One Book?

[piquant]

Well, It is that time of year again, when I makeout my list of books I want for christmas. I'm having a little trouble this year, so I thought I'd turn to you, the book experts, for some advice. What is the one book/author, that you have read, that if you were talking to someone, and they had never read it/them, you would lose all respect?

[imthefoolonthehill]

well, I wouldn't lose respect for people if they hadn't read a particular book...

but... any respectable person should have read 1984, Catcher in the Rye, and Catch-22.

[Koa]

Dostoevsky- Crime and Punishment or The Demons

[Aesopone]

Camus, THE MOTHER****ING STRANGER...a must read for everyone everywhere all the time

[DumbLikeAPoet]

I definitly wouldn't lose respect for someone if they haven't read a book but honestly I think everyone should read at least one book by George Orwell(preferably 1984), Robert A. Heinlein(preferably Starship Troopers), and Stephen King(preferably The Gunslinger).

The reason I've chosen these authors is because these are the authors that people in our society have read or at least heard of which makes communicating with people easier.

Jonus

[Stanislaw]

Douglas Adams books are very good. Not only do they contain the meaning of life, they are funny. If you just read one, you think that the story is garbage, but if you read the set, you sit back and view the world with a different set of eyes.

I also recommend Stanislaw Lem. One of his books that have been made into a movie was Solaris, he also wrote the Cyberiad, and The furological congress.

I also suggest Isaac Asimov, The history of I-botics, or one of his collections of short stories. One of his stories that wwas made into a movie was Bicentenial Man, The movie is very close to the story.

[Tabac]

1. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
2. Corelli's Mandolin , author excapes me right now.

[Dick Diver]

I wouldn't lose respect for them, but I'd implore them to read F. Scott Fitzgerald.....

[fayefaye]

Well, I wouldn't ordinarily lose respect. But I handed the Three Musketeers to a friend, imploring him to read it. and he sat there and sounded out the name: 'a-lex-an-der du-mass?'
'what, have you been living under some sort of literary rock?'
'ok, ok, I'll read it.'
'good. get back to me' :) another recruit. :) It is possible to lose a LITTLE respect. Anyway, if there was one book I had to recommend, that'd be it. (plus I like to recruit dumas fans)

[piquant]

Mine would be something by dostoevsky and Steppenwolf. I wouldn't say I lose respect, but if I'm talking to someone and I find out that they're into literature I almost automatically respect them. The only problem is that there are so many books that sometimes the ones you read are a matter of chance.

[fayefaye]

Originally posted by Koa
Dostoevsky- Crime and Punishment or The Demons

One of my friends told me C&P was so thoroughly boring they put me off reading it entirely. But can someone tell me a bit about it?

[nicholasburrus]

For young adults
The Harry Potter series 1-5 by J.K. Rowling

[sloegin]

faye,
If you are a huge Dumas fan, chances are you won't enjoy Dostoevsky. The way I see it; Dumas' stories deal more with event and how it affects the cast, and Dostoevsky deals more with the emotion and thought of the cast.
I think this site has a summary of C and P.

[Dick Diver]

You could try Notes From Underground though because that is reasonably short and suitably dark.

It's actually very funny too.

[piquant]

I love Dostoevsky, but the first portion of Notes From the underground drove me nearly as insane as the main character. I couldn't stand how he kept talking to the audience and calling them "Gentlemen." The second part though, "A propros pf the wet snow," was more of the dostoevsky I love.

Dick Diver's right though, Dostoevsky is a far cry from Dumas. I wouldn't say one is superior to the other, but their not the same. I f you like a lot of action then C and P will probably be hell. For the first half the book you just bounce around in the Main Character's head while he tries to decide to do something (whether to kill someone).

I like and respect, both Dostoevsky and Dumas, so I'm sure it's likely that you, an exceptionally well-read person, can do the same.

[Robert E Lee]

Buy The Secret Agent or Nostromo by Joseph Conrad. They will completely change the way you look at the Bush administration even though they were written 100 years ago.