What is the best book you have ever read?

Muaddib1116 said:
Glory Road is great. I feel like you can't mention Heinlein without mentioning Starship Troopers. My favorite of his.
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I agree.... For me, Glory Road was a sleeper that cheered me up immensely when I first read it. This is probably my favorite Heinlein novel, although there are so much more to choose from, including Starship Troopers.
 
The Civil War a Narrative (Vols. I-III) by Shelby Foote
Six Armies in Normandy by John Keegan
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
 
macknife12 said:
1984 by George Orwell
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You don't need to read it, because we are living it now. :p

My suggestion: "The Design of Everyday Things". I showed it to a vice president where I previously worked, and he bought copies for the entire engineering staff. Needless to say, I was not very popular with the engineers. :(
 
lostzebrastripes said:
This.

Dune is absolutely the best.

Also Fahrenheit 451 is a must read.

Stephen King's Dark Tower is also a must.
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The Dark Tower Series is amazing...

I tried not to finish the seventh so fast but it was so good...I must read them again.

One of my favorites though is Night Shift, and Different Seasons, too. So much of his work is good!!

As for the last couple though meh
 
The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance , by Herman Wouk
Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T E Lawrence
Shogun, James Clavell
Caravans, James Michner
 
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A Rumor of War, by Philip Caputo.
Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.
"Hell, I was There!", autobiography of Elmer Keith.
 
Yes Pillar's or the earth by Ken Follet is an excellent journey through the history of the British isles.

One of my favorite books, as I have many, " The Covenant " by James Michener along with many of his other works.

The slip cover from the hard bound edition I was ready is were I got my Rhino head Logo from.

Michener writes a historical fiction like no other! You'd swear all the people and events must be real!
 
Sharp Steel said:
You don't need to read it, because we are living it now. :p

My suggestion: "The Design of Everyday Things". I showed it to a vice president where I previously worked, and he bought copies for the entire engineering staff. Needless to say, I was not very popular with the engineers. :(
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Completely agree.
Thanks for the ref. Will check that out.
Also, being a fan of Orwell, a good book to read is "Why Orwell Matters" By Christopher Hitchens.
Cheers
 
I second the suggestions above for Stephen King's Dark Tower series, Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth, and anything by Neil Gaiman or Hermann Hesse.

My favorite book of all time is Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche.
I'd also recommend Darian Leader's Stealing the Mona Lisa, Leonard Schlain's Art and Physics, Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything, and anything by Andrew Vachss.

If you're into poetry, read Edmond Jabes. If you're not into poetry (or if you are), check out Jeffrey McDaniel.
 
My Amazon wish list is filling up thanks to y'all! I'm definitely ready for the next time I get a gift card, haha.
I'm a little over half way through 'Wolves of the Calla' which is book 5 in the Dark Tower series and I definitely agree with everyone else, this series easily grabs and holds your attention! A Song of Ice and Fire is definitely a great series as well.
When I'm looking for something strange and good for a lot of laughs I'll usually reach for Chuck Palahniuk. I've read Fight Club, Choke, Invisible Monsters, and Survivor and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. If you like that type of book, 'Apathy and Other Small Victories' by Paul Neilan is a personal favorite.
 
I'll second "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. First book that I read twice. Can't go wrong w/any of his books though.
First book that I read 3 times, "Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley.
"Midnights Children" by Salman Rushdie is another that I've read twice. Also someone who does no wrong in my eyes. Takes a bit longer to read w/all the foreign (to me) words.
"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand is long but good.
The funniest book I've ever read was, "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" by Bill Bryson. I read that while on a navy ship and my roommates wanted to kill me as I laughed out loud and shook the racks w/my laughter.
I used to read Stephen King, and did enjoy the "Dark Tower" series, but grew tired of it about the time he left the characters stranded at the end of one book. I've not gone back to see how they got out of it.
Other classics that I love:
1984
Animal Farm
To Kill a Mockingbird
A Clockwork Orange (get the full book, initial US releases were short a chapter)
Lord of the Flies

Surprisingly good author: Steve Martin. I've enjoyed everything I've ever read by him.
Toilet reading: Dave Barry. He is a columnist out of Miami and his books are generally collections of his articles, all very funny. Since they are articles, you don't get trapped in a chapter so you can wipe and get out of there!
 
A book that I could un read, easy, The Idiot by Dostoevsky. Seemed really good until the last chapter when all of a sudden it fell to bits and the guy turned out to be (sorry for the spoiler but it is already in the title!) AN IDIOT!!!! :S

If you like bowie knives then To The Last Man by Zane Grey is a highly enjoyable read (or if your a natural born cattle man at heart, being a sheep man this book cut some pretty deep wounds)
 
muphasta said:
I used to read Stephen King, and did enjoy the "Dark Tower" series, but grew tired of it about the time he left the characters stranded at the end of one book. I've not gone back to see how they got out of it.
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I read the Dark Tower series as he was writing them, and he took so long between books that I decided then and there that I was never going to start reading a series again until the complete series was finished, or the author was dead.


muphasta said:
Toilet reading: Dave Barry. He is a columnist out of Miami and his books are generally collections of his articles, all very funny. Since they are articles, you don't get trapped in a chapter so you can wipe and get out of there!
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I love Dave Barry. Here is one of his funniest articles.
 
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