Runningmom80 Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) I'll try to narrow it down to 5. To Kill A Mockingbird Of Mice and Men Jane Eyre a Jane Austen Work An EM Forster work A Shakespeare work Plato or something similar, just because I suffered through The Republic, so I feel others should have to as well. :lol: Something Dickens Ok I quit this is too hard. :laugh: Edited March 23, 2016 by Runningmom80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I read Kristin Lavransdatter a few years ago; it was recommended to me by a friend who is a college lecturer. :) I saw it mentioned here so many times that I caved! Very glad that I did; it will be added to my home library one of these days! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 To a God Unknown (Steinbeck) 100 Years of Solitude (Garcia Marquez) A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) Sula (Morrison) Notes of Underground (Dostoyevsky) And if not limited to five I would add the collected works of all of the above authors. Plus Jane Austen and The Diary of Anne Frank. And a good translation of Gilgamesh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Dante's Inferno, a Shakespeare play, The Iliad and The Odyssey (OK, that's 2), a Dicken's work like Great Expectations, and Karl Marx. This is a good list. For myself I'd change a couple of things, but keep the same cultural fits. For the Shakespeare I would choose A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sub the Aeneid for the Iliad. Instead of Marx go for Mark - Twain's Life on the Mississippi. Five titles are not nearly enough! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Better add some Flannery O'Connor for southern flair. And Howey's Wool trilogy for dystopianish scifi. Edited March 24, 2016 by Seasider 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Five is hard! I keep changing my list and having arguments with myself while I delete things to keep it down to five. I love a lot of things others have posted and feel bad leaving them off my Top Five list. The Grapes of Wrath To Kill a Mockingbird The Merchant of Venice Frankenstein The Age of Innocence But if you want to read something you maybe haven't already read, read Stoner by John Williams Edited March 24, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) One that I did not see that made an impact on my is "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." Edited March 24, 2016 by ElizabethB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Kristin Lavransdatter--does it pick up? I gave it a try and had a hard time wading through the first several pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 David Copperfield Cry, The Beloved Country To Kill A Mockingbird Crime and Punishment Romeo and Juliet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 So difficult to narrow it down. My "vote" is to pick classics that sound interesting to you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Moby Dick (Melville) Sister Carrie (Dreiser) The Golden Bowl (James) All the King's Men (Warren) Buddenbrooks (Mann) 100 Years of Solitude (Garcia-Marquez) The Trial (Kafka) Tin Drum (Grass) Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky) Cancer Ward (Solzhenitsyn) Cancer Ward was one of those starkly life changing books for me. I'll add the following to that list: Germinal by Emile Zola In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (and don't stop at Swann's Way. The full work is deep and powerful as a whole; much less so if read as a sampling part.) Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Caveat: I don't necessarily think these are THE five books to read, but if you've already read the usual standard high school assignment fare, it's worthwhile to expand your reach into these I've listed above. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Five off the top of my head Huckleberry Finn To Kill a Mockingbird Pride and Prejudice A Midsummer Night's Dream (or Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet or Macbeth) My Antonia Those were all at the top of my list of things I wanted to share with my kids during their home school years--works I felt they needed to know. Actually, we never got to P&P, but hopefully they'll read it during their high school years! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 David Copperfield Cry, The Beloved Country To Kill A Mockingbird Crime and Punishment Romeo and Juliet This would be my list, too. But I'd add a 6th: The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk (interesting book on many levels - one of my favorites.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 "All adults should have read this in his or her life"? I'm using a little bit looser definition of "classic"; i.e., I won't quibble if you say the first Harry Potter, or The Magician's Nephew. :) At some point this year, I want to read a classic that I never read and I want to choose well. Too many. Five? Just five? Of all time?!? The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), The Iliad, Moby Dick. If I *must* choose only five of all time. Obviously I think most people should have read parts of the Bible and the Qur'an for context but I'll save that for religious studies. Okay, but let's talk modern classics? Five? Really? Okay. Okay. On top of the other five: Midnight's Children A Hero of Our Time Things Fall Apart The Stranger The Joy Luck Club Last of the Mohicans No wait, no wait, those are all colonialism and neo colonialism and don't even touch on many things. I didn't include the love stories. I didn't include A Fine Balance! I didn't include Black Like Me. Or The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. I didn't include The Luminaries which I am reading now and I totally forgot Handmaid's Tale, Homage to Catalonia, or what about Edna St. Vincent Millay's poems? I'm terribly sorry but I'm unable to fulfill your request. My directive is to keep reading and reading and don't forget the poets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) What about Anna Karenina? What about Romeo and Juliet? What about Slaughterhouse Five? What about Catch 22? Edit: I think top 500 would be more appropriate. Edited March 24, 2016 by Tsuga 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrispyBiscuit Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan) David Copperfield (Dickens) Bleak House (Dickens) Democracy in America (De Tocqueville) Shadow of the Almighty (Elliot) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Interesting to see how almost everyone recommends to kill a mocking bird. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I did not like To Kill a Mockingbird, alas 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Kristin Lavransdatter--does it pick up? I gave it a try and had a hard time wading through the first several pages. Well, that is a weighty tome. I don't remember thinking it was slow to get going. It was a little more interesting after she started to have babies because I kept wondering if she would have a girl. