Slaughterhouse-Five discussion

I just finished sophomore year in highschool and since I have so much time on my hands now looking for some books to read. I never really read for enjoyment for the last year/poss. last 2 years really, but when I did(and I used to read all the time when I had time back then..) I really enjoyed the popular action books like the Maze runner series/hunger games series/etcetc.
I think it's time for me to step up the reading level though, because honestly there wasn't much vocabulary I didn't understand in those genres aimed for teens.
NOT looking for fantasy(eg. LOTR), typical detective/cop books, or plain stories of highschool/college life.

Thank you so much

Anything by Louis de Bernieres, but particularly Corelli's Mandolin or his South American trilogy. Recently read Mudbound and you might like that; also Cellist of Sarajevo. Just a few suggestions. Tell what you think.

since you're commenting on a book about time: Here, There, and Everywhere by Roberson; John Dies at the End by Wong.

since you're commenting on a book about war: Enigma by Robert Harris; For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway.

Since you're commenting on Slaughterhouse-Five, I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend books by Kurt Vonnegut.

Around that age I read Native Son and it was great (but sad). Another Country by James Baldwin is a good one too. I just read A Visit from the Goon Squad and that was very good. In non-fiction I recently read Sonia Sotomayor's book My Beloved World and that was great.

How about something old? Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. It's a swashbuckler from a century or two ago. Great action and characters.
Historical fiction by Rosemary Sutcliff- Mark of the Horselord, or any other.
You can look up tons of reviews on books here, I do that to help me decide.

Where Did The Towers Go? Evidence Of Directed Free Energy Technology On 9/11 by Judy D. Wood.

Hound031 wrote: "I just finished sophomore year in highschool and since I have so much time on my hands now looking for some books to read. I never really read for enjoyment for the last year/poss. last 2 years rea..."

Why don't you give the great American authors a try:

Faulkner-The Sound and the Fury
Hemingway-The Old Man and the sea
Steinbeck-The Grapes of Wrath
Fitzgerald - Great Gatsby

Just to name a few, This will give you a good base:various styles of writing and topics and see which you enjoy the most.

I'm taking your comment about 'Typical detective' stories at face value and am going to recommend some out of the box ones:

The BeeKeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King (readers often complain that they have to read her books with a dictionary)

The Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

If you like edgy sort of book with moral dilemmas then try A Clockwork Orange or books by Edward Bunker. If you like Science Fiction but not Fantasy, then I recommend the Dune series.

How ambitious are you? There's always some of the classics:

The Trial by Kafka
The Stranger By Camus
Lord of the Flies by Golding
Animal Farm or 1984 by Orwell
Any Steinbeck or Hemingway

Some good contemporary novels:

Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathem Lethem
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Embassytown by China Mieville
The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Try out the 2013 Grand Prize Winner in Fiction, Still Waters by Sara Warner.

You mentioned you weren't looking for the "typical" detective/cop books, but there are several books in that genre I've read that tower over the rest. The plots are more adult oriented and they feature main characters that are human and flawed:

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Down River by John Hart
Heaven's Prisoners By James Lee Burke

Burke, in particular, is an excellent writer and his books are full of beautifully written, descriptive passages that bring Louisiana to life.

You could start with the real heavy duty stuff. It isn't new but it is the basis for modern literature and philosophy. they're also just great books!
Don Quixote-Cervantes
L'Inferno-Dante
Anything by Shakespeare
Crime and Punishment-Dostoyevsky
Faust-Goethe
Anything by Homer
Anything by Proust
Anything by Mark Twain
Anything by Dickens
Everything by Kafka!
These books are eclectic because of age but, your vocabulary will soar to new heights as well your horizons. They don't call them 'the classics' for nothing.

I see that you haven't entered any information on the books that you have already read on GoodReads. I'd suggest that you do that as every book that you enter will list several in the right hand column that people who've liked what you've read have ALSO liked.

Many of the books that have been listed here ARE classically acclaimed books but they are not necessarily all great "starter" books.

If you've been a reluctant reader in the past I'd suggest that you try to find books that seem at least marginally interesting to you based on your abilities now. I JUST finished reading the original Dracula and I enjoyed it a lot but I probably wouldn't have in high school. It's not all about reading ability. Interest must play a part as well.

The poster just before me recommended Proust and Shakespeare. Both have value but it's a bit like suggesting that you leave the bunny hill at the ski lodge and head over to those double diamond trails. They really do provide the best views and the best skiing challenges but are you really ready for that?

I'd like to suggest some alternates that rarely get mentioned. They're definitely not Filet Mingon but a lot of high schoolers I know prefer a good burger and fries. Of course if you'd provide more information about what you'd find interesting better suggestions may follow.

The Beet Fields: Memories of a Sixteenth Summer A young guy leaves home when and tries to support himself as a migrant laborer. This book by the author of Hatchet will probably appeal to slightly older boys but NOT to their parents. This book is grittier and tells of a young man's coming of age but involves that taboo subject, sex.

Thirteen Reasons Why Hannah Baker took her own life and she left behind a shoebox full of tapes explaining why. Course if you're the recipient of that box, know that she blames you in part for her death. And if you don't listen to the tapes and pass them on to who she's designated, she's arranged for a second set to be released to the public.

Stotan! The guys on the school swim team and their crazy demanding coach. This is a great book about the male bonding that occurs between high school friends and teammates. Each has a back story and as we meet these guys we really get to like them as buddies. It's even kinda fun to spend time with them, especially since you don't have to do the laps.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower Story of a young man who joins the British Navy during the Napoleonic wars. The guy is an unlikely hero who's gawky, tone deaf and has almost no self confidence, yet has a "never let 'em see you falter" morale code that's so strict that it will not allow him to let others down if it's even humanly possible. This is a series of book in which he goes from a seasick midshipman to one of the most respected Admirals in the British Navy. And what you learn about the times is amazing.

Soldier Boys Told from two points of view Dieter, a young German boy swept up into the Hitler Youth, and Spencer, a young Mormon boy, who quits high school in order to enlist in the paratroopers. Perhaps Spenser's christian act of heroism toward the end of the book will be seen, appreciated and possibly even emulated by those most in need of the example. This novel is a fast read and for the most part an easy one. And yet, it's worth the time. This book doesn't dwell on the misery like Erich Maria Remarque did in his classic All Quiet on the Western Front but it gets the story told.

Again, these are just a few possibilities. It's really up to you where you go from here but You could do worse than checking out a few of YA listopia lists on this site and reading the plot summaries of the books people have listed.

Hound031 wrote: "I just finished sophomore year in highschool and since I have so much time on my hands now looking for some books to read. I never really read for enjoyment for the last year/poss. last 2 years rea..."

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, 2666 by Roberto Bolano. Hope you like them. They're lifechanging. :)

Try Stranger in a Strange Land and Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein and Dune by Frank Herbert. Science Fiction that transcends the genre and speaks to universal themes...fun too! Perfect for Summer Reading. Enjoy!

Booyah!

I applaud the comment on recommending Stranger in a Strange Land. After all these years, I still think that's one of the best books I've ever read. Enjoy! For straight up enjoyment (maybe pushing yourself a little)the classics recommended are great. I'd also recommend some biographies or autobiographies. Look at 20th Century influencers, e.g. Churchill, JFK, Nixon, as well as Malcolm X. You'll find a variety of stories and they'll be true! Another possibility is the U.S. Civil War - so many books have been written and many of them not conventional history. You may enjoy Shelby Foote, Jeff Shaara, or even Stephen Carter's The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln.
Good luck and let us know how you do!

Stranger in a Strange Land
Catch 22
Siddartha
One Flew Over the Coocoo's nest
The Electric Koolaid Acid Test
God bless you Mr Rosewater
Steppenwolf
Catcher in the Rye

These were all the books I loved when I was your age.

I'd recommend developing a taste for non-fiction. It didn't happen for me until I was much older, but if you get used to it now, I think you'll find college reading much easier.

Non-fiction recommendations:

Start light with Malcolm Gladwell, especially Outliers
Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics
For history/comedy: Assassination Vacation, to be followed up with history/detective story: Manhunt
And if you like science: Polio: An American Story

Memoirs are also good. Kurt Vonnegut's son wrote one about his life as a hippie in the 60's: The Eden Express

I think I read Slaughterhouse-Five for the first time when I was a senior in high school. After that, I discovered beat poetry and read a lot of Kerouc and Ginsberg. One of my favorites in this genre of books is by a more obscure author, though. Richard Farina. I highly recommend this book:



Been Down So Long it Looks Like Up to Me is a great book.

This is such a great topic, I'm looking at these books for ME to read (in some cases reread)!

Alex wrote: "I think I read Slaughterhouse-Five for the first time when I was a senior in high school. After that, I discovered beat poetry and read a lot of Kerouc and Ginsberg. One of my favorites in this gen..."

Loved Farina's only novel. Thanks for the reminder.

