What is your favorite book?

[Can]

I think all of the users of this forum have favorite books. I want you to share your favorite book and why it is your favorite??:confused5:

[monkeyboy7]

It's a tough choice, but I'm going to have to say Mrs. Dalloway.

First off, Woolf's prose is elegant and evocative without being too flowery. Superficially, it makes the novel a pleasure to read while making you want to come back later for close readings.

Second, I think it's awesome that the novel takes place during one day. Woolf's decision to include such a small time frame helps celebrate the mundane, and it also raises the importance of moments as opposed to events. You can see how really isolated and fleeting moments like Septimus and hat-making can improve the lives of characters. Woolf's distinction between inner and outer time is also brilliant, for more reasons than I want to go into.

Third, Woolf deals with the idea of shared and communal experiences, and dares to ask questions about what it means to be part of a community. The Marxist notion that humans are merely part of a larger system of production planning (http://www.solarsoft.com/functions/production-monitoring) doesn't apply here. Rather, can certain events (like a party or a conspicuous skywriting plane) really unify us for a few moments of shared understanding? Is there such a thing as a communal conscience? Just how individualistic are we (and should we be)?

If my thoughts seem poorly-formed, it's because the novel continues to make me think about these issues. That's the hallmark of a great novel, after all--something that stays with you after you've read it and causes you to endlessly ask questions. As Mark Twain said, "The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it's dead for you."

Anywway, what's your favourite work?

[larryF]

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Naked Lunch isnt far behind however.

[Desolation]

Mmmm...Depends which side of me you're asking.

The philosophic side of me is drawn to The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
The poor side of me prefers Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller.
The tough side likes A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
My inner contemplative romantic is fond of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
And then, of course, my misanthropic side likes sharpening his world-hating teeth on Louis-Ferdinand Celine's Journey to the End of the Night.

If I'd have actually finished either of them, my overall picks would probably be Ulysses or In Search of Lost Time...But I haven't, so I can't say with any certainty. I've read enough of both to get that feeling from them, though.

[86.5parker]

My favorite book is purpose driven by rick warren..because this book teach me what life is all about..and why it is happening to you??it is really cool you can read it also if you did not read it yet..:seeya:

[Chris 73]

Toss up between Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock, and Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell.

[WyattGwyon]

Lately it's been The Recognitions by William Gaddis. One thing I love about it is that there is a labyrinthine web of connections and subtle allusions among various scenes that is nearly impossible to grasp on a first reading, so that the work gains great depth when reread. Another thing is that nearly everything we learn about the characters comes through dialogue so that it often seems like we have unmediated and objective access to them; and the dialogue is pitch perfect. Also, it is often hilarious, the descriptive passages are beautiful and fresh, and the thinking on the nature of art and aesthetic authenticity is profound. It is especially wonderful for anyone with an interest in the painting of the Dutch and Flemish masters.

[TheChilly]

In terms of 'most rewarding'...

"Against the Day", by Thomas Pynchon.

That is all.

[Gregory Samsa]

Well, it's different from time to time. But "The Catcher in the Rye", "Crime and Punishment", "The Stranger" and "Of Mice and Men" always has a special place in my heart. "The Catcher in the Rye" especially when I was younger, and don’t now have brilliant I think it would be today.

[mal4mac]

The one I'm reading at the moment, if it's a good book, so "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" would be it....

[Cropduster84]

For years it was To Kill A Mockinbird but I'm currently reading Jane Eyre and am completely blown away...

[Can]

My favarite is Improbable by Adam Faver. At the beginning it wasn't excellent, but then it become the best book I have ever read

[jedimisu]

I have two book I love most. The first is The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, and the second one is Cassandra's Brand by Chinghiz Aitmatov. After reading Cassandra's Brand, I regret I wasn't the one to write such a novel, but I am glad he made it.

[ForrestJG]

I've just finished Dante's Inferno now. Well, it's now my favourite book.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I've just finished Dante's Inferno now. Well, it's now my favourite book.
You can't stop there--that's only a third of the book. There's still Purgatorio and Paradiso. Some (maybe even many) are of the opinion that Purgatorio is better than Inferno, and that Paradiso is better than Purgatorio. I'm the exact opposite . . . but I'm more of a "hell" guy.

My favorite book is Moby Dick. I've never read anything so dense (or, I've never read anything where I've explored the density so much--I wouldn't dispute that Dante's Comedia is more dense, though I think MD comes close). It's at times philosophical, terrifying, and very funny. It's still the most beautifully written prose I've ever encountered. It's a hard read, but that's part of the appeal--conquering the White Whale is a rewarding experience.

