Your all time favorite book is.... - Page 4

BookCat · 05-20-2010, 06:20 AM

Peter Beagle: A Fine and Private Place.

Few have read this, but it's worth getting hold of. Probably not an ebook; I've got the pback.

I originally read it after a friend lent it to me many years ago; it was so good that I went out and bought it. Waterstones and other major bookstores didn't have it in stock, so had to order it. It's probably available on Amazon.
The most original story: set in a graveyard; main characters are two ghosts and a guy who (for reasons later revealed) can't leave the graveyard and is looked after by a talking raven who steals food for him.
Highly recommended.

ensyed · 05-20-2010, 07:41 AM

I too have several

Ender series
Miles Vorkisigon series (I imagined M J Fox as the lead character)
foundation series
Several books by Georgette Heyer
Dune
PG Wodehouse

A book I recently read and enjoyed is Blood of Flowers.

Sparrow · 05-20-2010, 07:49 AM

'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley

It changed who I am.

GeoffC · 05-20-2010, 07:53 AM

Lemmus - A Time Trilogy by Julian Jay Savarin

Xanthe · 05-20-2010, 01:42 PM

I can't narrow it down to a single book.

Steve Anderson · 05-20-2010, 02:11 PM

I can't narrow it down either, no way. But today I'm going to go with A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

It's not what I usually read or write (I'm more of a historical espionage/crime noir thriller kind of guy) but I'm fascinated by this book because it doesn't seem to work and yet does.

Otherwise, I'd go with the better books by Graham Greene, Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith ... Okay, I'll stop. I had to pick one.

Jonimeesermann · 05-20-2010, 04:02 PM

Definitely Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire. Good Plot, exciting story, and a real breakthrough from its predecessor.
Followed closely by Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fear.

Coreman · 05-20-2010, 10:21 PM

This one is easy for me...my criteria is what book would I buy again if I was traveling and needed something to read, even though I may have the book at home.

I have (3) paperback copies of "Red Storm Rising" on my bookshelf, all purchased while traveling and as a direct result of some very poor choices in reading material selection before those trips.

I'll bet most people don't recall that book came out about (9) months before a real meeting between Reagan/Gorbachev in Keflavik, Iceland. So when the meeting took place, I was already familiar with Iceland and Keflavik and the strategic importance of Iceland.

The other book I really enjoy is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"...just love how Twain plays the Connecticut Yankee off against Merlin...

GrouchoM · 05-20-2010, 11:32 PM

I haven't read many but I'd have to say

1984 by Orwell
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky
The Metamorphoses - Kafka
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

starrigger · 05-20-2010, 11:43 PM

The Lord of the Rings, hands down. I read it every exam period when I was supposed to be studying in college, and I've read it aloud to my kids several times.

The books that turned me on to reading as a kid were the Tom Swift, Jr. series and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (esp. The Revolt on Venus).

Vintage Season · 05-21-2010, 12:06 AM

If you are going by the single volume I have purchased, read, and given as a gift more than any other tome in my collection, it would have to be Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein. There have been times when I felt like Mel Gibson's character in the film Conspiracy Theory, checking out of a used bookstore with multiple copies of Stranger, in various formats.

Now, if your definition of "favorite book" could be expanded to include "favorite series of anthologies," the honor would have to go to Isaac Asimov's three-volume Before the Golden Age (spanning 1931-1938) and continuing with all twenty-five volumes of Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories (1939-1963). What a colossal literary education, in paperback form!

- M.

cbarnett · 05-21-2010, 12:42 AM

To pick only one is very, very difficult. Ultimately, it has to be Lord of the Rings though. Reading this in me early teens was a life changing experience, and is the only book (apart from Dune) that gets re-read at least every other year.

Mrraow · 05-21-2010, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BookCat

Peter Beagle: A Fine and Private Place.

Another excellent choice. I'm off to re-read it now!

dfigueroa · 05-21-2010, 07:53 AM

At the risk of being trite, or being laughed out of here:

The Prince of Tides or
When We Were Six, lol!

Noah98 · 05-21-2010, 09:34 PM

1984 by George Orwell

We're almost there now...

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05-20-2010, 06:20 AM	#46
BookCat C L J Posts: 2,912 Karma: 21115458 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Birmingham UK Device: Sony e-reader 505, Kindle PW2, Kindle PW3, Kobo Libra2	Peter Beagle: A Fine and Private Place. Few have read this, but it's worth getting hold of. Probably not an ebook; I've got the pback. I originally read it after a friend lent it to me many years ago; it was so good that I went out and bought it. Waterstones and other major bookstores didn't have it in stock, so had to order it. It's probably available on Amazon. The most original story: set in a graveyard; main characters are two ghosts and a guy who (for reasons later revealed) can't leave the graveyard and is looked after by a talking raven who steals food for him. Highly recommended.

