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What books do you consider must reads? (beehaw.org)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Alice@beehaw.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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So basically I was unschooled, and the amount of books I've read in my life is embarrassingly low. It was never emforced like in a school, and with my family's religious hangups, I never tried getting into new things because I never knew what would be deemed "offensive".

But I'm always interested when I hear people talk about both storycraft and also literary criticism, so I want to take an earnest stab at getting into books.

No real criteria, I don't know what I like so I can't tell you what I'm looking for, other than it needs to be in English or have an English translation. Just wanna know what y'all think would make good or important reading.

ETA holy shit thanks for all the suggestions! Definitely gonna make a list

ETA if I reply extremely late it's because it took me this long to get a library card in my new locale.

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[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

As far as good storytelling, some of my favs are:

The count of monte cristo
The arabian nights
100 years of solitude
The silmarillion
A confederacy of dunces
The three musketeers

I have a very long ranked list, but there's a few.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I really loved The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. I was surprised at how well they held up over time.

[–] Unquote0270@programming.dev 3 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Is the three musketeers really on par with the count? I've been meaning to read it for months but I always got the sense it would be disappointing.

[–] d13@programming.dev 4 points 2 months ago

Maybe unpopular opinion here, but I just read The Three Musketeers, and it's not even close to The Count of Monte Cristo.

The characters wildly change in tone and basic morals, the heroes are dirtbags, and the plot wanders.

I still enjoyed it, but it just wasn't the same.

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

I only read the Count, and I loved it

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think so. It's top-tier adventure storytelling. The sequels are also great.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 2 months ago

The sequels are worth it.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 2 months ago

No. The Count of Monte Cristo is a much better and deeper novel, but The Three Musketeers is much lighter and more fun. They're both good reads for different reasons.

[–] Alice@beehaw.org 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You know, I was on vacation and saw a newer translation of The Arabian Nights and pondered getting it for a REALLY long time before deciding not to spend all my money on the first day of my trip. Thank you for reminding me, gonna put it on my list!

[–] dessalines@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 months ago

No probs! I'm obsessed with adventure stories, and you can't get much better than 1001 nights.