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[NF] What book should every NF read?

shimsham

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I think my favorites are either Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World or Kafka on the Shore. I love the magical realist themes in many of his books.
 

hokie912

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I love this thread! I especially agree with the love for Kundera and Murakami. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is fantastic, but I've been enjoying some of Kundera's other work lately. And Muarakami's Kafka on the Shore and especially Norwegian Wood are two of my favorite books.

I would add Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamozov by Dostoevsky, although those may have more NJ appeal than NF overall.

Oh, also: The Road by Cormac McCarthy, while not specifically NF, is a book I dearly love.
 

scortia

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Speaking of Dostoevsky, I HIGHLY suggest The Idiot. Myshkin lives in his own idealized perception of people and the world, and people ridicule him for his naiivete and innocence. I enjoyed it, it looks like something other NFs would enjoy.

Oh Fyodor, always tormenting Jesus-types in your stories.
 

Gloriana

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Not sure if it's a series of books that would have particular appeal for NFs, but I would recommend all three books in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman. I couldn't get them out of my head for months after finishing them, they elicited that much thought and reflection from me. I just found them wonderful.

I'm also a huge Gaiman fan and would recommend "American Gods" to practically anyone who would be willing to listen to me recommend things.

Oh, and I was also traumatized by "The Velveteen Rabbit". I actually lost my favorite stuffed (best friend) rabbit when I was five and I think my Mom thought the idea of him having gone off to become a real bunny would comfort me. I spent a good two years on the look out for a real rabbit that was pink with a red nose. I wish I was kidding.
 

souffle

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The sorrows of young werther

Yes!

I haven't read most of the other books mentioned. Actually, in all my stress with being in my final year of high school, I've pretty much forgotten to read at all! But this thread has made me want to start again! I shall start with The Catcher in the Rye, I think. I'm also very interested in The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Thankyou for an awesome thread!
 

cascadeco

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Speaking of Dostoevsky, I HIGHLY suggest The Idiot. Myshkin lives in his own idealized perception of people and the world, and people ridicule him for his naiivete and innocence. I enjoyed it, it looks like something other NFs would enjoy.

Oh Fyodor, always tormenting Jesus-types in your stories.

The Idiot was good...but I remember thinking it was very tedious at times (and I'm a huge fan of books that others would describe as 'tedious' ;)), and I did find the character annoying at times, simply because his perception was so completely warped from reality.

LOVED Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment, though.
 

Ruby Tuesday

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Given how many books there are in the world, I find it fascinating how many NF book recommendations are indeed in my top 20 already ... Pullman, Gatsby, Steinbeck, Gaiman ...

I would also plug Susan Cooper's 'The Dark Is Rising' series, anything by Colette, and 'Smilla's Feeling For Snow'.
 

hokie912

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I love Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, too, (especially the latter two books) and I was SO enamored with The Dark is Rising series as a child.
 

Thalassa

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The sorrows of young werther

Yes, I second The Sorrows of Young Werther. and A Confederacy of Dunces.

English Romanticism, in general, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye (for the Fi-Si) would very much appeal to INFPs.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, too.
 

Thalassa

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LOL!

I understand.

Madame Bovary!
Tipping The Velvet!



Jacob Have I Loved (it's a young adult novel)
Phantom Tollbooth
The Namesake

the short story collection by jeanette winterson


Tipping the Velvet *is* a good book.

I actually like the other books you mention here, too.

I wanted to add that I love horror and mystery genre fiction, but I don't know how NF that actually would be.

I agree that Twilight is YE GODS awful, and Harry Potter got boring to me after the second book.
 

scortia

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The Idiot was good...but I remember thinking it was very tedious at times (and I'm a huge fan of books that others would describe as 'tedious' ;)), and I did find the character annoying at times, simply because his perception was so completely warped from reality.

He was in a sanitarium for a number of years, so that contributed to a warped view of reality. The only part I found tedious was the sheer length of the book and the many many characters (all with 3-4 names and numerous nicknames oh dear god so hard to keep track of).
 

Stanton Moore

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the Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby.

Tales of overcoming inspire me greatly.
 

Lux

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Thank you to everyone who has added to my already extensive library list.

I completely agree with the Gaiman books. American Gods was great. Another book that I enjoyed along that same vein and didn't see in another post was The Holy by Daniel Quinn. I really liked that.

I also enjoyed The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. That is a must for any NF (or anyone really) It's a children's book but it's beautiful.
 

whatusername

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Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

All Families Are Psychotic, Life After God- Douglas Coupland

In Our Time- Ernest Hemingway

(I also agree that NFs might enjoy On The Road and The Sorrows Of Young Werther)
 
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