I'm woefully short reading material right now. I've tried picking up old favorites, like Moby Dick, but I'm just not in the mood to go into metaphor. What I'd really like is something fun, smart, but not intellectual, like that new installment of Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire series -- unfortunately, Amazon.com plays mind games with me regarding the new book, and I'm too fresh from my last reading of the first three. I've gone through my bookshelves and picked through the library in my quest for literary fulfillment, but nothing really appeals to me. Which is why I'm creating the umpthousandth thread on books.
But this is no ordinary book thread. I don't care what you're reading right now, and I don't care what you thought was passing fair. I'd just love to know which books you think are truly wonderful -- the greats of whichever genres you're interested in. You don't need to limit yourself to one or two, but really, remember that I truly, honestly don't care about your present literary taste. Just the best throughout all our far-too-short lifespans.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Okay, eddie, here's my favorite books of all time that i've read more than once:
Whole Ender's Series
Enchantment (OSC as well)
Where the Red Fern Grows
Five Quarters of the Orange
Practical Magic
Aw, i'm just gonna stop there. I'm recommending far too many girlie books for a guy like you. Sorry Eddie. Ask a guy Posted by Pat (Member # 879) on :
Dave Farland's Runelords.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Beg pardon, Leo, but I'm very in touch with my feminine side. If it weren't for the self-righteous hypocrites of society, I'd wear pantyhose every day -- not just on weekend nights.
Rather like this one, in fact.
God, if feels good to let my inner woman out.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
All of the OSC books (except Pastwatch, I couldn't get into that one. ).
The Hobbit Lord of the Rings
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
Flatland. The Cycle of Fire.
+others.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
Midnight's Children and The Ground Beneath her Feet (both Salman Rushdie)
These are YA books, but I still enjoy them: Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt Space Demons - Gillian Rubenstein
Scythrop has also written some really good YA books... but he isn't letting me post what they are (silly concept of modesty).
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
Right now I'm reading Jeff Shaara's Rise to Rebellion, a semi-fictional/nonfictional account of the American Revolution through the eyes of John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Gage and George Washington.
It's actually extremely well done. I'm really enjoying it.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
I just read the first 10 pages on that book you suggested on Amazon Ralphie. It's interesting. Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
I'm really enjoying Shaara's protrayal of John and Abigail Adams. I seriously dig her. Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
LOTR - J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien Ender and Bean series - Orson Scott Card The BFG - Roald Dahl Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books - Douglas Adams Are you my Mother? - Dr. Seuss
Posted by Mintieman (Member # 4620) on :
Slaughterhouse five - Kurt Vonnegut Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
quote: Where the Red Fern Grows
SPOILERS .
.
.
.
.
Why'd you have to go and mention this book? I'm typically not one who cries during movies, or while reading sad books, but when the lion kills Old Dan, and then Little Ann dies from the loneliness. I'm apt to get quite choked up just thinking about it.
Saddest. Book. Ever.
On a more positive note, read Lonesome Dove, because it's great.
EDIT: Addition of spoiler warning
[ November 23, 2003, 12:52 AM: Message edited by: Fitz ]
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
Fitz - Hi! Have you met me? I'm the word SPOILERS.
[ November 23, 2003, 12:48 AM: Message edited by: Ralphie ]
Posted by Theca (Member # 1629) on :
All the Lois McMaster Bujold books are smart, fun, and witty. I read them over and over and over. She is an amazing author.
[ November 23, 2003, 12:54 AM: Message edited by: Theca ]
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Oops. Many apologies to anyone who read that, who has not in fact read the book. Certainly that shouldn't stop you from reading it, though.
Again, sorry. Boy is my face red.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Second bujold. I'm not surprised she appeals to you, Theca, given the medical speculation she goes into.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
quote: Again, sorry. Boy is my face red.
You make up for it by being cute and irrepressibly lazy*.
*like me.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
quote:Oops. Many apologies to anyone who read that, who has not in fact read the book. Certainly that shouldn't stop you from reading it, though.
Again, sorry. Boy is my face red.
At least you took it like a strong person, not defensively*!
*Like I always did when I first came here. Ralphie can attest to that. Read my landmark in the archives, she said so herself. Posted by Jestak (Member # 5952) on :
Paul O. Williams "Pelbar Cycle" 7 book series
John Stienbeck "Grapes of Wrath"
Jack London "Call of the Wild" "White Fang"
Stephen King "Dark Tower" 7 book series Haven't read latest book though, heard it was good--waiting for paperback
OSC "Maps In a Mirror"
Neil Gaiman "American Gods"
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
Nick, stop* being such a damn fanboy.
*by that I mean don't stop.
Posted by Nick (Member # 4311) on :
( | ) Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
I've been looking for a reason to talk about a certain book. I don't know if it fulfills the requirements, but oh well.
The book is The Last Ship by William Brinkley. In a sentence, it is the story of a naval ship post-nuclear apocalypse and the crew's effort to re-establish the human race.
First of all, I don't think you need to have any interest in the Navy or the nuclear end of the world to enjoy this book, and you certainly don't need a degree in technical terms. You may need PhD in English, however. The story is told from the point of view of the ship's captain, so you get a lot of what's going on in his head, sometimes as he's coming to realizations. That's not the problem, though. Brinkley is woooooordy. I swear I have yet to come across a run-on sentence, but if you're familiar with the Gettysburg Address and the fact that it's comprised of three sentences--one of which has 83 words--you understand what I'm talking about. (If you think that last sentence is bad...it's not.) Diagramming one paragraph's worth of sentences would render insane even the most sadistic.
