What are MUST read books for both readers and writers?

[GatorDeb]

I'm looking for 2 lists. One is the essential books every writer SHOULD own... i.e. Elements of Style. The other one is a list of what most people would agree is REQUIRED reading... something like War and Peace.

Thoughts?

 

[abecedarian]

The Bible! Aside from its religious significance, for sheer culture literacy, I'd say it is needed to understand the works of most major writers from Western Civilzation. Even writers from other traditons draw heavily on it from time to time, as I experienced recently with Shusako Endo's Wonderful Fool. That book was packed with Biblical references and themes.

 

[PipPirrip]

abecedarian,

Who are you thinking of when you talk about the majority of major writers? I can think of a handful that reading the Bible is necessary to understand, but the majority?

 

[dele]

For aspiring writers, I'd suggest reading everything you can get your hands on. Read lots of classic literature (Bible too). There's nothing worse than reading an author who thinks he's so original and new, but has no background in the his field.

 

[The waveguide]

The Bible! Aside from its religious significance, for sheer culture literacy, I'd say it is needed to understand the works of most major writers from Western Civilzation.

I had 7 years at school of this stuff. I don't see much point in it. I mean- it is OK, I may follow the writers' hints without any effort from my side. However, there are many more, non-bible-related hints, that I miss... I miss the references referring to Ramayana and Mahabharata, Koran, Karl-Marks/Lenin teaching, and so on. Read all of them - and you are on the safe side.

As important as the bible is also the Einstein's General Relativity. That's can be important both as a cultural and as an intellectual challenge. Could be great for SF writers.

Knowing the basics of all above, the writer can make amazing references to our WORLD culture as a whole, and become a cosmopolite writer (I mean not only WESTERN-civilization writer (well, is it really so valuable in your eyes- being WESTERN?), but a writer belonging to this world)

 

[ewomack]

A single person can't read everything in a lifetime. Even a list of "essentials" would probably grow too large for those who have jobs, kids, etc. In the end, read what you can. Read what makes sense. For some topics you can fall back on secondary sources. For instance, if you want to know about Nietzsche you could just read a good biography on him or a general survey of his work. Would you actually read all of his books? That depends. A writer doesn't need a photographic file cabinet of all the world's classics to create a good read.

 

[bookworm fellow]

(...)As important as the bible is also the Einstein's General Relativity. That's can be important both as a cultural and as an intellectual challenge. Could be great for SF writers.

Knowing the basics of all above, the writer can make amazing references to our WORLD culture as a whole, and become a cosmopolite writer (I mean not only WESTERN-civilization writer (well, is it really so valuable in your eyes- being WESTERN?), but a writer belonging to this world)

That's interesting. By the way, I've never read an authentic Oriental literary piece. I picked this expression authentic Oriental because I wanted to set aside Salman Rushdie and Khaled Hosseini works. I refer to literature made in the Orient without an Occidental influence. Those authors I’ve cited may write about stories passed in Oriental cultures, but as narrators of the text they do it through an Occidental view. Well, I speak for myself, concerning only the books of their authorial I’ve read: “The Kite Runner” and “Shalimar, the clown”, which as matter of fact are great. I'm not saying the Occident influence is bad! Lol (I am an Occidental, if it would make any difference. ) I am just wondering how would look like a novel written in the Orient before the phenomenon started with the great age of sail and nowadays called globalization - or at least if exist any known work of such nature.