barrylyga OP t1_iy8so1a wrote
Reply to comment by Denirov in Hey there, r/books! I’m Barry Lyga, author of 27 novels in a variety of genres and I’m here to answer your questions honestly…or to make up shit if I don’t know what else to say — AMA! by barrylyga
Wow. Give me a second. Gonna think about this.
barrylyga OP t1_iy8t131 wrote
OK, here we go...
Oh, damn! This is a tough one for so many reasons. I'm not sure there are books "everybody" should read, honestly. What might prompt greater empathy in one person, for example, could bore another and have the opposite effect. But I'll play and give it a shot...
The Bible/The Torah/The Quran -- take your pick. Not for the religious messages or the moralizing, but simply because these books have become foundational texts for a huge chunk of the world. Might be a good idea to understand them, then.
The Scatter Here Is Too Great by Bilal Tanweer
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
A Prayer for the City by Buzz Bissinger -- he also wrote Friday Night Lights, but this book will help you understand the way communities come together and fall apart
Replay by Ken Grimwood -- because it just fucking rocks
ETA: No one is more surprised than I am that only two of these are novels!
barrylyga OP t1_iy8trei wrote
Realizing I will now probably spend the rest of my life editing this comment to update the five books as I think of new things because that's me. LOL
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments