View Full Version : The Best Book Ever?
Bob Green
06-13-2007, 05:50 AM
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
BlueDiablo
06-13-2007, 09:34 AM
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.
Dukerati
06-13-2007, 10:03 AM
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?
rthomas
06-13-2007, 10:21 AM
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.
bjornolf
06-13-2007, 10:21 AM
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.
wiscodevil
06-13-2007, 10:39 AM
always a favorite thread. Some recent favorites:
The Namesake - http://www.amazon.com/Namesake-movie-tie-Jhumpa-Lahiri/dp/0618733965/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8976825-5271628?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181745405&sr=1-1
Patrimony - http://www.amazon.com/Patrimony-True-Story-Philip-Roth/dp/0679752935/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8976825-5271628?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181745448&sr=1-1
Everyman - http://www.amazon.com/Everyman-Philip-Roth/dp/0307277712/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8976825-5271628?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181745471&sr=1-1
Away from Her - http://www.amazon.com/Away-Her-Alice-Munro/dp/0307386694/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8976825-5271628?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181745491&sr=1-1
The Road - http://www.amazon.com/Road-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0307387895/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8976825-5271628?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181745512&sr=1-1
warning - most of the above are pretty depressing. I gotta find something fun!
Olympic Fan
06-13-2007, 10:53 AM
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!).
wiscodevil
06-13-2007, 11:01 AM
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.
Agreed, loved it!
BlueDiablo
06-13-2007, 11:05 AM
always a favorite thread. Some recent favorites:
The Namesake - http://www.amazon.com/Namesake-movie-tie-Jhumpa-Lahiri/dp/0618733965/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8976825-5271628?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181745405&sr=1-1
I really liked the Mira Nair movie. And not just because Mira Nair is such a nice person and was so kind to my boy.
http://www.beggingtodiffer.com/images/miranair.jpg
IamMatt'sUserName
06-13-2007, 11:43 AM
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.
BlueDiablo
06-13-2007, 11:46 AM
If anyone can recommend an author with a similar attention to detail and sense of humor, I'd appreciate it.
If you've never read "The Crying of Lot 49," Thomas Pynchon reads a lot like Stephenson, except from 40 years ago.
billybreen
06-13-2007, 12:30 PM
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.
Ditto on both, but I think I prefer 'Snow Crash.' You should also read 'Diamond Age' if you haven't yet.
Deslok
06-13-2007, 12:57 PM
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,
Clipsfan
06-13-2007, 01:06 PM
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
Clipsfan
06-13-2007, 01:09 PM
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"
throatybeard
06-13-2007, 01:25 PM
Sticking to Popular Fiction and excluding the Classics
Why?
(insert characters to make ten)
mapei
06-13-2007, 01:40 PM
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.
DevilAlumna
06-13-2007, 02:53 PM
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.
JasonEvans
06-13-2007, 03:43 PM
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
rthomas
06-13-2007, 05:14 PM
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.
ohioguy2
06-13-2007, 05:21 PM
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.
The M. Bolitar series is good pulp stuff, but perhaps because it references Duke, I forgive its weaknesses.:)
Bob Green
06-13-2007, 05:28 PM
Why?
(insert characters to make ten)
I was planning to start a separate thread for the Classics. It is probably better to just keep it all in one thread.
My favorite classic is For Whom the Bell Tolls. I also like The Sun Also Rises.
Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan
the book that has stuck with me the longest is:
Into Thin Air. Jon Krakauer.
I have read an enormous volume of science fiction. The juvenile Heinleins are tops.
For classics, ruling out stuff force-fed through school hence disqualified by residual bad-taste-in-mouth:
Life on the Mississippi
(for a short story): The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Best opening paragraph in literature, maybe.
Having written this down, I can see my perspective is manly-man outdoor stuff by male writers.
3rdgenDukie
06-13-2007, 08:45 PM
I third the motion on anything by Douglas Adams, with 'Dunces' and 'Catch-22' joining his works in purely insane humor.
Hard to beat David Foster Wallace for clever, over the top stylistic games.
Love Vonnegut - is he classic?
Philip Dick penned wildly amusing sci-fi-ish type stories. Mostly collections of short stuff.
Love 'Thanks you for smoking' and 'Little green men' by Chris Buckley.
All-time? Anything by Camus or Dostoevsky.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson may become an all-time great.
Exiled_Devil
06-13-2007, 09:24 PM
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.
If you like Snow Crash, the obligatory compliment to that is 'Nueromancer' by William Gibson. It is somewhat contemporary, and any movie rendition of the internet is a bastard child of Gibson's and Stephenson's vision.
Gibson's other books are actually more engaging, IMO - check out Pattern Recognition for a non-scifi story about our current world - amazing.
