What's Your Favorite Written Works?

[Amotis]

What's your favorite written works? Low or high, literature or not, whatever you wish. It could be novel, short story, play, whatever. Just choose six.

1. The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (Illustrated by Gustave Dore) - A beautiful epic masterpiece. Massively influencial and pumps out it's life even today. Nothing really can be said except to read it.

2. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy - A realist's romance. My favorite book to read when I'm feeling dreamy or contemplative. Which is a lot.

3. Don Quijote de la Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - A humorous yet deep wonderful satire. Expertly crafted and one you should read in that language it was written in.

4. The Sound and The Fury, William Faulkner - I adore southern gothic and this was the book that started me on it.

5. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov - A witty flowing and perfect masterpiece. So eloquent that it borders on shocking.

6. The Glass Menagerie, Tennesse Williams - The first modern play I ever read and performed in. And it's been with me ever since.

Honorable Mention - The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - It's not the best book by any length. But if I have a child I would read it to him/her every night

[SDF]

I was thinking the Divine Comedy when I clicked on the topic, but I'll switch it out since it's already been mentioned.

1. American Gods, Neil Gaiman - This book is probably the best I've ever read. I've read numerous classic works of literature, as well as adventurous contemporary ones and this strikes a cord with me. I can relate to growing up in a small, cold, midwestern town, and being the nerd I am got most of the references to the gods of old. Wonderful story almost like a fairytale, and wonderfully written as well. Lots of adult content thrown in so probably not for the more impressionable audiences.

2. Ulysses, James Joyce - I learned to love Joyce when I did my senior thesis on A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in high school. Wordiest book ever written, but it was enjoyable.

3. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson - My copy is signed by the man himself. Nuff said.

4. + 5. The works of St Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle - I'm getting really interested in law and these two are great reads for that.

6. For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway - (not just a Metallica song :smallsigh:) My favorite war novel. And of course its Hemingway.

[Don Julio Anejo]

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). Two of my favorite children's books, second one is also rolling-on-the-floor-laughing funny.

2. Richard III, Shakespeare. Don't know why, but I just like it.. But all of Shakespeare is awesome (especially when you see it, not read it, then you can actually understand it). And he's one of the very few writers out there who has deep, rounded characters that act like real people.

3. Winnie the Pooh, Alexander Milne. This book got me started reading when I was 4. I still remember the first time I read something on my own... it was the part where Pooh and Piglet went out to get honey from the beehive on a baloon. I was reading it backwards too (I read lines like I should but from bottom to top).

4. Animal Farm, 1984 George Orwell. I'm Russian (no, I'm not drunk right now, vodka sucks, tequila is better), so the first book was an interesting parody on the Communist government, with made up parts that were becoming true all the way to the 1970's. Like the part where pigs drunk whiskey and slept on beds. The party bosses were still down to earth when the book was written in 1940's, but became exactly the way Orwell predicted they would be later on.

1984 shows pretty well what would happen when Communism is taken too far. I guess I should also mention Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury here, since it shows what happens when Consumerism is taken too far. It's funny that the book was written in 1940's, but I can see our society slowly becoming more and more like the one described in the book. Just look at the banning of Huckleberry Finn in many libraries in the US because it has "nig_ger" in it, which many black people find offensive now (while it wasn't a derogatory term when the book was written). Other books are soon to follow...

[EmptyH]

Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles- This is an excellent example of how drama *should* be written. I read the plays in a college drama class and then we took a field trip to see them performed live. If you ever get a chance to see this live go, you won't regret it.

Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Twain (the book, not the Bing Crosby movie (although the movie did have a cotton candy appeal, pleasant and fluffy with no real substance but enjoyable none the less))- A wonderful satire of both medeval times and 19th century America.

Time enough for Love by Heinlein- An interesting exploration of society and the place and purpose of morals.

MTH

[ZombieRockStar]

Yeesh...um...so many...you're asking an English major...*head explodes*

Any of the short stories of Jorge Luis Borges. I don't think I can pick just one. "Library of Babel," maybe. The fantastic, the realistic, the philosophical all combined in the most intellectually fascinating writer ever.

The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot — So incredibly dense and difficult to read, but it expresses its themes so brilliantly, I can't help but love it.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace — The literary mind games this writer plays are astounding, better than Pynchon. I stand in awe every time I read something of his.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf — Probably the best social commentary on the delusions of society, especially when it comes to war.

"Kublah Kahn" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Despite my liking of Eliot (if you've read any of his criticism), I very much like Coleridge for his powerful imagination and this poem is the best example of it.

And The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — The elegant prose, mainly.

[Amotis]

More mind blowing then Pynchon? Really? *runs off to get it*

[ZombieRockStar]

Well, it may be just me, I should warn you, since it was the first bit of po-mo fiction I'd been exposed to, but I just found it very captivating, intellectually. He plays with form and language and content so brazenly. That's a short story collection, but his gigantic novel, Infinite Jest, is also brilliant. He's my favourite current author.

[Amotis]

Well, I was actually pretty impressed with Pynchon (who also had a gigantic novel) so he might be right up my alley. I shall seek him out like pirate monkeys with banana daggers.

[Bears With Lasers]

4. The Sound and The Fury, William Faulkner - I adore southern gothic and this was the book that started me on it.

I--I don't KNOW you, man.

I hate that book with the fires of a thousand burning suns, each of which is made out of other, lesser suns, that burn. With flames. --The flames are also on fire.


Honorable Mention - The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - It's not the best book by any length. But if I have a child I would read it to him/her every nightI've read it in three languages, including the original.
It's amazing. You are redeemed. Sort of.


Poetry-wise, for me, it's T.S. Eliot. Curiously enough, his play, Murder in the Cathedral, which few have read. It's gorgeous from a poetic perspective.

Book-wise, essentially anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. He writes incredibly beautiful, bittersweet things, that never fail to touch me.

[Artanis]

I hated Portrait of the Artist. Trying to read it melted my brain so badly that I almost failed English.

As for my list? God, there's so many. But if I have to pick just six...

1-Dune, by Frank Herbert

2-Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

3-Foundation, by Isaac Asimov

4-Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

5-King David's Spaceship, by Jerry Pournelle

6-Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

[ZombieRockStar]

I want to find Eliot's plays, but I can't. I've got his collected poems, which contain some dramatical poems, and tons of essays, but no plays.

I think I should add the honourable mention of Percy B. Shelley's "The Triumph of Life," even though it's unfinished, it is one of the perfect Romantic poems.

[Bears With Lasers]

I want to find Eliot's plays, but I can't. I've got his colelcted poems, which contain some dramatical poems, and tons of essays, but no plays.

You can get a cheap edition of Murder in the Cathdral off of Amazon for, like, three bucks. Go for it. I don't know if I'd bother looking up his other plays--they're both less clear and less good.

[Amotis]

I have a Elliot's collective words that has Murder in the Cathedral. I like buying collections. It's cheaper. I think I have like...20 different collections. Plus the "Best Poems of blahblahblah" stuff.

[ZombieRockStar]

Actually, it just occured to me where to find a copy. Jeez, I live in the big city. I should know to go to a theatre bookstore for this stuff.

[Eldritch Knight]

Let's see.

Milton's Paradise Lost

H.G Wells War of the Worlds

The Napoleon of Notting Hill G.K Chesterton

The Chronicles of Narnia C.S Lewis
Till We Have Faces C.S Lewis

Tree and Leaf J.R.R Tolkien
Lord of the Rings J.R.R Tolkien
Leaf by Niggle J.R.R Tolkien

There are many, many more, but I cannot recall them at the moment.

[Amotis]

Ah...Paradise Lost and Paradise Found. I adore them, they are wonderful and timeless.

[Bears With Lasers]

At least I'm not alone in having Murder in the Cathedral, then.

"Not in this train.
Look to your behaviour. You were safer
Think of penitence and follow your master."
"Not at this gait!
If you go so fast, others may go faster.
Your Lordship is too proud!
The safest beast is not the one that roars most loud.
This was not the way of the King our master!
You were not used to be so hard upon sinners
When they were your friends. Be easy, man!
The easy man lives to eat the best dinners.
Take a friend's advice. Leave well alone,
Or your goose may be cooked, and eaten to the bone."

[ampcptlogic]

I think I can pick favorites authors more easily than favorite works:

Poetry: The poetry of Ruth Bell Graham. Also fond of John Donne, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and T.S. Eliot

Theatre: Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Historical Novel: The Brothers Karamazov

Fantasy Novel: The Lord of the Rings. Also fond of Madeliene L'Engle, Ursula K Le'Guin, C.S. Lewis, and Susan Cooper.

Horror Novel: The Dark Tower. Only 4/7s of the way through it right now.

Science Fiction: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein.

[Telonius]

1. Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius.
2. The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupery.
3. Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien.
4. Lost Horizon, by James Hilton.
5. Taming of the Shrew, by Shakespeare (or whoever actually wrote it).
6. Priestess of Harrekh (tentative title), by me; currently about 1/3 finished.

EDIT: Honorable mentions....
"Ozymandias," by Percy Shelley.
"The One who Stayed," by Shel Silverstein.
"The Dark Is Rising," by Susan Cooper.
"A Wizard of Earthsea," by Ursula LeGuin.

[Mr Croup]

1) Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett - I'd have to say this is my favorite piece for the stage. The intricacy of the language, the vocal rhythms, the themes that can be interpreted from it, everything. Even though I no longer work in the theatre, the notion of directing this again is always tucked away in the back of my mind.

2) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere was my introduction to Gaiman, and I instantly fell in love. I stopped counting the number of times I've read this novel, but I'm sure it's over a dozen. I love the world, I love the characters, good and bad. I love Gaiman's voice, and all the memories I have associated with this book.

3) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - by Tom Stoppard - My introduction into the world of theatre was through Shakespeare, and he'll always be my first love. But then I took a dip into the world of "-isms," and found the joy that is post-absurdism. Stoppard married that with my love of the Bard in this piece. It's a perfect example of the ability to combine the intellectual with the visceral, the profound with the ridiculous.

4) The Dubliners by James Joyce - I'm happy to see a lot of Joyce in this thread so far. I enjoyed his novels, but not as much as his short fiction. I think he's the reason that I started seeking out short stories. Between Joyce and Conrad, it was firmly impressed upon me the power of which such a short piece of prose can have. I studied this collection under three different professors, including one my of profs at Oxford. The first one, a high school teacher, and one of the most intelligent Joyce scholars I've met, is still the benchmark.

5) All in the Timing by David Ives - More post-absurdism here, in a collection of one act plays and monologues. I had the pleasure of directing two different collections of pieces from this, and I had a blast with post. Ives plays with language the way a child plays with blocks; unashamedly, blissfully, uniquely, creating something that we would not have seen possible by looking at them unassembled.

Here's the tricky bit, what comes as the six? Should it be The Tempest, the play that started my live long love affair with Shakespeare? Perhaps a collection of Lovecraft's, whose work has forever impacted my notion of horror and escapist fiction? Or maybe Night of the Iguana, by Tennessee Williams, my favorite realist, and the end all and be all of Southern American playwriting? It could be any of those, as well as a host of others, I'm sure. But I think I have it.

6) The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays by Albert Camus - If I had to pick any one book of philosophical writing to have, it would be this. I've always been a fan of Camus' fiction, particularly The Plague, but I'd never read any of his essays until I took a course in college and was assigned some readings from Sisyphus. I devoured the entire book in one or two sittings, and have reread it a number of times since. In this book, Camus touches on the same questions I'd often found myself asking yet had never found a satisfactory response or answer in other works. Camus' unique blending of existentialism and supernaturalism, his conception of meaning in a meaningless world, colored my life from that moment on. It influenced my approach to the theatre, and my view of the world. You will never find my bookshelves free of this.

[sun_tzu]

1)A large chunk of Bernard Werber's work - in particular, the Ants trilogy.

2)Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".

3)Timothy Zahn's Star Wars books - because goshdarnit, Thrawn is awesome.

In children's litterature, the Chronicles of Narnia, the Harry Potter books, and "Odyssey from River Bend".

[Artanis]

3)Timothy Zahn's Star Wars books - because goshdarnit, Thrawn is awesome.
His Conquerors Trilogy is even better :smallbiggrin:

[Don Beegles]

Hmmm, I can't think of many now right off the top of my head, so I'm going to go with the first six that come to mind.

1)Cyrano de Bergerac, I just can't say enough about this play. I love it so much, and am tempted to learn French just to read it in the original. If you haven't read it, read it, and you'll understand.

2)Les Miserables, Longer than it needs to be, and with a lot of background historical information that is really unnecessary to the overall plot, but still excellent. The story and characters make up for the occassional boring chapters, and it's still excellent regardless.

I'm thinking in a French mode, so I think I'll finish it off French, and maybe if I can think of any others I will post them.

3)The Hunchback of Notre Dame, another one by Hugo that I enjoy. Pretty much the same comments as Les Mis, but excellent in its own way, that I can't quite describve, not really having any knowledge of literature besides my own tastes.

4)The Three Musketeers, This is a favorite for largely the same reasons as Cyrano. The quintessential tale of swashbuckling, full of action and and romance and blood, almost like the trashy movies pumped out by the dozen by Hollywood, except not trashy.

5)The Count of Monte Cristo, Great tale of revenge that reaches so far that it's almost divine retribution, and it's effects on it's victims and the person wreaking. Not really as openly philosophical as that, but if you read into it, there's plenty.

hmm, I can't think of anotehr French book that I really liked, so I'll leave my sizth selection open until something strikes me.

[Piedmon_Sama]

1. The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka.
Brilliant, eerie, witty, says everything it needs to say in about 100 pages and strikes a chord with anyone trapped in the modern world.
2. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A great tragedy that, I think, addresses what is (or was) unique about being an American without losing any universality.
3. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
This book was the culmination of Dostoevsky's career and his thought. It's jammed full of themes on man, religion, and even if I disagree with his thesis I greatly appreciate Dostoevsky's insights.
4. Naked Lunch, by William Burroughs
William Burroughs was an old gay drugged-out pedophile who happened to possess a frightening understanding of American society. His insights and his book are frightening, witty and prophetic.
5. The Screwtape Letters, by C.S Lewis
Again, even if I don't agree with the author's thesis (I don't believe in God), Lewis has many great insights. Particularly on the nature of evil, which are illustrated with great humor (always important) in this book.

[ZombieRockStar]

Madame Bovary is another great French novel, although Flaubert comes much later than Dumas and Hugo.

[Sundog]

Henry V - Shakespeare.

1984 - George Orwell

I am Legend - Richard Matheson

Spider Kiss - Harlan Ellison

The Lamps of his Face, the Doors of his Mouth - Roger Zelazny.

[twerk_face]

Say what you want, but the corny modern clasics hold a place in my 16-year-old heart.

1. The Harry Potter Septology. Whatever people say, these books are just fantastic. They are enjoyable for anybody of any age, they are original, exiting, well paced, have great charactorization, great plot, and an amazing use of the english language. Now, compared to people like Dickens and Hemingway, Rowling is.....well, different. People immediatly assosiate good use of the english language with old english drawls (Frankenstein--*shuders*). But languages change, and in terms of modern day literature, Rowling has an amazing grasp.

2. His Dark Materials, by Phillip Pullman. If you have not read these books, do so now. My words cannot bring justice to the magnifisince of these masterpieces, and i will not even try. The plot, the world its set in, the writing, the character development, the character relations, the social and political (and--eek! shall I say it?--religious) relevance..... As I type this, i feel like going to lay down and read them again.

3. The Stars, My Destination, by Alfred Bester. This is the best science fiction novel i have read in my entire loonnnng history (for a teenager) of reading science fiction. The development of Gully Foyle, the main character, is so intense and well thought out, the writing, the setting of a grim earth of tomorow, ooooo man, i can't say more, or else risk ruining it for other readers. EVERYONE should go out and read this book. It's worth it.

[Bears With Lasers]

The best sci-fi I've ever read is either L.E. Modesitt's Adiamante or Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos.

[Amotis]

No love for Ray Bradbury? I met the man twice at comic con. He was very cool and intellegent. Signed my books too. : D

[Artanis]

The best sci-fi I've ever read is either L.E. Modesitt's Adiamante or Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos.


No love for Ray Bradbury? I met the man twice at comic con. He was very cool and intellegent. Signed my books too. : D

Fahrenheit 451 and the Hyperion series were definitely on my "short(ish) list" before I pared it down to six, among the likes of Neuromancer, The Man-Kzin Wars, and I, Robot :smallcool:

I haven't read Adiamante though. I'll have to see about rectifying that.

[Strengfellow]

Kant and platypus, Umberto Ecco

The Illiad (in the greek) otherwise the T.E Laurence translation, Homer

Any of John Betjemans and Edward Lears poetry

Perditio Street Station, China Mieville

[Old One]

Heavy readings there! The Iliad? I stick to fantasy most of the time... Dragonlance: Chronicles trilogy and the Legends trilogy are still some favourites of mine, I recommend to everyone to read them! (Who hasn't read them already!) and Salvatores Darkelf books! The first 9 are really good... then it kind of... goes overboard! Too much... i don't need to mention Lord of the Rings do I? Reading The Dark Tower by Stephen King right now... it's really great! At least the first two books, and getting better! Most of Terry Pratchetts books are dead-funny too! Oh, and Lovecraft! All of it... but Case of Charls Dexter Ward, The Shadow Out Of Time, and The Colour Out Of Space are the best... and Mountains of Madness of course! Aliens V. Predator: Prey is great too! (That's how the movie should have been!! Stupid movie-makers!) Alastair Reynolds books... um... forgot the books names... are very good sci-fi too. But Prey is better... but at large I prefer fantasy always! :smallsmile:

[SDF]

Fahrenheit 451 and the Hyperion series were definitely on my "short(ish) list" before I pared it down to six, among the likes of Neuromancer, The Man-Kzin Wars, and I, Robot :smallcool:

I haven't read Adiamante though. I'll have to see about rectifying that.


The last day of my physics class I set my Fahrenheit 451 book on fire with a giant mirror...

Neuromancer is another good book, I really enjoy cyberpunk.

[Scorpina]

The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

Soul Music - Terry Pratchett

Watership Down - Richard Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Five Parts - Douglas Adams

[InaVegt]

Karel ende Elegast: A Frankian knightstory centering around Charlemagne and the king of the elves, created around 800 AD, written down aroun 1200 AD. Author unknown.

