What books would you say are "important"

[lastqueenofscotland]

A good friend of mine wants to read a few more important books (fiction and non-fiction)
I think King Leopolds Ghost would be right up there for me, but wondering what others most important books would be?

1984 is quite important right now I’d say.

To kill a mocking bird

Grapes of wrath

1984, Brave New World, Handmaid's Tale... but I like SF. If they want to read classics I love Rebecca, Jane Eyre etc. I'm sure there are lists of books which are classed as 'important'.

I think it's good to have a working knowledge of Shakespeare as it helps you understand references and other things, also it's very enjoyable.

Evryone will list the classics, so I will throw in a few which are not “classics” per se, but which have had a profound effect on me when reading them:

Half of a Yellow Sun
The Yellow Birds
Regeneration
The Things They Carried

Agree with both 1984 (control of information is truth) and Brave New World (we all have our allotted slots in society and are reared to be consumers from birth). Both scarily prescient novels.

Depending on your definition of important, I'd throw in Adam Kay This is Going to Hurt. a heart rending combination of laugh out loud black humour and a scathing indictment of the NHS.

Balearica I have already leant them This is going to hurt. Easily the most important book I've read in a while

Cather in the rye, Saturday night and Sunday morning

Testament of Youth.

We Need to Talk About Kevin.

The Handmaid’s Tale