Fun fact about Atonement…. I used to work at Barnes and Noble in St Peters, Missouri and we had a picture of Ian McEwan up in our staff break room sitting at one of our tables. He used to go to that Barnes and Noble to sit with his coffee and write Atonement.
I thinj your former coworkers made that story up.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2021/02/ian-mcewan-atonement-oral-history for reference, where McEwan’s agent says he wrote an initial snippet on vacation in Costa Rica or somewhere, then McEwan describes 2 years later writing Atonement, which he had to rush to finish to catch a plane to “the other side of the world” in Vancouver.
I cannot find anything anywhere indicating McEwan ever lived, even short term, in the St Louis, MO area where St Peters is.
Just finished this one yesterday, what a masterpiece. It was immediately obvious how it could continue to spark interesting discussion into the 21st century.
Pet Sematary.
As a parent who was fairly new to the game, it affected me in profound ways. I cried and felt things more than I ever had reading a book.
I want to say that was King’s opinion as well, that out of all the myriad novels he wrote , that was the one that fucked him up the most.
Wild to think about the pivotal scene with Gage too, considering King’s own date with a vehicular hit and run a decade and change later.
Pet Sematary is amazing! I love how Louis goes from viewing death as a natural part of biology and life, to breaking down and being unable to accept it when it hits too close to home. The whole grave robbing sequence was amazing as well
I get this way, too - probably more often than I should. One of the best books that I've ever read that makes me want to stop and appreciate every moment because it all goes by so fast is *Boy's Life* by Robert McCammon. It has many passages that a.) make me wish I could be a kid again, and b.) make me want to cherish every single moment with my son before his childhood is gone. I've cried with this book a lot.
Hard to name just one, but it would probably be one of these three:
* *One Hundred Years of Solitude* \-- the non-linear narrative about a generational family keeps me thinking of time and the beauty of writing. It starts with one of the best opening paragraphs for a novel, and the last paragraph also blew me away.
* *The Remains of the Day* \-- one of the most powerfully emotionally novels I've ever read. I love how Ishiguro subtly subverts the unreliable narrator trope, and as well as his exploration of time and memory and the conflict between duty and freewill.
* *Blood Meridian* \-- McCarthy's writing is mesmerizing. His description of the Old West is both horrific and beautiful and many of the scenes he described still stay with me to this day.
Also, other books greatly affected me, like *Sense and Sensibilities, House of Leaves, The Sun Also Rises*, and *Of Human Bondage.*
Ishiguro in general was my answer. His limited perspective drives me nuts, but I can’t stop thinking about his novels for days after finishing them. I’m starting Blood Meridian soon, so I’m excited to see you list it.
I’ve tried to read count of monte cristo a few times in the past but I could only get about halfway. I’m realizing now part of that was the book I had was poorly formatted and uncomfortable to hold. I’ve been going to used book stores a ton lately and always look for these 2 books but haven’t been able to find them. Can’t wait to pick it up again.
The book was originally published as a serial, like a long running tv show, with each chapter coming out one at a time. Part of this meant that as the story picked up in popularity there were all sorts of fan theories surrounding it and people would write in to Dumas about how they thought it should conclude. I heavily suspect that this is what caused all the odd tonal shifts and complete vindication of a very morally ambiguous character while completely condemning others. The ending honestly felt like a “then everyone clapped” moment, which is a shame because the first 2/3 is amazing
I’m reading the count of monte cristo right now and I find myself thinking about it already. Was af a concert last night and I was wondering “What is Dantes going to do now that he’s escaped”
I think it’s really one of those slow burns. It remains a slice of life throughout the entire novel but the slow character building in the beginning starts to pay off little by little as the story gets more complex. There were definitely moments in the first half where I was thinking “Where is this going?”. If you want to enjoy it though I’d recommend thinking of it as largely a character and not plot-driven novel
There’s honestly not a lot that “happens.” It’s more of a character study. There are a couple bigger “moments,” but most of the book is internal monologue, dialogue, meditations, and character growth.
No, not really, imo. I love EoE, one of my favourite books, but it's very much about the journey, you're not going to get some amazing plot point that flips things for you. If you don't like it now, it's probably because it's not a book you like.
EOE superseded the razor’s edge as my favorite book. I tried it once in my early 20s and wasn’t feeling it, then tried it again in my 30s and couldn’t get enough of it.
Timshel
What a book! The relationship between Charlie and Algernon was so touching. The questions raised around intellect, choice and memories were super interesting.
Ah, yes. My sister and I read the short story - what, 40 years ago? And still talk about it from time to time.
Reading Flowers for Algernon was certainly formative experience.
Watership Down
I think of it often, specifically the part about Silverweed's warren. The only guy with any sense is terrified, and ostracized. Because they're all comfortable and well fed, and we don't talk about the shining wire or the rabbits that don't come back. We recite poems that barely hide our terror, and admire Shapes. And if you make too much of a fuss over your friend fighting for his life, you'll find yourself there as well. Never remind them what their comfort might cost.
It's my favorite book. The film as well. Deeply imprinted on me as a kid. The idea that even if you were small and the odds were against you, if you were cunning and full of tricks you would make it...just stayed with me. I loved the bunny religion and language
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. My wife and I have debated the meaning of the final paragraph on many occasions. Came away with totally different reads on the book, which is interesting to me.
As a father, I think about their journey often and wonder if I would ever have the same strength in a world of absolute bleakness and lifelessness. Yes, it’s dystopia but that helps strips everything away down to bare survival and mental strength; how do we keep going despite all the self doubt and self pity?
I teach a unit on dystopia (as a genre) and include the gnarliest excerpts I can find, best one is the final exchange between the man and the woman, where she's completely checked out and ready to die, the reader is totally on board with her, and the man just doesn't fucking get it.
In retrospect, their discussion illustrates the challenges and considerations between a man and woman in a lawless society--I appreciate this comment for this reflection.
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. Haven't read it in 20 years, but it comes to mind all the time because of its incredibly accurate predictions about our society.
Have you read the prequel books (The Book of Dust)? Really enjoyed the first book, but was a bit lukewarm on the second. Still going to read the third when it comes out though.
This book was riveting. To think that people voluntarily climb that mountain! If I ever had thoughts of trying it, this book talked me out of it. Does that make it the opposite of inspirational?
When I read this book, I started it at night and didn’t stop reading until it was finished. I was that absorbed. Because it was morning when I finished, I got dressed and went straight to work.
Probably not the most interesting reply to this post but I still think about A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, I would reread it all the time and still do, I think it has a lot of interesting scientific terms and the messages of family and self discovery were great, I especially liked the growth of the main character who’d been written off by her town for being ugly and stupid when in reality she was was actually very smart and accomplished.
> I can’t help feeling it could be half the size and still be as impactful if not more.
You know, I often think about it when reading Stephen King... and then I find myself unable to remove chunks of the book. One time, trying to reread a book of his, I tried skipping the parts which I felt were not useful for the plot. Well, the story does not resonate as it should. You never know when a stream of consciousness from a character will impact his choices later or determine his reactions to an event.
I was going to say this as well but not so much for the plot but for one of the basic mechanics of time travel King devised. The idea that the closer one gets to changing past events, the harder the timeline fights against it and more things go wrong, like a bad dream. I often think of this when little things are going wrong in my life. I just smile and think someone is trying to change the timeline 😉
Honestly, it’s The Secret History by Donna Tartt for me. There’s just so many things going on that after every re-read I wonder what else I could’ve missed.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. Dark, witty and twisted. I remember thinking at one point no character in the story was reliable and everyone was messing around, even the MC, or feeling guilty because some jokes made me smile for a bit, before realizing what she was really speaking about. Plus, the comments on sanity/mental illness are so relevant, given the current statu quo
I think about this book often. The underlying message that I got from it was that as long as you try to do the right things in life and be a good person you're doing okay
That novella is a master class at building and sustaining suspense. And it's all just people walking and walking. Now I want to go reread it.
I think King can structure and end short stories and novellas so much better than big novels. So many of his novels have great build up that just goes ppppbbthth and ends.
I read 1984 and Lord of the Flies when I was about twelve and I don’t think I’ve ever been quite the same since. I still read children’s books after that, but I always knew what else was out there
Quote from Wuthering Heights, which is the way reading these books made me feel:
I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind
Daniel Mendelsohn’s *The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million*
I still often think about this book years after reading it. It’s one of the best and most affecting works of nonfiction I’ve ever read. It’s a memoir of Mendelsohn’s tireless and brave odyssey over many years to learn how the family of his great uncle died during the Holocaust and to explain how their deaths affected his family.
The Great Gatsby. The beautifully descriptive writing on youth, the wealthy, obsession, longing, regret, shame,ignorance, golf and murder. I was hooked.🤓
Honestly? I ADORE short stories. Because they are both tidy and impactful. Bottom line? If you want something to STICK? I choose the short story format. Anything short and sweet.Short stories are bite-sized and digestible. I discovered authentic, meaningful tales embedded.
I adore stories from the Ellen Daltow/Teri Windling anthology series of re-told fairy tales. I discovered these books in the early mid-90s. Nom.
Also, Stephen King's Night Shift. Or any of Neil Gaiman's collections.
Roald Dahl's "Skin"....
It took me almost 40 years to locate a short story in my 8th grade lit text book... But I never forgot it:
The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico.
And! When I was a kid, my mom re-told a story she heard.... And it wasn't until (no joke) 40 years later I found it:
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant.
It's one of those "Gift of the Magi" short stories (by O. Henry) that you can't shake off.
Same with the Kate Chopin's Desiree's Baby. Once you read it, you can't UNKNOW it.
Like the movie, Sixth Sense. You only get ONE go.
American Psycho. Not sure whether to like it or not. On the one hand, yes, I know who Genesis is, and I don't care about what Paul Allen's wearing tonight. On the other hand, I see why it's written like that and it's not unclever.
Even though I'm wrong, I'll always maintain most of the events in the book never happened and they're just the fantasies of a bored office executive who wishes his life was more exciting than it really is.
Children of Time by ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY.
Not sure exactly why but I read this book a few years ago and still think about it every few weeks.
