Best Novels of All Time

[Jane]

I'm sure we've had this thread already. I'm also sure this was inspired by the movie thread. But I'd like to do this anyway.

Name 5-10, and make them good.

Current favorites, in a somewhat particular order:
1. The Narnia series
2. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy
3. Animal Farm
4. The Alchemist
5. The Fountainhead
6. Slaughterhouse Five
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Choke
9. Fight Club
10. Catcher in the Rye
11. 1984

I've still so much more I need to read, so this list is simply my current brain musings.

[Budiak]

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984
Anthem
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Neuromancer
Congo
A Soldier's Story by Omar Bradley
Pork Chop Hill
Combat Wing


For some reason Jane, I didnt expect to see any Rand on your list.
<wik wik> Word!

[Accipiter]

Originally posted by Jane
I'm sure we've had this thread already. I'm also sure this was inspired by the movie thread. But I'd like to do this anyway.

Name 5-10, and make them good.

Current favorites, in a somewhat particular order:
1. The Narnia series
2. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy
3. Animal Farm
4. The Alchemist
5. The Fountainhead
6. Slaughterhouse Five
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Choke
9. Fight Club
10. Catcher in the Rye

I've still so much more I need to read, so this list is simply my current brain musings.


NO GRAPES OF WRATH!?!?!? BLASSSPHHHEMY!!!

and I hated animal farm

1. Grapes of Wrath
2. Galapagos
3. Things Fall Apart (GREAT BOOK)
4. Slaughterhouse Five
5. The Coming Plague (non fiction)
6. Cannery Row
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
8. Player Piano
9. God Bless You Mr Rosewater
10. Pet Cemetery
11. The sound and the fury

[steveo]

Jonhhy got his gun
All Quiet Along the Western Front
Catcher in the Rye
Catch-22
The Great Train robbery

[kimpy225]

jane what are you doing?
do your homework. stop slacking off :ninja:

anyways i liked um hitchers also

[PowerManDL]

You sons of bitches left out the Lord of the Rings trilogy!

And Jane, what's this? Just back from the Caribbean and making your geeky threads already? Blasphemer.

[Budiak]

Go back to Barbados!!

[Bruise Brubaker]

I read a lot but I can't think of a list, i'm too young and haven't read enough good books yet.

A Clockwork Orange --> Loved this one. The movie is one of my favorite too (if not THE favorite).

Congo --> Good, I've read all Crichton's work (except those he wrote under a pseudonym and that I can't find at my local library because they only have books in french and those books weren't translated). Sphere, The Great Train Robbery, the first Jurassic Park and his latest book about time travelling (forgot title) are very good titles.

Recently read:

- The Doomsday book --> loved this one, read it in less than 2 days. (time travelling, middle-age, plague)
- The Thanatonauts --> loved this one too, I think I'll read all Werber's work, I love his style. Couldn't get my head out of the book too.

I'm really into science-fiction :thumbup:


[edit] Oh yeah I forgot the Lord of the Rings to my list.

[PowerManDL]

Ah, science fiction.....well in that case, my faves "Hyperion" and "Fall of Hyperion" by Dan Simmons.

[Mik]

Originally posted by Jane
I'm sure we've had this thread already. I'm also sure this was inspired by the movie thread. But I'd like to do this anyway.

Name 5-10, and make them good.

Current favorites, in a somewhat particular order:
1. The Narnia series
2. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy
3. Animal Farm
4. The Alchemist
5. The Fountainhead
6. Slaughterhouse Five
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Choke
9. Fight Club
10. Catcher in the Rye

I've still so much more I need to read, so this list is simply my current brain musings.


Ah Fountainhead.........ace book. Atlas Shrugged would have to be up there too!

[Jane]

Originally posted by Budiak

For some reason Jane, I didnt expect to see any Rand on your list.
<wik wik> Word!
Fountainhead is my first Rand book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I see no need to categorize authors just as I see no need to categorize musical artists. I pick my songs individually, one by one, based on what sounds good. With my books, I try to refrain from author stigmas and approach each individually.

The Fountainhead was fantastic. I admire the characters, and from that admiration self-improvement will stem.

In any case, what does the world have against Ayn Rand?

[PowerManDL]

I hate Ayn Rand.

[GIS]

To think about reading anything other than my required 150 pages/week out of text books is mind boggling to me.

I wish I could read for personal satisfaction... maybe someday when I'm done with all these damn classes.

My favorite is Where the Red Fern Grows. Yes, it's a little kid's book so you can see how long it's been since I've had the chance to read a novel. :D

[Craig James]

My all time favorite is Atlas Shrugged, but I find that I have been scratching my head to figure out what books I would place next on my list - but here goes:

1. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
2. Tai Pan - James Clavell
3. Shogun - James Clavell
4. Shibumi - Trevainien
4.5 The Godfather - Mario Puzo
5. Kane and Abel - Jefferey Archer
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
7. Huck Finn - Mark Twain
(hmm, starts getting very dificult here.)
8. River God - Wilbur Smith
9. Dragon - Clive Cussler (though I really could list any of his Dirk Pitt novels)
10. The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks (though it was a LOTR rip off, I liked the style much better)

Authors and books that merit mention:
Michael Crichton and his entire collection of writing
Piers Anthony and his series of science fiction
The Shining by Stephen King - scariest book ever...
Any of the assortment by Dean Koontz
Some Ann Rice such as The Mummy and The Vampire Lestat
Patriot Games by Tom Clancy
The Bourne series by Robert Ludlum
The Client - John Grisham
Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa

All off of the top of my head. I'm sure I will think of many more to come...

[ElPietro]

Anything from the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. And the Mr. Books. I personally like Mr. Uppity.

[Jane]

Originally posted by PowerManDL
I hate Ayn Rand.
Why?

[_-_v_-_]

Holy sh!t...where to start...

How about an easier task...like proving Fermat's last theorem or something...

[PowerManDL]

Yah, exactly......

[Saturday Fever]

Can I list an autobiography? I thought the autobiography of Malcom X as told to Alex Haley was one of the greatest books ever. Nevermind the movie was excellent. And if science fiction counts, I'm a big Robert Jordan fan.

[Hercule]

LOTR Trilogy
A Separate Peace(currently reading)
Ender's game/ Ender's Shadow
Les Miserables
Anything by John Grisham
Bag of Bones
Desperation

[Chest Rockwell]

Me likey pictures. No wordies.

[Savannah]

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell
Me likey pictures. No wordies.


Y'all will have to excuse the meathead..........

[Isaac Wilkins]

In no order...

You know, I think I'm going to start prefixing almost everything I say with the disclaimer "In no order".

Check-Out Girl: "Would you like paper or plastic?"
Borris: "In no order, I'd like paper, so's thats I's can writes yo numba, baby" And so on.

-Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion (Thanks PowermanDL for reminding me of a true gem!)
-Atlas Shrugged
-The Bachman Books (or at least The Long Walk and Rage)
-Notes from Underground
-Slaughterhouse 5
-Jitterbug Perfume (just plain fun)
-Three books by Terry C. Johnston, they're a series but I don't know its name:
-Carry the Wind
-Borderlords
-One-Eyed Dream
-A Clockwork Orange
-Countless others.

[Chest Rockwell]

Originally posted by Savannah



Y'all will have to excuse the meathead..........

So you have been peeking in my windows!!!

[Savannah]

Originally posted by Chest Rockwell


So you have been peeking in my windows!!!

Nah, couldn't be bothered. I've seen ya and I'm not missing much at all....

[xraygirl]

Not exactly the greatest, by some of my faves...
Diamond Age-Neil Stephenson
The Mists of Avalon-Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Domesday Book-Connie Willis
The Incarnations of Immortality Series-Piers Anthony
The Alvin Maker Series-Orson Scott Card
The Redemption of Christopher Columbus-Orson Scott Card
That's all I can come up with right now...

[Chest Rockwell]

:offtopic: tuttut

That's not what you said last night.

[ectx]

Sav...since when did Canadians start saying y'all?

Accipter...Coming Plague???? Great book, not sure I'd rank it on my all time top book list, but great book...Laurie Garrett's gotten a bit full of herself lately though.

Here's mine

Hitchiker's guide, Adams
BlueBeard, Vonnegut
Slaughter House Five, Vonnegut
Welcome to the Monkey House, Vonnegut
Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut
what can I say...I like Vonnegut

Clockwork Orange, Burgess
Sound and the Fury, Faulkner
A prayer for Owen Meany, Irving
Gatsby, Fitzgerald
Great Expectations, Dickens

Got a few others, but this list rotates...too many books I like. Right now this is my top 10. When I remember others it'll change again...like in an hour or so.

LP, I loved the choose your own adventure series, along with the Encylopedia Brown series, and the Seymore Sleuth series.

[Jane]

ectx, your taste is :thumbup:

Encyclopedia Brown rocks. That is all.

[Jane]

Oh, and if you like Vonnegut, look into Chuck Palahniuk. I really think his style is a modern outgrowth of the form of rebellion that Vonnegut provided.

[BCC]

No-vel? :confused:

[_-_v_-_]

I find Palanhuik to be as palatable as a spoonful of castor oil laced with rancid lard and fish guts.

Cynicism is fine; excessively nihilistic cynicism is a bit much for my tastes.



(No offense to those who enjoy him, btw...)

[Sayiajin Prince]

green eggs and ham..
a book that inspired me to bulk

[Budiak]

Fried Green Tomatoes did the same thing for me, Prince.

Not that I read it, I was walking through a bookstore, saw it, and got really hungry.

And here I am now. 193 pounds and clinically depressed.

[WillKuenzel]

How about just authors?
David Eddings (pick one) (sci-fi)
Stephen King (The Stand) (duh)
Anne Rice (Queen of the Damned) (duh)
H.P. Lovecraft (short stories) (excellent)
C.S Friedman (some trilogy) (another sci-fi)


LOTR trilogy
Maniac Macgee(sp?) (from my childhood)

[WestyHeadbanger]

1. The Elric Series- Michael Moorcock

2. 1984 - George Orwell.

