My must read list. Some might not have the quite the same impact for a Canadian but are still great reads.
Pudd'nhead Wilson and Huck Finn by Twain Animal Farm by Orwell Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck The Fall of the House of Usher (an anthology would be even better) by Poe Hitchhikers Guide by Adams Catcher in the Rye by Salinger To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut Something Happened by Heller 19 Dead Souls by Gogol Bleak House by Dickens A good anthology of PK Dick Eden by Lem (Solaris is great as well)
A bunch of my favorite books have been listed all ready, but here are some books which are must reads, IMO:
A Tale of Two Cities The Spy Who Came in from the Cold-John Le Carre I, Claudius-Robert Graves (this might be my favorite book) Catch 22-Joseph Heller
"I do not think baseball of today is any better than it was 30 years ago... I still think Radbourne is the greatest of the pitchers." John Sullivan 1914-Old athletes never change.
I'll throw a few out there that I don't think have been mentioned. I will admit that I'm not much of a fiction fan.
Anne Frank - it says something when you aren't terribly interested in the subject matter - teenage girls (obligatory Aqua and GF comment) and WWII Touching the Void - even better than the excellent Into Thin Air Marching Powder - an account of a British (black) drug smuggler spending 5+ years in a tough Bolivian prison
I agree with the comments regarding On the Road. Perhaps we underrate it though since travel is much easier now and the adventure isn't as unbelievable as it sounded once. It did have that fictiony feel to it where things were a little too over the top or convenient to be real.
Annapurna has been on my shelf for awhile and I think it could be pretty special but I haven't started it yet. Maybe during one of my camping trips this winter (I live in Taiwan so it's reasonably warm still).
What a terrific thread. i have been a member for a while now and I have never ventured into General Talk. My loss.
Rogue Male - Geoffrey Household Candide - Voltaire The man who corrupted Hadleyburg - Mark Twain Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawkings Banksy - Wall and Piece
There are so many more wonderful books to read but so little time to do so...
kab21 wrote:I'll throw a few out there that I don't think have been mentioned. I will admit that I'm not much of a fiction fan.
Anne Frank - it says something when you aren't terribly interested in the subject matter - teenage girls (obligatory Aqua and GF comment) and WWII Touching the Void - even better than the excellent Into Thin Air Marching Powder - an account of a British (black) drug smuggler spending 5+ years in a tough Bolivian prison
I agree with the comments regarding On the Road. Perhaps we underrate it though since travel is much easier now and the adventure isn't as unbelievable as it sounded once. It did have that fictiony feel to it where things were a little too over the top or convenient to be real.
Annapurna has been on my shelf for awhile and I think it could be pretty special but I haven't started it yet. Maybe during one of my camping trips this winter (I live in Taiwan so it's reasonably warm still).
Frenchiegangsta9 wrote:What a terrific thread. i have been a member for a while now and I have never ventured into General Talk. My loss.
Rogue Male - Geoffrey Household Candide - Voltaire The man who corrupted Hadleyburg - Mark Twain Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawkings Banksy - Wall and Piece
There are so many more wonderful books to read but so little time to do so...
Some good recommendations here and some I haven't read that are now on my "to read list".
kab21 wrote:I'll throw a few out there that I don't think have been mentioned. I will admit that I'm not much of a fiction fan.
Anne Frank - it says something when you aren't terribly interested in the subject matter - teenage girls (obligatory Aqua and GF comment) and WWII Touching the Void - even better than the excellent Into Thin Air Marching Powder - an account of a British (black) drug smuggler spending 5+ years in a tough Bolivian prison
I agree with the comments regarding On the Road. Perhaps we underrate it though since travel is much easier now and the adventure isn't as unbelievable as it sounded once. It did have that fictiony feel to it where things were a little too over the top or convenient to be real.
Annapurna has been on my shelf for awhile and I think it could be pretty special but I haven't started it yet. Maybe during one of my camping trips this winter (I live in Taiwan so it's reasonably warm still).
As a traveler I am sure that you're familiar with Bill Bryson Kab. You probably either love him or hate his writings.
I happen to love him. I highly recommend Notes from a Small Island, Neither Here nor There and the slightly sad Walk in the Woods about the Appalacian Trail. I have a Short History of Nearly Everything but I haven't gotten to it yet (even though I've had it for 4 or 5 years)
Mookie4ever wrote:As a traveler I am sure that you're familiar with Bill Bryson Kab. You probably either love him or hate his writings.
I happen to love him. I highly recommend Notes from a Small Island, Neither Here nor There and the slightly sad Walk in the Woods about the Appalacian Trail. I have a Short History of Nearly Everything but I haven't gotten to it yet (even though I've had it for 4 or 5 years)
Hate.
A walk in the woods was pathetic but I was able to read all of it. I've hiked most of the Pacific Crest Trail and that is not at all what the experience is like even for fat, old, out of shape men. He's greatly exaggerated things to make it seem more exciting and left out what makes through hiking special. His book on his travels through small town america (an older book) was even worse. he didn't share anything particularly insightful and instead he just wrote a book using a bunch of prejudices about the people that he saw and rarely interacted with.
Perhaps I'm not a fan because his overactive imagination basically turns his adventure/travels into fiction and I'm not a fan of fiction.
The Bible. Don't stuggle through the King James Version and its old english and poor translation. NIV is readily available, or even better the ESV which is widely viewed as the best, most literal translation. Don't tackle the entire thing at once. But grab a chapter and enjoy. Full of everything from history to poetry.
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by Tavish » Mon Dec 03, 2012 11:12 am 
