Twelve. (Note: Just recently re-read Stranger In A Strange Land. I would advise anyone interested in Heinlein's underground masterpiece to read the unexpurgated version. Biting social commentary on the intertwined power games of religion, politics and sex, delivered with Heinlein's dry professorial wit makes for a surprisingly funny, fast-paced and compelling read. The book builds to an inevitable climax that will rock your world. Can you Grok it, water brother?)

--edited by Carl E. Reed on 9/23/2014, 11:59 AM--

@Carl

Now that's one of the great books! Stranger In A Strange Land lets us see ourselves through alien eyes. (Well, the hero is human but he was raised by Martians.) I'm pretty sure that Intergalatic maps show our solar system crossed out in big red splotched "X"s to ward off innocent travelers.

@Lucy

Thanks for the list. Don't tell anyone I've also read A Streetcar Named Desire, Catch-22 (my favorite book on the list), Fahrenheit 451 (ironic, that one being censored), For Whom the Bell Tolls, Howl, Leaves of Grass, Moby-Dick, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Call of the Wild, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, The Red Badge of Courage & To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't wanna get banned, too. Wait- strike that last- what an honor it would be, too join that list.

Great list, Lucy. Those books tell us about ourselves.

Mind you, I read most of these many years ago - in a Catholic high school and Catholic college, no less!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Call of the Wild

Catch-22 (a favorite)

The Catcher in the Rye

Fahrenheit 451

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Gatsby

Howl (another favorite)

The Jungle

The Red Badge of Courage

The Scarlet Letter

Stranger in a Strange Land (a book that kindled my love for science fiction)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Where the Wild Things Are (and I've given it as a gift to kids!)