3. Battlefield Earth (yes the worst movie ever but a great book)

4. Hitchhikers Guide

5. How to pick up cheap sluts in Amsterdamn.

6. 12 reasons why you should wear sunscreen in space.

7. Mein Kampf.

8. Satanic Verses

9. The Stand

10. Algonquinn, the story of a great dog.

[ectx]

Originally posted by _-_v_-_
I find Palanhuik to be as palatable as a spoonful of castor oil laced with rancid lard and fish guts.

Cynicism is fine; excessively nihilistic cynicism is a bit much for my tastes.



(No offense to those who enjoy him, btw...)

LMSAO @ this. Now I'm torn...the two people who's literary taste I respect most have given me conflicting advice...I'll check it out anyway.

Encyclopedia Brown got me through some tough times *sheds tear*

a few of my other childhood favorites:
The Chronicles of Narnia
A Wrinkle in Time...the whole series
LOTR...and I know they're not kid's books, but that's when I started reading them
Tales of the 3rd and 4th grade nothing, Superfudge...hey fudge was hilarious!
and, of course, Encyclopedia Brown

[ElPietro]

Originally posted by ectx
LP, I loved the choose your own adventure series, along with the Encylopedia Brown series, and the Seymore Sleuth series.

Don't forget the Hardy Boys, they were so ace! Oh and I used to read Doc Savage novels when I was a kid as well!

[Tryska]

:thumbup: to

Mists of Avalon
Satanic Verses
Queen of the Damned
The Stand
Clockwork Orange
One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest
and Hitchhiker's Guide


i would like to add Ethan Fromme (Wharton) and Flowers for Algernon (i forgot whom) and Alice Walker's Temple of my Familiar, and Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer - both were books I was able to read twice.

[Relentless]

Cal's Picks, in no particular order...

Lord of the Rings (Tolkein)
Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein)
Lord of the Flies (Golding) / Heart of Darkness (Conrad) [it's a tossup]
Something Wicked this Way Comes (Bradbury)
Brave New World (Huxley)
The Call of the Wild (London)
Dune (Herbert)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig)
Neuromancer (Gibson)
----

Those are ones that I'd consider "great" for various reasons... if we just wanna talk about books that I really like:

Callahan's Lady (Spider Robinson)
The Fionavar Tapestry (Guy Gavriel Kay)
Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)
Wing Leader (Capt. J.E. Johnson)
IT (Stephen King)
Weaveworld (Clive Barker)
plus so many others

[Tryska]

ooh..lord of the flies. i forgot about that one.

[Blood&Iron]

1. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
2. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
3. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Okay, like ectx my list is getting a bit repetitive...
4. The Lord of the the Rings
This was my favorite 'book' for a long time, but I tried re-reading them a third time just before movie, and couldn't get into them anymore. Still, great stuff. I also enjoy the Wheel of Time(Jordan is a pretty crappy writer, but the sheer length of WoT makes it interesting. I always like to joke that 'Robert Jordan never meet an adjective he didn't like') David Gemmell is fun too, and very refreshing in the fantasy field he refrains from precisly the sort crap all other fantasy writers engage in(namely, multi-book series) Feist is fun, too, but like Jordan is only a marginal writer. George R.R. Martin is also great.
5. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
(really, almost anything by Dick is great)
6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
7. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Goethe
8. The Stranger by Albert Camus
9. Njal's Saga by Snurre Sturlason
10. Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg
11. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
12. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
IMO one of the best endings in all of literature.

And a bunch more I'm forgetting.

'Classics' I didn't much care for:
1. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.
This should have been called 'Madame Boring' Goddamn, I thought I was gonna lapse into a coma reading this.
3. Walden by David Thoreau
See comment for above. If I wanted to read about ants, I'd buy a f*cking book on entomology.
4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
THe first two chapters were great. As were the last two or three. The f*cking hundreds of pages on the mating rituals of the northern narwhal I could've done without, though. Didn't they have editors in the 1800's?
5. Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Just didn't give a crap about the characters. Fitzgerald never, IMO, does a sufficient job of making the reader care about them.
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.
Dickens was in my top 11, too. Here he is again with a boring coming of age story--when AREN'T coming of age stories boring?
7. The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthore.
More boring colonial crap.

The worst book I've ever read:
1. Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
Probably the biggest piece of sh*t I've ever had the misfortune to read--well, actually I only made it 150 pages. As one person on Amazon.com said, imagine your gym teacher wrote a book. This is the book he'd write.

[ElPietro]

Originally posted by Blood&amp;Iron
The worst book I've ever read:
1. Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
Probably the biggest piece of sh*t I've ever had the misfortune to read--well, actually I only made it 150 pages. As one person on Amazon.com said, imagine your gym teacher wrote a book. This is the book he'd write.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and the rest of the series as well. The first book starts off slow, but the rest is really well done. It's a bit dark for a typical fantasy novel series, but some excellent creativity in a genre that has become rather repetitive lately.

Give it a chance then read the rest of the series you dolt!

[galileo]

The Dark Tower series by King is a very fun read. (there's 4)
I loved The Catcher in the Rye. (5)

I wish I had more time to read at the present and I've wasted my time reading books that were very poor, so my list will be small for now.