I am really thinking jumping from the hunger games to faust or Faulkner as some of you are recommending is a bit of a leap. I really like the Catcher in the Rye, but my friend absolutely hated it. The Last Child is really good, action/mystery but definitely not your typical mystery. Elmore Leonard is funky and cool but not sure you would get the humor I forget what it is like to be your age. Dark Objects creepy but funny and not a typical mystery by Gillian Flynn. Okay I am recommending alot of dark stuff I notice. Hmmmm Tom Sawyer is really good. How about Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice, or To Kill A Mockingbird I LOVED that book. The Book Thief which is YA but honestly when I picked it up and read it I had no idea it was YA. I loved that book too. I know there is a really good one I am forgetting. I will get back to you

If you like murder mysteries, try reading one of my books (Dead Scare, Speak No Evil, The Killing Game)!

David DeMello

it's hard to know what would interest you with so little information about your taste. If Slaughterhouse-Five is an example of what you enjoy, you could try Fahrenheit 451. If it's a war novel you are looking for, there's All Quiet on the Western Front and its sequel The Road Back. Or, if you want something a little more modern, Catch-22 or The Things They Carried.

Kurt Vonnegut has been mentioned but not his magic realism novel Galapagos. It is a scathing comment on humanity leavened by humour and surreal happenings. A highly original short novel! Humans have evolved into seal-like aquatic creatures.

I like Hemingway, reccomend "A Farewell to Arms" my fave, book from Highschool, then there's the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Not much on vocabulary, but excellent on style. Also I reccomend The Story of O, while it is labled "erotica" it really isn't that racy, and it is great literary read. Vocab good, also try to find a new translation. The original leaves out the last chapter.

Hound031 wrote: "I just finished sophomore year in highschool and since I have so much time on my hands now looking for some books to read. I never really read for enjoyment for the last year/poss. last 2 years rea..."

Have you read M. T. Anderson's Feed? Or for something a good deal older but still very current, you might try A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick.

I think you would like anything by Jon Krakauer. Into Thin Air is about 1996 MT. Everest Disater. Into the Wild about a young man who gave up everything & ended up dead in an Alaskan wilderness. Under the banner of heaven about a religious killing in Utah. These are great summer reads. You will learn about stuff without the stuffiness. Good summer reads.

Have you tried Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? An older novel, but it certainly doesn't read that way.

Try Phillip K. Dick. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is a completely unorthodox detective stort set in the future. He has lots of titles to inspire the young mind.

Have you read Anne Bishop's "Written in Red" & "Murder of Crows"? If not give them a try. These are not books I would have picked up but had to read the first one for my book club & really enjoyed it.

Almost forgot. If you're looking for something a little lighter & really entertaining, Kevin Hearne has the Iron Druid series. Hilarious!

Hi.
Don't know if this helps. A personal choice from a lifetime of reading:

JOHN A. LITTLE’S SUGGESTED 100 NOVELS TO READ BEFORE YOU READ ANY OF HIS (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

