Popular fiction, huh? It's hard to see where to draw the line between popular fiction and classic.
That said, I'm probably going to go with "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.
Sticking to Popular Fiction and excluding the Classics, what are some of the best books you've ever read? For me:
1. The Winds of War/War and Remembrance (Herman Wouk)
2. Noble House (James Clavell)
3. Space (James Michener)
Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan
Popular fiction, huh? It's hard to see where to draw the line between popular fiction and classic.
That said, I'm probably going to go with "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.
As a voracious reader, I commend Mr. Green for a worthy thread topic. It is near impossible to list all my favorites so I'll just list five off the top of my head that stick out (there will be a slight recent bias as those books are fresher in my memory)
1) Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (even if you despise her philosophy, it's an incredibly entertaining read)
2) Atonement - Ian McEwan
3) Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
4) Kavalier and Clay - Micheal Chabon
5) Shogun - James Clavell
Honorary shoutout to Harry Potter. Midnight madness on July 21st in Arlington, VA. Who's with me?
Fav Classic: To Kill a Mockingbird
Pulpy beach reading: any Myron Bolitar mystery - Myron is a Jewish, Duke National Championship point guard who was in the pros, blew out his knee, and is now an agent who (along with his trusty roommate from Duke) solves mysteries for his clients. There are lots of good twists and turns in these which makes good pulp, but also has humor - like Myron drinks Yoohoo and like his roommate is an ex-CIA assassin (comes in handy) - both are into tv trivia, like Giligan and Batman/Catwoman. For this series it's best to start at the beginning but Fade Away is the classic Duke - Carolina rivalry fictionalized into a mystery.
I'll be at the Woodbridge, VA Borders for the last Potter.
As for my favorites, right now I'm reading a different wizard named Harry. Harry Dresden. The show sucks, but the books are awesome. Check them out. They're by Jim Butcher, and there are, I think, nine of them now. Think wizard in modern day Chicago meets 50's classic sam spade noir. You know "I could tell that dame was trouble the second she walked through my door" kind of thing. But somehow, it works. Best series I've read in years. His dry humor is awesome. Much better than in the show.
Also, the Mists of Avalon is a pretty cool series. It's the Arthurian legends from the female characters' perspective.
Again, it would take forever to get into all my favorites, but these are the ones I'm reading now that I like.
always a favorite thread. Some recent favorites:
The Namesake - http://www.amazon.com/Namesake-movie...1745405&sr=1-1
Patrimony - http://www.amazon.com/Patrimony-True...1745448&sr=1-1
Everyman - http://www.amazon.com/Everyman-Phili...1745471&sr=1-1
Away from Her - http://www.amazon.com/Away-Her-Alice...1745491&sr=1-1
The Road - http://www.amazon.com/Road-Oprahs-Bo...1745512&sr=1-1
warning - most of the above are pretty depressing. I gotta find something fun!
If you enjoy historical fiction (as I do), check out some of the stuff by Duke grad Steven Pressfield. He's pretty well known for "The Legend of Bagger Vance," but I would suggest that "Gates of Fire" -- the story of the Spartan stand at Thermoplaye (and a much, MUCH better story than "300") is his best world. I also enjoyed "Tides of War" (a novel about Alcibiades and the Peloponesian War) and "The Last Amazon."
When it comes to classics, pretty much anything by Twain or Dickens. I also think Tolstoy's stuff is very accessable, fun to read.
For trashier stuff, I have to push Philip Roth's "The Great American Novel" -- the funniest novel ever writter (just ahead of "A Confedercy of Dunces") about a woebegone WWII-era baseball team and how the Soviet Union tries to use it to destroy America.
I also like "alternate fiction" -- the so-called "what if stories". I'm actually currently reading Robert Conroy's stuff -- his "1901" (about a German invasion of the United States at the turn of the century -- which was actually planned by the Germans) is superb. His "1945" (the Japanese don't surrender after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but fight on) is okay, but not as much fun. Just starting "1862" (in which England does join the war over the Trent Affair) and it's not bad so far (I especially like that he's made a major character out of General Winfield Scott -- the most unappreciated military genius in American history).
Still, the greatest "what-if" novel of all time is Harry Turtledove's "Guns of the South" which is based on a premise that's so absurd that I'm embarrassed to list it. But the execution of the novel -- the characters, the scene, etc. are so good as overcome it's ludicrous premise. And a lot of it takes places in eastern North Carolina.
