One book everyone should read?

[hipmamajen]

If we lived in a magic world where you could wave a wand and put one book the library of every home, what would you choose? And why?

Rules:

1) No Stephen King books, obviously in our magic world everyone would already have all of those!

2) No Scripture, because people either already have it or don't want it, and I don't want a big heavy theological discussion in here.

(If you can only whittle it down to two or three, that's okay too. Just tell us why you chose them!)

 

[kingricefan]

East Of Eden. It's all about the choices we make in life.

 

[kingricefan]

The Lovely Bones. To show that even in the midst of something horrific you can find happiness and joy.

 

[Dana Jean]

Arguably Essays by Christopher Hitchens. Just to make people think about things. Agree, disagree. Just think.

 

[Demeter]

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Just to see what a world without books would be like.

 

[blunthead]

The Great Divorce. C.S.Lewis. The single best fantasy, if it can indeed be catalogued at all.

 

[Grandpa]

This is a toughie. The ones that I like that have been important to me (such as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) are not necessarily ones that I'd presume should be foisted on others.

You could do worse than To Kill A Mockingbird, though. It shows human suffering and unfairness, courage and resolve, and presents characters, their dialogue, and actions in real-world ways. It's also a book that can effectively, at least in my experience, stick a hand in your guts and twist.

 

[blunthead]

This is a toughie. The ones that I like that have been important to me (such as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) are not necessarily ones that I'd presume should be foisted on others.

You could do worse than To Kill A Mockingbird, though. It shows human suffering and unfairness, courage and resolve, and presents characters, their dialogue, and actions in real-world ways. It's also a book that can effectively, at least in my experience, stick a hand in your guts and twist.

And it reads good. I mean, anybody could read it and find it enjoyable, exciting, intriguing, uplifting, and just. Harper Lee wrote one book, but what a book indeed.

Lee is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, November 5, 2007.

 

[Kurben]

Very difficult. It is such a mood thing. but here are three great books that are quite different:

William Golding: Lord of the Flies
Richard Adams: Watership Down
Orhan Pamuk: My name is Red

 

[The Nameless]

I'd say War of the Worlds by H.G Wells, because it was so thought provoking, and potentially possible (at that time, before we knew better) that it sent thousands of Americans into a blind panic, and scared the crap out of more than a millian, some litterally shooting silos and water towers, and this was 4 decades after it's release. Plus it might encourage more people to hear that stunning musical album by Jeff Wayne.

 

[not_nadine]

Gone With The Wind - Margret Mitchell.
All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque
Tai Pan - James Clavell
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

Spoiler

Anything by Paul Sheldon

 

[fljoe0]

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

 

[Out of Order]

The Collective Works of Penthouse Forum

 

[FlakeNoir]

The Collective Works of Penthouse Forum

 

[GNTLGNT]

...Sears & Roebuck Catalog in case of a potty-paper shortage....

 

[ghost19]

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. In this scenario, all people are cold war military techno thriller fans, right?

 

[aussie12]

A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey , it's an autobiography from an Australian man and it's such an amazing story.

 

[DiO'Bolic]

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (just started reading it to make up for taking the easy way out in high school by relying solely on CliffsNotes.)

Why: Actually seems to be a good read so far, and even if you weren’t inclined to read it... it’s so freakin’ long that burning it would give you an added day of warmth in the event of the zombie apocalypse.

 

[morgan]

 

[Haunted]

Les Miserables
Gone with the Wind