What is Your Favorite Book?

[MeleeMan]

Mine would have to be The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy with The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton close behind it.

[AlliterationAmy]

Elmo goes to the Drug Store.

[Shredder87]

Of Mice and Men.

Such a good book. The equivalent of Shawshank Redemption in terms of bad ass material.

[Aragha]

The Giver!

[frostywolf]

"Dune" by Frank Herbert.

Great sci-fi epic, but it takes a lot of effort to get really into it. I really need to get this book back from my friend sometime.

[Lithium_666]

ones that get turned into movies where i can turn a 10 hour job into a two hour job.

[Lithium_666]

Of Mice and Men.

Such a good book. The equivalent of Shawshank Redemption in terms of bad ass material.

i dont think its on that level and i have read the book, seen the play, and the movie. "I want to tend the rabbits George!"

[Aragha]

The Giver!

I love this book. The story is great and it is very well told. It's shows that a "perfect" society is even worse than the chaotic real world.

[BillLauren]

The Hobbit.

[KampfVerein]

I couldn't possibly choose between these:

Burgess' A Clockwork Orange
Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Gardner's The Art of Fiction / On Becoming a Novelist / On Moral Fiction
Golding's Lord of the Flies
H.S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Huxley's Brave New World
Kafka's Metamorphosis
Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Nabokov's Lolita
Orwell's 1984 / Animal Farm
Palahniuk's Fight Club
Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow
S. King's The Shining
Shakespeare's œuvre

Well, gun to head, I'd go with 1984.

[sg327]

"Dune" by Frank Herbert.

Great sci-fi epic, but it takes a lot of effort to get really into it. I really need to get this book back from my friend sometime.

I saw this thread earlier today and was gonna post that same book. It's been a while since I've read 'em but I've got 5 of the books in that set (not sure if there was more).

[AlliterationAmy]

I change my answer to Harry Potter I-VII.... or whatever books sound more lame.

[KampfVerein]

I change my answer to Harry Potter I-VII.... or whatever books sound more lame.

Lamest I can think of!

[DirgeInferno]

Very nice choices, all. With all these, I'm surprised I haven't seen my favorite series. (Unless SOMEHOW I didn't see it.)

The Wheel of Time series, by Mr. James Oliver Rigney.
Which specific one? I'd have to say...if I was forced to choose one...book nine.

[Lovez 2 PWN]

ender's game by uhhh....... dammit cant remember the name right now the outsiders is pretty good too.

[RockBandRocker]

My favorite books are...

1. The Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
2. The Lord Of The Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
3. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
4. The Chronicles Of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
5. The Phantom Of The Opera - Gaston Leroux
6. Animal Farm - George Orwell
7. 1984 - George Orwell
8. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
9. The Odyssey - Homer
10. The Iliad - Homer


I have many "favorite" books, but the list would just be to long. :)

There are many stories I love, but certain stories stick out more because I read them during a certain time in my life.

For example, I was 11 when Harry Potter came to my attention (my 5th grade teacher read the first book to the class). I grew with those books, and the story means a lot to me because I grew with the character and could relate to him at times. :)

[NunHugger]

ender's game by uhhh....... dammit cant remember the name right now the outsiders is pretty good too.

Orson Scott Card

He is the author of my favorite book, The Seventh Son, the first in the Alvin Maker series. Good stuff Maynard.

[HMXDave]

My favorite book is The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

[maitee1]

Favorite book would have to be Christine. I had to replace 3 paperbacks and 2 hard covers to death. Just something about that story. I might have to read agin as soon as I finish Blood and Gold.

[Wolfbeckett]

Very nice choices, all. With all these, I'm surprised I haven't seen my favorite series. (Unless SOMEHOW I didn't see it.)

The Wheel of Time series, by Mr. James Oliver Rigney.
Which specific one? I'd have to say...if I was forced to choose one...book nine.

Uhh what? Unless I'm missing something and there is more than 1 series called The Wheel of Time (could be?) the author is Robert Jordan.

For my favorite book of all time I'd go with either A Plague of Angels by Sheri S. Tepper or The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

[Runesmith]

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. I also have a soft spot Richard Wright's Black Boy and William Gibson's Neuromancer.

[IslandBoy91]

The Hitchhikers Guide series


OMFG!!!!! AVATARS ARE BACK!

[HMXTheMax]

Lord of the Flies followed closely by Slaughterhouse Five.

[HMXDave]

Lord of the Flies followed closely by Slaughterhouse Five.

Nice to see someone else loves the late great KVJ.

[ForgottenHero]

Well I try not to let people know that I can, in fact, read, but I really enjoyed The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

[bood-boy]

"The Old Man And The Sea"
"To Kill A Mockingbird"

and the liner notes of the NOFX albums.

[Ginobili]

Uhh what? Unless I'm missing something and there is more than 1 series called The Wheel of Time (could be?) the author is Robert Jordan.

For my favorite book of all time I'd go with either A Plague of Angels by Sheri S. Tepper or The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

I would have to go with the Wheel of Time Series also. Love them! And yeah Robert Jordan is the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr

[Wolfbeckett]

Ah didn't realize it was a pen name. It's really a shame that he died before finishing the series.

[DirgeInferno]

A. Yes it is a shame, a damn shame. I doubt that Brandon Sanderson will live up to Rigney's writing.

B. RJ is merely one of Rigney's pen names. He might actually be the author of your favorite series! :eek:

C. I have to add The Hitchhiker's Guide. And yes, I *do* know the question. The Guide is second, mind you. After reading through WoT, everything else pales.

((By the way, Ginobili, which one's you're favorite?))

[RockBandRocker]

I might have to read agin as soon as I finish Blood and Gold.

Blood And Gold by Anne Rice?


Don't even get me started on The Vampire Chronicles. :)

[Der_Lex]

I'm a big fantasy nut, but it would be hard for me to pick a favorite, so I'll give my five favorites, in no particular order:

- The Malazan Books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson
- The Dark Tower by Stephen King
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
- The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett
- any novel by Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere is my personal favorite)

As for the Wheel of Time books, I've read them all, but it felt to me like the author more or less lost control of the plot after book six, and I don't find the later books as enjoyable. Plus, the way he writes female characters tends to get on my nerves after a while. Still, it's a good read, and definitely makes my fantasy top ten.

My favorite non-fantasy book of all time has to be Goethe's Faust.

[topperharley]

I used to read a crapload of sci-fi/fantasy stuff when I was in high school (Heinlein, Asimov, Piers Anthony, Tolkein, etc), and then a crapload of legal drama in college (Grisham, etc), but three years of law school put a damper on my interest in reading. Fiction doesn't really interest me much anymore - although there are a few classics I plan to read - so when I do read, it's usually nonfiction.

At the moment, I would say my favorite book is Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson.

[Wolfbeckett]

B. RJ is merely one of Rigney's pen names. He might actually be the author of your favorite series! :eek:

He IS the author of my favorite series, cause that's WoT. There are standalone books I like more, but as far as whole series' go, Wheel of Time all the way, but yeah, the later books kind of got meh, although the last one was super rad. I still prefer books 1-4 though, I've read them probably 3 times more often than the rest of the series, and I've read the whole series front to back at least 3 or 4 times.

[maitee1]

As far as favorite series go. In no particular order

Dark Tower
Belgariad/Mallorean
Dresden Files
Star Wars (complete timeline)
Vampire Chronicles

I detested the Elder Gods series by Eddings though.

[HMXDungHeaver]

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies is sick.

Catcher in the Rye is awesome as well.

[MrGrieves]

Frank McCourt Angela's Ashes and Elie Wiesel Night

[CowShark]

- The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett
- any novel by Neil Gaiman (Neverwhere is my personal favorite)



Speaking of...

I think I'll put my favorite books as:
Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)
Dragonlance Chronicles (Margeret Weiss and Tracy Hickman - The first 3 books, after that it all went downhill)
The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

Looks like I like fantasy and yuks (and dual authors).

[R33DH4M]

The Guinness Book of World Records

[Ginobili]

A. Yes it is a shame, a damn shame. I doubt that Brandon Sanderson will live up to Rigney's writing.

B. RJ is merely one of Rigney's pen names. He might actually be the author of your favorite series! :eek:

C. I have to add The Hitchhiker's Guide. And yes, I *do* know the question. The Guide is second, mind you. After reading through WoT, everything else pales.

((By the way, Ginobili, which one's you're favorite?))

My favorite is definitely Eye of the World. I love everything about the series though. I'm on my third read through of them now...currently in the middle of the Shadow Rising. Great Books!

I hope Sanderson does a good job with the final book. Thankfully the plot was basically all laid out already.

Not sure if you guys heard but Dabel Brothers recently announced they are putting out graphic novels for the entire series. http://www.dragonmount.com/News/?p=354

[pretty_pink_pistol]

Speaking of...

I think I'll put my favorite books as:
Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)
Dragonlance Chronicles (Margeret Weiss and Tracy Hickman - The first 3 books, after that it all went downhill)
The Princess Bride (William Goldman)

Looks like I like fantasy and yuks (and dual authors).


Dragonlance Chronicles! love it, though i have to disagree with the last part. i thought a lot of the lost histories was really good, twins trilogy was written well, and the fifth age books were pretty entertaining. but i think after magic left, the books became a little less interesting.

aside from dragonlance though lol:
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley. an all-time favorite. i could read it over and over.
and Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

[killer_roach]

My favorite fictional book is "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I relate to Howard Roark pretty well (scaring the crap out of people who are familiar with the book in the process).

My favorite non-fictional book is "Parliament of Whores" by P.J. O'Rourke. Politics made funny. :)

[JukeBoxHero]

I can't choose a favorite book, I can list some of my favorites.

Stephen King-The Stand
Stephen King-Misery
Stephen King-It
Stephen King-Dark Tower I-II(So far anyway)
Stephen King-Shining
Stephen King-Black House(Also the prequel, great mini series).
J.R. Tolkien-Lord of the Rings series(Including the Hobbit along side them)

I've somewhat of a fan of Stephen King and J.R. Tolkien. Although some people didn't like the movies, I thought Peter Jackson's take on the Lord of the Rings series was alright. I do have a little soft soft for the Harry Potter series since those were the first actual books that I read.(Movies though=not so great).

[Der_Lex]

Speaking of...

I think I'll put my favorite books as:
Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)


Good Omens is brilliant. My copy is signed by both Gaiman and Pratchett (on two separate occasions). What they write in the book depends on who signs it first. In my case, Gaiman signed it first, and wrote 'Burn this book!' and Pratchett followed it up with 'Apply holy match here'. A friend of mine had his copy signed by Pratchett first, who wrote 'We made the devil do it'. Shame Gaiman hasn't been in the country since, because we're eager to find out what he'll add to that.

Both writers are extremely nice, witty people in person as well. I've had the good fortune of being part of a small discussion group with Pratchett and about 20 other people at a con once, and with Gaiman I even did a one-on-one interview for my university thesis (I subtitled part of his Neverwhere BBC series). Good times.

[Lord_Mhoram]

Whoo boy this will be tough.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R Donaldson.
Favorite Fantasy of all time. All of my internet Emails, board handles and whatnot have referenced these. Lord Mhoram is sorta the Gandalf character in the books - Caring, Wise, magically powerful. :)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig. A fun read, all about philosophy and attitudes. Intellectualism for it's own sake in some places.

Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky is a favorite. read it for a high school class over 20 years ago, and loved it.

The Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove is another favorite.

The Stand by Steven King. My favorite of his. It comes in a close second.

I really enjoy the Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy. When I read it as a youth, it really spoke to me.

I'm currently enamored of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

[JukeBoxHero]

Ah crap, I forgot about the Stand. That was great book indeed.

[pretty_pink_pistol]

I have several favorites, they are:

The Bible
Of Mice And Men- Steinbach
The Prince- Niccolo Machiavelli
The Art of War- Sun Tzu
1984- Orwell
Dante's Divine Comedy- Dante Alegheri
Aeniad- Virgil
The Republic- Plato
Meditations- Marcus Aerelius
Christine- Steven King
The Jungle- Upton Sinclair
Lord of the Flies
Paradise Lost- Milton
War & Peace- Tolstoy

So many to choose from but these are the ones that popped into my head when I first read the thread title.

i've been meaning to read The Jungle. And I still wanna finish the Divine Comedy, but there are so many versions out, i dunno which to read. any suggestions? =]

[Der_Lex]

I have several favorites, they are:


The Prince- Niccolo Machiavelli
The Art of War- Sun Tzu
1984- Orwell
Aeniad- Virgil
The Republic- Plato



Those are some of my favorites as well. I never could get beyond Purgatory in the Divine Comedy, though. I felt that I was missing out too much by not getting the heaps of references to politicians and other notables of Dante's time to really enjoy the book for what it was. I've tried reading the annotated version, but constantly having to look up every name became too tiresome after a while.

As for Roman authors, I've always really liked Ovid's Metamorphoses as well. I discovered my love for translation by playing around with that in Latin class.

[Hungryfreak]

The Real Frank Zappa Book
Donquixote(still reading it. Long book, haha)
The Poetic Edda(book where Norse mythology comes from)

[maitee1]

I saw Weis and Hickamn and totally remembered the first series I ever read.

The Death Gate Cycle.

Man that was awesome. So long ago though. I'd say some would people would be thoroughly impressed with it if you like the fantasy/sci-fi stuff.