Your Favorite Book? [Archive]

gta_bmx

05-31-2009, 05:07 PM

What's your favorite book -- fiction or non-fiction? I'm trying to find some new books to read that I may have never even heard of, so I started this thread. If you were stranded on the proverbial desert island, which book would you bring along?

Mine would be Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. It's about the inherent beauty and usefulness in understanding the objective properties of materials themselves, and that many people are scared of objectivity and thus hide in their subjective fantasy worlds. So at once, this book is a philosophical treatise, material science/physics primer (of sorts), a travel book (coast to coast motorcycle trip that actually occurred), and about Pirsig's relationships to his friends and family. Great book.

tokenuser

05-31-2009, 09:11 PM

Mine would be Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. It's about the inherent beauty and usefulness in understanding the objective properties of materials themselves, and that many people are scared of objectivity and thus hide in their subjective fantasy worlds. So at once, this book is a philosophical treatise, material science/physics primer (of sorts), a travel book (coast to coast motorcycle trip that actually occurred), and about Pirsig's relationships to his friends and family. Great book.I read this as a teen when I went away on a week long fishing/camping trip with my father - so the timing was appropriate both for age and location. Its one I would recommend to anyone to read.

My favourite book (which I really need to reread again) is Les Miserables. Heavy going, but monumental story.

ariastar

05-31-2009, 09:50 PM

Angela's Ashes. It's been an inspiration to me. Non-fiction. McCourt's life kept me inspired through homelessness to get my ass back up instead of giving up.

hellhound

05-31-2009, 10:22 PM

Riverworld series by Philip José Farmer (the 2 part Scifi channel movie didnt do it justice). It had a different perspective on how historical figures should/could be judged, and if (history is written by the victors) their biographies can be viewed as fact.

rabidbadger

06-01-2009, 03:25 PM

Geek Love (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_Love)

quantumblink

06-01-2009, 06:10 PM

I read this as a teen when I went away on a week long fishing/camping trip with my father - so the timing was appropriate both for age and location. Its one I would recommend to anyone to read.

My favourite book (which I really need to reread again) is Les Miserables. Heavy going, but monumental story.

Les Mis is one of my favorites, excellent story...

My recommendation isn't a hidden gem, but I'll go with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series...

I also really enjoy Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged

I'll probably be back to name a few more :D

quix

06-01-2009, 07:36 PM

I don't know that it's my favorite, but I recently enjoyed reading How to Win a Cosmic War.

bigshotprof

06-01-2009, 09:12 PM

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

someaudioguy

06-01-2009, 10:14 PM

I'm such a nerd, but I'm re-reading World War Z for the third time. I can't say it's my favorite book of all time, but it is really good.

rabidbadger

06-01-2009, 10:30 PM

Catcher in the Rye.

gonzooo

06-02-2009, 11:41 PM

tokenuser

06-02-2009, 11:59 PM

Related: I'm going to start reading either "Neuromancer" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer) or "Snow Crash" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash) right now. I haven't read either of them before and I'll likely read both this summer. I'm not sure which one to start with; I'm leaning towards "Snow Crash".Neuromancer is a good read, but short ... make sure you have access to Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive to complete the trilogy.

I also like The Difference Engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Difference_Engine) that he coauthored with Bruce Sterling. This is an alternate reality novel where Charles Babbage got his Difference Engine to work, and brought a mechanical computer age to Victorian England. I am not sure whether this was inspired by Steam Punk, or it inspired Steam Punk ... but it fits that genre.

quantumblink

06-03-2009, 07:17 PM

"The Art of War" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War).

Related: I'm going to start reading either "Neuromancer" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer) or "Snow Crash" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash) right now. I haven't read either of them before and I'll likely read both this summer. I'm not sure which one to start with; I'm leaning towards "Snow Crash".

Stephenson does an excellent job with "Snow Crash".

Don't know if it's gaining new-found popularity or what, but I've heard it mentioned many times in the past couple weeks. Was a Jeopardy clue a few days ago as well.

-mk-

06-03-2009, 07:39 PM

Stephenson does an excellent job with "Snow Crash".

Don't know if it's gaining new-found popularity or what, but I've heard it mentioned many times in the past couple weeks. Was a Jeopardy clue a few days ago as well.
You'll finish Snow Crash within a week. It's that good and easy to read. Have The Diamond Age on standby.

tokenuser

06-03-2009, 07:55 PM

You'll finish Snow Crash within a week. It's that good and easy to read. Have The Diamond Age on standby.If you are on a Stephenson binge, I'd also recommend Cryptonomicon.

rokov

06-03-2009, 08:06 PM

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

-mk-

06-03-2009, 08:07 PM

If you are on a Stephenson binge, I'd also recommend Cryptonomicon.
I love Stephenson and for the life of me I cannot finish this book. I've started it 3 times. I think it has something to do with my being so confused when the Qwghlm part comes around. I seem to lose interest after that. I'll try again soon.

scoobydiesel

06-23-2009, 10:03 AM

The Rising by Brian Keene.

But at the same time he has alot of other great works too.

hellhound

06-23-2009, 11:45 PM

not 1 book... but the Riverworld series by Jose Farmer, that was made into a shity Scifi channel 2 part movie.... the books delved into some real metaphysical/religious/transcendental theories that were too deep for a 2-part, 4 hour movie to delve into.

jade_gl

06-24-2009, 04:13 AM

Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

gta_bmx

06-24-2009, 11:09 PM

Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Watership Down is a great book. My dad read that book to my brother and I when I was 10 years old. He also read us Grapes of Wrath and many other great books.

