I haven't lied about reading books, but the one I could never get through was Jane Austen's "Emma", I even made it through Gravity's Rainbow eventually, but not Emma!
10. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand (Own it, paperback)
7. 1984, George Orwell (Own it, paperback)
5. The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith: (Own it, Hardback)
3. The Art of War, Sun Tzu: (Own it, Hardback)
I have read at least once:
9. On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin:(Own it Kindle Version and Hardback)
8. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (Own it, Kindle Version)
4. Moby Dick, Herman Melville:(Own it, Kindle Version)
2. The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli (Own it, Kindle Version)
I have never read:
6. Democracy in America, Alexis De Tocqueville: Though in the paragraph after it mentions also The Federalist Papers, And The Constitution which I have read multiple times and own several different editions as well as "The Anti-Federalist Papers.
1. Ulysses, James Joyce: And after reading the first few pages have no interest in it whatsoever...
10. Atlas Shrugged — I made it about a third of the way through before I set the book down and it got lost.
9. On the Origin of Species — Haven’t read it, don’t particularly want to.
8. Les Miserables / A Tale of Two Cities — I think I read the condensed/children’s versions when I was a kid.
7. 1984 — Read it, depressing end.
6. Democracy in America, The Federalist Papers, and The Constitution — unread, partial, read.
5. The Wealth of Nations — Unread.
4. Moby Dick — Read it.
3. The Art of War, Sun Tzu — [partially-]Read
2. The Prince — Unread
1. Ulysses — Unread
It is a wonderful book and if read, you will be confused as to why being called an Uncle Tom is an insult rather than praise. Most of my government minority students in college claim to know why Uncle Tom is an insult whereas when challenged to explain ‘why,’ it becomes clear rather quickly they have not read the book.
I’ve read #3 and #10.
After reading, “That Every Man Be Armed,” by Stephen P Halbrook and loving some of the awesome quotes about armed citizenry in that, I’ll be reading me some Machiavelli and Cesare Beccaria next.
“False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that it has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are of such a nature. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
—Cesare Beccaria
I don't know about Machiavelli. If everything else he wrote contradicts The Prince then so much the worse for everything else he wrote. If he intended to make the opposite point of all he wrote in the book, then obviously, he failed.
I guess I should list the books (they are listed 10-1, don’t know if that’s a meaningful ranking or not):
10. “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand
9. “On the Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin
8. “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo and
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
7. “1984” by George Orwell
6. “Democracy in America” by Alexis De Tocqueville
5. “The Wealth of Nations” by Adam Smith
4. “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville
3. “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu
2. “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli
1. “Ulysses” by James Joyce
I’ve read the list. I’ve also read War and Peace, in Russian, all 3 pounds of it. I’ve read The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire. Browning’s poems; Service’s poems (more to my dark taste than that of Frost, whom I’ve also read); Carl Sandburg’s works; Mark Twain’s works; Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, and Orwell; Huxley; Aristotle, Socrates and Pythagorus; writs of Stoicism, Epicureanism, and the follies of Bacchus; Roman philosophers and Euclid; a few writings of Madame Blovetsky, Crowley, Gardner and Buckland, mixed with Mather and Whitefield; Hammett, Spillane, Chandler, and Poe. To ensure that my American Spirit stays true to Freedom, I have read ‘Das Kapital’ and ‘Mein Kampf’, and paid attention to the speeches given by a certain Premier Kruschchev, when he endangered me and my fellow Americans.
I first read 1984 in high school and did not really understand it then. I've read it again a few times since then. Each time I read it I am more impressed.
A Tale of Two Cities requires a knowledge of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror to understand. It is an interesting period in history. Les Miserables is not about the French Revolution but rather a later time in France.
The Prince is interesting if you understand that period in the history of Florence and Italy. It is dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici and was Machiavelli's unsuccessful attempt to gain the patronage of the Medicis.
I doubt anyone except a very rare few have actually read Origin of the Species or Ulysses. The Wealth of Nations is an important work because of a few of the principles that are learned in economics. I don't think you need to read the entire book.
I have Read 1984, Atlas Shrugged, Les Miserables, and Moby Dick (from the list).
Not on the list, but I have read:
War And Peace
And Quiet Flows the Don
The Bridge on the Drina
The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot
The Fountainhead
Crime and Punishment
Captain Bligh’s Personal Journals
Dr. Zhivago
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Brave New World
Ben Hur
and Many Non-Fiction History Books.
Never liked Dickens, Austin, or the Brontes, but I have no “guilt’ about not having read them so I won’t lie! LOL!
I've read Atlas Shrugged which could be about 500 pages shorter. The Prince, 1984, and Moby Dick were all required reading in high school. I own The Art of War and Democracy in America which I may get around to reading some day. Of the others, Wealth of Nations is the only one I'd feel compelled to read.
why???? i loved Emma! :)
I read “Moby Dick” and was sad that I had finished it, much like “The Hunt for Red October”.
Finnegan’s Wake (parts only, even tried Anthony Burgess’s digest version.
Gravity’s Rainbow.
Never read any of them. Got close to finishing Moby Dick, but, failed.
In my opinion, there are very VERY few books that just have to be read.
For me, the Bible is one.
Others:
Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, Lord of the Rings, Shelby Foote’s Civil War (perhaps the best non-fiction novel ever), Stephen King’s The Stand and I can’t thing of anything else.
People disdain Stephen King, but, he can really tell a story. He has the knack for getting you to care about a character like a friend, just before they are horribly killed. Too bad he is a jerk in real life.
I’ve read Faulkner, and I know there are good stories there, but, just can’t get through them. Hemingway is a bore. Thomas Hardy and Henry James have great stories, but are too wordy, I get the CD and have them read to me. Must reads? Not really.
Atlas Shrugged; I used to read it once a year.
1984; had to read it in high school. Liked it, and have read it a few times since.
The others: Nope, haven’t read ‘em.
No foolin’
I need to read it about 99 more times at least and maybe some of it will sink in. :)
I read From Here to Eternity... I'm not sure why in hindsight... seems like I saw it on some list of recommended American authors.
Waste of time; the movie was much better with Donna Reed and Deborah Kerr cast as a couple of promiscuous trollops.
Both the book and the movie ended up with the guy killing Ernest Borgnine's character and then getting shot by the MP's.
The Bible is much better. Better than anything else ever written by anybody.