Slightly different from a "favorite book" thread. What's the #1 and #2 book you think people should read? You might consider naming a book which is in addition not extremely well known and read already, like The Iliad or The Great Gatspy, but, y'know, whatever. An explanation, short or long, as to why would be nice but isn't demanded. Rank them, or don't.
If you're curious, I chose 2 because I wanted to give people, and myself, room to compromise. I have attempted not to involve any discussion of plot.
The most important in my mind is The Outsider by Richard Wright. Richard Wright is in my mind the most important black author, and author, in America in the general category which "literature" encompasses. It's been about 7 months since I've read the book, but I highly reccomend it to anyone, whether they've read his other works or not. It is something of an additional commentary on the subject of being an American and yet alien addressed in Native Son, and borrows - which is among the most important techniques of any writer - from Camus' The Stranger, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, and other better known works without becoming less than any of them. It also continues Wright's tradition of considering elements of being black without allowing the work to be fully dominated by racial conflict or questions about equality - Damon Cross is an individual who has developed in spite of the conditions imposed by America on his race.
I reccomend it because, in comparison to Native Son, The Outsider is quite unknown as a work of literature and obscured by the success of the (in my opinion) lesser, earlier work. Not that Native Son is bad, but The Outsider was written by Richard Wright after his involvement with the communist party and reflects a further developed view of the world, not contradictory but appostive to the earlier work. But it is probably less likely to be read.
The second most important book is Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun - actually, that's a series, so I'll refine it to Shadow of the Torturer. It's the book from which I took the name Severian. It's fairly well known among science fiction readers, and even among people who aren't normally interested in science fiction, primarily because Gene Wolfe is among the best writers of fiction, period. His book, which uses the "unreliable narrator" technique is unique in that it only subtly reveals the dishonesty of Severian. His work is the closest I've ever seen literature to being dangerous...not because of the ideas it has, but simply in the level of originality and innovative writing. The Shadow of the Torturer, and its sequels, are not actually my favorite work in science fiction, but like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, they are a landmark in the genre.
He's easily a harder (hehe) read than Virginia Woolf, but if you put in the effort to reading his stuff the realization of some of the elements of literature he draws upon are fascinating. Another thing I note is that although I find most christian writings rather dry in terms of thought level, the theological stuff is poignant and thought provoking and he draws upon his faith in a way that really increases the quality of the work. And although the book of new sun is more sci-fi than it is christian, it is christian, but if you haven't read (at the very least, even if it's a subpar translation) the King James Bible you probably won't catch a lot of it.
It is not sci-fi in the traditional sense, however - it's a sort of "dying earth" book, and although there's a level of technological advancement, the understanding the characters have of these technologies is low, and really, the techs aren't the most important aspect of the book, as they are in traditional scifi. Additionally, the main character is a torturer and executioner. I will mention that although Wolfe rarely indulges in fight scenes, the third book in the series has a confrontation between the main character and a personality-copying monster which is probably among the best passages I've read in any book.
#1 The "Wizard of Earthsea" trilogy. I group the whole trilogy together because it should be read as one rather than in pieces. The series, by Ursula K. Leguin, is top notch in any way you would think to rate it. Leguin's language is beautiful, the storyline is immersive and interesting, and the main characters are all incredibly made. Not only is Ged Sparrowhawk, the main character of the series, representative of an ideal, he is also the most badass hero I've ever read about. The book's meanings is derived from Leguin's belief in Taoism. I don't really want to go deep into the meanings because I don't want to spoil the book.
#2 All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren. The recent movie did the book absolutely no justice. In terms of my personal respect, I am undecided as to whether or not this or the Earthsea trilogy should be number one. The only reason I put the Earthsea trilogy #1 here is because it appeals to a wider audience. All the King's Men is a long (450 pages) and high level book. The book is a parallel to the rise of Huey Long as governor of Louisiana in the 1930's and is about corruption, hope, and responsibility. Robert Penn Warren's writing is beautifully poetic. (He won the pulitzer prize for literature and the equivalent for poetry.)
I have one book, and one series:
The book, is The Killer Angels by Micheal Shaara. The book is about the Battle of Gettysburg, June 29-July 3, 1863. It is written in chapters with the name of a general or commander as the chapter title, and progresses in sections, such as Day One, and Day Two, and so on. It follows key events in the Battle from the perspective of Commanders, such as the battle for Little Round Top, and Pickett's Charge. It also delves into the studious minds of people such as Pickett, Longstreet, Lee, and Chamberlain, and the events directly preceding and during the Battle in their respective regiments, divisions, brigades, and so on. It's a very non-fictional read, a very well written one, and possibly one of the best novels I've read in a long time.
The second, is the Wheel of Time series, it currently has 11 books, and a prelude, and is said to stop at book 12. It's a fantasy series, with concepts similar to Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. There are several main characters, Nyaneve, Matrim Cauthoun, Rand'AlThor, Perrin, Egwin, and several other people, such as the Dark One, Moghedin, and Lanfear rounding out some of the evil people. Almost every character has some sort of 'preconceived destiny' that is twisted by book 7. I closely connect with Matrim, as he is often screwed over at the worst possible moment in life, similar to what has happened to me several time. The author is Robert Jordan, and I may have misspelled some names earlier in this paragraph.