36 Mandatory Books-Recommendations

[Jeff W]

Don Quixote
Pale Fire

Lighter reading:

The Hobbit
Watership Down

[RJT]

BW,

[ QUOTE ]
…Also Vonnegut's books are fun reads. Most will recommend Five, but i'll go ahead and say i enjoyed Cat's Cradle…

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this quote from Bodhisattva, (if for no other reason than) because you learn the phrase “such is life” and can use it the rest of your life. ( I think Cat's Cradle is the Vonnegut book, I got it from.)

Since you say you have never been much of a reader, I think 36 books a year (3 a month) is optimistic. It is a good amount of reading for “a reader”. (Assuming one works full time and other obligations.) A list of 36 is fine, but don’t be hard on yourself if you fall short.

RJT

p.s. I agree with many of the recommendations. I never thought I would like Hemingway, then I read, The Sun Also Rises and got hooked.

[Addiction]

Steppenwolf - Hesse
Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins
The Stranger - Camus
The Gamber - Dostoevsky
Utopia - More
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Thompson
The Rum Diary - Thompson

[keith123]

[ QUOTE ]
I think 36 books a year (3 a month) is optimistic. It is a good amount of reading for “a reader”. (Assuming one works full time and other obligations.) A list of 36 is fine, but don’t be hard on yourself if you fall short.

[/ QUOTE ]

It would make for a cool library at least.

[BWebb]

One the list for sure so far, in no particular order:

1. A Confederacy of Dunces
2. "The Catcher In The Rye", J.D. Salinger
3. "Moby Dick", Herman Melville
4. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
5. Crime & Punishment - Dostoevsky
6. The Great Gatsby
7. Hamlet
8. Lolita
9. 1984
10. The Alchemist
11. master and margarita
12. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

I have read a few of these, but it has been a long time since that happened and I probably didn't "get" them like I would now.

As for authors with more than one nomination, I'll need some input on which one should be read. I'm sure they are all great but I would like to get to as many different authors as possible.

Steinbeck: Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden or Cannery Row
Vonnegut: Five, Cat's in the Cradle or Sirens
Hemingway: Old Man, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls or A Farewell to Arms

Keep them coming, and if you see one that you think is a must already nominated let me know.

[mmbt0ne]

A couple I like that I haven't seen yet

Cry, The Beloved Country
As I Lay Dying

[BWebb]

RJT,

Thanks for the input. I think 3 a month might be tough during the months that contain some longer works (I might take Crime & Punishment off the list for this reason) but hopefully I can do it. If it seems to much, I'll cut the list down some. Like I said, I've never been much of a reader so I thought having some sort of goal in mind could help.

[MikeNaked]

Some good suggestions here. I would add:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Excellent, insightful collection of short stories and a pulitzer prize winner. It's a short read so it'll help w/ your goal of 36.

[Jeff W]

I think 1/month or 2 shorter books is a more realistic goal. Don't se goals you are unlikely to achieve and then feel bad when you miss.

[renodoc]

I would second Steppenwolf, but also suggest Narcissus and Goldmund. I never made it through Magister Ludi, even after three or four attempts. Perhaps its time to try again.

This thread is inspiring me for my upcoming Big Island lounge about trip. Also points out better things to be doing with one's time than multi-tabling sng's.