# Reading > General Literature >  Starting in literature, any recomendations?

## Joeri

hello, 
i have read some good books,
and i surely want to read more
but with some many good books around
it is somehow hard to make a start in the whole 'literature' thing.
so my do you know any books to start with?
just as a way to orientate me in this 'literature' thing.

some books i already read:
1984
animal farm
brave new world
a clockwork's orange
romeo & juliet
mc beth

so does anyone has any recomendations?

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## atiguhya padma

Looking at what you've read already, in a similar vein, I would recommend some more up-to-date lit., like Lanark by Alasdair Gray, or The Bridge by Iain Banks. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan is short and a great read. And Wide Open by Nicola Barker. 

Lanark is set in a bleak Scottish future and also in the present. It moves back and forth between these two worlds. The Bridge is a world created by a comatose man. The Cement Garden is about childhood and death and adolescent sex. Wide Open is whacky, a journey through the estuarine world east of London, where eccentrics are the norm and everything is rather more surreal than life in the capital. 

I would also recommend anything by Will Self; most of Graham Swift's work, but especially Last Orders and Waterland; Maggie Gee, Toby Litt, David Mitchell are all good contemporary writers too.

The truth is though, you might not like any of this. But hopefully, one or two might appeal. 

AP

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## Joeri

yo thanks!
that should keep me buisy for a while.

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## Dick Diver

The temple of the golden pavillion by Yukio Mishima

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## simon

How about Siddhartha.

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## Dyrwen

If you'd like to check out the poetic forms of literature, "Dante Alligheri's - Divine Comedy" is quite nice. 

'The Inferno' was probably what first got me really interested in literature.

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## Koa

Is there a 'book recommendation' thread where Dante isn't mentioned at some point?  :Wink:  :Wink:  :Wink: 
Personally is one of the last things I'd recommend but this is not the point, don't want to be polemic on others opinions...It just strikes me how influential that thing seems to be! :Eek:   :Eek:   :Eek:

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## IWilKikU

have a look at Harold Bloom's _The Western Canon_ and take your pick of the books he lists.

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## emily655321

Thumbs way up for A Clockwork Orange! Do you think in Nadsat now? I still do.

I second the recommendations for Siddhartha. Actually, if you liked Orwell, any Hermann Hesse is probably a good bet.

Try 'All Quiet on the Western Front,' too. It's not too long, a relatively easy read, but definitely one of the greats.

And if you dig that German stuff, go for some Kafka, too. His short stories are a good overview of his style, and 'Metamorphosis' is the most famous.

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## avid_reader

'A tale of two cities' by Dickens
had read it for the first time when i was in 5th. 
so far i've read it arnd 4 times ... each time learning new things !!
i'd consider it as one of the best books ever written

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## Black Flag

Ditto on "All Quiet on the Western Front". I've read it four times and each time I find something I've missed before--some new insight, ya know. My copy is filled with underlined paragraphs and quotes. 

If you don't like war novels though, try one of the suggestions already mentioned.  :Smile:

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## Black Flag

Or something romantic/tragic like The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Or (if you're feeling really romantic--almost sappy--)something by Jane Austen.

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## ucdawg12

I would suggest the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (I think that its considered literature?) I thought it had good themes, symbolism and it had some humorous dialogue in it, its one of my favorite books.

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## simon

Try my favorite Mark Twain, A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

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## subterranean

I think Huckelybery Finn is a little bit boring (IMO)

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## Black Flag

> _Originally posted by Joeri_ 
> *hello, 
> i have read some good books,
> and i surely want to read more
> but with some many good books around
> it is somehow hard to make a start in the whole 'literature' thing.
> so my do you know any books to start with?
> just as a way to orientate me in this 'literature' thing.
> 
> ...


Bet you weren't ready for this barrage of titles, huh?!!!!!


 :Rolleyes:

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## simon

You'd better prepare yourself because recommendations will never cease.

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## Isagel

When studying english I used to get these anthologys with poetry for lit students, , just to get ideas on what to read. It was fun, and I got to read Frost, Blake , Donne and Whitman. You can get them in almost any bookstore. I think the Penguin brand has som huge collections. 

As a teenager I went to the library and decided to read i alphabetic order from the shelves I would read one author that started with the letter A , on that started on B, and so forth. 

That took a lot of time. But evryone needs a hobby. 

I guess this isn´t really the kind of advice you where looking for. :-) But it made me read alot of things I never would have read otherwise. 

