NationStates Jolt Archive

Even though I tend to put off reading alot and dont enjoy it as much as some people, there are a few stories out there that I enjoyed.

My personal favorites:

A Child Called it.: I read this book in my 2nd year in high school I think and I still think its one of the best autobiographies out there. I also read Dave Pelzer's other books which I thought were fantastic and the most touching and compelling out there.

Animal Farm: This was a pretty nice piece of propoganda if you ask me. I think it illustrated the faults of communism perfectly with the use of animals.

I also enjoy reading John Grisham's books. They keep you on the edge of your toes through the end itching to see what happens. A few of my favorites are:

The Pelican Brief
The Brethren
A Painted House
The Last Juror
The Partner


Post your favorite book or books...

I'd be flamed if I said what mine is. :(

The book I've enjoyed reading most was the Iliad (Lattimore Translation), but I'm weird.

definately The Fifth Elephant and Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

Dianetics by L Ron Hubbard. That book really changed my life. I had no idea I'd been programmed with engrams from before I was born and they were causing all my problems. I've since joined the church of Scientology, attended numerous seminars and paid for many sessions, and am now a "clear".

William Gibson - Neuromancer
Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (Is that the English title?)
Francois Sagan - Bonjour Tristesse
H.P. Lovecraft - Mountains of Madness (Correct title?)
Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time (not through all available books yet, though)
And The Amber books by Roger Zelazny

I also like some of John Irving's books (favourite: Owen Meany).

And, more for entertainment: Dan Abnett's Inquisitor Eisenhorn trilogy and the Gaunt's Ghosts novels.

Fran

u guys will probably think i'm nuts, but my favorite book is, without any hint of competition, the Bible.

I'd be flamed if I said what mine is. :(
Is it Dianetics, by L Ron Hubbard?

definately The Fifth Elephant and Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

"The Fifth Elephant"? I need to reread that. I read it before reading "Guards! Guards!" and wasn't that impressed, but maybe you have to know the characters first...

"Night Watch" is great though :)

I'd be flamed if I said what mine is. :(

The Bible?

Dune is my favorite book to read, but I would have to say I find the Iliad the most interesting.

As a guide, The Holy Bible.

For fun reading/fiction... man, tough question. It would be easier to list favorite authors than it would titles... for me:

Dean Koontz
Patricia Cornwell
James Patterson
Anne Rice (or "Ann"... I forget)
Tom Clancy
Wilbur Smith
Ken Follett
James Michener (now dead, but i love his novels, tomes that they are)

..to name several

u guys will probably think i'm nuts, but my favorite book is, without any hint of competition, the Bible.
Actually, even though I'm an Athiest the Bible is one of my favorite books, and not a bad choice for best book. Though I do think you're nuts if you don't think any other books compare. ;)

Ah yes, Tom Clancy is also one of my favorite authors. I have read Cardinal of the Kremlin and Debt of Honor.

Actually, I really liked "Harry Potter." Its just an amazing serious that has consistently impressed me.

Yeah, I know I sound like a little kid.

Grisham is a great author, and I loved the firm. Nightwatch is prolly my favorite Prachett book. Chricton (did i spell that right?) is also a spectacular writer, particularly congo and ole jurassic park.

I thoroughly enjoyed Animal Farm, whose satire was way more interesting then Orwell's other work, 1984.

Lord of the Rings is pretty good, as is Ayn Rand's monster novel "Atlas Shrugged"

But my favorite book of all time, so imagnitive in its execution, and absolutely drop dead hilarious, is John Stewart's "America: the Book"

I'd highly recommend it to anyone, especially all you conservatives out there who need a wake up call ;).

Actually, I really liked "Harry Potter." Its just an amazing serious that has consistently impressed me.

Yeah, I know I sound like a little kid.

Grisham is a great author, and I loved the firm. Nightwatch is prolly my favorite Prachett book. Chricton (did i spell that right?) is also a spectacular writer, particularly congo and ole jurassic park.

I thoroughly enjoyed Animal Farm, whose satire was way more interesting then Orwell's other work, 1984.

Lord of the Rings is pretty good, as is Ayn Rand's monster novel "Atlas Shrugged"

But my favorite book of all time, so imagnitive in its execution, and absolutely drop dead hilarious, is John Stewart's "America: the Book"

I'd highly recommend it to anyone, especially all you conservatives out there who need a wake up call ;).

Ok, here are my real favorites. I'm kind of disappointed that nobody called me on the "dianetics" thing.

