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What books blew your mind upon first reading?

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    eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    PJ1973 wrote:
    Slaughterhouse-V. I reread this a few years ago and it blew me away again.

    One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    To Kill A Mockingbird


    You got 3 of my top 10 on there and is 1973 your birth year. Mine too, if so.

    Also, everyone shoud read these:

    Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut
    Desert Solitaire & The Monkeywrench Gang - Edward Abbey
    Idaho's Premier Outdoor Writer

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    "what uncle sam really wants" by noam chomsky.

    forever changed the way i think about u.s. foreign policy and our political system in general.
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    The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
    In the land of the little kings
    Profit is the only thing
    And everywhere the little kings
    Are getting away with murder
    - Paul Kelly

    www.troywass.com
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    PegasusPegasus Posts: 3,754
    redrock wrote:
    Most Marquez novels blow my mind. Love him.

    When I was quite young, I read 'The picture of Dorian Gray', Oscar Wilde. I read it at least once a year. There's just something about that book. Same with 'The Master and Margarita' by Bulgakov.
    now THAT was weird!!
    (and when/if they make the film they need Pilate and Tremor Christ in the soundtrack ;))

    I've got Picture of Dorian Gray but haven't got around to read it yet..
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    Slammerkin's my favourite book. I loved it when I first read it and I still love it now.

    For anybody that's not heard of it, I'm not gonna say anything about it because it's kind of depressing. :o
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    TrixieCatTrixieCat Posts: 5,756
    Alright...there is really something wrong with me...I got turned on reading this thread. :p
    Between the books, the men, the books and the men.....
    le sigh.....


    Oh edited to say Fountainhead blew my mind too!!!! I haven't found many that enjoyed it the way I did.
    And obviously Catcher in the Rye.

    One that was not mentioned: The Kite Runner
    Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
    And I don't feel right when you're gone away
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    CollinCollin Posts: 4,931
    Slaughterhouse-Five and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
    THANK YOU, LOSTDAWG!


    naděje umírá poslední
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    eyedclaareyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    Collin wrote:
    Slaughterhouse-Five and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.


    I petty much figured that nobody knew who he was based on the responses I got to a lengthy post I submitted the day he died this last year. Anyway, he really does have some tremendous novels besides Slaughterhouse...

    In fact, I have an autographed copy of Mother Night. And yes, I would kill a man for even looking at it!
    Idaho's Premier Outdoor Writer

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    TrixieCat wrote:
    Alright...there is really something wrong with me...I got turned on reading this thread. :p
    Between the books, the men, the books and the men.....
    le sigh.....

    Is it OK that I was turned on that YOU are turned on by men who like books? That's hottt.
    TrixieCat wrote:
    Oh edited to say Fountainhead blew my mind too!!!! I haven't found many that enjoyed it the way I did.
    And obviously Catcher in the Rye.

    One that was not mentioned: The Kite Runner

    I bought the Kite Runner but my dog chewed it up before I got to read it.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
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    satansbedbugssatansbedbugs On Tour Posts: 2,410
    Tales of the fourth grade nothing, superfudge
    *Marker in the Sand Fanclub * HNIC

    Philly- 2005, 2013, 2016
    Camden 2000, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2022
    Philly Spectrum 2009 x4 - We closed that MFER Down Proper
    DC- 2006, 2008
    New York- 2008, 2010
    Boston - Fenway 2016
    New Jersey- 2006
    Chicago - 2007
    Seattle- 2005
    EV Solo- DC x2, Baltimore x2 , Newark NJ x2,  Tower Theater x2 

    - Given To Fly
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    prljamgirlprljamgirl Edmonton, AB Posts: 602
    Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
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    Hitch-HikerHitch-Hiker Posts: 2,873
    The Dune series is immense. The original book in particular is a masterpiece. People need to read more science fiction.
    I'll Ride The Wave Where It Takes Me
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    FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    The Car-Bombing Pop Up Book for Kids.
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    PegasusPegasus Posts: 3,754
    would the thread starter make a list of those recommendations in the first post? (the serious ones I mean :rolleyes: )

    Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
    Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
    The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
    The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul - Francis Crick
    The Engine of Reason the Seat of the Soul: A Philosophical Journey Into the Brain - Paul Churchland
    Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs
    The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
    Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
    The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
    trainspotting - Irvine Welsh
    East of Eden - John Steinbeck
    Watership Down - Richard Adams
    catch-22 - Joseph Heller
    the alchemist - Paulo Coelho
    Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck
    Ice People - René Barjavel
    Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
    Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield
    The Perfume - Patrick Suskind
    Foundation - Isaac Asimov
    His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
    Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
    To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
    Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
    Lord Of The Flies - William Golding
    Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
    Animal Farm - George Orwell
    Icing On The Damper - Marie Mahood
    White Coolies - Betty Jeffrey
    Voyage From Shame, The Cowra Breakout - Harry Gordon
    A Fortunate Life - A.B. Facey
    Emergency Sex And Other Desperate Measures - Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait and Andrew Thomson
    Singer of The Bush, Song of The Pen The Complete Works - A.B. (Banjo) Paterson.
    the princess bride - william goldman
    Wounded Knee - Dee Brown
    Chart Idol - Ben Elton
    Childhood's End - Arthur C Clarke
    Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre
    The Accidental - Ali Smith
    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kessey
    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
    Brick Lane - Monica Ali
    Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
    Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
    The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
    The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
    The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
    Tropic of Capricorn - Henry Miller
    Mysteries - Knut Hamsun
    The Thiefs Journal - Jean Genet
    The Dice Man - Luke Rhinehardt
    In The spirit of crazy Horse - Peter Matthiessen
    Journey to Ixtlan - Carlos Casteneda
    anything by roald dahl
    Fathers & Sons - Ivan Turgenev
    Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
    The Damage Done - Warren Fellows
    Into Thin air - Jon Krakauer
    The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
    The Master and Margarita - Bulgakov
    Homeland: The Dark Elf Trilogy - R. A. Salvatore
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
    Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut
    Desert Solitaire & The Monkeywrench Gang - Edward Abbey
    what uncle sam really wants - noam chomsky.
    The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
    Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue
    The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
    Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
    The Dune series - Frank Herbert
    the stranger - albert camus
    American Gods ~ Neil Gaiman
    The Winter King/Enemy of God/Excalibur ~ Bernard Cornwell
    Hell's Angels ~ Hunter S. Thompson
    Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom ~ Cory Doctorow
    The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove ~ Christopher Moore
    The Stand, Insomnia, Talisman ~ Stephen King
    Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman ~ Richard Feynman
    Richard Scarry books
    charlotte's web - E.B. White
    Peace Like A River - Leif Enger
    Plainsong - Kent Haruf
    Things Seen and Unseen- A Year Lived in Faith - Nora Gallagher
    The Road - Cormac McCarthy
    The Shining - Stephen King
    Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins
    Walden - Henry David Thoreau
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    i know its typical but To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee...one of the greatest stories of all time.
    all these burning battlefields are now behind us, life has brought us here together to remind us, that love will rise above it all and just keep growin, life keeps flowing and every moment starts right here with us
    -mason jennings
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    JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    tylerpjtx wrote:
    i know its typical but To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee...one of the greatest stories of all time.

    :) I completely agree.
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
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    catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    the stranger - albert camus
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
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    merkinballmerkinball Posts: 2,262
    tybird wrote:
    Watership Down

    Yes, that is a great one. High on my list too.

    Also...

