What is your single favorite book?

[funksouljon]

Was in the other book thread, and @cubsMDdmb 's comment about The Dead Zone made me curious. What other books might I need to pick up and add to the stack of need to read. Also, why is it your favorite?

My single favorite of all time is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It has been made into several moderately successfull mini-series, but never as good as the book IMO.

What I like about it..... From a character perspective, it is multi generational story that COULD be real, and has some ties to the real world as it is historical fiction. The characters are well defined and I love the struggle success, failure and then build back to a success. It is very relatable and the "bad guys" win. A lot. The Kingsbridge collection is great, but this book stands above for me. I own 2 different copies and have probably read it 5+ times throughout the years.

 

[HawkPT]

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

 

[QChawks]

 

[hawkeyetraveler]

Hmm, tough one. Top of mind candidates include:

• Shantaram
• Name of the Wind
• We Were Soldiers Once…and Young
• The Death of Ivan Ilych

Probably going with Name of the Wind as it is the most re-readable (who would read Death of Ivan Illych more than once for instance). Although Rothfuss will never finish the trilogy.

These all left an indelible impression on me.

 

[ButtersHawk]

 

[NoleinATL]

It

 

[noleclone2]

It’s the book equivalent of the OG Star Wars - the book I have read the most times. Both are immensely fun to rewatch/read as they started it all, respectively. A certain kind of nostalgia they both recall every time.

 

[drew_hawk]

Dracula

 

[SeaPA]

The best story of revenge ever told...

The Count of Monte Cristo.

 

[ConvenientParking]

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

 

[desihawk]

Hmm, tough one. Top of mind candidates include:

• Shantaram
• Name of the Wind
• We Were Soldiers Once…and Young
• The Death of Ivan Ilych

Probably going with Name of the Wind as it is the most re-readable (who would read Death of Ivan Illych more than once for instance). Although Rothfuss will never finish the trilogy.

These all left an indelible impression on me.

dude i know raved about shantaram but his movie picks have proved to always be so horrible that i had zero trust in his literary taste. you however enjoyed name of the wind, which bolsters your recommendation with the requisite credibility i’ll have to check it out now if only to be astounded that my buddy has actually read a decent book

 

[The Tradition]

The Anarchist Cookbook

 

[DooBi]

Wizard and Glass
Dark Tower IV

 

[Moral]

The Anarchist Cookbook

That book was super out of date when I first encountered it on the 90s. Somehow the movie is even worse.

 

[Hbotus Dichotomous]

When it comes to political commentary, these are two of my favorite.

 

[h-hawk]

Recent one - Hail Mary-Andy Weir.

 

[cubsMDdmb]

Wizard and Glass
Dark Tower IV

I recently reread this series. I know some people don’t like the ending but I actually did. Roland is an epic character. I thought book 7 was very good after a sort of stagnant book 5 and 6. I also consider Salems Lot and The Stand to be part of the series. I didn’t reread the stand (I’ve read that a few times already) but did reread Salems Lot.

As mentioned above my favorite book is The Dead Zone by Stephen King as well. I’m almost done with Lonesome Dove and that is going to rival The Dead Zone, depending on how it ends up.

Another good author is Khaled Hosseini. He wrote The Kite Runner and an even better book A Thousand Splendid Suns. I put that book right up there in my favorites.

 

[cubsMDdmb]

Character development and believable dialogue are the things that make me love a book. The ones I’ve mentioned all have great characters who are believable and the dialogue between characters is very believable.

 

[DooBi]

I recently reread this series. I know some people don’t like the ending but I actually did. Roland is an epic character. I thought book 7 was very good after a sort of stagnant book 5 and 6. I also consider Salems Lot and The Stand to be part of the series. I didn’t reread the stand (I’ve read that a few times already) but did reread Salems Lot.

As mentioned above my favorite book is The Dead Zone by Stephen King as well. I’m almost done with Lonesome Dove and that is going to rival The Dead Zone, depending on how it ends up.

Another good author is Khaled Hosseini. He wrote The Kite Runner and an even better book A Thousand Splendid Suns. I put that book right up there in my favorites.

Book 5 and 6 are what stop me from diving back in. I thought 7 was excellent, including the ending. When Roland found himself alone near the end I could feel his loneliness and it was a horrible feeling.

I've read 1 thru 4 many many times but 4 most of all. It was actually the first one in the series I read. Then I went and started at the beginning after that.

 

[win4jj]

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions.
Cats Cradle.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Pretty much anything by Vonnegut is worth a read, though Player Piano is last for me, IMHO. Slaughterhouse Five is still the gold standard though. Cat’s Cradle would have to be next, then either Bluebeard or God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.

 

[Titus Andronicus]

Les Miserables

My most satisfying read anyway!

 

[cubsMDdmb]

The Wind Through the Keyhole was actually pretty good too. If I remember it was written after book 7.

That series isn’t for everyone but man there are some great story lines and very sad parts to it. And I agree about Roland at the end. Good way to put it.

 

[hawkeyetraveler]

dude i know raved about shantaram but his movie picks have proved to always be so horrible that i had zero trust in his literary taste. you however enjoyed name of the wind, which bolsters your recommendation with the requisite credibility i’ll have to check it out now if only to be astounded that my buddy has actually read a decent book

Shantaram is remarkably good. It has now been adapted into a TV series, but the book is 1,000x better IMO. A remarkable epic that paints such a vivid picture of India in the 1980s. It manages to be both beautiful and horrifying, intimate and grand. I was stunned by it.

 

[BubsFinn]

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

That's a really good one. Too bad the movie sucked.
Speaking of sucky movies made from favorite books, mine is Fahrenheit 451.

 

[bagdropper]

 

[ThorneStockton]

Hard to choose so I will make multiple posts to maximize likes. I'll start with

Confederacy of Dunces


You don't have to even know the context to realize that this is funny:

“Abelman’s Dry Goods

Kansas City, Missouri


U.S.A. Mr. I. Abelman, Mongoloid, Esq.:


We have received via post your absurd comments about our trousers, the comments revealing, as they did, your total lack of contact with reality. Were you more aware, you would know or realize by now that the offending trousers were dispatched to you with our full knowledge that they were inadequate so far as length was concerned.


“Why? Why?” You are, in your incomprehensible babble, unable to assimilate stimulating concepts of commerce into your retarded and blighted worldview.


The trousers were sent to you (1) as a means of testing your initiative (A clever, wide-awake business concern should be able to make three-quarter-length trousers a byword of masculine fashion. Your advertising and merchandising programs are obviously faulty.) and (2) as a means of testing your ability to meet the standards requisite in a distributor of our quality product. (Our loyal and dependable outlets can vend any trouser bearing the Levy label no matter how abominable their design and construction. You are apparently a faithless people.)


We do not wish to be bothered in the future by such tedious complaints. Please confine your correspondence to orders only. We are a busy and dynamic organization whose mission needless effrontery and harassment can only hinder. If you molest us again, sir, you may feel the sting of the lash across your pitiful shoulders.

Yours in anger,


Gus Levy, Pres.”

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

It’s the book equivalent of the OG Star Wars - the book I have read the most times. Both are immensely fun to rewatch/read as they started it all, respectively. A certain kind of nostalgia they both recall every time.

The Lord of the Rings series used to be my #1 fantasy. But it has slipped just behind Jordan's Wheel of Time, and just ahead of Martin's Game of Thrones (Ice and Fire).

Which is to say go for Wheel of Time (whether or not you like the TV show). First book in the series is Eye of the World.

 

[noleclone2]

The Lord of the Rings series used to be my #1 fantasy. But it has slipped just behind Jordan's Wheel of Time, and just ahead of Martin's Game of Thrones (Ice and Fire).

Which is to say go for Wheel of Time (whether or not you like the TV show). First book in the series is Eye of the World.

Funny enough around 1995 I discovered EOTW due to critic quotes on back comparing it to Tolkien. Love the series! Except for a compile there late middle of series. And picked of GOT at a books store late 90s from a quote on back about it from Robert Jordan!

 

[artradley]

The Sound and the Fury.

Distant second: The Cider House Rules

S&F is my sentimental favorite because it opened my eyes to the difference between “books” and “literature.” Cider House Rules (please don’t confuse it with the movie that was made years later) was my introduction to John Irving, who was my go-to author for years.

 

[The-Dude-Abides]

Pretty much anything by Vonnegut is worth a read, though Player Piano is last for me, IMHO. Slaughterhouse Five is still the gold standard though. Cat’s Cradle would have to be next, then either Bluebeard or God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.

I recommend Look at the Birdie to any Vonnegut fans. It's a collection of short stories that was published posthumously. Not as good as some of his best, but worth a read.

 

[The-Dude-Abides]

The Sound and the Fury.

Distant second: The Cider House Rules

S&F is my sentimental favorite because it opened my eyes to the difference between “books” and “literature.” Cider House Rules (please don’t confuse it with the movie that was made years later) was my introduction to John Irving, who was my go-to author for years.

Love Sound and the Fury. Faulkner is one of my favorite writers, as dense as his writing can be some times. As I Lay Dying is another great one, somber as it is.

 

[Tom Paris]

Was in the other book thread, and @cubsMDdmb 's comment about The Dead Zone made me curious. What other books might I need to pick up and add to the stack of need to read. Also, why is it your favorite?

My single favorite of all time is Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It has been made into several moderately successfull mini-series, but never as good as the book IMO.

What I like about it..... From a character perspective, it is multi generational story that COULD be real, and has some ties to the real world as it is historical fiction. The characters are well defined and I love the struggle success, failure and then build back to a success. It is very relatable and the "bad guys" win. A lot. The Kingsbridge collection is great, but this book stands above for me. I own 2 different copies and have probably read it 5+ times throughout the years.

The Witching Hour

 

[cubsMDdmb]

The Lord of the Rings series used to be my #1 fantasy. But it has slipped just behind Jordan's Wheel of Time, and just ahead of Martin's Game of Thrones (Ice and Fire).

Which is to say go for Wheel of Time (whether or not you like the TV show). First book in the series is Eye of the World.

I’ve read this series a couple times. Show sucks but the books are great. I think I picked the series up when maybe 6 books had been written. Then every time a new one would come out I’d restart. So the first books I’ve read a lot of times! I thought Sanderson did a good job finishing it.

 

[The-Dude-Abides]

Not sure if it's my absolute favorite, but A Tale of Two Cities is as near to the perfectly written novel as anyone is likely to ever get. Just brilliant.

 

[BrianNole777]

"Feeling Good" by Dr. David Burns.

The #1 self-help book of all time.

 

[Jimmy McGill]

I can't pick non-fiction. Too many favs

Off the top of my head fiction To Kill a Mockingbird and Debt of Honor

 

[Aardvark86]

Master and Margarita.

Coincidentally, just this am I was discussing how Pilates unforgivable sin of a lack of courage had significance both as to the religious aspect of the story but also in terms of its political theme in 30s Russia.

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

Bridge to Terabithia. 1977.

 

[l.todd]

Atonement

Lonesome Dove