Favorite Books

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Originally Posted by Admin

Despite running a classic literature site, my favorite book isn't so classic.

My favorite is actually a series of books, The DragonLance Saga by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. There are actually nearly 60 books I think, but the main storyline is what I'm talking about and spans maybe 16 books. When you get to the end of it it's just amazing.

Lord of the Rings is good too, I like DragonLance better though.

The Wheel of Time is entertaining - however I wouldn't call it good writing. Robert Jordan often seems very unoriginal in how he sets up the various cultures, because he simply borrows and blends from real cultures. When I'm reading it I think "Okay so these people are the Victorian Japanese, those people are the Rennaisance Turks.." and so on.

Non-fantasy books I've liked include The Great Gatsby, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gulliver's Travels...

Books I've hated.

Crime and Punishment
The Scarlet Letter
The Lord of the Flies

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If you like Gatsby, you might like Tender is the Night by Fitzgerald, or For Whom the Bells Tolls by Hemingway


Those are a couple of my all-time favorites, in addition to The Grapes of Wrath, The Prodigal Parents by Sinclair Lewis, The Possessed by Dostoevsky...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Admin

Despite running a classic literature site, my favorite book isn't so classic.

My favorite is actually a series of books, The DragonLance Saga by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. There are actually nearly 60 books I think, but the main storyline is what I'm talking about and spans maybe 16 books. When you get to the end of it it's just amazing.

Lord of the Rings is good too, I like DragonLance better though.

The Wheel of Time is entertaining - however I wouldn't call it good writing. Robert Jordan often seems very unoriginal in how he sets up the various cultures, because he simply borrows and blends from real cultures. When I'm reading it I think "Okay so these people are the Victorian Japanese, those people are the Rennaisance Turks.." and so on.

Non-fantasy books I've liked include The Great Gatsby, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gulliver's Travels...

Books I've hated.

Crime and Punishment
The Scarlet Letter
The Lord of the Flies

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I'm not trying to be obstreperous, I just thought it was funny that three of my favorite books are,

Crime and Punishment
The Scarlet Letter
and... Lord of the Flies
I actually feel about 'Lord of the Flies' as Nabokov felt about Shakespeare, something like: You know he is quite good, despite how many people like him.

If I had to chose my single favorite work it would probably be... Melville's "Piazza Tales"

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Originally Posted by Siddhartha

I also loved the Dragonlance saga I've read many of the books. My personal favorite from them was probably Dragons of summer flame (mostly because of the return of Raistlin).

other favorites:

Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse
Even Cowgirls get the blues - Tom Robbins
Anything by Chuck Palahniuk (author of fight club)

I also hated Scarlet letter

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Tom Robbins is my favorite! I love all of his books. Also Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is a great read :nod: and there is a new version with a foreward to Tom Robbins. It all comes full circle.

I've read a few short stories that were good:

"The Boat" by Alistair Macleod.
"The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft.
"Rats in the Walls" by H.P. Lovecraft.
....
Shakespeare plays, "Othello" and "Hamlet".
Oedipus Rex....
The Bible....
....
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker (powerful description).
"Treasure Island" by Stevinson (great characters).
I liked the Harry Potter books 1 - 3.
I liked a few of the Ravenloft fantasy horror books.

I'd read more but I lose interest quickly, however occasionally I can get right into a story and get a lot out of it. I find it hard work, especially, literature.

I found "The Hunger Artist" by Kafka to be my favorite piece of literature.

It's very hard to pick just one, but if I had to pick one book i could read over and over again it would be The Divine Comedy.

I am not tired of recommending the Prophet by Khalil Gibran.

ive read scarlet letter and lord of the flies..... they certainly are not favorites of mine, but they are classics, they are good books. just not..... enjoyable i guess.

i like dune... by frank herbert
and light of eidon sereis by karen hancock
and blood of kings by Jill williamson

thats just a few of my favorites.