[Quiet Man Cometh]

I guess it depends on what one considers more pertinent to the genre or book: the society or how people react to it. That there will be upstarts seems pretty much a given. I think that in We, the uprising, though much smaller, had more meaning to it. Brave New World was certainly more dramatic, but I found We felt more personal and eerie. Of course, given that We is first person, it focuses on the character and shows his thought process as he talks and thinks about his perfect society.

Please wait until someone else posts a new book suggestion before posting the next one, Lawtan. No need to remove it, just keep it in mind for next time. :).

[Fauxreal]

16. This Book Will Change Your Life - Ben Carey

So this book isn't so much a read as it is a do. I pick it up and flipped through, being skeptical that it would change my life. It's mainly things you should try. I have not done them all yet. Which could be why it has not changed my life really.

I have used it and gotten some great conversations out of it.

I generally photocopy the pages and use them as stationary for my pen pals.

I'm not quite sure it changed my life, but it's a fun little book!

[Poggio]

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

This book even as an adult is my absolute favorite book. For a while I would pick it up once year and read through it until I gave my copy away to a friend. Cormier is one of the premiere psychological thriller writers in the YA genre. Of his novels The Chocolate War exemplifies him as a writer. This book also made it on the banned book list and there for I highly recommend it.

The story follows young Jerry Renault as he struggles to find away to fit in, he does so however by realizing he must not conform. From there the story only grows in complexity as the race to sale chocolate in the school’s fundraiser suddenly finds many of the characters questioning their individuality. Ultimately the story climaxes in a standoff that really makes you wonder “Do I dare disturb the universe?”

The importance of this book to me is not really its plot but more its characters. Cormier has an uncanny ability to do a decent job of giving the reader incredible emotional insight for a novel that is considered young adult. Not only can you sympathize with the main character but you find yourself in the Lolita dilemma, where in you cannot decide if the main antagonist Archie has you captivated in his own persona/psychosis/product of circumstances, or if he is just a fucking bastard. Long and short go read it.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

18. Frederick, Leo Lionni

Something a little different here, as this is a child's book. I actually didn't like it all that much as a kid, I preferred Swimmy. It's my sister's copies of both that I still have around. I never really thought much about Frederick until much later, when I think I started to appreciate a little more of what the story was getting at, or maybe my brain is just thinking about it more. Habits from school and all...

I'm sure I could pull up some manner of literary reading of the thing, (Frederick is a bard; Frederick shows the impact of art on life; Frederick illustrates the need for feeling and beauty etc. in one's life along with what is practical, etc.) or Lionni's books in general, but I don't think there's any reason to bother. They're cute, and I was always fond of the artwork that resembles little pieces of construction paper.

Since the next generation is popping up around me, I've acquired a new copy of Frederick for my nephew, and am still hanging on to the old one.

[Asami]

19: Speak by Laurie Halsey Anderson
I believe this is a story everyone should read. I first read it when I was a freshman and it changed how I looked at things. I wont spoil anything but its a short book, my version is almost 200 pages but with big print and ample spacing. Also some pages are done as a report card. And the book I have counts blank pages as pages. So yeah. Very short. If you're a fast reader like me you could pound this down in a day. (:

[Quiet Man Cometh]

Updated!

Yeah, I dropped off the face of the earth again for a bit. Need more books!

[Spoopers]

Unwind - Neal Shusterman

Its a series (currently of 3 books) that takes place in the United States, after a civil war somewhere in the near future. After a civil war—known as the Second Civil War or the Heartland War—is fought over abortion, a compromise was reached, allowing parents to sign an order for their children between the ages of 13 and 18 years old to be unwound—taken to "harvest camps" and having their body parts harvested for later use. The reasoning was that, since 100% (actually 99.44% taking into account the appendix and "useless" organs) was required to be used, unwinds did not technically "die", because their individual body parts lived on. In addition to unwinding, parents who are unable to raise their children to age thirteen for retroactive abortion have the option to "stork" their child by leaving it on another family's porch. If they don't get caught, the "storked" baby then becomes the other family's responsibility.

Ive read each of them, and can say its one of the best series ive read in quite some time. The central idea of unwinding is something that peaked my interest from the first book, and i havent read anything like it.

[The Kawaii Cosplayer]

wut

[Poggio]

@Asami: I love Anderson. Have you read Wintergirls by her? I really like the way she did that one as well.

@Kawaii: XD this is a thread where the people are building a book list of what they think people should read. Also when you post in a thread you have to post at least a sentence other wise its considered spam.

[Quiet Man Cometh]

21: The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren (Swedish Bröderna Lejonhjärta)

I expect most people in North America would recognize Lindgren as the creator of Pippi Longstocking if nothing else (I certainly had no clue who she was prior to University). I read The Brothers Lionheart for class and it's one of those that I'm both happy and annoyed with at the same time. It's a good book, but not really a happy one. I was just rereading a few passages and they still make me cry.

The Brothers Lionheart is labelled "fantasy" and I'd put it in the same vein as LOTR, or The Dark is Rising, in the sense that it deal more with the myth and folklore end over generic wizards and unicorns. The book opens with Johnathan Lion comforting his sickly younger brother, Karl, by telling him about Nangiyala, a place of heroic adventures and where people go after they die. Nangiyala is the place where the sagas happen.

The book is fairly dark in terms of subject matter, and caused some controversy if I recall correctly, particularly with how it approaches death. Karl is dying, and the story is taking place in the afterlife. If one wants to get literary about it, it also deals with oppression (fairly realistically in my view), warfare, honour and character. The narrative feels a little clunky, but that could be because I'm reading a translation, or because it's being told by a nine year old boy.

Good book, but I'm still deciding on how I feel about the ending.

[Den]

22. The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra


This is one of my favorite stories. Don Quixote is the story of a Spanish gentleman from the La Mancha region of Spain by the name of Alonso Quixano, who has retired from working life. He has spent so much time reading about the age of knights and chivalry since then that he has apparently gone mad. The story is a telling of his adventures, his highs, his lows, and eventually the inevitable, and is considered one of the finest Spanish literary works of all time.

[Tam I am]

23.Bible Compilation work.

History, poetry, really cool proverbs (I guess they're poetry too). A donkey who says things that a pet donkey might be realistically expected to say, if given the ability. A man who threw down his staff in the desert, and then ran from it when it stopped being a staff. Editions varied enough to grace any bibliophile's shelf. The chance to say, "I read the whole thing!"

Even if you don't believe it's the inspired word of the creator of the World, I think this book is worth reading. Just get a modern translation unless you're really really into King James English. It also reads pretty neat in Spanish (from the little Spanish I can understand).

[Lawtan]

24. The Epic of Gilgamesh

One of the earliest works in existence, the Epic of Gilgamesh does not suffer for it as an ill-developed work. Centering around civilization of the wild man Enkidu, and the humanization of the arrogant, vile God-King Gilgamesh, the first half of the Epic Poem works like Beowulf, fighting the beast Humbaba, spurning the goddess Inanna, and saving Ur from her wrath (a Boar). It also depicts the Sumerian culture's treatment of priestesses of love, and sort of mixes Enkidu and Gilgamesh...and Enkidu and a priestess of Inanna...

However, death spurs a ravening madness in fear of death and its mystery. The most memorable scene between Gilgamesh and a common Bar-lady takes place. You have the first example of the immortal snake, and tales of a Flood. There are also Scorpion Men.

The characters seem so...human in personality, even if their feats are superhuman.

Overall, it is one of the most memorable things I have ever read, even though it is Beowulf-level weird wording.

@AutobotDen - I sailed on a ship named after Don Quixote for a week. xD

[Aenith]

25. The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury

I read this book about 4 years ago. I found it when I was on my quest to collect all of the late, great Michael Crichton's books. Unfortunately, some of his works I was unable to find in bookstores near me, so I had to order them online. But I found this book at one of those bookstores, so I guess it wasn't a total loss. As I said, I read this when I was a bit younger so it might not be as good now as I remember it being. It's very Da Vinci Code-esque, so fans of that book might like this one as well. It's the type of book that really makes you think. The thriller brings light to a scientific, yet sadly still fictional, possibility of immortality. Awesome book, would highly recommend.

@Lawtan, Anthem is awesome. Love Ayn Rand.

[Espy]

26. The Giver by Lois Lowry

I'm not just suggesting this because it's a movie and whatever. I mean, I guess that's why I remembered that this book existed. I really /hated/ it on my first reading, probably because I was way too young to be reading anything of that level, but after I read Brave New World, I got hooked on that utopia-turned-dystopia setting. (If anyone remembers another kid's book with this setting, with some sort of really tall tripod-like robot things probably on the cover, please tell me.)

And then I kind of stumbled upon it at Costco, bought it, and read it again. It's really good. I love how it points out so many things that we take for granted and kind of says "Hey, this is important, pay attention to this" without /shoving/ it in our faces. Ending to the first book is ambiguous, but apparently there are three more in the series, which I should...attempt to find asap.

[Lawtan]

27. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

This is a short book, but I would recommend it as a very spiritual work. Coelho outlines the narrative of a shepherd boy who dreams of finding treasure in the distant Pyramids.

It is very distinctive in differing between manners of work in faith. A merchant who sets a destination (Mecca) with no intent on reaching it, but using it as inspiration to do his work. An Englishman (a scientist) looking into Alchemy. An alchemist/shaman who lives off of the desert land. A self-sacrificing monk. And a group of nomads guarding a desert spring.

It has such concepts as: Personal Legend (or the story of your life), True Love (which is love that does not interfere in each person's Personal Legend), Nature communion/spirituality (Heart of the World), etc.