I dig Stephenson, Gibson, Gaiman (another expert phrase-turner),Terry Pratchet (Discworld is hilarious), and recently, Stephen Baxter. Baxter is a hard-science scifi author, with an entire future Timeline. He is in the mold of Arthur C Clarke.
Ditto on the Turtledove book - absurd premise, but a great book. I understand he extends the timeline out to WWI and WWII - its on my 'sometime when I don't have a pile of books already' list.
To answer the first question of the thread, my top book is Dune, by Frank Herbert. (Where has DukeUsul been?). At least, it was in 2003, the last time I had this conversation. I need to go upstairs to my office and look at my shelves to see if any other books have supplanted it. I seem to think one has - I'll check and drop my top five later.
Exiled
(Yes, I am a bibliophile - I have three 8 ft shelves overflowing with books in my office, and a library going into the house my wife and I are building)
billybreen
06-13-2007, 10:53 PM
Kudos, Exiled! I should have mentioned Gibson as well -- I love the Neuromancer trilogy (which includes Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive). I actually didn't love Pattern Recognition -- it was great until the end but felt like it lost steam.
For current hard sci fi, I love Charles Stross. He hits a number of different genres, including alternate history and horror (not scary horror, more in the mold of H.P. Lovecraft), but his bread and butter is sci fi. He has 3 separate series in each genre going currently, and he writes about 3 or 4 new books per year.
Cory Doctorow needs to be mentioned for Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
Also, ditto on the bibliophile thing. According to Delicious Library (http://www.delicious-monster.com/) (a super fun app for the Mac), I currently have 379 books in my house, though there are a few I haven't scanned in yet.
Edit: Can't believe I left off Vernor Vinge. His most recent, Rainbow's End (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312856849/ref=nosim/deliciousmons-20), was great.
Cavlaw
06-13-2007, 10:57 PM
My bookshelves are also overflowing... Favorite authors include:
- Stephen King; pretty much anything. I love the Dark Tower, and am a huge fan of his short stories. I have come to appreciate his 'horror' stories more than I ever thought I would -- his style of writing is just excellent.
- George RR Martin; for high fantasy, this guy is just as good as it gets. Tolkien can keep his linguistics and poetry -- Martin is writing a gritty epic that may be less iconic (and less symbolic) but it one hell of a read.
- Takeshi Matsuoka; if you haven't visited Lord Genji in Cloud of Sparrows Castle, you're missing out on a great story - Japan in the mid-late 19th century.
- Isaac Asimov; the father of mainstream 'hard' science fiction. What's not to like?
- Terry Pratchett; for all the reasons mentioned. I highly recommend the collaboration with Neil Gaiman titled "Good Omens".
- Terry Brooks; the first author I picked up.
- Robert Howard and HP Lovecraft; two of America's greatest short story writers, the collections of the creators of Conan and Cthulhu are must reads.
EDIT - how could I leave off Dan Simmons? The Hyperion Quartet was excellent, but don't discount Illium/Olympos. Of course, the guy really has it in for muslims and catholics, but if you can look past that, he writes great stories.
On to individual books:
- Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet. One of the best works of historical fiction available, by an otherwise unremarkable fiction author. This book has also recently became the subject of an excellent boardgame.
- Dune, by Frank Herbert. One of the classics, but the sequels didn't live up to the original. Science fiction in the distant future on the desert world plagued by storms and giant worms, but the only location to acquire spice, the fuel on which the universe runs.
- Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Yes, it's about rabbits. wanna fight about it?
- Byzantium, by Stephen Lawhead. Another bit historical fiction, this book tracks the life of an Irish monk as he travels across Europe and the near east during the middle ages.
- Neuromancer, by William Gibson. The founder of the cyber punk genre and formative figure in hacker culture, William Gibson was a man ahead of his time.
rthomas
06-13-2007, 10:58 PM
William Gibson is from my hometown: Conway, SC - which you may have passed through to Myrtle Beach.
wilson
06-13-2007, 11:56 PM
Duke grad Anne Tyler is also off the heezay. I read about half a dozen of hers last summer and thoroughly enjoyed them all. She won a Pultizer for fiction for Breathing Lessons, but I liked The Accidental Tourist better.
dukemomLA
06-14-2007, 06:31 AM
Hard to answer this shortly. So... here it goes:
Classics: Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Winds of War, Great Gatsby, The Jungle, In Cold Blood, Catch 22, Mists of Avalon, Grapes of Wrath, The Three Musketeers, Les Miserables, Dune, The Once and Future King, etc.
Authors I love: Dick Francis, Clive Cussler, Elmore Leonard, Laurie King, Robert Parker, Robert Crais, Dumas, Hugo, Martha Grimes.
