Greatest book you've ever read?

[Principled Man]

Fiction: Frank Herbert - Dune, Dune Messiah, Children Of Dune, God Emperor Of Dune

 

The Ultimate in Science Fiction. Hard science meets existentialist philosophy, religion, eugenics, ecology, passion, love, hate, and above all, POLITICS.

 

http://juandahlmann.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/dune2.jpg

 

 

 

Non-Fiction: Edward Bereson; The Trial Of Madame Caillaux

 

Outstanding account of early 20th century French society and the trouble that one "irrational woman" caused by committing cold-blooded murder. From the courtroom to the newspapers that covered the crime and trial to the Frenchmen whom Henriette Caillaux enraged, this book exposes the hypocrisy of the male chauvinist Western World.

 

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/acls/images/heb02493.0001.001.jpg

 

 

[Good,bad,andrush]

1984 and farenheit 451 are great, but I always thought farenheit was better...I don't know, 1984 is more political and farenheit is more philosophical.

[IChoseFreeWill]

The Chronicles of Narnia

 

 

Not a popular answer given which forum this is. But let's just say they fit with my beliefs fine.

 

 

I listened to 1984 on audiobook. As well as to Dune- this was during a 3 day road trip.

[CMWriter]

QUOTE (IChoseFreeWill @ Mar 13 2011, 10:22 AM)

The Chronicles of Narnia Not a popular answer given which forum this is. But let's just say they fit with my beliefs fine. I listened to 1984 on audiobook. As well as to Dune- this was during a 3 day road trip.

I love Chronicles of Narnia!

I remember my first introduction to it in a Gifted program I was in in.. 4th grade. Absolutely fabulous. Really interesting symbolism in that series, especially the first book, and I think it's a great read in general. C.S. Lewis is a great writer, IMO, and I say that despite my personal beliefs.

[skalamander2112]

animal farm-orwell

the dharma bums-kerouac

steal this book-hoffman

farenheit 451-bradbury

a scanner darkly-dick

radio free albemuth-dick

 

 

way to many to list...

[WIDE-ANGLE WATCHER]

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever

 

By Stephen R. Donaldson

 

The First Chronicles:

Lord Foul's Bane ♦ The Illearth War ♦ The Power that Preserves

 

The Second Chronicles:

The Wounded Land ♦ The One Tree ♦ White Gold Wielder

 

The Last Chronicles:

The Runes of the Earth ♦ Fatal Revenant ♦ Against All Things Ending ♦ The Last Dark

 

 

A must read for Fantasy lovers.

 

A story as powerful as The Lord of The Rings.

 

Soon to be a major motion picture.

 

[Maverick]

Like most, I'll have to name a few.

 

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee

The Hobbit - Tolkien

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Siddhartha - Hesse

The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald

2001: A Space Odyssey - Clarke

2010: Odyssey 2 - Clarke

The Prince - Machiavelli

The Republic - Plato

The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara

Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara

[-Jane-]

QUOTE

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

 

WORD

 

One thing I didn't mention, and I am not sure if I have seen it mentioned here is Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath.

Leaving aside the politics, this an extraordinary book. In fact most of Steinbecks books are wonderful.

[Boots]

"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte

[psionic11]

Ah yes, Dune, great mention. Love the visuals and the plotting.

 

Jane Eyre has been made into a movie. My memories of the novel are somewhat meh. Like Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. Required reading in the 80's, and I was probably too immature to realize their greatness. Still, I'm not inclined to re-visit them, like I don't want to re-visit The Scarlet Letter either.

 

But somehow, Lord of the Flies still seems to strike a deep chord even nowadays.

[Good,bad,andrush]

QUOTE (-Jane- @ Mar 16 2011, 12:41 PM)

QUOTE Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card   WORD   One thing I didn't mention, and I am not sure if I have seen it mentioned here is Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath. Leaving aside the politics, this an extraordinary book. In fact most of Steinbecks books are wonderful. Of mice and men blows my mind every time.

