The Best Book You Ever Read?

[ozraven]

(For those who want to discuss something other than the impending conflict........)

What's the best book/completed series of books you have ever read??

Not in a literary sense, but in terms of pure, "unputdownable" entertainment.........

 

[breakwall]

F Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby...he painted with words.

 

[Spaceboy]

Definitely 1984 by George Orwell for me.

 

[Nora]

Either Brave New World or Atlas Shrugged. Both were serious page-turners for me.

Well, and my standard smutty fare, of course.

 

[Guest]

Anne McCaffery

The Dragonriders of Pern

which include
Dragonflight
Dragonquest
The White Dragon
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
Nerilka's Story
Dragonsdawn
The Renegades of Pern
All the Weyrs of Pern
The Chronicals of Pern : First Fall
The Dophins of Pern
Dragonseye
The Masterharper of Pern
The Skies of Pern
Dragonsong
Dragonsinger
Dragondrums

 

[just pet]

Breakwall and Nora, you nailed a few of my favorites.

"Great Apes" by Will Self

 

[70/30]

F Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby...he painted with words.

Excellent.

The Brothers Karamazov. C&P. Les Miserables. Complete works of Jorge Luis Borges. Seven Nights by Borges. Peter the Great--his life and world~Robert Massie. Nicolas and Alexandra~Massie. The Velveteen Rabbit~Williams. The Giving Tree~silverstein. Charlotte's Web~White.

One of the few that actually wanted War and Peace to be longer. Karenina the same. Tolstoi's collected short stories. Emerson's Essays travel with me. Various books on Burr/Hamilton/Jefferson.

 

[RosevilleCAguy]

Excellent.

The Brothers Karamazov. C&P. Les Miserables. Complete works of Jorge Luis Borges. Seven Nights by Borges. Peter the Great--his life and world~Robert Massie. Nicolas and Alexandra~Massie. The Velveteen Rabbit~Williams. The Giving Tree~silverstein. Charlotte's Web~White.

One of the few that actually wanted War and Peace to be longer. Karenina the same. Tolstoi's collected short stories. Emerson's Essays travel with me. Various books on Burr/Hamilton/Jefferson.

Most excellent list. You read any Kafka?

 

[70/30]

The bestest~~candide

 

[RosevilleCAguy]

The bestest~~candide

Got a red sheep?

 

[Guest]

 

[just pet]

I'm swoonin' here
Just swoonin'

Great books
My shelves runneth over

 

[70/30]

Most excellent list. You read any Kafka?

Wanted to get there but my attention span has been slashed, Borges does that. With me labyrinth is the correct term--I currently read it over and over. Probably not what he intended.

 

[Bobmi357]

David Eddings Belgariad Series and the following Mallorean series.

Stephen Hawkins book, a brief history of time.

Douglas Adams' Five Stages of the Universe

The Ring Trilogy by JRR Tolkien

Most of anything written by Heinlein and Anne Mcaffery

 

[woodgie2]

"Citizen of the Galixy" by Robert Heinlein.

In fact I'm a fan or pretty much all his stuff. I'm just re-reading "The Moon is a Harsh Misteress"

 

[70/30]

Got a red sheep?

Animals are cool- i'd stay in the forest.

The three halves of Ino Moxo by César Calvo

Maybe I'd shipp them out--but it'd solely be for the chick appeal.

 

[k¡tty]

My favorite all time book has to be Jane Eyre.

I was around 12 when I read it and couldn't put it down, finished it within 2 days.

My senior year I asked my AP English teacher what she was going to make them (heh) read as our novel for that year. She said she hadn't decided so being the helpful girl I am, I suggested that they needed to read that one. I was ever so popular with my classmates that semester. My best friend ran the campaign of boo's in my honor.

I've read it at *least* 7 times.

 

[Blindinthedark]

I'm a big fan of Kurt Vonnegut.
Breakfast of Champions.
Blue Beard.
The Siren of Titans

Dune by Frank Herbert

Nine Princes of Amber series was good (forgot the writer)

 

[ozraven]

I was starting to get really worried until I neared the posts above this......

I have never read 1984, or the Great Gatsby, I always assumed their reputation meant they were strictly highbrow........(Adding them to my list though )

Dinners ready, so I'll make this brief and come back.....

Magician, by Fiest
Jean Auel's Clan series
And
Asimov's Foundation series

Are the ones that spring to mind straight up.......

Keep going guys, I need some ideas, (there is always an ulterior motive)

 

[bbw_25]

I don't know that its the best I have ever read but To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorites..

 

[70/30]

I like books like Paradise Lost~Milton,

Occasionally read the online version of The Anatomy of Melancholy~Robert Burton http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0940322668.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Borges also pointed me to Agrippa's occult http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa1.htm

Mann's Death in Venice, The Magic Mountain are interesting.

Many American History Viewpoint Essay books

Philosopher or Dog? JM Machado de Assis

Sesame and Lilies by Ruskin is worthy enough to carry around.

I even skim through a complilation of Lord Edmund Burke, he gives conservatives some hue--not much.

 

[Guest]

Terry Goodkind
The Sword of Truth series

Wizards First Rule
Stone of Tears
Blood of the Fold
Temple of the Winds
Soul of the Fire
Faith of the Fallen
The Pillars of Creation

 

[Guest]

There is also
Anne McCaffery's Freedom Series

Freedoms Landing
Freedoms Choice
Freedoms Challenge
Freedoms Ransom

 

[Butch Welder]

I love the classics

Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Anything by Tom Robbins, Milan Kundera, Chuck Bukowski

 

[SuprSalor]

[.............

Not in a literary sense, but in terms of pure, "unputdownable" entertainment......... [/B]

Thats really hard to say, I'm such a reader! Probably The LOTR trilogy. Read that one many times! Also enjoy Clancy's novels and others of that genre. Definitely not "literature" but good for escapist entertainment.