[Dragonrider]

I'm the person who, a year ago, started making a list of every book I can think of that I ever read, with notes indicating "favorite", "kinda fun", and "never read this awful waste of paper again". Who alphabetized and then indexed her bookshelves and snaps at anyone who takes a book out "You better put that back where you found it!!!"

So, picking favorites...well, I gotta go by author.

Mind you, when I read for fun it's usually fantasy (I just looked at my bookshelf and laughed

J.R.R. Tolkien: 'Nuff said. All bow to the master!!!

Diana Wynne Jones: As children's fantasy goes, her work is some of the best I've read, Howl's Moving Castle being the only book that I've ever read four times in one week.

Patricia C. Wrede: A close second to DWJ in the genre, with a great way of writing really strong female characters who actually aren't obnoxious.

Cornelia Funke: A recent discovery of mine. Inkspell holds second-place for most times read in a week (two). Cornelia Funke, Patricia C. Wrede, and Diana Wynne Jones all write similar fantasy, but all of them have a twist that's their own, which I love.

J.K. Rowling: Say what you like, maybe you don't care for her style or her writing, but she's amazing. Her ability to weave bits of information in so that at the climax everything comes snapping into place is unbelievable. The real question: In #7, will she be able to tie up all the loose ends?

Lloyd Alexander: Despite (or perhaps because of) their similarity to "the Lord of the Rings", his Prydain Chronicles remain one of my favorite series. They (and LotR) were my introduction to fantasy.

Timothy Zahn: My attempt at branching out into sci-fi (well, besides, Isaac Asimov, I'd love to add that but my list is already too long). I'v just been re-reading the Cobra trilogy. It's even better the second time around!

The problem with these (with the exception of Tolkien) is that I can usually read the whole book in an afternoon (yes, even Harry Potter). Therefore I've started reading more "classics", since you can only get so far into fantasy before you run out of material. Thus, I've read Les Miserables, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, part of The Three Musketeers until my mom took it back to the library before I was finished....I'll read almost anything so long as the writing isn't terrible.

[averagejoe]

Ugg, so many to choose from. Just going through this forum kept making me go, "oh yeah, I loved that book." Actually, these days it seems like most of the reading I do is textbooks, but that's a different story. :smallsigh:

I'll list some, though, and try to stay away from the excellent (and not-so-excellent) ones that have already been mentioned.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. ****. Adapted to film in the form of the much less evocatively-named movie, Blade Runner. Awsome sci-fi writer. Awsome story. 'nuff said.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen. Not something I think I have to say a lot about around here.

Educating Rita can't remember the author right now. Still, a very clever and well written play, and a modern-ish take on Pigmalion, that was adapted to a somewhat plot-divergent, but still excellent movie.

The Things They Carried, although most anything I've read by Tim O'brien could go here. Probably the best contemporary author I've ever read. Basically he is a Vietnam vet who came back and wrote about it, but in a different way than I've seen. I would reccomend this very highly.

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. An anthology revolving around the small town of Winesburg. It's actually been awhile since I read this one, but I remember enjoying it greatly. It was a bit modern, I believe, but I try not to hold that against him.

All the Pretty Horses by Cormick McCarthy, a book that no male can read without having to insist hundreds of times, "No, it really is a tough cowboy novel." It actually really is unlike its title might make it seem. It's one of them "American" novels where the author tries to be cute by removing bits of punctuation (in this case parentheses), but this is one of the few novels where such a thing seems to add to, and not detract from, the story. Plus there were some very fine bits of writing.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Ummmm, let's see... No order here, just FYI...


The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- am I the only one who can appreciate the incredibly long sentences? :smallbiggrin:
The Prince, by Nicolo Machiavelli -- An excellent, plainly written book.
Pretty much any book set in David Weber's Honorverse.
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, the manga by Hayao Miyazaki.
Oh My Goddess!, manga series by Kosuke Fujishima.
What? Only one more? But... but... but... Oh, fine... The Watch on the Rhine, a Legacy of the Aldenata novel by John Ringo and Thomas Kratmann.

[Don Beegles]

Ummmm, let's see... No order here, just FYI...

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- am I the only one who can appreciate the incredibly long sentences? :smallbiggrin:
The Prince, by Nicolo Machiavelli -- An excellent, plainly written book.
Pretty much any book set in David Weber's Honorverse.
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, the manga by Hayao Miyazaki.
Oh My Goddess!, manga series by Kosuke Fujishima.
What? Only one more? But... but... but... Oh, fine... The Watch on the Rhine, a Legacy of the Aldenata novel by John Ringo and Thomas Kratmann.

Well, The Scarlet Letter was interesting for sure. I love how Hawthorne is the worst among all of the classic authors at writing children. Most of them are bad, but he takes the cake.

"Look, there is the woman of the scarlet letter and the likeness of that letter walking along beside her. Come therefore, and let us fling mud at them." Pure comic gold, even though it wasn't really intended that way.

[Em]

Everyone's already given all my choices! :smallmad: I think...

Classic novel: Jane Eyre. Simply because I can never decide from one day to the next what I think about the characters and their relationships! Also, Dracula (because Bram Stoker was a LUNATIC) and A Christmas Carol (short and sweet).

Modern classic novel: I feel badly disloyal to The Lord of the Rings, as I sometimes prefer His Dark Materials. The Amber Spyglass might well be my favourite book in the world.

Play: I've a thespian background, so that's hard. Though of course Shakespeare tops everything for writing, I love one-man/two-man shows because of the intensity they can create. Too difficult.

Poetry: It WOULD have been Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, but that poor collection has been tortured so badly by my INCOMPETENT MORON of an English teacher that it's now hard to read them without feeling real pain.

Other: The Little Prince. I read a lot of children's books, actually, but it's by far the best.

[Idris]

Nice to see Richard Matteson's I am Legend on Sundog's list - it's a great book.

It's impossible to pick out half-a-dozen books, so I'll go by author (in no particular order) and I know most have already been mentioned -

1) Terry Pratchett - I've read all of them as soon as they come out since about the third Discworld. Love Good Omens too, his collaboration with Neil Gaiman. Which reminds me......

2) Neil Gaiman - especially American Gods

3) C.S. Lewis - anything, but for me the high point is his Sci-Fi trilogy - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength - I've read them many times over the years

4) Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials is wondrous, but the series beginning with The Ruby in the Smoke is pretty good too

5) Simon R Green - a newer find this one, but since buying Something From the Nightside on spec, I've been an addict. I'm about to read the last of the series, but he's written a great many books besides that I'm looking forward to working my way through. The Nightside is an extraordinary, terrible and wonderful place (and if I can work out the mechanics, I mean to run a game set there :smallsmile:)

6) John Maddox Roberts - the SPQR series, Roman detective stories set around the end of the Republic. Much better than Lindsey Davies's Falco novels, historically accurate and very funny. He's also written some good fantasy.

Of course there are many others, and I haven't even considered poets or playwrights - but then I could stay up all night working out who to put in and who to leave out - this bunch'll have to do :smallsmile:

Idris

[Idris]

Have to add, if you like the Hitchhiker's Guide, try Douglas Adam's Dirk Gently books - I think they're actually better

Educating Rita was written by Willie Russell btw - haven't seen it as a play, but the film was pretty good

Idris

[Sisqui]

1) Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
2) The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand
3) Basic Economics- Thomas Sowell
4) Vision of the Annointed- Thomas Sowell
5) Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy- Tad Williams
6) Incarnations of Immortality- Piers Anthony

[Portent]

Heh, I can always just copy/paste my Facebook section of favorite books for this one:

The Black Company, by Glen Cook. I loved how Glen Cook could actually portray large time gaps and changes with amazingly succinct descriptions.
The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker. The idea of Quiddity intrigued me.
The Art of War, presumably by Sun Tzu. I love the John Minford translation, especially with the ancient commentary.
Chushingura, by some dude whose name I can't remember. It's the 47 Ronin story.
Shike: a Time of Dragons, I forget the author. Great historical fiction, even if it does place the Mongol invasion of Japan a century earlier, but hey, who wouldn't want to see military geniuses like Minamoto Yoritomo's younger brother (dang word filter) fight alongside the Mongols?
Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson. Great cyberpunk-like thing, a hilarious view of the future. Plus, it has swords. And pizza.

edit: hadn't realized it had to be narrowed down to six specific books. That'll teach me to post to a thread without reading the whole thing.

[Trog]

Diary by Chuck Palahniuk. Arguably his best work, IMHO.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The guy killed himself before it was published. Simply a fantastic work. Amazing.
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. For obvious reasons.
Bone by Jeff Smith. Excellent comic series. Fun.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Ender's Shadow is good too but the series runs downhill after that as characters break down to fulfill the plot.
Watchmen by Allan Moore and David Gibbons. Best graphic novel evar.

[ClericofPhwarrr]

Only 6? This will be taxing... I'll have to go by author.

1) Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, most everything else that he's written.

2) Robert Heinlein: Starship Troopers.

3) George Orwell: Animal Farm, 1984.

4) Alexander Solzhenitsyn: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

5) Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli: The Prince, the Discoursi

6) Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451.

