What is your favourite non-King book?

[Letti]

A good book can tell a lot about life..
and it can tell a lot about its readers.

So?
What's your favourite non-King book?

[Randall Flagg]

Dan Simmons
Song of Kali

Just an unbelievable read.

The death of the baby shocked the shit out of me-it still hurts to think about it.

[OchrisO]

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

[Brice]

Dan Simmons
Song of Kali

Just an unbelievable read.

The death of the baby shocked the shit out of me-it still hurts to think about it.

An excellent book. :D Another good one of his is Carrion Comfort. There are two versions of it, a novella length one and a novel.

[John Blaze]

Shit, just one? That's too hard. I have one in each genre maybe!

But, well.....

Ender's Game. There you go, one book. It's a must read.

[Rjeso]

I've got the same problem, JB.

There's the Otherworld series, the Hound and the Falcon trilogy, the Hitchhiker's Guide books, Lord of the Rings, Far From The Madding Crowd, Scoop.... all sorts. I can't pick just one favorite book.

[VolsToTheWall]

One book, that is tough, but if I have to pick just one, I guess it would be LOTR. An older Cousin got me to read that as a youngster, so it's special to me in that way.

[Jean]

Shit, just one? That's too hard. I have one in each genre maybe!

I have about one hundred. And I also have favorite writers like Dickens or McBaine or Wodehouse, whom you just can't break into separate novels (well, you can, but it would be an act of vandalism)

if we, for example, mean favorite novels, written in English, it could be

either Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
or Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
or The Ball and the Cross by G.K.Chesterton

or about a dozen others...

[Nerak]

mmmmm...

Major toughy, there are so many to choose from.....

Let me get back to you....

[ManOfWesternesse]

The question says only one - so- Lord of the Rings.

[Candice Dionysus]

Only one? I can't do that! Can I do top five? XD
Because right now, I know that Number One would be The Chronicles of Narnia books, but I know I love more than just that on so many levels... Its not fair. XD

[Hannah]

As with almost everyone else who has posted here, I find it difficult to pick just one favorite book. Here's a couple favorites.

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
House of Stairs
Choke

[Letti]

Okay. :D You can pick more than one.

[Candice Dionysus]

Awesome!

So, aside from Narnia, which I will love forever, I also love a lot of what I've read by Mercedes Lackey, though the Mage Wars series is the best (The Black, White, and Silver Gryphon books).
I love The Secret Garden, and I adore all of Anne Rices' Vampire/Witch books.
Also, to be fair, I absolutely adore the Tarot trilogy by Piers Anthony, and the Coldfire Trilogy by C. S. Friedman (which my cousins on-again, off-again boyfriend Ciaran got me into).
And yeah. XD There we go, I got it all out.

[Hannah]

Oh! Candice you just reminded me of how much I love The Secret Garden and The Little Princess. I used to read them over and over again when I was a little girl.

[Letti]

I do love Narnia and The Secret Garden, too. :rose:

[Candice Dionysus]

Oh! Candice you just reminded me of how much I love The Secret Garden and The Little Princess. I used to read them over and over again when I was a little girl.
I haven't read that one (The Little Princess), I probably should.
Thats my nickname, actually, Little Princess. :wub: Jean gave it to me.

[wizardsrainbow]

Hmmmm

As a kid and an adult, I think I have read LOTR the most times and enjoy it the most of all.

As a kid, I loved the Outsiders by S.E. Hinton with Johnny and Pony Boy

Also, The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill

[Patrick]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


For sentimental reasons.

[Telynn]

First to John Blaze: I loved Enders Game! How many of the series have you read? Have you read the shadow series too? I looooove Bean!

Wizardsrainbow: I read The Outsiders so many times, I could quote most of the book, once upon a time. Did you know S.E. Hinton was a woman?

Candace: I loved The Griffon books by Mercades Lackey.

As for me, I guess for an absoulte fav, it would have to be LOTR. They were my passion in high school.

[John Blaze]

1. First to John Blaze: I loved Enders Game! How many of the series have you read? Have you read the shadow series too? I looooove Bean!

2. Wizardsrainbow: I read The Outsiders so many times, I could quote most of the book, once upon a time. Did you know S.E. Hinton was a woman?

3. Candace: I loved The Griffon books by Mercades Lackey.

4. As for me, I guess for an absoulte fav, it would have to be LOTR. They were my passion in high school.

1. Actually, i have every single one of the ender and bean books. I even bought the "First Meetings" book, which has alot of the backstory one some major characters, a short story on ender and valentine after they left the colony world, and the original Novella Ender's Game. I love these books.

