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The Best Book You've Ever Read?

Neko

New Member
This may be an old thread but just out of curiousity I'd like to know what is the best book you've read so far and could you tell us something about it?
I'm looking for new books to read and since I'm going for a long trip I might need a lot of suggestions, so I'd appreciate your help in finding some good travel books.
Thanks already ^^
 
im sorry to not know your tastes in books so ill give a few differant books that were kind of differant but all could be considered my favorite

boys life, robert mccammon, was a great story about youth i read it in just a few sittings

salems lot, stephen king, after i read this i couldnt believe i waited so long to pick it up. it was the only book ive ever read that made me get on up out of bed and turn some lights on for a few minutes

Michael Crichton, timeline, was really fun action book that started off a little slow but once it got started was really a fast read plus it has swords and horses and mid evil stuff, and im into that kind of stuff

brotherhood of the rose david morrell, this is the first book of three but they can be all read by themselves, there kinda like spy suspence storys that arnt too long and fun to read. i really like these books and the author

well those are the few id figured id mention to you, i really like all of the aformentioned books anything from the authors are great in my opinion so i hope maybe i gave you a good idea of somethings to take along with you
 
Best book for a trip

I'm looking for new books to read and since I'm going for a long trip I might need a lot of suggestions, so I'd appreciate your help in finding some good travel books. ^^

How will you travel? My method for choosing travel books is to seriously consider suitcase space. I never take hardcover books of any value or any book that I treasure and would hate to lose. (I lose things on trips.) For me, the best is a stack of slighly battered secondhand paperbacks. Then as I read I either discard or pass on to another traveler. This opens up space in the suitcase for the stuff I buy on the trip.
 
Thanks liktareadmore63! I'll be considering some of those books to take with me or even a few.
You don't have to worry about my preferances since I'm constantly looking for new kinds of books to read :) But just to give you a hint, I've recently enjoyed Kurt Vonnegut, Terry Pratchett, Souseki Natsume and some of the classics like Alessandro Baricco's Silk [the first one that comes in mind].

And about the trip itself. I'm going to Plymouth, England to work for about 7 weeks so I'll need some books for that. Even some hardcovers will do good since I won't have to carry them around all the time.
Though you do have a point about the paperpacks. But it doesn't really matter which books you suggest because I'll probably look for a secondhand bookshop and buy some books once I get to Plymouth and then sell them once I leave.
That is of course, the ones I don't fall in love with.
 
Evan S. Connell: The Diary of A Rapist

It is a clever and largely unknown book with some of the best writing I've ever seen. Oh, and there is only one suggested rape.

Malcolm Braly: On The Yard

Kurt Vonnegut said that this is the great American prison novel. I agree with him.
 
Thank you for your suggestions.
I'll have to try to find them once in England since I doubt I'll find them in Finland which is really a shame.
Maybe I'll have to move to get to the books I want to read :>
 
Here are a couple of others that wouldn't be hard to find:

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (suspense/literary)

Dune, Frank Herbert (science fiction)
 
Those are really easier to find ^^'
If I'm lucky I'll have time to go and borrow them from the library so I won't have to buy them.
I would buy them but I'm a student which should explain why I don't just go and buy them.
But thanks for the idea :D They're definitely going to come with me [either from the library or the bookstore regardless of my low budget].
 
Here are a couple of others that wouldn't be hard to find:

Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury (suspense/literary)

Dune, Frank Herbert (science fiction)

Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. I love Fahrenheit 451 and The October Country. The OC has the best short story I've ever read. It is titled The Scythe.
 
I need to read more Bradbury. The strength of language in Something Wicked This Way Comes just blew me away. It was poetic, but direct and accessible.
 
The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
It is so much better than most of his more popular works. It is, by far, my favorite piece of fiction.

Intesity by Dean Koontz
The name says it all. I read it in one sitting.

The Shining by Stephen King
My favorite book of his to date.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz , but from her viewpoint.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The story of Bilbo Baggins prior to The Lord of the Rings series.

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Such a classic tale.
 
Well, I might try to read Poe but I've read at least one of his books already and eventhough it was well written, it just didn't seem to do anything for me.
But I think I could give him a second chance.
And it's strange that you suggested King's The Shining and Tolkien's Hobbit since I've been thinking of reading both of them [since I've basically read most of the other books by King and Tolkien just not those two] but just haven't for some reason which is kind of embarrassing ^^'
If I have time I might get Wicked and Intensity as well eventhough I'm a bit skeptical about Koontz.
 
For the record, I am NOT a Koontz fan. I've read 2 other books of his and disliked them greatly. Intensity, however, had me on the edge of my seat, chewing my fingernails down to nubs. I just couldn't put it down.
 
best fiction ive read to date is khaled hosseini's kite runner, it really thugs your heart and its hard to put down in every sitting, theres no more than a couple of pages of monotony in between climaxes of that book, and it has a lot, its really a fast read...great til last page....his follow up book is good but nothing that can upstage the former...

another good non fiction read is blink by malcom gladwell....its a celebration of instincts and first impressions..when to follow them, how u can harness it thru examples of people who rely on them..e.g. athletes, cops, bodyguards etc..

lastly, night by ellie wiesel..his bio on concentration camp ww2,hard to believe at first a book this thin can deliver, but its guaranteed to hit the spot!! .............hope this helps:)
 
Fools Die - Mario Puzo

This is a great book. It really examines life and how corupt people can be. It has a good meaning and a good ending. At times this book may be hard to get through, but wow the twist and what the author does is simply amazing. It is a must read IMO.
 
Hmm, a couple of my favourites:

The Stand by Stephen King - a read page turner (IMO) and an easy read.

Out by Natsuo Kirino - very complex psychological "thriller" (thriller isn't really the right word for it, but I can't think of a more appropriate one), set in modern time Japan.

There are loads more I could list, but these two are probably the most "accessible".
 
his dark materials

im gonna cheat a little... this is actually 3 books...

but i think it would be his dark materials by philip pullman. i thought the development of the character, lee scoresby, in book 2(subtle knife) was very good... (sorry i was very affected by what happened to him)
 
I really like the Life of Pi by Yann Martel because it is a strange tale. I also really like Mr Vertigo by Paul Auster - a simple story but quite unusual.

Candide by Voltaire is also good - amusing, thought provoking and an easy read.
 
I have to say that the best book I ever read is 1984 by George Orwell. I have never read a more accurate allegory for the path of geopolitics. I only hope we can get off the path.
 
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