have read) so far:

1) Star of the Sea - Joseph O'Connor (probably best book I've read)

Almost finished Star of The Sea.
I only heard of it as it appeared in so many peoples top 10. I have to say its bloody brilliant.

What other O'Connor books can people recommend to me? Thanks

tr0llface

The Catcher In The Rye is such a beautiful book. I'd highly recommend it.

Hermy

Slattsy wrote: »

Almost finished Star of The Sea.
I only heard of it as it appeared in so many peoples top 10. I have to say its bloody brilliant.

What other O'Connor books can people recommend to me? Thanks

I read Star of the Sea a while ago and was a bit disappointed with it given all the praise it has received. Although the writing was good I didn't like the multiple narrators.

Anyway, I'm currently reading The Salesman - a bit patchy at times bit I think it's worth a read.

DB Cooper 23

The Count of Monte Cristo

Monkeybonkers

Slattsy wrote: »

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid

I saw this while browsing in the library the other day. I will read it now based on this recommendation.

Slattsy

Monkeybonkers wrote: »

Slattsy wrote: »

The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid

I saw this while browsing in the library the other day. I will read it now based on this recommendation.

Very good I hope you like it

Slattsy

I've just finished Slaughterhouse 5 based on a few recommended comments on the thread.

Although a good read it simply doesn't have a patch on Catch 22, as a few people have said it was the better war sattire, but not for me.

Glad I read it though.

emeraldstar

^ I read it recently and wasn't blown away either.

Slattsy

emeraldstar wrote: »

^ I read it recently and wasn't blown away either.

Into Eason's tomorrow for my next book. What to pick, what to pick......

flyaway.

Ten books I could just read over and over, in no particular order:

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
3. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
4.The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
10. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Honourable mentions:
Room by Emma Donoghue
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngnozi Adichi
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

cezarcr

Hello!
Just signed up to the boards.
My list would be

On the road - Jack Kerouack
Ham on rye - Bukowski
Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse
Gracias por el fuego - Mario Benedetti

These books changed my life some way, they really worth a shot

epgc3fyqirnbsx

May as well do mine, may be seen as a bit typical but sure I'm typical :pac:

1984 - George Orwell
Of Mice and Men - Steinback
Grapes of Wrath - Steinback
Great Expectations - Dickens
Wild Swans - Jung Chan
Star of the Sea - Joseph O'Connor
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
a Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle
Shogun - James Clavell
Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Ziggy*Dust

A more recent addition to the list - The Sisters Brothers, By Patrick Dewitt. Similar in many ways to No Country for Old Men but not as vague.

Johnno Mack

Yeah I have to say the Sisters Brothers is a pretty good read. Very gritty and quite funny western wandering adventure. Anyone have any other books to recommend by Patrick De Witt?