[Blood&Iron]

Originally posted by ElPietro


I enjoyed this book immensely, and the rest of the series as well. The first book starts off slow, but the rest is really well done. It's a bit dark for a typical fantasy novel series, but some excellent creativity in a genre that has become rather repetitive lately.

Give it a chance then read the rest of the series you dolt!
I read 150 pages of it. TWICE! That was only because I'd bought the book (cuz it had a cool cover) and didn't want to have my money go to waste.

Goodkind's prose is simply horrible. His dialogue wooden. His characters, 1/2 dimensional..

IMO he is the apotheosis of bad fantasy, and is the type of writer that gives the genre a bad name.

I just pulled the book down. Here is a sample for those lucky enough to never had read it, selected at random from the portino I read:


Zedd's impish smile spread across his face. He handed Richard the baldric. The finely tooled leather was old and supple. The gold and silver buckle matched the scabbard. It was adjusted too small, its last user having been smaller than Richard. Zedd helped readjust it as Richard strapped it across his right shoulder, and fir the Sword of Truth to it.


:cry:

[ElPietro]

I'm sure we could shed light on small passages of all the greatest works of all time and make it seem foolish. The plot of the book is excellent, however, you have only read 150 pages! If you are expecting high english out of a fantasy novel then you are barking up the wrong tree. I read these novels for escapism, and this one is one of the best I have ready. You are selling him short, and missing out on a really great story.

[PowerManDL]

What attracts me to books is a good story and likeable characters. All that literary expression crap can go f*ck itself.

[Shankerr]

I always liked

Famous Last Words
Catch 22
Rider on the White Horse (more of a novella)
etc etc

[Blood&Iron]

Originally posted by ElPietro
I'm sure we could shed light on small passages of all the greatest works of all time and make it seem foolish. The plot of the book is excellent, however, you have only read 150 pages! If you are expecting high english out of a fantasy novel then you are barking up the wrong tree. I read these novels for escapism, and this one is one of the best I have ready. You are selling him short, and missing out on a really great story.
I didn't pick the passage to make him look silly. It is very representative of Goodkind's style. He uses short, simplistic sentences devoid of color or movement. If I'd really wanted to make him look bad, there are other passages I vaguely recall that were even worse.

Again, it's a matter of taste. I think his writing is execrable. I've read a ton of fantasy; I don't expect 'high english' or literary brilliance. I have very modest expectations; I, too, read fastasy mostly for escapism. I didn't even care much for the first Wheel of Time book. I thought it repetitive, derivative and not particularly well-written. BUT...it was engaging enough that I kept reading. There are a ton of things I've read (including my first brush with Hemingway and the Icelandic sagas) that were a bit of a struggle (read: boring) at first, but I saw in them something worthwhile that motivated me to continue whether it be the prose, or the setting, or even a single character I cared about. Goodkind had none of these things. If you can think of a single book you absolutely detested, and continued to read it after 150 pages of gritting your teeth I'd be very surprised. I gave Goodkind more chances than he deserved to win me over. He failed.

[Rock]

Discworld is good.

[Gyno Rhino]

I have to jump in with Matt, I think the LOTR trilogy is the most captivating thing I've ever read. Pretty much every lesson that you could pick up from any of the books y'all have listed is contained within that trilogy. Not to mention it's just fantastic, period.

[Gyno Rhino]

Originally posted by Jane
In any case, what does the world have against Ayn Rand?

Alot of this comes from Mentzer, methinks. ;)

[Paul Stagg]

Originally posted by Jane
ectx, your taste is :thumbup:

Encyclopedia Brown rocks. That is all.

Wow.

I had completely forgotten about Encyclopedia Brown. While other kids wanted to be firemen and police, I wanted to be him.

Whever I remember books I likes as a youngster, I recall Charlottes Web (one of the best books ever), and the S.E. Hinton novels (The Outsiders, That Was Then This is Now, Rumble Fish, and Tex).. but forget how much I loved Encyclopedia Brown.

I'm glad some of you guys were exposed to them as well.

I'm also glad this thread is going... I used to read all the time, and got out of the habit while I was working on my MBA (I didn't have time to read anything but the WSJ and my texts)... and was just thinking I would ask some of you what YOU liked to read to get some ideas for me.

[ectx]

Originally posted by Blood&amp;Iron


'Classics' I didn't much care for:
1. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.
This should have been called 'Madame Boring' Goddamn, I thought I was gonna lapse into a coma reading this.
3. Walden by David Thoreau
See comment for above. If I wanted to read about ants, I'd buy a f*cking book on entomology.
4. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
THe first two chapters were great. As were the last two or three. The f*cking hundreds of pages on the mating rituals of the northern narwhal I could've done without, though. Didn't they have editors in the 1800's?
[/B]

I've got a few of those including Red badge of courage. I like Madame Bovary, but for different reasons. It always seemed to me that Flaubert was making fun of his audience, and I find that hilarious, that and Madame Bovary was the ultimate literary slut.

