Source
r/books•
wodem

I need to diversify my reading. I'm looking for a list of books to catch up to the level of someone who can talk about literature and not feel like an idiot.

I am a huge geek, but I have recently come to realise that I cannot talk to people about literature or films, because I focus my attention on tiny portions of each.

Can someone point me towards a list of great books, which will give me a valuable experience? By that I mean, I don't like reading books for the sake of reading them. Many people I know go on and on about how they love X Y and Z, but that means they have watched or read it once just so they can say they have. I want to be one of those people who talks about books and films in an honest and intelligent way.

I don't want to fight with the language or have to go and read explanations after the fact. I just want to read some damn good classics. I hate having the choice between looking like an uneducated moron and being a charlatan.

It might be worth mentioning that I didn't attend any school where reading was encouraged, and my family think reading is for fags. I have honestly never read books that many of you would consider school assignment classics. I have escaped through shit pipe and now find myself surrounded by well-read and intelligent people for the first time in my life. I thought it would be great until I realised that all through my life I have been taught how to be a lazy, lying son of a bitch. I literally have nothing to offer in conversation, unless it is about a handful of book or films.

TL;DR I was brought up a charlatan and now I want to actually read the books I was told to claim I had read.

[edit] Thank you all! I am keeping a list of all these recommendations and I will try to get to them all at some point. There are enough books listed here to last me years! Thanks for not (all) mocking me.

[2nd edit] Woop they arrived! I spent a lot, but seeing all those books gives me a good feeling!

Posted Jun 7, 2010, 2:56 AM UTC · edited

48107
FredAstaireTappedTht•

'Everything there is to know about life is in The Brothers Karamazov.'

-- protip, Kurt Vonnegut

24
CosMcMillin•

Bro's Karamazov is my favorite book. Of all time. and not just so I can be a literature asshole.

Also, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a classic and a hilarious read.

2
timefishblue•

Didn't he say that it used to be that everything there is to know in life was in The Brothers Karamazov, but now we needs something more (or something like that), i.e. science fiction? But he said it through the character of fan of bad science fiction...

So unless he also said this himself in an essay or something, it probably shouldn't count as Vonnegut's advice, even though it makes it seem like he does think highly of The Brothers Karamazov.

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
nista002•

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,1951793,00.html

two really solid lists, IMO. Classic authors, I would downvote Jane Austen, and I was left unimpressed by Fitzgerald, but the rest of them are essentially known for a reason.

For some perspective on other parts of the world, V.S. Naipaul, Yasunari Kawabata, J.M. Coetzee, and Ha Jin are all excellent, honest writers about the world and times they live in.

12
wodemOP•

Thanks.

By the way... Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard? You're talking about the board's list, right?

4
SirFrags•

The Church of Scientology has an entire division of goons called the OSA (Office of Special Affairs) whose sole task is to go about the internet and fuck with people, comment whenever their is an article critical of Scientology, and do this kind of shit.

13
StoopiBird•

*there not their

0
nista002•

Yes, the list that doesn't have Battlefield Earth as the 3rd best novel of all time.

9
wodemOP•

:p

Another question for you. Is it worth buying these books. By buying I mean going to Amazon.com and going through the list in chunks of 10. Or should I just borrow them? Will I want to read these books twice and lend them out, etc? This probably sounds like an utterly retarded question to you, sorry. I do sometimes find that my relationship with books is just as bad as my reading list. I have shelf space for hundreds of little plastic disks, but the few books I own are shoved in a pile.

Some people recommended that I download classics for free, or get an e-reader. This just sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Wouldn't that be like sitting down to watch a classic film on an ipod? Maybe I'm wrong?

I would really appreciate any tips on how to mend my relationship with books. I plan to spend a lot less time reading inane shit on the internet and a lot more reading thought provoking books.

3
nista002•

I can't stand E-readers, I would never recommend them.

I personally make regular trips to overstock and used bookstores, and take a list of authors with me. I also do the same with the library, but less often, as I find most public libraries have woeful selections of the authors I am interested in on hand. College Libraries are usually better places to look if you don't want to buy.

But if you can get good deals on Amazon, and are willing to purchase the books, by all means, I support it.

4
Prazzie•

I have a Kindle 2 and I cannot imagine life without it. I carry it with me everywhere I go, which means I can read pretty much everywhere. It has a text-to-speech function, so I can finally walk or drive and "read" without risking death or dismemberment (I use earphones for privacy). Most of the classics are available in Kindle format from Manybooks.

With an e-ink screen, reading on an e-reader is similar to reading a paper book, especially in sunlight. I've saved a ton of money, no longer have to struggle to find storage space for new books (Kindle 2 stores 1500 ebooks, also plays audiobooks) and I've always got something to read. If you can afford it, then getting an e-reader is definitely worth considering. If you live in the US, I understand Amazon is selling Kindles at Target, so you can go have a look at the device. Obviously there are other brands you can consider as well. Have a look at Kindleboards if you want to find out more about Kindle, or Mobileread for an overview of all ereaders.

3
[deleted]•

http://bookmooch.com/

1
jamsw•

If you're going to start reading in a BIG WAY then you're going to find it an expensive hobby; especially as you move onto more modern texts that haven't been reprinted to high heaven. Get down the library. After a while, if you're not a complete freak that creates a wide-berth, the staff down there will probably also help prod you in the right directions and fine-tune recommendations for you.

1
StoopiBird•

i use amazon's wish-list feature solely to keep a list but i never buy them from there, i just scan through it to keep them in mind when i go to thrift stores, used book stores, estate sales, or friends of the library sales. books take time so it's not like you'll need to get a huge library from the beginning, this way you can get a few here and there and start to figure out which authors you like, etc. i find it really satisfying to find something i've wanted for $50 because i stopped and browsed through a pile somewhere.

1
bilabrin•

I wouldn't recommend tropic of cancer for those who are easily distracted.

1
andkore•

Well, if you want your entire perspective of the world to change, you could read Ayn Rand. On the other hand, you could continue living as you do now and offhandedly dismiss Ayn Rand's writings without actually reading them.

Your call.

-4
wodemOP•

It is comments like this that put Ayn Rand on my shit list in the first place. I'm not against reading things which oppose my view of the world, or are not popular. I am however against reading things that people shove down my throat for very dubious reasons.

I don't think a few books will change my view of the world. If they did then my life would have to be devoid of any value in the first place. I'm not looking to become a christian, a muslim or recharge my chakra. I just want to read some good novels.

2
psykocrime•

I don't think a few books will change my view of the world.

You might be surprised. Ideas are very powerful.

If they did then my life would have to be devoid of any value in the first place.

Not necessarily. Sometimes one just needs a gentle nudge to fully embrace something that was in them all along. In my own case, I can say that reading Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four "changed my life" because it helped me focus in on things that were already important to me and gave me something of a rallying cry.

I'm not looking to become a christian, a muslim or recharge my chakra. I just want to read some good novels.

Rand advocates can be a bit over zealous, but don't write her stuff off because of that. The Fountainhead really is a very entertaining story in it's own right. And if some people who read it find their world view radically shifted by it, so be it. Others don't. Neither is right or wrong.

1
[deleted]•

I just read Pride and Prejudice for the first time last year, and I really enjoyed it. I'm not great with finding the deeper meaning in literature (I am not an English major) but I definitely had fun reading it.

3
[deleted]•

I've heard many people describe Pride and Prejudice in many different ways, but "fun" was never one of them.

1
[deleted]•

Really? It took me a while to adjust to the language, but once I got used to it I thought the banter between characters was great, I often found myself laughing out loud.

1
Thelonious_Cube•

I found it completely delightful, fun and most entertaining

EDIT: Typo on the most important word: fun

1
Thelonious_Cube•

I'll just chime in that I found both Austen and Fitzgerald to be great, so it's a matter of personal taste - don't be afraid to develop (and later to change) your personal tastes.

3
[deleted]•

Definitely the Modern Library list. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. I love that book and I found it through that list.

