What is your favourite book?

[It Should Be Real]

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is one of my favourites, too; I'm always surprised by just how few people I come across who have read it. Bad times.

[KestrelLowing]

I can't pick a favorite book, but the series I keep coming back to is the Wind on Fire Trilogy (Wind Singer, Slaves of the Mastery, Firesong) by William Nicolson. I read them in 6th grade, and at that time it really made me think about some more adult ideas, even though it is a YA book. (Caste system, slavery, love, control, fear, really the whole gamut. It really makes you think, even though the story is simple enough.)

Also, they way William Nicolson conveys feelings is quite remarkable. You feel what the characters feel.

It also helps that most of the time I really identify with Kestrel, one of the main characters (hence my username).

[paulhollern]

When I'm asked "What is you favorite book? or more specifically "What are the best books you have read?

My response is is depends on where you are in your life.

After 47 years I've learned "you can lead a horse to water but you can't force him to drink"

So it depends on where your thirst for knowledge would be among many other factors.

Paul

[Aiwendil42]

My response is is depends on where you are in your life.

The Lord of the Rings has been my favorite book since I was, oh, about 6 or 7. Does that mean I'm in the same place in life I was then? (Hmm . . . actually, maybe it does.)

[chris661]

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the triology of 4). I've read it 7 or 8 times now, still not bored of it.

[Aiwendil42]

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the triology of 4).

Did you mean "the trilogy of 5" or do you not like Mostly Harmless?

[Triangle_Man]

I enjoy anything be Terry Prachett as well as JPod by Douglas Coupland.

[melladh]

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the triology of 4).

Did you mean "the trilogy of 5" or do you not like Mostly Harmless?

I never quite figured out whether "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe" counts or not (rendering it six)

[monicaclaire]

Hmmm, I wonder what my fav. book is. But besides the obvious, My top list (fictional):

A Wrinkle in Time
Metamorphosis
The Mysterious Island
Fahrenheit 451
1984
The Chronicles of Narnia (no religious connotations please, I really do not give a shit, even if they were there, ugh)
Matilda
The Wheel of Time Series.

Most of these I read when I was a kid, but they are still my favorites. I was wondering if anyone had ever read "Eon" by Greg Bear. I saw an old thread on it. But I wanted to post to a more active thread. I read that book probably 10 years ago and absolutly loved it, anyone else?

[Apteryx]

The Mysterious Island

The Chronicles of Narnia (no religious connotations please, I really do not give a shit, even if they were there, ugh)

Most of these I read when I was a kid, but they are still my favorites. I was wondering if anyone had ever read "Eon" by Greg Bear. I saw an old thread on it. But I wanted to post to a more active thread. I read that book probably 10 years ago and absolutly loved it, anyone else?

The Mysterious island ! YAY !

Narnia, if no one tells you it is meant to be Christ-as-Lion, could just as easily be about Balder-as-Lion or anyothergodling-as-Lion, couldn't it. Or in fact just about Aslan-the-Lion. So I never let that worry me either really, they are just neat fantasy books.

You want to see something neat about Eon?. These groups of CGI wizards made some movies based on the book.

http://features.cgsociety.org/story_cus ... ry_id=3987
Look at the first prize winning Video. Greg Bear said
“Gorgeous! I'm sold from the opening scene. Beautiful design and pacing, magnificent camera motion, good use of live actors - excellent condensation of effect and idea for a trailer.”

http://features.cgsociety.org/story_cus ... 987&page=2

[monicaclaire]

they are just neat fantasy books.

Yep.

Thanks for the links!

[mipadi]

I was wondering if anyone had ever read "Eon" by Greg Bear. I saw an old thread on it. But I wanted to post to a more active thread. I read that book probably 10 years ago and absolutly loved it, anyone else?

I read Eon about 10 years ago, too. I recall enjoying it, although I was young (a wee 8th grader) so I probably didn't understand it that well -- not sure if that would mean I'd like it more or less if I reread it. To be honest, I remember very little about it now (except for a weird asteroid/alien device that enabled travel to alternative timelines or somesuch?).

[monicaclaire]

except for a weird asteroid/alien device that enabled travel to alternative timelines or somesuch?

Yes, I remember there being some kind of time manipulation to move the storyline. I think I was more attracted to the 'real' science in the novel, such as the space elevators and technical and theoretical aspects that were there. I am pretty sure there are sequels.

[Thurid]

Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Hell Yes! (All 5 books)

But Abhorsen is definitely my favorite, it has a good story and I don't care if he makes up words trying to act like Tolkien, its still good.

[Töz-R]

Probably microserfs

You never would have guessed, would you?

[kvaks]

ITT, much SF in addition to the usual suspects. I'm going to pick a funny book as my favorite. The first time I read it I laughed so much that I had to leave the house not to wake everyone up. After a half hour walk around the neighborhood, I was still giggling uncontrollably.

The Throwback by Tom Sharpe.

[minesweeper]

Can't pin it down to one specific book but I've got a batch of desert island/burning house books. In no order: Albert Camus' The Fall, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, Douglas Adams' H2G2, Philip Dick's Valis and Chuck Palahnuik's Survivor collectively represent a loose of approximation of my own worldview (itself somewhat loose). I repeatedly read all these books even now, years after I first came across them.

[charolastra]

Currently?

Everything is Illuminated- Jonathan Safran Foer
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
Incredible Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow- Orson Scott Card

On a whole other level is Pullman's His Dark Material's Trilogy. Those are books that I have read at several points in life (as they came out when I was around 10, as a teenager, as a college student, and more recently as an adult) and I have gotten something different out of them each time.

[smokestack]

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino and the Dispossesed by Ursula K. Leguin

[noisyrain]

Slaughterhouse 5 is brilliant ... Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy is right up there ... TC Boyle's Water Music is awesome too .. shit there's loads of good ones.. I give up
If you're going to curse, fucking curse. -ST
Fuck off

[Sleipner]

(Thanks to dial-up, I'm not going through the hassle of finding my old post and just editing it)
I'm just gonna update my selection of favorite book to one by a man I truly, truly admire, and have actually met, as opposed to Mr. Card: Mogworld, by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Both the man and the book have my undying love as sources of entertainment and surprisingly clear introspection. Also, I like Yahtzee's hat. It's big.

I do have one question, though: What is Yahtzee's obsession with the name 'Jim'? First it was Articulate Jim, now it's Jim Bottomroach, and even one of his short stories' protagonists was named Jim. I suppose there could be no real underlying psychological cause for it, it just seems odd. Then again, coincidental logic leads to stuff like the Number 3 Conspiracy, so I think I'll leave this one alone.

/pointless rant

[ThatMafiaGuy]

My favorite book? Hmm... well I don't have just one.
I love anything, and I mean ANYTHING, by Stephen King, but my favorite has to be either The Dark Half or Gerald's Game.

[Ostrich_Option]

Favorites are hard to come by for me as well. Out of the many I have read, and many I still need to read., I have a tie strictly within fiction. Non-fiction, I have no favorite.

Thank You for Smoking - Christopher Buckley
Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk

I don't know why, I simply enjoyed Survivor more than Fight Club.

[Blackhawk5367]

I hate picking just one, honestly it is impossible

Murder on the Orient Express - one of the most engaging books and the plot is amazing

One Minute to Midnight - height of the cold war, I love military history

Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics - informative but in an entertaining way

Lord of the Rings - no explanation required

[kyle1072]

Carl Sagan's Contact, that's an awesome book. Really made me think.

[archeleus]

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

[Unbeliever]

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.

[voicedotter]

anything Pratchet- they are so strange and wonderful

anything by David Gemmell - I love how a lot of heroes are really anti-heroes (in other words they weren't always good and have a reason other than just to defend people to kill the villain)

at the moment I am also into the Dragon riders of Pern books because they are quite interesting.
I also like the Inheritance cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and book 4(unnamed))

I'll give anything a shot if I find any of the authors books good.

[fr00t]

I know it's non-fiction (well, mostly), but I'm suprised Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet. I'm about halfway through, and my god, it might end up usurping Camus' The Fall as my favorite book. Unlike a really good novel, it isn't easy to read, but by that token it is also absurdly stimulating.

I wish I could give it to myself 5 years ago and circumvent the abortion of ideas relating to rationality, philosophy, and science that I used to entertain. I'm also terribly saddened by the fact that, despite being relatively intellectual, none of my friends will likely be convinced to read it seriously.

