Camino, by Monseñor Escrivá de Balaguer, it is the Opus Dei Bible breviary. Never knew anyone who admitted to it, but there must be some. It is in the same vein as many other books that have already been mentioned, which I second too. Which makes it sort of a contribution to a list, the whole thread being the list.
Once again, the whole thread is NOT what is meant by “list”.
A book I plan on reading. I hate spoilers.
I added a staff note to the OP, maybe it will help.
If they just told me this title, I’d walk away:
Any book written by authoritarian child-rearing “experts” Jim Dobson or John Rosemond.
Yes, or The Fountainhead which is the same thing pretty much.
Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Damn, I wish I could make a whole list.
I figured that Mein Kampf would be the first one, so was going to mention Atlas Shrugged because you just know you’re in for a lecture from some pretentious, selfish person. But not surprisingly, that was an early entry too.
So I’ll go with Hustler’s University (or any book) by Andrew Tate.
Uh oh. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but it’s up pretty high on my list.
Catcher in the Rye. Not because I would fear the person is a murderer, but I don’t want to hear about how Holden Caufield is a misunderstood anti-hero. No he was not - he was an asshole.
You can pick a book someone has already picked.
There isn’t one. I’d have to know why it’s their favorite, for reasons already mentioned here. I’d say my antenna go up when someone cites a self-help book, though.
Indeed - I’d probably want to finish the conversation no matter what book they said, just to get a little insight into their thinking. But a “no second date” book for me is probably Dune. In my experience, people who take that book too seriously over-identify with Paul, in ways that aren’t mentally healthy. Of course, I’d ask them to explain why they loved the book so much, and if the answer was sane (“the originality and completeness of Herbert’s world-building continues to delight and amaze me”) I’d be okay with it. But if they zero’ed in on how amazing Paul’s visions were … yeah, probably not someone I’d be overly compatible with.
I’ll third the books of Ayn Rand. Sure, Mein Kampf or The Turner Diaries or a book of that type would also do it, but those people are usually obvious in other ways.
Seconded.
This tripe:
The Necronomicon.
Turtles All The Way Down: Vaccine Science and Myth
A supposed review of scientific arguments against vaccination safety.
The Secret and The Da Vinci Code are two I’ll add that haven’t been named yet.
Someone who says Harry Potter was their favorite when they were a kid is fine, but if it’s still their favorite now, I’m out.