I need advice. FAST!!!?

Question

hi!
I am 15 and I have been reading. I have just finished Catcher in the Rye and Animal Farm. They were both fascinating books. They both moved me. But I am having trouble finding another book to read. I have tried to read 1984 by George Orwell but I didnt like it and I am saving that for another time. I am looking for a serious book like the books I mentioned but also a book that wiil keep me going. (I ve tried Ernest Hemingway and I wanted to cut myself)

anyway, please take it seriously and dont underestimate me and suggest a stupid teen book. I like books that expand my point of view ... but I still want to enjoy them. so according to my book taste, which book would you suggest?

Answer 1

I think you like books that deal with interesting and unusual ideas. I would recommend Jean-Paul Sartre-"No Exit" or John Fowles-"The Collector". Dostoievski-"Crime and Punishment", although this one is longer. Thomas Hardy-"Tess of the D'Urbervilles"--it's a classic, but an interesting one. All these are a bit grimm, but I hope you like them. Have fun with it!

Answer 2

The other answers have included all the classics and most of them are decent. Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse Five would be a great choice. But some that won't be mentioned:
To a God Unknown and The Winter of Our Discontent both by Stienbeck.
The Chosen, My Name is Asher Lev, I Am The Clay, all by Chaim Potok.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, by Mark Haddon
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman. I believe this book may now be labelled young adult fiction but don't let that (or the silly sounding name)
stop you. It's a great place to start reading Gaiman.
Lastly for something unusual read The Contract With God trilogy by Will Eisner. This is a graphic novel meaning that it's like a big comic book (you probably knew that n? sorry) You can start with any of these books and I don't think you'll be dissapointed

Answer 3

When I was your age, I was obsessed with John Steinbeck and read almost all his stuff (I still haven't read his road-trip book about traveling with his dog.) Now, I don't like them too much because I'm too depressed, but if you're not too down, you might give them a try.

I also started reading a lot of Shakespeare as a teenager, and I think he's absolutely wonderful (Hamlet is my favorite play, and I started reading his sonnets lately--incredible!) The language can be a little tough to get into, but it's totally worth the effort and it starts making a lot more sense the more you get into it. And read it out loud if you hit a particularly difficult passage.

I loved A Separate Peace, but Peace Breaks out was stupid--skip it. Graham Greene's good.

Track down a list of commonly banned books--you'll find some provocative ideas that many communities found offensive to their delicate little sensibilities. I'm all for reading books that people banned but have stood the test of time (and censorship.)

A Handmaid's Tale and Grendel are good--the earlier posts are right! I liked Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, too. Grendel is an amazing book that brings up a lot of really tough philosophical issues.

Another book in the same vein as Beowulf is Eaters of the Dead, translated by Michael Crichton. Track it down--it's great!

Answer 4

There are quite a few great books to read. The Alchemist is an amazing book. Its short and it is a coming of age novel, but don't be fooled. There is a deep meaning in its and its is fantastic story of travel. A little weird but great. Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse Five, or Cats Cradle by Vonnegut are good. The classics go on. The grapes of Wrath is said to be good. I myself didn't like it but its had good reviews. Some of the most amazing books I've ever read are by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A Hundred years of Solitude or Love in teh Time of Cholera. if you've heard the story of Beowulf in British Literature try reading Grendel, its an amazing counter story. If you're looking for books that aren't necessarily classics but are good reads I would just go to Borders and look at what they have on the shelves. Most borders have couches so that you can sit around and sample the book. If you don't like how it starts try something else. The literature wall is full of amazing books and just try looking up all the classic authors. Dickens, Verne. Books like Don Quixote, The Count of Monte Cristo are all very exciting books. If you're looking for a little romance try Austen or the Bronte sisters. There is so much to read.

Answer 5

If you want a couple of old standbys.... i.e., classics then try these:

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Lee
Dracula - Stoker
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Wilde
The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
Anything by Twain
Anything by Shaksphere (read them all and you will be brilliant in College)

Ok on for more contremporary note
A Time to Kill - Grisham
Lonesome Dove - McMurtry (my personal favorite)
Read all the Harry Potter books - they are fun
Check out NPRs Fresh Air and listen to the book critics. They recommend great books.
Read some trash once in awhile from the best sellers lists... it's good for you! It will keep you well rounded!

Answer 6

Portnoy's Complaint - Philip Roth
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Mr. Blue - Myles Connolly (warning - this book has a religious overtone, but it is an interesting character study and point of view)
Forsaking All Others - Jimmy Breslin
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Armies of the Night - Norman Mailer
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Answer 7

If you have the time and ambition to read those two at 15, you're ready for An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. The lead characters in Catcher and Tragedy have a lot of similarities which are easy to pick out and great to delve into. Good luck. It's good to hear that some young people still like to read.

Answer 8

Here's my list of classics:

The Grapes of Wrath- Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men- Steinbeck
Ulysses- Joyce
To Kill a Mockingbird- Lee
Uncle Tom's Cabin- Stowe
The Stand- King
The Great Gatsby- Fitzgerald
Lord of the Flies- Golding
The Island of Dr. Moreau- Wells
Anna Karenina- Tolstoy

If you want really long ones, I'd reccomend

War and Peace- Tolstoy
Atlas shrugged- Rand
Les Miserables- Hugo
The Count of Monte Cristo- Dumas

Answer 9

It sounds like you like the classics. Maybe try these:

Dracula-Bram Stoker

Frankenstein-Mary Shelly (also author Dean Koontz has done an interesting continuation of this story, picking up where Shelly's story left off)

Slaughterhouse Five-Kurt Vonnegut-"combines science fiction elements with an analysis of the human condition from an uncommon perspective, using time travel as a plot device and the bombing of Dresden in World War II"

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-Ken Kesey-"This novel is set in an Oregon asylum, and serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind."

Answer 10

Since you liked Catcher in the Rye, you might want to try Franny and Zooey (also by Salinger).

Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford is similar to Catcher in the Rye. Another good one is Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Answer 11

You might consider:

Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright