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10h ago
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u/holdonwhileipoop 10h ago
Love Steinbeck. His character development is second to none. Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat warmed my cockles.
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u/Specific_Berry6496 9h ago
Timshel.
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u/RockofStrength 8h ago
Guess it said "East of Eden" then.
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u/HeiHei7658 11h ago
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I read it last October for the Halloween vibes, but lo and behold, it was actually a book about how people look for meaning and purpose through human connections and sense of belongingness and how it can drive us mad if we don't find those. 🥺🥺🥺
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u/sakurs17 10h ago
The Count of Monte Cristo. Without a doubt.
This big boy sat on my bookshelf for years intimidating me, I mentally set aside a couple months to work my way through it, planning to read some other small novels during. But I couldn’t put it down!!
The size turned out to be the best bit cause I never wanted it to end!! Also allowed for a really big lead up and pay off in the ending. So much happens in it, it’s so clever in the plot. Just loved it.
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u/TheKingMonkey 8h ago
I think it meanders a bit towards the end, but the first half of the book from the framing of Dante’s through to his escape from prison and on to finding the treasure is as good as any story that has ever been committed to paper.
It’s nearly 200 years old, the version I read was translated from its original French and yet it was utterly thrilling stuff. A genuine masterpiece.
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u/Far-Apartment9533 6h ago
Are you going to read The Three Musketeers now, or have you already read it?
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u/-AgonyAunt- 10h ago
This is the first book on my list when I hopefully get my cataracts fixed in the next few months. I've been wanting to read it for years and picked up a second hand copy. It's a very small book with very small writing, so I'm not actually sure if I'll be able to read it. Cataract surgery may not fix my eyes as well as I hope, and I may have to get an e reader so I can make the text massive like it currently is on my phone. Regardless, I will read this book!
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u/itsmimsy20 7h ago
The best revenge story there is.
Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you.
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u/Batman_xime 12h ago
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
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u/GCG0909 7h ago
I think Grapes of Wrath is better
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u/NickDanger3di 7h ago
Both my parents came of age during the Great depression. In one casual conversation when I was 12, they talked about how both their kitchen doors back then were furrowed by their dogs responding to people trying to break in to steal food. During the Depression, my Dad and his family drove across the country in a Ford Model T pickup truck. Prior to that, they lived in a town of 500 in Arkansas, and part of their income was from having the only truck in town. Grapes of Wrath probably had more impact on me because of their stories. Still a fantastic book all by itself.
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u/Hairymeatbat 6h ago
That book was spot on, it just shows we are just cattle, working for the elite.
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u/janchu_hai 11h ago
The Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini
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u/Longjumping-Comb3080 10h ago
It's a tie for me between The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
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u/Magicak 9h ago
Both absolutely amazing books... but so sad. I've cried my eyes out...
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u/Intelligent-Exit724 7h ago
I have never ugly cried from reading before A Thousand Splendid Suns. Sobs. Hiccups. Snot. I was a mess.
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u/TwinklingPetalGlow 12h ago
The Last Wish by Sapkowski. It’s so well written, and the intrinsic love affair mixed with all the adventures makes you so immersed in the story that you read dozens of pages before you even realize it.
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u/b0wie88 11h ago
The Shining
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u/holdonwhileipoop 9h ago
It was the first horror - and first King novel I read. I was 12 and it scared the shit outta me and I loved it.
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u/Clavis_Apocalypticae 9h ago edited 5h ago
I read it in a single day while serving in-school suspension in like 7th or 8th grade. That was just a few years after it was first published.
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u/WilliamRoux 11h ago
Flowers for Algernon
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u/Beneficial_Tip8460 9h ago
Omg I love this also. Read this when I was 14 years old and I wish I could read it again for the first time.
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u/GuestCartographer 5h ago
I don’t know if it’s the best book I’ve ever read, but it’s probably the one that rattled me the most.
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u/Hottie_ella 11h ago
Slaughterhouse Five. No other book has influenced the way I view the world to the same degree. It helps that I read it at a formative 17 years old the first time.
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u/NickDanger3di 7h ago
I read it around the same age. Just put it on my 'to re-read' list after seeing your comment.
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u/1should_be_working 5h ago
Definitely the best book I've ever read. I've probably reread it close to a dozen times.
