What's your #1 book that you think every tabletop gamer should read? And why?

[was]

JRR Tolkien and Jules Verne are good authors to start with.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

"The Complete Compleat Enchanter"

 

[Morrus]

I think this may have turned into a "quick, think of a fantasy novel that nobody else has mentioned!" thread!

LotR is definitely the #1 essential book for me. Not the best, necessarily, but certainly the most essential.

 

[Morrus]

Jon Peterson's Playing at the World, which discusses the pre-history of how the tabletop role-playing game came to be.

That skirts the line of "can't be gaming related," but since it's not a rulebook, I figure it's just barely allowable.

As the #1 book that every roleplaying gamer should read? Wowzer!

 

[Alzrius]

As the #1 book that every roleplaying gamer should read? Wowzer!

Why not? Sure it's a little heavy, being seven hundred pages of dense text, but don't forget: one-tenth of that is the index, so it's not that huge.

Of course, there's a more fundamental point to be made here; as an Inspector Gadget fan, I must point out that it's "wowzers," rather than "wowzer."

 

[sgtscott658]

Howdy-

My number#1 book would be the Thieves World Series and to be more precise the first three books are the best ones out of the series. These are the essential books any DM should read to get a good idea on how to connect the players to a city campaign with colorful NPC's personalities.

Scott

 

[Hand of Evil]

I just don't know if there is a good answer for the topic, just too many genre to address, each with their own #1 book. Think [MENTION=8461]Alzrius[/MENTION] makes a good point with Playing at the World by Jon Peterson but it is gaming related. That being said, Nine Princes in Amber, great characters, interesting concept & plot that can be using in gaming, from character creation and adventures.

 

[Jhaelen]

I think this may have turned into a "quick, think of a fantasy novel that nobody else has mentioned!" thread!

LotR is definitely the #1 essential book for me. Not the best, necessarily, but certainly the most essential.

Well, I felt a need to post an alternative because I _definitely_ feel that LotR is not it.
I might recommend LotR to someone who was interested to know what 'fantasy' meant, but not to someone wanting to get an idea what playing an RPG is like (espcecially since rpgs don't have to be about fantasy at all).

Actually, I was tempted to mention the Sandman comics, since they're rooted in real-world myth, telling (good!) stories with strong characterization set partly in past and modern times and partly in different 'realities', like the realm of dreams. So, Sandman covers almost everything I consider important for roleplayers of all kinds, except far-future sci-fi topics.

 

[TrippyHippy]

…and they should probably listen to Led Zeppelin too….

If we are doing ‘essential’ gamer books by genre, then I’d still start with fantasy (by far the most popular RPG genre) and choose Lord of the Rings.

If it was other genres, then maybe Dracula for horror (besides Lovecraft), Dune for sci-fi and The Illuminati trilogy for weird modern day conspiracy.

There are plenty of other iconic and inspirational sources, and not all of them sourced from literature. In fact , most inspiration still comes from movies and TV I’d expect.

 

[Nellisir]

There are plenty of other iconic and inspirational sources, and not all of them sourced from literature. In fact , most inspiration still comes from movies and TV I’d expect.

This statement surprises me. I find tv & movies far too claustrophobic to use as any kind of significant inspiration, so frankly I forget that they're there. I could see them being inspiring, but having "most" inspiration come from tv & movies?