What's your favourite book?

[Jacob]

There was a "What's your favourite movie?" thread, I figured there should be one for books - since I know lots of the people here enjoy a book here and there when they aren't reading these forums.

Mine would have to be 1984 by George Orwell. I've read it at least 3 times and each time I just can't put it down. For some reason I NEED to read what happens next, even though I already know...

So, what are the books that you lose sleep over because you just HAVE TO read one more chapter...

[Sheynk]

Definatly The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas ....

I read Animal Farm by George Orwell....very interesting

[Steven Cedrone]

Might be easier to do this by author...

I like all of Clive Cussler's books. Also, Tom Clancy, Arthur Conan Doyle, C.S. Forester, James Herriot, Isaac Asimov, some Steven King stuff (not the horror novels though)...

Some of my favorite books are: 1984, The Pearl, The Walking Drum, The Second Son, Aztec, The Eyes Of The Dragon, plus anything from any of the authors above...

Steve

[Kati Compton]

On A Pale Horse, by Piers Anthony

The rest of Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality I like quite a bit, though other standouts for me are With A Tangled Skein, Being a Green Mother, For Love of Evil (gets a bit gross in parts), and And Eternity is a good wrap-up to the series.

Split Infinity/Blue Adept, by Piers Anthony

Dragonsong/Dragonsinger, by Anne McCaffrey

Nerikla's Quest, by Anne McCaffrey

Crystal Singer, by Anne McCaffrey

Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Dune, by Frank Herbert

The Deed of Paksenarrion, by Elizabeth Moon

The Fire Rose, by Mercedes Lackey

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card



Most of the Heralds of Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey are very good (well, from my point of view), but I can't think of one that particularly stands out as being a "favorite".

[Weyoun6]

I have a trio of favorite books that I would bring with me to a desert island, etc-

Farenheit 451
The Man Who Was Thursday
The Bible

With a close fourth of A Fire Upon The Deep or Speaker for the Dead

Other books...
Flatland
The man in the high castle
Canticle for Leibowitz
Cry, the beloved country
City
Waystation
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The Game players of Titan
The Demolished Man
Anything by Hugh Ross
Anything by Heinlein
Dune
Ender's Game/Shadow
1984
most dystopic books...

Oh, I like too many books... :)

[drop]

Harry Potter series :way to go:

[Jacob]

To add some more of my favourites:

The Lord of the Rings (all three have to be considered one book).

Moby Dick - Hermann Melville

All by Philip K Dick (probably the most underrated Sci-Fi author):
Do androids dream of electric sheep (BladeRunner).
The Penultimate Truth
Time out of Joint
Clans of the Alphane Moon

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky

[Paragon]

kati42

The list of favorite books you have listed is almost identical to my wife's. I think you should check out The Outlander series by Dianna Gabaldon, it is her favorite, by far.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=gabaldon&userid=2UFTLHXTR4

Dave

[dean_shan]

There are to many to choose from. I'll just put in a few of my favorites.

Sphere
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
Timeline
Holes
Kick Me
Shadows of the Empire

[axe]

I'm definately a fan of Ender's Game, in fact I have read the whole series and another series one as well by Card. Probably my favourite author.

Just starting on the Homecoming series by Card.

AXE

[Reinaldo]

The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Aftter that, I go for LOTR.[/i]

[Pat Logsdon]

My favorites:

The Hobbit
Rama by Arthur C Clarke (and all of this series)
Anything by Terry Pratchett
Anything by Douglas Adams
Brightness Reef (Uplift series), by David Brin
Dune, by Frank Herbert
Glen Cook's Garret P.I. series
Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
The Spellsinger Series by Alan Dean Foster
The Mote in God's Eye, by Niven & Pournelle
The Adept, by Katherine Kurtz
The Vorkosigan Series, by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge
A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Belgariad books, by David Eddings

And too many more to name... :D

[Crystal Eitle]

Favorite authors:

A. S. Byatt
Kurt Vonnegut

Favorite books:

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
"His Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman (the Golden Compass, the Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass)
LOTR
Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
short stories and poems of Raymond Carver

[marlof]

Just as with music or movies, books are mood related to me. Sometimes I prefer one kind of book, the other time I prefer the other kind. But anything by:
- Douglas Coupland
- Jay McInerney
- Bret Easton Ellis
- Tama Janowitz
- Martin Amis
- John Irving
- Dave Eggers
will have my full attention whatever mood I'm in.

My all time favorite would be hard to choose. It would be either:
- Generation X by Douglas Coupland,
- Brightness Falls by Jay McInerney,
- Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis,
- Slaves of New York by Tama Janowitz,
- London Fields by Martin Amis,
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving or
- A heartbreaking work of staggering genius by Dave Eggers.

[David McNamee]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

I always have a copy of it with me - usually electronic. I wonder what Mr. Clemens would have thought of eBooks...

[Shadowcat]

In no paticular order...

Lord of The Rings
The Hobbit
Harry Potter series
Animal Farm

Of course I haven't read as many books as the rest of you :wink: .

[Kati Compton]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

I always have a copy of it with me - usually electronic. I wonder what Mr. Clemens would have thought of eBooks...

I'm sure he would have had something contreversial to say....

I should have added HHGTTG to my list. Actually, the first 3 in the series.

[trachy]

All time fave is Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsythe. A couple of movies have been based on it, but neither have done it justice. I also like the beatniks - especially Bukowski.

[trachy]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Hope you didn't pay for that. You can pick up a few Twain eBooks for free from the University of Virginia Library (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks).

- Drew

[Steven Cedrone]

Forgot "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. Always liked that one!!!

Steve

[disconnected]

Catch-22
The Alexandria Quartet
The Magus

Mysteries (not thrillers or too hard-boiled) -- Christie, Sayers, Rex Stout, Barbara Crombie (this list could be endless).

Anything by Jane Austin, Angela Thirkell, Barbara Pym, Margaret Atwood, Anne Tyler (this could also go on forever).

[Busdriver]

Fiction:2001 Space Odyssey
Non fiction: Some history

And with 3 pages of responses, just about every book mentioned is fiction. I don't believe the thread starter specified fiction. :?:

Hmmmmm. Interesting.

[Jacob]

With 3 pages of responses, just about every book mentioned is fiction. I don't believe the thread starter specified fiction. :?:

Hmmmmm. Interesting.

Nope, I didn't.

It doesn't have to be fiction at all. I in fact would love to see some suggestions on history books :)

[Kati Compton]

And with 3 pages of responses, just about every book mentioned is fiction. I don't believe the thread starter specified fiction. :?:


I tend to read for escapism, personally. That generally means fiction, and even better if sci-fi or fantasy.

[Hyperluminal]

Let's see...

HHGTTG (the whole series)
Animal Farm
Congo
The Andromedia Strain

As for non-fiction, one I can think of right now is Slander by Ann Coulter...

[ux4484]

The Hobbit as a quick read/travelogue, it's pure joy.

The Foundation series (Asimov) followed closely with the Robot novels.

Comics:The Dark Knight Returns, The Watchmen, The Killing Joke

Guilty pleasures: Doc Savage and The Shadow pulps, Dr Who novels.

I have a strange attraction to Edison biographies also, what a pri$% and a genius.

[nosmohtac]

I never was much of reader until I got a pocket pc. I don't usually read before bed, unless I am on the road, and I never found it convenient to lug a book with me eveywhere for those down times. But, since I have owned a pocket pc I have really gotten in to reading books on it and although it would be a rather expensive device for just reading, I find that I probably do more of that than anything on it.
These are the books that I have read (for enjoyment) since getting a pocket pc:


The Lord of the Rings (all 4)
A Painted House - John Grisham
War and Peace
Bram Stokers Dracula
The Harry Potter Collection (never actually read on the pocket pc, but own all 4 in hard cover)
The first ten books in the Left Behind Series - Tim LaHaye&Jerry B Jenkins
Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy





BTW, not to get off topic but, anybody hear anymore info on the ebook library that was supposed to be starting?

[nosmohtac]

Let's see...

HHGTTG (the whole series)
Animal Farm
Congo
The Andromedia Strain

As for non-fiction, one I can think of right now is Slander by Ann Coulter...

Excuse my ignorance, but what is HHGTTG? It's been included in a couple threads and has sparked my interest.

[Jacob]

Excuse my ignorance, but what is HHGTTG? It's been included in a couple threads and has sparked my interest.

HHGTTG: HitchHiker's Guide To The Galaxy - A GREAT Trilogy of five books(although I've only read the first three...)! I have heard the last two trail off in quality.. but still, classic series.

Also remembered:
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Presumed Innocent - Scott Turow
The illiad and the Oddyssey by Homer

[Weyoun6]

ahhh non-fiction..

the class of 1846
the killer angels
princess

[targetdrone]

I've been reading ever since my 6th grade teacher read 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' to the class. About 15 years ago I found The Chronicles of Narnia on sale and bought them and sent them to him as my way of saying 'Thanks'.

My favorites:
The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter series
older Stephen King (The Stand, Misery)
Point of Impact - Stephen Hunter
Tom Clancy fiction
Any and all of Dean Koontz's horror novels
The Bourne Identity - Robert Ludlum
Michael Crichton
Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes books (we want MORE! new stuff)
Firefox and Firefox Down - Craig Thomas

[orangehat]

For pleasure reading:
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Journey to the Center of Earth - Jules Verne
Chess Openings: Theory and Practice - I.A. Horowitz
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

and my personal favorite

The Adolescence of P1 by Thomas J. Ryan

[ironguy]

The Bourne Identity (I liked the movie, but don't confuse it with the book)
Clive Cussler Series
LOTR
The Forever War series by Joe Haldeman
Edgar Rice Burroughs Stuff (Tarzan, John Carter Mars, etc)
Any good hard sci-fi books



For those of you with a Christian slant, try:
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

[Hank Scorpio]

wow, I can't believe so many people read Orson Scott Card! I love his whole Ender series , and I've heard that Ender's Game will be a movie sometime in the future http://www.frescopictures.com/movies/ender/endersgame_update.html
I remember the first time I read it musta been in 88 he was talking about these desktops that students could send animations to each other and there was a agme on them kinda like an adventure story. I thought it was so futuristic, and the whole world was linked together and stuff. Almost all the stuff in the book has come to light. I'm just waiting to hear about the Hegomon showing up soon.

[David McNamee]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Hope you didn't pay for that. You can pick up a few Twain eBooks for free from the University of Virginia Library (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks).

- Drew

That's exactly where I got it - U. Virginia rocks! I picked up my first electronic copy of Huck Finn from Project Gutenberg eons ago.

[DrtyBlvd]

Lot of shared reading here huh?! :D Almost all those mentioned are favourites of mine, and those that aren't I shall be seeking out ...

A few additions:

Fiction:

Terry Goodkind - Sword of Turth series
Stephen Donaldson - Covenant of Thomas The Unbeliever
David & Leigh Eddings (fav. Althalus)
Anne Rice
Nelson De Mille
Wilbur Smith
Davis Morell
Umberto Eco

Non Fiction:
All time most favourite books;

'Chickenhawk' By Robert Mason and the absolute best,
'Nam' by Mark Baker - a very sobering read indeed.
'Simple Truths - The Cockle Bur' (Excellent - No one should be without this - great to pick up and skim for a while, superlative for providing inspirational quotes)
Almost anyones 'autobiography' (Have 50 or so - best are David Niven's and Motley Crue's(!)
Hunter Thompson
Graham Hancock
'The Flock' Joan Francis Casey
Roger Penrose (Emperors New Clothes)

[Crystal Eitle]

BTW, not to get off topic but, anybody hear anymore info on the ebook library that was supposed to be starting?

Fictionwise has a Lending Library (http://www.libwise.com/fll) that you can check out books from if you're a Fictionwise member.

[Kaber]

Kurt Vonnegut
Frank Herbert
JRR Tolkein
Mario Puzo
William Gibson
Robert Heinlein
H P Lovecraft
Joseph Campbell
Christopher Hyatt
Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash
Dean Foster - The Damned series
Larry Niven - Ringworld books / Man-Kzin Wars
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle - Footfall
Walter Wangerin - The Book of the Dun Cow
Richard Adams - Watership Down
Joseph Heywood - The Berkut
William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick - The Ugly American, Sarkhan
Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea - The Illuminatus Trilogy and Schroedinger's Cat Trilogy
Principia Discordia
The Book of the Subgenius
The Book of Lies - Frater Perdurabo
:twisted: :devilboy:

[Jimmy Dodd]

In no particular order:

Everything by Stephen W. Sears (history)
Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas R. Hofstadter
The Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Currently reading:
Things A Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About by Donald E. Knuth
Flags Of Our Fathers by James Bradley
A Game of Thrones by Goerge R. R. Martin (Palm Reader ebook)

[Jimmy Dodd]

...

Umberto Eco

...



