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Your Favourite Book of all Time

Beruthiel

you know how some books are great and then some are just fantastic,
I'm looking for book recommendations, so name just one book you could not have lived without reading and you think that everyone else should read it too.
Mine would be LOTR

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GLaDOS

Anythin by Stephen King, but I particularly enjoyed "IT"

John Eddison

Jurgen by James Branch Cabell.

Not an absolute favourite, but one that deserves more (lasting) attention, and has a lot to give to many kinds of people.

Vorak

The Bible..........?

No seriously, "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert Persig

My favourite

John Eddison

John Eddison wrote:

Jurgen by James Branch Cabell.

Not an absolute favourite, but one that deserves more (lasting) attention, and has a lot to give to many kinds of people.

Or perhaps I could express my thoughts and feelings more truthfully by saying that Jurgen is one of my absolute favourites, but not the absolute favourite, as there isn't one (ah, the complexities of colloquial English (I'm not a native speaker)).

gaf1983

clay wrote:

'Tender is the night' by scott fitzgerald

no he's not, he's a psycho!
I thought 'Less than zero' was way better anyway... /looks innocent

I found American Psycho to be just brutally violent and disturbing for the sake of being brutally violent and disturbing in parts. I liked his chapter on Huey Lewis and The News though, and also the fact that he subscribes to The Economist. Anyone else notice the similarities between Patrick Bateman and Ross O'Carroll Kelly in noticing absolutely every designer label their peers are wearing, and also how alot of the peripheral characters are completely vapid, interchangeable in both stories?

One interpretation of American Psycho is that Bateman doesn't commit the crimes at all, that he simply let his imagination run wild and get the better of him. When you think about it, the thoughts of Bateman are thoughts that Eaton Ellis would have come up with himself in the first place, which, in my opinion, would make our man Brett one sick puppy.

My favourite book that I can think of at the moment is Flann O'Brien's "The Third Policeman."

Is it about a bicycle? You betcha.

susanna

Can't really pick a favourite, but the last book I really enjoyed was 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden

Feu

Have lots of favuorites but one that particularly struck me was
"The Little Friend" - by Donna Tartt - the writer of the Secret History.
Its a huge book, but worth it.

Dave!

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, at the moment.

BossArky

susanna wrote:

Can't really pick a favourite, but the last book I really enjoyed was 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden

Yes, read this a few months ago - nice little story if somewhat depressing.

Bodhidharma

I have to say that the boards crew really have great taste in books, how come i never meet any of you in real life?
For what its worth i'd choose "1984". it leaves you gobsmacked. As a lot of people have already chosen this i'd like to give a very honorable mention to John Irving's " Setting Free the Bears".
By the way i read all of " His Dark Materials" , very long, a bit disappointed considering how high it was in that BBC survey a few years ago.

Tar.Aldarion

it came second and I think it is a fitting place...after all of tolkiens works...:)
It's excellent imho.

Chris IS Cool

Probably Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, closely followed by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson... Both masterpieces...

beans

I've had a few favourites as the years have gone by

It by Stephen King held the top spot for many years. Sure it's scary, but it's a buddy-story. Great stuff, totally captivating. It transported me into the world it created. Great tale.

More recently The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Currently Perfume by Patrick Susskind. Such a strange and wonderful tale. I like dark humour very much.

[Deleted User]

Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonneghut
This book is extremely hard to describe, as is it almost impossible to tie down to any one genre, as it moves in between these so fluidly. It is a semi-biographical, timetravelling, sci-fi novel based around the unfortunately life of one Billy Pilgrim, who having suffered a major accident later in life, makes him have lapses in timetravel, from his past, to his present, to his future. It is based around the time of World War 2, and Billy Pilgrim is a soldier in Germany. Not to give too much away, it is an uncomprimising glimpse of how war is, and the massacres that were seen.

I strongly recommend people go out and buy this book. 9/10

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Now this has to be my favourite book of all time. It definately has to be one of the most unique books I have ever read. It's about a boy who is sent to fight in the name of Democracy during World War 1. Diving into a foxhole, he is struck by a shell, suffering horrorific injuries. His arms and legs are gone. He has lost his hearing and his sight. A huge whole remains where his nose and mouth are. Yet he survives.

It contains no colons, no semi colons, nothing. Now, this may seem strange, but it works perfectly. The entire book is from his point of view, and the lack of punctuation gives a steady line of thought. You can actually hear him thinking. This makes Slaughter House Five look like something you see at Disney Land. Its a short enough book. I remember when I first read it, I had to take breaks because it was so distressing. I have read it possibly 3 times since then. And each time I read it, I am still fascinated by it.

Unfortunately I have no the book on me, it is at a friends house, and I cannot find an example of this book on the internet (a good one, I mean), but I strongly strongly strongly recommend everyone to go out, find this book, and read it. But beware, it is so incredibly disturbing. Not with gore. Not with horror. But it attacks you psychologically.

[Deleted User]

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

The Little Prince - Antoine de St. Exupery

Nice0ne

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Compulsive reading, his writing is absolutely top notch.

Valmont

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis. If you think it is just gratuitous then you just couldn't see the bigger picture.

The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Rubicon - Tom Holland

Conrad - Heart of Darkness. Eerie and powerful.

The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy Saga - Douglas Adams. So Funny. I didn't see the film and I have no intention to...Ever.

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman. Let me get this straight. Because YOU (Ratboy, Mr.Dunne) read a book on an aeroplane, it should be less enjoyable? Of the books above, I read them mostly on the bus or Dart. I'll go straight ahead and assume that you meant that it is light reading and therefore not worthy of being someones favourite book.

Last time I checked we are all different. Calling someone an Idiot over this shows how incredibly ignorant you are. I found it an exciting and memorable epic, it reminded you of your holiday.

casanova_kid

Nice0ne wrote:

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Compulsive reading, his writing is absolutely top notch.

Second that.
Otherwise, "1984", "Star of the Sea" and "War of the flies"

manonthemoon

For whats its worth:

One flew over the cuckoos nest

metaoblivia

The Little Prince and just about anything written by Dr Seuss. I never quite grew up.

Duiske

My favourite would have to be "Trinity - Leon Uris". Now this might sound a bit sad, but "Watership Down - Richard Adams" was probably the first book I read as a kid, so will always be up there as one of my favourites.

daithimac

one of my favourite books has to be the game by Neill Straus, It got me laid a few times and a must read for anyone on the singles market.
For pure reading pleasure it has to be the portable Thomas Jefferson. Its a collection of the mans writings from "an opinion on the rights of British America" through "The declaration of independance" up to a letter he wrote a few days before his death. his wit and intelligence are inspiring

Lirange

Under Western Eyes-Joseph Conrad

biko

Maybe not best, but still very good: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Oh, and The Perfume by Patrick Suskind

dulux

Sorry no Booker Prizes here...

Cujo - Stephen King
Legend or Wolf in Shadow - David Gemmell
Wonderland Avenue - Danny Sugarman
Trainspotting - Irving Welsh
The Arthur Books ( The Winter King, Enemy of God & Excalibur ) or Harlequin Bernard Cornwell
The Eagle Has Landed - Jack Higgins - Exceptional book in that I have never been able to finish any of his other books

scojones

The LOTR trilogy. It changed my life.

lucille

anyone ever read steppenwolf by Hesse?thats a good one,though i guess i'll never be able to name just one favorite book
im new by the way,so hi to everyone!

fjon

I can't choose one!

When I was younger, I loved "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving, and "Gormenghast" by Mervin Peake.
Recent books I've really found great are "Star of the Sea" by Joseph O'Connor and "The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Franky Boy

Kafka's short stories.Metamorphisis' infamous opening is living up to it's expectations!

besty

This thread has depressed me. I've realised how few "classics" I've actually read. I know the OP was asking in your opinion, but I should really read more.