70 Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once, As Shared By People In This Online Thread

#31 The Phantom Tollbooth By Norton Juster

chadtewks said:
“The Phantom Tollbooth.”

kiltedturtle replied:
“I love ‘Point of View’ where they are in mid-air and as they grow older their feet touch the ground. That means their point of view never changed as they get older. Unlike silly Milo who as he grows ‘up’ his point of view is constantly changing.

In the last few years I’ve used that snippet with people that seem to grow down, instead of growing up as they get older. I’ve had a few that actually get the point.”

wort_hog replied:
“Maybe one of my favorite literary moments…

Milo: ‘Many of the things I’m supposed to know seem so useless that I can’t see the purpose of learning them at all.’

Princess of Sweet Rhyme: ‘…what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.'”

#32 The Stranger By Albert Camus

Elctro-Blak said:
“The Stranger by Albert Camus.”

thirdaccountmaybe replied:
“I was gonna say the myth of Sisyphus.”

tirkman replied:
“I remember absolutely hating the stranger and existentialism in general in high school. Maybe now that I’m older I’ll view the book differently.”

#33 Holes By Louis Sachar

nefarioustortellini said:
“Holes.”

swallowtails replied:
“Great book. I feel like Louis Sachar (sp?) is an underrated author. I remember reading his book ‘There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom’ and just loving that. It’s a look into a boy’s life… One who is a failing student with no friends, is sort of a bully. It’s so good! I definitely recommend picking it up.”

#34 Slaughterhouse-Five By Kurt Vonnegut

JananayBanana said:
“Slaughterhouse five.”

zodwa_wa_bantu replied:
“Couldn’t finish it. Sent through an Existentialist crisis, doubting my reality and myself and whatnot. Great book though.”

BiceRankyman replied:
“Read it three times. Still in the existential life crisis. So it goes.”

#35 Watership Down By Richard Adams

“I love Watership Down. It’s so moving and exciting at the same time. I especially like the fact that the author was never set out to be an author. He simply began making up stories about rabbits and telling them to his daughters who then convinced him to write it all down.”

#36 Where The Red Fern Grows By Wilson Rawls

moxin84 said:
“‘Where The Red Fern Grows’ – Wilson Rawls.”

PervisMCR replied:
“Read that in 4th grade. The poor hounds.”

#37 A Tree Grows In Brooklyn By Betty Smith

“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn changed my life.”

#38 Shogun By James Clavell

“When I was going through basic training as a US Marine officer at Quantico an instructor in tactics strongly recommended Shogun, so I picked it up, but didn’t have time to start it during training. My newly wed wife saw it and started reading it. She became so engrossed that she would ask if I minded her bringing it into restaurants to read during our dinner. Tired of eating and watching her read, I bought a second copy and totally understood where she was coming from. It has the wonderful quality of being nearly 1200 pages that I didn’t want to end.”

#39 The Power Of Myth By Joseph Campbell

KnowsGooderThanYou said:
“The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.”

m1nt_ replied:
“I’m reading this now, and despite only being about halfway through it, I’ve already reconsidered my approach to stories and their value. It’s fantastic, and I would definitely recommend either The Power of Myth or his other book The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”

#40 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle By Haruki Murakami

Neuroxian said:
“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami.”

MotherBeef replied:
“Personally I would suggest Colourless or Norwegian wood. But really, any Murakami.

What I love about his books is I feel everyone has a different favourite and I believe that’s due to how much each book is able to capture a different theme and therefore relates to different people. The existential crisis and understanding of love/belonging that so many of his characters seem to go through is something that resonated so intensely with me during my 20s. It’s what keeps Murakami at the top of my list, nothing else has ever made me question more, want to change and yet feel so content with the basics.”