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If you had to pick only 3 books to read for the rest of your life, what would they be? Note that I didn't ask about favourite books, or "books everybody should read in their lifetime", but rather books that are layered enough and provide enough food for thought that you can return to them time after time. 1. The Bible isn't an acceptable answer because it's not one book. 2. Answers like Wikipedia may be technically okay, but they are clearly exploiting a loophole and annoying as gently caress, so don't use them. My top three: a. Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics. If I had to pick a non-fiction, I'd rather have a guide-book on how to live (even if not reading anything else kinda interferes with some of the suggestions there). b. War and Peace - great fiction, history, a lot of characters, this one has it all. Plus, it's hard to get bored with it since it will take a LOT of reading to get sufficiently familiarized with everything that's going on. c. Maimonides' The Guide for the Perplexed. A way to look at religion, philosophy and what it means to search for wisdom. H.H fucked around with this message at 07:56 on Oct 10, 2016 |
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Oct 10, 2016 07:32
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Wouldn't there be a lot of overlap between favorite and most nuanced? And what are your three???
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Oct 10, 2016 07:36
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I rarely ever reread books but I would probably take Gravity's Rainbow, Pale Fire and the Baghavad Gīta.
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Oct 10, 2016 07:37
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Kuato posted:Wouldn't there be a lot of overlap between favorite and most nuanced? And what are your three??? 1. There might be. I just wanted to stress the point, since some people like books that they will be tired of really quickly. 2. You're right, I forgot about it. Will edit my OP shortly.
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Oct 10, 2016 07:45
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2001: A Space Odyssey, Jurassic Park, and maybe Rendezvous With Rama. I come back to those three every few years and consistently get something new out of them each time.
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Oct 10, 2016 07:45
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Heath posted:I rarely ever reread books but I would probably take Gravity's Rainbow, Pale Fire and the Baghavad Gīta. Why Pale Fire? Interesting choice.
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Oct 10, 2016 07:57
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H.H posted:Why Pale Fire? Interesting choice. There are a lot of different ways to read it. If I read it again I think I will read the commentary alongside each line.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:00
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I've read Dostoevsky's Demons a few times and still don't get it, so that'd be one. Maybe Dune, because it's a solid book IMO. Schlesinger's RFK bio covers a lot of ground, so that'd be my third. 
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Oct 10, 2016 08:01
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Blood Meridian, Lolita, and The Hobbit.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:05
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What are the Shakespeare rules OP, one play = one book? Probably should be like three plays = one book.
raton fucked around with this message at 08:09 on Oct 10, 2016 |
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Oct 10, 2016 08:07
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Zorodius posted:Blood Meridian, Lolita, and The Hobbit. Why the Hobbit? Sheep-Goats posted:What are the Shakespeare rules OP, one play = one book? Yes. A play is a single composition. The sonnets are all a single book, though, since they were published as such AFAIK.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:10
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Jurgen : A Comedy of Justice Journey to the End of the Night One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Oct 10, 2016 08:13
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1) By the 3 plays = 1 book Shakespeare rule I take Macbeth, Hamlet, and... Tempest? If each Shakespeare play is a book on its own I would probably take Ulysses instead of Shakespeare. 2) I have this book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006P7S2LQ and would bring it but that's cheating so I guess I'd bring an illuminated Jersualem. 3) If I can bring Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetrology then that but that's probably cheating again so I guess Forbidden Colors. I might take just Macbeth instead. raton fucked around with this message at 08:19 on Oct 10, 2016 |
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Oct 10, 2016 08:15
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H.H posted:Why the Hobbit? They're a little short to be considered a "book" though. Also if you're going on how they were published then I can take the whole first folio. raton fucked around with this message at 08:18 on Oct 10, 2016 |
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Oct 10, 2016 08:16
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H.H posted:Why the Hobbit? The Hobbit is comfort food. It's not complex, there's not much to analyze, but it's the kind of story that works perfectly well and stays enjoyable even when you're totally familiar with it. It's a very tranquil sort of book.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:18
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Sheep-Goats posted:They're a little short to be considered a "book" though. Wouldn't you say they comprise a single composition? If the author intended for it to stand on its own, it qualifies. I guess that makes Novellas okay, too.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:20
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H.H posted:Wouldn't you say they comprise a single composition? Of course they're a single composition but using that as a rule excludes a lot good things and is shifting selections in this thread to tomes. I'd say a "book" should be anything that's the size and shape of a normal hardback book. If I had a fourth or maybe fifth choice I'd strongly consider Hemingway's Finca Vigia collection of short stories for example.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:32
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Sheep-Goats posted:Of course they're a single composition but using that as a rule excludes a lot good things and is shifting selections in this thread to tomes. Seems like you could just get one of those Folio books with everything he's ever written in it. If this scenario emerged I don't think H.H. can enforce his rules TBQH. Although I might be wrong about that.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:36
