Your favourite book EVER?

[Zee.]

You heard me :brow:
A Clockwork Orange

[eyemaker]

Quite hard to decide. I'll think about that perhaps..:)

[Zee.]

Also, how much of a killer is that font on your damn eyes?
wowzee.

[*Classic*Charm*]

The Crucible

<3 <3

[HQXT]

Julias Ceasar by W. Shakespeare. OK?

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar... - Marc Antony

[mona amon]

My most favourite book is Jane Eyre. I've been re-reading it since I was 10 or 11, and almost know it by heart! :)

[Zee.]

My most favourite book is Jane Eyre. I've been re-reading it since I was 10 or 11, and almost know it by heart! :)

Blegh! that book is one of my least favourites.
It had a bad after taste

[Kuda4rl]

Alistair Maclean's Night Without End. I am not big fan of literature's twist and turns, allegory, allusions, insinuations etc. Here Alistair Maclean tells the straight forward story of a hijacked airliner that crashes in the North Pole, and due to the vivid description, the reader too gets caught up in the frightful cold of the Arctic Circle.

[prendrelemick]

errm...

[My name is red]

The Silent House-Orhan Pamuk

[mona amon]

Blegh! that book is one of my least favourites.
It had a bad after taste

To each his own! ;)

[papayahed]

The two highest rated books on my spreadsheet are Henry V Part I and One hundred Years of Solitude. Of the two I'd pick One hundred Years of Solitude. I only started my spreadsheet in 2004 so I know I'm missing some other good ones. It by Stephen King sticks out in my memory.

[JacobF]

I know it's overplayed, but Slaughterhouse Five. It made me think about the chirps of birds differently, among a host of other things.

[blazeofglory]

The prophet by Khalil Gibran

[Olga4real]

Master and Margarita by Bulgakov is my favorite, I have read it 3 times and maybe will do it again one day.

[Desolation]

Either 'Journey to the End of the Night' by Louis-Ferdinand Celine or 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche.

[PeterL]

It depends on what I am thinking about, but there are a couple dozen that I could list as my all time favorite.

[stlukesguild]

Limited to a single book (and no anthologies) I would probably need to go with Dante's Divine Comedy... although one might argue that the Comedia is actually three books (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso). I can't think of a single book from which I have found so much and such breadth. If I were limited to more recent books I might go with Proust's In Search of Lost Time or Borges' Labyrinths or El Hacedor.

[Joreads]

The Crucible

<3 <3

Make that two. It is at the top of my list as well

[Nadia Scores]

I don’t know if many of you have read this one, but Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find has always remained in my mind long after I put it down (and I have read it many times over). For any of you who have not yet read it, A Good Man is Hard to Find was published in 1955 and established O’Connor as a major player in the American literature scene. O’Connor’s works always provoke very strong reactions from her readers and she was criticized for constantly depicting the revolting and base side of human nature along with a lot of violence and cruelty. But it is for these reasons alone that her stories remain with you long after the book has been put down. Her unflinching treatment of her characters shows an author with a true focus and vision. Apart from A Good Man is Hard to Find (http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/flannery-o-connor/a-good-man-is-hard-to-find.html), if you are still looking for some recommended reading, I would suggest you check out Shmoop. Its an excellent site that I discovered, full of interesting insights into all types of literature.

[stlukesguild]

Great short story... as are a good many of her stories.:thumbs_up

[Barbarous]

most likely Ulysses by Joyce. As Whitman once said 'when you touch this book, you touch a man', or something like that :p

[Red-Headed]

The Brothers Karamazov ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

[andave_ya]

non-fiction: Bible
fiction: Lord of the Rings

[Mathor]

A toss-up between The Crucible, A Clockwork Orange, and The Lord of The Rings.

[Night_Lamp]

Choosing one novel is tough...

I'd have to go with Evelyn Waugh's 'Brideshead Revisited'. It is such a beautiful story of friendship and of struggling with inner demons.
I am dismayed at how often recently this book has been described as a work of homosexual fiction; though Waugh himself hints that the story found part of it's basis in an encounter he had with a man at university, Charles and Sebastian are never lovers. They have the kind of close friendship that women have with each other today.
Although the sexual tension is an element, the themes of Catholicism, the fading of old England with its Lords and Peers, and the fevered madness of the 1920's are far more important to the plot.

[islandclimber]

If I can only choose one,

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa

[sophiaxo]

Wuthering Heights (:

[The Comedian]

Walden by Henry Thoreau.

[jack_is_cool]

I'm really fond of The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis. I fear that that his work is dismissed because of the themes he uses. It really is a shame, in my opinion.

[Adagio]

The Brothers Karamazov ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I'll have to second that - absolutely outstanding novel. I'd say Les Miserables too.

[toboe]

I love all those classics, but my favorite book is more contemporary, that is Norwiegan wood by Haruki Murakami.

[Red-Headed]

I'll have to second that - absolutely outstanding novel. I'd say Les Miserables too.

I have read Les Miserables but I found that I didn't totally get on with it. It seemed to veer between farce & melodrama to historical romance (in fact it reminded me a bit of Vanity Fair). I much prefer Zola, particularly Germinal, which is a magnificent novel. I also never got on well with Dumas as an author either. I tried to read The Three Musketeers when I was quite young & found it a bit pedantic & odd both at the same time! Maybe it was the translation.

[Adagio]

I much prefer Zola, particularly Germinal, which is a magnificent novel. I also never got on well with Dumas as an author either. I tried to read The Three Musketeers when I was quite young & found it a bit pedantic & odd both at the same time! Maybe it was the translation.
I haven't given any of Zola's larger novels a go yet, I've read Thérèse Raquin though and thought it was a pretty good read. Have you tried The Count of Monte Cristo? it really is great fun and has a fantastic plot - I highly recommend!

[Bojangles]

My favourites at the moment are:

The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

[Truthlover]

It's hard to pick favorites, because by choosing one, I feel as though I am eliminating the many other good books I've read. Maybe the question should be: "What are the ten best books you've ever read?" Someone might want to increase that number! Among my favorites (in a wildly assorted order) are: all of Jane Austen but especially Mansfield Park; Cervantes' Don Quixote de la Mancha; Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; Tolstoy's War and Peace; Leisure the Basis of Culture (by Josef Pieper), The Inferno (in Robert Pinsky's translation); The Unity of Philosophical Experience (by Etienne Gilson); Joan of Arc (by Mark Twain); Barchester Towers (by Anthony Trollope); Man's Search for Meaning (by Viktor Frankl); The Betrothed (by Alessandro Manzoni). I could name several others, but that's enough for now. Let's hear what others suggest as their best reading experiences.

[Zee.]

It's hard to pick favorites, because by choosing one, I feel as though I am eliminating the many other good books I've read. Maybe the question should be: "What are the ten best books you've ever read?" Someone might want to increase that number! Among my favorites (in a wildly assorted order) are: all of Jane Austen but especially Mansfield Park; Cervantes' Don Quixote de la Mancha; Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; Tolstoy's War and Peace; Leisure the Basis of Culture (by Josef Pieper), The Inferno (in Robert Pinsky's translation); The Unity of Philosophical Experience (by Etienne Gilson); Joan of Arc (by Mark Twain); Barchester Towers (by Anthony Trollope); Man's Search for Meaning (by Viktor Frankl); The Betrothed (by Alessandro Manzoni). I could name several others, but that's enough for now. Let's hear what others suggest as their best reading experiences.

How come Mansfield Part is your favourite Austen novel?


I hear a lot about The Brothers Karamazov and i'm curious about its appeal. Is it exciting?

[islandclimber]

The Brothers Karamazov is one of the most amazing books ever written... even Freud called it the most magnificent novel ever written. not that this means anything :p but Dostoevsky delves so deeply into the human soul, and though his characters may often act ridiculously, absurdly; the conversations may be exaggerated, extravagant at times, seemingly impossible, yet behind it is always reality and possibility, and The Brothers Karamazov is the prime example of the power of Dostoevsky's work..

[JuniperWoolf]

'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche.

Good one.

I like The Grapes of Wrath. That book made me love both nature and humanity.

[JuniperWoolf]

The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger


Yeah, that one's up there for me too. I like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest a lot, but its not one of my top favorites because it put me in a slump for about a week.

[weltanschauung]

If I can only choose one,

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa

*intervalo doloroso*

se me perguntares se sou feliz, direi: não, não sou.

http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/113.gif

[Red-Headed]

Have you tried The Count of Monte Cristo? it really is great fun and has a fantastic plot - I highly recommend!

I will get around to that one day! I think that L'Assommoir is usually considered Zola's masterpiece, or at least the best of the Rougon-Macquart novel series.

[Red-Headed]

My favourites at the moment are:

The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger

Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey

I have read all of these, but it is Crime & Punishment that really changed my entire attitude. It was after reading this novel that I got into Dostoyevsky & Russian literature in general. Although The Brothers Karamazov is the better novel, C & P affected me so thoroughly it made me study Dostoyevsky, Russian literature & the entire Nihilist movement in 19th century Russia.

Heavy...but ultimately worth it! :eek2:

[Bojangles]

I have read all of these, but it is Crime & Punishment that really changed my entire attitude. It was after reading this novel that I got into Dostoyevsky & Russian literature in general. Although The Brothers Karamazov is the better novel, C & P affected me so thoroughly it made me study Dostoyevsky, Russian literature & the entire Nihilist movement in 19th century Russia.

Heavy...but ultimately worth it! :eek2:

Crime and Punishment is actually the only Dostoyevsky novel I've read. I've been meaning to read it again because it's so rich and complex but it's certainly daunting and I'm having troube commiting to reading it again.

Also adding Naked Lunch, by William S Burroughs to my favourites.

[Nick Capozzoli]

The Bible. Especially like the Gospel of John.

[pjjrfan1]

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky really impacted me.
The Maritian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury has always been a favorite
The Godfather by Mario Puzo because as a youth I wanted to be a gangster.
There are really to many to mention, but these books I keep rereading everytime I find them lying around my house.

[Mathor]

The Brothers Karamazov is one of the most amazing books ever written... even Freud called it the most magnificent novel ever written. not that this means anything :p but Dostoevsky delves so deeply into the human soul, and though his characters may often act ridiculously, absurdly; the conversations may be exaggerated, extravagant at times, seemingly impossible, yet behind it is always reality and possibility, and The Brothers Karamazov is the prime example of the power of Dostoevsky's work..

The Brother's Karamazov is one of the greatest books ive ever read. While it may not be my FAVORITE, for personal reasons, it's beauty is amazing.

[Moses25]

The Chosen, by Chaim Potok.

Beautiful story of friendship.

Cheers. :D

[eyemaker]

Crime and Punishment comes first in my mind.:) Fyodor Dostoevsky is undeniably great! :thumbs_up:

[Helga]

when I was 13 or so my brother got a book called 'the story of Gilgamesh' I read about a hundred times and when my brother moved out I made sure he "forgot" the book and it's in my bookshelf now. I could read it a hundred times more. it is of course very short and is listed as a poem but it's my favourite.

[Red-Headed]

when I was 13 or so my brother got a book called 'the story of Gilgamesh'

Was it this? : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh