# What "favorite book" would cause you to walk away from someone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [June 6, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567 "2024-06-06T19:59:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/103 "2024-06-08T14:11:05Z")
Anything from the _Left Behind_ series. Because they’re probably an Orange Menace worshipping Evangelical who thinks they’ll be the first to get raptured. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/104 "2024-06-08T15:01:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I mean, it’s not like if I heard that someone’s favorite book was Dianetics, that I’d still keep talking to them I’m not sure about. I have never knowingly hung out with a scientologist but i don’t really see why that would be any more unpleasant than hanging out with a Christian, a Muslim, a Mormon or a Sikh, which I have done and never had a bad experience (I mean I have, I’ve hung out with some real dickheads but their religion was never the reason hanging out with them sucked) > [@bump](#): > > , and if I heard that someone else’s was Mein Kampf, I’d turn on my heel and leave. I mean that’s clearly the one that everyone agrees upon. There is exactly one inference from someone saying that and it’s “I believe in race based genocide” (I am sure someone who did say that would claim they were just trying to say something controversial for a “joke”, but I am still inferring they believe in race based genocide). ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/105 "2024-06-08T18:51:28Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > There’s no book that is so awful that i would turn away from a person just because they had read it! I dunno if someone has actually read Mein Kampf cover to cover, unless they did so as part an academic study, that’s a bit of a red flag. It’s a notoriously unreadable mass of terrible writing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/106 "2024-06-08T18:52:34Z")
You could even say it’s a real struggle. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/107 "2024-06-08T19:05:47Z")
How long into meeting a person does one ask, “what’s your favorite book?”, instead of “read anything good lately?” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/108 "2024-06-08T19:20:04Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > _To Serve Man_. It’s just a bit dusty. It’s actually… \*To Serve For Man" ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/109 "2024-06-08T19:20:27Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > I dunno if someone has actually read Mein Kampf cover to cover, unless they did so as part an academic study, that’s a bit of a red flag. It’s a notoriously unreadable mass of terrible writing. I decided to find out how many copies of _Mein Kampf_ are sold each year lately. I found a website which I’ve linked to below. It says that the copyright to the book ran out at the end of 2015. Millions of copies of the book were bought before the end of World War II. Most of these were burned at the end of World War II. Hundreds of thousands of copies still exist which were published from the period up to the end of World War II, most of which are in antique stores and historical bookstores. Since 2015, the only edition of _Mein Kampf_ that is being sold is an annotated edition of it. This annotated edition has footnotes carefully showing why the statements of Hitler in the book were wrong. This edition has sold tens of thousands of copies, probably to people who are doing research on Hitler and that historical period.or just like reading history texts. It’s illegal to publish a non-annotated edition. Current neo-Nazis wouldn’t like reading the annotated edition: > **[How Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ became a bestseller in 2016 | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/04/europe/hitler-mein-kampf-reprint-germany/index.html)** > > In January 2016, the Institute of Contemporary History released the first reprint of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” since World War II. One year on, the German publisher says the book has sold some 85,000 copies and spent 35 weeks on Der Spiegel... ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/110 "2024-06-08T19:28:30Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > How long into meeting a person does one ask, “what’s your favorite book?”, instead of “read anything good lately?” That’s good point. “read anything good lately?” seems like a natural bit of small talk. “what’s your favorite book?” seems like a ‘ice breaker’ question someone wrote for you. It’s relevant to the OP. Being asked ‘whats your favorite book’ and honesty answering Atlas Shrugged, is one thing. Randomly interjecting that your favourite book was Atlas Shrugged is a whole different matter. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/111 "2024-06-08T19:34:01Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It’s illegal to publish a non-annotated edition It’s illegal in Germany. I’m not going to test it (I already get enough pro Trump ads 😉 ) but I’d bet you could buy the unannotated version from Amazon in the US (and the PDF is I’m downloadable with a Google search, not that again I’m gonna to test that) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/112 "2024-06-08T19:34:36Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > How long into meeting a person does one ask, “what’s your favorite book?”, instead of “read anything good lately?” I would ask that if I thought I’d get any hits. Maybe I’ll try it. I’d rather talk about books than the weather. I had a guy who worked with me on my floor and we would talk about books all the time. He loved _Pride and Prejudice_ and the Harry Potter books. But I find most people just don’t read that much. A better touch point might be something they saw in the news. Or TV shows. I often connected with my coworkers over TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/113 "2024-06-08T19:36:07Z")
I read all the time. All non fiction though. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/114 "2024-06-08T19:39:40Z")
I’d be willing to bet that most people who post here read. I don’t think we’re representative of the general population though. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/115 "2024-06-08T19:47:27Z")
In the website linked to below, it says that non-annotated editions of _Mein Kampf_ can’t be published in Germany, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland. it’s available in Russia, Romania, the United States and the UK. I don’t know about other countries: > **[Unbanning Hitler](https://web.archive.org/web/20180929155611/https://www.newstatesman.com/node/153682)** > > Mein Kampf made the Fuhrer a millionaire, and it has been enriching anonymous charities. Bu ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/116 "2024-06-08T20:06:33Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > _The Bridges of Madison County_. We can’t hang. One of the very few books I never finished (got slightly less than halfway through before I couldn’t take one more word). Pure glurge. The movie, judging from the trailers, looked even worse. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/117 "2024-06-08T20:06:57Z")
WorldCat shows copies of [Mein Kampf](https://search.worldcat.org/formats-editions/1057006223) available. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/118 "2024-06-08T20:14:00Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Personally, I would be cautious if someone told me that was their favorite book. Same with a Harlequin romance novel. Romance novels can be great. Just not those I do not think. Yeah, my mom and younger sister used to read those. Once when we were visiting mom I was so bored I started reading one . Gawd awful. And about two pages in I knew exactly how the rest of the book would go (I verified I was right with my sister). I don’t hate most books with romance, but I haven’t read a book yet in the “Romance” catagory that resonated with me. I usually regret the time I wasted reading them. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/119 "2024-06-08T20:25:03Z")
There times in ones life when you need a soft, easy to read, no surprises book. I read Madison county at a time I needed that. I also read nearly the complete _Cat who …_ series. They eased my mind. I grew out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/120 "2024-06-08T20:26:46Z")
Anything by Heinlein. I know I’m in store for an interminable conversation with a boring, humorless nerd who’s main interest in life is trying to prove how smart they are. In other words, the living embodiment of the “ackchyually” meme. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/121 "2024-06-08T20:46:37Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > As recently as a couple of years ago. The Mists of Avalon was big in the 1980’s, the Darkover books were consistently popular in the “planetary romance” niche and she built a reputation in certain circles as a strong feminist voice. Yes, I loved _The Mists of Avalon_, and I remember it making me re-think the Arthurian stories, but I won’t read any more of them, and I don’t recommend it. > [@Chingon](#): > > Anything by Heinlein. I know I’m in store for an interminable conversation with a boring, humorless nerd who’s main interest in life is trying to prove how smart they are. I had a coworker that I was fake-arguing with about Heinlein vs. Dick. So, we decided to give each other five of the other author’s books to read. I was the Philip K. Dick fan and read all the Heinlein he gave me. Can’t remember any of those because they didn’t make much impression on me. He didn’t read any of the books I gave him. Jerk. I had read _Stranger in a Strange Land_ in high school (or just after) and didn’t hate it, but I found lots of niggling details that bothered me about it which put me off Heinlein for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567/122 "2024-06-08T21:09:17Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I’ve run across a surprising number of people who don’t though. As recently as a couple of years ago. The Mists of Avalon was big in the 1980’s, the Darkover books were consistently popular in the “planetary romance” niche and she built a reputation in certain circles as a strong feminist voice. There was a science fiction convention called Darkover Grand Council. It was near enough that I could easily drive to it, so I went to some of them. I haven’t ever read any of her books. It was just a close convention that some friends went to and had some interesting author guests. As I understand it, royalties from her books now go to anti-child-abuse organizations. I never heard anything about the child abuse before she died. I’ve heard claims that she was herself abused as a child and during her first marriage. If that’s true, it would be match the theory that people abused as children more often when they become adults abuse children themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-favorite-book-would-cause-you-to-walk-away-from-someone/1002567.md?page=7)