Hard (sometimes) to find but wonderful:
Shadow of a Broken Man, and Bone -- George Chesbro
West Texas -- Al Sarrantino
Shibumi -- Trevanian
GOD, I LOVE to read!! I appreciate all responses. Always looking for new great books and authors.
Exiled_Devil
06-14-2007, 09:57 AM
Also, ditto on the bibliophile thing. According to Delicious Library (http://www.delicious-monster.com/) (a super fun app for the Mac), I currently have 379 books in my house, though there are a few I haven't scanned in yet.
I am now in my office, and looking at the books here, I wanted add some more (Some are psuedo-pop fiction)
I have enjoyed all of Raymond E Feist's Magician books and the spin-offs.
I can't believe I forgot Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - I am assigning that for a class I am teaching next year. I would put that in the list of Scifi classics. It gets progressively wearisome as the sequels go on, but that original was a great book. Bonus points for being from Greensboro and mentioning the town in an inter-galactic space story.
Two more books for those who like the Davinci code and want to challenge themselves:
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Davinci on steroids with multiple PhD's - more twisted and with so much information/hypothesize about Templars and Masons you can get dizzy. An amazing book, but it can get thick at times.
And, finally, The Illuminatus! Trilogy by RA Wilson. It was the closest thing to literary LSD that I have ever experienced. It's about Templars and such sometimes. It has a submerged Nazi undead army somewhere (I think) and it goes non-linear and counter-temporal in the writing style without warning. Fnord.
As for classically-classic books ( I count most of Herbert's, Dick's and Heinlein's work as classics), Jack Kerouac is a favorite of mine - On the Road and Dharma Bums are good books to read in your twenties, and even have legs for me in my thirties.
Exiled
Exiled
Dukerati
06-14-2007, 10:24 AM
I love Ender's Game! Have you read the spin-off with Bean and the sequel Exiled? Interesting books and suprisingly distinct and disparate voices from Ender's game.
As for classics, anything by Thomas Hardy and Anna Karenina are probably my favorites although they make we want to go jump off a bridge sometimes. The O'Henry short stories also come to mind.
Clipsfan
06-14-2007, 04:13 PM
My bookshelves are also overflowing... Favorite authors include:
- Stephen King; pretty much anything. I love the Dark Tower, and am a huge fan of his short stories. I have come to appreciate his 'horror' stories more than I ever thought I would -- his style of writing is just excellent.
- George RR Martin; for high fantasy, this guy is just as good as it gets. Tolkien can keep his linguistics and poetry -- Martin is writing a gritty epic that may be less iconic (and less symbolic) but it one hell of a read.
- Takeshi Matsuoka; if you haven't visited Lord Genji in Cloud of Sparrows Castle, you're missing out on a great story - Japan in the mid-late 19th century.
- Isaac Asimov; the father of mainstream 'hard' science fiction. What's not to like?
- Terry Pratchett; for all the reasons mentioned. I highly recommend the collaboration with Neil Gaiman titled "Good Omens".
- Terry Brooks; the first author I picked up.
- Robert Howard and HP Lovecraft; two of America's greatest short story writers, the collections of the creators of Conan and Cthulhu are must reads.
EDIT - how could I leave off Dan Simmons? The Hyperion Quartet was excellent, but don't discount Illium/Olympos. Of course, the guy really has it in for muslims and catholics, but if you can look past that, he writes great stories.
On to individual books:
- Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet. One of the best works of historical fiction available, by an otherwise unremarkable fiction author. This book has also recently became the subject of an excellent boardgame.
- Dune, by Frank Herbert. One of the classics, but the sequels didn't live up to the original. Science fiction in the distant future on the desert world plagued by storms and giant worms, but the only location to acquire spice, the fuel on which the universe runs.
- Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Yes, it's about rabbits. wanna fight about it?
- Byzantium, by Stephen Lawhead. Another bit historical fiction, this book tracks the life of an Irish monk as he travels across Europe and the near east during the middle ages.
- Neuromancer, by William Gibson. The founder of the cyber punk genre and formative figure in hacker culture, William Gibson was a man ahead of his time.
I've agreed with quite a few of the lists, but I really like yours. The only one I haven't read is Byzantium, although I didn't realize that there was a 4th Hyperion novel (I read the first two, and can't remember if I read a 3rd one, last year). Nice list of largely sci-fi. I just read Good Omens a couple months ago and liked the humor a ton, as well as Neverwhere.
darthur
06-15-2007, 11:25 AM
- George RR Martin; for high fantasy, this guy is just as good as it gets. Tolkien can keep his linguistics and poetry -- Martin is writing a gritty epic that may be less iconic (and less symbolic) but it one hell of a read.
I got into a Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM a couple years ago, and it absolutely blew me away. Book 4 was a bit of a letdown since the most interesting characters do not feature much, but Books 1-3 were the most satisfying reading experience I have ever had.
Cavlaw
06-15-2007, 11:56 AM
I got into a Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM a couple years ago, and it absolutely blew me away. Book 4 was a bit of a letdown since the most interesting characters do not feature much, but Books 1-3 were the most satisfying reading experience I have ever had.
Book 4 intentionally focused on a particular set of characters who were still present in the ongoing civil war. Book 5 will focus on the other characters.
GRRM had originally starting writting Book 4 to cover everyone during the same chronological period, but the storylines he wanted to encompass were getting too bulky to fit one voume, so his publisher told him to split it that way. Book 5 should 'catch up' on the missing characters, and Book 6 will be back to the old format.
My bookshelves are also overflowing... Favorite authors include:
- Stephen King; pretty much anything. I love the Dark Tower, and am a huge fan of his short stories. I have come to appreciate his 'horror' stories more than I ever thought I would -- his style of writing is just excellent.
- George RR Martin; for high fantasy, this guy is just as good as it gets. Tolkien can keep his linguistics and poetry -- Martin is writing a gritty epic that may be less iconic (and less symbolic) but it one hell of a read.
- Takeshi Matsuoka; if you haven't visited Lord Genji in Cloud of Sparrows Castle, you're missing out on a great story - Japan in the mid-late 19th century.
- Isaac Asimov; the father of mainstream 'hard' science fiction. What's not to like?
- Terry Pratchett; for all the reasons mentioned. I highly recommend the collaboration with Neil Gaiman titled "Good Omens".
- Terry Brooks; the first author I picked up.
- Robert Howard and HP Lovecraft; two of America's greatest short story writers, the collections of the creators of Conan and Cthulhu are must reads.
EDIT - how could I leave off Dan Simmons? The Hyperion Quartet was excellent, but don't discount Illium/Olympos. Of course, the guy really has it in for muslims and catholics, but if you can look past that, he writes great stories.
On to individual books:
- Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet. One of the best works of historical fiction available, by an otherwise unremarkable fiction author. This book has also recently became the subject of an excellent boardgame.
- Dune, by Frank Herbert. One of the classics, but the sequels didn't live up to the original. Science fiction in the distant future on the desert world plagued by storms and giant worms, but the only location to acquire spice, the fuel on which the universe runs.
- Watership Down, by Richard Adams. Yes, it's about rabbits. wanna fight about it?
- Byzantium, by Stephen Lawhead. Another bit historical fiction, this book tracks the life of an Irish monk as he travels across Europe and the near east during the middle ages.
- Neuromancer, by William Gibson. The founder of the cyber punk genre and formative figure in hacker culture, William Gibson was a man ahead of his time.
That is a good list, Cavlaw. One name that I would add is Stephen R. Donaldson. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are some of my favorite books that I have read, and the Gap series was excellent sci-fi. Note: these are not kids books.
Ursula K. Le Guin is also an excellent author. I read the Earthsea books when I was a kid, and absolutely loved them. In any match up of wizards, you'd have to give Ged a fighting chance. The Left Hand of Darkness is a sci-fi classic.
As for fun series, for my money, it's hard to top Roger Zelazny's Amber "trilogy". I dare someone to read Nine Princes in Amber and stop right there.
oso diablo
06-15-2007, 01:17 PM
some suggestions...
1. Peace Like A River (http://www.amazon.com/Peace-Like-River-Leif-Enger/dp/0802139256/ref=cm_lmf_tit_10/103-5037076-6844647) - Lief Enger
the novel i most enjoyed reading. beautifully written. for dreamers and believers.
2. A Prayer for Owen Meany (http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Owen-Meany-John-Irving/dp/061303421X/ref=cm_lmf_tit_3/103-5037076-6844647) - John Irving
3. Cloud Atlas (http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-5037076-6844647?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181927461&sr=1-2) - David Mitchell
a novel & author that i think many of you would like. from the link...
At once audacious, dazzling, pretentious and infuriating, Mitchell's third novel weaves history, science, suspense, humor and pathos through six separate but loosely related narratives... this latest foray relies on a kaleidoscopic plot structure that showcases the author's stylistic virtuosity. Each of the narratives is set in a different time and place, each is written in a different prose style, each is broken off mid-action and brought to conclusion in the second half of the book.
4. An Instance of the Fingerpost (http://www.amazon.com/Instance-Fingerpost-Novel-Iain-Pears/dp/1573227951/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5037076-6844647?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181927606&sr=1-1) - Ian Pears
An Instance of the Fingerpost is that rarest of all possible literary beasts--a mystery powered as much by ideas as by suspects, autopsies, and smoking guns. Hefty, intricately plotted, and intellectually ambitious...