Anyway, it's seriously worth it if you can overcome the habit of reading a sentence in order.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
SMRT books make my brains hurt.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote: Where the Red Fern Grows
Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :
The Hyperion series by David Simmons.
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
Dude, you need to read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls or Time Enough for Love so you can stop whining about not liking Heinlein because you stopped reading after Starship Troopers.
And read Catch-22 if you haven't. Along with Atlas Shrugged, it's one of my favorite books. Not that we ever have anything in common or anything.
Since we decided you need to become funnier ( ), read Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome. And HHGTTG. And even though it's been ripped by critics far and wide, I actually enjoyed A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers. The most fun I've ever had reading a "biography".
As a kid, I read Clive Cussler's Raise the Titanic a lot. Like monthly. Interesting read.
Where the Red Fern Grows is a good book. That and A Prayer for Owen Meany are the only two books that make me cry every time I read them.
At least in the former, it starts near the end. In the latter,
SPOILERS
it's during Johnny's mother's funeral, a quarter of the way into the book. I have to set the book down and cry for about three months before I can pick it up and finish it.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Don't read Time Enough for Love. Only people who are already fanatical fans of Heinlein can possibly like that rambling piece of garbage.
Do read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, or Stranger in a Strange Land, or The Door into Summer. Posted by raphael (Member # 5870) on :
Anne McCaffry - the dragonriders of Pern series. definitly a must. did anyone read pride and prejudice???-thats a nother favorite Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Yeah. Where the Red Fern Grows. Tough stuff. That was the first book that I read more than once. And the only book that makes me cry every time.
Ooh, i thought of some others, Eddie...
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
quote:Geek Love is the story of the Binewskis, a carny family whose mater- and paterfamilias set out–with the help of amphetamine, arsenic, and radioisotopes–to breed their own exhibit of human oddities. There’s Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . . . albino hunchback Oly, and the outwardly normal Chick, whose mysterious gifts make him the family’s most precious–and dangerous–asset.
Posted by luthe (Member # 1601) on :
you ask for two very diverse things in your post.
1) What I'd really like is something fun, smart, but not intellectual
2) which books you think are truly wonderful -- the greats of whichever genres you're interested in
maybe these are the same thing for everyone else, or maybe the 1st one really was not a request. Regardless my response fits into the first.
Rain Fall, Hard Rain both by Barry Eisler. they are not the greatest books I have ever read, however they are very entertaining.
and here are some books for #2: On The Beach by Nevil Shute Earth Abides by George R. Stewart The Gemini Contenders by Robert Ludlum War With the Newts by Karel Capek We by Yevgeny Zamyatin Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Neuromancer by William Gibson
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Dark American fantasy for you. And it's good.
Also, the Merlin series, but I can't remember the author except for the fact that her first name is Mary. First book is The Crystal Cave, next one is The Hollow Hills.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Mary Stewart
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
Running through the book titles, I came across this review for Atlas Shrugged.
quote: Ban this book!, October 28, 2003 Reviewer: A reader from Tehran, Iran This book is an outrage to all of the values of civilization. Selfless service, faith, well-meaning government direction in our lives, humility, no material possessions -- these are the values that should be pursued and cherised. Why? There is no why! If you have to asked why then it just means you are unenlightened and inferior. It just means you've been corrupted by Western civilization to even ask such a ridiculous question!
The world is finally starting to realize the evil of capitalism, individualism, and progress. It's finally starting to bring them down and stomp on them. This book could put an end to this glorious march toward enlightenment -- not because what the book says is true but because it appeals to the lowest in people, their so-called reason and sickening logic. It cannot be allowed to happen. Ban this book!!!
This is a ridiculously blatant example of one of Raynd's fans creating an evil-Muslim-strawman for the sake of either masturbation or encouragement of reading this book.
If these are the sorts of people that read her, I'm not sure that I want to.
At least, I won't buy her book. A nearby library might have one, I'll check it out.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Actually, I posted that, pretending to be an Ayn Rand fan pretending to be an Ayn Rand hater, so that people would see right through me and not read the book.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
quote: Are you my Mother? - Dr. Seuss
This was the first book I ever read. ^_^
Posted by Ethics Gradient (Member # 878) on :
I'm currently reading the graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore, with art from Eddie Campbell. Utterly brilliant. It's an account of the Jack the Ripper murders that is utterly enthralling and has the depth, atmosphere and writing quality of a top-notch novel. It's pretty brutal though and has lotsa swearing (not that this will bother Eddie but it may bother others).
Otherwise...
Most books by Salman Rushdie. All books by Michael Ondaatje. All books by JM Coetzee. The Black Album by Hanief Kureishi. Thousands of other books I can't think of right now.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I second JM Coetzee.
And Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
The Merlin series is written by Mary Stewart.....not that I am recommending them; it's been too long since I've read them, but I did enjoy them 20 years ago....
Read Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay, or his first series which begins with The Summer Tree, followed buy The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road.
Kwea
Posted by Black Mage (Member # 5800) on :
A Walk to Remember, by Nicholas Sparks. That book made me cry. . .
Though the movie was terrible.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
Argh. I'm not even going to bother touting The Chess Garden this time. I honestly think I may be the only person in the world aside from Jeff VanderMeer who's ever read it.
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
Assasin Trilogy, Live Ship Trilogy, Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb. OSC talked about her at signing and says he thinks she is best fantasy writter out right now. I must agree she is awsome.
This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti. Very exciting reads. Spiritual Warfare.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Album.
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), read Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome. And HHGTTG. And even though it's been ripped by critics far and wide, I actually enjoyed A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers. The most fun I've ever had reading a "biography".![[Hat]](graemlins/hat.gif)
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