If you liked "Atlas Shrugged", you will love "East of Eden" by George Steinbeck. It has some passages on self-determination that puts anything found in Rand to shame. It's a tome, and it starts slow - do yourself a favor and make it through the introduction of one of the villains, Kathy (chapter 8 or so). It doesn't slow down after that.
"The Watchmen" by Alan Moore. It may be a graphic novel, but the issues it raises on ethics and morality are chilling. I still think about the ending every now and then, and I haven't read it in over a year.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. In addition to the primary themes on class, race, and the killing of innocents, it has an interesting thread on living with your own moral code.
"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller. Ostensibly a satire of the military, this is a good self-reflection on the American soul (circa 1961).
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!". The life of a Nobel winning physicist and renowned professor doesn't have to be boring.
"Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer. The premise is too complicated to describe here, but it really delves into the cruelty and self-protectionism of the human heart. Plus, its hysterical!
"Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Describes the horror of war and the effect it has on the rest of your life.
"Chronicle of a Death Foretold" by Gabriel Garcia Marques. Tells the story of a murder that everyone in town knew would happen, but nobody tried to stop.
"Classic Feynman" is a compilation of Surely You're Joking and "What do you care what other people think?" plus some extra material. Highly recommended.
"Sandman" by Neil Gaiman. Also a graphic novel, but this series literally reinvented comics to me, and to many other readers.
"Lunar Park" by Bret Easton Ellis. Probably the safest introduction to Ellis if you aren't looking for a rampant gore-fest. Spooky, creepy, chilling, but also insightful, confounding and enlightening.
"Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger. Mostly recommending as it fits into the above list, but I feel like it was missing. I personally felt it was overhyped, but I'm the odd man out, as everybody I've ever talked to considers it profound.
I've read Watchmen, Everything is Illuminated, and Slaughterhouse Five. All were fantastic. The film adaptation of Everything is Illuminated was actually very good too.
Really? I've read both (along with several other Vonnegut books), and I thought S5 was much more though provoking. Given how quickly his books read, I might have to reread Breakfast of Champions.
Could you put into words the chilling issues about ethics and morality found in The Watchmen? I've read it some year ago, but I really can't remember anything striking, though I'd like to.
I believe he's referring to the end: If you could save the world, but to do so, you had to destroy New York City, could you? Should you? How much evil is acceptable in order to do good?
"The Watchmen" by Alan Moore. It may be a graphic novel, but the issues it raises on ethics and morality are chilling. I still think about the ending every now and then, and I haven't read it in over a year.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. In addition to the primary themes on class, race, and the killing of innocents, it has an interesting thread on living with your own moral code.
"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller. Ostensibly a satire of the military, this is a good self-reflection on the American soul (circa 1961).
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!". The life of a Nobel winning physicist and renowned professor doesn't have to be boring.
"Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer. The premise is too complicated to describe here, but it really delves into the cruelty and self-protectionism of the human heart. Plus, its hysterical!
"Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Describes the horror of war and the effect it has on the rest of your life.
"Chronicle of a Death Foretold" by Gabriel Garcia Marques. Tells the story of a murder that everyone in town knew would happen, but nobody tried to stop.