05-20-2010, 07:41 AM	#47
ensyed Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 12 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle 2	I too have several Ender series Miles Vorkisigon series (I imagined M J Fox as the lead character) foundation series Several books by Georgette Heyer Dune PG Wodehouse A book I recently read and enjoyed is Blood of Flowers.

05-20-2010, 07:49 AM	#48
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley It changed who I am.

05-20-2010, 07:53 AM	#49
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Lemmus - A Time Trilogy by Julian Jay Savarin

05-20-2010, 01:42 PM	#50
Xanthe Plan B Is Now In Force Posts: 1,894 Karma: 8086979 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Surebleak Device: Aluratek,Sony 350/T1,Pandigital,eBM 911,Nook HD/HD+,Fire HDX 7/8.9,PW2	I can't narrow it down to a single book.

05-20-2010, 02:11 PM	#51
Steve Anderson Addict Posts: 226 Karma: 260821 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Portland, Oregon USA Device: iPhone, laptop, more	I can't narrow it down either, no way. But today I'm going to go with A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. It's not what I usually read or write (I'm more of a historical espionage/crime noir thriller kind of guy) but I'm fascinated by this book because it doesn't seem to work and yet does. Otherwise, I'd go with the better books by Graham Greene, Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith ... Okay, I'll stop. I had to pick one.

05-20-2010, 04:02 PM	#52
Jonimeesermann Connoisseur Posts: 82 Karma: 12 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Nokia e71, Ipod Touch, Sony PRS 300	Definitely Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire. Good Plot, exciting story, and a real breakthrough from its predecessor. Followed closely by Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fear.

05-20-2010, 10:21 PM	#53
Coreman Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Beijing, China Device: PRS-600	This one is easy for me...my criteria is what book would I buy again if I was traveling and needed something to read, even though I may have the book at home. I have (3) paperback copies of "Red Storm Rising" on my bookshelf, all purchased while traveling and as a direct result of some very poor choices in reading material selection before those trips. I'll bet most people don't recall that book came out about (9) months before a real meeting between Reagan/Gorbachev in Keflavik, Iceland. So when the meeting took place, I was already familiar with Iceland and Keflavik and the strategic importance of Iceland. The other book I really enjoy is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"...just love how Twain plays the Connecticut Yankee off against Merlin...

05-20-2010, 11:32 PM	#54
GrouchoM Enthusiast Posts: 44 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: none	I haven't read many but I'd have to say 1984 by Orwell The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky The Metamorphoses - Kafka Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

05-20-2010, 11:43 PM	#55
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	The Lord of the Rings, hands down. I read it every exam period when I was supposed to be studying in college, and I've read it aloud to my kids several times. The books that turned me on to reading as a kid were the Tom Swift, Jr. series and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (esp. The Revolt on Venus).

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05-21-2010, 12:06 AM	#56
Vintage Season Pulps and dime novels... Posts: 343 Karma: 1952003 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kobo Aura/Kobo Aura One LE/iPad Air	If you are going by the single volume I have purchased, read, and given as a gift more than any other tome in my collection, it would have to be Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein. There have been times when I felt like Mel Gibson's character in the film Conspiracy Theory, checking out of a used bookstore with multiple copies of Stranger, in various formats. Now, if your definition of "favorite book" could be expanded to include "favorite series of anthologies," the honor would have to go to Isaac Asimov's three-volume Before the Golden Age (spanning 1931-1938) and continuing with all twenty-five volumes of Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories (1939-1963). What a colossal literary education, in paperback form! - M.

05-21-2010, 12:42 AM	#57
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	To pick only one is very, very difficult. Ultimately, it has to be Lord of the Rings though. Reading this in me early teens was a life changing experience, and is the only book (apart from Dune) that gets re-read at least every other year.

05-21-2010, 07:53 AM	#59
dfigueroa La Guera en Manzanillo Posts: 33 Karma: 50 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico Device: Kindle 2 Global	At the risk of being trite, or being laughed out of here: The Prince of Tides or When We Were Six, lol!

05-21-2010, 09:34 PM	#60
Noah98 Eccentric Posts: 510 Karma: 342150 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Florida Device: The nook, ipad 3, Kindle Fire HD (8.9), Kindle Paperwhite	1984 by George Orwell We're almost there now...