[KCurtis]

I have to say my favorite book is The Great Gatsby. Ofcourse I just read it again, so that may be why but it is hard to say. When I read a great book, it then becomes my favorite. And I haven't read them all!!
Seriously though, I have never read such a beautiful writer as Fitzgerald. I'm pretty fussy, and I hate bad metaphors. His are brilliant. So is the imagery.

[KCurtis]

Well, it's different from time to time. But "The Catcher in the Rye", "Crime and Punishment", "The Stranger" and "Of Mice and Men" always has a special place in my heart. "The Catcher in the Rye" especially when I was younger, and don’t now have brilliant I think it would be today.

I read Catcher in the Rye as an adult, it's just as good.

[NiMROD]

Ditto on Catcher in the Rye. I've read it probably 3 or 4 times now. I have to say though, I have been thoroughly enjoying Of Human Bondage and it could be my new novel of choice of the Bildungsroman bent.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

As new members, you will learn that Catcher is one of the most contentious topics on the forum (which is good), along with that ol' scamp Bukowski.

[Jive One]

Definitely 1001 Nights for me. I love its narrative diversity and its imaginative settings. Although it's mainly a collection of folk stories, I still feel there's a lot of depth to the themes that appear.

For a single cohesive work though, definitely Divine Comedy.

[tonywalt]

Depends on the mood.

Catcher in the Rye for fun. I have no reason why I like this book so much, perhaps at a some level I identify with Holden. I like it when I need to simplify life.

Of Mice and Men shaped my world view, or maybe even changed it. I like it when I'm feeling idealistic.

Infinite Jest - I like it when when feel the urge for complexity.

[Brian59]

Has to be For Whom the Bell Tolls for this guy. Its pretty rare to find a book that is both entertaining and poignant, and this work just proves how masterful Hemingway really was

[KCurtis]

As new members, you will learn that Catcher is one of the most contentious topics on the forum (which is good), along with that ol' scamp Bukowski.

Why is Catcher in the Rye one of the most contentious topics on this forum?

[CarpeNixta]

As some above said, for me it also depends on the mood, my favourites would be:
Dante - La Divina Comedia (I don't know how you call the whole book in English)
Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Saramago - Death at Intervals

[mal4mac]

RSC Complete Shakespeare

[jfv666]

It is dificult to say the our favourite book, I read a lot in my life. Maybe the book I read more is Faust by Goethe, I read it in German, in English and Spanish. This book is full of clever quotations you can never forget. Kindest regards from Spain. Juan

[Can]

My favorite has changed. My new favorite is The World of Sofi by Jostein Gaarder

[Big Dante]

Les Miserables for me because it simply contains everything one could wish for in a book.

[Climacus]

Questions like this are too, too broad. We would need subdivisions (favourite poem, favourite novel, favourite philosophical work . . . ). But seeing that most are citing novels:


Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time

[ForrestJG]

I'm not sure really; whenever I try to think my mind just becomes blank. There's too many I like. Probably the one I really enjoyed though was Candide by Voltaire, and probably The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Lord of the Flies was good too.

[Can]

After reading books, our favorite can be changed. I think every book has its original meaning,or morel something else. It is really important...

[jake21221]

My favourite would have to be One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey. It might be because I expected very little from it and was 50 pages into it before I realized how deeply I'd fallen in love with it. Or it may be because Randall Patrick McMurphy might be the best protagonist I've ever come across.

However it is in a never ending duel with Post Office by Bukowski. Some of the passages have me roaring with laughter while some nearly made me cry. I'd read 3 Buk books before and I didn't know what to make of him but this one is where I got him. I went back and read the other 3 and realized how amazing Buk is.

[cyberbob]

Catcher in the rye :)

[Lady D. Luffy]

Pirate Latitudes - Michael Crichton.
To me it was a stunning novel.
The writing style, the details, the characters.
One of those books that felt like I was actually there with them.
Which doesn't happen very often.

[hanzklein]

Ulyssesby Joyce. Nothing will ever eclipse it. Joyce may have outdated writing after 1922 by just writing this one book. The content and form is shockingly original, there are extracts of great beauty which stand without equal, the story is multilayered and detailed.

[Featchy]

Pride and Prejudice

Excluding the last chapter, which is excessively mawkish and emetic, the book is word for word perfect.

