Favorite Books and why..

[Domer121]

I am wondering what books people really love and why.. I often find myself without something to read that really grabs me.. any ideas would be much appreciated!

[manolia]

Domer when i want something to read i browse through my lists which i have downloaded from the net. It seems that almost every respectable newspaper in the world has made a list according to the tastes of its stuff with 100 books or more. So if you do a bit of a search on line maybe this would be a good place to start. Just type 100 best books in the search engine or something like that here's my favourite list

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1061037,00.html

more very interesting lists

http://www.listsofbests.com/lists/home/books

[Nightshade]

I moved this thread so it would get more answers.
What I read tends to fall into 1 of 3 catgories well 4 if you count bookclubs,
1) scifi?fantasy espcially retold legendsand folklore
2) long 18th century novels ( I dont know why but Ive always been fond of them)
3) Popular fiction from about 1890-1930. :D

[Stassia]

Domer when i want something to read i browse through my lists which i have downloaded from the net. It seems that almost every respectable newspaper in the world has made a list according to the tastes of its stuff with 100 books or more. So if you do a bit of a search on line maybe this would be a good place to start. Just type 100 best books in the search engine or something like that here's my favourite list

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1061037,00.html

more very interesting lists

http://www.listsofbests.com/lists/home/books

Hey thanks that's pretty useful actually! The only list I ever tried looking at was the Big Read, but I've read most of the stuff from there and the remaining books are pretty hard to find.

[manolia]

Hey thanks that's pretty useful actually! The only list I ever tried looking at was the Big Read, but I've read most of the stuff from there and the remaining books are pretty hard to find.

Glad you find this useful. It has helped me a lot to choose books.
Welcome to the forum:)

[Stassia]

Thanks! Don't like being a newbie much. Guess I'll just have to post the newbiness away.

[Irsehlenn]

I'm always very fond of literature of the Romantic period.. I had to read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein not too long ago, and all the references to nature as well as the scary/sublime part really fascinates me. I also like Jane Austen very much (though somehow I'm not very fond of Pride and Prejudice.. maybe it's just me, but I thought it was a bit long-winded...).

[thevintagepiper]

Quo Vadis is my favorite book. Sorry, can't type out the author's name at the moment, I've got no clue how to spell it; it's crazy long.
In any case, I had to read the book for school (over a period of quite a few weeks) but ended up staying up til 4 for the next few nights to read it. It's very gripping, especially once you get going. It's an intriguing story, deep, meaningful, (somewhat romantic but that's not the focus of the book) all around good.
It's about life during the time of the Emperor Nero in ancient Rome, specifically the Christians and aristocrats. Might not sound that...exciting but, believe me it is. It's a very moving and captivating book.

[Domer121]

I have never read that one.. sounds very interesting:)
thanks manolia! I will check them out!

[andave_ya]

Sherlock Holmes.
There, that's a change from DLS and LOTR.

[manolia]

I have never read that one.. sounds very interesting:)
thanks manolia! I will check them out!

You are welcome :)

[Moira]

Quo Vadis is my favorite book. Sorry, can't type out the author's name at the moment, I've got no clue how to spell it; it's crazy long.
In any case, I had to read the book for school (over a period of quite a few weeks) but ended up staying up til 4 for the next few nights to read it. It's very gripping, especially once you get going. It's an intriguing story, deep, meaningful, (somewhat romantic but that's not the focus of the book) all around good.
It's about life during the time of the Emperor Nero in ancient Rome, specifically the Christians and aristocrats. Might not sound that...exciting but, believe me it is. It's a very moving and captivating book.

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz.:thumbs_up

[Bii]

Hi Domer, it might help if you gave us an idea of the kind of books you like, then it's easier to suggest alternatives. I've noticed on this forum there's a tendancy to stick to the 'classics' - you might try something a bit more modern - have you read any of the following:

Angela Carter - The Magic Toyshop, Heroes and Villains, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, and The Passion of New Eve are all particularly good.
Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - all excellent books.
Faye Weldon - The Bulgari Connection, Life and Loves of a She-Devil
David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas or Ghostwritten

There's a whole wealth of books out there; some classic, some not. The best thing to do is just leap in there and try something!

Happy hunting!

[Hyacinth42]

Douglass Adams hitchhiker's series: most hilarious books ever written
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown: most suspenseful book ever written
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgak: really good book. I can't explain it, it was just a... really good book!

[JBI]

The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco. Absolutely brilliant. The right blend of philosophy, history, mystery, and romance.