Demon Haunted World, by Carl Sagan
Fictiones, Jorge Luis Borges
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Thomas Ligotti

Dianetics by L Ron Hubbard. That book really changed my life. I had no idea I'd been programmed with engrams from before I was born and they were causing all my problems. I've since joined the church of Scientology, attended numerous seminars and paid for many sessions, and am now a "clear".

What is this?

My favorite book, so far, is Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. Anything written by him, really. Or the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Ok, here are my real favorites. I'm kind of disappointed that nobody called me on the "dianetics" thing.

Demon Haunted World, by Carl Sagan
Fictiones, Jorge Luis Borges
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Thomas Ligotti

Hey, I just called you on it ;) Do you really believe it?

What?! The Bible is poorly written (probably due to stuff lost in translation). It's got quite a lot of really imaginative storylines and ideas though, which is good. I'm quite interested in religious mythology of all sorts, though the monothiestic ones aren't as interesting in my opinion.
Anyway, the Lord of the Rings is a the best book ever written, IMO. It has beautifully descriptive language of a level unmatched by anything else in fantasy.

Wheel of Time wtfpwnz Lord of the Rings. Not that that would be difficult, though. ^^

Hey, I just called you on it ;) Do you really believe it?
Dianetics? No, it's bullshit. I was hoping someone would really take me seriously.

Dianetics? No, it's bullshit. I was hoping someone would really take me seriously.

I almost took you seriously.. I checked out the Scientology website. How could people believe that?? But then.. this thread isn't for that type of debate.

Jurassic Park and Sphere are really good...

The Foundation Series
The Pit Dragon Series

The End of Eternity, more of a novella.

My favourite books are Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment and Jaroslav Hašek’s The Good Solider Švejk. They're just amazingly good stories, and go to show that Eastern novelists can be just as good as those from the West.

My favourite books are Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment and Jaroslav Hašek’s The Good Solider Švejk. They're just amazingly good stories, and go to show that Eastern novelists can be just as good as those from the West.
Nobody said they couldn't. I'm just starting to read Russian literature. I've begun reading a book of Chekov's short stories. Pretty good stuff.

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx.

The Bible?

Dune is my favorite book to read, but I would have to say I find the Iliad the most interesting.
hah! i'm not the only one who liked the Illiad. Too bad about what Troy did to the story.

My absolute favorite book is Hagakure. my favorites to read at the moment are, well, pretty much anything by Chuck Palhaniuk.

My favorite book part is the Revalations chapter of the Bible,because not only does it make for good science-nonfiction (or fiction, depends on if you beleive it or not, I do), it is supposed to happen, which kind of adds a cool depth to it. As for whole books, "A Journey to the Center of the Earth" was pretty awsome. :D

There is some very good Russian Literature out there that I have stumbled across. I never had the chance of reading it, but a friend of mine has read some and says that they're truly excellant.

My favourite book is four ways to forgiveness by Ursula K Le Guin
But I agree with the people who said the foundation series and animal farm are good.

Also, reading in Russia is very popullar among the people. Due to the fact that not everyone has a computer or video games to kill their brains with, they read. Reading to them is as common as watching TV or going on the internet in America.

"My Pet Goat". When I started reading it, I just couldn't stop no matter what.

This is going to jump around a little:

The Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith
The Key to the Universe: Nigel Calder
Civilization: Jacob Bronowski
H2G2 series
A treatise of Human Nature: David Hume
LOTR
Fanny Craddocks Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
Time Enough for Love: RA Heinlein

Just some of my favourites.

Currently reading:

Jane Eyre

(no kidding)

Good book nobody's mentioned yet:

The World According to Garp (a bit liberal, but a good book nonetheless)

LOTR (Including Affiliated Tales)
Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers
Orwell's 1984
Asimov's I Robot, Foundations Trilogy
Meg
Elie Wisel's Night
Stoker's Dracula
Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls

Hmm... this could be a long list.

The Bible
All the Dune novels
All the Tom Clancy (fictional) novels Jack Ryan, Jack Ryan Jr, Red Storm Rising
As much Battletech as I can afford to buy (Michael Stackpole, Robert Thurston, Blaine Lee Pardoe, Loren L. Coleman, Thomas S. Gressman and more)

Hammers Slammers - David Drake (I think I've read all of them.)

On My Way to Paradise - Dave Wolverton: very thoughtful and VERY obscure. Great if you can find a copy and have time to read 600 pages.

