[leiarose]

I have decided to improve my mind through the dedicated reading of books. I’ve started a list with some titles that I want to read and some that have been recommended. I would like to have a list of fiftyish so I need some suggestions!

What are the most influential books you have read? Fiction and non-fiction? What books have shaped your Christian faith? What books have challenged you? What classic literature must be read?

I want this to be beneficial for me so I'm not looking to just "read 50 books"; I am using this for self-improvement and enjoyment. (Harry Potter being the latter. )

I have a few to start my list below (most of these are fiction but I hope to have a good blend):

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Ender's Game
East of Eden
Harry Potter (1-6)
Hamlet
Les Miserables
Wicked
A Wrinkle In Time
Farenheit 451
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
The Princess Bride
Dracula
Blue Like Jazz

I found these as recommended elsewhere and I haven't gone through to see if any are worth reading yet. Any of the following you recommend or would not?

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lolita
1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Great Gatsby
My Sister's Keeper: A Novel
American Gods
The Little Prince
The Lovely Bones
The Secret History
Twilight
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
On the Road
The Stand
Brave New World
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Memoirs of a Geisha
Rebel Angels
The Hobbit
The Kite Runner
White Oleander
The Mists of Avalon
Atlas Shrugged
Crime and Punishment
Neverwhere: A Novel
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Everything is Illuminated
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Foundation Series
Anna Karenina
Watership Down: A Novel
Eragon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
A Tale of Two Cities
Flowers for Algernon
Jitterbug Perfume
The Last Unicorn
Their Eyes Were Watching God

[meatfinger]

Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) - It's bizarre and darkly comic, but moving all at once.

Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) - Maybe even a better WWII book than Slaughterhouse-Five.

Holy the Firm (Annie Dillard) - If you don't read anything else I recommend, read this. It's a 70-page read, but it's absolutely incredible. Mind-blowing. I could lay on more hollow accolades, but that wouldn't do it justice. Possibly the greatest work of literature this century.

The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan) - this is a very light read in contrast to my previous suggestions. It's geared towards teenagers but suitable for adults as well. It takes the concepts of Greek mythology and transposes them into the modern day. It's really a lot of fun.

I'd also echo 1984, Brave New World, and The Great Gatsby from your current list. It's embarrassing how few of those I've read.

[Role Modlin]

Out of that list...I've read these.


To Kill a Mockingbird
The Picture of Dorian Gray
A Wrinkle In Time
Farenheit 451
Dracula
Blue Like Jazz
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
1984
On the Road
The Stand
Atlas Shrugged
A Tale of Two Cities
Flowers for Algernon


Out of those...the only one I wouldn't suggest is The Time Traveller's Wife. It started out really good but I lost interest in it about half-way though.

[wjarmusch]

Out of your 'maybe' list I've read The Hobbit and A Tale of Two Cities. Both classics I would reccomend. When I've got more time I'll suggest some of my favs.

[beanbag]

I'll just go through and highlight the books that I have read and recommend, and then at the end I will add mine.

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Picture of Dorian Gray - I haven't been able to finish it (which is shocking for me) but it is extremely thought-provoking. take it slow.
Ender's Game -it reminds me of a modern 1984 for some reason.
East of Eden
Harry Potter (1-6)
Hamlet
Les Miserables
Wicked - LOVE it. read Son of a Witch next. (it's the sequel.)
A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L'Engle is one of my all-time favorite authors. read anything and everything by her that you can get your hands on. don't be fooled by the seemingly "young" appeal of this book. it is extremely deep. she will challenge your ideas about God, eternity and spirituality in ways that you could never imagine.
Farenheit 451
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
The Princess Bride
Dracula
Blue Like Jazz

I found these as recommended elsewhere and I haven't gone through to see if any are worth reading yet. Any of the following you recommend or would not?

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lolita
1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Great Gatsby
My Sister's Keeper: A Novel
American Gods
The Little Prince
The Lovely Bones
The Secret History
Twilight
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
On the Road
The Stand
Brave New World - I started reading this for a report. unfortunately, I didn't have the time needed to invest in it, so I am definitely going to give it another shot somewhere down the line.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Memoirs of a Geisha - good, but not good enough to own.
Rebel Angels
The Hobbit
The Kite Runner
White Oleander
The Mists of Avalon - it's extremely graphic and explicit (think R). Marion Zimmer Bradley was a very talented author, and the writing is very well-done, but like I said, the content is explicit. approach with caution.
Atlas Shrugged
Crime and Punishment
Neverwhere: A Novel
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Everything is Illuminated
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Foundation Series
Anna Karenina
Watership Down: A Novel
Eragon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
A Tale of Two Cities
Flowers for Algernon
Jitterbug Perfume
The Last Unicorn
Their Eyes Were Watching God

some of my recommendations:

The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (if you've already read them...read em again!)
Many Waters - Madeleine L'Engle
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men - also John Steinbeck
The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe (short story)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy (it's also a thought-provoking book)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (and now the other lit snobs can look shocked. it really is one of my favorites if not my most favorite, though.)
Villette - Charlotte Bronte (a little slow at places, but good to read if you're in a nostalgic, wistful, melancholy sort of mood.)
Beauty - Robin McKinley
The Robe - Lloyd Douglas
Officer 666 - can't remember the author. if you can get your hands on a copy of this (it was published in 1912. one of my best friends found it in an antique shop and grabbed it for me since I love old books.) it is supremely hilarious.
Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
Emma - Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

I think I am going to end my list here. if you want more recommendations, you know where to find me.

