What one book, fiction or non - fiction, would you make everyone read if you could?

[OnlyFangs]

I think mine would be Edith Eger's The Choice.

It felt like it profoundly altered the way I viewed my life after leaving a DV relationship. Powerful stuff both personally and on a broader level too.

I also absolutely loved North and South which I read recently and can't believe I hadn't got round to reading it sooner. And same for Middlemarch.

Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee

I agree with a lot of these and would add

A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry

Any of the books by Michaela Wrong - specifically I Didn’t do it for you or In the footsteps of Mr Kurtz

my favourite book which I recommend every chance I get. It happened in Boston? By RH Greenan

and also The Master and Margarita if we are going for classics

both books really got me thinking

George Orwell’s 1984.

I think that Jasvinder Sangera's Shame would be quite enlightening to a lot of people.

Yes, he is a lover of obscure knowledge, and at times can overwhelm you. His prose style can also be off putting. (Some have described it as ‘baroque’. ) He’s certainly not a tight, crisp writer (imagine the opposite of Hemingway or George Orwell). I could do without a five page description of the architecture of Prague, put it that way.

But at his best he’s wonderful - so joyful and life-affirming. The first half of ‘A Time of Gifts’ is one of my favourite things in the world, where he’s tramping along the roads of Germany in the snow reciting poetry at the top of his voice. Wonderful. The real joy in reading Fermor is simply spending time in his company.

Oh, and Fermor loved Wodehouse as well OP, so you’ll be with a kindred spirit.

The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe.

Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino - a really really important discussion on how we are approaching food security.

Searching for Normal by Sami Timimi. Recently listened to this on audio from the library and will be purchasing a copy when it comes out in paperback in March.

I would recommend these two non-fiction books: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown, and Wild Swans, by Jung Chang.

Dark Heart- the shocking truth about hidden Britain by Nick Davies.
It's a brilliantly insightful look into not just the effects of poverty but the reasons why social cohesion has broken down among disadvantaged groups, why education is despised, vandalism is rife.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahled Hosseini it taught me so much about the history of Afganistan, specifically its women, and is so pertinent again, now woman have lost all their rights once more.

The first one I thought of too. I read it about 10 years ago and haven't stopped banging on about it since.

You think you're green?

Read Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara. It's an expose and examination of cobalt mining in the DRC.

A certain chemistry by Mil Millington

Apologies for lowering the literary tone here

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

For nonfiction, I'd recommend that everyone read Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. Fiction is trickier, because subjective taste becomes more relevant, but one I've loved for decades and think has a lot of widespread appeal is Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga.

@Seacatt that’s my recommendation too!

I would add The Expectation Effect by David Robson

1984 by George Orwell.

Animal Farm by George Orwell.

However predictable & obvious a choice this is, the lessons it teaches us about politics & politicians; about the manipulation, exploitation & betrayal of ordinary people are timeless.

It’s like trying to choose your favourite child.
But. A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry is just wonderful.
And all of Khaled Hosseini. For all the emotions.
And The Hail Mary Project. For an absolutely perfect piece of fiction. Astounding.

OK. Mistry wins.

I think everyone would benefit from reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

Witch Light by Susan Fletcher.

The book has also been published under two other titles - Corrag and The Highland Witch.

Oh yes, I very much enjoyed reading A Fine Balance, too. I'm currently reading Such a Long Journey, by the same author.

Probably john boyne ' The Hearts Invisible Furies'
Anything by Kurt Vonnegurt