What is the best book you've ever read?

[Fraught]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. My favourite book, I have read it a total of twice! Which considering I don't like to read books more than once (I remember what happens in each chapter and sometimes each page and don't enjoy it as much)

Damn, I hated that book. Out of the books I've read, it's one of the only ones I have never finished. I don't know, I just found it really boring.

My favourite book? Well, currently (as far as I can remember), probably American Gods. It has mystery, it has humour, it's pretty odd, and it doesn't shy away from sex and nudity, so I'm really digging it.

Aha! See, that's what I'm talking about. I read the last reply, and I already remember a movie I enjoyed tremendously: Ender's Game. I remember that I read a few pages of it from the beginning and back then I didn't really read that much, so I pushed it off until it was the last day before we had to answer the book in English, and I still had about 300 pages to read.

And it was then that I compeleted the most Herculean task I've ever completed concerning books: I read through all those pages in the span of a few hours. I'm usually a slow reader, and like to go through a book at my own pace, but god damn, I got so immersed and caught up in the book, and loved it so much that when I finished, I looked through the pages and thought "damn, did I really read THAT much already?".

 

[Not-here-anymore]

It's a toss-up between The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb.

Hey look, someone else that's read East of Eden! It was awesome!

My favourite book? Well, currently (as far as I can remember), probably American Gods. It has mystery, it has humour, it's pretty odd, and it doesn't shy away from sex and nudity, so I'm really digging it.

Pretty odd? I'm not sure that adequately describes just how odd this book really is. It is, however, really, really good.

 

[Fraught]

My favourite book? Well, currently (as far as I can remember), probably American Gods. It has mystery, it has humour, it's pretty odd, and it doesn't shy away from sex and nudity, so I'm really digging it.

Pretty odd? I'm not sure that adequately describes just how odd this book really is. It is, however, really, really good.

Well, true, true. I've just gotten used to adding "pretty" before every adjective to describe something, wherein something like "extremely" or "very" would be more fitting. But I agree, it's an extremely odd book, but I figure that's part of the..."charm", part of why I enjoyed it.

 

[carpathic]

Catcher in the Rye - 42 times! (just kidding, though that was a very awesome book).

I would have to go slightly pretentious on this one and take Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche

 

[SpaceCop]

Chuck Palahniuk's Choke, Terry Pratchett's Fifth Elephant, HP Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories...

 

[dragonslayer32]

either the hobbit or the wee free men

 

[Not-here-anymore]

My favourite book? Well, currently (as far as I can remember), probably American Gods. It has mystery, it has humour, it's pretty odd, and it doesn't shy away from sex and nudity, so I'm really digging it.

Pretty odd? I'm not sure that adequately describes just how odd this book really is. It is, however, really, really good.

Well, true, true. I've just gotten used to adding "pretty" before every adjective to describe something, wherein something like "extremely" or "very" would be more fitting. But I agree, it's an extremely odd book, but I figure that's part of the..."charm", part of why I enjoyed it.

I do the same, it's part of a British talent for understatement (Or maybe it's not British, since only I seem to do that). Oh, and my bad, when I said "odd this book really is. It is, however", I meant, "because of this".

Also, I like the fact that you have a summer and a winter avatar!

 

[Morphidia]

Twilight

I have to admit, contrary to some internet belief, that as a straight male, I too thought the book was fairly good and the rest of the series (apart from book 3 really). Mostly because the first film came out, I went to see it with some females. When it ended I felt like I still didnt know what was going on. Lo and behold I read the book and they skipped quite a few of the important parts.

I dont really like book 3 very much because I felt that it didnt really contribute much to the plot of bella and her love(s?) and more focusing on the whole vampire side of things.

 

[sivlin]

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Epic series is epic?

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Twilight

I have to admit, contrary to some internet belief, that as a straight male, I too thought the book was fairly good and the rest of the series (apart from book 3 really). Mostly because the first film came out, I went to see it with some females. When it ended I felt like I still didnt know what was going on. Lo and behold I read the book and they skipped quite a few of the important parts.

I dont really like book 3 very much because I felt that it didnt really contribute much to the plot of bella and her love(s?) and more focusing on the whole vampire side of things.

Ah... this is awkward... I was joking, to see if anyone would actually read the list.

I've read the first book, and didn't particularly enjoy it. I didn't hate it, and it doesn't deserve the amount of scorn poured on it by the internet community, but I didn't like it, either. I certainly didn't start to feel the overpowering love for it experienced by a large number of teenage girls (although I'm led to believe by my stepsister that that's mostly due to "R-Patz" and Taylor Lautner being in the film. Apparently they're attractive. Pattinson, maybe, but Taylor Lautner just looks very, very angry, the whole time).

Maybe it's just a generational thing - we had Harry Potter, they have Twilight.

Anyway, apologies for derailing the thread, especially if this degenerates into the standard Twilight flame war

 

[Hashime]

I would go with Tom Clancy's rainbow six. I quite enjoyed the plot and action.

while its not my favorite it is very good

The top books for me are Enders game, Starship troopers, the moon is a harsh mistress, LOTR, Julius Caeser's the gallic wars and Sherlock holmes (most if not all of them)
oh and bill bryson's a walk in the woods

I enjoyed ender's game as well. I recently found out there were more of them and I intend to read them when I am done exams.

 

[Elburzito]

The best book I've ever read was the first I've ever read, which was called "The Phantom Tollbooth". That book turned me into a bloody bookworm for years until today.

 

[Blastyrant]

I have 2 i am afraid,
Firstly the great "catch 22" by Joseph Heller, amazingly well written, with the ability to make you cry with laugher one paragraph, then out of sadness the next.

Secondly is Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Remains of the Day". I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is on the face about a butler taking a trip to see an old work friend, but it about so much more, age, mortality, the end of an era, lost love and so much more. it is a tremendous work.

 

[Emilox The Great]

a BOOK!? is that somesort of sandwich? Good Day To You Sir! (if you are a lady then accept my most sincere apologies.)

 

[Lordmarkus]

It's a tie between The Da Vinci-code, The Godfather and Metro 2033.

Magnificient books.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. So much awesome.

 

[4484448444844484]

For school?
A close one between 1984, Brave New World, and Slaughterhouse Five.

 

[Fightgarr]

If we are going by novels then I'd have to go with What is the What by Dave Eggers. It's moving and tragic and yet still manages to throw you an unexpected laugh every once in a while. Most of all, it's the true story of a real person.

If you allow me to extend beyond the realm of novels then my favorite book of all time is unquestionably Where the Wild Things Are written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Very little in the world speaks to me on the same level as that book.

 

[Ekonk]

Oryx & Crake, by Margaret Atwood.
A heartwrenching story against the backdrop of a commercialised future that one may observe as becoming more and more reality every day, completed with cynical and utterly hilarious humour.