I can't believe how many classic authors and works I've had to cut to make this fit. Quite an eye-opener.

[Bears With Lasers]

1) Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
2) The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand


*makes the sign against evil*

[zachol]

Let's avoid Rand...


Um, I would have to echo many others and say that it is pretty hard to just pick a handful.
I assume my answers would change from day to day.

1. HP Lovecraft. I think the only constant would be this guy. I have found that I essentially love anything he writes, and not in a "omg Lovecraft ha ha" way, but an actual "wow, this is really good as well."
2. Anything by Rudyard Kipling. I essentially grew up on Tales of India.
3. Gaiman. Of the things he's done, I would say that Mr. Punch (graphic novel, but yeah) is my favorite.
4. Nietzsche. Do philosophers count?
5. The Old Man and the Sea, by Hemingway. Hemingway = awesome. Old Man and the Sea = more awesome.
6. Gulliver's Travels. Jonathan Swift amuses me.

I'll also echo Paradise Lost. I might've been one of the six or so people who appreciated it when we had to read it for school. Then again, I loved The Scarlet Letter (well, relatively, and at least more than most other people).

[Telonius]

If I can have Marcus Aurelius, you can have Nietzsche. :smallsmile:

[sun_tzu]

*makes the sign against evil*

Hey, I think Rand was full of it, but that didn't stop me from enjoying those books.

[Amotis]

Full of...evil! Hehe.

A lot of people like Ender's Game. Why? It's not that good. It really just treads water with me. Nothing awesome about it and it just seems to feed of itself for motivation and purpose.

[Artanis]

A lot of people like Ender's Game. Why? It's not that good. It really just treads water with me. Nothing awesome about it and it just seems to feed of itself for motivation and purpose.
*shrug*

I've never been into analyzing literature. For whatever reason, Ender's Game was just one of those books that, when you finish it, you say, "man, that was a good book!"

[zachol]

I wouldn't put it at the "top 6" (or even top 20), but it felt like it was worth the time spent reading.

I don't especially want to read it again, nor am I interested in the sequels (or prequels, or whatever they are), but it was enjoyable.

[SDF]

I liked Ender's Game, but my problem with it was that Ender didn't think like a child genius, he though like an adult. I think Card lacked a bit of insight on that matter.

[averagejoe]

Ender's Game wasn't a deeply intellectual read or anything, it was just a really enjoyable book. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "feed of itself for motivation and purpose," (I mean, what else would it feed of? But, then, I'm prbably interpreting wrong.)

[LCR]

1. New York Trilogy by Paul Auster It's deep, it's dark ... I love it. Not all everything written by him is good, but most books are great

2. Der Verschollene by Franz Kafka Kafka's best novel (in my opinion), with "In der Strafkolonie" being his best short story

3. Die Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann Epic family story, great language. Manns' "Zauberberg" comes in a close second.

4. Everything is Illuminated by J.F. Foer Admirable work, brilliantly written.

5. Another Bull**** Night in Suckcity by Nick Flynn The biography of a man who met his father working at a homeless shelter in Boston. Like watching an accident happen. In Slowmotion. (I think that is even a quote from the book, as far as I remember)

6. Maria Stuart by Schiller His best drama. There's no right or wrong in it, everything turns out to be different shades of grey. Very untypical for a classical drama.

And of course there is Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. It's great, because it's the only play I ever acted in. As Henry Higgins, of course.

[Amotis]

About Ender's Game - Yeah, I suppose it's an easy and okay read. But there are a hella lot of other books that are not only a good read but actually mean things. There's nothing underneath the shell (as pretty as some of you might like it as). It's a story. Nothing more. Is that good or bad? Sure it's good. But not top 6 good. And probably not even top 50 good.

[Sisqui]

*makes the sign against evil*

I have to agree (if by that you mean really, really tough to slog through)......... Those books made me think a lot, though, and they changed my outlook on a lot of things which is why I put them in my list. But, they aren't what I'd call entertainment (that was the Tad Williams books:smallbiggrin:).

[sktarq]

Well if one wants to rant about long sentences I think Nietzsche takes the cake. Especially in his earlier work such as Birth of Tragady and Human all too Human.

An my nomenees for the best written work are:

Brothers Karamozov
Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy
The Power of Myth
Pale Fire
Catch 22
A Last Chance to See
Brave New World
The Third Chimpanze
Shakespeare's Sonnets-don't ask me to pick
I Claudius
The Art of War
Johnny the Homicidal Maniac


And the winner is......
Catch 22

[Amotis]

Aye, Catch 22 is cool. So is the Brother Karamozov.

How 'bout Ceremony? Anyone have read it?

[J_Muller]

I liked Ender's Shadow and its sequels much better than the Ender side of things.

[Artanis]

About Ender's Game - Yeah, I suppose it's an easy and okay read. But there are a hella lot of other books that are not only a good read but actually mean things. There's nothing underneath the shell (as pretty as some of you might like it as). It's a story. Nothing more. Is that good or bad? Sure it's good. But not top 6 good. And probably not even top 50 good.
That's probably why I like it...it's a good, entertaining story. "Deep" stories always struck me as the author shouting "LOOK AT ME! MY WORDS DON'T MEAN WHAT WEBSTER'S SAYS THEY MEAN! THAT MAKES ME WORTH READING!" :smalltongue:

[Robberbaron]

This will be tough, I've enjoyed so many books.

Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Took me two times to finish it, glad I did.

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

The Phantom of The Opera by Gaston Leroux

Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Men of Iron by Howard Pyle

Tom Swift Jr series by Victor Appleton II
Fun old children's science fiction.

I could go on and on, but I'll cut it short for now.

[averagejoe]

About Ender's Game - Yeah, I suppose it's an easy and okay read. But there are a hella lot of other books that are not only a good read but actually mean things. There's nothing underneath the shell (as pretty as some of you might like it as). It's a story. Nothing more. Is that good or bad? Sure it's good. But not top 6 good. And probably not even top 50 good.

Right, I forgot that it's rather out of fashon for people to read a story for enjoyment. :smalltongue:

Seriously, though, I've read a lot of books that mean things, and it's just like, "well, so what?" So some author has opinions about things. He/she is no wiser than I am. In fact, it's been a long time since someone has given me, overtly or not, any sort of thought or opinion that I hadn't seen a hundred times before. Authors are not oracles, they're people like any other. Honestly, for what reason would I want to hear someone drone on about their opinions? Most likely they're opinions I've already formed for myself on my own anyways.

You know why I enjoyed The Chronicles of Narnia? Because it was a fun story about some kids who hung out with a talking lion. Not because of some wierd Christian allegory that people had to tell me about years after I'd read the books for the tenth (or so) time. It confounds me to this day as to why someone would ruin a perfectly servicable book by reading it like that. I mean, you could get a couple of guys to come to your door and tell you the same thing, in less time and for free. I enjoyed those books because Puddleglum was funny and Reepacheep was awsome, not because it revealed some hidden message.

So George Orwell thinks communism and facshism are bad. Whoop dee freakin' doo, so does everyone else who has looked at history. So Phillip Pullman (apperantly) thinks God is bad (or whatever his books are supposed to mean. I was never clear on that. This forum is the first I'd heard that they meant anything. Then again, it's been years and I was in middle school at the time.) So, what does he want? A medal? Should it make me appreciate a clever phrase or turn of plot more? I mean, I bet that the greater part of you wouldn't just go out and read essays by random people about these same topics purely for enjoyment. Why should it be validated just because they use a pig to represent communist leaders instead of saying it streight out?

[Jayabalard]

just a few of my favorites off the top of my head.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein (plus many other of RAH's stories, but that's my favorite)

A Child's Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas

The Dragon and the George (and sequels) - Gordon Dickson

Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold - Terry Brooks

Little Fuzzy - H. Beam Piper

Fallen Angels (http://www.webscription.net/pc-137-1-fallen-angels.aspx) - Niven/Pournell/Flynn (liked to the Baen Free Library)

note: Sad that the word filter cuts out Phillip K. Dic k

[tyr]

Favorite written works, eh? In no particular order:

The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King--A lot of this list has already been brought up, so I may as well mention this. It's not perfect but it's pretty memorable.

Azumanga Daioh--At least I'm not the first person to name a manga. This one is exceptional for being surreal, funny, and occasionally surprisingly bittersweet.

The Silent Planet Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis--Like the Chronicles of Narnia, it makes no secret of it's religious bent, but it's much more sophisticated and complex.

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis--To this day, when I say a good villain I really mean someone who reminds me of Screwtape. The way his mind works is ugly.

The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling--Voldemort reminds me of Screwtape. And Rowling, for all her simplistic language, is extremely well read and it shows.

Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card--It's fascinating to watch Bean slowly find his own humanity; I actually prefer this to Ender's Game. Come to think of it, this book reminds me of White Fang.

[Amotis]

It's something to make a story. It's something else to make a story that actually goes beyond the surface. It's the biggest insult I can give is to say that a writer like Card and a writer like Conrad are apples and oranges but oranges (Conrad) can be both an apple and an orange. The point I'm making isn't that Ender's Game isn't good (meh). But that it's certainly not top 50 material. Hundreds of other books not only write a better story but write a better work.

So sure, enjoy it. But don't think yourself better then other authors simply because you like straight 2-d stories better.

