# Need book recommendations, please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296 "2005-07-20T15:16:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/1 "2005-07-20T15:16:20Z")
So, as it turns out, my computer is shit. As such, I’ve gotten myself a library card (which is where I am right now) and decided to catch up with, umm… the classics. Or something. So, assuming I haven’t read anything of value\*, how about some recommendations? What are the absolute Must Reads? Thanks in advance and all that. \*To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, and Animal Farm were all suggested by family/IRL friends, and I’ve read those. Otherwise I’ve lead a life of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/2 "2005-07-20T15:22:34Z")
_The Color Of Magic_, Terry Pratchett ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/3 "2005-07-20T15:23:43Z")
Well, what do you like? Of the three classics you read, what appealed to you? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/4 "2005-07-20T15:27:21Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Well, what do you like? Of the three classics you read, what appealed to you? Sure, we _could_ make an effort to be genuinely helpful – or we could just throw out titles totally randomly. I vote that we take the latter approach. **The Custom of the Country** by Edith Wharton. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/5 "2005-07-20T15:27:51Z")
I’m going to just type what I see on my bookshelf. Shakespeare – anything The Great Gatsby Alexander Dumas – Count of Monte Christo, Three Musketeers John Steinbeck George Meredith Mark Twain – anything Scaramouche (some don’t like it, but it was a favorite of mine) Thomas Hardy Jane Austen – anything Cervantes Then there is a whole shelf of compendium volumes from my time as an English Major. Just scanning these quickly, I’ll tell you that the following are good to read: Gilgamesh Odyssey/Illiad Oedipus the King (Sophocles) Medea (by Euripides) Lysistrata (very cool) The Aeneid Anything by Aristotle if you want to be bored silly Beowulf (another favorite) The Song of Roland (fun) The Art of Courtly Love (also fun) The Canturbury Tales And much, much more. That’ll start you out though. Let me know if you want more. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/6 "2005-07-20T15:32:16Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Well, what do you like? Everything. Anything. I’m not real big on Sci-Fi, but I haven’t had a whole bunch of exposure to it so I **could** be and just not know it. I’ll read anything once and a lot of stuff twice. So if you have a favorite author, or a few favorite books, let me know. I love reading and I don’t know why I didn’t have a library card ages ago. My time limit will be up soon, so I won’t be able to come back to this thread for a couple days. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![VegemiteMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/df788c/32.png) [@VegemiteMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VegemiteMoose)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/7 "2005-07-20T15:40:17Z")
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. If you like it there’s a whole lot more where that one came from and his books are nice and short too! ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/8 "2005-07-20T15:47:01Z")
A “classic” that isn’t on a lot of people’s radar screens is Kenneth Roberts’ “Northwest Passage.” A gripping good historical tale set during colonial times. I really liked “East of Eden” once I told myself it was okay to skim the endless descriptions of landscape. “Candide” is a quick read, and funny. ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/9 "2005-07-20T15:49:15Z")
\*\*Medea \*\* by Euripides blew the top of my head off when I read it, lo, those many years ago. It’s really good. Whenever I don’t know what to read next, I go to the volumes of collected short stories. There are anthologies in all sorts of genres, and that way you can sample lots of authors in a short period of time and decide which ones you like and want to pursue. If you want to get into science fiction at all, I heartily recommend the yearly anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois. Plus, a well-done short story is an elegant and beautiful thing. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/10 "2005-07-20T15:49:39Z")
Favorite author and few favorite books? We can do that! Let’s see: _Pride and Prejudice_, by Jane Austen _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_, by Mark Twain _Great Expectations_, by Charles Dickens _About a Boy_, by Nick Hornby _The Chronicles of Narnia_, by CS Lewis (begin with _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_) _The Caves of Steel_, by Isaac Asimov (testing your SF aversion) _The Daughter of Time_, by Josephine Tey _The Golden Compass_, by Phillip Pullman _Canterbury Tales_, by Geoffrey Chaucer _The Faerie Queene_, by Edmund Spenser _The Iliad_ and _The Odyssey_, by Homer _The Dubliners_, by James Joyce _Strong Poison_, by Dorothy L. Sayers “Macbeth” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by Shakespeare These aren’t necessarily my favorite works by these people, but they are good places to start. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/11 "2005-07-20T15:50:47Z")
If you’re going to go with Vonnegut, might I suggest starting with “Breakfast of Champions”? “Timequake” by same is also very good. Also, “A Canticle for Leibowitz” by Walter Miller is good. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/12 "2005-07-20T15:58:39Z")
> [@VegemiteMoose](#): > > Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. If you like it there’s a whole lot more where that one came from and his books are nice and short too! I’m reading another of his books, **The Jailbird** , now. I’m a big Sinclair Lewis fan of late. **Main Street** and **Babbitt** are a great place to start. I love Kerouac’s **On the Road** but many people seem to hate it, so read at your own risk. Jane Austen is always great, I think. Plenty of choices there ( **Pride & Prejudice** has already been mentioned.) **Jane Eyre** and **Wuthering Heights** , courtesy of the Bronte sisters, are favorites of mine as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/13 "2005-07-20T16:02:21Z")
Another vote for _Candide_ by **Voltair** Also, _A Tale Of Tw Cities_ by **Charles Dickens** was a great story of people caught up in the terrible events up to and through the French Revolution. I really enjoyed that one. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/14 "2005-07-20T16:22:25Z")
My favorite of the uberclassics: _The Count of Monte Cristo_. Be warned that at first it may be slow going, as you accustom yourself to the verbosity of nineteenth-century writing; but once you get into it, the story is absolutely gripping. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/15 "2005-07-20T17:21:19Z")
The Scarlet Pimpernel! ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/16 "2005-07-20T17:32:12Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > Another vote for _Candide_ by **Voltair** > Also, _ **A Tale Of Tw Cities** _ by **Charles Dickens** was a great story of people caught up in the terrible events up to and through the French Revolution. I really enjoyed that one. Is that the Welsh version? 😃 I second Jane Eyre and anything by Vonnegut (though, he is a bit weird to read sometimes) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/17 "2005-07-20T17:33:02Z")
Mark Twain is a must. I’ve read them all, and suggest that Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi and Roughing It are good ones to start with. Of the many Dickens books, I enjoyed the previously mentioned Tale of Two Cities, plus Great Expectations and Oliver Twist. Some Steinbeck would be good: The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men are all good. Hemingway: any short story collection, The Old Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, To Have and Have Not, A Farewell To Arms. I also enjoyed Green Hills of Africa, but I haven’t found anyone else who did. Have fun reading! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/18 "2005-07-20T17:35:21Z")
> [@Elysian](#): > > The Scarlet Pimpernel! I love that book. I have some sequels, too. None of them compare with the original, but I love them anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/19 "2005-07-20T17:36:21Z")
For Science Fiction, since you seem to be willing to try it, I’ll suggest the Neaderthal Parallax by Robert J. Sawyer (Hominids, Humans and Hybrids). It’s probably different from what you think of SF, since it’s set in today’s world rather than the far future, and nobody keaves Earth (though they do find an alternate Earth to explore). I’ll also suggest _Gargantua_ and _Pantagruel_ by Rabelais. Philosophy and potty humor–I can’t really say much beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296/20 "2005-07-20T17:38:08Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I second Jane Eyre Thirded. And then read Jasper Fforde’s _The Eyre Affair_ for a leetle humor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-book-recommendations-please/313296.md?page=2)