Chuck Colson - Born Again

Probably more but I can't think of them right now.

My Fav book's gotta be As I Lay Dying by Faulkner

Anyone ever heard of Glen cook's shadow company.

Loved that series, also like George RR martin, very much, he needs to finish that next book dammit...

Catch-22. I also enjoy Neil Stephenson's books, Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, etc.

To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
The Collected Works of T.S. Elliot, by. . .I forget
The American Civil War series, Shelby Foote
The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe
Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy

There is no way I can identify a favorite book or even a short list of favorite books. I devour books.

Here are some books that stand out at the moment (most of which are just representative of authors of which I like all their work):

Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen : Punk Rock, Monster Movies, & the Truth about Reality (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/086171380X/qid%3D1112654041/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-0345811-1703011)

Colson Whitehead, The Intuitionist (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385493002/qid=1112653665/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446672351/qid=1112653708/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age : Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553380966/qid=1112653443/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

Neal Stephenson, The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060593083/qid=1112653508/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books), The Confusion (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060523867/qid=1112653568/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books), The System of the World (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060523875/ref=pd_sim_b_1/103-0345811-1703011?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance)

Gerry Spence, Gunning for Justice (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385177038/qid=1112654103/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books)

Jonathon Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375724834/qid=1112654178/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus : And Other Essays (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679733736/qid=1112654213/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-0345811-1703011)

Iain Banks, Feersum Endjinn (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553374591/qid=1112654290/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books) and The Wasp Factory (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684853159/qid=1112654368/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060929790/qid=1112654486/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-0345811-1703011)

Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380789019/qid=1112654558/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

China Mieville, Perdido Street Station (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345459407/qid=1112654604/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/103-0345811-1703011)

Charles De Lint, The Onion Girl (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765303817/qid=1112654696/sr=1-28/ref=sr_1_28/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books)

Augusten Burroughs, Dry: A Memoir (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312423799/qid=1112654778/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books)

William O. Douglas, Go East, Young Man (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394488342/qid=1112654858/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books)

.... ok, that is already too many BUT there are so many more ..... :D

Watership Down

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and pretty much everything written by Douglas Adams (though, at the risk of getting off topic, I think the movie is going to suck).

Ender's Game, and all the books that came after it. Card is brilliant.

1984 and Animal Farm are, as has been stated, excellent titles (I read Animal Farm in the time of one school day; took it out of the library before the bell rang, returned it before I got on the bus. :) )

In no particular order:

Fight Club (Palahniuk), American Psycho (Ellis), Atlas Shrugged (Rand), House of Leaves (Danielewski), Books of Blood (Barker). Nation of Rebels (Heath & Potter), What It Means to Be Libertarian (Murray), etc....

In no particular order:

Fight Club (Palahniuk), American Psycho (Ellis) ....

Haven't read the books, but I have watched the movies. Could quote them both all night long ;)

Fiction
Best from Childhood: Watership Down by Richard Adams
Best Fantasy: LotR (though that's quasi-childhood for me! :eyeroll:) tied with the FitzChivalry (Farseer trilogy & The Tawny Man trilogy) books by Robin Hobb
Best Historical: Aubrey/Maturin (starting with Master & Commander) series by Patrick O'Brien, though Christian Jacq's Egyptian books are good.
Best Crime: Wild Horses or To the Hilt by Dick Francis
Best Action: The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming
Best Classic: White Fang by Jack London (what?)
Best Shakespeare: Hamlet or Macbeth.
...ok I'll stop now.

As much as a clichè it has become nowadays, I'll say that I still enjoy J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit greatly. I had an issue with all Tolkien books a while back when "everyone" seemed to love them, but.. you know, that was my favourite bedtime book when I was kid, and I still read it out loud to myself every now and then. Comfort book, I guess. :)

As for newer stuff, I like Neil Gaiman's Coraline. I read it through in one sitting and something about the splendid writing got me so scared my knuckles were white at one point. A good book to read and re-read.

The Web of Life, by Fritjof Capra.

This book blends discoveries from both physics and biology to explain how all life is inextricably woven into one massive web. Together with The Conscious Universe, this book has completely altered my perceptions of reality.

For me it would be:

Sinuhe, Egyptian (Engles title?) by Mika Waltari

The book was incredible :)
It's also considered to be very much 'fact' based. And he
(Waltari) never visited Egypt. Even when he was invited by
the Egyptian govt.
I loved the book :)