[sktarq]

Right, I forgot that it's rather out of fashon for people to read a story for enjoyment. :smalltongue:

Seriously, though, I've read a lot ...of saying it streight out?

I picked most of the works I did because they BOTH mean something, made me grow, and I just plain enjoyed reading them. There have been a few books I thought were outragously funny-Terry Prachets for example and while I laughed so hard I brought the police to the apartment I have never had the urge to go back and read them again. I have read The Power of Myth every month or so for the past three years and still get something new out of it every time. Just because a book has meaning doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed for that aswell as the story itself. I know I am generally looking for something that will stimulate my mind when I pick up a book...and why?....Because I enjoy that.

[Hazkali]

Titus Groan- because when an author spends paragraphs describing motes of dust in sunlight, you know it's good! Oh, and something about the awesome characterisation as well.

[Tam_OConnor]

1) Steven Brust's Khaavren Romances- The style is just so pompous and overblown that it sets me to giggling...good plot and whatnot too. "Shards! I think I have been asking for nothing else for an hour!"
2) RA Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy- nostalgia is a powerful thing, especially when mixed with an angsty hero. This was before Drizzt became all "elf-like." Readers of the Twin Swords, you know what I mean. Too politically correct for me. "Mangura bok woklok!"
3) David & Leigh Eddings' Redemption of Althalus. Proof that one can write a self-contained epic fantasy without having overblown writing. "You're too pretty."
4) Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos Series- Seriously, this is how fantasy should be written. Small scale, with big aftermath. Moreover, likeable 'heroes' and versimilitude. Plus, Hungarian! "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulderblades will seriously cramp his style."
5) Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time- I can forgive a few books that don't really advance the plot if I care about some of the characters (i.e. Mat). "One pretty girl means fun at the dance. Two pretty girls means trouble in the house. Three pretty girls means run for the hills."
6) John Ringo's Council War series- First SF/F 'crossover' that I actually loved. I challenge you not to love Bast. "Paladins don't get laid much."

Yes, these are all fantasy books, but frankly, Beowulf and the Once and Future King are fantasy, too. And I haven't read those enough to merit a place on a favorites list.

[Sewer_Bandito]

Ender's Game was awesome (by far the best book that any teacher has forced me to read), I thought, and it also directed me to Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon, both of which I just got done reading. :smalltongue:

By the way, anyone know of any other books set in the Enderverse?

[Dragor]

For me, The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer will always have a place in my heart. Its funny one-liners and general design is brilliant.

[twerk_face]

Ender's Game was awesome (by far the best book that any teacher has forced me to read), I thought, and it also directed me to Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon, both of which I just got done reading. :smalltongue:

By the way, anyone know of any other books set in the Enderverse?

Believe me, there are no shortage of books set in the Enderverse. I can name a few off the top of my head: "Speaker for the Dead", "Xenocide", "Children of the mind", "Shadow puppets", and I'm almost sure there are more.

[PhoeKun]

Ah...Paradise Lost and Paradise Found. I adore them, they are wonderful and timeless.

I cannot believe nobody has commented on this.

Paradise Lost was a very good Epic.

Paradise Regained was a shoddy piece of crap written because Milton was angry that people didn't like the parts of Paradise Lost that he wanted them to like. And Amotis should be slapped for putting them on the same level.

And as though to undermine any credibility I might have accidentally come in here with, my favorite book in recent history is Brian Clevinger's Nuklear Age. Because it is fun to read, and because it is engaging despite trying desperately not to be...

[Closet_Skeleton]

There have been a few books I thought were outragously funny-Terry Prachets for example and while I laughed so hard I brought the police to the apartment I have never had the urge to go back and read them again.

It's hard to appreciate the depth of the references in Pratchet. Read them in 20 years after you've learnt a lot more and you'll notice new things. Every line in Soul Music for example seems to reference a differant musician or genre. The best part about Pratchet is when he goes above parody to create something full of references but with it's own distinctness. Whenever I read Pratchet I think "if I'd read this book two weeks ago, I wouldn't have got that joke".

[Don Beegles]

Another great thing i've seen about Pratchett that puts him above most other modern writers is that he can actually write a passable 'work', as Amotis describes it.

It's one thing to be funny or have brilliant stories. It's quite another to do both. It's a third, and in a different league, to write an entire series of books that have both qualities, as well as fleshy characters and often subtle themes and some philosophy squeezed in. He's not quite Joyce, but then, not many people are, and he's closer than quite a few I could name.

[averagejoe]

It's something to make a story. It's something else to make a story that actually goes beyond the surface. It's the biggest insult I can give is to say that a writer like Card and a writer like Conrad are apples and oranges but oranges (Conrad) can be both an apple and an orange. The point I'm making isn't that Ender's Game isn't good (meh). But that it's certainly not top 50 material. Hundreds of other books not only write a better story but write a better work.

So sure, enjoy it. But don't think yourself better then other authors simply because you like straight 2-d stories better.

Wait, are we talking about the same thing? Because that's not what I was talking about at all. I didn't say that I didn't like stories with nothing beneath the surface, I said I didn't like stories that "mean something." The former makes the book interesting. The latter is pretentious and annoying, and too many people put altogether too much stock in it. And, in fact, there are very few books that aren't harlequin romances, written for children, or textbooks that don't go beneath the surface on some level. None that I've read come to mind, anyways.

I'm a bit confused at the last bit. When did Card say he was better than other authors?

[Amotis]

The latter is pretentious and annoying? Your face! Err...I mean that's really broad comment that really has no merit. I mean come on. I can't really think of a come back for what you said 'cause it's so...wrong. In such a rude way. And not rude like **** you rude. But rude like so loud and blatently false. Stories that attempt to explain something, make a point, drive morals, express ideals or theories, how are these pretentious and annoying? I mean, jeez, the greatest works of art were made to mean something.

Look at my top 6. Great works of art? You agree? At least with some of them, right? Of course. They're widely accepted as the best works ever made. And they mean stuff. They were made to explain, to mock, to ponder.

I have no problem with people who write for stories sake. Nor do I have a problem with people write for purpose's sake. I do, however, have a massive problem with your statement that all books that attempt to put something under their shells are "annoying and pretencious." I just don't get it.

@Phoekun - Awww. It wasn't THAT bad. It may have been...different, but it wasn't a complete 180 failure on his part.

[averagejoe]

Your face!

Fair enough. :smalltongue:

Er, perhaps I didn't mean it like it came out. I'm differentiating (or at least attempting to) the, for example, LOTR brand of non-allegorical themes about good and evil, corruption of power, and so on, from the more overt, "This is my opinion about things," style. (Couldn't think of any really good well known examples of the latter. Orwell comes to mind, but he goes a bit beyond that. Usually. I do tend to be too hard on the guy.) Or, to use two points of view of one example from 1984, I'm differentiating between the thematic idea of the use of fear to control the minds of a population, and the more overt idea of, "Our current government in real life is using fear to control people." The difference is a subtle one, I suppose, so I probably should have done a better job to express it.

Basically what I was really trying to say was that simply because whatever book doesn't have any "deep meaning" doesn't mean that it has nothing beneath the surface. Quite the contrary. The rest was probably bitter cynicism talking.

[ZombieRockStar]

Umm...let me weigh in on the "pretentiousness" debate, as I'm an English major who intends on writing capital-L Literature, so this is kinda my game.

Let me explain why I (and I think many others) like "Literature" (which you might call pretentious). It's not so much the theme. When you get to university, you find that the "theme" is often very basic, a high-school level of analysis.

Think back to the "classics." Why do you think they are remembered? Because they've got great stories? Because they have exceptionally deep themes or points to make? Countless books have been written with both good stories and themes that have been lost to time. Yet these survive. Why?

Because they are unique in some way that those other books aren't. Because they are creative on a more fundamental level than just in terms of a story I haven't read before. They offer me, as a reader, something very new that I haven't experienced before. They're like a drug in so many respects, because I love the experience of a read that challenges me, even if I don't understand it. (Especially if I don't understand it)

And I know it's often pretentious. I mean, I have T.S. Eliot as one of my favourites. Even he thought he was pretentious. But The Waste Land is a text that forces you to open up your mind before you can even begin to understand what it's talking about. Forgive me for sounding hippie-like, but it's like an acid trip, only better and not psychologically damaging.

But to leave with one last point, to both sides, please criticize authors and not genres. I still have every intention myself of writing a fantasy novel (I even have the plot still), but I find a good deal of it total crap. I hate Eddings because he's sexist, Jordan because that first book of his was so blatantly ripped off of LOTR that I couldn't stand it, and some others for generally shoddy prose. I love Hemingway and Fitzgerald for brilliant prose, Eliot for his beautifully intricate (if nihilistic) symbolism, Woolf for her exploration of the interior mind, etc. But a the same time I love Tolkein and if anyone makes me read The Italian by Ann Radcliffe again, I will shove the book down their throats.

Um...that probably made no sense whatsoever. Which brings me to another point I should make about art: my personal philosophy of Art is that it is meant for expressing some idea or emotion that it is impossible to do in "normal language."

I also have one question, though, for the "books as entertainment" crowd: how exactly would a good book differ from a good movie or good TV show, then? (And I'd like to point ou that some movies/TV shows are critically valid. Buffy has a genuine academic following.)

