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Night by elie wiesel and at least one toni morrison and j california cooper book
bram stoker's dracula and 1000 places to visit before you die in the us and canada
There are many that have been mentioned and that I'd add (Lolita, for one, and more international authors like Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo and Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea). But I'd definitely throw in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, for introducing a style of journalism, for better or worse, that is so commonplace that we barely notice the style at all these days.
He made a major news story (remember, the murders were fresh when he started interviewing and writing for it) his subjective experience of it with obvious editorial content and descriptive flourishes. I don't know that he really launched the trend or if he was the first of an inevitability, but I do think it's an important book for modern readers.
The original intent of this thread was not for everyone to throw in what they consider to be good books to read. Rather, it was for me to get an idea of the books I should read in order to have a good literary foundation. Mind you, I'm not really talking Shakespeare or the like, but what is currently culturally relevant.
The original intent of this thread was not for everyone to throw in what they consider to be good books to read. Rather, it was for me to get an idea of the books I should read in order to have a good literary foundation. Mind you, I'm not really talking Shakespeare or the like, but what is currently culturally relevant.
Perhaps it's time for this thread to be locked?
I think the "problem" with your original question stems from the simple fact that everyone defines "classic" and "must read" differently. For instance, when I hear the word classic in relation to books, I think of books written either before the 20th century or at the latest the very early 20th century. When I hear a book described as a 'must read', I think of a book that is going to impart some much needed insight or information to me. (I haven't found too many that others describe that way that actually did what was claimed!) In my opinion, a better way to ask for book recommendations is to describe what you've read and enjoyed and simply ask about similar books. Or describe the info or feeling you want from a book. For instance, when I'm looking for new books/authors, I look for a story that will immerse me immediately in at least a different life if not a whole different world. Like the book I'm reading right now has me completely convinced (on a deep basic level) that there are other worlds as easily accessible as simply wanting them to be there. (Stephen King's Black House) But I also enjoy simple detective stories and used to enjoy romance and historical novels, as well as a few science fiction authors.
Jack London has been mentioned many times so far. I do love White Fang and Call of the Wild. He has other works that are just as good. I just can't recall all the names at this time. It's been about 20 years since I read that collection, except White Fang which I just recently read to my daughter.
Don't forget:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Bambi--Felix Salten
Black Beauty--Anne Sewell
I can't agree more concerning Jack London. If you haven't already, check out The Iron Heel and The People of the Abyss. They are totally unlike anything else he wrote; he was a socialist and had plenty to complain about in the first decade of the 20th century, with child labor and incredible privations of the poor.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, too! He was a master of the kind of book that one just can't find a good place to stop reading. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. And the Tarzan series has a good amount of social criticism, not at all dumbed-down like some of the movies.
I recently read Tolstoy's War and Peace, a formidable book, but it was actually very engrossing.
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