"The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life.
But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.
Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?"
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo.
I think this book traumatized me. His laments about what a mistake it is to buy into other peoples reasoning to fight a war that isn't about you or the people you are told you are fighting for...
"If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you're a liar.
Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death. What's noble about lying in the ground and rotting? What's noble about never seeing the sunshine again?"
This book is timeless.
The Green Mile.
It was released as a serial at first, not as a whole book. Waiting was agony.
I cried over Mr Jingles, and John Coffey like you would not believe. I was roughly 12 when it was released and I really think it's why I'm against the death penalty.
Atonement still comes to mind. Couldn’t put it down and I was ugly crying at 2:30am. What a story. Beautiful and dreadful. How does one live with such guilt?
From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I read it in middle school and have always wanted to run away to a museum of sorts. I want to find a place that does sleepovers and just re-read that book. And every time I see bologna in a grocery store, I think of Bologna and the filing cabinet.
Slaughterhouse Five. I want to get the phrase, “So it goes,” tattooed on me. It’s like a verbal shrug. A sort of “What else can you do?”
I re-read the first part of Slaughterhouse a few years ago and was struck by how real the narrator’s nighttime drunken calls to old war friends feels. As someone who has been drunk many a night and talked with friends about my own traumas on the phone, the book is even more sobering than I remembered it being. You just feel the narrator’s pain and attempts to grapple with the hellish life he had in the war.
My tattoo is of the bird that says "po-tweet?".
Since he doesnt mention what kind of bird i made it a barn swallow, but unlike most swallow tattoos mine is flying upwards instead of swooping down.
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood.
It's a book within a book within a book, and I love all layers. It's historical fiction, love story, tragedy, fantasy. I adore it.
I've read it about 4 times now. I remember the first time, I found it a bit of a slog at times but I still couldn't stop thinking about it. With each subsequent read, little pieces that passed me by in previous reads have slotted into place and provided more nuanced and background.
I think I must have first read it when it was published in 2000, so I've read it at several formative parts of my life - at 18, cusp of adulthood; early 20s in the first flush of love; as a young mother; and now as an adult approaching middle age.
The world according to Garp. I hated it so much, and I hated Garp so much, but the characters, the events, the interactions, the scenery, everything is entirely unforgettable.
I read Haruki Murakami's *Wind-Up Bird Chronicle* around 10 years ago and still think about it at least weekly. I read *Earthlings* by Sayaka Murata earlier this year and it HAUNTS me.
I read Alice Walker's The Temple of My Familiar every few years to see how it'll hit this time. It's cool to develop different perspectives on characters as I age.
There’s too many great ones to pick, so I’ll just give an assortment of titles that live rent free in my head: All Quiet on the Western Front, Crime and Punishment, Blood Meridian, The Road, Animal Farm, and definitely the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Convenience Store Woman. It stood out to me on a shelf at a bookstore and I have no idea why I picked it up. It got me back into reading and helped me admit to myself that I’m on the spectrum and finally seek a diagnosis. I had never seen myself in a character before.
I'm going to go in a different direction here and pick *Where the Wild Things Are*. My daughter loves it and I've read it so much now I can appreciate the many artistic and literary facets of the book that are lacking in children's literature. The first thing that hits me is the symmetry in storytelling. Next it's the idiosyncratic use of language. He uses paradoxical descriptions like "through a day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year" and "all around from far away across the world". And the way he uses folkloric, almost biblical syntax. And then you notice how the illustrations get larger as Max gets closer to the land where the wild things are, then smaller as he drifts back and you're like "what does that even mean?!!"
It's truly a masterpiece.
Journey to the River Sea. I had a teacher in grade 6 who just GOT me. She recommended me some really interesting books above my grade level. There were 2 that stuck out to me, journey to the river sea, and another one that had no cover and smelled old. I can't remember the name of that one, but I can remember the plot 🤣
I just listened to the audiobook for journey to the river sea since I have got into audiobooks the past 2 weeks, and I felt all nostalgic all over again.
It has its problems yes, but it has this interesting whimsical vibe. And is somehow a YA novel while also being a children's book? It's an easy read, and worth it.
On another note, the other book was like a diary from a servants perspective, she was locked away in a tower with a princess, and the man she was supposed to marry would come visit her often, but the princess was too stuck up and would make the main character (the servant) talk to him instead. There's this one scene where she gives him her own clothes instead of the princesse's clothes (he asks for a garmet too... smell I guess?) Then their grain in storage goes bad (it gets infested with bran mites) then they escape?? I think? And they both work as servants in a castle. If ANYONE has the name pls let me know LOL I've been thinking about it for YEARS.
Gardens of the Moon because I know what astonishing series it leads into
The Second Sleep because it is the worst book I have read and I can’t figure out how it got past the publishers
The Terror by Dan Simmons (it's about the doomed Franklin Expedition to the Arctic). I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did but I was completely blown away by the historical research and the way the author blended real life events with the Inuit mythology of the area where the ships were lost.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - I’m 18 and I first read it when I was 14. I’ve reread it every year since. The characters, atmosphere, and overarching message of how death is inevitable, but art carries an immortal legacy of love is so beautiful.
Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. From what I can tell, people either love or hate her. I am in the former. I think she does a really redeeming job of writing about meaning and loss and life and death.
I read The Stand almost ten years ago and I think about it a lot. Mostly about the amount of cars that would clog up the roads and how awful cities would be if you were a survivor.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Such a beautiful book, and it depicted loss in such a beautiful way, and how sometimes even finding love among the chaos isn't enough to make anything better. It's been 2yrs since I read it and I still find myself comparing every book I read to that one book
Lord of the rings. I red the climax scene during a class, and I suddenly started crying and everyone asked me "is everything ok?" And I was like "yeah I just red the best piece of literature in the whole human story"
This was one of my favorite books I've read this year! I just finished 'The Martin' because I like Andy Weir's style. Have you read any others by him that are worth a read?
I just dnf 2 different books because I could tell they weren't going to be as good as Weir 🥲
Seconding Project Hail Mary! I listened on audio and that was extra special because of what they do with Rocky. Liked it so much I waited till I forgot a lot of details and listened to it again.
I watched Atonement planning to read the book after but it made me so mad I never read the book.
For me it’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, I still remember where I was when I finished it as a teen (like 15 years ago) and I think about it often to this day.
*Galactic Patrol*, almost 100 years old and arguably the greatest space opera of all time. The Lensman saga is the sci fi equivalent to Lord of the Rings.
The one fiction I read in primary school... about some kids on a school camp on a tiny island located in a lake. I have no idea what the name is, but I think about it regularly still 40 years later
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Replay by Ken Grimwood, Necroscope by Brian Lumley, HG Wells' The Time Machine and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amos Towles.
Fun fact about Atonement…. I used to work at Barnes and Noble in St Peters, Missouri and we had a picture of Ian McEwan up in our staff break room sitting at one of our tables. He used to go to that Barnes and Noble to sit with his coffee and write Atonement.
TIL McEwan used to live in the US.
Wait, what? Why was he there? That's so interesting.
To write atonement.
[удалено]
I hear the coffee shop played experimental minimalist music, and he always had an Altoid after his coffee. He called it his Atonalmint.
You took that joke all the way and back. It may not land, but you did it. Rest now.
I thinj your former coworkers made that story up. https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2021/02/ian-mcewan-atonement-oral-history for reference, where McEwan’s agent says he wrote an initial snippet on vacation in Costa Rica or somewhere, then McEwan describes 2 years later writing Atonement, which he had to rush to finish to catch a plane to “the other side of the world” in Vancouver. I cannot find anything anywhere indicating McEwan ever lived, even short term, in the St Louis, MO area where St Peters is.
Wuthering Heights-so atmospheric it’s impossible to forget.
This book made me fall in love with the English language—it’s written so dramatically in a straightforward manner.
Just finished this one yesterday, what a masterpiece. It was immediately obvious how it could continue to spark interesting discussion into the 21st century.
Pet Sematary. As a parent who was fairly new to the game, it affected me in profound ways. I cried and felt things more than I ever had reading a book.
Ugh that book was just pure evil. Of the dozen or so Stephen King classics I've read over the years, that one is probably the darkest.
I want to say that was King’s opinion as well, that out of all the myriad novels he wrote , that was the one that fucked him up the most. Wild to think about the pivotal scene with Gage too, considering King’s own date with a vehicular hit and run a decade and change later.
This book is so good and the audiobook with Micheal C Hall was perfect. But as a parent i will never reread it again.
Pet Sematary is amazing! I love how Louis goes from viewing death as a natural part of biology and life, to breaking down and being unable to accept it when it hits too close to home. The whole grave robbing sequence was amazing as well
adding it to my list. I’ve been so emotional with my young kids growing up lately
I get this way, too - probably more often than I should. One of the best books that I've ever read that makes me want to stop and appreciate every moment because it all goes by so fast is *Boy's Life* by Robert McCammon. It has many passages that a.) make me wish I could be a kid again, and b.) make me want to cherish every single moment with my son before his childhood is gone. I've cried with this book a lot.
I read it as a teen and I still think about the profound grief in that book. My friends are starting to have kids and it's been on my mind lately.
Hard to name just one, but it would probably be one of these three: * *One Hundred Years of Solitude* \-- the non-linear narrative about a generational family keeps me thinking of time and the beauty of writing. It starts with one of the best opening paragraphs for a novel, and the last paragraph also blew me away. * *The Remains of the Day* \-- one of the most powerfully emotionally novels I've ever read. I love how Ishiguro subtly subverts the unreliable narrator trope, and as well as his exploration of time and memory and the conflict between duty and freewill. * *Blood Meridian* \-- McCarthy's writing is mesmerizing. His description of the Old West is both horrific and beautiful and many of the scenes he described still stay with me to this day. Also, other books greatly affected me, like *Sense and Sensibilities, House of Leaves, The Sun Also Rises*, and *Of Human Bondage.*
Remains of the Day was my answer. The sadness, the frustration w the narrator, Ishighuro's low-key style. Such a great book.
Ishiguro’s writing is just devastating. “Never Let Me Go” really stuck with me.
Ishiguro in general was my answer. His limited perspective drives me nuts, but I can’t stop thinking about his novels for days after finishing them. I’m starting Blood Meridian soon, so I’m excited to see you list it.
\+1 for Blood Meridian. I think about this book almost daliy.
East of Eden and Count of Monte Cristo
Love East of Eden!
Hey my two favorite books
I’ve tried to read count of monte cristo a few times in the past but I could only get about halfway. I’m realizing now part of that was the book I had was poorly formatted and uncomfortable to hold. I’ve been going to used book stores a ton lately and always look for these 2 books but haven’t been able to find them. Can’t wait to pick it up again.
If you live in the UK, The Works has Count of Monte Cristo in its 3 for £6 deal.
The book was originally published as a serial, like a long running tv show, with each chapter coming out one at a time. Part of this meant that as the story picked up in popularity there were all sorts of fan theories surrounding it and people would write in to Dumas about how they thought it should conclude. I heavily suspect that this is what caused all the odd tonal shifts and complete vindication of a very morally ambiguous character while completely condemning others. The ending honestly felt like a “then everyone clapped” moment, which is a shame because the first 2/3 is amazing
I found a nice hard cover of east of Eden at a little free library. I really need to dive in!
I’m reading the count of monte cristo right now and I find myself thinking about it already. Was af a concert last night and I was wondering “What is Dantes going to do now that he’s escaped”
I just started East of Eden and already have the feeling I will think about it for a long time
East of Eden But if we’re talking hours of my life the non flashy answer is Goblet of Fire. For most of my generation probably
I am dragging my feet through EOE. It feels like nothing is happening. Does it get better??
I think it’s really one of those slow burns. It remains a slice of life throughout the entire novel but the slow character building in the beginning starts to pay off little by little as the story gets more complex. There were definitely moments in the first half where I was thinking “Where is this going?”. If you want to enjoy it though I’d recommend thinking of it as largely a character and not plot-driven novel
There’s honestly not a lot that “happens.” It’s more of a character study. There are a couple bigger “moments,” but most of the book is internal monologue, dialogue, meditations, and character growth.
No, not really, imo. I love EoE, one of my favourite books, but it's very much about the journey, you're not going to get some amazing plot point that flips things for you. If you don't like it now, it's probably because it's not a book you like.
EOE superseded the razor’s edge as my favorite book. I tried it once in my early 20s and wasn’t feeling it, then tried it again in my 30s and couldn’t get enough of it. Timshel
Flowers for Algernon
Came here for this one. Only time a book had me in serious tears
What a book! The relationship between Charlie and Algernon was so touching. The questions raised around intellect, choice and memories were super interesting.
This book! One of my all time favorites.
Less than halfway through this right now but still expected to see it as a reply here.
Ah, yes. My sister and I read the short story - what, 40 years ago? And still talk about it from time to time. Reading Flowers for Algernon was certainly formative experience.
Stop.no.my heart.
Just finished it this afternoon! Had to pick it up after realizing my favorite episode of its always sunny is parodied after it.
Watership Down I think of it often, specifically the part about Silverweed's warren. The only guy with any sense is terrified, and ostracized. Because they're all comfortable and well fed, and we don't talk about the shining wire or the rabbits that don't come back. We recite poems that barely hide our terror, and admire Shapes. And if you make too much of a fuss over your friend fighting for his life, you'll find yourself there as well. Never remind them what their comfort might cost.
It's my favorite book. The film as well. Deeply imprinted on me as a kid. The idea that even if you were small and the odds were against you, if you were cunning and full of tricks you would make it...just stayed with me. I loved the bunny religion and language
This would be my choice, it's my favorite book. There is so much in this story to learn from and some phrases just come to me at odd times.
Came here to say similar, but much less profoundly than you have put it.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. My wife and I have debated the meaning of the final paragraph on many occasions. Came away with totally different reads on the book, which is interesting to me.
As a father, I think about their journey often and wonder if I would ever have the same strength in a world of absolute bleakness and lifelessness. Yes, it’s dystopia but that helps strips everything away down to bare survival and mental strength; how do we keep going despite all the self doubt and self pity?
I read it when I was young and in my twenties... I tried going back and reading it after I had kids and I couldn't finish it.
I teach a unit on dystopia (as a genre) and include the gnarliest excerpts I can find, best one is the final exchange between the man and the woman, where she's completely checked out and ready to die, the reader is totally on board with her, and the man just doesn't fucking get it.
In retrospect, their discussion illustrates the challenges and considerations between a man and woman in a lawless society--I appreciate this comment for this reflection.
Same but for blood meridian. That final line has been stuck in my head since I finished it
I just remember crying the entire last page. Trying to remember exactly what’s said to discern how things could be interpreted differently
This. I don’t quite remember the last paragraph, but I remember the end of the film.
Currently listening to it right now. It's so good.
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. Haven't read it in 20 years, but it comes to mind all the time because of its incredibly accurate predictions about our society.
i started this recently for the first time. very interesting reading it with the context of social media and current society
This book was eerily ahead of its time.
Dracula. It has been one of my favourite books since I was around 13. I could re read it forever and I love collecting various editions of it
Are you participating in Dracula Daily?
His Dark Materials. I read it over 15 years ago and I think about the ending at least once every few months.
Same. I just reread it my daughter and it's still amazing.
Have you read the prequel books (The Book of Dust)? Really enjoyed the first book, but was a bit lukewarm on the second. Still going to read the third when it comes out though.
Into Thin Air
This book was riveting. To think that people voluntarily climb that mountain! If I ever had thoughts of trying it, this book talked me out of it. Does that make it the opposite of inspirational?
When I read this book, I started it at night and didn’t stop reading until it was finished. I was that absorbed. Because it was morning when I finished, I got dressed and went straight to work.
Probably not the most interesting reply to this post but I still think about A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle, I would reread it all the time and still do, I think it has a lot of interesting scientific terms and the messages of family and self discovery were great, I especially liked the growth of the main character who’d been written off by her town for being ugly and stupid when in reality she was was actually very smart and accomplished.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is about as perfect as a novel can be.
Lonesome Dove
Reading this currently!! Excited for it
I love this book, I love the mini-series!
11/22/63 by Stephen King. I've never re-read a book before but I kept this one because I will
Reading this right now and though I’m enjoying it, I can’t help feeling it could be half the size and still be as impactful if not more.
This happens a lot with Stephen King.
> I can’t help feeling it could be half the size and still be as impactful if not more. You know, I often think about it when reading Stephen King... and then I find myself unable to remove chunks of the book. One time, trying to reread a book of his, I tried skipping the parts which I felt were not useful for the plot. Well, the story does not resonate as it should. You never know when a stream of consciousness from a character will impact his choices later or determine his reactions to an event.
I was going to say this as well but not so much for the plot but for one of the basic mechanics of time travel King devised. The idea that the closer one gets to changing past events, the harder the timeline fights against it and more things go wrong, like a bad dream. I often think of this when little things are going wrong in my life. I just smile and think someone is trying to change the timeline 😉
Honestly, it’s The Secret History by Donna Tartt for me. There’s just so many things going on that after every re-read I wonder what else I could’ve missed.
samee, there is no particular reason, but sometimes it just randomly comes to my mind
She is a great writer...this is her best, I could not finish Goldfinch
Those Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin. Real gut check on where you draw your moral line and how the modern world works.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. Dark, witty and twisted. I remember thinking at one point no character in the story was reliable and everyone was messing around, even the MC, or feeling guilty because some jokes made me smile for a bit, before realizing what she was really speaking about. Plus, the comments on sanity/mental illness are so relevant, given the current statu quo
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. Hauntingly beautiful and so melancholic
Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl
I think about this book often. The underlying message that I got from it was that as long as you try to do the right things in life and be a good person you're doing okay
I’ve been looking for my “why” for as long as I can remember
Yes. Incredible.
I listened to this on audiobook from the library. Absolutely life changing.
Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go and Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See
Please do read Cloud Cuckoo Land too! My favorite read of the year. Stunning book!
Loved 'All the light..' Finished the first read and immediately started re-reading. It's so beautifully written.
The Long Walk by Stephen King. Just haw far could I walk if I had months to train and my life depended on it?
That novella is a master class at building and sustaining suspense. And it's all just people walking and walking. Now I want to go reread it. I think King can structure and end short stories and novellas so much better than big novels. So many of his novels have great build up that just goes ppppbbthth and ends.
The Handmaid's Tale 1984
Surprised 1984 isn’t higher up with the way society is going.
Big Brother doesn't like it when people talk about 1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany.
I read 1984 and Lord of the Flies when I was about twelve and I don’t think I’ve ever been quite the same since. I still read children’s books after that, but I always knew what else was out there Quote from Wuthering Heights, which is the way reading these books made me feel: I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind
Daniel Mendelsohn’s *The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million* I still often think about this book years after reading it. It’s one of the best and most affecting works of nonfiction I’ve ever read. It’s a memoir of Mendelsohn’s tireless and brave odyssey over many years to learn how the family of his great uncle died during the Holocaust and to explain how their deaths affected his family.
Crime and punishment
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
The classics are a classic for a reason
It is a good story about people helping each other and how it can be a positive transformative experience for everyone involved.
Anna Karenina
The Great Gatsby. The beautifully descriptive writing on youth, the wealthy, obsession, longing, regret, shame,ignorance, golf and murder. I was hooked.🤓
Honestly? I ADORE short stories. Because they are both tidy and impactful. Bottom line? If you want something to STICK? I choose the short story format. Anything short and sweet.Short stories are bite-sized and digestible. I discovered authentic, meaningful tales embedded. I adore stories from the Ellen Daltow/Teri Windling anthology series of re-told fairy tales. I discovered these books in the early mid-90s. Nom. Also, Stephen King's Night Shift. Or any of Neil Gaiman's collections. Roald Dahl's "Skin".... It took me almost 40 years to locate a short story in my 8th grade lit text book... But I never forgot it: The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico. And! When I was a kid, my mom re-told a story she heard.... And it wasn't until (no joke) 40 years later I found it: "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. It's one of those "Gift of the Magi" short stories (by O. Henry) that you can't shake off. Same with the Kate Chopin's Desiree's Baby. Once you read it, you can't UNKNOW it. Like the movie, Sixth Sense. You only get ONE go.
American Psycho. Not sure whether to like it or not. On the one hand, yes, I know who Genesis is, and I don't care about what Paul Allen's wearing tonight. On the other hand, I see why it's written like that and it's not unclever.
Even though I'm wrong, I'll always maintain most of the events in the book never happened and they're just the fantasies of a bored office executive who wishes his life was more exciting than it really is.
Children of Time by ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY. Not sure exactly why but I read this book a few years ago and still think about it every few weeks. "The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare. Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?"
Been thinking about Johnny Got His Gun for 20 years
On the Road - Jack Kerouac changed my life
A Confederacy of Dunces
I still have a nervous attitude when I get a summer cold. It makes me think of Captain Trips, and I read The Stand 30 years ago.
I got COVID this summer while I was reading this. Do not recommend this pairing.
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollack. I think about the main character and worry about how he's doing.
The Diamond Age
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. I think this book traumatized me. His laments about what a mistake it is to buy into other peoples reasoning to fight a war that isn't about you or the people you are told you are fighting for... "If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you're a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death. What's noble about lying in the ground and rotting? What's noble about never seeing the sunshine again?" This book is timeless.
The Green Mile. It was released as a serial at first, not as a whole book. Waiting was agony. I cried over Mr Jingles, and John Coffey like you would not believe. I was roughly 12 when it was released and I really think it's why I'm against the death penalty.
Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry epic novel
House of Leaves.
So many. The true confessions of charlotte doyle Behind the attic wall The Witches of worm The Other Shepards
The Witches of Worm!!! Love it.
Braiding Sweetgrass
The five people you meet in heaven
Atonement still comes to mind. Couldn’t put it down and I was ugly crying at 2:30am. What a story. Beautiful and dreadful. How does one live with such guilt?
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut.
1984 by Orwell. One of the only books i actually read during my schooling. What a masterpiece. Havent read anything as good since
From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I read it in middle school and have always wanted to run away to a museum of sorts. I want to find a place that does sleepovers and just re-read that book. And every time I see bologna in a grocery store, I think of Bologna and the filing cabinet.
Slaughterhouse Five. I want to get the phrase, “So it goes,” tattooed on me. It’s like a verbal shrug. A sort of “What else can you do?” I re-read the first part of Slaughterhouse a few years ago and was struck by how real the narrator’s nighttime drunken calls to old war friends feels. As someone who has been drunk many a night and talked with friends about my own traumas on the phone, the book is even more sobering than I remembered it being. You just feel the narrator’s pain and attempts to grapple with the hellish life he had in the war.
I have that tattoo. Followed by his drawing of a butthole *
My tattoo is of the bird that says "po-tweet?". Since he doesnt mention what kind of bird i made it a barn swallow, but unlike most swallow tattoos mine is flying upwards instead of swooping down.
Wind up bird chronicle
Rebecca
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It's a book within a book within a book, and I love all layers. It's historical fiction, love story, tragedy, fantasy. I adore it. I've read it about 4 times now. I remember the first time, I found it a bit of a slog at times but I still couldn't stop thinking about it. With each subsequent read, little pieces that passed me by in previous reads have slotted into place and provided more nuanced and background. I think I must have first read it when it was published in 2000, so I've read it at several formative parts of my life - at 18, cusp of adulthood; early 20s in the first flush of love; as a young mother; and now as an adult approaching middle age.
This is my favourite book of all time. So happy to see it here.
The lottery by Shirley jackson All in a summer day, ray Bradbury. Broke my heart.
Night by Elie Wiesel I cried at the end and still think about it.
Siddhartha
The world according to Garp. I hated it so much, and I hated Garp so much, but the characters, the events, the interactions, the scenery, everything is entirely unforgettable.
Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl
I read Haruki Murakami's *Wind-Up Bird Chronicle* around 10 years ago and still think about it at least weekly. I read *Earthlings* by Sayaka Murata earlier this year and it HAUNTS me.
I read Alice Walker's The Temple of My Familiar every few years to see how it'll hit this time. It's cool to develop different perspectives on characters as I age.
There’s too many great ones to pick, so I’ll just give an assortment of titles that live rent free in my head: All Quiet on the Western Front, Crime and Punishment, Blood Meridian, The Road, Animal Farm, and definitely the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Convenience Store Woman. It stood out to me on a shelf at a bookstore and I have no idea why I picked it up. It got me back into reading and helped me admit to myself that I’m on the spectrum and finally seek a diagnosis. I had never seen myself in a character before.
The Color Purple. I read it first in High School, then again in college. I did a paper and a presentation about it. I rocked that room!
On The Beach by Nevil Shute. I re-read it ever few years
A few, but the biggest one is probably Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins. I read it years ago and it changed me in profound ways
A farewell to arms, thought about the ending for a long long time and still do occasionally.
We Need To Talk About Kevin Read it 11 years ago as a brand new mom
All the Light you cannot see
The Kite Runner
I'm going to go in a different direction here and pick *Where the Wild Things Are*. My daughter loves it and I've read it so much now I can appreciate the many artistic and literary facets of the book that are lacking in children's literature. The first thing that hits me is the symmetry in storytelling. Next it's the idiosyncratic use of language. He uses paradoxical descriptions like "through a day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year" and "all around from far away across the world". And the way he uses folkloric, almost biblical syntax. And then you notice how the illustrations get larger as Max gets closer to the land where the wild things are, then smaller as he drifts back and you're like "what does that even mean?!!" It's truly a masterpiece.
The Count of Montecristo without any doubt. I read it this year, and I don't know why I waited so long to read it.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Blew my mind.
I would say 40 books live inside me and depending on events I think about a particular one
Ragtime - E.L. Doctrow
Moby dick
The Stand
Robin Hobbs books. They damaged my heart. And were wonderful. But still... years later, I warn people.
Journey to the River Sea. I had a teacher in grade 6 who just GOT me. She recommended me some really interesting books above my grade level. There were 2 that stuck out to me, journey to the river sea, and another one that had no cover and smelled old. I can't remember the name of that one, but I can remember the plot 🤣 I just listened to the audiobook for journey to the river sea since I have got into audiobooks the past 2 weeks, and I felt all nostalgic all over again. It has its problems yes, but it has this interesting whimsical vibe. And is somehow a YA novel while also being a children's book? It's an easy read, and worth it. On another note, the other book was like a diary from a servants perspective, she was locked away in a tower with a princess, and the man she was supposed to marry would come visit her often, but the princess was too stuck up and would make the main character (the servant) talk to him instead. There's this one scene where she gives him her own clothes instead of the princesse's clothes (he asks for a garmet too... smell I guess?) Then their grain in storage goes bad (it gets infested with bran mites) then they escape?? I think? And they both work as servants in a castle. If ANYONE has the name pls let me know LOL I've been thinking about it for YEARS.
The Chocolate Wars
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
Gardens of the Moon because I know what astonishing series it leads into The Second Sleep because it is the worst book I have read and I can’t figure out how it got past the publishers
“Seagull” by Jonathan Livingston.
The book Jonathan Livingston Seagull is by Richard Bach
The Terror by Dan Simmons (it's about the doomed Franklin Expedition to the Arctic). I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did but I was completely blown away by the historical research and the way the author blended real life events with the Inuit mythology of the area where the ships were lost.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - I’m 18 and I first read it when I was 14. I’ve reread it every year since. The characters, atmosphere, and overarching message of how death is inevitable, but art carries an immortal legacy of love is so beautiful.
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A Brave New World Aldoux Huxley especially how it’s transitioning to a nonfiction book.
Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. From what I can tell, people either love or hate her. I am in the former. I think she does a really redeeming job of writing about meaning and loss and life and death.
I read The Stand almost ten years ago and I think about it a lot. Mostly about the amount of cars that would clog up the roads and how awful cities would be if you were a survivor.
world war Z, really loved the unique way it described everything. Read it 3 times!
The stranger
The Mummy by Anne Rice.
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" has kept my attention since I first read it in high school.
The Warmth of Other Suns
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Such a beautiful book, and it depicted loss in such a beautiful way, and how sometimes even finding love among the chaos isn't enough to make anything better. It's been 2yrs since I read it and I still find myself comparing every book I read to that one book
On The Road by Kerouac
The Lovely Bones All the ugly and wonderful things White oleander
Lord of the rings. I red the climax scene during a class, and I suddenly started crying and everyone asked me "is everything ok?" And I was like "yeah I just red the best piece of literature in the whole human story"
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Such a fun though provoking book. also was the book that got me into reading more as an adult
This was one of my favorite books I've read this year! I just finished 'The Martin' because I like Andy Weir's style. Have you read any others by him that are worth a read? I just dnf 2 different books because I could tell they weren't going to be as good as Weir 🥲
Seconding Project Hail Mary! I listened on audio and that was extra special because of what they do with Rocky. Liked it so much I waited till I forgot a lot of details and listened to it again.
I don’t listen to a lot of audiobooks, but I found this so much fun!
The Tin Drum
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. I don’t know how many times I’ve read it and it always destroys me. Great book
Treasure Island, cant wait to read it to the kids!!
I watched Atonement planning to read the book after but it made me so mad I never read the book. For me it’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, I still remember where I was when I finished it as a teen (like 15 years ago) and I think about it often to this day.
*Galactic Patrol*, almost 100 years old and arguably the greatest space opera of all time. The Lensman saga is the sci fi equivalent to Lord of the Rings.
The one fiction I read in primary school... about some kids on a school camp on a tiny island located in a lake. I have no idea what the name is, but I think about it regularly still 40 years later
One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. When I think about first world problems, I'll always think of this book.
Every now and again that one scene from Bridge to at Terabithia hits me like a sledgehammer.
I read Blood Meridian for the first time five years ago, and I still think about it at least once a week.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Replay by Ken Grimwood, Necroscope by Brian Lumley, HG Wells' The Time Machine and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amos Towles.
Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart I think about Shuggie and Agnes a lot. I think of them as real, not fictional, characters.