The year is 1663, and the setting is Oxford, England, during the height of Restoration political intrigue. When Dr. Robert Grove is found dead in his Oxford room, hands clenched and face frozen in a rictus of pain, all the signs point to poison. Rashomon-like, the narrative circles around Grove's murder as four different characters give their version of events: Marco da Cola, a visiting Italian physician--or so he would like the reader to believe; Jack Prestcott, the son of a traitor who fled the country to avoid execution; Dr. John Wallis, a mathematician and cryptographer with a predilection for conspiracy theories; and Anthony Wood, a mild-mannered Oxford antiquarian
Dukerati
06-15-2007, 02:05 PM
3. Cloud Atlas (http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-5037076-6844647?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181927461&sr=1-2) - David Mitchell
a novel & author that i think many of you would like. from the link...
I'm actually reading this book right now... so far, so good!
Cavlaw
06-15-2007, 02:10 PM
That is a good list, Cavlaw. One name that I would add is Stephen R. Donaldson. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are some of my favorite books that I have read, and the Gap series was excellent sci-fi. Note: these are not kids books.
Ursula K. Le Guin is also an excellent author. I read the Earthsea books when I was a kid, and absolutely loved them. In any match up of wizards, you'd have to give Ged a fighting chance. The Left Hand of Darkness is a sci-fi classic.
As for fun series, for my money, it's hard to top Roger Zelazny's Amber "trilogy". I dare someone to read Nine Princes in Amber and stop right there.
I enjoy Le Guin's works. I also read Earthsea as a kid, and recall enjoying them. I read Left Hand of Darkness last year and liked it. I also enjoyed the Dispossessed. My wife likes Eyes of the Heron, but I haven't read it yet.
I've not read the other two authors you mention, but perhaps will give them a try.
My wife is also a big Connie Willis fan for a sci-fi/historical fiction bit about time travellers from the near future visiting WWII locations and victorian
England. I've read "To Say Nothing of the Dog" and liked it pretty well.
I recently read The World of Null A by A. E. van Vogt, which is hard to describe but creates a very cool premise with a bit of a surprise ending, that I recommend for a quick, but strong, diversion. I'm just about to get into The Moon and the Sun, by Vonda N. McIntyre, about scientists discovering living Sirens (of greek mythology) and returning with one to the court of Louis XIV, who launches an expedition to discover if they have the secret to immortality. It won the Nebula award in the late 90s, and so seems promising.
I guess my list is a little heavy on science fiction, but its my favorite genre. So much of it deals with political, philosophical, social, and emotional issues that go way beyond the "science" part of fiction. I've always viewed the best science fiction as addressing societal issues through the absrtact lens of the fantastic.
I enjoy quite a few books in a lot of different genres, but with my job I've come to discover I have only the tiniest fraction of time for reading in comparison to what I had in years past. I've thus been forced to very selectively narrow the scope of works I'll pick up, because I don't want to "lose" that precious time on a book that I ultimately find to be just mediocre.
In some regards, my fetish for one day owning a beautiful leather library has helped in this. I've been ordering from a few collections of the Easton Press, and have yet to be disappointed by something that has arrived. The "Science Fiction Classics" collection is just top-notch stuff that I look forward to every month. I was introduced to the company through "The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written" series which, though I don't like everything they've sent, has allowed me to pick up quite a few of the classics that I might not have given a chance on my own. I've also indulged myself by ordering the unabridged "Tales of a Thousand Nights and a Night" (Arabian Nights).
wiscodevil
06-15-2007, 02:51 PM
I'm actually reading this book right now... so far, so good!
Black Swan Green is great - http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Green-David-Mitchell/dp/0812974018/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1349786-2380763?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181933418&sr=1-1
alteran
06-15-2007, 04:14 PM
Sticking to Popular Fiction and excluding the Classics, what are some of the best books you've ever read?
I wrote this days ago meaning to post it, some of these are already covered, but here goes:
1. Shogun (James Clavell, historical fiction): Probably my favorite book on this list. Set in feudal Japan. Has a little bit of everything-- Machiavellian political intrigue, historical detail, romance, action. Historical stuff and settings VERY well researched.
2. The Vampire Lestat (Anne Rice, romantic historical horror): I made that genre up, but this is one of those genre-busting novels that in many ways defies description. This is actually the second in a series, but is her strongest novel, and its story is completely self-contained.
3. The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy, techno-thriller): Clancy's masterpiece about a defecting Russian nuclear submarine. Set during the cold war, this novel has a lot of wonderful historical, social, and technical detail.
4. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving, contemporary): Probably not Irving's "best" novel (he's more famous for World According to Garp), but IMHO his most approachable.
5. Dune (Frank Herbert, science fiction): Action, political intrigue, vivid and detailed portrayals of amazing and meticulously detailed cultures.
6. Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley, fantasy): Retelling of the Arthurian legends from the point of view of Morgan le Fey and Guinevere (in the novel, Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar). Probably the most emotionally powerful book I've ever read.
7. Sick Puppy (Carl Hiassen): I'm not even going to try to classify Carl Hiassen's novels by genre. All his novels are set in a satirically corrupt Florida. His stories are full of laugh out loud moments and way over-the-top characters. If you can get through this novel without laughing out loud I will buy your copy.
8. Neuromancer (William Gibson, cyberpunk/(science fiction): The quintessential cyberpunk novel. (Cyberpunk is a SF subgenre featuring corporate-controlled dystopias, extreme cultural mixing, and prominent virtual worlds). Hard to describe briefly and do it justice.
9. The Stand (Unabridged), [Stephen King: apocalyptic/thriller/horror]: Post bio-warfare apocalypse story, survivors picking up the pieces.
10. LA Confidential (James Ellroy, crime noire, period piece). Far-ranging, non-linear, byzantine crime novel set in glamor-era L.A. (James Ellroy absolutely owns that period in LA.) Richly drawn and disturbing characters. Do not approach in typical plot-based crime novel style-- the journey is the point of this book, not solving the crime. As an aside, turning this novel into a coherent and powerful movie that contains the feel of the novel while completely re-arranging its plot elements is one of the most under-appreciated feats in movie history.
billybreen
06-15-2007, 04:23 PM
I can't believe I forgot Christopher Moore -- hilarious writing that crosses and defies genres. I believe I've read everything by him, but my favorite is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (http://www.amazon.com/Lamb-Gospel-According-Christs-Childhood/dp/0380813815/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-6315361-9631324?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181938691&sr=8-1), a phenomenally funny and interesting book.
rsvman
06-15-2007, 05:06 PM
Best all time? Dunno.
But I really like "The Human Comedy" by William Saroyan. What a simple, powerful book.
Lately I've been into historical books, and two of them are highly recommended: 1) The Devil in the White City, about a serial killer and the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 (just a great read), and 2) Manhunt, which is about Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the 12-day hunt to find Booth.
The most AMAZING book I've ever read is a book entitled "The Seven Mysteries of Life" by Guy Murchie. On every page is something truly astounding. If you can find a copy in the bookstore and read 2 or 3 pages without wanting more, put it back on the shelf (but good luck with that).
dukestheheat
06-15-2007, 11:55 PM
Certainly among the best works/books I've read will have to include:
The Chronicles of Narnia (the whole series).
I cried when I read The Last Battle.
dth.
g_olaf
06-16-2007, 01:01 PM
Ursula K. Le Guin is also an excellent author. I read the Earthsea books when I was a kid, and absolutely loved them. In any match up of wizards, you'd have to give Ged a fighting chance. The Left Hand of Darkness is a sci-fi classic.
Another vote to "Left hand of Darkness". Also add in her "Lathe of Heaven"
I'll add:
anything by John LeCarre -- his latest, "Absolute Friends" is every bit as good as his classics (the Karla Trilogy, spy who came in from the cold etc.)
anything by Milan Kundera -- "Book of Laughter and Forgetting", "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and "Immortality" are my favorites.
for summer reading, anything by Carl Hiaasen.
Finally, no one has mentioned Tolkein?
mapei
06-16-2007, 05:20 PM
Good to see Kundera on someone's list.
Am I the only John Fowles fan? Amazing.
Bostondevil
06-16-2007, 06:48 PM
I love The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguru. The movie was very good but the book is sublime.
In the Harry Potter vein, I enjoyed the His Dark Materials trilogy.
(Absolute favorite book is a classic Pride and Prejudice. Can't get enough of that one, and some of the best dialog ever written. Most screen versions of it still use the words from the original.)
I'll reread anything by Robertson Davies (I think I've read everything at least once). Although What's Bred in the Bone is probably my favorite.
Recently, I rather liked The Thirteenth Tale. We'll see if that one has staying power. I'm reading a novel by Chris Elliot, yes, that Chris Elliot which has made me laugh out loud more than once, The Shroud of the Thwacker.