[pedro2112]

I"m surprised no one has mentioned "Cosmic Bandito" with respect to comedy. Truly a classic.

 

 

[JohnnyBlaze]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 8 2011, 12:28 PM)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

These! Especially A Clockwork Orange...must've read it a dozen times.

Kerouac's On The Road was mentioned earlier. But I'd go with the original version where none of the names were changed...just seemed a bit more realistic that way.

I'd add [possibly] my favorite writer Hunter S. Thompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is superb but The Rum Diary and Hell's Angels should always be mentioned when talking about his work. It always seem like I'm right in the action when reading his stuff.

[sonictheplumber]

fear and loathing in las vegas - hunter s. thompson

tropic of cancer - henry miller

catcher in the rye - j.d. salinger

american psycho - bret easton ellis

a song of ice and fire series - george r.r. martin

lord of the rings - tolkien

watchmen - alan moore

 

plenty more

[HowItIs]

QUOTE (Lost In Xanadu @ Mar 7 2011, 11:25 AM)

The Other - Thomas Tryon

 

I thought I was the only one who read this! Feels that way, anyhow...

 

A few of mine:

 

To Kill A Mockingbird: simply the best American novel ever

The Stand: King's masterpiece

Helen Keller's Teacher: I read this as a child and it affected me deeply. I still have the copy I bought in 5th grade.

Where The Red Fern Grows: another childhood book, so well-written and touching

The Gunslinger: King's first of the Dark Tower series. Best opening line ever!

 

 

[Good,bad,andrush]

Crime and Punishment is great.

[greyfriar]

Demian - Hermann Hesse

Ghostrider - Neil Peart

Dune - Frank Herbert

 

[The_Necromancer_77]

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin was written beautifully, and I really enjoyed the interesting view on gender.

 

Although, when I was a bit younger, I thought The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was the best. It's still really wonderful. It's so easy to connect with the characters.

[RushYesZeppelin]

1984, Animal Farm, The Fountainhead, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile...

[GrandDesigner]

Very tough.

 

I'd say All But My Life by Gerda Weissman Klein

 

It's a Holocaust survivor's memoir, and it just tears me apart every time I read it. I'm deeply drawn to learning about the Holocaust and how humanity could've f*cked it up so horribly during that time.

 

There's tons of others that I might have put as well, but this one stands out for some reason.

[CMWriter]

QUOTE (GrandDesigner @ Jul 31 2011, 11:57 AM)

Very tough. I'd say All But My Life by Gerda Weissman Klein It's a Holocaust survivor's memoir, and it just tears me apart every time I read it. I'm deeply drawn to learning about the Holocaust and how humanity could've f*cked it up so horribly during that time. There's tons of others that I might have put as well, but this one stands out for some reason.

At last! Someone else who's read it!

It really is an incredible read, so I'll more or less second the above comments. It's not quite as heavy, at least for me, as Night or certainly Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account (which is chilling and I'd say important to read but not extremely well-written, as it is a memoir more than anything) but I'd definitely mark it as a must-read. It is heartbreaking but with that glimmer of hope as well (if you've read the ending you know what I mean).

 

On a side note, it makes me so sad when I see parents trying to shield their kids from reading Holocaust literature, especially when they are in middle/high school and certainly old enough to handle it. With all the crap in the media and on television we're all exposed to anyways, a little bit of truth and history, no matter how agonizing, is -- or should be -- welcome.