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Sheep-Goats posted:Of course they're a single composition but using that as a rule excludes a lot good things and is shifting selections in this thread to tomes. The "size and shape of a book" rule makes my War and Peace choice moot, but I see your point. Let's settle for stuff that have been published as single books, unless it was published by parts but intended to be a single book, like they used to do in printed magazines. I'd counter your Hemingway with a Borges collection, probably Ficciones.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:41
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Kuato posted:Seems like you could just get one of those Folio books with everything he's ever written in it. If this scenario emerged I don't think H.H. can enforce his rules TBQH. Although I might be wrong about that. I kinda like the rules I just wanna tinker with them a little. If I can take full collections then it's too easy a choice -- it's just a complete Shakespeare (probably Riverside but any of the major collections are fine), the complete illuminated Blake I mentioned, and Sea of Fertility by Mishima.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:42
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i would just take 3 qurans in classical arabic
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Oct 10, 2016 08:42
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H.H posted:The "size and shape of a book" rule makes my War and Peace choice moot, but I see your point. Let's settle for stuff that have been published as single books, unless it was published by parts but intended to be a single book, like they used to do in printed magazines. I started reading Ficciones the other day because you talked about it BTW. Not too far into it though.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:43
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I think picking a really long book is missing the point. That doesn't make it more re-readable, it just means you read each section fewer times per hour.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:44
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Zorodius posted:I think picking a really long book is missing the point. That doesn't make it more re-readable, it just means you read each section fewer times per hour. wat
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Oct 10, 2016 08:48
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177 Years Of Your Dick
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Oct 10, 2016 08:49
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"I wouldn't mind reading that page again" versus "I don't have to read that page again"
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Oct 10, 2016 08:53
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Zorodius posted:"I wouldn't mind reading that page again" this logic is stupid and you should feel bad
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Oct 10, 2016 08:55
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Sheep-Goats posted:I started reading Ficciones the other day because you talked about it BTW. Not too far into it though. My favourite story there is "Funes the Memorious". I'd be happy to know what you make of it. Zorodius posted:I think picking a really long book is missing the point. That doesn't make it more re-readable, it just means you read each section fewer times per hour. The part about it being long was less serious, I was mainly talking about its complexity, both in terms of plot and characters.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:56
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i guess it would have to be the holy bible. come at me you stupid bitch
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Oct 10, 2016 08:58
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Nefarious 2.0 posted:i guess it would have to be the holy bible. come at me you stupid bitch Name three books out of it that you like. I dare you.
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Oct 10, 2016 08:59
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RideTheSpiral posted:this logic is stupid and you should feel bad it's actually a good point and you suck
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Oct 10, 2016 08:59
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H.H posted:My favourite story there is "Funes the Memorious". I'd be happy to know what you make of it. It's gonna be a little while until I get to it unless I get myself a little more on track WRT nonessentials.
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Oct 10, 2016 09:00
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Zorodius posted:I think picking a really long book is missing the point. That doesn't make it more re-readable, it just means you read each section fewer times per hour. He lists War and Peace explicitly, in part, because it is long.
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Oct 10, 2016 09:01
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I'd need to do a bit of thinking to narrow it down to three, but they are definitely all by Terry Pratchett and I should probably be ashamed of myself.
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Oct 10, 2016 09:02
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There's a Monster at the End of This Book Scares the hell out of me every time but it's worth it.
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Oct 10, 2016 09:03
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1. James Joyce - Ulysses 2. Thomas Pynchon - Gravity's Rainbow 3. David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest
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Oct 10, 2016 09:04
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H.H posted:Name three books out of it that you like. I dare you. the old testament the new testament and the bfg
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Oct 10, 2016 09:06
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Wizard Master posted:1. James Joyce - Ulysses On the one hand, I see how someone how picks the first one will go with the other two, but on the other I feel like this is limiting yourself to a very specific genre.
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Oct 10, 2016 09:06
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Wizard Master posted:1. James Joyce - Ulysses Loosen out your b-hole and put one non-default in there ok
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Oct 10, 2016 09:07
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Blurry Gray Thing posted:they are definitely all by Terry Pratchett and I should probably be ashamed of myself. Yeah You actually really should be Why don't you read Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. It's custom made to cure Fantasy / Sci-Fi readers of their illness.
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Oct 10, 2016 09:07
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