BRIAN MOORE LIES OF SILENCE
RICHARD FORD THE LAY OF THE LAND
JOHN UPDIKE IN THE BEAUTY OF THE
LILIES
JOHN WILLIAMS STONER
URSULA HEGI STONES FROM A RIVER
PAUL AUSTER THE NEW YORK TRILOGY
J. M. COETZEE DISGRACE
MARTIN AMIS THE INFORMATION
HOUSE OF MEETINGS
BRAM STOKER DRACULA
CORMAC MCCARTHY BLOOD MERIDIAN
TIM WINTON CLOUDSTREET
HERMAN HESSE STEPPENWOLF
ROBERT PENN WARREN ALL THE KING’S MEN
THEODORE DREISER AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY
TONI MORRISON BELOVED
WILLIAM FAULKNER INTRUDER IN THE DUST
EVELYN WAUGH BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD TENDER IS THE NIGHT
HENRY ROTH CALL IT SLEEP
KINGSLEY AMIS LUCKY JIM
VIRGINIA WOOLF MRS DALLOWAY
E. M. FORSTER A ROOM WITH A VIEW
MAURICE
A. S. BYATT POSSESSION
RICHARD YATES REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
ERNEST HEMINGWAY THE SUN ALSO RISES
HENRY MILLER TROPIC OF CANCER
TROPIC OF CAPRICORN
JEAN RHYS WIDE SARGOSSA SEA
SEBASTIAN FAULKS BIRDSONG
THOMAS HARDY FAR FROM THE MADDING
CROWD
TESS OF THE
D’URBERVILLES
L. P. HARTLEY THE GO-BETWEEN
IAN MCEWAN BLACK DOGS
ENDURING LOVE
SANDOR MARAI EMBERS
GRAHAM SWIFT WATERLAND
THE SWEET-SHOP OWNER
JOSE SARAMAGO BLINDNESS
HERMAN MELVILLE MOBY-DICK
D. H. LAWRENCE LADY CHATTERLY’S
LOVER
SONS AND LOVERS
ALBERT CAMUS THE STRANGER
J. G. FARRELL TROUBLES
JOSEPH HELLER CATCH-22
PENELOPE LIVELY MOON TIGER
WILLIAM STYRON THE CONFESSIONS OF
NAT TURNER
SOPHIE’S CHOICE
JAMES AGEE A DEATH IN THE FAMILY
JOHN FOWLES THE MAGUS
DORIS LESSING THE GOOD TERRORIST
THE DIARY OF JANE
SOMERS
JAMES BALDWIN GIOVANNI’S ROOM
CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD A SINGLE MAN
JOHN STEINBECK SWEET THURSDAY
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
CARSON MCCULLERS REFLECTIONS IN A
GOLDEN EYE
THE MEMBER OF THE
WEDDING
THE HEART IS A LONELY
HUNTER
GRAHAM GREENE THE END OF THE AFFAIR
THE HEART OF THE
MATTER
THE POWER AND THE
GLORY
RICHARD WRIGHT NATIVE SON
VLADIMIR NABOKOV LOLITA
WALKER PERCY THE MOVIE-GOER
COLM TOIBIN THE MASTER
WILLIAM TREVOR FOOLS OF FORTUNE
FELICIA’S JOURNEY
THE STORY OF LUCY
GAULT
HANIF KUREISHI GABRIEL’S GIFT
JONATHAN FRANZEN THE CORRECTIONS
BARBARA KINGSOLVER THE POISONWOOD BIBLE
PETER CAREY OSCAR AND LUCINDA
JACK MAGGS
JOHN BANVILLE THE BOOK OF EVIDENCE
ANNE MICHAELS FUGITIVE PIECES
KAZUO ISHIGURO THE REMAINS OF THE
DAY
BERNHARD SCHLINK THE READER
THE WEEKEND
PATRICK MCCABE THE BUTCHER BOY
JIM CRACE SIGNALS OF DISTRESS
QUARANTINE
PAT BARKER REGENERATION
LORRIE MOORE ANAGRAMS
WHO WILL RUN THE FROG
HOSPITAL?
BRUCE CHATWIN ON THE BLACK HILL
IRIS MURDOCH THE SEA, THE SEA
LAURIE LEE CIDER WITH ROSIE
BORIS PASTERNACK DR. ZHIVAGO
WILLIAM MAXWELL THE CHATEAU
PETER TAYLOR A SUMMONS TO MEMPHIS
ROBERT MORGAN GAP CREEK
FLANNERY O’CONNOR WISE BLOOD
IVAN TURGENEV FATHERS AND SONS
ISAK DINESON OUT OF AFRICA
STEFAN ZWEIG BEWARE OF PITY
MARY SHELLEY FRANKENSTEIN
SOMERSET MAUGHAM THE MOON AND SIXPENCE
WILKIE COLLINS THE MOONSTONE

Lucifer’s Hammer - by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
wow

Since you're that young, I suggest you a series that generally pleases people your age:
Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1)

I know, the title is not inspiring, but the book will (inspire you, I mean). :)

You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Wool-Hugh-Howey...

And if you like thrillers: Uncaged
I couldn't put it down until the end.

You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Uncaged-Joe-Gaz...

Good reading!

Paolo wrote: "Lucifer’s Hammer - by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
wow"

Haha I remember reading that when I was young(er). Great book!!

Since you're posting this based on Slaughterhouse Five, why don't you try some more of Vonnegut? I reccomend Cat's Cradle for a starter.

If you're looking for similar authors, try One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey or A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.

For God's sake don't read Ayn Rand. It'll ruin you. Seen it happen.

Daniel Quinn, Jeff Schmidt and John Taylor Gatto have some interesting ideas about education. The world would have made more sense had I read them earlier.

antiwar sci-fi classic (not real sci-fi), sometimes humorius , sometimes tragic, but often a real war atrocities from WWII, not long read, so get on it and enjoy

glad someone mentioned Catcher In the Rye, may be out of fashion now, but that's good.
The frirst vonnegut i read was The Sirens of Titan, then i read everythingi could find of his. It was still early in his career. Yeah i think Proust is a stretch. It's only now making sense to me decades later.
Joyce's Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man, difficult, but gets you to college level.
And All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren, now that's a page-turner.

Great Expectations if you haven't already read it.

For some humor, I always think Christopher Moore is a fun ride.

The Collector by John Fowles.

And, I haven't read it yet, though I've read others by John Irving, but I feel like I've seen The World According to Garp recommended for up and coming readers.

I assume you mean for fans of Slaughterhouse-Five? If so, HItchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Catch-22. Check out Christopher Moore. Cat's Cradle also by Vonnegut.

Absolutely agree that Cat's Cradle is the best intro to Vonnegut.