# Recommend me some great books to read

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 18, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081 "2008-02-18T09:23:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/21 "2008-02-19T14:18:49Z")

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Andrew Vachss - **Shella**

Very unlike the rest of his work. This one is pretty solid literature.

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**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/22 "2008-02-28T09:20:57Z")

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**Oslo** , a second on Tuchman. And **Darryl Lict** , how dare you beat me to Carson McCullers!

There’s a genre that gets neglected: kids’ books. Not just Lewis Carrol, but _The Phantom Tollbooth_ and _The Frightened Forest._

If you insist on being a grownup, _The Mansion_ by Faulkner kicks boody.

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**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/23 "2008-02-28T09:32:10Z")

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[QUOTE=thegod067]  
I don’t know if I am going to be scoffed at for the possibility of this being cliche, but Vonnegut’s “Slaughter-House Five” is probably my favorite book. I never see him get a whole lot of love on this message board, though–maybe everyone has outgrown him, or something.  
[/QUOTE]  
I adore Vonnegut, but I don’t think _Slaughterhouse Five_ is his best work. Not even in the top 10, in my opinion. _The Sirens of Titan_ is a beautiful piece of work, and I’m very fond of _Jailbird_.

Some books that are favourites of mine, for one reason or another, in no particular order:

_Replay_ by Ken Grimwood  
_Flowers for Algernon_ by Daniel Keyes  
_Good Omens_ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman  
_The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time_ by Mark Haddon  
_The Screwtape Letters_ by C.S. Lewis  
_Watership Down_ by Richard Adams

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-great-books-to-read/438081/24 "2008-02-28T12:08:21Z")

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Heinlein’s _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_.  
_A Night In The Lonesome October_ by Zelazny  
_Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas_ by Dr Hunter S. Thompson  
_The Ancient Engineers_ by De Camp (non-fiction, but very well written).

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