2
Petrarch1603•

Why did you love The Secret Agent? I'm just curious, I went on a Conrad binge a few months ago and was left unimpressed with that one.

1
cabman567•

Here's a list someone submitted a while back. I can't say I know too much myself, but I read a few novels in there that I enjoyed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction

1
[deleted]•

Unimpressed by F. Scott Fitzgerald?!?! Man, I just recently got into his stuff, and absolutely love it. I suppose I am a little unimpressed by his ideas, none of which seem to be very deep. But his writing is simply fantastic. It feels to me like he was writing hours daily, since the day he was old enough to hold a pen.

1
[deleted]•

I wholly second the idea of reading as much as you possibly can of non-English/American authors. It will broaden your horizons so much.

My suggestions are Naguib Mahfouz, Emmanuel Dongala, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Alan Paton, Yukio Mishima, Jean Genet, Cesare Pavese, John Berger, Milan Kundera, Rohinton Mistry, Halldor Laxness, Per Peterson, Mikhail Bulgakov, Italo Calvino...etc.

1
CleanCleanClean•

It's so cliche, but if you haven't done so, spend some time with Shakespeare. If being cultured and being able to hold conversations about literature are your goals, then you simply can't overlook it. Off the top of my head, Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Much Ado, and Twelfth Night are some of my favorites and all well-known.

10
[deleted]•

King Lear??!

3
nista002•

The crucialest of crucial when it comes to Shakespeare.

1
CleanCleanClean•

Yes, and King Lear ... among my favorites for sure. I don't think it's as crucial as Hamlet though.

2
wodemOP•

Very good point. Well taken. I live right near where he was born. shame

2
Thelonious_Cube•

Pro-tip: Get audio versions of the plays and read along or see the films - it makes the archaic/flowery language much easier to understand

2
CleanCleanClean•

I couldn't disagree more. I recommend getting a well-known version of the text that includes footnotes for archaic words and confusing language (I own the Riverside Shakespeare, which is a great version). It will help illuminate and clarify the text. Then watch the films and you'll be able to enjoy them for what they are, without having to miss segments because you don't understand the language.

But, hey, everyone reads and learns differently.

Edit: A few great performances on film include McKellen's King Lear, Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado, and ok pretty much McKellen's anything. I also happen to like Patrick Stewart's Hamlet but there are several others. Can people post their favorites since I'm leaving out several good ones?

2
Thelonious_Cube•

I would recommend the audio + read-along over films (which are usually abridged), but Shakespearean English can be tough for reasons other than vocabulary.

Hearing the actors speak the lines sorts out the syntax for you in a way the footnotes really don't.

Recall that the OP is quite new to all of this

2
Thelonious_Cube•

I'm rather fond of McKellan's fascist Richard III and I have quite a fondness for the Olivier Hamlet and the old (MGM?) A Midsummer Night's Dream, but I'm no expert.

Would love more recommendations - do a new post?

2
cabman567•

Must resist urge to look up where Shakespeare was born.

1
belletti•

Stratford on the Avon.

4
SodiumKPump•

Stratford upon Avon

FTFY

6
bwanab•

The comments thus far have covered the bases pretty well. Allow me to suggest something a little different. Find a good introduction to Greek mythology. You'll be amazed at the number of cultural references assumed by all educated people are found in these stories. This includes many that are made in the books you're about to read. Just a thought.

9
euric•

Ovid's Metamorphosis is a great introduction to classical mythology.

0
MollyBloom11•

Ok, I know there will be some repeats here but as a former English major I can't resist putting in my two cents. I have divided them into ridiculous categories for my own amusement.

Best book written in the last 5 years: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz, won a Pulitzer) Best accessible modernist literature: Dubliners (James Joyce) Most entertaining Victorian Lit: Dracula (Bram Stoker) Most deserved posthumous publication and pulitzer: A confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole (the original troll, I think!) Best collection of essays by an American: Self-Reliance and other essays (Ralph Waldo Emerson) Best intro to Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse 5 Fun Shakspearean romp: Twelfth Night Most depressing and beautiful dust bowl saga: Of mice and men (Steinbeck) Simple but poignant African folktale-style classic: Things fall apart (Chinua Achebe)

9
Legs11•

Such a good list deserves proper list formatting.

  • Best book written in the last 5 years: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz, won a Pulitzer)
  • Best accessible modernist literature: Dubliners (James Joyce)
  • Most entertaining Victorian Lit: Dracula (Bram Stoker)
  • Most deserved posthumous publication and pulitzer: A confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole (the original troll, I think!)
  • Best collection of essays by an American: Self-Reliance and other essays (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
  • Best intro to Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse 5
  • Fun Shakspearean romp: Twelfth Night
  • Most depressing and beautiful dust bowl saga: Of mice and men (Steinbeck)
  • Simple but poignant African folktale-style classic: Things fall apart (Chinua Achebe)
8
MollyBloom11•

Why thank you! I was at work and in a hurry to finish it before the Judge asked me to do something. (I clerk for a Judge)

1
Legs11•

Your welcome.

1
i_am_j•

I just read Of Mice and Men for the first time right after my parent's dog died. Not knowing anything about the story, that book made this 30 yr old cry like a baby.

1
johatFantasy, SciFi•

Slaughterhouse 5 is one of my all-time favorite books, along with 1984, Flowers for Algernon (an underrated book), The English Patient and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

1
Cole2026•

Reading classics: Catch-22, Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), The Great Gatsby (F Scott Fitzgerald), Mother Night, Cats Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut; MN is also written by him), Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut), The Stand (Stephen King), Lord of the Flies (William Golding), To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee).

General Recommendations: Democracy in America (Alexis De Tocqueville), Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)*, I Am That (Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj; a series of dialogs on spirituality), Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (Robert A Pape), Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jarod Diamond)*, Under the Dome (Stephen King).

The star means that I have not read it yet, but have heard very good things.

I am currently reading House of Leaves and The Dhando Investor. The former being by far one of the most difficult books I have ever read due to its very unique presentation.

Read what you enjoy, not what you feel compelled to enjoy.

8
johatFantasy, SciFi•

Under the Dome? Really? REALLY? I like your classics list though.

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
babada•

They are still classics? How long does it take to become classic nowadays?

2
Cole2026•

Fine, I'll add the Nicomachean Ethics, Walden (Thoreau), The Critique of Pure Reason (Kant), Rights of Man (Thomas Paine), and anything by Jeremy Bentham or John Stuart Mill (to get your feet wet in the ideas of Utilitarianism). Maybe add in some stories by Homer to get some idea of Greek Mythology. Once you've gotten through a good amount, look into Umberto Eco for some great (albeit vivid, wordy) adventure novels.

Either way, the classics I listed are still classics. I do not like Shakespeare, and fiction written in the last one-hundred years relates to me much better than a manuscript written in 1462.

1
caela_ielle•

Kant?

I take off my hat to you, sir. I can get through maybe two pages of him before I need to go take a break. The man is worse than Dickens in run-on sentences.

2
aginorfled•

Try the TL;DR version.

1
rocketsurgery•

I've been working my way through this list here. It's full of classics, and it's fairly diverse as well.

4
SavageOrc•

There are several lists of 'great books' on the internet. An one of those is probably fine for the basics. I would just recommend starting with the 'easier' classics before you jump into Joyce, Pynchon, or something else that gives even the most well read trouble.

I would also recommend reading up on history: everything, especially literature, happens in some kind of context.

Once you've done all your homework, go back and watch the earlier seasons of the Simpsons. That show used to make so many literary, historical, and cultural references it raised the show to a whole new level of funny.

3
danceswithsmurfs•

You -> Library -> Classics section -> First book off the shelf that sounds familiar and/or interesting

I suggest Dickens or Twain but that's only because you don't sound like an Austen kind of person. Don't worry about choosing books that would impress other people. Do it for yourself alone. Think of it as your chance experience the stories that have shaped our society.

3
johatFantasy, SciFi•

Dickens. I always associated him with A Christmas Carol and thought he was a sort of comic writer. Then I read some of his work and am now thoroughly convinced that he was a genius, in the very pure sense of that word.

1
phronesisPoint Counter Point•

Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley.

2
JOIncandenzaWittgenstein's Mistress•

I won't list my "Classics" choices, because they've been pretty well covered already. For more contemporary fiction, here are some of my favorites, in order of how "great" they are (as in, how important they'll still seem in 10, 25, 50, etc. years, in my own opinion, of course):

  • Infinite Jest- David Foster Wallace
  • The Corrections- Jonathan Franzen
  • The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay- Michael Chabon
  • White Teeth- Zadie Smith
  • Chronic City- Jonathan Lethem
  • Then We Came to the End- Joshua Ferris
2
ozmagic•

how about reading history books first? i think it's right and fast way to catch up. pick up one history book(modern period included) and if u get some knowledge about time and the stream of the age, it would be much better to understand literature.

1
wodemOP•

Can you elaborate? I am a fairly avid non-fiction reader, which is part of the problem. I was brought up in a way that we valued non-ficton books and technical skill. I was never encouraged to read fiction or use my imagination when reading.

This is why I'm currently in a sci-fi rut. I went the polar opposite and I have spent years reading books by people like PK Dick, and now I wan't something more down to earth and human.

2
lngwstksgkHistory - The Myth of the Jacobite Clans•

A good knowledge of history is often essential for reading the classics, as they are reflections of their time. Knowing the situations to which the author is alluding will help you understand the story at a different level. Occasionally, it's impossible to understand the entire book without knowledge of history (ex. Victor Hugo, Les misérables requires at least working knowledge of the Napoleanic wars, or you'll be hopelessly lost in the middle).

2
[deleted]•

Can you elaborate? I am a fairly avid non-fiction reader, which is part of the problem. I was brought up in a way that we valued non-ficton books and technical skill. I was never encouraged to read fiction or use my imagination when reading.

I have spent years reading books by people like PK Dick, and now I wan't something more down to earth and human.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon sounds like a perfect place to start. I'd elaborate on why but I think you should just read it :-)

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
Kanadierin•

I recommend "A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public" aka

"A Modest Proposal" By Jonathon Swift (of Gulliver's Travel's fame) just cause it's all out hilarious (a pinnacle of satire) and despite its antiquity, tends to be referenced frequently in a modern context.

1
spike•

Mimesis by Erich Auerbach. The essential guide to the western literary tradition.

1
rick-victor•

http://thisrecording.com/today/2009/8/3/in-which-these-are-the-100-greatest-writers-of-all-time.html

1
Thelonious_Cube•

A bit outdated now, but "The Lifetime Reading Plan" by Clifton Fadiman lays out a large list of 'must-reads' and organizes them by types as well as giving summaries and a brief discussion of why you should read each one. It's a decent roadmap if you think that will help.

EDIT: Since you mentioned films, Roger ebert's "Great movies" books are a useful guide, though I prefer Carr's "The A List" as it goes into a bit more depth on the films

1
Thelonious_Cube•

Kudos to you for trying to better yourself - there's tons of great stuff out there waiting for you!

1
Dinosaursoldier•

Here are a few of my recent favorites (with a synopsis to help you choose perhaps):

Blood Meridian - Bloody, Western novel with very rich descriptions about 'the Kid's' journey as a scalp hunter

What is the What - Soul-crushing, exquisite and sometimes quite funny account of a Sudanese refugee

The Fabric of the Cosmos - An exploration of modern physics and its heritage ranging from relativity to quantum mechanics and beyond

Lolita - Romance novel about a man's love for a very young girl (a classic I took WAY too long to get around to reading)

Galapagos - Sci-fi novel about a ghost's account of isolated evolution

Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Philosophical book detailing different viewpoints about evolution and arguing for neo-Darwinism

1
lzbattles•

I highly recomend One Hundred Years of Solitude. I have read it at least three time. Each time I read it I pick up on something I missed in my previous readings. I am sure I will read it many more times.

1