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u/ShrimplyFriedRice 11h ago
1984 by George Orwell. I didn’t understand much of the meaning behind it when I was 17, but as Ive gotten older, it makes a lot of damn sense now.
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u/IDaGrinch 10h ago
I came here to say this. I read 1984 for the second time (first time was high school as well) during the pandemic and it completely blew my mind. The last chapter or 2 just eat at my brain like a tumor.
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u/Creative-Fuel-9419 9h ago
Last year, I started re-reading books that I didn't understand in high school and college. Best reading decision I've ever made.
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u/IDaGrinch 9h ago
That's a great idea. I'm definitely stealing that..there are so many books that I "read" in high school and into college that I have no clue what they are about.
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u/Creative-Fuel-9419 9h ago
Absolutely! I think you'll really enjoy it. The books we read in high school aren't always the best fit for our teenage brains
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u/EtherealxTouch 8h ago
This was one of the first books that made me fall in love with reading. It’s such a powerful story, and it completely changed how I think about the world.
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11h ago edited 8h ago
Animal Farm. It's a good allergory that provides social commentary on totalitarian dictatorship and communism featuring Old McDonald's farm animals.
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u/CanYouPleaseChill 9h ago
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
“There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra person in the room. It's like watching Paris from an express caboose heading in the opposite direction--every second the city gets smaller and smaller, only you feel it's really you getting smaller and smaller and lonelier and lonelier, rushing away from all those lights and excitement at about a million miles an hour.”
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u/HeiHei7658 7h ago
Read this too!!! The language was simple and direct, but the feelings the words conveyed felt like a rock. Super heavy and dead flat ung writing which gives emphasis on the depression of the main character 💯
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u/Jimmysp437 11h ago
I'm going to disregard some of the greats. At this point in time, I think my answer will be 11/22/63 by Stephen King. It was also my answer 5 years back when I was asked this question.
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u/DrewGrgich 11h ago
I cried at the end and had to wake up my wife to hug her. So good.
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u/Jimmysp437 10h ago
Yes! King has a knack for easily making us love his characters and I also found the end sad! A brilliant book!
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u/DrewGrgich 10h ago
Just cracked it open on my Kindle and was sucked into that first chapter. I remember how amazing it started and how slow the middle was but am also remembering the joy that book gave me. Such a good one.
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u/ambitious_soul94 8h ago
I read this and The Stand in the span of a few months in high school. Both fantastic reads that still stick with me roughly 13 years later.
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u/Jimmysp437 7h ago
I have owned The Stand for about 3 years now and just haven't gotten around to reading it. I will get to it! Need to have me another SK run!
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u/OverallBusiness5662 8h ago
This was my first King book, and I loved it, and it still comes back to me occasionally. I thought it was just me though!
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u/WrenTheEgg 7h ago
I watched the limited TV series on that book and found it really interesting. I imagine the book has to be even better :)
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u/Consistent-Budget-45 11h ago
Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. First read it at about 11-12yo, made a huge and everlasting impact on me. Douglas Adams was a genius in general too in all his writing.
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u/holdonwhileipoop 10h ago
I was about the same age. I marvelled at how absurd and smart those books were.
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u/some_days_ 7h ago
This was probably the funniest book I've read. I never laughed and chuckled so much while reading a book.
That said, the change of tone in the last one really threw me.
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u/timmylotes09 11h ago
Didn't read lots of books, but I loved The Catcher in the Rye.
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u/Sethyo25 8h ago
Same. I often wonder about Holden and hope he’s ok. Long live Salinger!
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u/MhojoRisin 5h ago
I know I’m in the minority but I found Holden insufferable and couldn’t get past it.
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u/timmylotes09 5h ago
I guess that's what Salinger (author) wanted and he did it great. But you can see also how Holden evolves.
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u/AlexTom33 11h ago
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
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u/Wahoo412 6h ago
This is my usual go to for the question. Pillars of the earth by Ken follett up there as well. Just incredible stories and characters that come to life.
Breakfast of champions might my current one thought. Totally different.
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u/Beneficial_Tip8460 12h ago
LOTR
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u/No-Term-1979 10h ago
I finished the audio book series recently. That was a good listen.