[averagejoe]

I'm an English major

Oh, god, not one of THEM.

Nah, just joshing ya. You guys are alright, despite all that "literary criticism" and more close readings than could possibly be healthy to the human psyche. Actually, those two things are probably the biggest reasons I stopped doing the whole achedemic Literature thing. And probably where a lot of my unbridaled hostility is coming from.

Actually, I agree with a lot of what you're saying. I would even go so far as to call some of it what I should have said, but that might be a bit pretentious of me. :smallwink: I actually do frequently find my own words inadequate to talk about literature, so it's good to see that someone can, well, do it better. Except for that acid trip thing. I don't know what that was about.

I actually don't think I've ever seen a movie/tv show that could compare with a good book. The ones that come closest do so in different ways than books do, usually with decent cinematics-that is, how the music, dialogue, camera work, and all that comes together. The writing is important here, but to a lesser degree than with books, to the point where if the other elements are good enough there is a lot of leeway as far as the writing goes.

[Amotis]

"Knowledge of a thing engenders love of it;
the more exact of the knowledge, the more fervent the love."
- Leonardo da Vinci

One of my favorite quotes. Applies to Music as well as Literature as well as most art.

[PhoeKun]

You know what's frustrating? Stumbling on a conversation about Literary analysis after all the good points have been made. Blast.

Ah well. At least I still have the romances of Chretien de Troyes to comfort me...

[ZombieRockStar]

Someone needs to read more Borges. Then you'll find out where the acid trip comes from..."The universe (which others call the Library) is composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries..."

So what I'm trying to say is that T.S. Eliot, who is a very difficult read even for poetry, offers me a type of experience of reading that Harry Potter doesn't, which is why I used the drug metaphor. (Not that I'm advocating drugs here, but bear with me) I love having my mind challenged by the writer in front of me, I love examining the philosophical core of a piece of writing, and I don't really care if it's pretentious. (Not that I'm saying that you don't like challenges...I'm not calling you stupid, 'cause you're not) Lots and lots of fantasy literature is pretentious (oooh! Look at how dark and disturbing I can be!) that's also enjoyable.

And as for "doing it better," I will not hesitate to say that it comes straight from reading much of these heady books.:smallwink:

I just think it's a point of view thing. Books are entertaining, but they're also there for education, of sorts.

[averagejoe]

Well, I actually have read/have been meaning to read most of the books mentioned here, and I have enjoyed most of the classics I've read. I used to love to be challenged philisophically by what I read, it's just been a long time since I've read a bood that did challenge me in such a way. Maybe I'm just prematurely jaded, or something. For now I'll have to settle for clever prose and creative narrative stylings.

I'm going to go read about linear algebra now.

[ZombieRockStar]

Ah. Sorry. I thought you might have thought that literature sucks because you had some bad HS English teachers.


Anyway, back on topic - I have a feeling I should mention something by Michael Ondaatje, but I can't pick out a particular book of his. As a writer, I find him brilliant, but the books themselves don't completely stand out. The English Patient, I guess, though I really like Anil's Ghost. But I've given my five. I'm jsut saying that you should consider Ondaatje.

[averagejoe]

No, I've never let high school english teachers hold the sort of power over me as to control what books I like. If anything, I'll like the books just to spite 'em. Although, your assumption is understandable enough.

Well, keep in mind that I was making my argument to support certain books, not necessarily to discount any. Most of the books I dislike for these reasons are very obscure, simply because the better ones do have something else to offer that holds my interest, and I can usually ignore the fact that they're trying to make me a communist, or whatever allegorical musings the author is going on about. The problem is that it's more difficult to bring up the better examples in my arguments precisely because they're more obscure. I'll deffinitely try out wossname, though, once I have a free moment.

Geez, math is just not holding my attention tonight.

[Don Julio Anejo]

The basic pretext behind your argument is that you can classify readers into two basic categories. Those who mostly read for philosophy (in this case Amotis and Zombie) and those who mostly read for the plot (Joe).

I personally read for philosophy. I like connections, symbolism in books and I actively look for it (subconsciously). And I usually see the writers intent of writing a book. But that doesn't mean I don't like reading for plot. I love Tom Clancy for example (one of the few authors that I have a good book collection), but I usually find these novels forgettable.

You on the other hand see the philosophy and why it could be good, but it just isn't your thing. And there's nothing pretentious with the philosophy approach or "pop culture" with the second approach. It's just that different people subconsciously are attracted to different things.

[McBish]

I like Enders Game, I'd say it is in my top ten, I enjoy the story and the characters. I enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd book of the Ender saga a lot to (Speaker of the Dead and Xenocide)), maybe more than the orginal but that was the book that brought me into the story so... Anyways yeah if you look at just Ender's Game it could be a meh novel, but I think with the often overlooked follow ups you can find plenty of stuff below the surface. I'm also looking foward to the upcoming book.

Anyways my top 6

1. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide- all the books in one with a great introduction. I own this book and love it so much, the writing is great and the characters are fun to watch. This book is how I judge if people. If they have read this book they are good people, otherwise they have to work a little harder.

((At this point it is sort of a mish mash of stuff.))
2.American God's or Neverwhere- depending on my mood.

3. Good Omens.

4. Snow Crash

5. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead- Better than Hamlet, and not just because I hate Hamlet. Oh and before you think I hate Hamlet because I was forced to read it in high school, I have read it several times and enjoy many of Shakespears works. But I didn't like any of the characters in this play.

6. Open spot. I'm too wishy washy to make a solid list.

[Amotis]

What if we read for both? What if one makes only the other better?

[Closet_Skeleton]

What if we read for both? What if one makes only the other better?

But... but...

It's harder to be defensive against you if you're reasonable like that?

[Adygias]

The Cattle Raid of Cooley.
The early Socratic dialogues.
Gilgamesh, as translated by John Gardner and the other guy, I forget his name.
Till We Have Faces.
On Beyond Zebra.
Hitchhiker's Trilogy, minus Mostly Harmless.
Freddy's Book.
The Eyre Affair.
Probably some other stuff.
Oh, and the Upanishads and The Ramayana. I've only read excerpts from the Rigveda, but that looks awesome too.
And the Bible. With Apocrypha. 1 Enoch is one of the creepiest books ever.

@McBish: What's so wrong with Hamlet? I don't think anyone who likes it really likes the characters much...

[Robberbaron]

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Can't believe I forgot that one.

[Amotis]

My over romantic side springs from that book. (That and Dumas).

[AdrianoIank]

Dune, by Frank Herbert, sequels included, is my choice.
Following that...
At the Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft, and about everything else from him...
Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice, none of the sequels, with the possible exception of "The Vampire Lestat", and mostly the Marius stuff...
Compilers: Principles, Techniques and Tools (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compilers:_Principles,_Techniques,_and_Tools), Alfred V. Aho, Ravi Sethi, and Jeffrey D. Ullman. Software developer, here :smalltongue:
Discworld, Terry Pratchett.

[SDF]

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Can't believe I forgot that one.

Ooh, that is a great book. That and Mists of Avalon.

Recently I've been reading some Bukowski.

[Mr Croup]

Recently I've been reading some Bukowski.

His prose or verse? I love his poetry, but I can't get into his prose. The disjointedness of his poetry works for me, and is a big part, if not the biggest, of why I like it. The same thing in his prose drives me crazy though.

[kuja.girl]

The following books by Neal Stephenson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Stephenson#Literary_works) will always top my list of favorite books/series. While not easy books to read, (massive vocabulary, complex sentence structure, huge casts, complex plots, etc) - you'll never forget them.

Other fav - William Blake

Snow Crash, is well, unique. I've never seen a story that compares without seeming liek a 3rd rate copy. It's a story that combines cyber-punk, religion, and science in a seamless mesh. If that doesn't grab you, then just read the opening 2 paragraphs, about a pizza delivery "boy" in the near future (http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/105-5267543-0513233?ie=UTF8&p=S005&asin=0553380958).
The Baroque Cycle (3000+ pages in 3 vols.), combines historical fiction, cryptography, alchemy, science, and mayhem into 3 volumes. It also contains the story of, what I consider to be one of the literary world's best characters, "Half-Cocked" Jack Shaftoe.
Cryptonomicon, (Prequel, but chronological child of, The Baroque Cycle.) Tons of cyphers, code breaking, adventure, math, and history mixed with explosions and disaster. Follows the descendants of the Shaftoe & Waterhouse families (Baroque Cycle) during WWII and "present" day.

Note about Cryptonomicon & The Baroque Cycle - while vastly entertaining, these books illustrate how the evolution of communication, codes, and code breaking, changed the world through out the past centuries.


I hated Portrait of the Artist. Trying to read it melted my brain so badly that I almost failed English.
lol there are worse books but yes, that's not one of my fav's.

[Adygias]

Where do you start reading to get into Lovecraft?

[averagejoe]

What if we read for both? What if one makes only the other better?

Well, then fantastic, but I don't see how that's relevant. I was never saying it's either or, I was saying that the one element is irritating irreguardless of the other.

[Sundog]

Where do you start reading to get into Lovecraft?

That's tough; all of his pieces are stand-alone, though clearly set in a single universe, so there's no real start point.

