The one book everyone should read?!?

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  • raverhayley
    raverhayley Posts: 112 Member
    cupcake brown- a piece of cake. amazing true life story. you should all give it a go :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Oh! I have the answer. It's 42, and I'm not even joking.

    No one, I mean NO ONE, should leave this planet without having read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If you read no other book in your entire life, you have to read that one. If only so you have any idea what people are talking about when they answer every question with "42."
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    since you asked for 'everybody' I think, being an election year, everyone should read some ayn rand. Atlas Shrugged! I had to skip huge parts of her manifesto (or diatribe if you're being kind) but everyone could have a feel for what a whack she can be and how it's influencing our culture.
  • hypocrisy8
    hypocrisy8 Posts: 26 Member
    Only one??? Goodness!

    Well, since you're a man, I'd say Moby Dlck because men seem to really love that book, but I didn't like it.

    As for what I would recommend, my absolute favorites that are not gender specific would probably be either Les Miserables or the Harry Potter series. There are seven books in HP, but it's really one continuous story, so it's more like one really long book (and so, so awesome).

    The Book Thief is a really good piece of historical fiction, and very powerful.

    Oy. I have a BA in English literature and when I didn't have a full-time job, I used to read three or four novels a week, so you're asking the impossible from me! Check out my goodreads.com page if you want a whole list!

    I second The Book Thief
    I have a short attention span and usually lose interest in books easily- but this was a great book. Loved it from beginning to end.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    Has anyone read The Jason Bourne books? The movies are great, but just wanted to know if the books were good as well.



    I have read the first two, after I saw the 1st movie. They were good, but did not make my list of "books good enough to re-read"
  • MonkeyBars
    MonkeyBars Posts: 266 Member
    ok, I'm pulling the MFP card here and going for a fitness book rather than fiction ;)

    "Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength"
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    Well, you're not an avid reader so I'm not going to suggest some of the great books I REALLY love but I always find the Lee Child Jack Reacher books are good. They're not silly or 'womany' and they're fairly well written compared to the reading-by-numbers tripe like 50 Shades which has the writing style of a 10-year old with no thesaurus.
  • Merc71
    Merc71 Posts: 412 Member
    "The 5,000-Year Leap," by W. Cleon Skousen
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    Just for fun reading? Not fitness related....hmmm, I really loved the book --The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas...it's one of my favorite books. It is considered a literary classic. It is an AWESOME book.

    DITTO! Read The Count of Monte Cristo! Another one of my favorites!
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    just one?

    uh... I'm not at all religious, in fact I am very strongly agnostic but if you want ONE book that has had the most influence of (Western) society as we know it, read the Bible.

    If you're more interested in literature... well, here are some suggestions:
    The full collection of Grimm fairy tales & Anderson fairy tales
    1001 Nights
    The Three Musketeers
    Les Miserables (suggest to read the English version... unless you're fluent in French)
    Jane Eyre
    Pride and Prejudice (it's quite small, but very influential to literature today)
    Gone With the Wind (not nearly as chick-flick as you'd think. there's lots of action and battles and muddling through!)
    Crime and Punishment
    Steppewolfe
    anything by Kafka
    anything by Vonnegut
    Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
    Ender's Game
    The Name of the Rose (or, indeed, anything by Eco)
    the Wheel of Time series (IMO, it's better than aSoIaF - more magic, less gruesome and pointless deaths, more politicking and manouvering; and more action)
    the Otherland series
    the Farseer series
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Just for fun reading? Not fitness related....hmmm, I really loved the book --The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas...it's one of my favorite books. It is considered a literary classic. It is an AWESOME book. :) (And, I promise it's not a "chick flick" kind of book lol). I AM a book worm...couldn't LIVE without a good read. Hmmmm...my vote for worst book I've ever read...would have to be-- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The book became a cult classic, and later a mainstream success, and Mr. Toole posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981 (I guess I just don't get it...I absolutely HATED this book...you might read it out of curiosity and tell me what I missed...haha). Well, hope this helps...maybe tell us a little about what kind of book might interest you? Then I would be able to narrow down suggestions... :D

    I loved Confederacy of Dunces.
  • Terree83
    Terree83 Posts: 93
    The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. If you have not checked this out, I highly recommend it! It's narrated by Death (yes.. like the Grim Reaper) and is set in WWII. I don't want to give too much away.. but it's by far my favorite book of all time.
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    I just came here because I want to see how many people say 50 Shades of Grey....

    Good thread to hopefully get some interesting suggestions from which I might benefit.

