Best/Worst books you ever read

we'llallhavetea_old · 24-04-2011 06:35PM

leahyl wrote: »

Not without my daughter - amazing and gripping story, fantastic read

didnt even know that was a book, loved the film, must get it.

can't really pick one favourite book but i literally couldn't put down His dark materials, philip pullman. had the three books in one and loved every single bit of it.

worst, eh, yeah, dan browns books, start off brilliant and you're flying through them and then the endings.. fcukin hell. and any chick lit really, mind numbing drivel, have never gotten any further than one or two pages in one.

strobe · 24-04-2011 06:36PM

My favourites are probably Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. One of the few books I've read more than once. Great craic. The A Song of Ice and Fire books are great, all of them. Highly recommended even if you don't like fantasy I'd urge you to give them a shot. A lot more grown up and realistic than the likes of TLOTR etc. Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the few 'classics' that I have read that lived up to the hype. There is also a science fiction book called Ubik by Philip K Dick (the guy who wrote the books that the Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly movies are based on). Think Inception but infinitely better. It borders on genius at times.

In terms of non-fiction The Bootleggers: The Story of Chicago's Prohibition Era is great. Covers everything from the original Irish immigrant gangsters starting bootlegging during prohibition through the war with the Italians and Jews right up to Capone's imprisonment and the end of prohibition. Couldn't put it down. Also Killing Pablo is great. Details the US and Colombians attempt to bring down Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel. Some crazy stuff. He turned himself in at one stage on condition that he was allowed build himself his own private prison with pool tables and things. It also does a good job of examining why the 'war on drugs' became such a big thing with the end of the communist threat and all the various government departments like the CIA and FBI and military intelligence competing to be the main funding recipients in the new 'war'.

(Those links may contain spoilers further down the page, so careful with that)

landsleaving · 24-04-2011 06:37PM

Best I've read - fiction: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and non fiction, Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissenger

Worst, Non Fiction - Ian Wright's autobiography. Fiction: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

mikemac · 24-04-2011 06:38PM

leahyl wrote: »

Not without my daughter - amazing and gripping story, fantastic read

Good film, saw it years ago
I'll check out the book

Lorrrrraine · 24-04-2011 06:42PM

I was sleeping in a random house after a party a few years ago. My friend had her head in a bucket for the majority of the night so I thought I'd pass the time by reading the only book I could find. It was some Cecelia Ahern thing; I've never hated a book so much. I think my friend who was getting sick into that bucket was having a better time than me.

TheAnswer · 24-04-2011 06:43PM

red menace wrote: »

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown easily the worst book I ever read

Pretty much anything by Dan Brown, pure sh1te TBH.

UpCork · 24-04-2011 06:46PM

It is difficult to pick a favourite, however I did love The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns - both by Khaled Hosseini and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Worst book is "Freedom" by Johnathan Franzen. It has received rave reviews but I found it long, monotonous and boring. I enjoy reading in the evening in bed and most night I read it out of habit (i.e. that I read every evening in bed) rather than actually wanting to read it because it gripped me and wanting to find out what happens

leahyl · 24-04-2011 06:47PM

feelingstressed wrote: »

Good film, saw it years ago
I'll check out the book

Never saw the film but the book is incredible - I've read it about 4 times - brilliantly written

TheAnswer · 24-04-2011 06:47PM

Best book I've read in recent times would be "No Country For Old Men". loses it a bit in the last couple of chapters but completely unputdownable (now there's a word!)

Caoimhín · 24-04-2011 06:48PM

Best non fiction; "Risk, The Science and Polotics of Fear" by Dan Gardiner.

Fiction; either "To Kill a Mockingbird" (for a comfort read) or "Day of the Jackel" for a pure thriller.

Stompbox · 24-04-2011 06:57PM

'Cat's Cradle' by Kurt Vonnegut. An essential read for everyone!

thunderthing · 24-04-2011 07:04PM

I'm not going to put any of these books down as the worst, but in general I find that some GAA-related books can be awfully written, even ones with ghost writers. One that sticks out in my mind was Liam Dunne's book, but the story was good, so I wouldn't say it's a bad read.

Absolute worst I've read was 'Void Moon' by Michael Connolly. One of my friends had about 10 of his books, picked one randomly and said they were good and that I could keep it. Threw that one away immediately after finishing it, awful stuff.

El_Dangeroso · 24-04-2011 07:09PM

beano345 wrote: »

worst:
naked lunch - william burroughs

Haha! Yes, you need to be on quite a few hallucinogens to get through that one!

Fair play for Michael Cronenberg for making a half decent movie out of it, best enjoyed half pissed at around 3am.

gypsy_rose · 24-04-2011 07:16PM

Loved Lolita and East Of Eden too, have to get my hands on them again. The Ascent of Man by J. Bronowski is non fiction but it's a great read too.

I really hated that new book Room for some reason, couldn't finish it, I just found the child's perspective so irritating.

leahyl · 24-04-2011 07:19PM

Graham Nortons autobiography was hilarious! Wouldn't say it's the best book I've ever read or anything but it's a good laugh:pac:

OPENROAD · 24-04-2011 07:20PM

Loved Nick Hornbys High Fidelity, very enjoyable read imo.

Kevin Duffy · 24-04-2011 07:23PM

kf, given your love of the horses

I also recommend the Border Trilogy by Corma McCarthy. It's not perfect, but it is a great read, very absorbing.

Hmmm...could boards do with a book exchange? 'cos I'd happily pass you on my copy.

Quigs Snr · 24-04-2011 07:25PM

For entertainment value, I loved Stephen Kings "The Stand" when I was younger. Big fan of Robert Jordans stuff too even the later books in the series. Magician of course is great too. Cosmos by Carl Sagan and the somewhat similarly themed Short History of Everything by Bill Bryson are great.

Worst... well I would endure most books but I must confess that I was very dissappointed with the Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. It starting off as if it was building up to be something profound and then it was basically a scene from the mummy returns, the end. Pretentious new age twaddle. I will keep an open mind though and try another of his books at some stage.

RichieC · 24-04-2011 07:25PM

My favourite is Hyperion and its followup's.

ladysarastro · 24-04-2011 07:26PM

krudler wrote: »

Jordan is probably the only person who's written more books than she's ever read.

Just found out recently that she doesn't even write them. she gives a general idea and some poor sod does the work and jordan puts her name to it

Spunge · 24-04-2011 07:29PM

Best:
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Hyperion - Dan Simmons

Worst:
Probably something i read as a young teen.
The Baldur's Gate novel i guess.

GreenFaery · 24-04-2011 07:45PM

Best - Silence of the lambs, The bell jar and Interview with the vampire. My favourite books seem to have a dark element to them.

Worst - I guess Cirque du freak (sp?) - really liked the Darren Shan books when I was younger but I tried to read them again not too long ago and I wanted to set the book on fire. Also, don't like any of the Bronte type stuff (don't hit me!!!!)!

beano345 · 24-04-2011 07:47PM

shantaram by gregory david roberts is one ive finished lately and would make it into my top ten.

chopperbyrne · 24-04-2011 07:57PM

Best - Earth X - Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, John Paul Leon

Worst - Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

bluto63 · 24-04-2011 08:05PM

Best: Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wild. Fantastic conversations by Lord Henry. Very entertaining outlook on the world

Worst - The Ross O Carroll Series. What a load of ****e.

24-04-2011 08:09PM

best - "East of Eden" - John Steinbeck

worst - "The Last Symbol" - Dan Brown

take everything · 24-04-2011 08:12PM

Caoimhín wrote: »

Best non fiction; "Risk, The Science and Polotics of Fear" by Dan Gardiner.

Fiction; "Day of the Jackel" for a pure thriller.

Those authors really should have had those titles proof-read.

cml387 · 24-04-2011 08:12PM

I read "The Road" by Cormac Mc Carthy and the images the book created in my mind wouldn't go away for weeks.

"No country for old men" was read in two days because I couldn't put it down.

J.Ball · 24-04-2011 08:17PM

Best - The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by douglas adams

Worst - Pretty much anything by stephen king don't like the way he writes. The worst by him i ever read however was The Gunslinger. I gave up about two thirds in.

krudler · 24-04-2011 08:28PM

the MEG series by Steve Alten are enjoyable, trashy and pulp stuff but really entertaining, why havent they greenlit a movie yet? it'd be the new Jaws! the opening of the first book is a giant shark eating a fricking dinosaur, now you're going to go look it up.

Best/Worst books you ever read

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