Another book that is a close second to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for me is the non-fictional Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. It covers the couple of years that he spent as a ranger at the Arches National Park in Utah.

murphy1d

06-25-2009, 06:25 PM

There's Intellectual Favorite (Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson) and then there's Fun Favorite (Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice).

guytheninja

06-25-2009, 07:21 PM

My favourite book (which I really need to reread again) is Les Miserables. Heavy going, but monumental story.

I'm reading the Complete Sherlock Holmes. I've read the first story "A Study in Scarlett" so far, and I intend to read all 1000 pages in the book (boy is it going to be a while).

So Token, Les Miserables is a very large book. How do you read it without burning out?

tokenuser

06-25-2009, 07:32 PM

So Token, Les Miserables is a very large book. How do you read it without burning out?Via a curse inflicted upon me by my 6th grade school teachers.

I speed read.

This is both a blessing and a curse. When you speed read you get the meaning, but you often miss the subtleties.

I liked Les Mis for a very non-obvious reason though - the language in the book slowed me down. Being a period piece, with an elaborate writing style, it was harder to speed read (though I was still quick) but slowed me down enough that for the first time in a long time I actually got to "read" a book instead of skimming it. Dracula, Frankenstein (sad story, forget the movies, the book is moving), and The Count of Monte Cristo also slowed me down.

Cryptonomicon slowed me down a little as well.

guytheninja

06-26-2009, 05:35 PM

This is both a blessing and a curse. When you speed read you get the meaning, but you often miss the subtleties.

I liked Les Mis for a very non-obvious reason though - the language in the book slowed me down. Being a period piece, with an elaborate writing style, it was harder to speed read (though I was still quick) but slowed me down enough that for the first time in a long time I actually got to "read" a book instead of skimming it. Dracula, Frankenstein (sad story, forget the movies, the book is moving), and The Count of Monte Cristo also slowed me down.

Cryptonomicon slowed me down a little as well.

LOL, I love that Cryptonomicron name.

I can see how Les Miserables and the Count of Monte Cristo could lend themselves to speed reading (I mean why did those authors make their books so freaking long?).

However, I just finished "A Study in Scarlet", the first Sherlock Holmes story, and I don't think those stories are able work well with speed reading. The Sherlock Holmes stories are all about details.

tokenuser

06-26-2009, 06:05 PM

However, I just finished "A Study in Scarlet", the first Sherlock Holmes story, and I don't think those stories are able work well with speed reading. The Sherlock Holmes stories are all about details.I have the complete Sherlock Holmes collection around here somewhere. Its been a long time since I read them. I read them in late highschool at around the same time I was reading the Agatha Christie novels.

I never throw books away ... so I have pretty much every paperback I ever bought, so its around here - or at my Mums place back in Australia -somewhere.

Another author who writes in a style that slows me down is Anne Rice. Loved here "Vampire" series, but the one that hooked me in even more was the "Witches" series. All good, but I keep coming back to Les Mis being my favourite novel.

rabidbadger

06-26-2009, 10:13 PM

The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan. (http://www.amazon.com/Illuminatus-Trilogy-Pyramid-Golden-Leviathan/dp/0440539811/ref=pd_cp_b_1)

Can't beat a time traveling flying dildo!

guytheninja

06-26-2009, 10:58 PM

I have the complete Sherlock Holmes collection around here somewhere. Its been a long time since I read them. I read them in late highschool at around the same time I was reading the Agatha Christie novels.

I never throw books away ... so I have pretty much every paperback I ever bought, so its around here - or at my Mums place back in Australia -somewhere.

I don't think I have ever read an Agatha Christie novel before. Are the books good?

Also, I'm starting the next story "The Sign of Four" today in the Complete Sherlock Holmes. I think the reason I have this 1000 page hardback book is because I had to read the "Hound of the Baskervilles" for school and I couldn't find a single paper back :D.

quantumblink

06-26-2009, 11:11 PM

I don't think I have ever read an Agatha Christie novel before. Are the books good?

Most are freakin awesome. Read my first Christie book in 6th grade and was hooked since. It started with "Ten Little Indians". Definitely check out her books if you're into the genre.

I've got the Holmes Collection as well, I don't think I ever finished. I jumped around a bit and read some of the more known ones, but still pretty fun reads.

dam7ri

06-27-2009, 09:15 AM

Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War" is easily the best book I have ever read. I have read everything by Clive Barker, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft, and of all of them, the best was King's "Needful Things", but it is easily surpassed by "The Chocolate War", in every respect. There is some stuff by Nathaniel Hawthorne that comes close (even Henry David Thoreau comes close), but "The Chocolate War" is the best book I have ever read.

How good is it? I've read it five times, and when I can't find anything to read, the first book I look to is (you guessed it) "The Chocolate War".

murphy1d

06-27-2009, 03:27 PM

How good is it? I've read it five times, and when I can't find anything to read, the first book I look to is (you guessed it) "The Chocolate War".
I thought Tay Zonday wrote it? :)

guytheninja

06-29-2009, 05:15 PM

Most are freakin awesome. Read my first Christie book in 6th grade and was hooked since. It started with "Ten Little Indians". Definitely check out her books if you're into the genre.

I may indeed do that, but it will be a while before I can read them. I just finished "A Sign of Four" btw and I am now on "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".

tommyfullington

07-01-2009, 05:16 PM

Dune Messiah

demonol

08-19-2009, 03:52 AM

Bridge to Terebithia

quantumblink

08-19-2009, 05:19 AM

Can't believe I didn't think of this the first time around.

My favorite book ever might be Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The writing is so incredible and illustrated and he just plays with words and all kinds of double meanings.

It's a short book, but not an easy read in my opinion. Gets better and better with each read.