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Position:Home>Books & Authors> If I wanted to be considered "well-read", what would you recommend I rQuestion: If I wanted to be considered "well-read", what would you recommend I read!? I really enjoy reading!. I want to be well read, and I think I'm doing pretty good so far!. I've read some great books!.
Anyways, what books would you consider a must-read for all!? (NOT Twilight, thanks!. No sense in suggesting that book to anyone, everyone has head of Twilight!.!.!.)Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'd read a good mix of modern and classical literature!. You are already off to a good start, having read 1984 A Clockwork Orange, the Bell Jar and Trainspotting, which can all be considered modern classics!. Some other modern classics you may enjoy include: A Secret History - Donna Tart The Stepford Wives - Ira Leving Rosemary's Baby - Ira Leving The Catcher in the Rye - JD Sallinger Lolita - Victor Narbakov In Cold Blood - Truman Capote To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl - Roald Dahl Some older classics include: The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald Passage to India - EM Forster Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte Great Expectations - Charles Dickens Contemporary Literature: Oscar & Lucinder - Peter Carey Cloudstreet - Tim Winton White Oleander - Janet Fitch The Pact - Jodi Picoult Possession - AS Byatt Beloved - Toni Morrison Cold Mountain - Charles Frazer Hope this list helpsWww@QuestionHome@Com Don't refuse to read something just because everyone else has; conversely, don't read something just because no one else has!. Often, reading badly written novels helps you appreciate the good ones!. The Giver - considered a children's book, but really good: contemporary utopia/ dystopia setting Snow Crash: cyberpunk Dune: fantasy universe - the first book is good, don't bother with the rest Isaac Asimov's robot stories World of Watches series - modern day Russian magic!.!. also softcore philosophy Elements of Style - ha! classic writing guide!. If you write at all, this is very helpful!.Www@QuestionHome@Com You can read all the books that would consider you 'well read' and not understand them, which defeats the purpose! If you like a specific genre and are looking to try different things which are more difficult then definitely read some criticisms or guides!. Most literature inter-relates with others and the more you read, the more you see it!. You could try some of these authors: Dostoevsky Chaucer Austin Shakespeare Eliot Joyce Conrad Homer Bronte Scott Woolfe Wilde Trocchi Cervantes Celine Dante O'Toole Heller Orwell Henry James James Joyce Hawthorne Bulgakov Kafka Gogol Pushkin I could gon on and on! Www@QuestionHome@Com read the classics read jane austen- pride and prejudice sense and sensibility emma persuation!.!.!.!. louisa may alcott- little women little men jo's boys eight cousins!.!.!. cs lewis- the 7 books from narnia mitch albom- tuesdays with morrie for one more day the 5 people you meet in heaven!.!.!. shakespeare is awesome, and if you can get the story versions of his plays it will be a good idea, or you can even read his plays!. empire of the sun-i'm not who it's by the kite runner a thousand splendid suns the boy called it ask alice just a few :) and read the host by dtephenie meyer!.!.!. vryones heard of twilight!.!.!.but not many have read the host!.!.!.it's better than twilight!.!.!.!.and it has a better story line and message behind it Www@QuestionHome@Com Read a large variety of books Read a lot, a lot, a lot of the classics especially, they are classics for a reason!. Read Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice (love this book <3), Count of Monet Cristo, Jane Eyre, Robin Hood (love this book <3), Frankenstein, etc!. Focus on authors like Jane Auson, Charles Dickons, the Bronte sisters, Shakespeare, etc!. Try political and religious books, as well as controvertial books, like Animal Farm, the Alchemist (love this book <3), Lord of the Flies, The Da Vinvi Code, etc!. Look for other best sellers and recommended, NOT just popular fad books like Harry Potter or Twilight, because usually those books only appeal to the people who don't read much or only read in a certain genre like fantasy!. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was another book I really liked!. But, I must say, if I were to choose the book I think every girl should read it'd be Pride and Prejudice!. Try this site as well, there are a few more great books (I listed a few) --> http://artofmanliness!.com/2008/05/14/100!.!.!. Happy reading ^!.^Www@QuestionHome@Com Well, I assume you're talking about books that come up in discussions or are thought to be classics!? Harry Potter, of course! They are really good and well written!. I second 1984 by George Orwell I loved Hamlet, by Shakespeare, and maybe you should read Macbeth, too Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck Frankenstein - Mary Shelley Dracula - Bram Stocker I loved MEG CABOT books, I recommend them! Eragon - Christopher Paolini I hear the Terry Prachett 'Discworld' books are really good, try those!.!. I know this answer is!.!.!.bumpy!.!.!.but I hope I helped!Www@QuestionHome@Com If you like dystopian fiction you should read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood!. It is an exceptionally well written book!. A couple of other great books are The Road by Cormac McCarthy and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut!. The three books I just mentioned are at the top of my list of favorite books!. For a short story try The Ones That Walked Away from Omelas by Ursula K!. Le Guin!.Www@QuestionHome@Com It depends on your interests!. For example if you like science fiction "Dealing With Dragons" is a good one!. Non-fiction "Wayne" or "Cut"!. One of my favorite book is "The Secret Garden"!. It really all comes out to what you like!. "Head in Twilight" lol very funny!. I don't even see the sense in reading that book since almost half of the world already did!. Www@QuestionHome@Com There are some great suggestions here!.!.!. So I'm only going to recommend one author, Ayn Rand!. I'd say at least read Anthem because it is a) shorter than her other works and b) because it really is a great piece of literature and a bit mind boggling if I remember rightly!. Www@QuestionHome@Com Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea The Time Machine by H!. G!. Wells The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Charles DickensWww@QuestionHome@Com try to read the classics , to kill a mockingbird , travels with my aunt , war and peace, last of the mochicans , etc !.!.!. please read the classics they are worth it !.Www@QuestionHome@Com I have no idea what you are interested in, but as someone who hates most books the few I somewhat enjoy are: 1984-George Orwell Brave New World-Aldous Huxley Sadly those are the only two I can think of o!.0Www@QuestionHome@Com To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Nine Nations of North America by Joel Garreau Www@QuestionHome@Com Pride and Prejudice War and Peace The Edgar Allen Poe collection A Brief History of Time ( Stephen Hawking) Of Mice and Men Shake Hands with The Devil Www@QuestionHome@Com little women Www@QuestionHome@Com Classics, definitely - that way, you can pepper your conversation with erudite references to great books! Here are some of my favorites - I tried to represent a big cross section of important literature!. Shakespeare - even if you aren't a huge Shakespeare fan, give The Tempest, King Lear, or Othello a try!. I would not call anyone well-read if they told me they'd never read a Shakespeare play!. Henry James - Turn of the Screw!. Deliciously ambiguous horror/thriller!. Is the governess crazy, or is she really haunted by ghosts!? Robert Penn Warren - All the King's Men!. The Southern Literary Renaissance was one of the most important movements in American Lit, and Penn Warren's novel might be considered it's apotheosis!. It's my personal favorite book!. T!.S!. Eliot - The Waste Land!. This is a long, complex poem, and references to it abound in popular culture!. It is one of the most important pieces of modernist poetry!. Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness!. A short but dense novel!. Again, if you haven't read this, I wouldn't call you well-read!. It's a basic!. Kate Chopin - The Awakening!. Another short novel!. One of the first and most important pieces of feminist literature of all time!. There are also hundreds of books by non-Western (Europe and US) authors!. Try Chinua Achebe, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or Orhan Pamuk to expand your multiculturalism!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |