<p>Anybody want to recommend some books?</p>
<p>If you're just talking about great literature in general, I'd recommend "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. If you're looking for great literature and good vocab for SAT's or something, I'd recommend "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith. Books by John Steinbeck like "Of Mice and Men" are also really awesome....I just realized that there are soooo many good books I can't list them all!!</p>
<p>mlsmateo, if you're seeking for good books in an academic sense (aka building up vocabulary and preparing for SATs and whatnot), I'd ask your English teacher. Perhaps, also, you should read the "classics" - Shakespeare, Twain, the Bronte sisters, etc.</p>
<p>Otherwise, perhaps you should specify in what genre you're interested, so that the rest of the CCers don't recommend books that you would barely give a chance.</p>
<p>Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe (good)
Hunchback of Notre Dame- Victor Hugo (great)
Catcher in the Rye- JD Salinger (good)
Roots- Alex Haley (great)</p>
<p>We just read Things Fall Apart and now we're reading All Quiet on the Western Front </p>
<p>For SAT purposes, read the SAT version of Tooth and Nail and Frankenstein</p>
<p>Crime and Punishment translated by Constance Garnett; it is a magnificent book, and it has plenty of "SAT words."</p>
<p>The Scarlet Letter, as my English teacher said, has just about every SAT word in it also. Plus, it's a good book.</p>
<p>I feel like watching Sleepy Hollow now.</p>
<p>Has anyone read Franny and Zooey? I think I liked it better than "Catcher". I also loved The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.</p>
<p>I like Watership Down by Richard Adams, A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr, A Brave New World by a huxley... all were books read for school which were interesting to me.</p>
<p>If you haven't read 1984 yet, go do it.</p>
<p>Catch-22 has some fun vocabulary, and is an excellent book overall. I'd recommend that too.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!! The purpose I asked was to get an idea of what others were reading. Little late for me to improve my SATs but I need to read more for college.</p>
<p>I would recommend Candide, The Inferno, and Paradise Lost.
And The Scarlet Letter (definently) for the vocabulary.</p>
<p>Recommend good books, eh?</p>
<p>Well, there are plenty of excellent books for academic purposes that you will thoroughly hate reading. These include such wonderful things as Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye", as well as anything Steinbeck. Also, unless you have some love of the musings of an English poof, I'd stay as far away from Shakespeare as humanly possible.</p>
<p>Not all things of 'literary merit', however, are rubbish. I highly recommend "Ethan Frome", as well as "All Quiet on the Western Front", and, if you're in the mood for something more historical, try "Der Fuehrer". </p>
<p>Ehh... I'm a history geek...</p>
<p>empire falls!!! it was on the wednesday psat this year! AND it's very interesting!</p>
<p>hey, i've read "franny and zooey" by Salinger. but i found it to be a little frightening, so i like "catcher in the rye" more. $.02</p>
<p>Alexandre Dumas's "The Count of Monte Cristo" and most things by Hemingway are really good 2....</p>
<p>i second doesnotexist. "The Scarlet Letter" is one of the best books, and it also has quite a bit of high vocabulary. i loved that book :)</p>
<p>I guess nobody else reads....
What about War and Peace, that's thick, is it worth reading?</p>
<p>Arg, I did not like The Catcher in the Rye...the frequent swearing was very annoying.</p>
<p>I just finished A Tale of Two Cities. If you can get past the slow first book, the second and third books are really interesting. Great ending with all the loose ends coming together.</p>
<p>Holden ****es me off</p>
<p>a confederacy of dunces- by toole
its a guaranteed roflmao (in a restauraunt in my case)</p>
<p>lies and the lying liars who tell them- by frankin
another funny pick. researched satire on politics</p>
<p>and the dan brown series</p>