Books

So i said i would post a list of books i think people should read in order to be considered, by me at least, a well read person of modern authors. Here it is, my list.

First i think people need to read non-fiction. It is no good simply to read fantasy books or mystery books or whatever genre you choose. By doing this you begin to exist within a simple echo chamber where you ignore all the real things going on around you. Furthermore the real word contains some of the greatest wonders possible (ha, possible, that's a good thing considering they are REAL) and also, for me at least, are very easy to empathize with.

So for the non-fiction books i recommend i say anything by Malcolm Gladwell. He writes books which have become massively successful about what makes ideas, or people successful and does it in a way which to me was engaging and made me think about what he was saying. Someone like my little sister finds them to be tiring to read and i have to agree, they are books which take time to digest but are well worth the effort.

I highly recommend the book Lucky by Alice Sebold, as well as any of her other books. All of her works are quite depressing yet they also are beautiful. It reminds me of the idea of seeing the beauty in the profain. Lucky is her autobiography which is simply... moving. If that book does not ensipire empathy within you and some kind of... pain inside then you are simply as hard as stone and as unfeeling as... i don't know what, it is beyond me to describe it. She is simply the best writer i have ever read, and if one day i can even be compared to her in a slight manor then i will consider it a success. I also recommend reading her fiction works as they both are simply brilliant too.

The next book i will recommend is also a none fiction book which couldn't help but remind me of Alice, it is called Bloodletting by Victoria Leatham. This is also an autobiography, though her story deals with something perhaps not as horrifying as Alice's at first but then slowly it seeps inside you and brings about an understanding which is as difficult to avoid as a bullet from point blank range.

I am also going to recommend the book The Game by Neil Strauss. At first this seems like the kind of book that will only be read by horny men, be they 13 or 39 (or older) but if you read it eventually you begin to find a story that in a way is similar to so many fantasy books. A young student seeks a power and begins to train under masters to gain it. Eventually he becomes on of the greatest and slowly is corrupted by his own power, until at the final moments he realizes it and gives it up for love. Whether or not this continues on into his life is up to the reader to imagine but the story is something you should read.

Don't give up on non-fiction books, these are only a few of the great ones i have read. In fact most non-fiction i read contains a brilliant story that just needs to be understood. The interpretation of writing we do tends to lend deeper meaning to works than actually is often there, but it teaches us about ourselves. non-fiction can do this very well if it is simply given the chance. The next list will be probably the longest, the Fantasy Genre.