I know that's a long list and I'm leaving out the Tom Clancy novels (my favorite beach read), the Agatha Christie novels, and my whole fascination with science fiction (Robert Heinlein is a god!).
Last edited by Olympic Fan; 06-13-2007 at 10:56 AM. Reason: correct Pressfield's first name
The best book I've read recently is 'Cryptonomicon' by Neal Stephenson. It's a globe-spanning tale, which has multiple, interwoven story-lines that take place during WWII and in the present.
Mr. Stephenson knows how to turn a phrase; I've never laughed so hard while reading. I'd also recommend 'Snow Crash.' Even though it's 15 years old, it still seems relevant (almost prescient) today.
If anyone can recommend an author with a similar attention to detail and sense of humor, I'd appreciate it.
A few books that I appeal to me enough to reread periodically:
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel: A fantastic debut novel that has some of the best character work around.
Fatherland by Robert Harris: For fans of alternate history, this is a must. A detective novel set in 1960ish Germany, in a Germany where they won World War II and the US never entered the war.
The First Man in Rome(and subsequent Rome novels) by Colleen McCoullough: excellent in depth and very personal fictional account of the Rome around Caesar's time(and for an insomniac who reads quickly, the fact that there are 6 different 500+ page books makes me happier)
Hyperion by Dan Simmons: Canterbury Tales goes scifi in a bizarre but engrossing story,
The DaVinci Code - best book ever
J/k... Thanks for all the great tips, I've been looking for more books to read. I've read many of the above (some of them thanks to old book threads on DBR) and have liked all of those that I know which were mentioned above, and have read several multiple times.
One which I read a while back but haven't seen mentioned is Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Although it is a translation, the prose is still great. The second half doesn't hold up to the promise of the first half, but it is probably the best first half I've ever read (or close at least).
Another good book is The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Sorry...just realized that the thread has morphed from "best book ever" to book recommendations. I still think recs are good for our summer reading.
It is hard to choose a "best book ever"
Really loved The Da Vinci Code.
The books that were the best by my idiosyncratic experience were Daniel Martin by John Fowles (I could easily have nominated The Magus as well) and, as a set, Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet, especially Justine and Clea.
More recently and more obviously "popular fiction," Shopgirl by Steve Martin and An Equal Music by Vikram Seth.
Last edited by mapei; 06-13-2007 at 01:42 PM. Reason: punctuation
This is hard to do away from my bookshelves, but since these immediately sprang to mind, I guess they'd top my list:
1) Soldier of a Great War by Mark Helprin. Helprin might be more well-known for his political undertakings, but this novel is beautiful. Just lyrically written, with a compelling story of love, war, an affair with a city. His "Winter Tale" is another love affair with a city, and I enjoyed it, but not half as much as "Soldier."
2) East of Eden, by Steinbeck. I don't consider this a "classic," like something by Shakespeare, Dickens or Tolstoy since it's from this century, but it's definitely an American classic. I connected with this novel far more than with Grapes of Wrath; it spawned a Steinbeck love affair.
3) East of the Mountains, by David Guterson. Brilliant prose, with a compelling character and descriptions that fill the mind with crystal images of places I'd never been.
4) A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams. Ground-breaking in its originality, witty and still snort-out-loud-funny, the best of British humor and intelligence in a small package. Don't Panic.
There needs to be a version of HGTTG that comes with a towel.
My favorite books are almost all pulp/pop fiction that I should probably not admit to liking but there are 2 that stand out from all the others.
I have read each of these several times-- something I don't think I can say for any other book in my life. I routinely pick them up and flip to a random page and just start reading. I'd say I have read them at least a dozen times each.
The Princess Bride by S Morgenstern (the good parts version edited by William Goldman)
and
Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. Dragon is unlike any other King story and is probably one of his less popular works. It is not horror. It is what King wrote when his young son wanted King to read him one of his stories.
-Jason "I used to like Chricton, but now consider him to be Satan and refuse to read him any more" Evans
Agree completely with Jason on Crichton. I can't handle his ficton at all. Loved Andromeda but that was his last good book and his climate change book was true garbage not fit for the the paper he uses in the bathroom.