But thats how I ended up reading Burroughs "The Naked lunch"
and Truman Capote. 

I can´t remember who I read for the letter Q. I think it was a spanish author.

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## IWilKikU

Who'd you read for X?

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## Isagel

Malcolm X - I think it was a speech.

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## verybaddmom

there are a couple of really good anthologies for poetry, drama, literature (14th -18th century), fiction and short stories by both Norton and Harbrace. I have purchased all of them at various times over the years for classes (or because they were on sale from someone elses classes) and love the fact that i can leave the book somewhere (like beside where i smoke outside) and pick it up whenever i have a chance and enlighten myself. often, these anthologies will have some good background information that is really helpful in analyzing the work as well.

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## EAP

1. *Fantasy* 

a. _The Lord of the Rings Triology_ - Tolkien
b. _Wheel of Time_ - Robert Jordan
c. _A Song of Fire and Ice Saga_ - George R R Martin
d. _The Riftwar Saga_ - Raymond E Feist 


2. *Detective Fiction* [Similar to _Film Noir_]. 

a. The Dupin Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. '_The Murder at Rue Morgue'_ Et al. 

b. _Sherlock Holmes_ - ConanDoyle. 

c. Lord Peter Wilmsey novels - Dorothy L Sayers. 

d. _The Big Sleep_ - Raymond Chandler 

e. _The innocence of Father Brown_ - G. K. Chesterton

f. _Moonstone_ - Wilkie Collins. 

g. _The Murder of Roger Acroyd_ - Agatha Christie.

3. *Horror*

a. _The Masque of Red Death_, _The Fall of House of Usher_, _The Tell Tale Heart_ by Edgar Allan Poe. 

b. Works by Lovecraft. 

c. _It_, _Insomnia_, _The Shinning_ by Stephen King. 

d. Works by Peter Straub. 

e. _Dracula_ - Bram Stoker 


4. *Victorian Classics*

a. _The Tenant of Wildfell Hall_ - Anne Bronte

b. _Jane Eyre_ - Charlotte Bronte 

c. _Shirley_ - Charlotte Bronte 

d. _Wuthering Heights_ - Emily Bronte

e. _Vanity Fair_ - William Makepeace Thackery 

f. _Oliver Twist_ - Charles Dickens 

g. _David Copperfield_ - Charles Dickens 

h. _Kidnapped_ - Robert Louis Stevenson 

i. _The Mill on Floss_ - George Elliot 

j. _The Return of the Native_ - Thomas Hardy 

5. *Humor* 

a. Any work by Mark Twain.

b. _The Catcher in the Rye_ - J.D.Salinger 

6. [B]Various[/I] 

a. _Anne of Green Gables_ - Lucy Maud Montgomery 

b. _The Invisible Man_ 

c. _Grapes of Wrath_ - John Stienback 

d. _Babbit_ - Lewis Sinclair 

e. _The Europeons_ - Henry James

f. _Scarlet Letter_ - Nathaniel Hawthrone 

g. _Moby Dick_ - Herman Melville 

h. _Roots_ Alex Healey 

i. _Farhenheit 451_ - Ray Bradburry 

i. _Slaughterhouse Five_ 


Offcourse It isn't possible to read all of them in a short while but I hope you'll pick out atleast some out of these. If specially recommend _Fahrenheit 451_; you might like it, judging from the books you have allready read.

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## emily655321

:Biggrin:   :Biggrin:   :Biggrin:  The Shinning.

"Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester. It's no feat to beat the heat. So jeet your seat. All reet all reet! I LOVED that book.

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## amuse

EAP, you might like Tolkien's _Roverandom_ and Peter S. Beagle's _The Last Unicorn_. Also Ursula LeGuin's _Earthsea Series_ (wonderful).

What about Pride and Prejudice? I'm embarassed to write this, but have read it around 4 times.
Has anyone made it through _Vanity Fair_? I couldn't get into it and am considering another go 'round. (as well as _W&P_ - dear God, why???)

Oh, Yeah, i totally recommend Anna Karenina.  :Smile:   :Smile:   :Smile:

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## EAP

*amuse* posted, 




> EAP, you might like Tolkien's Roverandom and Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. Also Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Series (wonderful).


I loved Roverandom although not as much as 'Farmer Giles of Hamfast'. I started on the Earthsea triology but It just didn't catch my fancy. I'll look for Peter S. Beagle's 'The Last Unicorn' though. 




