Sunday, April 18, 2010

Favorite Books of All-Time

I like reading, but I don't finish as many books as I do movies. But here I go:

10. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
9. The Reluctant Fundementalist by Mohsin Hamid
8. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
6. The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
5. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
4. 1984/Animal Farm by George Orwell
3. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
2. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

5 comments:

Greg Salvatore said...

I've read 1, 3, and 5, and have heard of all of the rest, except for 9. A good list, though I do notice that all of the books were written in the 20th or 21st centuries. Do you not read many older books, or do you mostly prefer the new to the old?

Nick Duval said...

No, I don't read many older books. I've tried to focus on 20th Century literature, such as the TIME TOP 100 Books list. "The Reluctant Fundementalist" is good. Check it out. It's a dramatic monologue, which is pretty crazy. I want to branch out eventually though, to like Chekov, Dostoyevsky, Zola, Aligheri, Austen, and others.

---Nick

Greg Salvatore said...

The TIME TOP 100 is certainly a good place to start, Nick. When you start your foray into older literature, I'd recommend Tolstoy, if you have the time. If not, I'd recommend Tolstoy. ;-)

Steph said...

Woo-hoo! You included The Little Prince on your list. :-)

I haven't read most of these books yet, though 1984 and Animal Farm are terrific. I read Animal Farm with my kids a few years ago -- there is so much fodder for discussion there.

I don't remember Death of a Salesman well, and I never liked any of Vonnegut's books except Slaughterhouse Five. I definitely want to read The Confessions of Nat Turner and The Road.

Oh ... and I have to agree with Literary Dreamer that Tolstoy's work is wonderful. I also like many other old classics, including Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Willa Cather, and Edith Wharton.

Nick Duval said...

Yeah, I love "The Little Prince."

I'm exactly the opposite about Vonnegut. Although somewhat powerful, "Slaughterhouse-Five" is overrated. "Breakfast of Champions" is very fun (with ridiculous drawings), very well-plotted out, and very Vonnegut. But it's probably not going to appeal to everyone.

Definitely read "Nat Turner" and "The Road." Both are extremely well-written, although emotionally draining all the same.

And I'll try to get into all those classics. :)

--- Nick