Austen did not paint on a large canvas, like Leo Tolstoy, nor did her colours rival the intensity of Shakespeare's; but that which she did depict was as true a representation of nature as anything either of the aforementioned authors ever created.

[Can]

:p
Pride and Prejudice

Excluding the last chapter, which is excessively mawkish and emetic, the book is word for word perfect.

Austen did not paint on a large canvas, like Leo Tolstoy, nor did her colours rival the intensity of Shakespeare's; but that which she did depict was as true a representation of nature as anything either of the aforementioned authors ever created.

Thanks. After you said that I read this book. It is extremely beautiful thanks! :hurray: :spam: :cheers2: :thumbs_up :Chevy_anim:

[OrphanPip]

I'm fond of Jane Austen too, but Emma is my favourite of her works.

I also have soft spots for Forster's Howards End and Dickens' Great Expectations.

[!MeMa!]

i love this thread mainly because i will graduate from university after two weeks and i will, finally, have time to do some quality reading :D
i really could use the recommends to pick a collection of books

so thumbs up to this thread

until now i only read academic books and sometimes it can be booring. As for a FAVORITE book i will go for twilight by Stephanie Maire

[B. Laumness]

As for a FAVORITE book i will go for twilight by Stephanie Maire

And you will be graduated from the university soon?

[MercedesxEdmond]

Oscar Wilde-De Profundis Iread it for the first time when I was 13 and it pretty much concludes for me the meaning of life!

Alexandre Dumas-The Count of Monte Cristo....many many reasons!!!

[cafolini]

100 ways to crack an egg
http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2009/04/16/100-ways-to-crack-an-egg/

[the facade]

Slaughterhouse-5, The Stranger, The unbearable lightness off being

To choose between the three would be impossible

[ChicagoReader]

Not a novel, but Death of a Salesman is probably my favorite piece of literature. Blood Meridian is probably my favorite novel...for now.

[Zemouli Chahra]

I think all of the users of this forum have favorite books. I want you to share your favorite book and why it is your favorite??:confused5:

My beloved book is The way to the peaceful Warrior, The Book that Changes lives. For Dan Millman.
Is there any other reader, I want to discuss it.

[naluneabezshapk]

A favorite?

I'd have to go with the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[Quintus Ennius]

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostovsky. Because it is simply the most brilliant book ever written.

[Can]

:rant::rant::rant:
The one I'm reading at the moment, if it's a good book, so "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" would be it....

ıt is really good :D

[mal4mac]

Since "Dr Jekyll" I've read two more contenders - "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens and "Waverley" by Sir Walter Scott. Wonderful books!

[Can]

Since "Dr Jekyll" I've read two more contenders - "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens and "Waverley" by Sir Walter Scott. Wonderful books!

I will read that book thanks to you :D :willy_nilly: :nod:

[WillardS]

Joseph Campbell: Hero With A Thousand Faces
Christopher Vogler: Writer's Journey
Kal Bashir: 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State

All changed by writing life.

[MissBankjc]

As this is my first post let me start by saying hello, everyone! My registration email came through today. Hurrah! :party:

I have a few favourites that I often re-read: David Copperfield (Dickens), The Secret History (Tartt), The Historian (Kostova) and Pride and Prejudice (Austen). Perhaps not the most high brow of literary works but I find them so enjoyable. A good book is a good book, I say.

[chamightlike]

Catcher has to be up there, but two scenes in Catcher bother me: Holden dancing on the bed with Phoebe, and of course Mr. Antonelli. Kinda creepy. Currently my fave and has been for the last few years: Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - it reads with such tangibility, followed by Idoru by Gibson and always, Bridge to Teribithia. Lousy movie. I also really like The Giver. Yes, most of my faves are juvenile fiction.

[Can]

As this is my first post let me start by saying hello, everyone! My registration email came through today. Hurrah! :party:

I have a few favourites that I often re-read: David Copperfield (Dickens), The Secret History (Tartt), The Historian (Kostova) and Pride and Prejudice (Austen). Perhaps not the most high brow of literary works but I find them so enjoyable. A good book is a good book, I say.

You are welcome

[JMPS]

De engelenmaker by stefan brijs. It's a dutch book, but I think that it has been translated in English and some other languages. It's a very interesting book about human cloning and morals.

[j.hart]

J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. hands down.

I used to feel like this question was akin to being asked who my favorite child is... =D

[Can]

I read Harry Potter series and it is extremely good.

[Can]

I think all books have different specialities...

[Can]

All changes bring us different emotions in our books.

[McGrain]

Maybe To Kil A Mockingbird?

My favourite one physically is a three volume Shakespeare. I just love handling, it's very nice. And i really like the smell of my Histoy of Western Philosphy, haha. Which I haven't even read yet.

[WICKES]

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. His prose is beautiful and he is funnier than P G Wodehouse.


Not far behind would be:
The Tempest
Aldous Huxley's Chrome Yellow
Robert Graves: Goodbye to all that

[Can]

I think there is also a beautiful book which is called Lord of The Flies

[Kyriakos]

Overall favorite probably the Castle (Kafka). But now days i prefer reading De Maupassant :)

[Emil Miller]

Overall favorite probably the Castle (Kafka). But now days i prefer reading De Maupassant :)

Kafka is one small step for man while Maupassant is one giant leap for mankind. :D

[Kyriakos]

Well De Maupassant was a lot more human, and less symbolic :) Both writers were clearly very intelligent, but Kafka was

1) insane (De Maupassant became insane later on too, but it was a different kind of insanity)

2) a writer possibly of complete allegories. By which i mean that everything seems to be symbolic in his work.

3) self-destructive. He ended up killing himself with his self-reproaches and endless echoing of self-hatred.

I read Kafka for more than a decade, on a daily basis, and i can say that for me now he is still one of the most intelligent writers ever, and a massively innovative writer, but De Maupassant (of the sane phase) is simply a lot more logical and presents one with the surface of things as well as the depth of them :)

[HAN]

my favorite book is sherlock holmes

[Emil Miller]

my favorite book is sherlock holmes

Well I don't think there is a book called Sherlock Holmes if you mean the one created by Arthur Conan Doyle but there are a number of novels in which he is the central character: such as, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles etc. Then there are short stories in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes etc.

[Darcy88]

I don't know how I could possibly answer this question. Its like picking a favourite parent but somehow having dozens of parents.

100 years of solitude, Heart of Darkness, The Red and the Black, and The Plague. That's as far as I can narrow it down to and I doubt I'll agree with that narrowing tomorrow.

[mike321]

"Five Points Someone" by Chetan Bagat

It is awesome book

[Can]

Good books were written in past

[Des Essientes]

My favorite decadent book is Joris-Karl Huysmanns' Against Nature (Au Rebours). My favorite modernist book is Celine's Death on the Installment Plan (Mort au Credit). My favorite decadent-historical novel is Flaubert's Salammbo. My favorite philosophical book is Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil. My favorite science fiction book is Leguin's The Dispossessed. My favorite children's book is Thurber's The Thirteen Clocks. My favorite religious books are Lao-Tzu's Tao-Te-Ching and Chuang-Tzu's book.

[WyattGwyon]

My current favorite novel is William Gaddis's The Recognitions, though I might easily have chosen any of Dostoyevsky's major novels or Infinite Jest or Cormac McCarthy's Suttree. The Recognitions has nearly inexhaustible depth and complexity; on the third reading I was still recognizing numerous connections and internal allusions that just went over my head the first two times through. It is also a profound meditation on authenticity and originality in art, subjects that are important to me in everyday life. It's also side-splittingly funny!

[Can]

every book is very good if you can stand reading it!

[JuniperWoolf]

I can't decide between Of Human Bondage and The Grapes of Wrath.

[KCurtis]

I can't decide between Of Human Bondage and The Grapes of Wrath.

The Grapes of Wrath is on my list to read in a few weeks. I can't wait to tell you what I think of it! I do love Steinbeck and read more of him when I was young.

[Sancho Panza]

As my username as sig mmight suggest, I am a Don Quixote fan, but the works of Paul Auster are not far behind and I regard him as one of only a few living authors I truly admire.

[mona amon]

Jane Eyre has been my favourite since I was ten years old. :yesnod:

[JuniperWoolf]

The Grapes of Wrath is on my list to read in a few weeks. I can't wait to tell you what I think of it! I do love Steinbeck and read more of him when I was young.

:yesnod: The very last paragraph is my favorite out of any paragraph I've ever read, I think you'll like it. It's strangely optimistic for a book about the great depression.

[KCurtis]

:yesnod: The very last paragraph is my favorite out of any paragraph I've ever read, I think you'll like it. It's strangely optimistic for a book about the great depression.
Oh ****!! Now I'm going to want to read the last paragraph! I'll have to cover it up with an index card and tape it. Sorry, OCD. That's my excuse.

[KCurtis]

Jane Eyre has been my favourite since I was ten years old. :yesnod:
That is so cool. It was one of mine too!

[Can]

I also like Stefan Zweig

[Tallulah]

It's impossible for me to name a favorite book. But, going by which books I have read the most, I'd have to say Gone With the Wind, Pride & Prejudice and The Three Musketeers.

Not far behind would be everything else by Dumas and Jude the Obscure.

[Can]

I think everyone has his7her favorite. It is more effective than others. More special. I like into the wild which is my favorite

[Adolescent09]

I have about 20 books that are equally my favorites so I'll list them here:

(1) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
(2) The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
(3) War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
(4) Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
(5) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
(6) The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
(7) The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
(8) The Histories - Herodotus
(9) Paradise Lost - John Milton
(10) Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
(11) The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
(12) The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
(13) Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
(14) Moby Dick - Herman Melville
(15) Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
(16) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
(17) Confessions - St. Augustine
(18) A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
(19) Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(20) Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

Ok I'll admit I might like some more than others, but I do LOVE all of these books. It's just SOOO hard to pick one! lol

[Can]

I have about 20 books that are equally my favorites so I'll list them here:

(1) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
(2) The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
(3) War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
(4) Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
(5) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
(6) The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoevsky
(7) The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
(8) The Histories - Herodotus
(9) Paradise Lost - John Milton
(10) Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
(11) The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
(12) The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
(13) Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
(14) Moby Dick - Herman Melville
(15) Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
(16) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
(17) Confessions - St. Augustine
(18) A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
(19) Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(20) Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

Ok I'll admit I might like some more than others, but I do LOVE all of these books. It's just SOOO hard to pick one! lol

They are all great books

[paradoxical]

After all these years, it's still Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

A clichè, I know, but I was very young. It made quite an impression and sill has a certain power over me, not to mention its charm.

[Ser Nevarc]

The Iliad

[Oblivion]

Pride and prejudice.

[blazeofglory]

Don Quixote is my favoite novel and at some points I find myself a Don Quuixote, a romantic in fact. I always have been a dreamer and I found my meaning of living in dreams. I know a dream is a dream and most of them never materalize and yet I always love to dream and imagine and fantasize and things are close by do not appeal to me and like this famous hero I always dream of distance things.

[dysfunctional-h]

Questions like this are too, too broad. We would need subdivisions (favourite poem, favourite novel, favourite philosophical work . . . ). But seeing that most are citing novels:


Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time

I read Doctor Faustus. LOL could you help me out? I was strugglin'. At times it seems to meander without much plot, and the symbolism was startlingly difficult to grasp at times. But near the end it became progressively more fast paced, sardonic, moving, and overall well worth your time. I only read the John E. Woods translation, however. Have any of you noticed any differences in quality between the Porter and Woods translations? I own both versions of The Magic Mountain, and intend on reading them concurrently some time this year, along with Woods's versions of Buddenbrooks and Joseph and his Brothers.

One question about it: was the depiction of the intellectuals and poets gathering to discuss mass psychology and the need for totalitarian regimes meant to be as bitterly sarcastic as it came off? XD And do you have any idea of what was symbol and what wasn't? I've heard interpretations as different as Leverkuhn's disdain and Zeitblom's kinder feelings for Bavaria symbolizing their respective views on traditional societies to Leverkuhn himself representing the modern homosexual. XDDD I loved the book tho. Mann understood music like few others, and his discussion of Beethoven's fugal works was especially poignant.

As for my favorite novels, I'd say without a doubt that the works I've read by Faulkner and Joyce have been the ones to affect me the most. They pushed me out of my shell and into the adult world. I will be forever grateful for their impact on my philosophy. If I had to choose a favorite book on music, it would be Alex Ross's The Rest is Noise.

[blazeofglory]

Life is quixotic kind of *meeting point of dissociated *ideas, themes and the like and to find a resonant * association or harmony *is a stupid idea. That is why I like this book and the writer has so magnificently plotted the story bringing dissonant ideas strikingly together *

[Can]

Good book

[Damze36]

I really enjoyed The Iron Heel by Jack London. That book really made me think about the differences between the upper and lower classes and how society functions.

[mojobrad]

Well, I'm still reading but my favourite book so far is one that I read when I was very young - Silas Marner by George Eliot

[Can]

Good choise.

[louisgeorge]

I Just love Harry Potter series and you know the reason is that this film is just out of imagination.:thumbs_up:

[mgv1208]

My favorite book, and it's in close competition with many others, is The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis. Im really not quite sure why i like it so much, but i just think theres something great about it.

[peggynevers]

My favorite book is "The Tempest". This book,all parts are excellent, the author is "William Shakespeare". I had read more and more times.

[Can]

Uptaded. What can I do to make my thread sticky please help???? :)

[kev67]

When I was a boy I would have found this an easy question - The Hobbit. I read it at least a dozen times. My second favourite would have been easy too - Watership Down. I read that about eight times.

As an adult, the only book I can remember reading more than once was Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk, which was one of the Lonesome Dove series. It was the best of the four in my opinion.

[Gareth Heard]

Ulyssesby Joyce. Nothing will ever eclipse it.

I second this; though I've yet to attempt Finnigan's Wake.

[Alan_M]

I have so many, but Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is up there.

[Volya]

Sherlock Holmes (all of them).

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Moby Dick.

[Can]

Uptadet

[Lykren]

The Tale Of Genji. Though I think Ulysses is actually better, somehow I'm more fond of Genji.

[Pierre Menard]

The Tale Of Genji. Though I think Ulysses is actually better, somehow I'm more fond of Genji.


I've long wanted to read Genji.

Did you use the Royall Tyler translation?

[Lykren]

I've long wanted to read Genji.

Did you use the Royall Tyler translation?

I read the Waley translation for the first half, then switched to the Tyler. I infinitely preferred the latter.

[RetsixArp]

I read or tried reading most of the books listed here; my current favorite, tho, because I try to read it once a year, is something called Savannah Blue, by William "Rollerball Murder" Harrison.

I've read Heart of Darkness & Ulysses several times but along w/ the unabridged audiobook. Joyce I think was meant to be heard as much as read. I've read The Tempest & the KJV Holy Bible several times the same way.

[SilvanDitties]

Either the Sound and the Fury or Anna Karenina.

[leylaS]

One of my favourite fiction books is Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson's "The Illuminatus! Trilogy". It's probably not to everyone's taste, and it's hardly sterling prose, but I certainly enjoyed reading it. women sexual health (https://www.rx247.net/cialis.html)

[LaMaga]

Hello I'm new, but I'd like to add my favorite books.

Lolita is number one of all time. For me it's the only book I can pick up and open at random, and the prose automatically elevates me. I treat it like the box of Jumanji.

I also have a special relationship with The Kreutzer Sonata, being that I suffer from Othello syndrome. I get Pozdnyshev.

100 Years of Solitude.

Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was pretty amazing.

[thekid]

Anna karenina

[krishna_lit]

ANGELS AND DEMONS and The Alchemist are my all time favourites ever :)

[steve12553]

The Complete Sherlock Holmes. I've reread that many more times than any other. I'm getting way too old for anything else to catch up unless I succeed in my plan to live to 206.

[Jassy Melson]

The Brothers Karamazov

[Yankee]

http://rippleeffects.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/midnights-children.jpg :yesnod:

Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is a distant second.
I also very much enjoyed To Kill A Mockingbird by Lee

[Alexander III]

I've long wanted to read Genji.

Did you use the Royall Tyler translation?

Read it, it is a remarkable work, the character of Genii in particular has at once an ultra modern and timeless feel, much like Achilles. Tyler translation is the way to go. Also Heian aristocratic society is simply fascinating, and the book provides a great introduction to a society which is alien, yet possesses many of the traits of a modern post 1960's society which I previously had thought to be solely modern mores.

[Pierre Menard]

Read it, it is a remarkable work, the character of Genii in particular has at once an ultra modern and timeless feel, much like Achilles. Tyler translation is the way to go. Also Heian aristocratic society is simply fascinating, and the book provides a great introduction to a society which is alien, yet possesses many of the traits of a modern post 1960's society which I previously had thought to be solely modern mores.


Yeah, aside from the literary aspect, I'm also fascinated by the culture of the time and Japanese culture in general so I feel I'll be getting a lot out of it from a literary and historical aspect. Just gotta finish the 30 odd un-started books on my shelf and I think I'll start the 1200+ page trip!

