Your Favorite Books

Ron Raducanu

Ron Raducanu

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Feb 10, 2021
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Needless to say, there are tons and tons of amazing books. I won't mention the Tolkien books, because, I think, they are a given. I also enjoy Preston and Child novels a lot, but here are my personal favorites. Please add to the list!

"The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. Probably my favorite book of all time. Historical fiction at it's finest. I hated the show they made out of it. Don't base this book on that.

"The Shell Game" by Steve Alten. If you like political thrillers, this is a must read. Also fiction (or is it?). A frightening account of 9/11 and our reliance on Middle Eastern oil. This isn't a horror novel by any stretch, but it should be.

"11/23/63" by Stephen King. Again, don't judge this book by the TV Series. I think Stephen King's best. Fiction.

"The Cobra Event" by Richard Preston. If COVID scares you, this book will terrify you. Fiction, but the background and some of the backstory are real. Incredible stuff.

Your turn!
 
It's impossible for me to pick favorite books. What was a favorite in the '70s would not be in the mix today. I read a lot, mostly for entertainment and if a book is really good I'll pass it on to friends. I don't read book reviews, don't follow trends but do follow certain authors. Some of today's favorites:

C.J Box - the Joe Pickett series
Preston and Child as mentioned in another thread
Craig Johnson - the Longmire series
Books about the history of the West. Jeff Guinn, David Roberts, Craig Childs and others
Hampton Sides is probably my favorite author. "Ghost Soldiers" , "On Desperate Ground", "Blood and Thunder" to name a few.
 
“The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time”, by Jonathan Weiner

“Beautiful Swimmers: Waterman, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay”, by William W. Warner

“The Shipping News”, by Annie Proulx

All three of the titles are Pulitzer Prize winners, and I’ve read each of them multiple times, over the years
 
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I doubt it my favorite, if I could ever pick a favorite, but The Winter of Our Discontent by Steinbeck was something I would recommend to people if asking for something to read.

An extremely powerful and insightful book about human nature.
 
"A Tale of Two Cities," "Foundation," "The Nature and Destiny of Man," "Free to Choose" and "John Adams" are some of my favorites in different genres. But in my life, I've read a lot more plays and short stories than long-form books. I love Poe, Doyle, Shakespeare, O Henry . . . I still think "The Lottery" is the greatest piece of fiction I ever read.

And actually . . . I've probably read "Good Night Moon" more than any other book.
 
The Amazing Virginian said:
I love Poe...
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My daughter's high school drama teacher wrote a play that was various scenes from Poe novels turned into a story. Her high school drama department put it on the stage. It was incredible. I think he's trying to get it adapted for a bigger audience. If you love Poe, I'm sure you would enjoy it.
 
Ron Raducanu said:
My daughter's high school drama teacher wrote a play that was various scenes from Poe novels turned into a story. Her high school drama department put it on the stage. It was incredible. I think he's trying to get it adapted for a bigger audience. If you love Poe, I'm sure you would enjoy it.
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Thanks. That sounds like a great idea, and I would love to see it. Poe is my favorite writer - so many great, original, stories and written so well.
 
Over the years I have read many books. One read in high school twice then again this year. For pure enjoyment;
- The Talisman, Stephen King and Peter Straub.

Then self improvement choice is;
-Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.
 
Without a doubt, my favorite book is the The Count of Monte Cristo, the unabridged version. I have read it several times on various summer beach trips. I enjoy finding little nuances I have never noticed before!
 
Heavy reads:

Dante's Inferno - Dante Alighieri. I had the privilege of studying this work with the most renown contemporary author, Charles Singleton, in my college days. If you have the time and patience, it will blow you away. Try to get Singleton's discontinued text. It has the most authentic English translation with explanations, to help you understand.