DevilAlumna
06-17-2007, 02:25 AM
So, they're definitely not the "Best Books Ever," but I think Dave Barry has written two of the funniest novels in recent memory -- "Big Trouble" and "Tricky Business." Then again, I can still quote some of my favorite Barry columns from 10 years ago, so clearly, I like his style. Still, I highly recommend as great Beach Reading.
mapei
06-17-2007, 11:16 AM
But does anyone actually read on the beach? ;)
tommy
06-18-2007, 12:42 AM
of the best book of at least the last 25 yrs without including Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe? What has hit the nail on the head in terms of our society's culture and politics more directly than the Bonfire? So dead on.
Son of Jarhead
06-18-2007, 01:03 AM
Best book is a tough one to narrow down, but here is my list...
-"Startide Rising" (David Brin). The whole 'uplift universe' series was enjoyable, to me, anyway. (Dolphins apparently make the best starship pilots.) Actually, I have liked most of Brin's work, but this is the best.
-The Hitchhiker's series (Douglas Adams). I'm still laughing from the first time I read it over two decades ago. Btw, wasn't a 'Towel Day' observed a few Fridays ago?
-Tolkien's LOTR/Hobbit stuff.
-Asimov's Foundation series & "I, Robot".
-T.H. White's "The Once and Future King".
As you can see, there is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy theme here. Some that others have mentioned that I also liked: Guns of the South, Watership Down, The Narnia books, & Heinlen's books... oh and the Harry Potter books, too.
Some others I have liked: Ray Bradbury, Ben Bova, Kim Stanley Robinson, Orson Scott Card, & for easy beach reads, the StarWars & StarTrek stuff. I also like a good mystery or spy thriller.
As a kid, I recall liking "The Phantom Tollbooth" & "King of the Wind", and in high school I recall everyone thinking I was nuts because I actually liked reading "Canterbury Tales".
Really, there are too many good books & authurs to list, and everyone's tastes are different. If I had to pick one from above, (just to be different) I'd pick 'Startide Rising'. (It did win both the Hugo & Nebula awards.) I'm getting tired & punchy, so I sure I am forgetting something fantastic.
*As an aside, I am a former bookseller... I used to own, along with my sister (Duke '78) a Durham bookstore (specializing in children's books) called The Book Zoo. We were open '90-'96 on Hwy 54 in SW Durham, but we closed up 51 weeks to the day after B&N opened in Durham. (Ironically, I'll be getting Harry Potter #7 at that same B&N in New Hope Commons at midnight on the evening of July 20th.) Maybe I'll start a best children's book thread someday. My sis was our buyer (she had been a librarian), so maybe I should get her to do that thread. ...And talk about your bibliophiles, she & her husband own somewhere over 8,000 or 9,000 books! (Helping her move nearly killed me once.) The odd thing, though, is that I own very few books myself (aside from the kids stuff)... I just borrow books from my sister.:)
ohioguy2
06-18-2007, 08:29 AM
Phantom Tollbooth--a great book--I read it, my children loved it, and I can't wait to introduce my grandchildren to it--thanks for the reminder.:)
allenmurray
06-18-2007, 10:11 AM
Love in the Ruins, by Walker Percy.
The Promise of Rest - by Duke University's very own Reynolds Price.
And finally, the not very well known, but incredible Harry Crews - start with his autobiography, A Childhood: The Biography of a Place. Then move on to The Knockout Artist or Scar Lover.
Kent Haruf - Eventide. An incredibly moving novel set in the great plains.
Wally Lamb's, I know this Much is True was a wonderful read (though with an ending that was just a little bit too "tidy" for a novel that had been so believeable up to the last 30 pages.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I can't remember the last time I was in tears at the end of a novel.
-"Startide Rising" (David Brin). The whole 'uplift universe' series was enjoyable, to me, anyway. (Dolphins apparently make the best starship pilots.) Actually, I have liked most of Brin's work, but this is the best.
Another very good book. Just wanted to second that thought.
Dukerati
06-18-2007, 11:52 AM
All these posts about science fiction books and no mention of "Flowers for Algernon"?
Cavlaw
06-18-2007, 12:14 PM
Another very good book. Just wanted to second that thought.
I do really like David Brin, but haven't read any of the 'uplift' series. I liked "The Postman", despite the awful movie version, and thought "Kiln People" was really pretty cool.
mapei
06-18-2007, 01:04 PM
of the best book of at least the last 25 yrs without including Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe? What has hit the nail on the head in terms of our society's culture and politics more directly than the Bonfire? So dead on.
Good one. A Man in Full deserves some love, too.
I do really like David Brin, but haven't read any of the 'uplift' series. I liked "The Postman", despite the awful movie version, and thought "Kiln People" was really pretty cool.
In that case, I would definitely give Startide Rising a try. I like Brin in general, but the first couple of installments of the Uplift Series are excellent, in an unabashed space opera sort of way.
tommy
06-20-2007, 05:08 PM
Good one. A Man in Full deserves some love, too.
For sure. That one moved forward about a decade and got that slice of southern life, along with its culture and politics, dead on. And it too was hilarious. Thanks for mentioning it.
Clipsfan
06-20-2007, 08:26 PM
Thanks for getting this thread started, I've loved getting some solid suggestions. I'm going on a trip in a couple months and I'll want some reading to do out on the beach. I've already put a bunch of the books into my Amazon basket, I'll give my reviews in a couple months.
sportsgirl4
07-17-2007, 11:18 AM
The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas is my most favorite ever. Funny thing is that I distinctly remember reading the first paragraph the first time I read it and thinking "Oh good heavens, this is gonna drag..." Crazy how that feeling changed.
Jarhead
07-18-2007, 11:10 PM
*As an aside, I am a former bookseller... I used to own, along with my sister (Duke '78) a Durham bookstore (specializing in children's books) called The Book Zoo. We were open '90-'96 on Hwy 54 in SW Durham, but we closed up 51 weeks to the day after B&N opened in Durham. (Ironically, I'll be getting Harry Potter #7 at that same B&N in New Hope Commons at midnight on the evening of July 20th.) Maybe I'll start a best children's book thread someday. My sis was our buyer (she had been a librarian), so maybe I should get her to do that thread. ...And talk about your bibliophiles, she & her husband own somewhere over 8,000 or 9,000 books! (Helping her move nearly killed me once.) The odd thing, though, is that I own very few books myself (aside from the kids stuff)... I just borrow books from my sister.:)
I remember that book store. I bought a few paperbacks there. Let me add my all time title:
Once an Eagle (http://www.amazon.com/Once-Eagle-Anton-Myrer/dp/0061030864) by Anton Myrer
dukemomLA
07-19-2007, 02:50 AM
Okay -- historical fiction.
Has anyone read the ANGELIQUE series of books by Sergeanne Golon? (Sorry guys, the lead character is a female). A librarian introduced me to this first ANGELIQUE book when I was a teenager -- and I followed this well researched series through the years. French Rev, Court of Miracles, the Kings of France, etc. really wondering if anyone has read this.
TillyGalore
07-19-2007, 11:45 AM
Okay -- historical fiction.
Has anyone read the ANGELIQUE series of books by Sergeanne Golon? (Sorry guys, the lead character is a female). A librarian introduced me to this first ANGELIQUE book when I was a teenager -- and I followed this well researched series through the years. French Rev, Court of Miracles, the Kings of France, etc. really wondering if anyone has read this.
I haven't read that series. But, if you like historical novels with women as the lead character, Phillipa Gregory does a great job writing about the Tudor era. I've read a book about Queen Elizabeth called "The Virgin's Lover and another book title "The Other Boleyn Girl," which is about Anne Boleyn's younger sister and mistress to Henry VIII before Anne married him. I just started "The Constant Princess" about Catherine of Aragon.
I'm particularly interested in this time period as I may be related to one of Henry's bastard sons, via one of my grandmothers. In "The Other Boleyn Girl" the mother of the bastard son is mentioned and she did have the same last name as my grandmother - so perhaps there is a connection.
Anyway, Phillipa Gregory is a great author. Here is a link to her web site if interested: http://www.philippagregory.com/
SoCalDukeFan
07-19-2007, 09:32 PM
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
by Candice Millard
Roosevelt, after his second term as President, decided to take a trip down an uncharted river in the Amazon. Very well written, very educational, and very exciting.
I also second Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
SoCal
merry
07-19-2007, 10:09 PM
*As an aside, I am a former bookseller... I used to own, along with my sister (Duke '78) a Durham bookstore (specializing in children's books) called The Book Zoo. We were open '90-'96 on Hwy 54 in SW Durham, but we closed up 51 weeks to the day after B&N opened in Durham. (Ironically, I'll be getting Harry Potter #7 at that same B&N in New Hope Commons at midnight on the evening of July 20th.)
I'm getting mine at The Regulator.
Best books wow is that tough. I guess "The Sound and the Fury" counts as a classic so is ineligible? I always loved "The Sun Also Rises", as someone else mentioned.
To the poster who said "East of Eden", that's a big fav of mine too. I don't know if it's print but if you can snag a copy of Steinbeck's "Journal of a Novel", a collection of letters he wrote to I think his editor while writing "East of Eden", it's a major must read.
A couple people have mentioned books by John Irving and Walker Percy. I love everything ever written by Walker Percy and John Irving - well, some Irving is better than others. I am also a HUGE Anne Tyler fan. One of my favorite modern novels is her "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant". Irving's "A Widow for One Year" is a recent favorite. Percy's "The Moviegoer" probably changed my life.
I could go on and on.
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