2. The Outsider's was one of my favorite books also, I even went to the extreme of calling myself a "Greaser" and hating soc's:pirate: But, S.E. Hinton's other books, i didn't like so much.

3. I've never read the Griffon Books, Can. They do sound interesting though. Lately I've gotten into fantasy books. Have you ever read any of the Tamora Pierce books? My sister got me into those. All the Tortall books are pretty good. Tamora PIerce is an excellent writer, even though she writes mostly for adolescents, she doesn't read bad as Christopher Pike and other adolescent authors. She is a great writer. She has 4 different series I'd be sure you would enjoy, PM me and I'll give you the titles, if you are interested.

4. I didn't read LOTR until late in life, and didn't get so much into them. When I read the Eragon books, though, the difference in quality slapped me in the face. The LOTR books are much better. Eragon has an interesting storyline, if cliched, but the author and editors suck at telling it cleanly.

Well, other favorites.

Tolstoy's War and Peace
Wouk's Winds of War
Grisham's The Partner
Jenning's Aztec
Narnia Books
Buck's The Good Earth.

there's more, but those are the cream of the crop, I think.

[MonteGss]

Tough question so I'll list a few that I like.

Narnia
Vampire Chronicles
Necroscope series

[John Blaze]

tell you guys what.

a while back, the vampire chronicles used to be my favorite books ever.\

i just dont feel them, anymore.

she killed me with Blood Canticle, in fact, I don't believe she wrote it, and if she did, she must be grieving for her husband in a bad way, taking drugs and shit, because the writing on that one was way different from the first 10. 11 and 12 were ok, but Blood Canticle? No. In fact, although I own them all, the only ones I read are 1-10. Even Vittorio is better than her last 3

[OchrisO]

Well, at least she won't mess them up anymore. She only writes about the jesus now. :)

[MonteGss]

tell you guys what.

a while back, the vampire chronicles used to be my favorite books ever.\

i just dont feel them, anymore.

she killed me with Blood Canticle, in fact, I don't believe she wrote it, and if she did, she must be grieving for her husband in a bad way, taking drugs and shit, because the writing on that one was way different from the first 10. 11 and 12 were ok, but Blood Canticle? No. In fact, although I own them all, the only ones I read are 1-10. Even Vittorio is better than her last 3

You know JohnBlaze, I agree with that. The last few, Blood Canticle especially, were not that great. I thought she was going to go and cover more of the old vampires in her New Chronicles, instead she sidetracked and tried to combine the vampires and witches. Not a good idea in my opinion.
Still though, I like them overall as a series. :)

[LadyGan]

The Silmarillion by Tolkien

[sarah]

Right now my favorite books, next to the dark tower, are the harry potter books..

[John Blaze]

Monte,

Doesn't it seem to you that she didn't write blood canticle?

I hard heard rumors that her son was Ghostwriting for her there at the end, because she didn't want to finish them herself.

as for the first 10. awesome. do you have them all? I have them in a box, and I was going to sell them on ebay. If you want to pay for the shipping though, you can have them all. gratis.

[BlakeMP]

The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Yeah, the movie is brilliant. The book is better.

[MonteGss]

Monte,

Doesn't it seem to you that she didn't write blood canticle?

I hard heard rumors that her son was Ghostwriting for her there at the end, because she didn't want to finish them herself.

as for the first 10. awesome. do you have them all? I have them in a box, and I was going to sell them on ebay. If you want to pay for the shipping though, you can have them all. gratis.

I do have them all but thank you so much for the offer. I've only read Canticle once and I don't remember thinking that is was ghostwritten. It certainly is possible. I recently re-read Lestat through Pandora but stopped to read something else.
Um, the more I think on it, I guess I can see the Blackwood books kinda written by somebody else. I had read that she was tired of the vampire/witch novels and combining them into one was one way to rid herself of them quickly. Who knows?
What's your favorite? Mine is either Lestat or Memnoch I think.

[John Blaze]

memoch is awesome, but I'd have to say i like Pandora alot. and Lestat is cool too. idk, i like the first 10 as my faves
the last 2, idk. I dont think blackwood farm was ghostwritten, because at least it is in the same style as the rest.

But Blood Canticle is suspect as hell yo.

[Odetta]

Well, at least she won't mess them up anymore. She only writes about the jesus now. :)

:lol:
my jaw dropped when I first found that out. I was watching TV and saw an interview with Ms. Rice and I was shocked.