Paul thanks for reminding me of the SE Hinton novels. I remember growing up with those. The Outsiders and Tex...Great stuff.

[Reinier]

How can nobody have mentioned The world According to Garp?
that book was so ace.

Most books i liked were written in dutch. most havent been translated.
I liked Willem Frederik Hermans, (but thats a cliche tho, hes huge here)
and Arnon Grunberg

when i was some younger i read Anton Quintanas Book of Bod Pa and loved it but im not sure if id like it today.

as you may see im not a big reader.... just a few oddities and the standard works that they make us read.

this semester on our english compulsory reading list
Lord of the flies
A handmaids tale
1984
The chosen
Brave New world
Hamlet (in script form, that stuff reads like ****e, altho its a cool story)

we spend a whole lot of time disecting these books from every possible point of view... jus finished lord of the flies now doing the chosen. the chosen is good

[Blood&Iron]

Originally posted by ectx


I've got a few of those including Red badge of courage. I like Madame Bovary, but for different reasons. It always seemed to me that Flaubert was making fun of his audience, and I find that hilarious, that and Madame Bovary was the ultimate literary slut.

Actually, as far as I recall I quite enjoyed Red Badge of Courage. Certainly, Flaubert was making fun of romanticism in Madame Bovary and I think that was a perfect subject for satire. As Vonnegut comments in Breakfast, books use conceits like main characters and supporting ones, and tidy plot resolutions which ultimately fool us into believing there are such things in real life(That's why I find Vonnegut so refreshing; he dispenses with these conventions) Books, movies, all art really, makes life seem more noble and meaningful than it is. I think they contribute--at least they have for me--to a false sense of romanticism. And Flaubert embodies this false longing for something that doesn't truly exist, in the character of Emma Bovary, who is always imagining a life more wonderful than her own, who is always disatisfied with how mundane her existence is, and how much better it would be if only such and such a thing were different. It's just he does it so boringly, IMO.

Bleh, I feel like I'm back in highschool.

[ectx]

B&I

Bleh, Highschool.

I didn't like Red Badge of courage because it tried too hard to be a great piece of literature. Each page seemed to try too hard to describe things. I understand that descriptive text is part of what makes the novel great, but come on!

Bleh, Highschool.

Have you read BlueBeard yet? ...come on you punk. You got a job now, so go buy the freaking book.

[Blood&Iron]

Originally posted by ectx


Have you read BlueBeard yet? ...come on you punk. You got a job now, so go buy the freaking book.
Wherever did you get that idea? I'm still a complete bum. Actually, if I was working I wouldn't have time to read it. Currently, I have plenty. I'm just lazy. I've only read about 8-9 books in the last 2 years. Come to think of it, I don't think I've read ANYTHING in the last year. Prior to that I was reading 2-3 500+ page books a week. I dunno what's wrong with me.

I went to the bookstore to buy Bluebear, read the first page and was like 'Eh. I'd rather watch t.v.' I think all this bodybuilding stuff has made me into a moron.

Just call me Dubya.

I'll get to it eventually, trust me. As soon as I feel like reading again, it'll be the first book I pick up.

[kalashnikov83]

Anything by Palahniuk is top on my list. Herman Hesse, Orwell, and Huxley are great too.

[Reinier]

Its sad really how like a large part of what i read made my best list. it just goes to show i enjoy reading and i should do it more.
its just not something you start. once you got going in a good book you finish it but i hardly ever start

[Jane]

Ok, I forget who suggested what, but I want to give another nod to:

A Wrinkle in Time--Loved it, must re-read it.

Bridge to Terabithia--I still want to live a treehouse in the forest.

the Hardy Boys---wooo. they kicked ass.

The Dark Tower series by King--I got The Drawing of the Three done and absolutely loved it, and then I went away somewhere or something. Need to get my hands on the rest of the series.

Palahniuk entertained me. And it's not entirely nihilistic--the last line of Choke proves that.

[_-_v_-_]

I have nothing against Palahniuk; his writing just is not for me.

That said, the Dark Tower series is a great read. Seriously. Buy The Wasteland (the third book in the series...not Eliot's poem...although you should buy that too :)

[Berserker]

Out of the Dark Tower series the second was my favorite, drawing of the 3. He may not be classical or hold insights into the human condition but I've read almost everything from Stephen King. Missed a few in the last 10 years. Didn't read much in college, atleast recreationally. want to read lord of the flies. Just reread shinning. I like a book that asks you a question. Could you spend a winter isolated?

[Accipiter]

Thomas Tryon! How could I forget him, he has some of the best prose I've ever read

Night of the Moonbow
Harvest Home
and The Other

3 of my favorite books. Absolute genius, too bad he died of AIds

[BIGDUDE]

best book i ever read was "Tai Pan" by James Clavell.

[Gyno Rhino]

They aren't great novels, they aren't in any way excellent literature, but I remember reading the "Redwall" series (all of them) when I was much younger. Just recently I read the first 4 books over again and enjoyed them immensely. Brian Jacques has a knack for story-telling. Not anything amazing, but just good solid trencher-reading. Fun little books for anyone looking for very bright, goofy little animal fantasy stuff.

[pastdoubt]

Ah screw novels, I read reference material only!

[Reinier]

who wrote a wrinkle in time?

[ectx]

I think it's Madeleine L'Engle

[Rock]

Reading books after youve read the Lord of the rings trilogy is boring.

[Pup]

I totally forgot about a wrinkle in time...that was a great book.

Rock...i really think you should read some kurt vonnegut, his work is exceptional, one of the greats. I'd recommend slaughterhouse five and breakfast of champions, and if you want a small taste of his work read the short story Harrison Bergeron.

[Rock]

Ok, I will, got those books!

[Avatar]

Favorite fantasy = Lord Of The Rings (trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Favorite sci-fi = Otherland novels by Tad Williams

[maverick]

Anything by Carols Shields, or R A Salvatore.

And nobody has mentioned Shakespeare...how come?????

[Jane]

Originally posted by maverick

And nobody has mentioned Shakespeare...how come?????
I think Shakespeare is overrated. Chaucer was funny, at least. Shakespeare...eh.

[The_Blackstar]

Of Mice and Men
1984
The Sea Wolf
Lord of the Rings
Shogun
Silence of the Lambs


I know I can come up with more but I am drawing a blank..

[The_Blackstar]

7. The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthore.
More boring colonial crap.

No **** it is. The Scarlet Letter puts me to sleep every time.

[The_Blackstar]

Shakespear is good too. Ceaser and MacBeth are my personal favorites.

[McBain]

Shogun = holycowthisisanacebook

[McBain]

also Bryce Courtany (sp?) and Martin Cruz Smith (sp??) are pretty ace writers aswell.

[Blood&Iron]

Originally posted by Jane

I think Shakespeare is overrated. Chaucer was funny, at least. Shakespeare...eh.
Shakespeare? Overrated? And not funny?

You're on crack.

[_-_v_-_]

Agreed. Shakespeare is quite good.

[ectx]

Ditto on what the young spud and B&I said. I didn't list him because the title of this thread is "best novels". His genre was not appropriate to this discussion.

[_-_v_-_]

You, sir, are a nitpicker :).

Jk.

[ectx]

Yes, but I'm right.

[_-_v_-_]

So?

You're still a nitpicker :)

[ectx]

Originally posted by _-_v_-_
So?

You're still a nitpicker :)

Yes, but a correct one.

[AdamGberg]

I am in the middle of The Firm by Grisham...so far it is tight...gonna finish it over winter break when i have free time

[Berserker]

Anybodyread the Godfather, good read. Little sexist, but I am ok with that.

[Sebi]

And Then There Were None - A. Christie
The Neverending Story - M. Ende
Momo - M. Ende

[galileo]

Since it was on many lists, I picked up Slaughterhouse Five this weekend. I got through about 60 pages in my time yesterday and it's very good so far. So it goes. ;)

[Praetorian]

well, your history teacher is stupid...tell him that a student at Oslo Katedral Skole/Schola Osloensis said that...i'll even buy a copy if you want!

[Rock]

hehehe

[3rdtimesacharm]

Pup's right. Kurt Vonnegut is great.

[Jane]

Originally posted by _-_v_-_
So?

You're still a nitpicker :)
And I still have a million other things I'd rather do than read Shakespeare. :)

[Jane]

Ooh, And Then There Were None is a great mystery. It actually thoroughly scared me. :thumbup:

[_-_v_-_]

Agreed. And Then... is good.

[3rdtimesacharm]

no and then!!

[Strats]

Nice recomendations. I think I'll read a few of em. Last time I was reading I managed to read 3-4 tom clancy books. Most of them were rotten as hell. The exceptions were Rainbow Six, The Sum of All Fears and Red Storm Rising. 1984 was read about the same time as well as Insomnia by Steven King. Nice reads.

[ectx]

Originally posted by Jane

And I still have a million other things I'd rather do than read Shakespeare. :)

tuttut

Janey, say it ain't so! Okay, I have about a thousand things, but a million? That's just silly and utterly ridiculous.

Are Reinier and I the only ones who like John Irving? Of the contemporary writers I think he has some of the best stuff.

[orbital]

off the top of my head. I have missed much.

1. Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace (It mystifies me that no one has said this thus far. It is untouched so far as fiction goes to this date IMO and in many others' opinion's apparently. This is the best novel of all-time, there is no equal.)

2. Fyodor Dostyevsky - Crime and Punishment

3. Orwell - 1984

4. Homer - Illiad

5. Plato - Republic

6. Camus - The Stranger

7. H.G. Wells - War of the Worlds

8. Tolstoy - Anna Karenina

9. Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged

10. Dostyevsky - Notes From the Underground

11. J.P. Sarte - Nausea

i am supposed to stop now...

[Herc]

Originally posted by HomeYield
How about just authors?
David Eddings (pick one) (sci-fi)
Stephen King (The Stand) (duh)
Anne Rice (Queen of the Damned) (duh)
H.P. Lovecraft (short stories) (excellent)
C.S Friedman (some trilogy) (another sci-fi)


LOTR trilogy
Maniac Macgee(sp?) (from my childhood)

This could be my list of authors.