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u/brain-rot-merchant 10h ago
Fear and loathing in Las vegas.
It made me fall in love with words. Their rhythm and the way they play with each other. The story was fun, but the individual sentences and Thompson's word play are what hooked me.
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u/Familiar_Ask_4229 11h ago
Tuesdays with Morrie
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u/2short4-a-hihorse 6h ago
I was just about to say The Five People You Meet In Heaven was incredible.
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u/Global_Snow_5220 11h ago
The Count of Monte Cristo
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u/HeiHei7658 7h ago
This one was a chunky book, but damn the plot was gripping and fast paced. I liked the part where Dantes was so sure that his vengeance is just, but suddenly realized he took it too far when so many people died na. Ganda din talaga neto 🫶
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u/DntTazeMeBro 10h ago
This may be cheating, but it's a series. I highly recommend the Stormlight Archives, starting with The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. It's sort of young-adult fantasy novel stuff, but there is this prevailing message of hope through the whole thing.
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u/-bridgefour- 7h ago
Storms yes! I’m glad I saw your post after searching this thread for ‘Sanderson’
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u/untrustworthyfart 8h ago
Anna Karenina
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u/HeiHei7658 7h ago
I was waiting for someone to comment this!!! Second favorite ko toh next to the Count of Monte Cristo!!
Favorite part was how Tolstoy showed sa writing nia ung slow descent ni Anna sa paranoia nia. Sobrang amazing. And ung scene description ng first meeting ni Anna and Vronsky sa train is also 💯, felt like I was there. Also shows how society back then treats women differently when they're involved in a scandal; Vronsky was still welcomed to the society even during the affair and everyone knew about it. But Anna was treated like a pariah, ni ayaw sya makatabi ng kapwa babae nia sa public places. I guess dati pa man din mas mataas na ang moral expectations sa babae.🤨
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u/Federal-Bag-8788 12h ago
Many books are worth to read, but my favourite one is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Sounds like I'm pretending to be an intellectual (I'm not a huge reader, actually), but seriously I love that book. I've read both adult and child-oriented versions, and it's simply hilarious. I also love how it glorifies "following your dreams" regardless of your age. Don Quixote is simply timeless and I'm proud of being an spaniard.
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u/thuglifecarlo 11h ago
I had no idea that Don Quixote was a character. I just knew it as a cheap Japanese store with good deals.
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u/sweetymorafit 5h ago
Kind of cheesy one but Rich Dad, Poor Dad really helped me be more aware financially
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u/Specific_Berry6496 3h ago
That book is the reason why young people can’t afford houses now. They ruined our housing market!
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u/AgentScreech 4h ago
Too bad the dude's company went bankrupt.
I'm sure the contents are valid, but the context wasn't 100% accurate
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u/BustyN1beautiful 12h ago
When I was going through my divorce someone gave me Untamed by Glennon Doyle. That book found me at exactly the right moment in my life. Changed everything about how I view myself and what I'm capable of.
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u/520Madison 12h ago
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I couldn’t put it down.
Then I read the next six about Lisabeth Salander.
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u/Fairyblossom2 11h ago
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Especially the last few pages.
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u/HopeInanguish 11h ago
A Peoples' History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Fascinating perspectives on the more sinister parts of US history.
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u/jad103 10h ago
Fahrenheit 451. That book has stayed topical since it was written 80 years ago. It was required reading for me in school and I fell in love with it. I've read it every 4 years or so. If a book is a loaded gun, this one is a minigun.
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u/HeiHei7658 7h ago
and the best part is that the theme of the book mirrors a lot of truths right now! That's how you know it's good writing, when it was written years ago but you can see the truth it reflects sa present 💯
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u/maldazgump 8h ago
Shogun. Read when I was about 13 many years ago and it blew me away.
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u/Deadcrowes 11h ago
Dune, it's the first long novel I never felt forced to read. It makes me think so much about the nature of religion, politics, morality, and what it means to be human.
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u/Noreck7 11h ago
The Silmarillion. Took me a few attempts to get past the first chapter, but read the rest in one breath. An amazing book.
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u/No-Whereas-1911 8h ago
any khaled hosseini book. kite runner was the first novel of his i read and it was absolutely beautiful. he just has a way with words it was emotional and real and raw and so so well written genuinely one of my favourite books. anytime someone asks me to recommend one kite runner is always the first.
ive read thousand splendid suns too and its such a painful read but unfortunately its the truth too hands down an amazing writer the emotions you feel while reading his books are absolutely unreal.
finding chika by mitch albom is astounding too i love the way he writes and the storyline is heart wrenching but it quite literally makes you addicted. hes sprinkled in life lessons (?)/ morals too but hes incorporated it so seamlessly it makes you really stop and reflect. i read the first chapter and couldnt put the book down ahaha
lastly the hunger games trilogy. truly one of my favourites i read it in middle school first but i always find myself coming back to read the books and watch the movies time and time again. suzanne collins is a genius writer and i live by that its my comfort series and the reason i love reading everything about it is perfect.
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u/Dick_Wienerpenis 9h ago
Like, the technical best is probably One Hundred Years of Solitude
My personal favorite that has the biggest impact on me is Ceremony
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u/BiscottiTiny4964 11h ago
Heidi
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u/SabrinaSpellman1 10h ago
I absolutely loved this book as a child, I can't put a number on how many times I read it! I was gifted a box of old children's books at Christmas with Heidi, Little Women, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, Black Beauty and so many more and I DEVOURED them. When the family member (I'd only met a few times) found out I'd really enjoyed them, she bought me the whole series of the Famous Five books because she loved the idea of me reading and really enjoying them, she believed reading and imagination was a gift and she didnt have any children of her own to gift them to.
If you held a gun to my head and demanded to know truthfully the best Christmas gift I ever had, it would be this. Can't remember how old I was but I think 8/9 years old? Maybe younger.
Heidi is a beautiful story. If you've never read it, I'd suggest reading Goodnight Mr Tom if you loved Heidi.
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u/BiscottiTiny4964 10h ago
I have read Heidi only once. It was a loan from a school mate. I read it when I was around 11/12. Absolutely loved it. I still remember the way I felt when I read it. Still can’t remember any other book which I read with as much joy as I read Heidi.
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u/SabrinaSpellman1 10h ago
Me too. The memories associated with books especially childhood ones we really connect with are so powerful. It's a beautiful thing 🧡
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u/BiscottiTiny4964 10h ago
I’ll grab a copy of Goodnight Mr Tom. Thanks for the suggestion.
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u/SabrinaSpellman1 9h ago
It's wonderful. No spoilers but a similar premise (child with a grumpy old man), just with a very different setting and different circumstances. Our British TV made a really excellent tv adaptation of the book too if you enjoyed it, you can find it online. Very highly rated! And it's on Audible too.
In fact, I have a few extra Audible credits if you'd like me to send you the audiobook! Just DM me. I'd love to share my aunts gift of reading that meant so much to me, to you.
Enjoy!
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u/TRJF 10h ago
The best book I have ever read is Beloved by Toni Morrison.
It's not my favorite book, and I'm actually not sure I could get through it again. But I am firm in my belief that it is the most masterfully crafted book I have ever read, with the most artistic merit.
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u/Grave_Girl 6h ago
I agree completely. It's not even my favorite Toni Morrison novel (that would be Sula), but Beloved resonates on so many levels and it has stayed with me like nothing else.
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u/Elegant-Ingenuity781 11h ago
Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. The Sunbird by Wilbur Smith
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u/NatitsOF 9h ago
The best book I’ve ever read is Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Honestly, it’s such an incredible journey through the history of humanity, from where we started to the wild world we’ve built today. What hit me the most is how it makes you question everything. It’s one of those books that completely changes how you see the world.
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u/Tenkehat 10h ago
Necromancer William Gibson.
It jolted my fantasy back to life after a really dark period of my life.
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u/XROOR 9h ago
Guns, Germs and Steel
I went from never hearing about Jared Diamond to listening to every podcast he’s featured in/on.
You see tattered books whilst riding the subway and you wonder what type of person can keep reading something over and over until the corners become tattered. Then, you become that person with this book
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u/Artistic-River-5534 11h ago
IT, definitely. I also loved reading The book thief.
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u/Break2304 11h ago
Book thief was my favourite until I used it as my book of study for an English literature exam. Nothing will suck the joy for something you love than unscrupulously analysing it’s every detail and reading it over and over again.