[Moira]

[QUOTE=Bii;361026]Hi Domer, it might help if you gave us an idea of the kind of books you like, then it's easier to suggest alternatives. I've noticed on this forum there's a tendancy to stick to the 'classics' - you might try something a bit more modern - have you read any of the following:

Angela Carter - The Magic Toyshop, Heroes and Villains, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, and The Passion of New Eve are all particularly good.
Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - all excellent books.
Faye Weldon - The Bulgari Connection, Life and Loves of a She-Devil
David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas or Ghostwritten

There's a whole wealth of books out there; some classic, some not. The best thing to do is just leap in there and try something!



I've also noticed here the tendency to stick to the 'classics' that you mentioned before and since i am very much interested in discovering new modern writers i have looked for the books you recommended. Unfortunately i've discovered that except Haruki Murakami (with whom i am familiar) the other authors are not yet translated in my country (Romania). I guess i just have to look for the books in english.
I am curious weather or not you are familiar with Pascal Bruckner, Michael Houllebeque, Amelie Nothomb, etc?

[Aiculík]

I just finished Antichrista by Amelie Nothomb yesterday. Great book, but I was bit disappointed by the end - I didn't want Christa to win! :) I would definitely recommend that one.

Never heard of Michael Houllebeque. Is he French? What has he written? Is he translated into English? I can't speak French... yet. :) And I know Bruckner is philosopher, but I didn't read anything from him yet. Has he written also some fiction?

As for other good books, I'd recommend Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in Time of Cholera, Of Love and Other Demons, or Chronicle of Death Foretold are all masterpieces (he wrote many more, these I think are most famous). He creates his own world for his characters, mixes fiction and non-fiction, real history and made up things, realism and magical realism... all his works are really masterpieces.

[Moira]

I just finished Antichrista by Amelie Nothomb yesterday. Great book, but I was bit disappointed by the end - I didn't want Christa to win! :) I would definitely recommend that one.

Never heard of Michael Houllebeque. Is he French? What has he written? Is he translated into English? I can't speak French... yet. :) And I know Bruckner is philosopher, but I didn't read anything from him yet. Has he written also some fiction?

As for other good books, I'd recommend Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in Time of Cholera, Of Love and Other Demons, or Chronicle of Death Foretold are all masterpieces (he wrote many more, these I think are most famous). He creates his own world for his characters, mixes fiction and non-fiction, real history and made up things, realism and magical realism... all his works are really masterpieces.

Hi

I loved One Hundred Years of Solitude, great book.
Yes, Houllebeque is french and i am pretty sure he was translated into english. He wrote some great books: Perhaps an island, The Platform, The Elementary Particles, i am a big fan.
Pascal Bruckner wrote Bitter Moon, The Beauty stealers, The Divine Child and a few more novels but those i mentioned i have read and liked a lot.
I did not read Antichrista By Nothomb but i have read Mercury, The life of hunger and The Assassins' hygiene.

[carina_gino20]

at the moment, my favorite is A Tale of Two Cities. The story, the narrative--everything about it was amazing.

[Aiculík]

Hi

I loved One Hundred Years of Solitude, great book.
Yes, Houllebeque is french and i am pretty sure he was translated into english. He wrote some great books: Perhaps an island, The Platform, The Elementary Particles, i am a big fan.
Pascal Bruckner wrote Bitter Moon, The Beauty stealers, The Divine Child and a few more novels but those i mentioned i have read and liked a lot.
I did not read Antichrista By Nothomb but i have read Mercury, The life of hunger and The Assassins' hygiene.

Thanks! I'll definitely try to get at least some of those and to read them. :)

[Domer121]

[QUOTE=Bii;361026]Hi Domer, it might help if you gave us an idea of the kind of books you like, then it's easier to suggest alternatives. I've noticed on this forum there's a tendancy to stick to the 'classics' - you might try something a bit more modern - have you read any of the following:

Angela Carter - The Magic Toyshop, Heroes and Villains, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman, and The Passion of New Eve are all particularly good.
Haruki Murakami - A Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - all excellent books.
Faye Weldon - The Bulgari Connection, Life and Loves of a She-Devil
David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas or Ghostwritten

There's a whole wealth of books out there; some classic, some not. The best thing to do is just leap in there and try something!



I've also noticed here the tendency to stick to the 'classics' that you mentioned before and since i am very much interested in discovering new modern writers i have looked for the books you recommended. Unfortunately i've discovered that except Haruki Murakami (with whom i am familiar) the other authors are not yet translated in my country (Romania). I guess i just have to look for the books in english.
I am curious weather or not you are familiar with Pascal Bruckner, Michael Houllebeque, Amelie Nothomb, etc?

I guess the classics seem like a good place to start, though I really enjoy fiction every now and again..
I will check those books out:)
thanks