    American Gods ~ Neil Gaiman
    The Winter King/Enemy of God/Excalibur ~ Bernard Cornwell
    Hell's Angels ~ Hunter S. Thompson
    Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom ~ Cory Doctorow
    The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove ~ Christopher Moore
    The Stand, Insomnia, Talisman ~ Stephen King
    Foundation Series ~ Isaac Asimov
    Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman ~ Richard Feynman

    Edited to add:

    Richard Scarry books. No offense to Dr. Seuss, but when I was a kid, I would have picked Richard Scarry over Seuss every time.
    "You're no help," he told the lime. This was unfair. It was only a lime; there was nothing special about it at all. It was doing the best it could.

    http://www.last.fm/user/merkinball/
    spotify:user:merkinball
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    sweetpotatosweetpotato Posts: 1,278
    Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

    Plainsong by Kent Haruf

    Things Seen and Unseen- A Year Lived in Faith by Nora Gallagher

    The Road by Cormac McCarthy
    "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Obama."

    "Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore

    "i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
    ~ed, 8/7
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    rival.rival. Chicago Posts: 7,776
    Ken Kessey, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'
    Stephen King, 'The Shining'
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    mdigenakismdigenakis Posts: 1,337
    Confessions of an Economic Hitman
    John Perkins

    Walden
    Henry David Thoreau
    "Don't let the darkness eat you up..."

    -Greg Dulli

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    PegasusPegasus Posts: 3,754
    edited my list post up to this point ;)
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    CollinCollin Posts: 4,931
    eyedclaar wrote:
    I petty much figured that nobody knew who he was based on the responses I got to a lengthy post I submitted the day he died this last year. Anyway, he really does have some tremendous novels besides Slaughterhouse...

    In fact, I have an autographed copy of Mother Night. And yes, I would kill a man for even looking at it!

    http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=240565&highlight=vonnegut
    THANK YOU, LOSTDAWG!


    naděje umírá poslední
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    Hmmmm...

    Into the Wild (John Krakouer)
    Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
    The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood)
    Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood)
    Eleanor Rigby (Douglas Coupland)
    Hey Nostradamus! (Douglas Coupland)
    The Mountain and the Valley (Ernest Buckler)
    Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
    Without You (Anthony Rapp)
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
    The Shining (Stephen King)
    Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
    The Golden Compass trilogy (Philip Pullman)
    Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)
    Angel Square (Brian Doyle)
    2003: Toronto
    2005: Kitchener/Hamilton/Toronto
    2006: Toronto 1 & 2
    2008: Hartford/EV Toronto 1 & 2
    2009: Toronto/Philadelphia 3 & 4
    2010: Buffalo
    2011: Montreal/Toronto 1 & 2/Hamilton
    2013: London/Buffalo/Vancouver/Seattle
    2016: Toronto 1 & 2
    2022: Hamilton/Toronto
    2023: EV Seattle 1&2
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    i am going to break up from school in a week and a half, the amount of reading i have to do is phenomenal.

    i keep borrowing/buying these books that i dont get to read.

    we need to talk about kevin by lionel shriver was a mindfuck.

    a motel life by willy vlautin is wonderful.

    and the first time I read Bukowski is etched on my memory forever.

    I think the Kite Runner is up there too.

    Murakami is a head fuck too, but in a good way...

    dammit. i came on here to distract myself from my essay, you bastards! i cant read any fiction for at least a week yet!
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    urbanhippieurbanhippie Posts: 3,007
    Nice to see some of my favourites have already been mentioned.

    In no particular order:

    LOTR - Tolkien
    Lord of the Flies - William Golding
    Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
    American Gods - Neil Gaiman
    Coraline -Neil Gaiman
    Magician - Raymond Feist
    The Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett
    The Hogfather - Terry Pratchett
    His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
    Hidden Agendas - John Pilger
    Failed States - Noam Chomsky
    Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter. S. Thompson
    A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby




    And I know there's many more that I can't recall at the moment.....
    A human being that was given to fly.

    Wembley 18/06/07

    If there was a reason, it was you.

    O2 Arena 18/09/09
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    AmentsChickAmentsChick Posts: 6,969
    Slave by Mende Nazer

    and

    His Favorite Wife by Susan Ray Schmidt

    Both of these are memoirs and I firmly believe you MUUUUUUUST read!!
    This is the greatest band in the world -- Ben Harper

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