tell me what are must read books for an individual?

Question

hi, i am jim 22 years old mechanical engineer.

well i just want to ask what are some of the best books you've ever read in your life... tell me why you like
- the books can be in form of novels, inspirational books or autobiographies..........
fiction or non-fiction

so you just suggest me books that you think a person must read in his or her life.... whether a novel or any other book inspiring us from within
**BUT the thing is they should NOT be TIME KILLING ----one must feel that something has been gained something has been learned........
please help me out with your valuable suggestions.. :)

Answer 1

Novels: Lord of the Rings, Watership Down, A Prayer for Owen Meany, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Joy Luck Club.

Autobiographies: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot.

Those are my picks, with special emphasis on Watership Down, which is my favorite book. Each of these books had a huge impact on my life. I can't really explain it, because it would take pages and pages. But I attribute a great part of who I am to these books.

Answer 2

The Prince by Niccolo Machiaveli and The Art of War by Sun Tzu. These books, I suppose, are technically categorized as philosophy, however, they have real world applications. I suggest reading them multiple times. Though they were meant to relate specific ideas to specific people, the ideas within are widely applicable in the business world, with the opposite sex, with children and neighbors, etc, etc, etc. Basically, these books teach you to look at the world in a slightly different way. Perhaps I'm just a cynic, but I found them extremely informative. They help to answer questions like "Is it better to be loved or feared?" "How do you win a war (or beat an opponent out for a job)?" These sorts of things. Anyway, my two cents.
Also, you might try Dante's Divine Comedy for a better understanding of heaven, hell, and purgatory, along with politics and feuds. Pretty good stuff.

Answer 3

First, the bible. Take it from a B.S. in Physics from John Carroll University and also named Jim. The New Jerusalem Bible (Regular Edition) is the best bible I know of, and the bible should be read at least once in your life, cover to cover. Do it, to learn about our culture if not to learn about Christianity. If you read only one hour a day, it shouldn't take you more than 4 months.

Then there are these:

http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Included is a list of only the best sorcery fantasy books, grade reading level, and a short review of each book.

Further reading: if you're American, you must read "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", a history of the American expansion from the point of view of the Indians who lived through it. Not a novel, and not light reading, but a must-read sort of book.

In addition, you can aim your sights on the classics: http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/grtother.html#web . Check out especially the Harvard list. I've read many of these (I'm sure that you have too), but not even close to most of them.

I hope this helps.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 4

I don't know how many books I would classify as "must-read," but there are many one can benefit from reading. I recently read Freakonomics, and I found it fascinating. Influence, a book by Robert Cialdini, is a great, helpful, and pretty easy read for understanding ways people are influenced, and how to influence others.

In terms of understanding cultural references, reading some of the classics (The Scarlet Letter, Moby ****, The Great Gatsby, Walden, The Iliad, and too many others to name here) can be beneficial.

There is great value to be found in reading religious texts as well. I would recommend reading the Bible, or at least reading from it, to anyone; whether you believe it comes from God or not, it has inspired or affected Western thought for centuries - and continues to do so now.

Answer 5

The breed books are interesting, but they all do seem to dwell on the good points of a breed, and sort of gloss over their shortcomings. But I would read them anyway. I think Patricia McConnell's books are good in terms of talking about dog behavior. Some of Stanley Coren's books are good - I especialy like "How to Speak Dog" which deals with body language and vocalizations. Jan Fennell's books are interesting. "So Your Dog's Not Lassie" by Delzio and Fisher talks about training difficult breeds. I would avoid Cesar Milan's books. There are a lot of books written by people with a lot more experience and insight. Just because he's a celebrity doesn't make him good. I think one of the best sources for books about dogs is Dogwise. Look through their listings and you should find what you're looking for. You can get some decent books at B & N and other major bookstore chains, but you have to wade through a lot of nonsense, too.

Answer 6

A midsummer night's dream
As you like it
The twelfth night of what you will
A comedy of errors
PG Wodehouse-the head of Kays
The Da Vinci Code
Angels AND Demons
Artemis Foul
The secrets of droon
The Harry Potter series
The Famous five series
The NANCY DREW series
The Hardy Boys series
Now coming to some stuff for big boys
Kama Sutra
Women on top
Romance in the Carribean

Answer 7

Start with Vicar of Wakefield! then, Oliver Twist! At least two of Shakespeare! Then Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain.....P G Wodehouse, Jerome K Jerome....(and equivalents in your own language, mother tongue, or the language you learnt in school!).....If you enjoyed all this, go on to read some history books, Arnold Toynbee, Trevelyan, Irfan Habib, and the like, (Ramachandra Guha, Shashi Tharur, Amitav Ghosh etc. also in my list!)......then, read Desmond Morris (Human Zoo, Naked Ape....), and onto Forsythe, Agatha Christie, Gardner (Perry Mason!), Jack Higgins.... John Grisham (read his books on the lawyers world, intense books, like Sydney Sheldon; but also read his quiet, peaceful theme "Painted House", it will do some thing to you!).....and then "must read" Life of Pi (Yann Martel) and Angels and Demons&Da Vinci Code (Brown) for the religion discussions&research......and, Mark Haddon's peculiar writing "The Night of the Curious Incident....." (smething like that! the theme is autism and a brilliant teen ager, very gripping!)....and, of course, Wayne Dyer, Eckhart Tolle, John Spencer and Deepak Chopra, the guru's for success in life, after reading good old Eric Berne, and Dale Carniege (How to win friends and influence people!)......Some selected works on religion and philosophy and spiritualism, and then your own special subject, will make your reading fairly good, on way to comprehensive spectrum, somewhat! (oh, yes, there is so much to read, apart from, of course, Harry Potter, and the variety of Comics series, some of which are simply brilliant! like Calvin and Hobbes, Tin Tin, Asterix, Dennis the menace......etc.) Happy reading!

Answer 8

The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged
Most people say that the Bible is a must read book... I always thought it would be interesting because then you would understand references to it, such as character names used in other books.
The Art of War
The Richest Man in Babylon

Answer 9

Well, Harry Potter is the best series I've ever read. AND I'm a bookworm. I read 7-10 books everyday. You simply must read it! I can't imagine life without Harry! It teaches us that if we are friendly, brave, and smart, we can accomplish anything. It is fictional, it's got suspence, jokes, and love! It's the best!

Answer 10

the handmaids tale - its a great book set in the future looking at how women power and religion are ging to be handled in a dystopian society....amazin book!!!a real ees opener bases events in book on real life events happenin in society and you can see if this s happening now wat happens in the book could realli happen an you dont want that!!!!and if u cant be bothered finishing the book there is movie made on it and its agreat adaptation!