Man! I remember reading "Foucault's Pendulum" during 12 hour shifts for two weeks in the middle of the desert in New Mexico about eight years ago with the Air National Guard. That brings back some memories of a great book!

[DrtyBlvd]

...

Umberto Eco

...



Man! I remember reading "Foucault's Pendulum" during 12 hour shifts for two weeks in the middle of the desert in New Mexico about eight years ago with the Air National Guard. That brings back some memories of a great book!

And wasn't it just?! Might just blow the dust off that one actually. Hasn't had an airing for quite some time now... :D

Interestingly, they have a functioning model of the pendulum in a shopping mall in Glasgow - a wonderful place to sit and watch time do it's thing whilst gravity does it's!

[DrtyBlvd]

Richard Adams - Watership Down

Absolute quality :lol: I remember that one with a lot of fondness :D I look forward to reading it to my daughter actually - few years off yet, but the anticipation is already there :D

[lurch]

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis
Prettymuch anything by C.S. Lewis (fav. author)
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Jurassic Park was good too, as was Sphere (both books were ruined by the movies ;) )

[Kaber]

Richard Adams - Watership Down

Absolute quality :lol: I remember that one with a lot of fondness :D I look forward to reading it to my daughter actually - few years off yet, but the anticipation is already there :D

I highly recommend:
Walter Wangerin - The Book of the Dun Cow
Its a great animal fable book dealing more with spiritual rather than politcal aspects.

[Kati Compton]

The list of favorite books you have listed is almost identical to my wife's. I think you should check out The Outlander series by Dianna Gabaldon, it is her favorite, by far.


I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[dh]

I just got the complete works of Charles Dickens from Handango for $4.95. Great deal.

Any of you guys not read Dickens should check some out. Some great novels.

With TLOTR trilogy as well, my Axim library is getting pretty good.

[kfluet]

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/lit/Twa2Huc.lit) - Mark Twain
At the Mountains of Madness (http://www.gizmology.net/lovecraft/works/mountains.htm) - HP Lovecraft
Junky - William S Burroughs
On the Road - Jack Kerouack
Fight Club - Chuck Palahnuik
Frankenstein (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/lit/SheFran.lit) - Mary Shelley
A Winter's Tale - Mark Helprin
Life, the Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
The Stand - Stephen King
Awakening Osiris, The Egyptian Book of the Dead - Normandi Ellis
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
Don Quixote (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=996) - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
The Idiot (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2638) - Fyodor Dostoevsky

The links to translated works (the last two) are there only for easy grabbing. You probably want to buy a more modern translation.

[kfluet]

I just got the complete works of Charles Dickens from Handango for $4.95. Great deal.

Pretty much anything published before about 1920 is public domain and you should be able to download a free copy.

Project Gutenberg (http://promo.net/pg/) continues to do an excellent job of making texts available in a generic text format.

The University of Virginia Library's Etext Center (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ebooklist.html) provides MS Reader and Palm versions of many of those titles, including Dickens (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/Dlist.html).

Check out uBook (http://www.gowerpoint.com/) if you want to read the raw Gutenberg files, or the Palm versions. It has (IMHO) the best e-Book reader bar none including better text smoothing than MS-Reader, screen rotation, customizable skins...

[dh]

Pretty much anything published before about 1920 is public domain and you should be able to download a free copy.

Thanks. I learn something here everyday.

[sjo]

Til We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis's retelling of the Cupid-Psyche myth.
Pre-Raphaelites in Love - Gay Daly:intriguing stories of the lives and loves of the Pre-Raphaelites.
The Gory and the Dream - William Manchester: American History 1932-1972.
Awakening the Buddha Within - Lama Surya Das: How to live a life of meaning, from a Buddhist perspective.

[DrtyBlvd]

Richard Adams - Watership Down

Absolute quality :lol: I remember that one with a lot of fondness :D I look forward to reading it to my daughter actually - few years off yet, but the anticipation is already there :D

I highly recommend:
Walter Wangerin - The Book of the Dun Cow
Its a great animal fable book dealing more with spiritual rather than politcal aspects.

Hmm - you have a good point there - time has dulled my memory - maybe I'll stick to Enid Blyton for a while yet!

[Kaber]

Don't forget there was an animated film also. Not as good as the book but I liked it. Its a bit scary for younger kids though since a lot of rabbits die and there is some fighting and blood.