[Pierre Menard]

Anyway, as for a favourite book, I think it'd be near impossible to choose one, so I'll do a top 5:

Walt Whitman - Leaves of Grass (Pretty much started my love for poetry and haven't looked back since)
Jorge Luis Borges - The Aleph and Other Stories (could have easily been Ficciones or Dreamtigers)
Shakespeare - Julius Caesar (The Shakespeare play that sticks with me the most for whatever reason.)
Collected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke trans. Edward Snow (Utterly stunning)
Samuel Beckett -Waiting for Godot (I find everything in this work. Pathos, humour, wit, tragedy, memorable characters, the sharpest dialogue, wordplay)

Runners up:
Cormac McCarthy - Suttree (Don't have a novel yet, and this would probably be my favourite novel)
Vladimir Nabokov - Pale Fire (I'll eat up anything Nab writes, but this would be the one I'm most impressed with)
Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats (probably the poet I come back to the most)
James Joyce - Dubliners (Beautifully written short story cycle, full of wry humour and tender sadness)
Alexander Dumas - Count of Monte Cristo (I know Dumas isn't the greatest writer, but for pure and utter sheer joy whilst reading, this holds a special place in my heart. Also, along with Voltaire, was one of my first entries into the world of Classics and helped me discover even greater authors)


Special mention: The Book Of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. This is already a near all time favourite, the only reason I left it out was that I haven't actually finished yet. Still gotta bit left but it's such an incredibly beautiful book that has moved me in ways very few other works have.

[elijaherwin]

my favorite book is "its kind of a funny story". ive chosen this book for multiple reasons. its an amazing book for a start. the book grabs you nd pulls you in. there are a bunch of characters that are just full of life, and some that are in a dark hole. the books main reason for being my favorite is simple. its sorta like what ive gone through. ive been down in the dark hole. and ive been full if life. i think what im trying to say is that i can relate to all the charactera in the book, thats why its my favorite

[dombucca]

My favorite book is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This book is my favorite because it has a fair amount of both action and suspense as it does to slower parts such as romantic sub plots. The action and suspense in the story never fails to please you and to get your heart racing. It always makes you question "Is he/she going to be able to pull this off? What will happen next?" etc. When the book begins to get slower it suddenly erupts with a sharp turn into action. What I'm getting at is that the slow parts aren't long and drawn out, and they don't bore you. With the romantic sub plots it really makes you choose sides, like who you want who to end up with. This is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series and this one really leaves you hanging when the antagonist rises again (Lord Voldemort). The end of this book really gets you pumped to begin reading the next one and you don't want to stop until you are done with the series. That is why I say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is my favorite book.

[NekoCase]

1984 by George Orwell.

The story itself is compelling; I couldn't put it down. There are the fantastic philosophical notions in the story, to beware of giving governments too much power (especially when it comes to giving up your own privacy and personal liberty), and how people get brainwashed by government propaganda; I can't help but view the people who consistently vote conservative or liberal, that hate anything and everything the otherside does, and will only watch Fox or MSNBC news because they just feed them propaganda they can regurgitate as eerily similiar to the people in the story who get all worked up watching the television broadcasts (I can't remember what the broadcasts were called).

This brings me to the main reason I love the book, our society is heading towards the dystopian future that Orwell portended. Obviously, not to such extremes, but with technology we are on some kind of camera for a large part of our life along with most of our actions being tracked electronically, the American government gained very intrusive powers with the Patriot Act, and I already mentioned how the majority of the people don't think for themselves, but treat their political party like a sports team they have to support unconditionally. There are more, but I haven't read it in a long time; I'm going to have to read it again because it's just such an amazing book. Also, The European Union is probably going to became a political union eventually which would make it a country that is pretty much the geographical equivalent to the massive country, Oceania, that Winston Smith is a part of. Given when this story written the fact that Orwell could even conceive that the European countries could become one state is mind-blowing.

Anyway, That's why it will always be my favorite book, and should be required reading for high school students. I love animal farm, as well, but I'd have to put 1984 as the more important piece of literature. However, I have both stories in one book, so I would say that is my favorite book; the question was what is your favorite book, after all, and not your favorite story or novel.

[chandlercoskery]

It would have to be To Kill a Mocking Bird. This book takes place in the old south. I am facinated by the old southern culture and how whites and blacks used to interact. This novel presents a look into both the white and black cultures of the time. It is crazy how different both cultures were at the time. Atticus Finch is possibly the greatest character ever brought about in literature. He is the model for how a man should live and carry himself. His decision to take a black man's side in a court case during that time is almost suicide. He was a model or his kids and for the other people around him. This book offers mystery, humor, suspense, and action and is a great choice for anyone

[TheNameIsClo]

My favorite book is the Crank series By: Ellen Hopkins. She does a really good job of putting the reader in the characters shoes. I love the way the book is written. It is written in poem form but it tells a story. All the books leave you hanging to where you want to keep reading. I think she is a wonderful author. She writes about real life thing that happen to teens and walk through how the get through their problems. The book may look long but you get soo into it that you keep on reading. I am not much of a reader but I was soo into the story that I finished the book within 3 day. I suggest her books to male and female teenagers.

