5 Books Everybody Should Read

order random

a case of need - chrichton
(no sci-fi here. its mystery. and also the only chrichton novel in first person)

choke - CP
(what is there to say?)

intensity - koontz
(again better than his usual unbelievable horror/thriller)

lost girls - andrew pyper
(mystery.. has some funny scenes.. even thoough i dont know if its sposed to be funny. but lawyers on cocain who like strippers.. begging for a laugh there)

hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - dont remember
(LMMFAO)

[QUOTE=Lazlosdead]Yeah, I read it. I like Phillip K. Dick's work a lot. He's the only sci fi author I read.

I didn't count the Hitchhikers Guides because of the shitty ending of the last book in the series. My advice to those who haven't read the HGTG series: "Skip the last book."[/QUOTE]
i would say if you skip the last book skip the one before that too, but then i liked the last book.

Here's some suggestions I didn't see posted. Check 'em out if y'all have a chance.

A Confederacy of Dunces- John Kennedy Toole... a hilarious romp through New Orleans. Magnificent characters, great plot... but you'll have to read it for yourselves, my words can't possibly do it justice.

VOX- Nicholson Baker... the novel follows a single phone sex conversation...
well written, original and sexy.

Blindness- Jose Sarmago... a brilliant examination of human nature confronted with disaster.

The Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck... Forced from their farm by indusry mechanization and drought, the Joad family makes their way west in search of a better life, but what they find is discrimination and brutal hardship. Classic book.

Such is My Beloved- Morley Callahan... a contemporary and friend of Ernest Hemmingway, Callahan was known for his minimilistic, sometimes very boring, prose style, and his delicate handling of ethical and moral situations. Definately not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

I hope this list will provide someone with some enjoyment.

Glamourama- Bret Ellis
Fight Club- Chuck
Crying of Lot 49 (and companion to crying of lot 49)- Thomas Pynchon
Catcher in the Rye- JD Salinger (yeah I'm one of those people who love that book)
Brave New World- A. Huxley

In general I would say anything by Chuck or Bret Ellis. They are the best.

-K

The first books that coem to my mind should be my favorite, right?

War and Peace - Tolstoy
Gravity's Rainbow - Pynchon
The Catcher In The Rye - Salinger
The Stranger - Camus
and.. probably Vanity Fair - Thackeray; but maybe Kafka's stories, or The Trial; or I don't know. No 5th favorite.

War and Peace is a damn good read. It took me over a month to read, during the summer, but I am a slow reader. Important note: I read it in Russian (lived there 0-11). His meditation on free will was interesting, but what really makes this book special to me is the detailed and absolutely believable world that it builds, my first total immersion in fiction.

Gravity's Rainbow should be an essential read for everyone. Just read it. Took me over three fucking months... Going to read it again this summer.

I liked Catcher. I don't think it's suppsoed to be funny or written to capitalize on feelings of angst. It's a bildungsroman, a book about growing up. My favorite line is his brother saying that if he was given a gun in World War II, he wouldn't know which side to shoot at.

And you've all probably read the Stranger. If you haven't, do it--it's very short.

I commend everyone on their choices. The books listed in this thread are for the most part all outstanding and have served to remind me that I am behind on my reading.

Anyway, I just want to throw a book out there that is always in my top five--always.

The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham

After reading it, you will want to read more by him. It is outstanding. There is also a movie based on the book that is pretty good and stars Bill Murray in a dramatic role.

In no order

Stupid White Men - Michael Moore
Requiem for a Dream - Hubert Selby Jr. *R.I.P*
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Choke - Chuck P.
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

[u]Fiction[/u]:

You Shall Know Our Velocity! - Dave Eggers
Fight Club/Survivor/Choke - Chuck Palahniuk
Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Generation X - Douglas Couplan
House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski
The Long Walk - Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King)
The Stand - Stephen King
You Get So Alone Some Times It Just Makes Sense - Charlies Bukowski
A Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (fuck the five rule)

[u]Nonfiction[/u]:

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers
Into Thin Air/Into the Wild/Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer
I can't think of no mo'.

