What are...

[benjdm]

1. Thomas Covenant series of books by Stephen R. Donaldson. Have since outgrown him some, but his books were the first ones I read where the good guys did not end up winning without a horrible cost.
2. Misplaced Childhood (music) by Marillion. My favorite for a long time.
3. Berserker series of books by Fred Saberhagen. It was what got me started reading sci-fi.

[tbach24]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">En respuesta a:</font><hr />
OFOtCN- As I have stated in other threads, I believe it is the most perfect piece of lit ever written. It has helped me inspect our society and the American Dream. Has a profound impact on me as a writer. I can read this book over and over again. There are very few pieces of art that have given me more enjoyment. I think I like this novel more than most people

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is definitely on my list, the other definite is Moneyball. I will extrapolate tomorrow and think about a third but I am tired now (spent all day finishing 1984).

On 1984/Orwell: Am I the only one who thinks he's a fantastic writer, but isn't very original? The two books of his that I know, Animal Farm and 1984, are both not his ideas. Animal Farm is based upon the whole early soviet russia deal (I need to reread this) and 1984 has pretty much all the same themes as this book (not a paticularly good read btw). I thouroughly enjoyed both Animal Farm and 1984, but they aren't paticular ly creative.

Tomorrow I get to begin my re-read of OFOTCN.

Also, I plan on reading 1 book per week outside of schoolwork this upcoming year, and will definitely read lots of Vonnegut. I read his book "Timequake" but don't remember it. I'll look into Kerouac as well, but as I'm still kind of a reading n00b and I've heard that On The Road is a tough read, I might delay that.

[RxForMoreCowbell]

Ok, I couldn't do this without mentioning 4 or 5, here goes.

1. Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain- This book interests me a lot because Huckleberry is a blank slate at the beginning, and through his experiences he forms his own morals and values. In his isolated world he is actually forming morals ahead of his time.

2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig- I found myself thinking about this book about 4 times as much as I did actually reading it, I think that qualifies as important.

3. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley – I think there’s a lot to be said for reading this book and then arguing what you think of Victor and The Monster. What that Victor has done is justified? If his intentions were good in creating The Monster does that make it not really his fault? How much responsibility does The Monster have for his actions?

4. Moneyball, Michael Lewis- Maybe people who don’t follow baseball closely won’t relate to this, but I think the concepts in this book apply to a lot of business and political issues. Whenever decisions are bound by “The Club” mentality he talks about in this book it leads to a huge flaw in decision making.

As a bonus, a movie
The Shawshank Redemption- I haven’t read the book. The movie basically explains male friendship in a way nothing else has.

[m1illion]

In no particular order

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - Shirer
Foundation - Asimov
The Players Handbook - Gygaxx

[baggins]

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What do you mean 1 1/2 books?

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Obviously, "Chosen by God" is heavily influenced by the Bible, and thus your two books aren't different viewpoints. And thus you appear a man of 1 book, which even the theologian Aquinas warned against. If you can only respond with 2 books (1 being the Bible and another a book about the Bible) when asked about influential literature, then you don't exactly come across as a person who takes searching for the truth or expanding their knowledge veryt seriously. Have you found your book of myths that suits your lifestyle, so why bother for more?

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wow. you couldn't be more offbase. the bible is a collection of poetry, narrative, history, songs, prayers, prophecy, and parable written by many different authors over a rather large span of time (in relation to the span of human history). Sproul's book is a spiritual self-help devotional written by one author in the last 100 years. although both are related, and cover some of the same concepts from assumedly the same perspective, neither one implies the content of the other completely. the scope of both extends outside that of the other, to a significant degree.

[baggins]

books:
bible (especially Job and Romans)
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Ender's Game series - Orson Scott Card
Maps in a Mirror - OSC's short stories and other errata
LOTR - JRR Tolkien

music:
Appetite For Destruction - Guns n Roses
F#A#% (should read F sharp A sharp infinity. there is no infinity key on my keyboard) by Godspeed You Black Emperor!
XO - Elliot Smith
The Rising Tide - Sunny Day Real Estate
Led Zeppelin I and II

Movies:
Moulin Rouge
Reservoir Dogs
Amelie
LOTR

[thatpfunk]

3 pieces of art, not 27...

I dont know how I would rank them but here are a few that ive reread recently.

Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test by Wolfe....highly recommended after reading One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck...I might have to read this one again after all the bullshit in New Orleans.

Night by Elie Wiesel....I read this a couple times a month. Short, simple but unbelievably devastating.

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, Catch-22 by I forget, In Cold Blood by Capote, and most Mark Twain are all good reads.

[udontknowmickey]

Important? I'll redefine and say "influential" pieces of literature

1) Bible - This defines my entire worldview. Sounds pretty important to me
2) Systematic Theology by Vincent Cheung - An extremely easy read, and fairly comprehensive too. Helped open my eyes a great deal to the depths of Scripture.
3) Back to Basics, Rediscovering the Richness of Reformed Theology - While I had a passing introduction to Calvinism, this book placed my knowledge on a firm Scriptual foundation. Rereading it, it opened my eyes to the other aspects of Reformed theology that is often times neglected: The Covenant, The Church, The Christian Life and how they are all impacted by the sovereignty of God.

On a side note, what's wrong with being a man of one book?

[NotReady]

1. Bible
2. All of C.S. Lewis - not even close after the Bible.
3. Tolkien