Mens Tennis Forums banner

If there is one book you would persuade others to read, which would it be?

4K views 90 replies 51 participants last post by  Echoes 
#1 · (Edited)
Pretty difficult I'd say.

I would have to say it's a tie between Noam Chomsky's "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" and Michael Shermer's "The Science of Good and Evil".

Which book would you force (if such thing could be done) others to read?
 
#41 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

THE GOD DELUSION by Richard Dawkins
On the same theme, The Magic Animal..Philip Whylie. (religion as superstition, likely out of print)

This book had a great impact/affirming for me, but is only of value for those who are open /searching and have a mind open to the thesis as with your book.

I've read so many books and I've learned something from each of them. Lucky us readers. Always learning. Life is exciting.
 
#39 · (Edited)
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

i dont read books but i read this one and its amazing.

You might like Dreams from my Father....Obama's autobiography....(he's a great writer too)


PS I saw him in Ottawa in Byward Market...big smile, tall, just like on TV.
And he was shaking hands and having his pic taken with a lot of the students who work there.
 
#6 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

well this is a good thread actually, there are many books I have read that I wish everyone I know and I don't know would read, certainly not force them but one wishes he could :rolleyes:

1- ALL the works of the great Arabic polymath Abbas El-Akkad (1889–1964) I have no idea which you must start with it depends on your field of interest, he wrote in philosophy, religion, literature, poetry, criticism, history, biographies, politics, sociology and many diaries!

2- Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (1802–1885).

3- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1818-1848).

4- many of Agatha Christie's (1890–1976) works, two in particular are a must: (Murder on the Orient Express - And Then There Were None) they are simply brilliant.

5- As the Crow Flies by Jeffrey Archer (born 1940) just because it's the last book I read :p it's really great though.

those are the main ones, I should make a list of all the books I recommend one day :cool: but those top my list.
 
  • Like
Reactions: @Sweet Cleopatra
#7 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

2- Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (1802–1885).
I saw the thread title and I was just coming in here to post that very title. It's my favorite book of all time (of the ones that I've read, and I have to admit it's not nearly as many as I would like).
 
#8 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

The Harry Potter books, to convince my mom they're not evil. :p
 
#9 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

Some favorite 20th century fiction:

Hour of the Star, Clarice Lispector
In Youth is Pleasure and Maiden Voyage, Denton Welch
Everything by Flannery O'Connor
Lolita :D
Another Country

Right now I'm reading Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon's Secret World by Trevor Paglen. :cool: Starting to read some translations of Roberto Bolano and Ghosts by Cesar Aira.

I've gone through some years recently of not reading much, but the last year or so I've been reading a ton.

Pfloyd is that book you mention the best Chomsky? I haven't read him. habibko, I love Wuthering Heights. Have never read Les Miserables. I want to get around to reading Hugo, too many Russian authors, and Proust...one day. :lol: Right now the boyfriend is reading Dante. :devil:
 
#33 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

Some favorite 20th century fiction:


Pfloyd is that book you mention the best Chomsky? I haven't read him. habibko, I love Wuthering Heights. Have never read Les Miserables. I want to get around to reading Hugo, too many Russian authors, and Proust...one day. :lol: Right now the boyfriend is reading Dante. :devil:
I preferred Manfacturing Consent and Culture of Terrorism among others.

His books are pretty heavy going with about 20 footnotes per page so some of the collections of interviews that have been published would probably be a better place to start. Imperial Ambitions or 9-11 for example.

I probably don't need to tell you to ignore TrolànGagò
 
#10 · (Edited)
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

^^^ you MUST try Hugo, he also wrote the ever famous "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" which is a wonderful novel in its own right (most people of my generation just watched the Disney movie :lol:).

once you feel like reading start with Les Miserables, I FORCE you :devil:
 
#15 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

I wouldn't force anyone to read anything but an awful lot of people in this forum should read 1985 by George Orwell. If that's too many pages Animal Farm would do.

Chomsky's body of work besides linguistics is a load of demagogery and apology of terrorism. After some trials, I concluded I shouldn't invest an hour of my life reading any of his books.
 
#16 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

I wouldn't force anyone to read anything but an awful lot of people in this forum should read 1985 by George Orwell. If that's too many pages Animal Farm would do.

Chomsky's body of work besides linguistics is a load of demagogery and apology of terrorism. After some trials, I concluded I shouldn't invest an hour of my life reading any of his books.
1984, you mean, right, boludo? :p
 
#19 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

don't be bitter sweetie, why don't you get some holidays in America, you seem to need it :lol:

please don't contaminate the whole forum with your incoherent mumbling, restrict the stalking to the relevant threads if you please.
 
#20 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
 
#21 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

'Of Mice & Men' By Steinback and 'The Alchemist' by Coelho, both deliver a strong message to the reader, and a decent read.
 
#22 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

'Of Mice & Men' By Steinback and 'The Alchemist' by Coelho, both deliver a strong message to the reader, and a decent read.
this in particular was such a disappointment for me, I don't want to spoil the book on anyone so don't read this last paragraph if you haven't read the book and don't want it to be spoiled:


such a realistic and well written story and plot but when it turned into a magical tale of becoming God and wind and such nonesense I couldn't relate to the story anymore and it was such a shame, Coelho's excessive sense of optimism gets on my nerves in many ways so I might be biased.
 
#28 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

Paulo Coelho? Argh.

Worst writer ever. Makes me wanna puke.
for once I agree with you, well not the worst thats for sure, but among my worst list.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

JolánGagó;8214720 said:
ditto. i once read like half of one of his books and that was enough, the guy is like two fingers deep down your throat.
He's that bad? haha...Guess I'll stick to only reading one of his 'classics'.
 
#32 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

He's that bad? haha...Guess I'll stick to only reading one of his 'classics'.
well his Eleven Minutes was quite good, the only novel of his that I didn't regret spending time on.
 
#36 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

I read The Alchemist after 6 years of not reading a book... it was insisted that i should read it by a girl and i relented after a year... like byrd, i was at a crossroads.. in hindsight, the hook in it is the symbolism that allows you to relate anything to anything in your own life... especially for the traveller... one of those books you could shape it to mean whatever you would wish it...

not sure of the guys other subject matter... i have not read since....
 
#37 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

I read The Alchemist after 6 years of not reading a book... it was insisted that i should read it by a girl and i relented after a year... like byrd, i was at a crossroads.. in hindsight, the hook in it is the symbolism that allows you to relate anything to anything in your own life... especially for the traveller... one of those books you could shape it to mean whatever you would wish it...

not sure of the guys other subject matter... i have not read since....
it makes sense since you are a non-regular reader, bookworms who read more than best-selling books often disagree :cool:
 
#40 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

If I could I would make it mandatory for every country's leader to read "The Diary of Anne Frank."
"Slaughter House Five" is an astonishingly moving/shocking read. I first read it when I was 17 and parts of it even "haunt" me now.
 
#50 ·
#45 ·
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

The Open Society and Its Enemies (Karl Popper)
Changed totally my mind about Plato and Marx. Impressive, best thing I've read against totalitarianism

Novel: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Funny, smart and much deeper than it looks
 
#49 · (Edited)
Re: If there is one book you would force others to read, which would it be?

The Open Society and Its Enemies (Karl Popper)
Changed totally my mind about Plato and Marx. Impressive, best thing I've read against totalitarianism

Novel: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Funny, smart and much deeper than it looks

Now that is scary. I felt my valves flutter. I just clocked into this thread to say that nobody should be forced to read anything. But everyone should be encouraged to read "A Confederacy of Dunces.''

Last year I walked around New Orleans, found the clock, the alleyway where the ladies' art was displayed and the gay confrontation took place, the street where Ignatius lived and the location of the hot dog cart storage.

Better than Bloomsday tours any day.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top