I would suggest starting with The Shadow Over Innsmouth, followed by The Rats in the Walls, The Thing on the Doorstep and The Dunwich Horror. Avoid The Case of Charles Dexter Ward until you have gotten used to Lovecraft's writing style - it's his only full length novel, and quite a bite if you're not used to his style.

I personally think his best work is probably At the Mountains of Madness, but save that until you're ready.

[Wippit Guud]

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Hands down the best fantasy series ever put to paper (and soon-to-be TV series, I hear). Four books out so far, and I've still yet to figure out who are the heroes and who are the villains.

Red Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, not only the best science fiction series ever put to paper, but by far the most believable science fiction ever. (other two books are Green Mars and Blue Mars).

Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. If World War 3 were to have happened in the 80's, this would definitely be a realisitic view of how it might have happened.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This one is a classic.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - already detailed to death.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. This one is a hard fnord book to read, I'll admit that, but it's the defining conspiracy theory book out there, and while The DaVinci Code is easier to read, this Trilogy is a while lot harder not think that there may be some semblance of fnord truth.


Honorable mention: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. Go watch the video for "One" by Metallica, note the clips throughout from a war movie - this is the book it was based off of.

[averagejoe]

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Hands down the best fantasy series ever put to paper (and soon-to-be TV series, I hear). Four books out so far, and I've still yet to figure out who are the heroes and who are the villains.

Heroes=Starks

Villains=Lannisters.

Although, I've only just started the third book. But, at least from here, it seems pretty obvious. I hear Jamie is supposed to have some revealing revalations, but an *** with good reasons for it is still an ***. (Not to offend the ***es out there, but come on.) But don't tell me what happens, that's just how I see it.

[Wippit Guud]

Heh. Read book 3.
You'll get a whle new view of Lannisters.

[averagejoe]

Bah, I say, bah! I'm about a third of the way in and I haven't seen anything yet. Anyways, Jamie threw an eight year old boy out a window. I mean, come on. He's the kingslayer for heaven's sake. And he keeps calling the awsome kick-butt lady knight "wench," which is totally uncalled for and inflamitory. I hope Arya rips him a good one.

Plus, Eddard didn't like them, and he was awsome covered in chocolate.

[Mr Croup]

Where do you start reading to get into Lovecraft?

I think Sundog gives some good solid advice here. The Shadow Over Innsmouth and The Rats in the Walls are both great intros into Lovecraft's style and world. I'd also say that Pickman's Model and Call of Cthulhu is another good starter. In addition to Sundog's advice about The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, I'd say that the Randolph Carter stories (The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Silver Key, and Through the Gates of the Silver Key) are the only stories that you should read in sequence to get the full effect. The Carter stories are some of my favorites, though I don't think that thought is universal. I'm actually in the preproduction phase of creating a film adaptation of The Statement of Randolph Carter right now. It's one of the first of Lovecraft's stories that I read (The Rats in the Walls being the first), and it is largely responsible for my love of his work.

[Don Beegles]

Heroes=Starks

Villains=Lannisters.

Although, I've only just started the third book. But, at least from here, it seems pretty obvious. I hear Jamie is supposed to have some revealing revalations, but an *** with good reasons for it is still an ***. (Not to offend the ***es out there, but come on.) But don't tell me what happens, that's just how I see it.

Not really. I mean, look at Danys, she's certainly a heroine, and she's not a Stark, and it's not a spolier for even the first book to say that Tyrion is a hero despite being a Lannister. As for villains we have, well Freys Cleganes Grayjoys (and not all of them) Boltons (who are Stark's men) and many others Besides, who is what can change rather quickly, Jamie does start redeeming himself, I think. I know he doesn't get absolved for pushing Bran, but he rather has a change of heart after he loses his hand, and I think antagonizing Brienne is both a response to her early harshness, and then, later, a way to show how tough he still is. He's trying to assert his strength, because he knows he really doesn't have it anymore.

[zachol]

Lovecraft... I'd just find an anthology and skip around a bit in it. That's really what I did.

Personally, I love the "Dream Cycle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Cycle)," especially The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, though that one's a bit long.

[J_Muller]

Tom Swift Jr series by Victor Appleton II
Fun old children's science fiction.


Ah, the pseudoscience. Quite fun. My dad read these when he was a kid, and saved them for his kids to read. I must have read all of the ones he had about 2-3 times over. I'll be saving them for my kids.

[kuja.girl]

Where do you start reading to get into Lovecraft?

I got about half way through a Lovecraft anthology before I got bored.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the witting and the stories but they're just all so similar that I needed to take a break. His vocabuary seems rather limited at times (i.e. "eldritch" is used a bazillion times) but his imagination is grossly vivid.

Still, it was worth the $8 I paid at a used book store.

[Ishmael]

In the long time that I've lurked the boards, there's been many of these posts. I am going to answer this one, as it sounds fun.

My favorite works? Well, the Literature, the more pulpy books, I have to make a choice!

Literature

Lord Jim, Conrad. Great book, and beautiful to read. The prose is elegant and graceful. The book is like a truffle, rich and layered.

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky. I really enjoyed this book. I love Alyosha. A little orthodox, but brilliant interplay with pre-Fruedian elements.

The Idiot, another Dostoevsky. Less brilliant that the former book, but still good, and slightly more aligned to Dostoevsky's apparent existentialism.

Heart of Darkness, Conrad. Morbid and depressing, the book (well, short story, really) was concise and amazing. Good on many levels.

The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger. Good book, about maturity, etc. A book for every adolescent.

Oedipus Tyrannus, Sophocles. I have a penchant for tragedy. It's great. The message is a little morbid, but the conclusion about epistomology is good.

Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky. I'm a big fan of Russian literature. I used to like Nietzsche before I read the book, and I do not anymore.

Moby-****, Melville. I can't even articulate my feelings on the book. It is so utterly complex and overwhelming it makes my body tingle.

Tolkien, especially The Silmarillion, is great. He is the master of fantasy.

A Song of Ice and Fire has addicted me. I read A Feast for Crows in three days. Aside from Tolkien, perhaps even more so, Martin enfuses actual meaning in his works, especially regarding power, identity, existence, and the validity of rule. I can't wait for A Dance With Dragons. I am actually rooting for Jaime now. Not for Lannister, but him. Jon Snow is by far my favorite character.

Hmm...other works worth mentioning. I can't think of many at the time. There are a lot, but I can't remember them. I keep meaning to go into reading cyberpunk and more postmodern literature, but I just received a list from my English teacher about a deal more really good fantasy authors. Alas! Alas! Alas!

[Deleran]

Taught me how to think (http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/classics/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375415036).

[knownaspirate]

I read alot of fiction, but slowly, very slowly I'm expanding my bookshelf.
Something I read (not too recent but it's still good nonetheless)

The Crimson Star-- Dale Broda, I have a signed copy, and the author is a friend of mine. Not many people have actually read the book, and I don't really know how to sumerize it without giving anything away if you are going to read it.

I'm a sucker for the Harry Potter books. I really want the 7th one to come out, I wouldn't be sad if Harry choked. The series could go on without him, but you know, whatev :)

Also The Lord of the Flies
Death Be Not Proud
Wuthering Heights
A Tale of Two Cities
I Heard the Owl Call My Name
Johnny Depp: Modern Rebel

I also like a lot of Stephen King books, Eyes of the Dragon being a personal favorite. Let's see, anyone remember Animorphs? That was my series back when I was 12, have all the books. (LAME) =)

Then ok after this I'm done, R.A. Salvator. I've only read a few of his books. Has anyone also read the War of the Spider Queen series? I LOVE these books. I'm actually begging my b.f (who is also my DM) to start up a campagin just to allow me to play a Drow.

Ok. That's K.A.P.'s book list. It could go on but I'll stop.
*woot*

[averagejoe]

Let's see, anyone remember Animorphs? That was my series back when I was 12, have all the books. (LAME) =)

That totally takes me back. It was actually a pretty good series, and somewhat advanced reading considering the intended audience. Plus it was just cool. They did begin to get too episodic, though, and kinda started to reach for plot, so I quit reading them somewhere around middle school. I always kinda regretted not finishing the series.

[Amotis]

Ha! I have all the Animorphs! (at least the ones back then) I was totally into Animorphs and Redwall all during elementary school. I blame all my nerd-ness springing from those two series. As well as wanting to be a hawk or Ax or something.

[Don Beegles]

Ye Gods? Animorphs, and Redwall. That takes me back. Actually, for some reason, I was thinking of the former just the other day. We were talking in AP bio about muscle contraction and how once Tropanin is removed Myosin hooks into Actin, etc. It triggered something, and I turned to my friend, who ius also a nerd, and asked him what those spikey things from Animorphs were called. Oh,Hork-bajir, how you kicked ass.

Oh, and I just read The Brother's K. It was, well, amazing, to say the least, but I'm not really sure I absorbed it all. There was just so much, and I couldn't write in it, so I was left feeling like I'd missed some of the philosophical goodness that was hidden inside.

[Robberbaron]

Animorphs, never read them, but sure wish someone would buy them, could use the shelf space for other stuff, same with R.L. Stine, wish we could get rid of them.

[zachol]

Animorphs and Redwall were the bomb.

I think Redwall was the "bedtime story" of choice, along with Kipling, when I was growing up.
Which was... about 8 to 10 years ago.

