Comment Re:Here's a brief list (Score 3, Informative) 796
Sorry, I think Catcher in the Rye is worth the read. Not life-changing, but yeah, read it - worthwhile.
++On The Road - awesome book - might supplement it with some third-party history of the beats.
Recommend Dune in the Science Fiction realm. Take the series as far as you wanna - but at least Dune.
Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug is essential for the web developer, and I think "Simple and Beautiful" by Giles Colburne a close second. Maybe top it with "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman - you'll never look at a door handle the same way again.
Recommend for ANY coder Kernigan and Ritchie "The C Programming Language" - such a brief tome, and a comprehensive document on how to write in the language that rocked the world. Would be a good read for any tech writer, as well.
Whatever they say about Steven Ambrose (and they say a WHOLE lot...accusations of plagarism, f.e.), "Undaunted Courage" presents the Lewis and Clark expedition in Technicolor - if only they could teach with books of this quality.
If you're gonna read any Stephen King, gotta read The Stand, for the sweep of it.