What are some must-haves?

[beppe]

Originally Posted by Ea

Are you sure it was an Icelander? I'm kidding a little bit, but I would assume an Icelander would talk about their own ancient literature rather than Danish - their feelings toward Denmark are less warm than toward the other Scandinavian countries.

You shouldn't worry about Danish language as Gesta Danorum is written in medieval latin I'm afraid I only know Danish translations - and I don't read Latin. One of the stories is the first known source for the story of Shakespeare's Hamlet; Amled. I don't know any English translations - and given what I've seen of public-domain, English translations of other old Scandinavian texts, such as the Icelandic sagas, I'm not even sure I'd recommend looking for it. The style of those late 19th century texts are a bit over the top, it sounds silly IMO.

Equivalent Icelandic works are Snorre Sturlason's Poetic edda and Prose edda. Some of the same stories are recounted in both - but Saxo's history focus more on Denmark and it's more thoroughly Christianised. There's a curious bit of etymology; Saxo had to explain the old gods in some other way than gods, and since they were called the "Aesir" or "Asa" gods, well, they must obviously have been a powerful family immigrating from Asia

Thank you oh valiant Dane dame! If you allow me the expression.

He was an Islander for sure, son of a bishop and believer in magical intuitions (quite common to my knowledge among those inhabitants of the land of cold and heat). It is the book that now I doubt being the same. May be it is my Latin sudden enthusiasm of being able to tie a loose thread...

Well, your indications are both interesting and useful as i am always fascinated by myths and legends. Our blood and bones.

[SmartyPants]

i bleieve this thread is fast becoming yet another 'my favourite books' discussion!

and anyway, how DO you define 'Must read books'? That would greatly depend on your age, upbringing, culture, language etc etc etc....
What is being discussed here seems to apply manly to western culture... someone born and raised, say, in Japan, would have an entirely different list!

ok, off my soapbox now, i still enjoy the banter!

ps i think Julio Cortazar (argentinian author) is an absolutely essential reading... but thats because he is one of my all-time favourites. Kinda like Kafka-lite.

[ziegl027]

Originally Posted by SmartyPants

What is being discussed here seems to apply manly to western culture... someone born and raised, say, in Japan, would have an entirely different list!
.

Yes, and I'd love to see that list!

I guess a concept that I have about this is not "what books would you take with you to a desert island?" but "what books would you have in the space probe to represent humanity when we make First Contact?"

[SmartyPants]

oh, i just remembered another one...

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger. I consider it to be a must-read for all.
The author actually passed away in jan this year. RIP...

[Ea]

Originally Posted by SmartyPants

...

and anyway, how DO you define 'Must read books'? That would greatly depend on your age, upbringing, culture, language etc etc etc....
What is being discussed here seems to apply manly to western culture... someone born and raised, say, in Japan, would have an entirely different list!

Absolutely. But this is a must-have list, not a must-read - as far as I understood the OP I think that's why you see more emphasis on books as, how can I put it, cultural artifacts(?). I certainly selected with that in mind. I.e. what books feel essential to me, coming form the country and the culture that I come from? Say, Catcher in the Rye might be a good book, but it's not part of my literary heritage and I haven't a personal relation to that book either. That's, for example, in part why I selected Lord of the Rings. It's essentially English of course, but there's also a lot of Northern European culture and history reflected in it, and I react to that. And also of course Gesta Danorum and the Icelandic eddas and sagas. I've read a good deal of them, but, it's also books that just has a natural place in my book case.

Then of course there's books or authors that's affected one more personally, that are part of ones personal history. That's why I added E. M. Forster myself.

It would certainly be very interesting to see a non-western list

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by Kevin2960

CS Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia

Certainly the Narnia books seem cliched now a days with the films and other versions, but still the books are so fantastic, EVERY collection should include them !

I agree the Narnia books are very good and would encourage any youth to keep on reading. I'm not sure if something like Shakespeare would do the same. I read some Shakespeare in my youth but that was no fun at all, books should want you to go on reading. Perhaps I was to young and couldn't yet appreciate it, but I can't say I'm tempted to give it a retry.

[orwell2k]

So tough to pick a few must-haves - the list just seems to explode!

I did a quick listing below of books I find I always return to over the years, hence qualifying them for me as 'must-haves' in my library - paper and e-formats. I have loosely grouped them as 'classics' and 'modern' - implying older works (mainly pre-20th century) are classics, though the exact date is blurry if you look at authors from the late 1800s). Including Shakespeare seems like a cop-out, but there you go!

I am always on the lookout for new things to read, but when I am at a loss for something really excellent to read, or just need to re-imerse myself in something I truly admired, I will often pull out one of the following, depending on mood, circumstances, etc.

Most of the modern works are at least a generation or three from writing, so they have stood the test of time in some sense. They also include some favourite SciFi works.

I have included a couple of writers in a 'maybe' list, as I didn't want to exclude them but was unsure if they are really 'must-haves.' They could be regarded as what a friend of mine fondly terms 'airport books' - the glossily covered, 'trashy' items you pick up en route at an airport because you have no choice! I'm not sure we can call Michael Crichton 'literature', but I admired his efforts in writing State of Fear and find his ideas on science and society interesting. On the other hand Robert Goddard is still writing and has such a brilliant style and employs a nice mix of historical facts and modern intrigue that I enjoy most of his works.

