Before we get to the list, I do want to take a moment to go over the criteria I used to make my selections. Firstly, I'm going to define everyone as being relatively Western--i.e. European, North American, or Australian. Loosely, we can say first world nations. African tribesman and Chinese sweatshop workers are off the hook, although I think this would certainly be an excellent introduction to western culture. Secondly, I want it noted that these are not the only books everyone should read--there are billions of books out there. There's a lot of ground to cover out there. If you want a longer list, ask me for authors or subjects.
The criteria are as follows:
- I have to have read it. (Which covers a lot more ground than one might expect--I average at least 3-4 books a week.)
- cannot be a series or trilogy, but it can be part of one (e.g. The Lord of the Rings is right out, but The Fellowship of the Ring is okay)
- it must either have unique topical content, or be the epitome of its kind (e.g. The Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and Battle Royale all have the same theme and it's debatable which is the best, so none of them is on the list)
- the content must be relevant to "everyone" as defined earlier (e.g. Twilight has nothing to offer anyone with a penis)
- the book should be relatively readable (i.e. not exceedingly boring or overly difficult to decipher--Chaucer is right out)
- the content should be such that it warrants rereading (i.e. you get something different every time)
- the content should positively affect your brain (i.e. loosely speaking, there should be some sort of intellectual value--again, loosely speaking)
And so, without further ado....
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
The Why: All too often, we focus on serious, literary works with all sorts of meaning and allegories and moral struggles and all kinds of bullshit. While you can certainly read that into Harry Potter, at its core it's just a fun story. Yes, you have your good vs. evil stuff and you have your extra special hero, but really, that's just the basis for a good story. Everyone should read a good, fun adventure with nasty villains, mysterious legends, and a fairly unremarkable hero. While it's part of a series, book one can safely stand alone, and encompasses an innocence that the later books loose. Plainly put, it's good clean fun, and everyone needs to experience a fun book. It allows the reader to a) escape b) use their imagination c) enjoy the act of reading. While there are a lot of books out there that accomplish this, I've picked Harry because of his accessibility. It's not a difficult read, and we can all relate to him on one level or another.
4. Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
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The Why: Picture books, while usually for small children, don't get the credit they deserve. From a cultural perspective, they are instrumental in teaching children about the world--these books are one of the first ways we begin to teach kids how the world works. However, picture books also have value for adults both as artistic pieces, and as reminders of what it is to not be bitter, jaded, and all grown up. The ability to see the world through someone else's eyes--nothing does this like a picture book. I selected Where The Wild Things Are firstly because of its art. There are a lot of beautifully illustrated kids books out there, but Sendak has a very unique style. Of his works, this one stands far above the rest in detail and in color. All too many kid's book have lame illustrations, or really cartoony ones. Sendak is one of the very few whose work could stand on its own in a gallery setting. As for the story itself, our hero is a very real character--he's no angel, spouting virtues. He's a kid who won't listen to his mom and gets punished accordingly. He runs away, and then realizes that maybe--just maybe--his mom was right. On a grander scale, we all do that. We may not literally run away, but we've all had that moment where we thought our parents were full of crap, did what they said not to, and then realized they might have had a point there after all. And best of all, when Max realizes that and comes home, Mom's forgiveness sits silently on the table in the form of a steaming bowl of soup. You can guess where I'm going with this. The point is, if you're going to pick a kid's book with fabulous art and a surprising amount of meaning in very few words, this is it.
3. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
The Why: Okay, now I will admit, this one is pushing it on the readability scale, but once you get accustomed to the quasi-Russian slang it's not too bad. What, you didn't think it was all going to be kiddie books, did you? Anyway, the why on this one is pretty easy. A lot of your critics and reviewers go on about the violence (rape victims should hold off on this one until they've finished their therapy), but that's not really the main point of the book. Your take away from this one is the importance of free will in the whole good vs evil quandry. Seriously, Burgess pretty well bludgeons us with this in the end, so if you miss it, you might want to just watch the movie (which is not only excellent, but also beautiful). As a society, we tend to gravitate towards the quick fix, especially when it comes to morality. It is all too easy to equate a forced good act with goodness itself. You can't make someone good by force--it has to be a choice.
2. 1984, by George Orwell
The Why: 1984 is always classed as science fiction, most likely because it's a tale of the future (of course, so is our previous entry on the list, but that one goes in fiction). You can call it a dystopian horror story, but I like to think of it as a cautionary tale. Orwell is great for those. This is the only fiction book I've read that is less fictional and more real every time I read it. There are so many concepts in this book that are relevant today--the idea of Big Brother watching us (this is where the term was coined), those in power reducing the freedoms of the people in order to maintain control, the mutability of history, and the way the masses allow it all. If you don't get nervous reading this book, you're not paying attention. This is very much a warning from the past, and one we would do well to heed.
1. Cosmic Trigger I, by Robert Anton Wilson
The Why: This may be a bizarre number one choice for a book that everyone should read, but hear me out. Firstly, I'd like to point out that while it's part of a trilogy, it can stand alone very well, and you can go on your merry way without reading the other two volumes. That said, those of you with more eclectic reading habits will probably recognize this one and either love me or hate me for it. The rest of you should be thoroughly baffled at this point, and for you I'll elaborate.
Cosmic Trigger serves two purposes: firstly, it is the best primer on conspiracy theories, new agey weirdness, and alternate theories of consciousness that you will ever find. It's Kookery 101. At least half of it is complete and utter crap, but it's up to you to figure it out. Once you've gotten over that hump (the realization that the author is not taking this nearly as seriously as you might expect), it's a passable deprogramming manual. If you take nothing else out of this book, it should be that you should be paying more attention and asking more questions. Don't take everything you're told for granted.
Now, some of you may be asking why I would include a new agey book, but not more traditional religious tomes (i.e. the Bible, the Koran, etc.). That's pretty simple. If I were to include any one holy book, I'd have to include them all. Not out of political correctness, but to give the hypothetical reader of this list balance. I sincerely believe that no one religion has all of the answers, so to only provide one holy book would make the list biased. There's also the fact that religion should be approach on an individual basis--there's no one size fits all solution. Besides, at this point, most of us have taken our sides in that argument, and all of the big religions are respected. It's the little ones that get written off as being new age mumbo jumbo, in spite of the fact that a lot of that new age crap is no more or less ridiculous than the more "legitimate" belief systems (72 virgins? A guy rising from the dead? A pantheon of gods repeatedly killing each other?).
The point here is, look at what you're dismissing before you dismiss it. Make your own decisions.
Think for yourself.
That's why my number one pick is Cosmic Trigger. By drawing a wide array of connections, it will force you into thinking for yourself, if only because you can't trust the narrator (Or can you? A disturbing amount of what he mentions checks out).