Three Comrades- Erich Maria Remarque
1984-Geroge Orwell
Clockwork Orange-Anthony Burges (Sp.?)
Catcher in the Rye-J. D. Salinger
Choke- Chuck Palahniuk

Lamb- Christopher Moore
Sex Drugs and Sausage Rolls- Robert Rankin
Anonymous rex- Eric Garcia
Cannery Row- Steinbeck
Lullaby- Palahniuk

lullaby = my last bowel movement.

1984 - George Orwell
Animal Farm - George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Book of Three - Lloyd Alexander
Hearts in Atlantis - Stephen King

[QUOTE=alex cassun]Hearts in Atlantis - Stephen King[/QUOTE]

There was a short story in there about a man who pretended to be homeless for a cash handout that i felt was useless and shouldnt have been in there. Other than that, I think this is probably one of King's better books. If you've seen the Anthony Hopkins's movie, you only get a quarter of whats going on in the book.

yeah, that movie really sucked. i was really excited for it, too, just like i was for "dreamcatcher" which also ended up sucking. oops...i've gone and admitted to reading 2 stephen king books, i've gotta bail on this post.

[QUOTE=alex cassun]lullaby = my last bowel movement.

1984 - George Orwell
Animal Farm - George Orwell
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
The Book of Three - Lloyd Alexander
Hearts in Atlantis - Stephen King[/QUOTE]
ah yes, the prydain series, i read that as a little chitlin, it was great

absolutely. I also wanna add The first 2 Shannara (1st King & The Sword of...) books, and the Scion series by Terry Brooks.

"lost girls - andrew pyper"

This is one of those stupid relation stories. Well, he grew up in my town (small place, 28k people), I've met the guy. Alright chap.

Most of my fave books have already been mentioned, so I'm just going to throw in

Everville, Clive Barker
Anything by H.P. Lovecraft

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence- Robert M. Pirsig
Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
1984- George Orwell
Villa Incognito- Tom Robbins (or any of his other books)
Fight Club- Chuck Palahniuk (or any of his other books)

I read Dharma Bums. I didnt like it that much.
and trainspotting? if i could get over my fear of dialect, i'd definately read it.

[QUOTE=sick girl]Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence- Robert M. Pirsig
Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
1984- George Orwell
Villa Incognito- Tom Robbins (or any of his other books)
Fight Club- Chuck Palahniuk (or any of his other books)

I read Dharma Bums. I didnt like it that much.
[/QUOTE]

I am a fan of every author you listed in your post. It seems we've nearly the same taste in books.

I will tell you there are two types of Kerouac fans--the On the Road readers and the Dharma Bum readers. But, I will suggest you try Maggie Cassidy for a very different Jack experience.

Also, I love Tom Robbins. But, I did not like Villa Incognito very much? Did you really like it?

Oh by the way, the Pirsig book is often forgotten--what a great book.

i doubt she really liked it since you know, she listed it under the title of "FIVE BOOKS EVERYBODY SHOULD READ". but its just me, who knows.

my recommendation would be any five books they can get their hands on at the earliest age possible. but being clever is not working out so well for me so i'll play by the rules:

The five books that I think everyone at some point in their lives should read are:

1. [i]Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs[/i]
2. [i]The Old Man and the Sea[/i] by Ernest Hemingway
3. [i]Fight Club[/i]
4. [i]A People's History of the United States[/i] by Howard Zinn
5. [i]The Hours[/i] by Michael Cunningham

Zinn's good.

early childhood reading:

the bridge over tabitha (i think thats the name)
the prydain chronicles by lloyd alexander
frankenstein, by mary shelley
lord of the flies (this needs to go on my other list) by william golding
anything by shel silverstein

In no real order
1. Inca Gold - Clive Cussler
2. Brave New World - Huxley
3. The Giver
4. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown I recommend everyone read this.
5. Domain - Steve Alten

Didn't feel the need to list any CP books since they've all been mentioned.
I'd probably list a Michael Crichton book but most of the ending of his books don't seem as thought out as the rest of the book.

