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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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[–] xilliah@beehaw.org 18 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Hmm, considering your religious upbringing you might want to try some absurdist literature to break the mold.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Cyberiad
Discworld
The Little Prince

These are accessible too, as you're not used to reading yet.

I can also recommend subscribing to a monthly magazine and making a point to read it from cover to cover. That way your skills will improve. You can also buy a whole stack of old national geographics cheaply. This will expand your horizons.

[–] SLfgb@feddit.nl 3 points 2 months ago

Oh yes definitely The Little Prince is a must-read.

[–] teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 months ago

HHGttG is a must.