Eddings (Belgariad and Malorean)
C.S. Friedman (everything she wrote but especially the Coldfire Trilogy)

[Herc]

Originally posted by Avatar
Favorite fantasy = Lord Of The Rings (trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Favorite sci-fi = Otherland novels by Tad Williams

OTHERLAND! OMG great concept but Tad drives me crazy. You have sooooo much description after 50 pages of atmosphere it's like "Tad, come on man throw me a bone here! a little advancement of plot PLEASE!"

:thumbup:

[Workhorse]

I'm pretty sure no one has read this but it is an ace book.

Perfume, by Patrik Suskind

I don't read a lot, I'm more into being outside hiking, biking, wakeboarding etc but this was a book that I really got into.

[Reinier]

I have never read a book I did not like.
Still I dont read that much. I am a fool.

I went and got 2 more books today. I started in the first one and i like it.

This ubergifted kid in my class who skipped 3 years is always frantically reading tad williams and other authors of his kind... says he loves it

[Jane]

Originally posted by Reinier
I have never read a book I did not like.
Still I dont read that much. I am a fool.

I went and got 2 more books today. I started in the first one and i like it.

1. yes

2. which books?

[Jane]

Originally posted by orbital

Camus - The Stranger

Finished this recently and completely fell in love with it.

I think I'm dating a Mersault now though...I must say, though it makes for good philosophical discussions, living in such a way is dreadfully boring.

[Reinier]

Dutch literature Jenia.

Harry Mulisch - The Procedure

Harry Mulisch is one of the greatest novelists in holland, he himself would say the best in the world, hes a bit of an arrogant type. but i have to give it to him his books are very smart and cool. Hes auristocratic and heavily influenced by WWII, which is not so strange since his father was a nazi sympathiser and his mother was jewish. Many of his books were turned into films, quite succesfully. "De Aanslag" won an oscar, and "the Discovery of Heaven" was a huge project and huge success for the usually small dutch movie industry.
His most recent publishing was "Siegfried" A story about a son of hitler with a mistress, of whom the public may not know he exists.
The story fits in perfectly and includes actual history and Harry was brave enough to get up and personal with Hitler. So realistic and lifelike it makes you believe this kid exists

Karel Glastra van Loon - The passion fruit
-this one i start with.
A father of a 13 yr old boy finds out he is and always has been infertile. the mother passed away already and he, and later the son, tries to find the real father.
Chose this book because my dutch literature teacher recommended it. Ive read 30 pages or so and like it so far.
I have some articles by the author that speak to me quite a bit

[KoSh]

Lord of the Rings:

The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King (All by Tolkien) - The MOST amazing series of books I have ever read. Period. And to think that Peter Jackson the movie producer captured them as well as he did is completely mind boggling.

Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy) - Who doesn't love a good tactical read? I'm glad I picked this one up, and it was all thanks to the video games. Who says video games corrupt the mind? :D

Hamlet (Shakespeare) - I say Hamlet, although like someone else pointed out, it reads like crap... The story is so freakin complex it's scary. I mean, if you stop after each person talks and think about every possible outcome that could happen, it blows your mind. It's a thinker.

Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare) - Comical.

I'm not really a big Shakespeare fan but those two stand out to me as great books... I also liked the whole plot behind MacBeth. I think he had an amazing mind, but his writing style was WAYYYY out in left field.

[Ironman8]

Anything by Tom Clancy.

[Riggs]

Catch 22 is a great book and I find it great how people either love it or hate it. Not to mention it also led to one of the greatest TV series of all time (MASH).

[shredder]

Christine- stephen king

[Reinier]

Tom Clancy and Stephen King are cool. I read some King. its far from literature tho

[TheGimp]

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time :thumbup:

[Praetorian]

ive read all of tom clancys books, but i have to say that he has this annoying tendency to go all ape**** over details and realism, thus ending up with a 1000+pages book.

War&Peace is somewhat overrated. After reading it twice, i feel a hate towards women for always ****ing things up.

i read at least 2 books a week, mainly WWII literature, but some fiction too. my favourite for the moment has to be ' For Whom The Bells Toll'.

[Jane]

Originally posted by Centaurion
but some fiction too. my favourite for the moment has to be ' For Whom The Bells Toll'.

which, coincidentally, is also a great Metallica song. :)

[Jane]

Originally posted by Centaurion
War&Peace is somewhat overrated. After reading it twice, i feel a hate towards women for always ****ing things up.

Right, because the men of the history books never cause problems. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Praetorian]

i dont remember her name, but im talking about prince andrews wife. it was really frustrating following her steps and see how she managed to destroy the gay spirit of prince andrew and eventually contributing to his death.

and metallica is ace!! :)

[Praetorian]

and where have u been jane? long time no see..

[Coleman]

Has anyone read the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel? I really liked the first two (clan of the cave bear and valley of horses) but the rest were kind of boring and hokey.