I've been lately trying to alternate between classic literature and modern fiction books with my reading.

Also Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp by C.D. Payne is a great book.

[QUOTE=bassplr19]
4. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown I recommend everyone read this.[/QUOTE]
did you get into his actual writing style or just like the story he plagiarized?

What was it plagerized from? The story was good and it makes you think, does it matter where it comes from?

[QUOTE=J Rock]I...Also, I love Tom Robbins. But, I did not like Villa Incognito very much? Did you really like it?...[/QUOTE]

TR is probably my favorite author, but i wouldn't recommend any of his books to just anyone. it takes a certain type of reader to appreciate all that is TR.

villa incognito was good, it was no fierce invalids, but good none the less.

[QUOTE=bassplr19]What was it plagerized from? The story was good and it makes you think, does it matter where it comes from?[/QUOTE]
where's TLC when you need someone to go on a dan brown tirade?

[QUOTE=bassplr19]What was it plagerized from? The story was good and it makes you think, does it matter where it comes from?[/QUOTE]
[url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/30/DDGB45S7JV1.DTL&type=printable]READ[/url]

[QUOTE=J Rock]I...Also, I love Tom Robbins. But, I did not like Villa Incognito very much? Did you really like it?...[/QUOTE]
i'm reading it right now, im almost finished. Actually, Villa Incognito is good, but Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is definately better.

[QUOTE=karbunkle][url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/30/DDGB45S7JV1.DTL&type=printable]READ[/url][/QUOTE]

Interesting but I still liked it and I still think everyone should read it.

you know, the only TR i have is jitterbug perfume...and i only read a part of it and i think its lost now...this thread is making me want to find it and read it...
youngin reads:
Prydain Series - Lloyd Alexander
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Judith Viorst
Shel Silverstein, yes definitely cassun
Those stories about the weird school...i don't remember what they were called but i remember liking them

[QUOTE=alex cassun]Zinn's good.

early childhood reading:

the bridge over tabitha (i think thats the name)
the prydain chronicles by lloyd alexander
frankenstein, by mary shelley
lord of the flies (this needs to go on my other list) by william golding
anything by shel silverstein[/QUOTE]

Bridge to Terabithia is the book you're thinking of.

surprised to see the Prydain Chronicles mentioned
went out and bought the whole series about a year ago and re-read them.
um...
Lord Of The Flies - William Golding
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis - no seriously, if every christian thought as logically as the late Clive Staples did they wouldn't all be such assholes.
Under The Banner Of Heaven - Jon Krakauer - as good as non-fiction gets, and being a study of a religion young enough to have thorough documentation of it's birth and growth, leaves you with an idea of the chaos that must have accompanied the rise of christianity and other older religions. Plus this guy is just a goddam good author. He could write about the history of the number 2 pencil and it would be gripping.
Galapagos - Kurt Vonnegut - the Vonnegut that nobody has read, it turned out being one of his best, except he pre-emptively took an idea i had for a book!
Lullaby - the man himself - not including Chuck cause i'm on the fan site; contains among other things one of the best written few pages of story-telling ever (the scene that sets up the running theme of 'quiet-a-phobics' and 'noise-a-holics', where he is in the bathroom listening to the noises around him in the apartment complex)

The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
Lullaby
The Razor's Edge - William Somerset Maugham

[QUOTE=Ballerina]
The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
[/QUOTE]

yes yes yes yes yes.
couldn't agree more.

Excluding the obvious (Fight Club, Choke, Diary, etc...)

