What are your top 5 books of all time?

[kanyewhite]

5. Catch 22-The way Heller writes and has these circular conversations makes you read the whole thing with a grin on your face. IT was one of the first books I ever read that was a war satire, so it kind of sticks out in my head.

4. 1Q84-I LOVE Haruki Murakami. This book starts out really simple, and after a couple pages you're left with this "what is going on?" felling in your stomach. THen comes the "oh, no, it's not like that...WTF did she just do that?" The book just gets weirder and weirder. It keeps you one the edge of your seat. It's a long one, but it's worth it.

3. Lord of the Flies I didn't like this the first time around when I read it in middle school, The writing was so dry and I felt William Golding just wanted to write a book about how kids are just horrible. However, I had a newfound love for it on the second way through. I say it more as a symbol for society as a story.

2. A Strom of Swords I liked GoT, I really liked aCoK, and I ADORE aSoS. It felt like no one was safe. Every page left you feeling that something bad was going to happen. I kind of wish the series ended there.

1. Fahrenheit 451- Not much needs to be said.

 

[Kolby Jack]

1- Lone Survivor. It's such an amazing and detailed first-hand look at such a horrific chain of events, it really makes you appreciate what the Special Forces do for a living.

2- Halo: The Fall of Reach. That book really kicked off my interest in the Halo story. Just a really good story overall.

3- The Defector. Someone gave me this book because I was on watch but had nothing to pass the time. It was a really interesting read that I kept reading even after my watch was finished. In the spirit of the original act of kindness, I left it on a plane after I finished it for someone else to find and hopefully read.

4- Shadow Divers. True stories are always fascinating to me, and I hadn't known much about scuba divers or shipwrecks. This was one of the few book assignments in my school days I didn't regret having to do.

5- Pretty much any Sherlock Holmes book. I started reading them after I saw the movies, and I was amazed at how close the movies got it. They certainly added a lot more action to keep things interesting, but the spirit was all there.

 

[SckizoBoy]

In no particular order (based on the assumption that non-fiction may be included):

le Comte de Monte Cristo - the quintessential overglorified revenge story and a damned good piece of literature, and even though it may be 1400+ pages, I sure as hell don't care.
Ab urbe condita (aka Ad Urbano Conditae) - don't ask, I'm just a sucker for this kind of thing, and while Polybius may be more succinct, I prefer Livy for being a more literary chronicler, and yes, bks XXI-XXX are read on a regular basis.
A Bridge Too Far - I really can't put how I feel about this book in words, so I'll let this sentence suffice.
Magician - the first epic fantasy book I ever read, and probably the best as well (yes, yes, 'sacrilege' I hear you cry, well STFU!! =P )
His Dark Materials - dunno why with this one, kinda stuck with me... *shrug*

Honourable mentions: LotR, the Rigante series by David Gemmell, anything by GP Taylor, the Horus Heresy ( ¬_¬ )

 

[Dr.Susse]

1.House of leaves. (Really read this book)
2.The Hitch hiker series
3.The Dirk gently series (Big fan of Douglas)
4.Necronomicon (A collection of H.P Lovecraft)
5.Dr.Suess's secrets of the deep.

I was tempted just to list five Dr.suess books but I though I'd take it a bit more seriously.

 

[Adventurer2626]

1. Game of Thrones
2. Dune
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Age of Fire
5. Abhorsen


I guess I have a thing for series. If I was stranded on an island those are the five I would want. As far as individual books I'll just say my favorite ones from the series. They all tell a larger story. Or I could just say blindly pick 5 of Michael Crichton's books for me. That would work. The only reason he's not up there already is I couldn't pick one.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Cannot do books as I like too many of them but I can give you series.
1. The Dresden Files- Jim Butcher
2. Codex Alera- Jim Butcher
3. The Night Angel Trilogy- Brent Weeks
4. Nightside- Simon.R.Green
5. The Lord of the Rings- Tolkin OR Secret Histories- Simon.R.Green I can never choose which I like more.

Honorable mention of Artemis Fowl. The only reason it does not get the 5th spot is that I think that 5,6,7 and 8 were not as good as the first 4.

 

[Quaxar]

Note: not in order, just 5 top books listed off my shelf. I might even remember better books once I post this but I probably won't be bothered to edit them in so this is as official as it gets in the thread for me.

1) H.P. Lovecraft: Shadow over Innsmouth - the essence of pure horror packed into a short story that kept me sleeping a little unwell for weeks
2) Don Rosa: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - technically it's a comic but go with it, it is the most fantastic thing for a Carl Barks fan because you can just find every single little reference Barks' Scrooge ever made somewhere and is the only comic to date that had me in tears at parts the first time and still gets to me
3) Frank Herbert: Dune - specifically the first book, the further you get the more it tends to fill dozens of pages with politics and discussions that can be quite tedious at times but the first one is an epic space adventure that inspired such classics as Star Wars.
4) Lewis Carrol: Alice's Adventure in Wonderland - the Disney film is certainly good but reading the book reveals another layer of mad humor and wordplay they didn't even manage to get across in the film.
5) William Shakespeare: Julius Caesar - the four tragedies are all exellent but I think if it comes down to it i do prefer Julius Caesar simply for the big speech by Mark Antony. Because Brutus is an honourable man.
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[JoJo]

This was a surprisingly hard list to make once I started to think back, here's my top five:

1) His Dark Materials - Great fantasy story with some really innovative ideas, love the characters (except Will who's kinda boring), have read this many times.
2) Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy - Hilarious and English, nuff said
3) Les Miserables - While overly long and some sections could be skipped without losing much, overall incredibly detailed and well-written characters, love the general themes behind this one
4) Brave New World - About a truly alien society to our own, this is one book to keep you thinking
5) Noughts and Crosses - Probably the oddball of this list but it's a fantastical twist on the issue of racism and also a great love story with a crushing ending, still holds up as the only book ever to bring me to tears


Honourable mentions go to To Kill A Mockingbird for being so well written in first person perspective and having awesome characters, The Lost World as a classic adventure involving dinosaurs and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm for their political themes and being good concise stories generally.

 

[Newtonyd]

In no particular order, since the order shifts constantly in my mind:

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Tigana
Way of Kings
ASoIaF in general
11/22/63

I feel like these books helped to shape my mind, and allowed me to grow as a person. I can't really ask for anything more from a book.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

Hmm. I don't know if I can give you a particular order but...
Virgil- 'The Aeneid'.
F Scott Fitzgerald- 'The Great Gatsby'.
I'm tempted to say Tolkein's 'The Hobbit', even though I don't really remember it that well (the upcoming films should soon fix that yay).
George RR Martin- 'A Game of Thrones'.
And a fifth...
...hmm...can't really think of another book that I really love.
Might edit one in if I remember any others:].
AND ALAS, here I come editing straight away haha.
Marlowe- 'Dr Faustus'. Yes it's a play, but I loved reading it as well as seeing it. It counts, shh haha.

 

[aba1]

I have always been a much more visually oriented person. I love art I am a artist so my list is exclusively comics or graphic novels what ever you want to call them.

Berserk (I know this is more of a series but they all go together it isn't as if you could read one.

Punisher Max Vol 8

The Punisher (Greg Rucka)

Batman Year one

All star Batman and Robin (Frank Miller)

 

[Vault101]

I havnt read enogh books to probably come up with a deep enough list

1.I,robot I love how he somes up with thease awsome Ideas and puts them into practice, logical paradoxes and all that,

2. Misery Stephen Kings best IMO...no sily overblown monsters, just one guy and one crazy fangirl

3. to kill a mockingbird- cliche but actually a relay enjoyable read (I read it outside of school on my own time)

4. Hary potter- the last book had be hooked just like any movie

5. do comic books count? Preacher for being hilarious gruesome and heartwarming

 

[bobmus]

Noughts and Crosses - Probably the oddball of this list but it's a fantastical twist on the issue of racism and also a great love story with a crushing ending, still holds up as the only book ever to bring me to tears

Thanks for reminding me of how brilliant this book was. Not read it in ages, but man was that a tearjerker.

Anyway, OT (forewarning - I'm a big fan of Young Adult literature, and I'm going to do this as a 'favourites' list rather than a 'best' list):
5. CHERUB/ Robert Muchamore - I frickin' love this series. It matured with me as I grew up, so I've read and re-read it many times over.

4. Uglies (and its sequels)/ Scott Westerfeld - A futuristic dystopia where everyone is given plastic surgery to look beautiful at age 16.

3. The Gospel According to Larry - Just an interesting tale on the subject of consumerism and celebrity, told from the perspective of a famous blogger.

2. Parasite Positive/ Scott Westerfeld - I'm a big fan of Scott Westerfeld, but I find this book a fascinating mix of factoids and a good vampire tale.

1. The Chocolate War/ Robert Cormier - For my mind, the champion of Young Adult fiction - a bleak tale of conformity and evil, with a well-written and engrossing plot.

 

[Stasisesque]

1. Watership Down - My favourite childhood book, my favourite book as an adult. Gripping story, the most beautiful description I have ever read and some of the most memorable characters (even if they are rabbits) to grace a page.

2. Dracula - It's fun, it's timeless, it's got a sexy vampire in it.

3. The Woman in White - Best. Mystery. Ever. Eat your heart out, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins knows where it's at. It's also remarkably funny in places.

4. Farenheit 451/The Martian Chronicles - Similarities and differences aside, they're both very good books and I enjoy them immensely. I couldn't pick between them so they're both here.

5. The Phantom of the Opera - Honestly it's not very well written, but I don't speak French so that could easily be the fault of the translator. Perfect in every other way, though.

Might edit one in if I remember any others:].
AND ALAS, here I come editing straight away haha.
Marlowe- 'Dr Faustus'. Yes it's a play, but I loved reading it as well as seeing it. It counts, shh haha.

Marlowe's life is more exciting than Dr Faustus, but I agree it's a pretty good play.

 

[ATRAYA]

"Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs" by William Morris. It's a poem that is five books long, so that takes up all of my slots.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

In no particular order...

The Walking Dead comics, 1984, the Divine Comedy, A Song of Ice and Fire and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

All of the above mentioned are great and all people should read them

Honorable Mention: Zombie Survival Guide for really helping to prepare for the coming apocalypse

 

[CrashBang]

1. His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman (specifically Northern Lights)
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C Clark
3. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy/The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe - Douglas Adams
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire series (still making my way through it, slowly)


I wanted to stick some comic books in there too but didn't, so here's my top five comic books/series':
1. Batman: The Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale
2. Y: The Last Man - Brian K. Vaughn/Pia Guerra
3. Sandman - Neil Gaiman/various
4. Batman: The Black Mirror - Scott Snyder/Jock/Francesco Francavilla
5. American Vampire - Scott Snyder/Rafael Albuquerque

 

[DarkRyter]

All these books seem really nice and all.

Makes me wish I could read.

 

[Tanis]

The Night's Dawn Trilogy

I, Jedi

Original Dragonlance trilogy