EPTDune
Animal Farm (really really recommend this one. short, easy to read and ownage)
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
The Things They Carried
Help me get started on reading literature - Page 7
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writer22816
United States5775 Posts
Dune Animal Farm (really really recommend this one. short, easy to read and ownage) Hamlet Julius Caesar The Things They Carried | ||
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Oddysay
Canada597 Posts
r.r martin : a song of ice and fire ( not sure of the english title ) robin hoob : royal assasin , the 2 other serie are realy good too | ||
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sgeng
United States78 Posts
On May 16 2010 19:56 Biff The Understudy wrote: I would have said exactly the opposite lol: Shakespeare, Cervantes and Ovid >>>>>> Jane Austen and Tolstoy. Well note that I never actually said anything about the authors themselves. It was just in the case of those specific books I found one to be better than the other. Pride and Prejudice, for example, is really the only book that I really enjoyed from Austen (admittedly I have not read all of her works). I would sincerely disagree with the Tolstoy being so much lesser than the Shakespeare Cervantes and Ovid though. Out of those four Tolstoy produced works that were much deeper in thought than the others (except perhaps Ovid). As I said earlier, Shakespeare can be very enjoyable (I personally liked Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Might's Dream the best), however, I just think that plays shouldn't be thrown into the same realm as books. | ||
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blubbdavid
Switzerland2412 Posts
i like Mann, Lovecraft (but only read him if you are dark-minded), Count of Monte Cristo unabridged is kinda hard to read, I have given up at about the half (but back then I was about 14^^) read english shortstories, like Muriel Spark or Edg. A. Poe best shortstory: monkey paw Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks is great and then Faust of Goethe ( but I think you will understand this one only if you have discussed it in school or if you do literary studies) but best start with something that doesnt corrupt your mind (like Lovecraft does, but he is still a great writer) (kind confusing post with no real order^^) | ||
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bellweather
United States404 Posts
On May 16 2010 20:24 r4ptur3 wrote: I agree in principle that you shouldn't read well-known authors just for the names. On the other hand, I gotta admit I started reading "well-known" authors just because it made me feel uber smart, and eventually I really started to enjoy good literature that way. Anyways, here is my list. In order of increasing difficulty (imo), and all fairly good reads: - Animal Farm (Orwell) - The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) - Brave New World (Huxley) - Catch-22 (Heller) - Moby Dick (Melville) - The Count of Monte Cristo (Dumas) - The Third Man (Greene) - Lord of the Flies (Golding) - Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) - The Prince (Machiavelli) [Not a novel, strictly speaking, but it reads almost like one] - All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque) - The Trial (Kafka) - Nathan The Wise (Lessing) - Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky) - War and Peace (Tolstoy) ...and of course, if you're looking for the ultimate literary boner: - The Illiad (Homer) - Paradise Lost (Milton) - Ulysses (Joyce) - The Divine Comedy (Dante) - Hamlet (Shakespeare) although I didn't really enjoy The Illiad and I quite frankly didn't understand Ulysses  Everyone says they're epically good however, so I'll put them in here for completeness sake  Moby Dick needs to be bumped up in difficulty, as does the Count of Monte Cristo. Catcher in the Rye bumped down 2x. Rest seems pretty solid to me (haven't read the Illiad, Nathan the Wise, or Brave New World). Also the Prince should be removed from this list because it isn't supposed to be read like a piece of fiction; it's essentially a how-to manual with sprinkles of history and political theory. Clearly not in the same class as "literature." | ||
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tube
United States1475 Posts
![[image loading]](http://grissanti.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/green-eggs-and-ham.jpg) really though, I think you should read some Hermann Hesse: Narcissus and Goldmund Siddhartha Demian Easily three of my favorite books. Not sure if they would be considered very difficult, but they take a bit of thought. Example quotations that aptly demonstrate Hesse's themes and style: "Slower, he walked along in his thoughts and asked himself: “But what is this, what you have sought to learn from teachings and from teachers, and what they, who have taught you much, were still unable to teach you?” And he found: “It was the self, the purpose and essence of which I sought to learn. It was the self, I wanted to free myself from, which I sought to overcome. But I was not able to overcome it, could only deceive it, could only flee from it, only hide from it. Truly, no thing in this world has kept my thoughts thus busy, as this my very own self, this mystery of me being alive, of me being one and being separated and isolated from all others, of me being Siddhartha! And there is no thing in this world I know less about than about me, about Siddhartha!”" ""I have no objection to worshiping this God Jehovah, far from it. But I mean we ought to consider everything sacred, the entire world, not merely the artificially separated half! Thus alongside the divine service we should also have a service for the devil."" "The bird struggles out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born, must destroy a world. The bird flies to God. That God's name is Abraxas." | ||
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Sabu113
United States11111 Posts