[Simo]

Please don't read Anna Karenina. It is so incredibly boring.

Some that i would suggest:

The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain
Call It Sleep by Roth
Light in August by Faulkner
The Loved One by Waugh
Dracula by Stoker
Persuasion by Austen
Sense and Sensibility By Austen
The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare

Enjoy

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by Simo

Please don't read Anna Karenina. It is so incredibly boring.

I highly disagree. it is quite an in-depth look into human nature, into action and consequence, into morality and into society's impact on people.

however, I do highly agree with Simo's suggestion to read The Taming of the Shrew. (my favorite Shakespeare play.)

[leiarose]

All right! This is great and my list is going to be much longer than 50 now.

I love love love the Wicked musical so I figured the books would be awesome too - I'm looking forward to that.

Tolkien does absolutely nothing for me unfortunately. I was saturated in it through my sister....

I have read/seen a lot of Austen and I love it. Bronte as well. I tried to read Villette three or four times but kept getting frustrated that my French wasn't good enough. Loved The Scarlet Letter as well - that's a classic.

I'll have to put Vonnegut on there as well.

Thanks so far.

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by leiarose

I have read/seen a lot of Austen and I love it. Bronte as well. I tried to read Villette three or four times but kept getting frustrated that my French wasn't good enough.

I have had a grand total of three months of french, and that was half my life ago. barnes and noble has this great classics line they've released and they're all under $10 or so. they also have footnotes scattered throughout, so even with my crappy french I was able to read Villette just fine; they translate all the french phrases.

I believe it cost me about $8, too, and they have the buy 2 get 1 free sales on these books pretty often. it's grand. I am starting to replace my hodge-podge of random printings of the classics with these. they're really nice.

[bobthecockroach]

The Brothers Karamazov
The Screwtape Letters

These books contain 90% of what you need to know.

[MtlMom]

I've read quite a few of these. Here are the ones that I really enjoyed:

Originally Posted by leiarose

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Lolita
1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Great Gatsby (my favorite book)
My Sister's Keeper: A Novel
American Gods
The Little Prince
The Lovely Bones
The Secret History
Twilight
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
On the Road
The Stand
Brave New World
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Memoirs of a Geisha
Rebel Angels
The Hobbit
The Kite Runner
White Oleander
The Mists of Avalon
Atlas Shrugged (and The Fountainhead)
Crime and Punishment
Neverwhere: A Novel
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Everything is Illuminated
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Foundation Series
Anna Karenina
Watership Down: A Novel
Eragon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
A Tale of Two Cities
Flowers for Algernon
Jitterbug Perfume (this is a strange book. I liked it a lot)
The Last Unicorn
Their Eyes Were Watching God

[Kenny C.]

You must read The Fountainhead. It's quite possibly my favorite book of all time. It's just amazing.

[Nate]

Originally Posted by leiarose

What are the most influential books you have read? Fiction and non-fiction? What books have shaped your Christian faith? What books have challenged you? What classic literature must be read?

I'm a lousy reader as far as the "classics" are concerned.

I think C. S. Lewis' "The Abolition Of Man" is what people should be writing today about postmodernism and the church, instead of stuff like "Blue Like Jazz" or "Velvet Elvis" (both of which I've also read). It is, to me, a work of genius.

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and its sequel "Lila" are... interesting to say the least. I read them both at the behest of a trusted professor. Think of them as semi-fiction, like philosophy texts in disguise.

As for anything else, really C. S. Lewis is the epitome of an "influential" author, for me. The first chapter of Mere Christianity is almost Scriptural in its exposition of human depravity. The Great Divorce is beauty mixed with shame rolled up in anticipation. The Screwtape Letters is simultaneously humorous and terrifying. The Chronicles Of Narnia and the Space Trilogy (particularly the first two books) are beautifully written metaphors of the Christian experience and worldview (though Lewis claims otherwise). Outside of the Biblical authors, I don't really consider any author to have influenced me or challenged me apart from Lewis. I've read things that were interesting or persuasive or enlightening even, but nothing else that changed my mind.

[slap_j]

Ulysses.

Then you can say you read it. It's almost as good as saying you climbed Mount Everest or something.

And I very strongly agree with Brave New World and Lolita to a lesser extent.

[meatfinger]

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (and now the other lit snobs can look shocked. it really is one of my favorites if not my most favorite, though.)

Are lit snobs supposed to dislike this book? I enjoyed it, and I hate Victorian-era literature as a rule.