    It's just going to take one person to say 50 shades though and I lose faith in the thread

    Touch and go with Harry Potter too if I'm honest - my daughter LOVES them though so I'll try and stay neutral

    My one book is Roots, Alex Haley
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
    I guess you have to figure out what types of books you may like to venture into, fiction, non-fiction, bio's, self-help,sci-fi, inspirational...hmmm, then I think you can truly go from there. I would suggest going to your local library and start reading books from there and then if you truly like reading...then start buying them.

    I personally like Green Eggs and Ham....SMILE.

    I estrange myself from anyone who doesn't like Green Eggs and Ham.
  • Dani_wants_to_be_fit
    Dani_wants_to_be_fit Posts: 550 Member
    Ah I can't really say what everyone should read since I don't know too many people who like what I read. Hmm would reccomend "Killing me softly", "The secret smile", "Catch me when I fall" By Nikki French. Kind of twisted but a great read.

    Also Joudi Piccoult books. She deals with a lot of controversial subjects and most of her books get you thinking. "My sisters keeper" is amazing (Haven't seen the film" Keeping faith", "Picture perfect" etc. I love reading.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    To Kill a Mockingbird. Or The Origin of the Species.
  • HolliDeanne
    HolliDeanne Posts: 4
    A Million Little Pieces or My Friend Leonard by James Frey. Two of the best books I have ever read. And based on his real life experiences.

    About a junkie who goes to rehab and his journey there. My Friend Leonard is about his journey after rehab and his wonderful friend he meets in rehab, Leonard.
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    People, people, people....Did you see him say that he's not an avid reader and gets bored easily!?! There's no point suggesting some massive literary tome just so that we can impress each other with our intellect! The whole object of the thread is to give him something he will read!!!!!
  • pdanko1972
    pdanko1972 Posts: 13 Member
    Stephen King .... The Stand, I read it years ago and it is my all time favorite book
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. If you have not checked this out, I highly recommend it! It's narrated by Death (yes.. like the Grim Reaper) and is set in WWII. I don't want to give too much away.. but it's by far my favorite book of all time.

    Three of us have recommended this so far, so I just want to make sure you (OP) know to look for it in the juvenile fiction section if you decide to read it. We read it in my book club and I assumed it was adult fiction because of the subject, but it isn't. It's so amazingly well-written, though, that you won't even notice it's supposedly meant for teenagers. :-) That has more to do with the age of the heroine, though, than the writing. It's just a publishing thing.

    And I second To Kill a Mockingbird and add anything by Natahniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter is great and The Blithedale Romance is interesting to read considering the state of today's world politics.
  • SueMizZou
    SueMizZou Posts: 139 Member
    I like Stephen King. I especially like his early books -- Carrie, The Shining, The Stand. Have you ever tried Audiobooks? They're great for when you do cardio. I am just finishing the Dark Tower series, a major commitment and not one of King's best but interesting none the less.
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    People, people, people....Did you see him say that he's not an avid reader and gets bored easily!?! There's no point suggesting some massive literary tome just so that we can impress each other with our intellect! The whole object of the thread is to give him something he will read!!!!!

    lol...

    in that case: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

    And 1001 Nights. some of those stories are really quite... juicy ;)
  • emstethem
    emstethem Posts: 263 Member
    teee heeee...how about The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure .... You probably won't get bored with this one...depends....haha :D
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying.

    I prefer The Amazing Adventures of Captain Gladys Stoutpamphlet and her Intrepid Spaniel Stig Amongst the Giant Pygmies off Beckles. Volume 8.

    But it's hard to find.
  • Fred4point0
    Fred4point0 Posts: 160 Member
    The Bible.

    It will change your life.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    A Million Little Pieces or My Friend Leonard by James Frey. Two of the best books I have ever read. And based on his real life experiences.

    About a junkie who goes to rehab and his journey there. My Friend Leonard is about his journey after rehab and his wonderful friend he meets in rehab, Leonard.

    You know there was a big scandal where it turned out he made it all up, right?
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
    The Catcher in the Rye has got such a colourfull history that it has to be on a list of books people should read
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
    Easy. 1984. Hands down, my favorite book ever.
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
    The one I read recently that I found most interesting right off the bat was Hunger Games. It hooked me right away and I found it an intriguing read. Much better than the movie, which I also liked.
  • ShreddedTweet
    ShreddedTweet Posts: 1,326 Member
    People, people, people....Did you see him say that he's not an avid reader and gets bored easily!?! There's no point suggesting some massive literary tome just so that we can impress each other with our intellect! The whole object of the thread is to give him something he will read!!!!!

    lol...

    in that case: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

    And 1001 Nights. some of those stories are really quite... juicy ;)

    I really loved The Alchemist!

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