I’m looking for something interesting to read. Despite the fact that I read all sorts of weird stuff all over the Internet, I realized that I too rarely read actual books. Having decided to remedy this, I’ve bought a few books that were recommended various places.
The thing is, I don’t know which I should begin with. Therefore, in one of my first ever IMHO posts, I’m asking you, the Millions, to tell me which of these books I should read and why.
The candidates:
“Walden”, Henry David Thoreau
“The Sound and the Fury”, William Faulkner
“Atlas Shrugged”, Ayn Rand
“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, Robert Pirsig
“Ulysses”, James Joyce
(I’m into philosophy and psychology, hence most of the above choices.)
I started reading Zen some time ago, but stopped (this is all too common in my career as a reader). The others I haven’t begun, but was intrigued by the themes.
Personally, I’d read either “Walden” (I love Thoreau) or “Zen” since you’ve already started it. The other three are books I want to read, but don’t have the time to do so right now. And so I shall sit here quietly, envying you.
The Sound and the Fury, I’d say. Then again, I’ve never read Faulkner, despite being an English major. Shame on me. What is comes down to is, I like the title :). Ulysses is worthwhile, but a major pain in the ass, in my opinion. The others, I haven’t read.
This is kind of an odd list of books. I would recommend that you finish Zen, then read Walden. Both of these are readily accessible to someone unused to reading books. After that you might move on to the Faulkner, although I would recommend that you read some other novels first to get a sense of the form. Besides, Zen and Walden will likely make you want to read other authors - most notably Plato.
You might want to save Ulysses for a little later.
Don’t read the Ayn Rand. It will likely put you off books altogether.
and if you liked that type of book…may I suggest one called “Surfing the Himalayas”. Its about a snowboarder who meets a Buddhist Monk while doing the title.
I kept reading and saying this has Zen all over it.
Don’t listen to these other (and I use the term loosely) people. Read “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand and then read “Atlas Shrugged”. They are amazing books.
note: I was just kidding about the people remark. Anyone who doesn’t like Ayn Rand isn’t a person at all (hehe another joke - who needs the comedy channel when you have me)
I’m not a big fan of the short things that I’ve read of Thoreau. It was mostly just short essays/stories or excertpts from Walden when I was in HS, but I didn’t think they were too thrilling.
I’ve also hear bad things about Thoreau:
There are entire chapters in Walden that are devoted to interesting things like what the water level in the pond is.
That Thoreau pretty much just rips off Emerson.
Those are just two things that I heard, and were made somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Those comments combined with my past experience is enough to make me not want to read any more Thoreau.
Atlas Shrugged is an interesting book and will certainly help you understand many, many Internet discussions. However, as a work of literature, it’s garbage, basically as good as a Harlequin Romance.
I highly recommend The Sound and the Fury. It is truly a masterpeice of English literature, and a pleasure to read.
I’d say start with Zen mostly because you’ve already started, then do Walden. These two are remarkably nice to contrast with Atlas Shrugged, as a contrast between philosophical axes to grind done (for the most part) gently as opposed to with ranting didactics. There are two large camps of determinedly goofy folks who turn into self-caricatures, slavishly for and slavishly against–both groups are prominent enough that it overshadows the more reasonable but less noticeable majority who can simply read it.
I very much agree with the assessment of Ulysses as worthwhile, but sort of a pain in the ass. The least accessible on the list that I know of–I haven’t read the Faulkner, but I have read As I Lay Dying, and Joyce still was ahead in the pain-in-the-ass contest with that one.
If you DO decide to do Atlas Shrugged, either skip the chapter John Galt Speaks and read the rest of the book, or read that chapter and skip the rest of the book. It is noting but a three hour speech, written as such. No breaks from narrative AT ALL. not even an ‘he paused, sipped some water, and continued’. Just remember, if you do skip the rest rest of the book, you’ll miss out on some of the most stilted ‘sex scenes’ (and I’m using the term loosely) you’ll ever read. (After all, there’s nothing that turns on a multi-millionaire heiress quite so much as being roughly taken on a burlap bag in a railroad tunnel under the city.)
How old are you, anyway? I read Ulysses in collitch, at the age of seventeen, and found it bewildering. Read it again at 35 and was astounded. You have to do some living before it can make any sense to you, IMHO. I don’t know WHAT they’re thinking, giving it to teenagers.
Ayn Rand’s a crazy ol’ witch. Read Anthem…you can learn all you need to know about her in fewer than 200 pages.
re: Faulkner: I liked Absalom, Absalom better.
Zen struck me as 1970s-style pop psych/lit (Jonathan Livingston Seagull without the pictures) back when I read it in the 1970s, although there are hundreds of thousands who will argue with me. You’ve got better things to read first.
Difficult? That book really made me angry. I hated it all the way through, but I finished it. (Nobody made me, either.) However, it completely put me off reading anything else by Faulkner. I don’t mind difficult books, love 'em in fact, but I really hated this one.
Boy, did I not like Zen and the blah blah blah. I thought there was too much pop psychology, not enough Zen and I found the narrator unbelievably annoying.
As for the other titles, well, I started both The Sound and the Fury and Ulysses and couldn’t finish either one. And I majored in English Lit.
And I enjoyed Ayn Rand, although I see not many people agree with me. I read her books at least five years ago, though, so maybe I’d see them differently now.
I know you didn’t ask, but I think everyone should read The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Middlemarch and many, many others that I won’t go into.
OOooh, I loved The Sound and the Fury but I agree that it’s kind of difficult to get into (though the second chapter is a work of art), especially if you’ve never read any Faulkner before.
I would recommend Light in August, which is much more coherent and yet still a good taste of Faulkner’s genius.