What are the best books ever?
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M$12 Answers
I like these too! (All of these have sold more than 50 million copies!)
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
2. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
5. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
7. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
11. Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
12. Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning by Johanna Spyri
13. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
14. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock
15. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
16. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
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M$
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M$The National Endowment for the Arts has a good selection here:
http://www.neabigread.org/books.php?sort=theme
Their choice is mostly a selection of American classics, on a wide variety of themes, and lots of different levels of "difficulty". One good thing about this site is you can see a list of books by theme, for example stories on growing up, or love stories.
The BBC has an an excellent list of the books that are the most loved by the British people, put together after a TV series and a national vote. The list covers a huge variety of books, from the very recent and fun like Harry Potter to old heavyweight masterpieces like War and Peace.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
Some of my personal favorites that show up in the BBC list are:
The Lord of the Rings, J R R Tolkien
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, J K Rowling
Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
Of course a lot depends on what you like, and my list is heavy on fantasy!
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M$According to your profile, I would recommend some of the Latin American classics: G.G. Marquez, Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel and J. Cortazar.
If you are in the mood for something more universal, go for the classics.
Considering that you want to "go back to reading", I won't advice you to read LOTR or Harry Potter.
If you are curious about what your friends are reading you can use the Visual Bookshelf application from Facebook.
If you have doubts about the plot you can read a summary online (not the one from the editors, a reader's summary and review) at shvoong.com
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M$
You are right D. Isabel is at the bottom of the list and hardly a classic, I should have used another word that never came to my mind. However, some of her books reflect a piece of the recent Latin American history (military de facto governments in the 20th century) that these other authors don't. She writes about it almost first hand and that's what makes them at least useful. And although she is not the best friend of the Spanish language, sometimes translations don't help at all.
I'm glad you pointed that out.
While Isabel Allende is a decent author I don't think I'd describe her books as Latin American "classics". She's way overrated. She has copied the style of authors like Garcia Marquez and made it more commercial.
The other authors though. Spot on. Like Water For Chocolate by Esquivel is great as are Cortazar's short stories and you can't go wrong with Gabriel Garcia Marquez. My personal faves by him are One Hundred Years of Solitude and Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
Science Fiction-The Past Through Tomorrow by Robert A. Heinlein
and On Basilisk Station by David Weber
Romance-Ladies Choice by Jayne Ann Krentz
and Simple Jess by Pamela Morisi
Fantasy-Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Others-The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
and The Holy Bible by various writers
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M$
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M$
THE FIRST TRILOGY
The first volume covers explorers, scientists, and historians in their quest for raw knowledge, while the second book describes writers, painters, and composers in their pursuit of inspiring art; the third describes people searching for an understanding of human existence.
1. The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself
- Boorstin's best-selling history of man's search to know the world and himself, was awarded the Watson Davis Prize of the History of Science Society.
Perhaps the greatest book by one of our greatest historians, The Discoverers is a volume of sweeping range and majestic interpretation. To call it a history of science is an understatement; this is the story of how humankind has come to know the world.
Daniel J. Boorstin first describes the liberating concept of time--"the first grand discovery"--and continues through the age of exploration and the advent of the natural and social sciences. The approach is idiosyncratic, with Boorstin lingering over particular figures and accomplishments rather than rushing on to the next set of names and dates. It's also primarily Western, although Boorstin does ask (and answer) several interesting questions: Why didn't the Chinese "discover" Europe and America? Why didn't the Arabs circumnavigate the planet?
His thesis about discovery ultimately turns on what he calls "illusions of knowledge." If we think we know something, then we face an obstacle to innovation. The great discoverers, Boorstin shows, dispel the illusions and reveal something new about the world.
Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/714380.The_Discoverers
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Discoverers-Daniel-J-Boorstin/dp/0394726251/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235874971&sr=1-2
2. The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination
- The Creators, a history of man's achievements in the arts and companion to The Discoverers, was published by Random House in 1992.
Historian Daniel J. Boorstin brings his customary depth and range to this compelling book on Western art, taking on everything from European megaliths (Stonehenge, for example) to Benjamin Franklin's autobiography ("the first American addition to world literature").
Boorstin does not aim at being comprehensive--he much prefers to linger over certain "heroes of the imagination" as he surveys human accomplishment in the fields of architecture, music, painting, sculpting, and writing--yet The Creators certainly feels comprehensive, as Boorstin carefully places everything he describes within a grand tradition of aesthetic achievement.
