<p>For something really, really funny, regardless of your political beliefs, the “Bushism” books and calendars are hilarious. Every time I read any of them I just laugh and laugh so hard. Probably my favorite is when he enthusiastically waved at Steve Wonder from across the room.</p>
<p>the perks of being a wall flower - stephen chbosky</p>
<p>A Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovitch-Alexandr Solzenitzyn (sp?)</p>
<p>I’ve got to say that I much prefer THE FIRST CIRCLE, which I’m re-reading right now.</p>
<p>Some “me toos” and some new ones:</p>
<p>Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Bel Canto by Ann Pathcett
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Foer (but NOT his follow up)
Confederacy of Dunces by Toole
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Chabon
everything Richard Russo has written (most notably Empire Falls, though my favorite is Straight Man)
David Mitchell and Jose Saramago are my new obsessions
cliche, but it really did affect me – Life of Pi by Martel
Devil in the White City
Old School by Tobias Wolff
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving</p>
<p>Seconding:
Flannery O’Connor short stories
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez</p>
<p>Adding:
A River Runs Through It* by Norman McLean
The Plague by Albert Camus
Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead (play) by Tom Stoppard
The Backcountry (poems) by Gary Snyder
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Death in Venice by Thomas Mann</p>
<p>*the movie, directed by Robert Redford and co-starring a young Brad Pitt is actually a very good rendering of the novel, it captures the feel of the countryside (Montana) and the feelings within the family. The first paragraph, comparing fly fishing and religion, is amazing and the rest of the book continues in the same depth and simplicity of style. McLean, who taught at UofC, also wrote a non-fiction book titled “Young Men and Fire” a true account of a Montana wildfire that claimed the lives of several smokejumpers, also an excellent read.</p>
<p>a lesson before dying- ernest gaines</p>
<p>the sound and the fury- faulker</p>
<p>Crime and punishment -Fyodor Dostoyevsky </p>
<p>Gloria Naylor- Momma Day, the women of Brester Place</p>
<p>Almost any and every book by J California Cooper- especially some soul to keep and the future has a past</p>
<p>The third life of grange copeland by Alice walker </p>
<p>the collected autobiographies of Maya Angelou’s books (all 6 books combined)</p>
<p>the Easy Rawlings series by walter mosley (start with devil in the blue dress)</p>
<p>the night trilogy by Elie Wiesel</p>
<p>If we’re going to add plays, “Arcadia” by Tom Stoppard is something that I lust to see again. I’ve seen it once and read it a couple of times. </p>
<p>I told TheMom that I want the empty nest years to be full of Stoppard, Sondheim, and Shakespeare along with the overthrowing of Mordor.</p>
<p>Hey, if we’re adding plays, then a shout out to everything by Lanford Wilson, especially, of course, Burn This.</p>
<p>Garland,
A quick understanding of the drowning scenario from an objectivist stand point: you save a drowning person not because you have to or because the drowning person needs your help but because you want to, because you get pleasure out of it (this is called rational self-interest).</p>
<p>Sorry if I repeat; haven’t read the whole thread:</p>
<p>Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood (started a new genre, imo)
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Betty Freidan, The Feminine Mystique (changed our world)
AA Milne, Winnie The Pooh
Roald Dahl, The BFG
Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl</p>
<p>otoh, after reading the whole thread… Repeats are good. I <3 repeats. If so many are saying it’s a must read, then it’s gotta be a must read.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t intend to add a whole new media, I added plays to my list because I tend to read more plays than I see. I’m afraid that’s what happens when you don’t live in a large urban area, I would love to see any Stoppard play someday.</p>
<p>Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell</p>
<p>oooooohh–there are so many on this list that I have loved!!! But I haven’t seen any of the following (some of which I’ve reread several times!)</p>
<p>Winds of War<br>
(and its sequel) War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk
Katherine by Anya Seton
The Charm School by Nelson DeMille
and really–anything by Nelson DeMille is great, but this was amazing
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Red Tent by Anita Diamont
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
QB VII by Leon Uris
and… I can’t believe this hasn’t made the list yet…
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell</p>
<p>the list could go on and on</p>
<p>Some fiction books that may not be that well known: Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher is my favorite book of all time and speaks to the soul of humanity. Slave Day by Rob Thomas is another one of my favorites. So if you’re looking to take a break from the more heavy academic books, check out those two as they have more of a hs setting but still are deep and discuss important issues.</p>
<p>A Theory of War-Joan Brady</p>
<p>i have to second carson mccullers’s “the heart is a lonely hunter.” beautifully written.</p>
<p>Oh Good Heavens. I didn’t like “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” at all. Didn’t like “A Lesson Before Dying” either. Or “Native Son.”</p>
<p>Gone With the Wind
Junie B. Jones Series (hilarious)
Wuthering Heights
Harry Potter series
Little Women
The Great Gatsby
Alice McKinley series
Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut
A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo</p>
<p>This is a great thread. I tend to pick up new best sellers and not look for the classics, though I have read several on these lists. Your recs have made me want to do a run to Barnes and Noble. Now if some energetic poster would make a nice master list for me…? ;)</p>
<p>I’m only 18, but my favorite book ever, that anyone should read, is The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom. It is a book that makes you live every day to the fullest! It is actually a book that me, a girly teenage girl, and my grandpa actually enjoyed. Oh yeah- Watch the movie. It’s awesome.</p>