The Illuminatus! Trilogy
The Crying of Lot 49
Sirens of Titan
Brave New World
Motherless Brooklyn
A Fairwell to Arms
In Dubious Battle
Animal Farm
Love (Toni Morrison)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
The Hamlet/The Town/The Mansion (Faulkner's Snopes Trilogy, also Sartoris, which sets the groundwork for it)
Light in August
Intruders in the Dust
The Unvanquished
Grapes of Wrath
Paradise
Stick
The Great Gatsby
A Tale of Two Cities
Mason & Dixon
The Books of Blood
A Christmas Carol
The Fortress of Solitude (Lethem, no disrespect to Superman)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Bladrunner)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Old Man and the Sea
The Pearl
Imajica
Of Mice and Men
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
Ubik
Stay Cool
The Stand
Cat's Cradle
Amnesia Moon
The Great and Secret Show
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Man in the High Castle
Lord of Light
Catch-22
The Shining
Valis
Cabal (aka Night Breed)
the Foundation trilogy (Asimov)
The Sun Also Rises
As I Lay Dying

I'm sure I'm missing a bunch!

adding a couple more:

Howard Zinn - A People's History of the United States
Howard Zinn - Terrorists and War
Russ Kick - 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know

The U.S. Army Survival Manual and Practical Euthanasia For Beginners.

Actually, after you read both, you can pretty much toss one of them out.

[QUOTE=Kit!]ive read them all except for the eggers
whats it like?[/QUOTE]

It's alternately heartbreaking and staggering, occasionaly punctuated by self-affirmated genius.

perfect description, now go buy it.

Hmmmmm....

1) Blood of Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez. If you can't get over the fact that it's a comic book you don't deserve to read it anyway.

2) Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell. Mallory is one of the most fascinating characters being written today.

3) The Christian Bible- probably seveal different translations. Actually, now that I think about it, reading the Koran would also be of benefit. Since religion seems to drive so much of the conflict in our lives, maybe it's time people actually read the texts and learned started thinking for themselves. (Sorry- mini-rant there)

4) Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. Because it's one of my favorite books and I never wanted it to end.

5) Go to the library and just pick up any book at random. Don't read the flap or even look a tthe cover. Just grab a book adn check it out and take it home and read it with no expectations.

[QUOTE=alex cassun]perfect description, now go buy it.[/QUOTE]

I did buy it, I even read it.

[QUOTE=Kit!]ive read them all except for the eggers
whats it like?[/QUOTE]

This guy with one hellava sense of humor that tells his story. It involves cancer, humor, brilliance...but the whole Real World interview/tangent had me wanting to stop at 20 pages. And before the 70th-ish page, I had to put it down for a while. Damn, dude just would. Not. Stop. I guess that I am being a dick because the book deserves more credit than I am giving it here. I will go back and finish it. Soon. Just not today. It is on the bottom of a stack of 7. Next week, it will be, my Jedi friends.

kabol

[QUOTE=Asymptotic Individual]maybe it's time people actually read the texts and learned started thinking for themselves. (Sorry- mini-rant there)
[/QUOTE]

Sorry to dissapoint you but it will never happen!

People think for themselves. [COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=7]HA[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Think for yourself. Question Authority.

[QUOTE=JKabol]This guy with one hellava sense of humor that tells his story. It involves cancer, humor, brilliance...but the whole Real World interview/tangent had me wanting to stop at 20 pages. And before the 70th-ish page, I had to put it down for a while. Damn, dude just would. Not. Stop. I guess that I am being a dick because the book deserves more credit than I am giving it here. I will go back and finish it. Soon. Just not today. It is on the bottom of a stack of 7. Next week, it will be, my Jedi friends.

kabol[/QUOTE]

The book did drag on during that part, but it is also one of the more critical parts of the books. The part about how he's only giving you what he wants too and you don't own him. That's good stuff. I liked the content but I found that the Q&A format tiring after awhile. You should finish it though, for sure.

In no particular order:

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Choke by the great Chuck Palahniuk

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

1984 by George Orwell

Heavier Than Heaven by Charles R. Cross

The best books I've read at this particular moment

The Outsider - Albert Camus

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

Island - Aldous Huxley

The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Magus - John Fowles

Zen and the Art Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemmingway

Beyond Good and Evil - Friedrich Nietzsche

The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

The Bhagavad Gita

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

in no order

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Ham On Rye - Charles Bukowski
Crash - J G Ballard
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

in no order at all.

switch bitch - roald dahl
running with scissors - burroughs
less than zero - ellis
diary of an underachiever - anastas
everything is illuminated - foer