[dhamsy]

Dune, Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, The Count of Monte Cristo.. quite a mixed bag.

[KennyIs2Grif]

Well, I haven't read a whole lot as of late but I'm finally able to start picking the habit up again. Since I am a nut for old stories I would recommend The Divine Comedy. It can be tough to follow on occasion but it's a wonderful take on exactly how the afterlife works.

[Hope_]

I have three (because you can't pick just one book):
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen because I love how Elizabeth always stands up for herself (and I have a soft spot for Darcy)
Watchmen - Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons because the whole story is amazing and well crafted. Also, the art is so wonderful
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - Douglas Adams because he is just such an amazing writer, the things he manages to do with words are simply amazing and funny.

I also like Pratchett but I haven't read nearly enough of him yet. (Oo I could borrow them off the bf).

[Triangle_Man]

I'd have to say a tie between the first four Hitchhikers novels and Douglas Coupland's 'Jpod' right off the top of my head.

[ferrettt55]

Hard to say certain books so I'll just list authors.
-Jules Verne
-Ray Bradbury
-H.G. Wells
-Charles Dickens
-Robert Louis Stevenson
-Kurt Vonnegut(?)
Yes, I go for the classics.

-ferrettt55-
A.K.A- Sir Ean Halezandaer Aidans 2 esq.

[ElectricHaze]

I'll go with a favorite series and say
The Wheel of Time

Though if I had to pick a single book I'd go with
House of Leaves

Not sure if that's just because I read it recently and it is still fresh compared to other books I've liked or if it is actually my favorite, I guess I'll find out after it fades enough to be compared properly with my other favorites.

[DavidSpencer]

About Douglas Adams books...

I like the Hitchhiker series. They are very entertaining and I enjoyed reading them.

I like Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul more than I like the Hitchhikers. I don't remember the details very well, but it was equally amusing as the Hitchhikers and far less random.

My favorite book by far by anybody, though, is Holistic Detective Agency. I first read it when I was probably eleven or twelve, and I didn't really get most of it. I picked it up a couple of years later and read it again and started to notice some things happening that I hadn't noticed before. I read it again a while later, and again, and again, until I understood everything. I can still read it again and not get bored. It's just amazing how everything fits together. Wikipedia's description of the plot is also a good read!

[garren101]

I find it interesting that a lot of the books that appear on this thread also appear in "Worst/Overrated books". Really does come down to opinion I guess. But to contribute, my fav is The Count of Monte Cristo. 1400 pages of excitement through, and through. Never a dull, or useless moment in the book.

[4d0m]

I really liked the Ender's Game books by Orson Scott Card.

[cemper93]

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is one of my favourites, too; I'm always surprised by just how few people I come across who have read it.

Yeah, I second that. It is probably one of the best fantasy novels I ever read and nobody has even heard of it.

Other great books:
- Nancy Farmer: The House of the Scorpion (Wikipedia calls this "young adult literature". I guess I should grow up. Great book, anyway.)
- Haruki Murakami: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is great too. But then, maybe all of his books are.)
- Frank Herbert: Dune (Well, yes. Dune.)

And my personal favorite:
- Walter Moers: The City of Dreaming Books (I read it in German, and I wouldn't want to read it in English as it is only as good as it is because it has the highest pun/page ratio I ever encountered and because Moers generally has a fantastic style. It might still be fun in English, but definitely less than in the original. So, sorry for promoting a book most of you might not even be able to read.)

[KyosukeMonet]

My favourite books are numerous as for the reasons of the aforementioned favouritisms. My most favourite book, is Thus spoke Zarathustra, it changed my life, I only wish I could read it in German. Following that, would be the essays of Jung, and the short stories of Hemingway, the reasons for those are much the same—— insight into the human consciousness, though I may be over-hyping Hemingway I will go ahead and add my concession of an opinion, that the man could not write a novel, perhaps it was subconscious disinterest or a lack of stamina, I don't know. What I do know however, is that I cannot end my sentences well! Other candidates for my favourite books would be anthologies of Borges' works, the Arabian Nights, the Hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy series, The poetic and prose eddas, and the dao de jing, for another several para-sentence-graphs worth of text that I'm not going to bother writing.