Single favourite book?

dr gonzo

I know that having a single favourite book might be a semi offensive notion in ways but do you have one that you appreciate more then any other?

After much deliberation i'd say that mine would be Catch 22, ive read it numerous times and i still love it as much as i did the moment i read the first line (coincidentally mirroring Yossarians feelings for the chaplain :pac:).

So whats yours?

dr.bollocko

On the road. Jack Kerouac. Changed my life.

Ellian

I would have to say Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson which I re-read about every two years or so. It is superbly dense, and multifaceted, and it changed the way I thought about quite a lot of things. And hugely entertaining and well written as well. Some complain that the ending is rather abrupt but it's still one hell of a book. Or as a friend of mine said once "It's like Gravity's Rainbow, except - you know - good..."

The Princess Bride

Would have to be James Frey-A Million Little pieces.
I love the story,the style of writing and the thought process behind it ......
I felt so emotional having finished it,and plan to read it again as soon as I have holidays.

ger vallely

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee would be mine. Beautifully written, pulls me right into a time and place I have no real experience of and fantastic characters. I love it.

Honey-ec

The Stand, Stephen King. It's my once-a-year book. I actually need a new copy, as I literally read the covers off the last one.

Bodhidharma

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, truly an astounding work, so poignant, particularly how it ends. This book literally changed my life, and not in a metaphorical way.

I advise everyone to read this book in the hope that the virtues of tolerance and flexibility are shown to be a way to move forward beyond simple and harmful rigid philosophies.

Ellian

Ellian wrote: »

I would have to say Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson which I re-read about every two years or so. It is superbly dense, and multifaceted, and it changed the way I thought about quite a lot of things. And hugely entertaining and well written as well. Some complain that the ending is rather abrupt but it's still one hell of a book. Or as a friend of mine said once "It's like Gravity's Rainbow, except - you know - good..."

Gravity's Rainbow

cailin_donn

Pride and Prejudice, without a doubt. There are loads of books that I love and enjoy but I think the intricate characters and themes in this book are what draws me back every time.

Dog Lipstick

Mine would also be Catch 22, the only book that continually makes me laugh out loud. Brilliantly absurd and it genuinely does get better with repeated reading.

Roadster

Mine is Life Documented by Charles Dickens, no matter how many times I read it it’s still interesting and thrilling.

Funkfield

I find this very hard to answer. I could probably narrow it down to:

Slaughterhouse 5, The Great Gatsby or At Swim Two Birds.

Depends on my mood.

Hrududu

The Crow Road by Iain Banks. I get jealous of people who haven't read it because they get to read it fresh for the first time.

Ellian

I enjoyed the book a lot, but alas I did not get the full impact having seen the BBC drama the year before (and I overall thought it was a pretty good effort by the Beeb)

oeb

Ohhh, what a hard question.

I think it is probably 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley

Da Shins Kelly

I know it's a lot of people's favourite book, but The Great Gatsby is utterly flawless - a perfectly written depiction of the emptiness of the lives of the rich and famous. Each time I re-read it, my attention is brought to yet another layer and aspect of it. It's the most perfect piece of fiction I've ever read. I can't read anything now without comparing it to Gatsby.

eskimocat

Good Omens: by Sir Terry Prachett and Neil Gaimen.

Was wondering and wondering which book might be my favourite of all the Pracett's... and took the point of the poster above about replacing them. So for pure replacement necessity I choose the above. I am in line to buy my third copy

trishasaffron

Tolstoy for me - either War and Peace or Anna Karenina. Reading them givens me a total feeling of being in the hands of a master. Someone with a great understanding of the world and its mysteries and a genius at expressing it in writing.

Manach

"The Man who was Thursday" would just pip "Pride and Prejudice" for me.

Fr Tod Umptious

dr.bollocko wrote: »

On the road. Jack Kerouac.

+ 1

Red Hand

Slaughterhouse 5/Breakfast of Champions...both by Kurt Vonnegut. I love the way he intersplices himself and his life into the stories...you don't know what is real and what is fiction.

kickarykee

It's quite new so it hasn't been my absolute favourite for long but it's The Demon's Lexicon. It's a trilogy, though, not really one book.
Still, it's the best I've ever read - in terms of story, characters, style, everything.

Demi D

+1 for Catch 22.

Really disappointed by the sequel though.

The Falcon

At Swim Two Birds

(Just hope they don't make a balls of the movie!)

Dacelonid

Probably a bit cliched, or at least I would have thought so, but for me it is Lord of the Rings. I have 3 copies of it. The first my parents bought for me when I was about 20 years ago. It is in crap state, pages falling out, stuck together with superglue and celotape and god knows what else. It is still my reading copy which is about once a year. Then there is the newer version which I bought to replace the old version and haven't opened yet. And then there is the leather bound ultra delux version that my wife bought me for my birthday about 5 years ago (along with the leather bound Silmarillion).

tl;dr version - Lord of the Rings

Diairist

Demi D wrote: »

+1 for Catch 22.

Really disappointed by the sequel though.

is it true Heller was so embarrassed he gave the money back to the publisher?

cailin_donn

the Harry Potter series was also legendary...

The Scientician

I Married A Communist By Phillip Roth. It just shook me, I haven't read it in a number of years but must crack it open again and see if it still holds up.

Sergeant

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien.

Slow Show

Love these types of threads, in my opinion if anyone thins a book is their single favourite, it's worth reading so I have more to add to my list.

A book that changed my life would be The Bell Jar but my favourite to read and re-read is The Book Thief, so that!

I've tried to get through Catch 22 twice already, and given up but the motivation wasn't there and I was only reading a chapter or two a night so the characters really confused me, I'll have to try again soon.

daveyboy_1ie

Honey-ec wrote: »

The Stand, Stephen King. It's my once-a-year book. I actually need a new copy, as I literally read the covers off the last one.

Me too and me too

dr gonzo

I really love the idea of the once a year book that a lot of people in here have, i must start doing that, sounds excellent.

Demi D

Diairist wrote: »

is it true Heller was so embarrassed he gave the money back to the publisher?

Didn't hear that. But wouldn't surprise me if it's true.

Heller even got the chaplains name wrong in the sequel.

dots03

this is a tough call

The best 'written' book I have ever read was In Cold Blood.

With regards to my favourite book however...my literary favourites would consist of The Road (favourite of last 5 years), along with Ghostwritten (favourite of last 10 years) and the Third Policeman (favourite old school).

endabob1

1984 (or almost anything else by Orwell)

coconut5

I think some books are so great because you read them at a perfect stage in your life. I loved 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath because I read it in college. That would be up there.

This year I am loving 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' by Susanna Clarke.

I don't think I could pick just one forever more though. I haven't read enough yet!

Teyla Emmagan

Jane Eyre.

Since I was 10, I love it.

analucija

@Coconut5
I agree, I remember how everybody was raving about The Stranger by Camus when I was in high school. It is still a great book, it just wouldn't be top of the list.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco is the one I always loved. I think I read it first when I was 13 and 20 years latter it is still among my top books.

Mr Trade In

American Gods, Neil Gaiman.