Moby Dick. Herman Melville. Another investment in time but an amazing read. Gave me chills

lighter reads:

Steven Saylor's novels based on historical accounts in ancient Rome. Start with "A Gladiator Dies only Once"

"Don't make me cry, Roy - Adventures in Interviewing." Roy Firestone. A must for sports fans

"In Cold Blood" Truman Capote. I read this as a young man and it still haunts me

"Lone Survivor" - Marcus Luttrell. Riveting. Much better than the movie

"Jaws" - Peter Benchley. see above
 
+1 on Moby Dick. I reread it almost every year.

Have a look at Memoir From Antproof Case" by Mark Helprin. I have decided it is a humorous map of Helprin's political thought, which disturbs me because while I find most of his politics odious, I love the book.

Lives Of The Monster Dogs by Kirstin Bakis. A wonderful novella, it is a modern gothic horror story that is a meditation on what separates humans from animals.

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. A study of manhood in the form of a journalistic take on Eustace Conway, the NC born "modern mountain man". But this was written before Gilbert's Eat Pray Love fame, before Conway's fifteen minutes of fame on reality TV, and really showcases how good a journalist Gilbert was (and is).

The Elizabethan World Picture by E.M.W. Tillyard. A short monograph, not cutting edge anymore (was it ever?), and not riveting, but it does a lot to help put one in the heads of how 16h and 17c thought works (which, considering our discussion of aesthetics earlier, might be fun for you).

Quintessence: The Quality of Having IT by Betty Cornfield. This one, also relevant to our aesthetics thread, is just fun. It's a picture book that tells brief tales of industrial design using objects we all know. Bic pens, Steinway pianos, Polo shirts, etc. Out of print, but Amazon can find you one, for sure.

Lots more, of course, but these are books I come back to often. Happy reading!

Zieg
 
Ron Raducanu said:
My daughter's high school drama teacher wrote a play that was various scenes from Poe novels turned into a story. Her high school drama department put it on the stage. It was incredible. I think he's trying to get it adapted for a bigger audience. If you love Poe, I'm sure you would enjoy it.
Click to expand...

The Amazing Virginian said:
Thanks. That sounds like a great idea, and I would love to see it. Poe is my favorite writer - so many great, original, stories and written so well.
Click to expand...

It has been done more than once, but the stage can always use another. I saw one at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, I think it was Nevermore but hey it's almost 50 years ago!

Scenes from Poe's stories and poems can make a very effective play about Poe himself. That works much better than trying to dramatize a favorite story of his. Claude Debussy wasted almost two years at the end of his life trying to turn The Fall of the House of Usher into an opera. All we have are fragments. Philip Glass completed an opera The Fall of the House of Usher which I saw in 2013. Not recommended. Reread the first paragraph of The Fall and you will see that Poe's muse was not Melpomene. But his life reflected in his writing makes great theater.
 
I am rereading "The Saga of Andy Burnett" by Stuart White. I have been reading this historical fiction since I was 9-10 years old - 55 years now. I usually reread it once a year. I wore the first copy out. The novel is composed of 4 books condensed into 1 totaling around 1200 pages. It starts with a fascinating chapter on the development of the Kentucky long rifle and follows Andy in the late 1820's as a young man participating in the American fur trade, opening up the American West and eventually settling in California. Stuart White was a contemporary of Theodore Roosevelts and from the sounds of it, lived close to the life described. It was copyrighted in 1930 and is a different read than how books are written today. Have read many of Ruarks books. I enjoyed the Hornblower series. I like to dig up my philosophy textbooks for a little light reading (hah!). I read a lot of science fiction over the years along with L'Amour. No romance novels.
 
My favourite paperback.

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As you can tell by my signature line, I am a sci-fi fan. I have a particular fondness for Heinlein.
 
Anthony Bourdain : Kitchen Confidential
Bill Bryson: A short history of nearly everything
Slash : Slash
Sebastian Bach : 18 and Life
Marcus Luttrell : Lone Survivor
Edward Snowden : Permanent Record
 
I love horror! My favorite is Clive Barker's "The Damnation Game". It is the stuff that nightmares are made of.
 
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