Books to Read!

[Ruby W.]

For anyone who ever asks the questions "What book should I read now?"

Post your favorite books here.

Include:

Name
Author
A brief summary!!!!!!
Cover picture if you're tech savvy like that (I'm not).

"Lead me to the water of knowledge, and I promise, I will drink it."

[Ruby W.]

Title: Long Walk to Freedom
Author: Nelson Mandela

This is an autobiographical book by Nelson Mandela, the man who led the African National Congress against apartheid in South Africa throughout the 1950's-1990s. It begins with him as a child in the fields of Africa and follows him through school, through college, through law, and then through his 27 years behind bars (only to be released to continue fighting for black equality). Although it is a lengthy book, it is extremely well-written and I never felt exhausted or bored. It is rarely too dense, and is always relatable in some way.

I am not sure HOW this book changed my life, but I have no doubt that it has. I will probably read it again in a few years.

Note: this book is MASSIVE. I read it for an hour everyday and it took me about two months to finish it.

[Ryan Hill]

I'd be remiss if I didn't put in two biographies of the Buddha. (Not autobiographies, obviously.)

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

and

Old Path, White Clouds by Thich Naht Hanh

I will think more on this.

[Spots]

The Sicilian
Author: Mario Puzo


Loyalty, honor, the fight against injustice. A lone man in the hills of Sicily begins a revolution against corruption and tyranny of his people. Tori Guiliano rises as a legendary folk hero as a bandit and hero to the Sicilian people. One day he is caught smuggling a cheese wheel to feed his starving family. And from that one act comes the strength of character & backbone enough to challenge the status quo of the most powerful & corrupt men of his country.

There's much to be said about this book but the less you know the better. I became addicted to Mario Puzo after I watched the Godfather at age 25. It became my anthem. Like many people before me, Puzo had a profound effect. He made me realize how much my family life lacked honor, trust, and confidentiality. That people will go on manipulating each other unless someone takes a stand. And he/she continues to stand. My mother and I agreed to focus on these aspects of family life and journeyed through the work of Puzo together. The next year proved challenging but rewarding.

Puzo is a genius and his novels are brilliant for establishing a status quo with many high status characters who unbelievably are pitted against each other to the delight of the reader.


This book gave me a sense of integrity.

[sara farr]

Time and Again
Jack Finney
Time travel through self-hypnosis

[Mike]

M*A*S*H

By Richard Hooker

The book which launched a great movie and a preachy TV series. Follow the doctors of the 4077 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) as they deal with life in the Koran War. This is NOT to be confused with the TV series which the author hated.

Written by a real Army Surgeon who served in Korea, this is a really great fictional account of what people who save lives do to amuse themselves when forced to deal with war and death.

[mpbrockman]

"Critical Path" -Buckminster Fuller

I read this quite young. It introduced me to my own critical reasoning faculty and the book opens with one of the most eminently readable (and short) histories of the world ever written.

For sheer hilarity though; it's hard to beat "Lamb: The Gospel of Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore.

And I'd be remiss not to tout just about anything written by Sir Arthur Clarke. "The Star" is a holiday favorite.

[Justin D.]

I have a bazillion recommendations, fiction and non-fiction, but I have this suggestion to read first.

Why fiction is good for you
The beautiful lies of novels, movies, and TV stories have surprisingly powerful effects — and may even help make society tick

[LuBu McJohnson]

If you need a break from hard literature, this is the funniest book I've ever read:



It's a little dated (supposed to be for the 2000 presidential election) but still good. Also you can tell I stole this image from Amazon.