the best book (or series) ever?

[Mass_Liberal]

I'm gonna have to say Lord Of The Rings. Kinda unoriginal, I know.


What's your fave book of all time.

[ikojo]

1. If it's the truth then who cares

if it is original or not.

FRODO LIVES!!!

[neverborn]

2. The Silmarillion

hands down

[roguevalley]

4. can't disagree. for taking me away from the crap world, hands down

The silmarillion is a blast. I wish the world
had started from music. Maybe we'd be less
creapy than we are.

[neverborn]

5. The music of the Ainur...

indeed.

[Demonaut]

50. always good for a reread, try the unfinished tales yet?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. Harry Potter

and the count of monte cristo

[Supply Side Jesus]

6. Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan

BUT...I am peeved about his last 2 books. Cross Roads of Twilight didn't accomplish much, only set up the next book to be huge, ONLY to write a prequel on the next book.

The the Mars trilogy IS really FUCKIN good. Leftist tendancies with a heavy dose of science. Half-way through the Blue Mars.

[Darranar]

24. Same here...

though I did enjoy New Spring (despite the delay it will cause) Crossroads of Twilight wasn't up to the same standards as the others.

[Khephra]

29. If you're a dissatisfied Wheel fan

You should really check out George R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. Actually, it's called The Song of Fire and Ice, but GoT is the first book. I was stalling on Wheel book 6 and then I read Game.

I've never gone back to Wheel. Martin does in one book what it takes Jordan at least 3 to do. The characters are deeper with massive shades of gray, the story is more realistic, and it feels like a real world. MANY main characters die, unlike other fantasy series, which adds a level of suspense because you never know if your favorite characters will survive or not.

[Xithras]

35. There are no hero's in SoIaF

George R.R. Martin isn't writing your typical "Here's our heroes. Watch them kill ogers. Yay for heroes!" fantasy novel. The SoIaF series is written more like a set of history books...he's telling the tale of an ancient conflict in an imaginary world. Like real history, people are neither good or evil...they are shades of gray driven by their ambitions and goals. Good people die in battles, and the bad can gain, or lose, power by a twist of fate. Like the real world, there are few truly good people, and few truly evil people, and they tend to be marginalized by the masses of gray people simply looking to further their own interests.

I want book 4 :(

[neverborn]

46. Yes!

I love WoT but SoIaF is my favorite.

All I did, I did for HOuse Lannister.

[Darranar]

42. I couldn't stand the Song of Ice and Fire...

Not really sure why - the series just never clicked with me.

I finished the first book and half of the second and simply couldn't go any further.

It is a little more realistic than the WoT, but if I want reality I read pol-sci. Fantasy is my escape.

[UnAmericanJoe]

52. Odd

I was just going to post almost the exact same thing.

I thought it was okay but it just didn't click with me either. I struggled through book one and maybe 2 chapters of the second before giving it up.

I'm going to go back and give it another go. It's too well regarded to not.

[Supply Side Jesus]

48. I've heard of that, but wasn't informed of the author's name

THANK YOU!! I'm buying that one tomarrow!

[alittlelark]

45. Hubby is so into the series that he gets the new ones at publication $$

I found the series obvious and shallow.......but I will not tell hubby (love him!!).

[UnAmericanJoe]

53. Mars

I've always wanted to pick up that series.
I'm going to go buy Red Mars tomorrow I think.

[TheMightyFavog]

7. Aubrey/Maturin Novels

Good ol' Patrick O'Brian!

[silver state d]

8. Moby Dick

i have a 10 inch tattoo of the white whale on my right arm

[MrSlayer]

9. DragonLance Chronicles and Legends

I grew up on LOTR but I prefer DragonLance because it is set exactly in the D&D format. Raistlin Majere is one of the best characters ever created in any genre.

[Mass_Liberal]

21. I dig em'

I've grown up with them as well. I've read them all. I love the kender. They are so annoying. I love how they always go around innocently stealing everything.

[Darranar]

25. Another great series n/t

[Khephra]

10. Dune

I love the Rings movies, but the books always left me cold. Dune, however, lived and breathed for me.

Runner up: The Illuminatus Trilogy (with all the associated books)

Second Runner up: Philp K Dick's Valis Trilogy

Third Runner Up: Brust's Vlad Taltos books tied with The Eternal Champion books by Michael Moorcock.

[Demonaut]

11. In its Genre...Neuromancer

by William Gibson

[Supply Side Jesus]

14. damn...good choice.

Gibson is awsome. The cyberpunk genre scares the hell out of me.

[Supply Side Jesus]

13. i couldn't get into the 2nd one...

I tried for about 15 pages but gave up. That was like 10 years ago, I should give it a shot again.
What do you think of those prequel books coming out?

[Khephra]

16. I may read them if I ever have to take a long flight

But I haven't heard good things about them.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

39. I assume your'e talking about the Dune prequels?....

Read House Atredies, House Harkonnen, House Corrino and got halfway through The Butlerian Jihad. The first three books are alright, but they won't win any more readers. Towards the end of the third book, I was wanting it to end. IMHO, the story gets a bit cumbersome and will only appeal to hardcore Dune fans. Brian H.'s writing style is OK, but he's not the storyteller his Dad was, and I have read a shitload of FH books. I've read the Dune series at least twice. I'm such a geek.

[LanternWaste]

12. I'm torn...

I'm torn. On one hand I *do* want to say Lord of the Rings, but then I always find myself going back to The Chronicles of Narnia also. Both seem to attempt to establish the same fundamental truths about man and his existence, and both use fantasy as the vehicle, but the two paths each take are so completely different in tone as well as in format that by the end of each, both seem as far apart in worlds as, well... I don't know.

As an aside: Wouldn't it be great to have been a fly on the wall when Lewis and Tolkien were at one or the other's place, reading their works to aech other for criticism?

[SheilaT]

15. The Laura Ingalls Wilder books.

Those of you who have only seen the crappy series "Little House on the Prairie" have no idea how wonderful they are. It's a somewhat fictionalized biography of a pioneer girl whose father could barely support his family, but who loved them dearly and never even thought of abandoning them, as easy as it might have been. They survived droughts, crop failures, plagues of locusts, malaria, and scarlet fever (which left the oldest blind) and hung together throughout it all.

I've been reading the books since I was seven years old -- nearly fifty years now, and every single time I read them I get something new out of them. In the early years I identified very strongly with Laura. Once I had children of my own I suddenly noticed that I identified with Ma and Pa. As I've gone through my life, I've changed and my perception of the books has changed.

Two other books I've read many times are Replay by Ken Grimwood and Time on My Hands by Peter Delacorte. They are both wonderful, and I wish a good movie could be made of each.

[K_Jellyfish]

20. I remember those books!

My sister used to read me those books when I was a child. I still love rereading them today. The TV series really didn't do the books justice. I'd say it's the best series of books I've ever read. :7

[ldf]

17. the series i enjoyed the most

clan of the cave bear.

i haven't read the last one, but did read the first four.

excellent.

[bikebloke]

18. Bernard Cornwell has a few

For popcorn swashbuckling, there's the Richard Sharpe series. Then his recent Grail series and Arthurian trilogy.

Bryce Courtenay has an Aussie epic. (The Potato Factory, Tommo & Hawk, Solomon's Song) I read the middle one first, then the last. The first is sitting on my shelf awaiting my next holiday triip. If that ever occurs.

[Mass_Liberal]

22. I love the Sharpe series

but feel like such a douche for liking them. They are all the same in structure. But I love em' anyway.

[MrScorpio]

19. Gilgamesh

It lasted this long for a reason

[Mass_Liberal]

23. I read that in school

couldn't stand it. Just random events stacked up upon eachother. Arggle.

[Zorro]

26. The Alexandria Quartet by Laurence Durrell

It's THE masterpiece of modern English literature.

It's part love story, part mystery, part conspiracy all rolled into 4 separate yet related novels in wartime Egypt. Durrell's prose is stunningly rich and dazzling as he delves into the nature of love and relationships.

It's a must read that deserves a space on a thinking person's bookshelf.

[El Supremo]

27. The Mark Twain series on PBS about 20 years ago

Puddinhead Wilson (my favorite)
Innocents Abroad
The Mysterious Stranger
Life on the Mississippi (absolutely great)
Brief History of a War... something or other
Huck Finn

Am I missing any?

I think Minnesota PBS was the producer.

[Xithras]

28. Song Of Ice And Fire ranks up there

My favorite series are still LOTR, the Enders Game series, and the Dune books, but the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin will certainly rank up there with these greats...whenever it gets done. There are currently three books in the series, each weighing in at about 1000 pages, and promises of two or three more on the way.

One warning for the Martin uninitiated: Reading this series right now will drive you insane. George R.R. Martin is a fantastic writer who has turned traditional fantasy on its ear, but the SoIaF series is much like LOTR in that it's multiple books telling a series of long, intertwined stories. Since the stories are not yet complete, you WILL go nuts when you hit the end of the third book and realize that ALL of the story threads are left hanging for book 4. Like LOTR, it's really one long story. Unlike LOTR, it's not finished yet so you CAN'T run out and grab the next book when you finish the current trilogy.

If you're patient and are looking for a well crafted fantasy novel, give it a try. Even without the end, it's an awesome story. If you're impatient, wait five or six years until the series is complete and buy it as a boxed set. Keep in mind, however, that Martin has been working on these books since 1996 and has only released half the story...it could be a LONG wait.

[Dogmudgeon]

30. The Vedas?

Or maybe Kalevala, a Finnish/Sami epic poem cycle.

I'd also put Sweet Valley High up there, just for sheer volume.

--bkl

[NewHampster]

31. Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett

Must admit I've read the Lord of the Rings 4 times thru, The Foundation Series twice and love many others.

Pillars of the Earth is an incredible story about real people and their relationship to their work, their church and the ground they walk on. Not at all typical Follett and a truly magnificient work.

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault and Testimony of Two Men by Taylor Caldwell are right up there too.

[Demonaut]

38. good choice

[Doctor_J]

32. Chip Hilton

There were like 23 of them in the series, and I loved them when I was a kid.

[democratreformed]

33. "The Stand" by Stephen King

What can I say, I have them ALL.

[southerngirlwriter]

36. I read this for the first time in January of this year.

Terrifying, soul-chilling, thrilling, and intriguing all at once.

After I read it, a friend rented the DVD's of the mini-series, and we watched it all in one sitting. I thought it was okay but didn't come close to doing the books justice.

However, that scene with Larry Underwood sitting on the hood of that car playing his guitar and singing "On the Eve of Destruction" with the city burning behind him....... :wow: :wow: :wow:

Also, the opening sequence with all the dead people and the song, "Don't Fear the Reaper" gave me nightmares. Very powerful.

[Reverend_Smitty]

34. My favorite book...

Gotta say that either Catch-22 or The Great Gatsby is my favorite book...can't decide...so I'll say that they are my 2 favorites...lol, but those are the only books that I have read multiple times

[NewHampster]

37. And Lest I forget the greatest Sci Fi Ever

Foundation

[CrownPrinceBandar]

40. Long live Harry Seldon!!!!.......eom

[Ophelia]

41. Hamlet

[tkmorris]

43. Best series (plural)

I can NEVER pick a favorite book or series. I am one of those people thats loves books so much he has a whole gaggle of "favorites", which is on top depends on which I'm currently reading :) Anyway, here's some series that go on my list:

Riverworld series- Philip Jose Farmer

Ringworld series- Larry Niven

Foundation- Isaac Asimov, already mentioned.

Rama series- Arthur C Clarke

Future History/Howard Families books- Robert Heinlein. Yeah I know, it's cliche but this is still good stuff.

OK enough Sci-fi. I have to mention a few other authors that I will always read every word of, no matter what they write.

Tom Robbins
E.L.Doctorow
Larry Brown (Note: If you have never lived in the deep south he may not make much sense to you. If you have, wow.)

And I still feel guilty for all the books and authors I've left out. There are so many!

[Ysabel]

47. too many...

but i enjoyed this a lot:

The Brothers of Gwynedd: Comprising, Sunrise in the West, the Dragon at Noonday, the Hounds of Sunset, Afterglow and Nightfall...

by Edith Pargeter (AKA Ellis Peters)...

- ooops - i think i posted this in the wrong space...

[alittlelark]

44. George R R Martin

Game of Thrones and all that has followed. Love the series, but HATE the fact that the author is incapable of publishing on time.


WE ARE DESPERATE!!!!

[montana_hazeleyes]

49. I love so many books but,

"To Kill A Mockingbird" had a big impact on me when I read it in the eighth grade.

[Fleshdancer]

51. I love the Alex Delaware novels by Johnathon Kellerman

I'm also fond of the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell...psychological thrillers are my favorite kind of novels.

However, my favorite book of all time is hands down Memoirs Of a Geisha. LOVED that book. Still hard to believe it was written by a Caucasian male.

[Marius]

54. My favorite book(s) of all-time...The Vampire Chronicles.

I love the Anne Rice collection of vampire novels. I haven't fully read all of them (I've read Interview With the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and Queen of the Damned). I'm still working on Memnoch The Devil. I'm definitely looking forward to the other five of the Vampire Chronicles. Then it's off to the new Vampire Chronicles!