By piecing the lives of selected individuals into a grand mosaic, Boorstin explores the development of artistic innovation over 3,000 years. A hugely ambitious chronicle of the arts that Boorstin delivers with the scope that made his Discoverers a national bestseller.
Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186746.The_Creators_A_History_of_Heroes_of_the_Imagination
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Creators-History-Heroes-Imagination/dp/0679743758/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235875070&sr=1-1
3. The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World
Humanity’s quest to understand our world has gone on since the beginning of time. In The Seekers, Daniel J. Boorstin continues his saga of mankind’s spiritual and intellectual development that began with The Discoverers and The Creators. In this adventure story, Boorstin follows the great seekers from the heroic age of prophets and philosophers to the present age of skepticism.
Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186744.The_Seekers
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Seekers-Story-Continuing-Quest-Understand/dp/0375704752/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235874971&sr=1-1
THE SECOND TRILOGY
The fullest expression of Boorstin's interpretation of American life may be found in his three-volume history of the United States.
In volume one, The Americans: The Colonial Experience (1958), Boorstin offered numerous examples in support of his thesis that the givens in the American environment, the country's vast size and wealth of its resources, quickly broke down or transformed every utopian scheme - Puritan Massachusetts, corporate Virginia, Penn's Pennsylvania, and Oglethorpe's Georgia - that Europeans attempted to establish in the New World.
In his second volume, The Americans: The National Experience (1965), which covered the period from the Revolution to the Civil War, Boorstin described the United States as a nation of practical folk who, in spreading westward across the continent, developed a faith in republicanism and individualism because the virtues of those ideas were daily demonstrated in their lives.
Finally, in The Americans: The Democratic Experience (1973) Boorstin gave his version of American life since the Civil War. It was still a story with many heroes, go-getter businessmen such as Gustavus Swift, and trend-setting inventors such as Thomas A. Edison. Nevertheless, the book closed on a somber note as Boorstin decried some of the trends he observed in 20th-century American life, especially what seemed to him the baneful influence of consumer culture and the mass media.
1. The Americans: The Colonial Experience (1958), which won the Bancroft Prize
The first book in a trilogy--and in many respects the best of the bunch--The Colonial Experience is an essential interpretation of how the habits of people who lived more than two centuries ago shaped the lives of modern Americans.
Boorstin shows how an undiscovered continent shattered long-standing traditions and utopian fantasies with the hard demands of everyday life far from the sophisticated centers of European civilization.
He starts with a series of penetrating essays on the Puritans of Massachusetts, the Quakers of Pennsylvania, the philanthropists of Georgia, and the planters of Virginia, then tackles a set of diffuse topics that range from astronomy to language to medicine in fascinating vignettes.
The Colonial Experience is must reading for anybody interested in the development of the American character.
Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/913586.The_Americans_The_Colonial_Experience
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Americans-Colonial-Experience-Daniel-Boorstin/dp/0394705130
2. The Americans: The National Experience (1965), which won the Parkman Prize
Daniel J. Boorstin, one of America's great historians, focuses on American ingenuity and emergent nationalism in this middle book of The Americans trilogy, dealing with a period extending roughly from the Revolution to the Civil War.
Like its two companion volumes, The National Experience is a sometimes quirky look at how certain patterns of living helped shape the character of the United States. The book simply overflows with ideas, all of them introduced in entertaining chapters on subjects such as the New England ice industry and the boomtowns of the Midwest.
Boorstin is a delight to read, a genuine polymath whose wide-ranging interests and love of learning show up on every page.
Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/913587.The_Americans_The_National_Experience
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Americans-National-Experience-Daniel-Boorstin/dp/0394703588/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235879196&sr=1-3
3. The Americans: The Democratic Experience, which won the Pulitzer Prize, among other awards.
Daniel J. Boorstin describes a post-Civil War America united not by ideological conviction or religious faith but by common participation in ordinary living.
This is not a familiar litany of names, dates, and places, but an anecdotal account that rises far above impressionism and paints a compelling portrait of the United States as it climbed to new heights. Sheer reading pleasure for lovers of history, this fittingly ambitious conclusion to the Americans trilogy won the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1973.
Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/976112.The_Americans_The_Democratic_Experience
Buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Americans-Democratic-Experience-Daniel-Boorstin/dp/0394710118/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235879230&sr=1-1
ABOUT DR. DANIEL J. BOORSTIN
Historian, public servant and Pulitzer-prize winning author, Dr. Daniel J. Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress Emeritus, directed the library from 1975-1987. He had previously been director of the National Museum of American History and senior historian of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Before that he was a professor of history at the University of Chicago, where he taught for 25 years. He is also a member of the Massachusetts Bar.
His other works include The Mysterious Science of the Law (1941), The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson (1948), The Genius of American Politics (1953), The Image (1962, 1987), The Republic of Technology (1978), and Hidden History(1987).
In Cleopatra's Nose: Essays of the Unexpected, published by Random House in 1994, Boorstin presents essays on the role that the unexpected plays in history.
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin
http://www.answers.com/topic/daniel-j-boorstin
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M$
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M$.jpg){kind=small}
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
And for easy reading:
The Harry Potter Series
For reading to my girls:
The Little House on the Prairie Series
Wow, I sure seem to like the series sets!
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M$
http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html
Esquire has a list of books every man should read:
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/75-books
Good Reads has a list of the best books (voted by its users)
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever
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M$
1. Confederacy of Dunces - Classic! It's a wild ride
2. Anthem - by Ayn Rand - if you love Anthem ( like I do ) then you can go on to read Ayn Rands other books which are particular poignant in these times - but Anthem is a short story and if you didn't like it then you can save your time of getting into her longer ( much longer ) tomes.
3. Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress - a very sweet and easy to read coming of age story only the teenagers have to deal with not only finding out who they are but they have to do it in the backdrop of communist china and in the middle of the re-education.
4. Zorba the Greek - a classic and a fun read. Good outlook on life.
5. Les Miserable - if you want to read a real classic this is the one. Great chase scene too.
6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - mystery lovers - one of Agatha Christie's best.
7. No one here gets out alive - the story of Jim Morrison. Really well written and a great way to relook at the crazy times
8. A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - It is amazing reading these speeches today - they are as important today as they were when they were first delivered. And it is amazing to read such thoughtful words and powerful messages. It is fun to get the book on CD too and listen to the delivery. His message of self reliance and non violence are empowering no matter what your race.
9. Tom Sawyer - if you want to get back into reading and read some of the classics you have to read this one. Tom Sawyer is the ultimate mischief maker and master delegator.
and a tie for #10
10. Deep Survival and The Gift of Fear. Two great books on survival that are amazing reads and great information.
1. A Confederacy of Dunces (Evergreen Book)
2. Anthem By Ayn Rand
3. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel
4. Zorba the Greek
5. Les Miserables
6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
7. No One Here Gets Out Alive
8. A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
9. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
10. Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
10. The Gift of Fear
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M$That sounds a bit egotistical, I know, but I've learned if you don't toot your own horn, no one else will do it either!
The nice thing is it formatted into short stories so you can pick it up at your leisure.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781569069974&itm=1
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Success-Not-Stories-Persevered/dp/1569069972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198202877&sr=8-1
http://www.target.com/Secret-Success-Not-Stories-Persevered/dp/1569069972
Other than that, I would say if you don't enjoy reading don't try to read the "greats" of literature. Pick up something that interests you. If you comment with some of your hobbies and what you watch on TV, I can probably match you up with a few books that you'd like.
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M$
Gosh, you have an Amazon blog. Yes, you finally lured me into investigating your book! I won't ask why your most used tag is "menage a trois". I fear the answer is probably not as interesting as it sounds! :)
@cherman... Darcy (I hear) worked in a bookshop for a loooooong time, and is probably an excellent person to suggest books if you tell her more about what kinds of things you like.
I don't see them now either. Who knows, a glitch maybe. I'd swear they were on your blog page or profile.
@Darcy Click the Amazon link in your answer, and explore. All the things I mentioned are linked from there.
Some of them here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A2BJEU4YAEL1LG/ref=cm_blog_dp_artist_blog
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A2BJEU4YAEL1LG/ref=cm_blog_pdp
Yeah, I know that my profile and blog is there, but I don't know where you saw those tags because I don't see them.
@philipy What are you talking about?
As to my bookstore experience, I simply know a lot about books and have a very good memory. Plus, it is/was my job to shelve all the new and promo-ed books in the store. I got familiar with most of them.
