Hinckley reports that he's currently reading the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, Tarzan of the Apes (the first in a 24-book series, all of which I read as a teenager, was a big fan of, and own copies of). He mentions being embarrassed to admit that he hadn't read it before now. When you say "the classics", most people probably think of novels along the lines of War and Peace, The Great Gatsby, or The Iliad. And while I wouldn't thumb my nose at any of those, I have my own personal list that I think everyone should read at least once before they die:
- Tarzan of the Apes would make the list, for sure, and there's a lot more to this universally-recognizable character than what you'd ever glean from most of the screen versions.
- Keeping in the pulp vein, I'd include a selection from the series of stories featuring Doc Savage and the Shadow, as great examples of the pulp-adventure and pulp-crime genres.
- The 5 books I described here all deserve a read: The War of the Worlds, Dune, The World According to Garp, Catch-22 and The Sheep Look Up.
- A few other science fiction gems would be required, like the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein and a great John Wyndham tale like The Day of the Triffids or The Midwich Cuckoos.
- My personal favourite mystery novel is And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians) by Agatha Christie, so I'd put it on the list, because it's such a perfect example of its field.
- Of course Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a must-read, because it's great, funny, and bits and pieces have entered our vocabulary now.
- I think everyone should dive into Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker, even if just to see where it all came from.
[Edit] - Tammy's comments reminded me of a shocking omission: 1984 by George Orwell, and probably Animal Farm, as well. You've got to have devoured those! How many times do I use the "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" line? A lot!!
That's all I can think of right now - as I watch Super Size Me and marvel at all the fat people! - but I'm sure I'll think of more later.
What would be on your list?
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2 comments:
Oh you know, War & Peace, Great Gatsby, Iliad... :p
- LOTR (or just see the movies)
- James Joyce
- Mark Twain
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Great Gatsby, seriously
- Dickens
- Ayn Rand
- Gravity's Rainbow
- Jane Austen
- Tolstoy
- George Orwell
- Lord of the Flies
- That you mentioned: Catch-22, Garp
- Christie: And Then There Were None, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
"The Sheep Look Up" is a great book, but you should warn people that it is difficult and maddening at times. I took a "sci-fi" english elective at school and we had a great prof. He said he got rid of his car when he read this book, and that was in the 70's. He also said that the author (Burnner?) gave a copy to every member of congress as an illustration of what was being done to the environment.
Dune has to be my favorite series, but I like "God Emporer of Dune" the best. The lessons imparted by the Worm are insightful and widely applicable.
More recently "The Twelve Caesars" by Suetonius is fascinating. Written by an ancient Roman scholar, it is cheap to buy and probably in Project Guttenburg.
A fairly recent and modern couple of books are "Cradle to Cradle" McDonough and Braungart and "Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamond. The first describes how we make and build in modern society and how we could do it in a way that is both efficient and reusable/recyclable. The second is much more interesting - it is a history of the world that describes the influences on humans from a new perspective.
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