> Has anyone made it through Vanity Fair? I couldn't get into it and am considering another go 'round. (as well as W&P - dear God, why???)


Eh yes. I made it through Vanity Fair.  :Smile:  Although not through the later book you mentioned. I was considering give W and P a second go though. 

Pride and Prejudice is an excellent book, and its inclusion in the top 5 British books manifests it's enduring popularity, even in times like this. 
I love Jane Austen among classic writters second only to Anne Bronte.

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## amuse

liked _Farmer Giles_  :Smile:  too. not very happy that it hid from me the other day. does your copy have _Smith of Wooton Major_ included?

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## EAP

*Amuse* posted, 




> liked Farmer Giles too. not very happy that it hid from me the other day. does your copy have Smith of Wooton Major included?


Sadly no.  :Frown:  But I still was able to read _Smith of Wooton Major_ thanks to the efforts of our Russian friends.

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## amuse

:Smile:  Cool. Is it hard to get books in Pakistan?

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## EAP

Pretty hard. The only fiction novels generally avalable are classics in prescribed text courses, grisly fiction, porn/romantic novels and recent blockbuster's. 

Heck even _Silmarillion_ is not avalable just because it is not economically feasible for local printers.

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## amuse

someone needs to do the readers of that book a favor one day and publish a family tree, as is done sometimes for the houses of stuart and windsor before reading about those families. i've been tempted many! times to write myself notes on lineage while reading.

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## EAP

*Amuse* posted, 




> someone needs to do the readers of that book a favor one day and publish a family tree, as is done sometimes for the houses of stuart and windsor before reading about those families. i've been tempted many! times to write myself notes on lineage while reading.


There are many such trees in existance. I'll post one sooner or later, as soon as my computer allows me to upload a file. But information gleaned from HOME's and other resources often causes dispute in the lines.

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## GapingStarling

EAP, in your nice long list of books, you mention The Invisible Man. Do you mean the one by Ralph Ellison? I just read that not too long ago, it was wonderful. Every time I think of it, I see his cellar, with all the walls and ceiling space wired with light bulbs, powered by electricity that he has stealthily appropriated from the electric company...

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## simon

For any comic book lovers out there here's a great peice about two men writing a comic called, the Adventures of Calvalier and Klay, by Michael Chabon. Klay may be spelled with a C.

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## EAP

*GapingStarling* posted, 




> EAP, in your nice long list of books, you mention The Invisible Man. Do you mean the one by Ralph Ellison? I just read that not too long ago, it was wonderful. Every time I think of it, I see his cellar, with all the walls and ceiling space wired with light bulbs, powered by electricity that he has stealthily appropriated from the electric company...


Ah, yes, that's the writer. Eventhough I am only on Chapter Six, the story seems good, although the fifth chapter was more on the dour side. And the dialogue drags on sometimes. As the story progresses, it might even live upto Alex Healey's _Roots_.

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## amuse

I liked _Invisible Man_, too. Read it in my teens around the same time as James Baldwin's _Another Country_. That was one helluva book.

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## amuse

*think you meant Alex Haley. was an excellent story. the end blew me away.

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## emily655321

> _Originally posted by simon_ 
> *For any comic book lovers out there here's a great peice about two men writing a comic called, the Adventures of Calvalier and Klay, by Michael Chabon. Klay may be spelled with a C.*


My mother read that two years ago and she still raves about it whenever people start talking books. I didn't read it (more of a classics girl) but she read me plenty of exerpts from it and on her behalf I would recommend it to anyone. Funny, intelligent, well-written.

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## PaulDavid

well if you want to start off on writing your own literature, try blogspot.com
I have started a little blog that will one day be the start of my novel. 
Check it out,
http://thehowlingcrossroads.blogspot...t-section.html

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## clumsy angelle

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

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## MissCosette

Good suggestions.

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## Melmoth

I humbly believe there's an age and a moment for each book and if you are lucky enough to match both... that really is the point... I think I'll start a thread.... he he

Anyway, as a start I would recommend some Dickens, _Great Expectations_ or _Hard Times_ for instance.

However, if you are already into Shakespeare... have a chance at a must.. _Hamlet_!!

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## Suzie_Q

If you like Huxley: I liked Guests at Crome Yellow by Huxley and somewhat in the same genre (I think) To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf). Furthermore, Kafka and Hesse are some of my favorite writers.

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