[Berserker]

I been wanting to read Lord of the Flies for a while. Anybody read it? Been thinking about reading some classics. Considering Moby Dick, being consumed by vengenace seems right up my alley.
Reading the Perfect Storm right now, not a classic read but interesting look into commercial fishing. Its was in the discounted bin at the book store. Also bought Maro Pozu The Family. Both for about $6 hardcover. I already had the Stephen Kings they had for marked down.

[AdamGberg]

Grisham - Teh Firm...just read it...

ending rocked...the good guys finally win, he bangs chicks, get tons of money, and ends up in the islands sailing a boat doing whatver he wants

i am jealous...

very jealous

[Jane]

Originally posted by Centaurion
and where have u been jane? long time no see..
I've been graduating high school, getting into college, and basically having one of the worst years of my life.

I'm back now, though. :)

[Tryska]

Originally posted by Coleman
Has anyone read the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel? I really liked the first two (clan of the cave bear and valley of horses) but the rest were kind of boring and hokey.

i have and i agree...it kinda fizzled by mammoth huunters.

[Reinier]

I had to read Lord of the Flies but im not a fan

[AdamGberg]

i just read Lord of the Flies on my own will as i never read it in high school...took me about two days of reading....

i thought it was a good book of comming of age and loosing innocence...but being as it wasn't for school i read it just for the surface ideas. was good thoguh....stoopid adults had to go their and rescue everyone though...showing how us adolences still need our elders....bleh!

[Berserker]

I've seen the movie. I was thinking it was more about how we degenerate and form our societies/tribes. I was more interested in that angle. But I haven't read the book.

[AdamGberg]

i thoguht about that too...but being a 19 year old male i was thinking more of the maturing processes of boys...i like books that can relate to all ages...maybe i will read it again in a few years and see somethin different

[Reinier]

Its not about a maturing process IMO.

Its simply about the fragility of our civilisation and the inner savage in any man that can be brought up easily.

The kids were just a model for man in general, to simple it down

[prof]

David Gemmel, most recent stuff like midnight falcon, just a magic carpet ride when you are having a bad time

[Gyno Rhino]

Originally posted by Reinier
Its simply about the fragility of our civilisation and the inner savage in any man that can be brought up easily.

Yes.

[Berserker]

Thats what I was intererested in. How quickly we can become savages when released from societies constraints. Also how we form tribes.

[Berserker]

Anybody read Moby Dick? I been thinking about. For some reason I been thinking about reading some classics lately.

[Reinier]

I got Francesco (Fangel) to read the discovery of heaven by harry Mulisch. I think hes liking it so far. once again, mulisch is great.

Just read 1984 for the first time myself. the comparison with BNW is inevitable, but im not going to say which i prefer, I dont think either book makes the other unnecessary at all. BNW impressed me more, but that could be because i read it first.

[Stephen Riddington]

I loved Lords of the Rings Trilogy. Probably the only fantasy books I'll read.

-The Hobbit--JRR Tokkien
-The Bourne Trilogy--Robert Ludlum (reading The Bourne Ultimatium now-already decided that this trilogy is awesome)
-Michael Crichton- loved his books- fave is Jurrassic Park and Timeline.
-Favorite author is Stephen Hunter- his books are so good, I'm hooked. His best book is definately-Point of Impact (Made me wish I was an American, so I could join Sniper School.) If you're interested in reading his books, be aware his books are in choronical order, so don't expect big characters development in one book.

I used to read alot of Star Wars books, but stopped reading because its current series- A New Jedi Order isn't that exciting to me. But I'll still try to catch up, I'm about 13 books behind :(

When I was a kid, I was a Hardy Boys fanatic, nothing else caught my attention beside the adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy.

Will be likely picking up some Phillip K. Dyck's books, since I really enjoyed Bladerunner and Minority Report.

[Reinier]

Originally posted by Berserker
Anybody read Moby Dick? I been thinking about. For some reason I been thinking about reading some classics lately.

I read moby dick i liked it

[AdamGberg]

just about finished with Scott Turrow's, Presumed Innocent...a great book so far

[Berserker]

I am reading Moby Dick right now. Its going slow, I haven't been readin alot and the book is a little long winded.

[Reinier]

Anybody know any good websites for novel analysis, summaries, interpretations, reviews, all those things?

Im not trying to cheat on my literature list dont worry lol.
Id use them to fresh things up before an oral exam.
We get these biotches of oral exams where they take a random page from any book you read, you dont egt told which, they shove it under your nose and you have to talk about it for 15 minutes. its bleh

[Khar]

Pillars of the Earth (AMAZING)
Catcher in the Rye

Not a novel but still a great read...then again I really like theatre.

Macbeth

[aidano]

Catcher in the Rye (is it the most common in this thread?)
American Psycho
Catch-22
To Kill a Mockingbird
High Fidelity
Lord of the Rings
At Swim Two Birds

There was another fantasy trilogy I loved called The Winter of the World written by Michael Scott Rohan. I don't think it's in print anymore, but those were fantastic books. Not quite LOTR, but really good nonetheless.

[Jeebus]

Dark Tower series by Stephen King. It is not fully released yet but the next 3 come out in the next year or so. November 2003 for book 5, and the other two are next year. Booyah!