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one work of fiction EVERYONE should read?

Can't choose just one. I don't think anyone could, really. But IF I had to choose a select few....

Ender's Game
1984
LOTR Trilogy (or perhaps just The Hobbit)
Atlas Shrugged

Few others I'm forgetting.
 
I agree it should be read; it is not for everyone though :laughing

You are right, it is not for everyone. But a lot of adolescents would benefit from reading it. It is a good coming of age story like A Catcher in the Rye. It shows alienated kids that they are not alone, and inspires them to thrive in life regardless of their real or perceived disadvantages. A blueprint for creating your own tight knit sideshow is just a bonus for adult readers.
 
I've read 1984 [also Animal Farm] and Atlas Shrugged.
I understand if you wish to recommend people to read those books for if the message they convey is an important idea to you.
But they are far from what I would consider great reading books.
 
Fiction: Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Non-fiction: The Electric Koolaid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Honorable mention: To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee & The Razors Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
 
People on BARF be thinking that Ayn Rand is like George Eliot or something. Damn.
 
I thought about putting 1984, but if the whole world is going to read it, I'd want something more positive and uplifting which would encourage goodwill among all people.

Then I realized that's not the kind of book I normally read so I have no idea. Certainly not Rand, though.
 
Cold Shower

Can't believe it took 14 hours and ME to mention it. C'mon people!

I've been going back and reading classics thanks to The Guttenberg Project. I don't think I've read the one book everyone should read, yet. I like the complete works of Bill S. idea, though.
 
I liked Fountainhead because of the idea of compromise. It really got me thinking about compromise in almost every situation.
 
King Lear, to introduce people to real life.
 
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+1 for Brave New World (or just about anything buy Huxley)
 
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