<p>My apologies. I took your statement to imply that "older" Nobel Laureates' books are better or more enjoyable by simple virtue of being old, and pointed out that The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850.</p>
<p>If we're moving into the international realm, The Trial by Franz Kafka and The Plague by Albert Camus are excellent reads.</p>
<p>Camus that isn't The Stranger, well played. Everyone should have to read Kafka too. I would highly recommend The Trial and this...Amazon.com:</a> The Complete Stories: Books: Franz Kafka,John Updike</p>
<p>For a lighter read, any collection of short stories by David Sedaris. He's quite funny and also a rather good writer; his are the best short stories written in the past couple of decades that I've read in a long time.</p>
<p>A few ppl said The Scarlet letter... I cannot express how much I disliked the book. It conveys an important message, but the literature was way too boring.</p>
<p>Hawthorne isn't easy, but I think the prose is beautiful. That might be why I'm ever-so-slightly biased toward English and American authors; at least some of the meaning is inevitably lost in translation.</p>
<p>Some more that no one's said: </p>
<p>It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis - a chilling account of a fascist dictator taking control of America during the Great Depression. Although published before WWII, bears striking resemblance to Hitler's ascension.</p>
<p>Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - although it's taught in virtually every US History curriculum, but not many people read it these days. Corny and racist, but at the same time emotionally overpowering.</p>
<p>All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - the quintessential anti-war novel.</p>
<p>Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo - All Quiet's lesser-known American cousin. Equally riveting.</p>
<p>I can't believe nobody's mentioned Oscar Wilde! Or maybe somebody did and I was just too obtuse to realize it.</p>
<p>Don't read anything "witty". Jane Austen may be "witty," but Oscar Wilde has wit.</p>
<p>Tolkien, Vonnegut, Albee, Faulkner, and Joyce are solid choices.</p>
<p>And if you like the real classics:
The Oresteia
The Oedipus Plays
The Frogs, The Birds, Lysistrata</p>
<p>And Middle English has some pretty good literature and is quite easy to learn, too.</p>
<p>I agree on the Oscar Wilde. I just played Jack Worthing in my school's production of The Importance of Being Earnest, too, so you'd think it'd have been fresh in my mind.</p>
<p>If we're allowed to put playwrights/plays, then Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard are at or near the top of my list.</p>
<p>I've read Waiting for Godot. It was pretty good, but I was too closed-minded to get the point of it. One of my favorite plays is Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot, not because of its meaning (which is very theological in nature) but because of the way everything sounds. It sounds really cool when read aloud.</p>
<p>We're in the middle of studying "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in English class. I thought it was pretentious garbage at first, but I've grown to like it.</p>
<p>And now that I mentioned a poem I remembered how much I liked Lewis Carroll, esp. "The Hunting of the Snark." There are so many excellent things to read!</p>
<p>I had to memorize Jabberwocky for a 7th grade project. Luckily, I'd already read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, so it was pretty easy. I never did get most poetry, though Carroll was pretty funny. I like Ogden Nash, but then again, who doesn't?</p>
<p>Joyless people is who.</p>
<p>I just finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
and it was incredible</p>
<p>"where do you guys find the time to read?? I mean with all those AP's, ec's, etc how can you find time to read a book like Atlas Shrugged??"</p>
<p>I love reading, so I pretty much find myself putting off things I acutally should be doing (HW) and reading instead..plus I'm a senior, and senioritis is hitting early!</p>
<p>If you love reading, you will ALWAYS find a few minutes (sometimes even a few stray hours!) to dedicate your time into REAL learning (books are the ultimate way to learn, not sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture!). </p>
<p>To add to the good book list:
-Third Culture Kids: The experience of growing among worlds</p>
<p>PS: I'm taking 3 APs this year, which unfortunately did decrease my reading time. I don't want to imagine myself next year where I plan to take 5 APs :(.</p>
<p>I cant' believe Lolita hasn't been mentioned yet. That, and Gulliver's Travels. We just finished reading this in my AP Language class and it's probably the best satire I've ever read.</p>
<p>GREATEST BOOK EVER..a THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X...fo reals though.,</p>
<p>Farenheit 451
Animal Farm/Anthem (can't choose btw.)
The Great Gatsby
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Crucible/Artemis Fowl 3 (can't choose btw...again)
(btw=between in this case...)</p>