What should be the one mandatory book?

[uzo]

Tough choice.

BRAVE NEW WORLD, Aldous Huxley

Ahh yes ... we all know that Orwell's 1984 is a society where the flag is (sorry, I paraphrase .. haven't got the book handy) 'an image of a boot stamping on a face into eternity'; Huxley's Brave New World is a world where the flag is an image of a a sublimely vacant face smiling towards eternity, but only able to see tomorrow.

People whine and ***** about how our society resembles 1984? That's fucking bullshit. Our society does NOT resemble 1984, not even fucking close. Our society, however, DOES resemble the society of Brave New World. Extreme sexual liberation, the disintegration of family units, the doping of society with happy drugs, the disgust with the 'unproductive', and an incredible obsession with economics to the point that we are engineered from birth to PRODUCE and CONSUME.

With a few minor ethical issues removed (namely, the removal of genetic engineering taboos), we WOULD be in the Brave New World. And, frankly, I don't see it as that bad. Now pass me my soma tablets!!

 

[Syntax Error]

I just had this thought today and wondered what you guys would answer. If there was one book or book series that every literate person in the world would be required to read, which do you think it should be and why? Just one rule, no sort of scripture (for example The Bible, The Quran or, yes, even The God Delusion). It's too obvious and this is not a religious discussion.

I'm not asking about your personal favourite or what would be a good introduction to literature, but more about what should everyone know? Is there a children's book with a particularly valuable lesson, is there an old classic that should be read to get insight into what came after it, is there a modern book that's just so insightful that everybody should have to read?

I'm specifically asking about books, but feel free to apply it to games, movies or whatever if you so feel so.

As for my answer, I don't know, that's why I'm asking. I may edit in an answer based on your comments.

Serious answer: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It's about spurring the reader into ACTION so that he can start accumulating wealth through stimulating his creativity. THough it's primarily about wealth accumulation, you can apply the lessons in pretty much any endeavor. Really good book. Written in the 1920's-30's, but still pretty relevant today.

 

[KingofallCosmos]

A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson. Just as it says.

I do agree with the essential Eric Carle books...

 

[MozzUK]

Chiming in with "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (as it hasn't been mentioned yet).

 

[Seabear]

His Dark Materials. Fantastic real story of love, heroism, etc, But with science and religion thrown in. Incredible set of books.

Failing that, the QI Books.

EDIT- or Freakonomics.

 

[Aiedail256]

1984 was the first thing that I thought of, but Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would be a good idea as well.

I'd also like to say that every self-proclaimed fantasy fan should be required to read the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon and sequels). I would've been extremely impressed if the most unique aspect of its magic system was that it's the the only one I've ever seen that doesn't try to sidestep (or, in many cases, completely ignore) the Law of Conservation of Energy, but that's not all it does. By the end of the third book, that law in the context of magic use is the focal point of the entire plot! Magic + science = win.

 

[Zantos]

I just had this thought today and wondered what you guys would answer. If there was one book or book series that every literate person in the world would be required to read, which do you think it should be and why? Just one rule, no sort of scripture (for example The Bible, The Quran or, yes, even The God Delusion). It's too obvious and this is not a religious discussion.

I'm not asking about your personal favourite or what would be a good introduction to literature, but more about what should everyone know? Is there a children's book with a particularly valuable lesson, is there an old classic that should be read to get insight into what came after it, is there a modern book that's just so insightful that everybody should have to read?

I'm specifically asking about books, but feel free to apply it to games, movies or whatever if you so feel so.

As for my answer, I don't know, that's why I'm asking. I may edit in an answer based on your comments.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, also known as the True Holy Bible

I knew this was going to be up in the top few answers. I must only stress that it must be the 4 part version, not with the additional and not very good fifth part.

There's a sixth part as well...
Does anyone else agree with me that the 3rd, Life, the Universe and Everything, is the best part?

Oh god, when did that happen?!? They were all good, and it's in desperate need of a re-read, however from what I remember from last time I read it (last year maybe) that the 4th part was the best, if only for God's final message.

 

[Ostman]

1984 by George Orwell if I had to pick one mandatory book.

Ninja'ed on the first page! Honestly, I can't think of a better book than 1984 if we're really going to narrow it down to one. This is the only piece of written fiction that's ever left me terrified and unable to finish it properly.

I love the irony of 1984 being the one mandatory book that everyone has to read.

But it gets my number 2 vote, right after A Short History Of Nearly Everything, by Bill....Byron? Byson? You know who I mean.

Wuthering Heights needs to be banned immediately; it's almost worth losing our entire literary history for that abortion of a book to go too.

 

[Qmonster]

Some have been saying "The Bible" as a joke, but after thinking about it, that might be a good idea. It should include the Old and New Testaments, and also all the proper footnotes and background material that would be in a proper study Bible. Why? Well, after everyone reads it, no one will be duped by prejudiced or fascist diatribe spouted by people in the name of religion. Everyone could say, "wait, I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't say 'kill the gays and fuck the poor...'"