Do not read the Illiad. The Illiad is a very important book in the canon of Western literature, but it isn't necessary to read a few hundred pages of people's nipples being pierced to appreciate the important plot points (bits about ancient greek culture aside). The only reason to read it is to appreciate how epic Hector is. The Oddessy is probably a better use of your time. Lord of the Flies is excellent. Animal farm is a good read. Dune is enjoyable and epic. Ovid is... Ovid is amazing. Actually, Herodotus would be a fun read as well, though The Peloponnessian wars (Thucydides) is probably a more important work. | ||
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niteReloaded
Croatia5282 Posts
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QuanticHawk
United States32160 Posts
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DeathByMonkeys
United States742 Posts
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Endymion
United States3701 Posts
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Qwertify
United States2531 Posts
If you had to have one book - that is the one to have. Seriously. But if you go to the store or library and open it up, even the first page, I think you will find it it too difficult. So just stick to the other recommendations and then maybe later, come back to James Joyce's works. They are the current height of the English language and English literature. | ||
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sc4k
United Kingdom5454 Posts
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love1another
United States1844 Posts
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DemiSe
883 Posts
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snotboogie
Australia3550 Posts
Sci Fi: ![[image loading]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1232/972774228_055d704b11.jpg?v=0) This is what got me into sci fi. Heinlein was one of the pioneers of the genre, and his amazing writing ability shone through in this book and convinced me that sci fi was worth taking a look into. The book is about the oldest human in existence, Lazarus Long, at a time where planets have been colonized and the rich can rejuvenate their DNA via machinery. Lazarus's memory stretches back to World War 1. As the book begins, he wants to commit suicide, reasoning that he has seen and done it all. However, certain people think he's too valuable to let die. So he makes a deal with them - he will tell them stories, episodes of his life, and as long as he is entertaining someone he will promise to stay alive (reverse Scheherazade type deal). The book goes into three short stories of his life as well as what happens in the "present". The stories are all touching on a human level, and one especially, "The Tale of the Adopted Daughter", just speaks directly to the soul. I would find myself thinking about it for days after reading it. As I was reading this particular short story it became clear to me that Heinlein had a deep understanding of human nature that most authors do not. Unfortunately the book kind of jumps the shark at the very end, as really weird shit happens. (Heinlein believes all incest is wincest.) However, this weird stuff happens in what is really the epilogue and can be dismissed. Oh Heinlein, you crazy guy, you. ![[image loading]](http://blog.taivo.net/public/BookPics/cover_PandorasStar.jpg) Hamilton's Pandora's Star is just a very epic and well written space opera. Shit happens on a truly massive scale, multiple storylines interweave and intersect, and a cast of unique, interesting characters makes this book just great entertainment. There is way too much to explain so I'll just settle with "this book rocks." Its sequel (which is good, but not as good) is Judas Unchained, which wraps the story up. ![[image loading]](http://kirrus.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/300px-altered_carbon_cover_1_amazon.jpg) Hard-boiled detective fiction meets cyberpunk sci fi. Very intriguing sci-fi ideas, along with being extremely well written and chock full of manliness. Truly a pleasure to read. | ||
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DonnieDarko
United States20 Posts
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EyeballKid
6 Posts
Charles Bukowski - Ham On Rye John Fante - Ask the Dust Both authors write semi-autobiographical stories that are very easy to get through. Bukowski is mostly about drunken debauchery, where Fante's tone is somewhat lighter. Both are fantastic reads. Also, if you want more complex stuff, try starting out with shorter works. Some of my favourites are Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. They're both very rich and layered stories, but don't take a lot of time to read. Finally, I really want to recommend Robert Harrison's Podcast called Entitled Opinions (About Life and Literature). He's a professor of French and Italian Literature at Stanford, who has guests in the studio, and talks about literature, philosophy art and life in general. It's very academic and intellectual, but Harrison (like many of his guests) is very engaging to listen to, so for instance his episode on Heart of Darkness might help you understand the novella better. Another good podcast is Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time. Also, you might try to listen to musicians with literary flair like Dylan, Cohen, Waits etc., who all deserve a good deal of credit for my appreciation for literature. Also, don't attempt to read works like The Odyssey, Ulysses, plays of Shakespeare etc. While they're undoubtedly great works of literature, they're difficult to approach (either because they were written for a different time and a different culture, or because, in the case of Ulysses, they want to be difficult to approach). Hope that helps. | ||
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RoosterSamurai
Japan2108 Posts
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Motiva
United States1774 Posts
Anthem | ||
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