What should be the one mandatory book?

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Twilight_guy

Sight, Sound, and Mind
Nov 24, 2008
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Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Once you read it and understand it, your mind will be blown, then it will reverse and implode back to your regular mind and then explode again.

werewolfsfury said:
the dictionary
Nobody reads the dictionary unless he or she is incredibly anal or has OCD.
 

Lizardon

Robot in Disguise
Mar 22, 2010
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People should read The Book of General Ignorance. Because most of what you know is wrong, and because you can read in the magnificent voice of Stephen Fry.
 

mikeybuthge

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Apr 28, 2010
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I am America and so can you by Stephen colbert, one of the easiest and funniest reads I've ever had
 

Bran1470

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Feb 24, 2010
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Mein Kampf! no just kidding.

The zombie survival guide should be mandatory to prepare use for the future Apocalypse!
 

TheLoneBeet

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Feb 15, 2011
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Alar said:
That's really hard to say, but probably because most of the books I really like are a part of a series. Maybe 'The Hobbit' or 'American Gods'. -shrug-
Damn, ninja'd.. although I sort of expected to be.

I'd definitely say The Hobbit. Why? Because it's THE fucking HOBBIT!!
 
Aug 25, 2010
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The Dresden Files (series) by Jim Butcher.

Not only is it hilarious, well paced and well written (not to mention that the audiobooks are done by noneother than james Marsters). But it also makes you think about the choices you would make when in his shoes. It is not as simple as good and evil but contains a plethora of shades of grey. Would you forsake the world for the one you love? Or run when you know that fighting means you will die?

He makes you feel for the character and by the end of the books you feel the relief coming off both yours and Harry's shoulders. Definately worth a read (or three).
 

Phantomess

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Sep 19, 2009
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Trivun said:
I reckon it has to be "Go The Fuck To Sleep". Seriously. I actually plan on getting that when I have kids, just to read it to them... ;)

Haha, no, seriously though, I'd say either The Colour of Magic or The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy...
Agreed, but I think my choice has to either be The BFG by Roald Dahl or American Rhapsody by Joe Ezsterhas.
 

That_Sneaky_Camper

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Aug 19, 2011
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I would say the dictionary for the express purpose of allowing our youth to grow up more articulate. In high school it was simply mortifying to hear pretty much half of my fellow school mates curse on a constant basis, my English teacher use to joke that "Fuck" was the only word that any of her students really knew. If they had to read the dictionary then maybe they could have some more interesting, colorful, and intelligent language.
 

Vern

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Sep 19, 2008
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The one book that should be mandatory is You and the Police. It holds lessons that you can actually use in encounters with the police. It's not a law book, it states your rights in first on contact with police officers. What you are required to say or provide, what they can ask you, and elevates between basic contact, reasonable suspicion, detainment, and arrest. Just because a police officer asks to see your ID doesn't mean you need to show it to him. Routine contact requires no more than to state your name.

As far as literature, I'd go with Crime and Punishment.
 

SenseOfTumour

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Jul 11, 2008
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I'd advise some Discworld, there's a lot of interesting stuff hidden away in what looks like a simple series of fantasy parodies.

'People's lives DO pass in front of their eyes just before death. It's called 'living'.'
'Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.'

It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.

Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.

And, while it was regarded as pretty good evidence of criminality to be living in a slum, for some reason owning a whole street of them merely got you invited to the very best social occasions.

Just because it's not nice doesn't mean it's not miraculous.

"I know about people who talk about suffering for the common good. It's never bloody them! When you hear a man shouting "Forward, brave comrades!" you'll see he's the one behind the bloody big rock and the one wearing the only really arrow-proof helmet!"
- Rincewind gives a speech on politics.

Essentially,after the first few books, it stopped being a simple fantasy series and started being a look at our own world thru discworld tinted glasses. Each one picking on a facet of our life, like music, sport, money, war, the media, movies, death, sexism, and more.