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 One that I did not see that made an impact on my is "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." DD had that assigned in high school and claimed to hate it. :) we usually like similar books, so I don't think that one makes my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Too many. Five? Just five? Of all time?!? The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), The Iliad, Moby Dick. If I *must* choose only five of all time. Obviously I think most people should have read parts of the Bible and the Qur'an for context but I'll save that for religious studies. Okay, but let's talk modern classics? Five? Really? Okay. Okay. On top of the other five: Midnight's Children A Hero of Our Time Things Fall Apart The Stranger The Joy Luck Club Last of the Mohicans No wait, no wait, those are all colonialism and neo colonialism and don't even touch on many things. I didn't include the love stories. I didn't include A Fine Balance! I didn't include Black Like Me. Or The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. I didn't include The Luminaries which I am reading now and I totally forgot Handmaid's Tale, Homage to Catalonia, or what about Edna St. Vincent Millay's poems? I'm terribly sorry but I'm unable to fulfill your request. My directive is to keep reading and reading and don't forget the poets. :D. Well, fortunately, I have read Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, The Iliad and the vast majority of The Bible. I have not read Moby Dick (don't tell Spy Car). I haven't read any of your other suggestions, either. So lots of choices right here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Has anyone mentioned "Lord of the Flies"? That is one of my favorite classics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I love threads like this!! I'm not sure I'll have anything new to add. There are certainly "classics' that I would recommend you *not* read because they were dull as toast... :laugh: I've recently read in an article that we are living in a time of "Brave New World" and not "1984" - I'd share the article but it's political. I've read 1984, but never Brave New World, so that is now on my list. Here's my list of 5: To Kill a Mockingbird Far From the Madding Crowd Tennent of Wildfell Hall Heart of Darkness Little Prince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Too many. Five? Just five? Of all time?!? The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), The Iliad, Moby Dick. If I *must* choose only five of all time. Obviously I think most people should have read parts of the Bible and the Qur'an for context but I'll save that for religious studies. Okay, but let's talk modern classics? Five? Really? Okay. Okay. On top of the other five: Midnight's Children A Hero of Our Time Things Fall Apart The Stranger The Joy Luck Club Last of the Mohicans No wait, no wait, those are all colonialism and neo colonialism and don't even touch on many things. I didn't include the love stories. I didn't include A Fine Balance! I didn't include Black Like Me. Or The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. I didn't include The Luminaries which I am reading now and I totally forgot Handmaid's Tale, Homage to Catalonia, or what about Edna St. Vincent Millay's poems? I'm terribly sorry but I'm unable to fulfill your request. My directive is to keep reading and reading and don't forget the poets. I agree... Five is hard to keep to. I like your list, BTW.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Cancer Ward was one of those starkly life changing books for me. I'll add the following to that list: Germinal by Emile Zola In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (and don't stop at Swann's Way. The full work is deep and powerful as a whole; much less so if read as a sampling part.) Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Caveat: I don't necessarily think these are THE five books to read, but if you've already read the usual standard high school assignment fare, it's worthwhile to expand your reach into these I've listed above. My husband has said the same thing. I've read bits and pieces of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 (edited) Kristin Lavransdatter--does it pick up? I gave it a try and had a hard time wading through the first several pages. Perhaps try a different translation. I like Tiina Nunnally's. Archer uses archaic language in his translation making it feel like it's dragging for some people. ETA: Archer's was the first one I read because Nunnally's had not yet been published. Even then it was my favorite book, but it did take me awhile to get into it. When I read Nunnally's, it just felt more energetic. Edited March 24, 2016 by Jane Elliot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Has anyone mentioned The Good Earth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) I can't pick a top five, but some random thoughts of things I have enjoyed. I included a number of shorter works as I presume you don't still want to be reading Ulysses this time next year, lol. Sherlock Holmes. You can read a story in an hour or so, or less? Follow up with a Jeremy Brett video, as they are close to the original. So typically 19th century, like Dickens. Edgar Allan Poe, perhaps Fall of House of Usher. Eerie. Short story, easy read. Follow up with Robertson Davies, a Canadian author, High Spirits, ghost stories. If you want Dickens, think about Hard Times. I love novels like Bleak House, but it is long and has zillions of characters. Hard Times is short, but still great Dickensian character too. Jane Austen, Emma or P&P. See Wilde, below (can't move text easily on phone, sorry). Wuthering Heights. Romanticism par excellence. Maybe follow up with Thomas Hardy. Oscar Wilde, Importance of Being Earnest. Comedy of manners. A quick read. Fun to compare with Austen. 1984. Eerily prescient. You could follow up with Brave New World. Sophocles. Antigone or Electra. You could also follow up with modern retellings of either. I would listen to, rather than read, some well known Shakespeare, either a play or a sonnet. Check out the app by Touchpress. ETA I looked at other posts, and I see my suggestions are short, easy, and lightweight compared to many other suggestions. Please, that reflects on me, lol, not what I think op is capable of! Also, most of my suggestions have been made into films or TV -- I am feeling unworthy of WTM.... Edited March 25, 2016 by Alessandra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I have to own up to not reading a The Well-Educated Mind, but wouldn't it have a booklist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 I think the word should makes my answer very different. Five books everyone should read for cultural context: The Iliad or The Odyssey Romeo and Juliet To Kill a Mockingbird The Lord of the Rings Harry Potter Those are not necessarily classics and are not my 5 favorite classics. Five of my favorite classics which I don't think everyone should read but I enjoyed so I'll suggest: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court The Importance of Being Ernest Around the World in 80 Days The Three Musketeers Dracula Ok that list seems random; it is very hard to pick just 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 Perhaps try a different translation. I like Tiina Nunnally's. Archer uses archaic language in his translation making it feel like it's dragging for some people. ETA: Archer's was the first one I read because Nunnally's had not yet been published. Even then it was my favorite book, but it did take me awhile to get into it. When I read Nunnally's, it just felt more energetic. Oh, I hadn't even considered the translation issue. I just downloaded the freebie at Amazon, so I bet it was the Archer. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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