[HoustonKendrick]

My favorite book by far has to be The Great Gatsby. This book is one of modern society's only explicitly outlined looks into the lives of the elite in the roaring 20's. Fitzgerald's use of detail and imagery makes the book a page-turner from the get go. Of the many reasons I love this book, the persistent appearance of thought-provoking irony easily takes the number 1 spot. I mean, even the title itself is ironic. Calling a man "Great" who has structured his life around the goal of winning back a young love, a man who is so unhappy with the person he is that he completely changes his identity. Great? Hardly. It's the small details like these that make The Great Gatsby such a fascinating ride.

[Bradleyargo]

My favorite book is "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins. This book is very interesting because it is very realistic and makes the reader understand the problems that the main character, Pattyn, is going through. She is faced with many problems such as abuse from her father. She starts to question her family and her faith. This book is great because it makes you consider why the main character chooses to do certain things. Since her home life is so unbearable, Pattyn starts to be bad at school and eventually gets suspended. This outrages her father even more and makes him send her to live with an aunt in Nevada. Here, she meets a boy and has to make some major decisions. This book makes you very anticipated for what's going to happen next. I definitely recommend.

[Jarrett Brown]

My favorite book is the Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. The book is adventurous and exciting. It was based upon a boy and a dragon traveling to the Himalayas. It is a good book for anyone. To be honest this is my favorite book, because it was my favorite book in elementary school and i have not actually read a book ever since. So if it seems to be a children's book that is why. I do not remember much about it so you would have to find out for yourself. What i do recall though is it being pretty lengthy. Although its length the book was a fast read because it is hard to put down. I recommend this book to be read.

[Nick Bodden]

My favorite book is the young travelrs gift by Andy Andrews. This book is about a teenage kid who gets in a car wrech and almosts loses his three best friends. his dad got cancer and might die. then he runs his car into a light pole and he goes into a comma and meets important people from the past and they give him the twele stages to sucess. this book is verey motivational. i would recomend this book to read.

[tonywalt]

It would have to be To Kill a Mocking Bird. This book takes place in the old south. I am facinated by the old southern culture and how whites and blacks used to interact. This novel presents a look into both the white and black cultures of the time. It is crazy how different both cultures were at the time. Atticus Finch is possibly the greatest character ever brought about in literature. He is the model for how a man should live and carry himself. His decision to take a black man's side in a court case during that time is almost suicide. He was a model or his kids and for the other people around him. This book offers mystery, humor, suspense, and action and is a great choice for anyone

I tried reading this book but didn't like it. It's one of the few books that I just chucked away when it got wet in a hurricane.

[xtianfriborg13]

I don't really have a favorite book because after reading new books they always end up as my favorite. I read Tuesdays with Morrie, Five People You Meet In Heave, For One More Day (Mitch Albom), All-American Girl, Princess Diaries Series (Meg Cabot), Before I Fall (Lauren Oliver), etc., more than once or twice so I guess those are the kinds of books I love. :)

[Whosis]

My favorite literary book has to be The Grapes of Wrath, which I've read twice so far. The way the human spirit comes together, the characters, and the timeliness of the novel (what an opportunity for an author, the Dust Bowl!) are its strong points. Not many novels touch me the way this one did. It has an interesting format, written with chapters alternating between narrative and characters in plot.

But a non-literary book? That would have to be In The Company of Ogres by A. Lee Martinez. I have yet to see him outmatch this second book, which I picked up in the grocery store. It was a delightful fantasy read, full of humor, interesting characters, and some genius about the craft. I wish there were more of these books around, but alas, the best seem to stand alone.

[Seasider]

To the Lighthouse by Virginia
Woolf.I had to prepare a seminar paper on it when I was at University and at first I couldn't understand a word. Now it's the book I would take with me if the house were burning down and I could find it in time!

[Whosis]

That's a terrible but likely thought, what to save when the house goes up in smoke. Thank goodness for fireproof safes, I suppose!