[BrokenButterfly]

Weird hearing people reminisce about series I used to read, and also still have. Really enjoyed the Animorphs and Redwall books, but I preferred Spooksville to Goosebumps.

Anyway, my favourite book is "Battle Royale" by Kaushun Takami. Everyone's probably seen the film or read the manga, but I read the book first, and it's much better than the other media adaptations.

But out of recent stuff I've read I enjoyed "Kung Fu High School" by Ryan Gattis, and I'm certainly gripped by "Cell" by Stephen King at the moment.

[Jorkens]

His vocabuary seems rather limited at times (i.e. "eldritch" is used a bazillion times) but his imagination is grossly vivid.
I read a great comment about Lovecraft to the effect that although his ideas were great, "his style has come in for criticism, partly because whenever something's a bit hard to describe he describes it as indescribable."

Great, great ideas, though.

Six of my favorites:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Has anyone else read this? It's got really interesting ideas about exploitation, six good stories and a cool nested structure. Top stuff.
Crash by J G Ballard. I really want to read more Ballard. I've only read this, which I love, and Super Cannes, which I hate. Note: this book may offend the sensibilities of people who don't like graphic descriptions of sex, car crashes, and combinations of the two.
Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. Everyone talks about how significant this book is. Noone mentions that it's also really really funny. If you have the right sort of sense of humour.
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - I'm quite tempted to learn Spanish just to read this in the original.
V. By Thomas Pynchon. Also very clever and very funny.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Bit out of step with my other picks style-wise, but basically great.

Oh, and an honourable mention for Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, which aren't really literature but are about the most colourful, inspiring, beautiful, readable guides to anything ever.

[thorgrim29]

Damn... you people are more classical minded then I am....

Favorite books....
-The trilogy of five by douglas adams (you know... Hitchikers guide to the galaxy, though I havent read mostly harmless yet)
-Bernard Werber's work, at least what I've read of it... exept maybe "nos amis les humains", less Werberish IMO
-Most of RA Salvatore's books, in particular the drow trilogy, clerics quintet, icewind dale trilogy and the hunter,s blade trilogy
-I LOVED the first Dune novels, but the two last ones were uninterresting for some reason, the Dune prequels by Herbert's son and Kevin Anderson are really good too.
- The white company and Sir Nigel by Conan Doyle
-All of the Harlan Coben books I've read
-The Slayer novels by William King, great work, hav'nt read giantslayer and orcslayer yet.
-A song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin (the bordgame rocks too)
-All of Davis Edding's fantasy novels, though they tend to follow a pattern (kid, brutal guy, wise guy, beautyfull and wise woman, sneaky guy.....)
-The Firm by John Grisham
-Agatha Christy's Hercules Poirot books (must read them in english someday)
-The Mysterious Island by Jules Vernes
-The Lord of The clans, by Christie Golden (Thrall's history before Warcraft III)
-The halo novels (hav'nt read Ghosts of Onix)
-The Sword of truth novels by Terry Goodkind (though the series started declining after Faith of the fallen)
-The Elminster Books by Ed Greenwood (exept Elminster in hell)
-White fang, the call of the wild, and smoke bellow by Jack London
_the flemming bond novels

Thats about it, a bit long but I read a lot so....

[Don Beegles]

It looks like you've read a lot, Thor, and you might do well to look at more of the Literature stuff; it's not really as scary as it's made out to be, and a lot of it can be both enlightening and entertaining.

I'd recommend you start with Cyrano de Bergerac (Raise your hand if you didn't guess I;d say that) or maybe something by Alexander Dumas, because they're not really artsy books. They're the sort of thing that you might enjoy reading if it were by a new author, and they'll show you that old books aren't all boring.

You liked a lot of Jack London, so maybe you could give The Seawolf a shot. It's got a bit of philosophizing in it, and it's not that hard to figure out so it could be a jumpoff point into reading other books that make you think.

And then, once you've given those a shot, if you're still interested in some good stuff, try The Brotehr's Karamazov, and something by James Joyce. I've heard Ulysses is great, but it's a daunting task to read - I never have - so maybe A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man would be better.

[Jorkens]

And then, once you've given those a shot, if you're still interested in some good stuff, try The Brotehr's Karamazov, and something by James Joyce. I've heard Ulysses is great, but it's a daunting task to read - I never have - so maybe A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man would be better.
My experience of Ulysses was that I could tell something very very clever was going on, but even with the aid of a copious references section I wasn't getting more than a tenth of it.

Dubliners is top stuff and quite accessible - that'd be my recommended starting point for Joyce.

[thorgrim29]

I was actually considering Cyrano and the 3 musketeers, and since i'm actually a french canadian I can even read the original. And, yea, I read a lot, actually scared people when I read Jules Vernes books in 3rd grade (and i DO mean integrally), and I have around 2 or 3 hundred books in my room, plus at least as much in a box somewhere.

[Don Beegles]

Good, Thor. Do it, give in and read them. You won't regret it, trust me. After that you can try some of the other things I mentioned, maybe some Hugo or something, or maybe you can decide it's not worth it and go back to fantasy. Either way, I suggest you at least give it a shot, because you never know what you'll think until you try.

[Mr Croup]

My experience of Ulysses was that I could tell something very very clever was going on, but even with the aid of a copious references section I wasn't getting more than a tenth of it.

Dubliners is top stuff and quite accessible - that'd be my recommended starting point for Joyce.

QFT.

The Dubliners is always what I recommend for an introduction to Joyce. It's far more accessible than his novels, and the short story format makes it less daunting than diving into a novel. I love Joyce, but I am saddened by the fact that I know I'm missing something when I read him. I'm just glad I had the chance to read some of his work multiple times in my academic career.

[Amotis]

First literature I read was Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Grey. I loved it and never looked back.

(I did read 1984 back in like the 4th grade but I didn't get anything from it then the fact they had sex and the government was mean or something.)

[Mr Croup]

First literature I read was Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Grey. I loved it and never looked back.

Amotis, I was curious if you are more of a fan of his novels and short stories, or his plays? Or do you like both equally? I'm always surprised at the number of people that like one, but don't care for the other.

Personally, I love Wilde, though I think his best work wasn't ever written, but simply the persona he cultivated.

[Amotis]

I acutally didn't know about his awesome personality until many years later. I just thought it was an awesome book. I haven't read much of his short stories but I do enjoy his plays (especially the Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest). So I guess you can say I like both (along with his poetry).

[Mr Croup]

Fair enough. If you haven't, I'd suggest picking up a copy of this. (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780451524355&itm=41) It's a great collection of some of his short fiction.

Also, I read a couple of reviews a few years back of The Aesthetics of Self Invention (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780816634187&itm=3), which is about Wilde's influence on a number of artists including David Bowie and Truman Capote, and the creation of his persona. It's supposedly a worthwhile read, but I've never picked up a copy myself.

[Don Beegles]

Oscar Wilde, eh? I've been thinking about reading summat by him. I read Dorian Grey, and then moved on to otehr stuff, but I read some Shaw recently and I had a vague notion that Wilde would be good stuff as well. Does he have anything particularly good, or is anywhere a good place to start?

[Mr Croup]

Does he have anything particularly good, or is anywhere a good place to start?

Well, it depends on what you're looking to read. For fiction, The Picture of Dorian Grey would have been my recommendation. But, since you've read that, I'd suggest the collection of short stories I mentioned above. If you're interested in his plays, you can't go wrong with either The Importance of Being Ernest or A Woman of No Importance. I'm more partial to Importance, but both are good introductions to his particular brand of wit.

[Robberbaron]

If you can read French, look up Gaston Leroux, most of his stuff is in french, he wrote Phantom of The Opera, and a series of detective novels, I've only read Phantom, but heard the detective books are pretty good. Also Rafael Sabatini wrote originally in French, I believe, his works are excellent. Dumas is very good, Three Musketeers and Counte of Monte Cristo are his best, the sequels to Musketeers were ok, but not as good as original. Dunno how easy those books are to find in french, Dumas is easy in english, Sabatini's being reprinted somewhat in english, but Leroux can be quite hard to find in english outside of Phantom.

Oscar Wilde is an odd character, but a decent writer, Dorien Grey was pretty good, Importance of Being Ernest was pretty funny, read one or two of his other plays, can't recall their titles though.

Hercule Poirot's one of my favourite detectives, just today a lady brought in an almost complete set of Agatha Christie's works in the padded leather bound type, keeping all but the Miss Marple's for myself, not particularly fond of Marple, so not going to the expence of buying them. Wish someone would bring a complete padded leather bound Louis L'Amour set, that'd be awesome.

I wasn't reminiscing about Goosebumps, I just want someone to buy them and get them out of the store.

[Ted_Stryker]

Having just re-read them, I had forgotten how much I liked Katherine Kurtz's The Harrowing of Gwynedd and King Javan's Year. Those two books might be my favorite fantasy novels of all.

I think I'd also tab Beowulf as another favorite. I have the Burton Raffel, Howell Chickering, and Seamus Haney translations.

I'd also pick Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. Good stuff.

EDIT -- thought of another one, The Problem of Hell by Jonathan Kvanvig. It's a pretty thought-provoking book, although we are strictly forbidden to discuss it, here. :smallwink: