mustangcharlie
145642
4944
210
#books #reading #dystopia #frankenstein #happynewyear2020
Jan 6, 2020 4:22 PM
mustangcharlie
145642
4944
210
#books #reading #dystopia #frankenstein #happynewyear2020
Ihatedecidingonausername
I feel like this is just a list of classic literature. None of the ones I've read are really that mind blowing
MoschopsUK
"The Alchemist" is fucking awful. It's pretending to be deep and profound, but it's not. It's trite as a fortune cookie.
Galbot85
Crime and punishment
GFYandyourstupidrequirements
Mitch Albom is a twat. And Malcolm Gladwell is a poseur
LuminousExpanse
may I also recommend
letmesetthisstraight
I thought this book was kinda all over the place but nonetheless very good
LordGaylicoftheRealm
Dune
thenge
Things fall apart -Achebe
Notmybeardedladynotmycarnival
Ahhhhhh the "Favorite and Forget" lists, welcome to my collection
puffyzuta
The Overstory by Richard Powers
gwenniechan
Uh +Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
PrincessNausicaa
I loved the opening of that book, but found the rest really disappointing.
mustangcharlie
I'm extremely proud because:A) This is my second FP in 24 hours and 2) This is generating a lot of great conversation about literary works.
PRoseLegend
Well done OP.
Jsupes
Cool! Just finished Neuromancer
pbachran
Stranger in a Strange Land. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Both by Robert Heinlein.
missingdodo
Very sixties in mindset. I found it hard to read.
Solzen
I would include Master and Margarita and We on this list
beatingoffinfrontofapegasus
Bulgakov is my absolute favorite and i am happy anytime his name is mentioned +1, I have We but have not read it yet.
GinOClock
I loved Master and Margarita! Where the hell did my copy end up...
J4ckR4nd0m
Frankenstein is one of my favorites. I haven't read Tuesdays with morrie but I've read Five people you meet in heaven by the same author.
fairleenormal
Tuesdays is on my To Read list and I should get around to it!
rrlyrae
wait, you ENJOYED frankenstein? i mean, you derived pleasure from the perusal of the aforementioned lexicon?
Laurensintervention
Where's Of Mice and Men?!?!?
PartyAtYourMomsHouse
east of eden?
UnPetitSugarcube
LENNY NOOOOOO
Laurensintervention
Tell me about the rabbits, George
StraightToCatFolder
Read anything Jared Diamond
DrunkenMarineBiologist
I had to read some of his articles for my master's. He's an odd dude
StraightToCatFolder
Some of his essays are dry and pointless.
BloodAndDonuts
I read Fahrenheit 451, A Brave New World and 1984 in the same summer. It was interesting comparing dystopias. (451 is my favourite)
UnPetitSugarcube
I had a similar summer years ago when I discovered my love for dystopian novels. Reading Parable of the Sower now by Octavia E Butler.
wazeewa
I enjoy Brave New World myself. Although one that isn't on there is The Giver. I enjoyed the book. Never saw the movie.
UnPetitSugarcube
Have you read 1984?
wazeewa
Not yet, it is in my library at home though. I've read 451 though.
BloodAndDonuts
451 made me both understand why Bradbury is so praised and want to seek out more of his work.
UnPetitSugarcube
I've started reading 451 a couple times and never finished! Maybe I just need to power through.
UnPetitSugarcube
Cool, 1984 and BNW are kind of opposites, I'm always interested to hear people's thoughts on them.
wazeewa
I've always enjoyed reading people's opinions about which dystopia our world is closest to. I see it as a hybrid of the two.
mycleverusernamewastakentwice
Tried Neuromancer 4 times now and keep giving up at various points. I can’t get into it. Find it boring. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
LdaQuirm
Big scifi fan, but had the same experience with Neuromancer. I feel like I've read better books with similar themes.
jasari
It's slow for a most of the book, I used an audio book.
goodguyC
https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/02/25-laughable-sex-scenes-from-famous-male-novelists/neuromancer
StatisticallyInsignificantCanadian
Richard Morgan borrows heavily from it... you may find his work flows better, but is more "pulp" in content.
brucom
At the time, it was groundbreaking.
annoyingtheneighbours
Try Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson instead. I love Gibson’s themes and ideas, but it is tough slogging sometimes
mycleverusernamewastakentwice
I will do that. Thank you!
YouMayFindThisMildlyInteresting
I couldn't get through Snow Crash, I know it's a parody of the genre but it just seemed so heavy handed. Cryptonomicon though ... ?
TheAccursedHamster
Alternate title "list of books for pretentious asshats"
MyPasswordIs1234
Why?
TheAccursedHamster
They're books that sound intelligent and tend to get name dropped by the "iamverysmart" crowd.
jasari
I disagree a few of them are up there own assholes (the stranger) but most were really fun to read.
TheAccursedHamster
I think you misunderstand. I do not dislike the books themselves, but I've seen quite a few pretentious douchebags name drop them to stroke
TheAccursedHamster
their own egos.
CyborgScribe
Imagine being so proud of being uneducated that a high school reading list qualifies as pretentious to you.
CyborgScribe
Seriously Animal Farm was just over a hundred pages and was sophomore reading at my school.
TheAccursedHamster
Imagine being such an ass that you assume someones level of education because they consider these books the go-to for ego driven asshats.
featheredserpent81
The first two are my favorite works of Non-fiction.
idontenglishsorry
“Non-fiction”
irritatedhedgehog
Why is "Everybody Poops" not on this list
beatingoffinfrontofapegasus
because it's already in our hearts.
LdaQuirm
Eh, I'd say that list is about 50/50, Amazing/Overrated.
LuftMeister
*Highschool reading list
FractalShadows
Seriously, no "mind blowing" book list should be without James joyce
Dsharppe
*John Steinbecking intensifies*
ConformistWithACause
I think if any school put clockwork orange on their reading list, there would be not zero complaints
ConformistWithACause
Also great book, the ending is different from the movie, but it's a slow read cause it's written almost entirely in slang. Would recommend
NegentropyX
The ending of the book was different for British and US markets. The US lost a chapter I believe.
ConformistWithACause
Well now I have to investigate this and see which ending I got. I liked it a lot either way
Parrothunter
American High School reading list.
ChoovaMonster
I think some of them are banned from highschool's like clockwork orange
3lr4y
Based
Remreemerer
Seriously
DanielMurphyIsGod
Idk I don't see The Catcher in the Rye
GorgeousGen
I was going to say, had to read about half of these in highschool. Other half I heard about from other highschools who had to read.
GodTurkey
Yeah i hate most of these books for said reason
GreasyFartKnocker
The reason they're highschool reading list books, is because those are books everyone should read at some point.
KillerTofu615
The vast majority of these were banned reading in my schools. Orwell, Huxley and Shelley are the 3 that I can think of that weren't and 1/2
KillerTofu615
none of them were required reading. Flowers for Algernon was on our banned list so our science teacher in 7th grade gave us copied 2/3
KillerTofu615
packets of it and asked us to sign that we wanted to read it. We had a round table discussion about ethics a week later. 3/3
Grandolddrummer
The books on my required list in HS was awful. None of these were on it.
MrBoopyPutthole
If none of these were on it then you were in a special class
angelghoul
I was an advanced Placement college course for highschool students. we only read one book from this entire list.
Grandolddrummer
Yeah, nah. Was in advanced classes and graduated a year early.
sirwolfyy
I know its a joke but if clockwork orange is a high school required book then I'd be amazed.
chimchim666
i studied some of these books in university. but, do you think these are books only for young people? what are some more mature books?
Elmorenono
Dostoyevsky, Heidegger, Joyce, and Milton. Those are some I studied in college and outside of college that were more for after high school.
Elmorenono
Also Gabriel García Márquez and Jorge Luis Borges for great Latin American literature
woodchucc3211
Romance novels written by Mr Garrison
Sneemaster
None of them are very positive or funny or lighthearted. They are great if you want to feel depressed.
Gaiashining
Thinking fast and slow is definitely not depressing.
430pm
Catch-22 is occasionally tragic (and boy is it ever) but 90% of that book is hilarious
chumster
I always supposed A Confederacy of Dunces scratches the same itch as Fawlty Towers. Can anyone confirm this?
UrbanNorthern
Can someone explain to me why anyone thinks the Alchemist is a good read?
[deleted]
[deleted]
PrincessNausicaa
I really enjoyed it; I liked its dreamlike qualities and allusions to folklore, religion and literature. But it didn't blow my mind.
Priceman5
I like it cause it inspires me to face my fears of the unknown and move forward with my life. Everyone should seek their treasure in life.
flamingflamingo
Does it inspire you to move forward with your life by putting down the book and moving away from it?
Priceman5
It's a book, not a crack addiction.
UnPetitSugarcube
lol
GBomb
Worst.book.ever.
Odballl
It's clunky, derivative and enjoyed by people who believe in magical thinking. Also, its conclusion is totally materialistic even though -
Odballl
It purports to be about spirituality.
coffeetosstrampbitch
I sure as hell cannot!
UnPetitSugarcube
It was the second book I ever read in Spanish. Learned lots of vocab from it!
Galbot85
Boring book.
Darksoulkeeper
As son as someone tells me why anyone thought In Cold Blood was.
WhatsYourStoryHomie
I loved it.
XenapusLeavis
It's an extremely fast read, which is great for high school required reading lists like this.
Reverendudas
ChesterCopperpott
I thought it was amazing!
KillerKitten45
Explain? *i myself have never read it*
maxi4492
It's not a bar book, just not one to be on this list.
FlannaganTheRed
I remember reading it in one night and feeling very fulfilled/inspired. But fuck if I can remember what it was actually about....
bakminn360
Or Animal Farm.
DangerousElf22
I read this around 2005 I think, was very rewarding at the time for me. How long has it been on the High School list? I'm old, sorry.
TheMajesticBongacorn
Yeah I read through it and found it to be quite shallow and pretentious, maybe something gets lost in the translation...
fartgirl
Yeah no, it just IS shallow and prententious.
Gaumont
No
PancakeSnakey
I had to read it in highschool and I don't remember it in the slightest :|
Dsharppe
Great question. I read it, as I was given it as a gift. 4/10
Laurensintervention
Listen on audible. Also, if you are interested in the hero's journey or archetypes, that's a plus
EmceeDonald91
Agreed I hated that book so much I had to read over summer and hated everything about it
IPestilenceI
It wasn’t bad. Wasn’t that great either.
TwoWheels2
Agreed. A total piece of garbage.
GinOClock
For the same reason Gladwell's there. New age motivational fluff.
Xiuhtocatl
Flowers for Algernon doesn’t get a lot of attention but I was weeping like a child through the last chapters.
Chalupabatman75
Where the red fern grows was my "got me in the feels" book. Still does even today.
fluffleupagus
We had to read the book and watch the movie, back to back. Just seeing the title of that book makes me sad.
Xiuhtocatl
Geez, who would do that to you?
Tylurker
Remember to put flowers on Algernon's grave
JohnMorbid
My most favorite book to this day. such a tragic story. I dont cry over anything, but i cried for Hour after finishing this book
Xiuhtocatl
I stole my school copy, never returned it. It’s one of those books that just stays with you after spending time inside the character’s head
WitchIrkalla
Um i think you forgot about.....
celestikka
Dune?
WitchIrkalla
Duuuuuuuuuuune
WitchIrkalla
Yes dune
rockcanyon10
Dune
InfinityDragon
Where. Is. The. FUCKING. HITCHHIKERS. GUIDE. TO. THE. GODDAMN. GALAXY?!?!
witalaska4
Boring book. That’s where
25schmeckles
I mean I thought it was entertaining but it didn’t “blow my mind” I wasn’t really exposed to any of society’s inherent truths
ThailandExpress
Butane9000
I swear to god that entire series must've been written on LSD.
KingKelloggTheWaffleHaggler
What about Akira, huh???
flamingflamingo
It doesn't really blow anyone's mind.
Gianttesticlemonster
Skipadedodah
Brain the size of a planet
Skipadedodah
DONT PANIC
3lr4y
Somewhere else
IHateTrumpButNotYou
Hitchhikers doesnt exactly blow your mind though. I LOVE that book but it's just extremely original and entertaining not mind blowing...
inthe90swediddrugs
Well a good portion of the books on the op’s list are not really mind blowing. Mostly just good.
Paulbearer
I didn't know that was the unabridged title...
polkjameskpolk
Came to the comments to say exactly this.
HarryDresdenIsMySpiritAnimal
Because it isn't one of the greatest books every written. Sure, it's entertaining, but not life-altering.
Hutchy01
And Pterry.
LabyrinthBuilder
Althox00
I was just thinking I should make "don't" stickers for key fobs with panic buttons.
dazedNconfuzed
There was a time when I could have literally quoted the whole thing. Woulda taken about 6 hours. (I'm a 451 book?)
Blackrain39
It's a radio series.
DamageAndJoy
42
Ithinkimbetterthanyousometimes
*
ActionJohnnie
Spoiler alert
zsnever
I didn’t really enjoy Hitchhiker’s Guide. I just finished it, and it was honestly a struggle to do so. Maybe I need to try again?
PrincessNausicaa
I read it as a teenager because all my friends were into it, and I just found it fluff. Enjoyable enough but nothing special.
curiouscorruption
I got through it, but I just absolutely hate the whole "haha humans are soo stupid" trope. It's fuckin annoying.
zsnever
Started it a year ago and read it in little bits here and there. I was pretty confused most of the time (who was who and where they were).
bloodlustunicorn
My daughter had the same struggle with it. It's the way he jumps around with the story telling. I found it best to just go with the flow 1/
bloodlustunicorn
relax, and just let the story happen without putting a lot of thought into it. 2/2
DoesLasagnadreamofcreamsauce
-1984 +Starship Troopers
DenounceAll
ALL the Heinlein
volcanoduck
Starship troopers is amazeballs, and so pertinent today.
Jotun615
my favorite by RAH
DoesLasagnadreamofcreamsauce
It's my favorite novel of all time
longjohndickweed
It really is outstanding
xKaraKx
Just add it. 1984 is a good one to read. Also add stranger in a strange land
jasari
I also recommend 'have space suit will travel' it's my favorite book from my childhood.
DoesLasagnadreamofcreamsauce
I thought we were sticking to 25 so I had to cut something lol
xKaraKx
Bah. 25. 27. 54. Its all the same
DenounceAll
42. It should be 42
UnPetitSugarcube
1984 is one of my favorite books of all time. I'm a big dystopian future lover.
AntiSaneity
In contrast I cannot think of many books I've read and hated as much as 1984.
DoesLasagnadreamofcreamsauce
Catcher in the Rye is one of the few I hated more than 1984
AntiSaneity
They're about on the same level as me, although I remember finding Catcher to be slightly more tolerable.
UnPetitSugarcube
Haha I respect that. How come you hated it so much?
AntiSaneity
Honestly it's been 14 years I can't remember, but I wrote a book report so scathing my teacher said she didn't want to read it afterwards.