Too general a question; there isn’t anything that wouldn’t offend someone somewhere.
Although I will say this: I have the hand-me-down family bible deliberately stored between Das Kapital and Wealth of Nations. I like to think that would offend ALL of my ancestors in some way.
Yeah, the question is too open-ended, and as you say everyone has a different perspective. Hmm, how about what books do you have on your nightstand / desk / whatever currently?
I have recently exhibited a fondness for military scifi. The authors *usually* tend to be rather far to the right of me, in economic philosophy, and more authoritarian as regards the power that gov’t should wield over individuals (as well as exhibiting xenophobic and imperialistic tendencies).
As to things people might find offensive… the only bible I owned is a freebie and, until recently, was helping hold up the bed frame. The Bhagavad Gita, however, is displayed right alongside Lang’s Color series of Fairy Tales.
We did a serious downsize about 2 years ago. Sold a couple of hundred books, gave a couple of hundred more to charity, sold all the vinyl (because the motor burnt out on the turntable, and I had digitized most of the good stuff). So my current library is very small, mostly classic sci-fi from the 50s-70s. But 2 of the series of books that caused the most uproar among the ‘God Fearing’ members of the kith and kin were by Philip Jose Farmer and Larry Niven. They do not jive well with the Holy Bible, or so they would tell me.
Oddly, I have not read much by those two gentlemen, despite the fact that they were pioneers in modern scifi. I did, however, pick up a free collection of Andre Norton stuff on the Kindle.
Much of my paper gets given away when I’ve stopped re-reading it. Which reminds me, I should go cull the collection again.
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