[The_Necromancer_77]

QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 9 2011, 05:59 AM)

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 8 2011, 12:28 PM) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess These! Especially A Clockwork Orange...must've read it a dozen times. Kerouac's On The Road was mentioned earlier. But I'd go with the original version where none of the names were changed...just seemed a bit more realistic that way. I'd add [possibly] my favorite writer Hunter S. Thompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is superb but The Rum Diary and Hell's Angels should always be mentioned when talking about his work. It always seem like I'm right in the action when reading his stuff. I couldn't get into On The Road. The plot is really weak, and I didn't like the mood, writing style or characters.   I'm not sure how it's considered such a classic

[GrandDesigner]

QUOTE (CMWriter @ Jul 31 2011, 11:56 PM)

At last! Someone else who's read it! It really is an incredible read, so I'll more or less second the above comments. It's not quite as heavy, at least for me, as Night or certainly Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account (which is chilling and I'd say important to read but not extremely well-written, as it is a memoir more than anything) but I'd definitely mark it as a must-read. It is heartbreaking but with that glimmer of hope as well (if you've read the ending you know what I mean). On a side note, it makes me so sad when I see parents trying to shield their kids from reading Holocaust literature, especially when they are in middle/high school and certainly old enough to handle it. With all the crap in the media and on television we're all exposed to anyways, a little bit of truth and history, no matter how agonizing, is -- or should be -- welcome.

I actually read it during a high school 'Literature of the Holocaust' class, along with Maus I & II and possibly a few others I cannot recall at the moment. That was an amazing class...I hope it is still offered.

 

Reading books like this is definitely a mind-opening experience. I've been to concentration camps, Holocaust museums, and read books and it never gets easier to understand just how strong some of these survivors were in the face of such brutality and inhumanity. I hope their stories are told forever, because we need to hear them.

[sonictheplumber]

QUOTE (The_Necromancer_77 @ Aug 1 2011, 01:34 AM)

QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 9 2011, 05:59 AM) QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 8 2011, 12:28 PM) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess These! Especially A Clockwork Orange...must've read it a dozen times. Kerouac's On The Road was mentioned earlier. But I'd go with the original version where none of the names were changed...just seemed a bit more realistic that way. I'd add [possibly] my favorite writer Hunter S. Thompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is superb but The Rum Diary and Hell's Angels should always be mentioned when talking about his work. It always seem like I'm right in the action when reading his stuff. I couldn't get into On The Road. The plot is really weak, and I didn't like the mood, writing style or characters.   I'm not sure how it's considered such a classic while I didn't really enjoy the book either ("we drank beer and rode in a jalopy" for 300 pages) the reason it is considered a classic is really all the reasons you disliked it. for its time, it was pretty groundbreaking and there hadn't ever been a book written like it.   plus, it earns extra cool points for inspiring cool folk like bob dylan and jim morrison.   I don't enjoy kerouac's writing at all, but I'd knock back a few brews with the guy.

[JohnnyBlaze]

QUOTE (sonictheplumber @ Aug 2 2011, 03:18 PM)

QUOTE (The_Necromancer_77 @ Aug 1 2011, 01:34 AM) QUOTE (JohnnyBlaze @ Apr 9 2011, 05:59 AM) QUOTE (ReRushed @ Mar 8 2011, 12:28 PM) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess These! Especially A Clockwork Orange...must've read it a dozen times. Kerouac's On The Road was mentioned earlier. But I'd go with the original version where none of the names were changed...just seemed a bit more realistic that way. I'd add [possibly] my favorite writer Hunter S. Thompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is superb but The Rum Diary and Hell's Angels should always be mentioned when talking about his work. It always seem like I'm right in the action when reading his stuff. I couldn't get into On The Road. The plot is really weak, and I didn't like the mood, writing style or characters.   I'm not sure how it's considered such a classic while I didn't really enjoy the book either ("we drank beer and rode in a jalopy" for 300 pages) the reason it is considered a classic is really all the reasons you disliked it. for its time, it was pretty groundbreaking and there hadn't ever been a book written like it.   plus, it earns extra cool points for inspiring cool folk like bob dylan and jim morrison. Well said. The influence and importance of that book reaches into practically every layer of 20th century American culture. And yeah, beer drinking aimlessly wandering road trips are a part of that.