So basically I was unschooled, and the amount of books I’ve read in my life is embarrassingly low. It was never emforced like in a school, and with my family’s religious hangups, I never tried getting into new things because I never knew what would be deemed “offensive”.
But I’m always interested when I hear people talk about both storycraft and also literary criticism, so I want to take an earnest stab at getting into books.
No real criteria, I don’t know what I like so I can’t tell you what I’m looking for, other than it needs to be in English or have an English translation. Just wanna know what y’all think would make good or important reading.
ETA holy shit thanks for all the suggestions! Definitely gonna make a list
ETA if I reply extremely late it’s because it took me this long to get a library card in my new locale.
The dystopic books that warn us of what we could be.
1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Animal Farm, The Giver (and yes, you should still read The Giver even if you’re an adult if you’ve never read it before).
But the first book that flashed through my mind when I read the question was Slaughterhouse Five.
Ah yes, all those books whose plots are being used as manuals these days. :( lol
The Giver was really neat. Accessible too. The movie adaptation was such a bad idea because I thought one of its strengths was how it was set in an ambiguous time, iirc. The reader’s visuals seemed really important for that story.
Hmm, considering your religious upbringing you might want to try some absurdist literature to break the mold.
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- The Cyberiad
- Discworld
- The Little Prince
These are accessible too, as you’re not used to reading yet.
I can also recommend subscribing to a monthly magazine and making a point to read it from cover to cover. That way your skills will improve. You can also buy a whole stack of old national geographics cheaply. This will expand your horizons.
As far as good storytelling, some of my favs are:
- The count of monte cristo
- The arabian nights
- 100 years of solitude
- The silmarillion
- A confederacy of dunces
- The three musketeers
I have a very long ranked list, but there’s a few.
I really loved The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. I was surprised at how well they held up over time.
Is the three musketeers really on par with the count? I’ve been meaning to read it for months but I always got the sense it would be disappointing.
I think so. It’s top-tier adventure storytelling. The sequels are also great.
You know, I was on vacation and saw a newer translation of The Arabian Nights and pondered getting it for a REALLY long time before deciding not to spend all my money on the first day of my trip. Thank you for reminding me, gonna put it on my list!
Fahrenheit 451 is certainly worth a read. I read it late in life, and could see immediately why it’s so often read in schools. Very well written, and a compelling story.
Another book that you may find quite personally compelling is The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (Archive.org has a free audio book version), due to the themes it covers.
While other books have made a larger personal impact, Piranesi is a wonderful, easy to read mystery novel with a charming, innocent protagonist that I wish I could read for the first time all over again.
It’s only a couple hundred pages as well, as opposed to the thousand page monsters many people love.
Piranesi is a real gem, I ran across it last year and it was absolutely delightful.
I know! I love Piranesi as a character, the way he sees the world and justifies it is charming. Read it a few weeks ago and it hasn’t left my head, I hadn’t been so enthralled by a book since I was a kid.
It left a big impression on me as well, the world the way he sees it is so peaceful and tranquil, but then you start gradually realizing the horrific situation he’s actually in. And this contrast between the way the character perceives his circumstances and the reality of the situation is kind of haunting.