 

[Sir Rammington Steel]

I'm seeing plenty of books I agree with such as Gatsby, 1984, Mockingbird, and others. For the sake of diversity I'm going to go with either The Old Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, basically something by Hemingway. He has a style that is rare to find in a world that for the most part seems to always think that bigger is better. That long books trump all. And since I've seen some other people branch out, I may as well too.
For movies I'd have to say pretty much anything out of the criterion collection. If I'm forced to pick between a few though I'd choose either The Seven Samurai or Casablanca on the older side of things and for newer films anything in the Pixar library with the exception of the Cars movies and then...I'm actually going to go with the True Grit reboot. Lots of interesting things happening in that film.
Alright then time for television. I can't resist saying Avatar the last airbender as a prime example of what western animation is capable of. On the live action side of things I'll go with Dollhouse because I saw it recently and it's a good example of what can be done with a series that was cut short. To be honest I haven't seen that many conclusive television series so yeah. On the anime then since it counts as tv. I'd say Astro Boy as a good old school example along with some of the older Gundams. The Last Exile and YuYu Hakusho are also pretty high up in my book.
Lastly videogames. I'll pick one or two from each genre. For and fps I'd recommend The first Modern Warfare or of course the Half Life series. Platforming I'll say something from the Sly Cooper universe or Banjo Kazooie for 3d and of course Mario for 2d. For western rpg's The Fallout series along side the Elder Scroll series are obvious picks. As for the JRPG's I love just about anything in the Tales of series especially Symphonia and Vesperia. I'm highly biased but for me Tales of Symphonia is one of the greatest games I've ever played. In terms of action adventures or hackie slashies the God of War games are a good series to look in to and I like both inFamous games. Finally for third person shooters as well as one of my favorites overall Mass Effect is a must.
Well then, there's my two cents do with it what you will.

 

[Slaanesh]

Stephen King's IT. This book teaches you the very important lesson that if you believe in yourself, you can overcome your fears

Spoiler

and defeat a sewer clown in a duel by biting him in the tongue, telling a joke, and making him laugh.

Seriously King, where in the fuck did that come from?

 

[kenu12345]

i dont now if if should be mandatory but im reading the book theif and thats pretty good so far

 

[flaviok79]

The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. Would do the world a lot of good to just read it already.

 

[Zaverexus]

The Alchemist. It's simple to read and sparks some very interesting discussion, regardless of upbringing or locale. It's a very open book and is already an international seller. I think more people would have direction in their lives because of it. That's probably the biggest issue with modern humanity: lack of direction.

A good book, I actually read it a couple years ago in school, but in that same line of thought I think a similar, but (IMO) better book that I read the next year would be would be Le Petit Prince or
The Little Prince.

 

[The_Echo]

MEIN KAMPF.

Now, that might not be such a bad idea, to be honest. It's a big fucking book, so to do it practically, it'd probably only be selections from the book. Yeah, we all know about how Hitler was really evil and stuff, but reading his book would be a great way to gain some insight on how he got there, how he thought, who he was. However, I'm sure there'd be way too much outcry about it, so it probably wouldn't happen.

Personally, I think the following books or authors should be mandatory (or at least more widely used) in schools:

Of Mice and Men. There's an emphasis on dreams and working towards them that I think anyone could relate to or learn from.
HP Lovecraft. I think he should replace Poe's role in most literature classes.
The Odyssey. Mythology and a classic epic? Two birds with one stone!
A Clockwork Orange, with the final chapter of course. There's a very definite "you're the one who controls you" aspect, I think. There's also probably some political or social theme or criticism, but I'm not exactly well-versed in those spheres so I won't say much on that.
EDIT: I forgot The Divine Comedy. It could serve as a pretty sweet epic and a history lesson. (Dante having used real people in the poem, and many of them not exactly being household names, it'd be another twofer like The Odyssey above.) I'm pretty sure there are about a million other things people can learn from it, but it's been a while since I read it, and it wasn't academic reading so I wasn't looking into it too far, frankly.

 

[Zaverexus]

Some have been saying "The Bible" as a joke, but after thinking about it, that might be a good idea. It should include the Old and New Testaments, and also all the proper footnotes and background material that would be in a proper study Bible. Why? Well, after everyone reads it, no one will be duped by prejudiced or fascist diatribe spouted by people in the name of religion. Everyone could say, "wait, I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't say 'kill the gays and fuck the poor...'"

Would be a great idea if people would read it as what I think is an almost suitable use for it: as a metaphorical guide to decent behavior, not a literal manuscript for how to live life.

 

[CJanders]

Ender's Game

 

[FernandoV]

The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar. Taught me...something, but it was a nice book.

 

[Electrohydra]

Harry Potter.

Seriously, if you want people to learn from books, you first have to make them like books, and Harry Potter is probably the book that most children would find enjoyement from IMO. It's got plenty of action, not too long (the first one at least) but still long enough to be a "full" novel, it's nicely written (not too complex but still well done) and, even if they are not hidden under tones of symbolism and metaphors, pretty good life lessons.

If you can get kids to like reading (with books like Harry Potter), then latter on, when they are ready they will read dozens of the books you all mentioned, and actually try to understand them instead of reading it like a chore.