What’s the most useful book you’ve ever read? And, why?
Textbooks come into mind immediately. But then non-fiction books work too. I have learnt a lot from fiction too. Useful for me to learn something new. That way each book that interests me is useful.
How can one name just one? Can you?
What an interesting question. I think that fiction can be most "useful" when it causes the reader to think slightly differently/more critically. I guess that an example that leaps to mind immediately is The handmaid's Tale by Margaret Attwood.
ReplyDeleteAs a historian, I think that I would have to say the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides and (from a rather different era!) The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes by Jonathan Rose - both of which have really influenced the way that I think about the past - I guess that that must be "useful"....
Looking forward to reading more on this subject!
Hannah
I'm with you - it would be impossible to name just one book!
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteMost books are useful in one way or another, although as far as fiction goes, I can not really think how that has been useful for me,lol.
The Tightwad Gazette. I didn't even have to think twice!
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