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u/ProvostingTiger 9h ago
And The Mountain Echos, by Khaled Hosseini. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
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u/Lutchnoob 9h ago
‘The Night Circus’ was pure magic for me. It’s one of those books that completely pulls you into its world.
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u/ursalon 8h ago
Shantaram was incredible, A wise man’s fear might take the cake though. Both were so, so good and covered so many parts of life.
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u/Hopeful_Hospital_808 8h ago
Asking me to choose between William Faulkner and Richard Powers is like asking me to choose between my children, but if I had to choose one, it would be The Sound and the Fury.
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u/RUaVulcanorVulcant13 8h ago
The color purple. I stumbled across it with absolutely zero prior knowledge of it or it's story. Read the while thing cover to cover in one sitting.
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u/satyricom 7h ago
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison Please Kill Me by Leggs McNeil Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
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u/Agreeable-Plenty-421 7h ago
The book thief will always have a special place in my heart. A book everyone should read at least once.
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u/geeseherder0 7h ago
Watership Down.
It has a profound effect on how you look at the consequences of what you do. Even my father, who I never saw read a book ever, told people to read this book.
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u/thuglifecarlo 11h ago
How to talk so little kids will listen.
Not a grand book by any means, but life changing for me. Started with advice my mom gave me when she noticed I was struggling with my ADHD son. Figured I needed more advice on parenting and bought this book. I realized I truly was failing as a parent and to stop relying on Reddit for parenting advice. Not that advice on Reddit is bad, but books can have more indepth information than a typical reddit comment would.
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u/HaydenScramble 7h ago
The Road changed my life as a new father and it will forever hold a special place in my heart.
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u/dumpster-tech 7h ago
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr
It was sort of a first draft of Slaughterhouse Five, but was more science fiction oriented and a bit less preachy. That book has everything I love in it, sci Fi weirdness, existential quandary, high concept physics about spacetime, a love story, and probably my favorite quote about knowing the future ever put to pen.
"... You still have to ride the roller coaster."
Really informed my perspective on consequences and acceptance.
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u/SexyxBunny 7h ago
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
I found a copy in a used book store before traveling abroad when I was in high school and I’ve read it ever summer since.
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u/peekay427 6h ago
I’m putting Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro here just so it gets on the list somewhere. I found it to be one of the most powerful and bleak looks at humanity that I’ve ever read.
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u/itsfairadvantage 5h ago
Beloved is the best book I have read. But Sometimes A Great Notion probably had the best reading experiences I've ever had.
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u/darthbonobo 11h ago
If its single book its blood meridian. But if a series counts its lotr no contest
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u/mediumjr 10h ago
Wanted to like that book. Loved The Road and respect him as a writer. But I only understood about 1/3 of Blood Meridian. Couldn’t really tell you what the plot was about and didn’t connect with any of the characters. My ignorance, not his brilliance as a writer.
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u/baddiegirliex 11h ago
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's a beautiful story about following your dreams and listening to your heart.
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u/sushkunes 11h ago
Karen Armstrong’s The History of God
A former nun, she traces Judaism, Christianity and Islam’s historical and philosophical roots. I read it while traveling and volunteering in the West Bank, Israel, Greece, and Italy.
My evangelical fundamentalist beliefs were already unraveling but that book gave me so much comfort as I accepted where these ideas had come from and allowed myself to start learning from new people and teachers and ideas.
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u/Alarmed_Painter7585 11h ago
Can’t hurt me. Best because it helped me at the stage of my life where I needed exactly that.
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u/The_New_Doctor 11h ago
For me "best" is the only book I literally couldn't put down.
Stephen King, 'The Gunslinger' read it straight in one day. Haven't done another book that way.
I read 'The Thin Man' every couple years, but never in one day.
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u/iwanttoberelevant 10h ago
Hey mate, just wanted to check if you read the whole dark tower series or just the first one? because I would put that series as one of the best I've ever read.
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u/mmagnoliaDreams 10h ago
"the very hungry caterpillar" taught me more about life, ambition, and consequences of overeating than any self-help book ever could. it's a masterpiece!
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u/rustyscrotum69 11h ago
The Brothers Karamazov. Changed the way I think.