But one interesting book to note is the latest from 2007, The Painter of Battles by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. I only read this in January 2010 and was so impressed with it I have already put it on my 'must-have' list and am considering a re-read - highly recommended! I predict it will become a classic of the future.

Some 'classics':

Homer, The Odyssey and The Iliad
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Cervantes, Don Quixote
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure
Shakespeare (if pushed to pick a favourite as all-encompassing it would be Hamlet)

More 'modern' works:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes Myteries
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (how could I not include this!)
H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
Jerome K Jerome, Three Men in a Boat
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita
Yukio Mishima, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Roberto Bolaño, 2666
Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Painter of Battles (2007) ** (highly recommended!)

Maybe List:

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Michael Crichton, State of Fear
Robert Goddard, Borrowed Time

Enjoy!

[beppe]

Originally Posted by SmartyPants

oh, i just remembered another one...

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger. I consider it to be a must-read for all.
The author actually passed away in jan this year. RIP...

Let's hope that the air there is warmer than the ... of a witch.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by beppe

Thank you oh valiant Dane dame! If you allow me the expression.

He was an Islander for sure, son of a bishop and believer in magical intuitions (quite common to my knowledge among those inhabitants of the land of cold and heat). It is the book that now I doubt being the same. May be it is my Latin sudden enthusiasm of being able to tie a loose thread...

Well, your indications are both interesting and useful as i am always fascinated by myths and legends. Our blood and bones.

You're welcome Oh, yes, many Icelanders believe in the little peoples all year round (the rest of us only do at Christmas )

It was just that I could better believe an Icelander recommend the sagas rather than Gesta Danorum. Egil Skallagrimsson's Saga is one of the best (and most renowned). And this version in English actually looks quite okay.

[beppe]

wrong post

[beppe]

Originally Posted by Ea

You're welcome Oh, yes, many Icelanders believe in the little peoples all year round (the rest of us only do at Christmas )

It was just that I could better believe an Icelander recommend the sagas rather than Gesta Danorum. Egil Skallagrimsson's Saga is one of the best (and most renowned). And this version in English actually looks quite okay.

Scores of thanks. I hope to find soon a way to reciprocate!

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by orwell2k

So tough to pick a few must-haves - the list just seems to explode!

I did a quick listing below of books I find I always return to over the years, hence qualifying them for me as 'must-haves' in my library - paper and e-formats. I have loosely grouped them as 'classics' and 'modern' - implying older works (mainly pre-20th century) are classics, though the exact date is blurry if you look at authors from the late 1800s). Including Shakespeare seems like a cop-out, but there you go!

I am always on the lookout for new things to read, but when I am at a loss for something really excellent to read, or just need to re-imerse myself in something I truly admired, I will often pull out one of the following, depending on mood, circumstances, etc.

Most of the modern works are at least a generation or three from writing, so they have stood the test of time in some sense. They also include some favourite SciFi works.

I have included a couple of writers in a 'maybe' list, as I didn't want to exclude them but was unsure if they are really 'must-haves.' They could be regarded as what a friend of mine fondly terms 'airport books' - the glossily covered, 'trashy' items you pick up en route at an airport because you have no choice! I'm not sure we can call Michael Crichton 'literature', but I admired his efforts in writing State of Fear and find his ideas on science and society interesting. On the other hand Robert Goddard is still writing and has such a brilliant style and employs a nice mix of historical facts and modern intrigue that I enjoy most of his works.

But one interesting book to note is the latest from 2007, The Painter of Battles by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. I only read this in January 2010 and was so impressed with it I have already put it on my 'must-have' list and am considering a re-read - highly recommended! I predict it will become a classic of the future.

Some 'classics':

Homer, The Odyssey and The Iliad
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Cervantes, Don Quixote
Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure
Shakespeare (if pushed to pick a favourite as all-encompassing it would be Hamlet)

More 'modern' works:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes Myteries
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (how could I not include this!)
H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
Jerome K Jerome, Three Men in a Boat
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita
Yukio Mishima, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Roberto Bolaño, 2666
Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Painter of Battles (2007) ** (highly recommended!)

Maybe List:

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Michael Crichton, State of Fear
Robert Goddard, Borrowed Time

Enjoy!

Fantastic list! My two favourite and frequently re-read Yukio Mishima books are "The Sound of Waves" and "Spring Snow".

[beppe]

Originally Posted by SmartyPants

i bleieve this thread is fast becoming yet another 'my favourite books' discussion!
.

Good idea! Innovative.

Come on people, tell us some must-haves.
(Please avoid your favorite books).

The best choice will win the first prize:
a little hammer of silver (to be used against your privacies)
Second prize
a vintage self flagellation kit. Used but in excellent conditions.

[Ea]

Hmm... a book I enjoyed enormously, recently, was A. S. Byatt's The Children's Book, and I'd definitely consider her a very important author in my own book collection.

But as for small silver hammers, I already have a few of this kind. Have never used them against my privacies though, and I don't plan to

[Ea]

Originally Posted by beppe

Scores of thanks. I hope to find soon a way to reciprocate!

You're welcome. It's no bother, it's one of my interests, I'm only too happy to share