[funky dredd]

To Kill a Mockingbird

[tamez]

http://i.biblio.com/m/17/0140441417.jpg

[Glam Princess]

do you know what is under represented here??
Chick Lit...I mean easy reading with obvious and predictable characters and endings...kind of like comfort food...I like to read it when I DON'T want to think.

Oh, I am happy to admit that I really enjoy a good trashy romance every once in a while.
LOTR and DT are AMAZING reading, that keep you so engrossed that you fall in love with the characters....sometimes I like to read something ...ummm..easier!!

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books

[Jean]

When I need "comfort food", I always re-read Wodehouse or McBain. Thank God, they've written quite a lot. Now, for example, it's McBain; I got to about one third of my 87th Precinct collection, which occupies a whole shelf.

[John Blaze]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

[Telynn]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

Add me to the list! The little Harper Hall Trilogy is something I will grab and read when I don't have anything else and I want/need something to read. I love it.

[Glam Princess]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

Good to be here...I really owe you a PM.
I hope you are doing well!!:huglove:

[John Blaze]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

Add me to the list! The little Harper Hall Trilogy is something I will grab and read when I don't have anything else and I want/need something to read. I love it.

Yes, the stories of Menolly and Piemur are great fluff for easy reading. My favorite book of all the Pern books is The Masterharper, though. It's just a great story.

[B Rag]

I'd have to go with The Godfather by Mario Puzo. I give it credit as being the book that really got me into reading. So, without it, you wouldn't all have the joy of B Rag!
Wait, maybe that's not the best advertisement for it... :unsure:

[Oshia]

48 by James Herbert.
Shannarah Epic by Terry Brooks.
Otherland Epic by Tad Williams.

[Telynn]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

Add me to the list! The little Harper Hall Trilogy is something I will grab and read when I don't have anything else and I want/need something to read. I love it.

Yes, the stories of Menolly and Piemur are great fluff for easy reading. My favorite book of all the Pern books is The Masterharper, though. It's just a great story.


I confess I haven't read that one yet. And he is one of my favorite characters. I know.... I need to.

Show of hands... who cried at the end of All the Weyrs of Pern?
*Raises both hands*

[Glam Princess]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

Add me to the list! The little Harper Hall Trilogy is something I will grab and read when I don't have anything else and I want/need something to read. I love it.

Yes, the stories of Menolly and Piemur are great fluff for easy reading. My favorite book of all the Pern books is The Masterharper, though. It's just a great story.


I confess I haven't read that one yet. And he is one of my favorite characters. I know.... I need to.

Show of hands... who cried at the end of All the Weyrs of Pern?
*Raises both hands*

I LOVE to cry with books!!
I started reading her writing in Middle school...I can't believe that I still love it and rememeber it so vividly today!!

[John Blaze]

Oh, I like Fantasy, Anne McCaffery's Dragon Books
Yay! another Pern fan!

welcome Glam, it's good to see ya.

Add me to the list! The little Harper Hall Trilogy is something I will grab and read when I don't have anything else and I want/need something to read. I love it.

Yes, the stories of Menolly and Piemur are great fluff for easy reading. My favorite book of all the Pern books is The Masterharper, though. It's just a great story.
Dude, come on, I'm a manly man.

besides, even if I wasn't I'm a guy in a public forum, which means that even if I did cry, which I didn't, i'd me ashamed, which i'm not, because I didn't cry, to tell it in public.

But you know,....he was the masterharper....and then he was dead.... ::sniff sniff::

but of course, I would never, you know, cry. It's not like it was The Bridge to Terabithia.... which of course I didn't cry in either!:unsure:

nevermind.

I confess I haven't read that one yet. And he is one of my favorite characters. I know.... I need to.

Show of hands... who cried at the end of All the Weyrs of Pern?
*Raises both hands*

[ZoNeSeeK]

The Dune series.

This is amazing. Who has read it?

[Darkthoughts]

When I need "comfort food", I always re-read Wodehouse
:huglove: Me too! Jeeves is one of my favourite characters of all time!! Plus, where I live in the UK is still very much dominated by Bertie Wooster born into money types so its quite satirical for me.

Zone, I loved Dune, but was quite disappointed with the rest of the series. I even read the books his son wrote, House Harkonnen etc, but lost interest before I could finish them all.

I would go with Great Expectations (Dickens), Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) and The Hobbit (Tolkien) as my staples - other than that theres so many from so many genres.

[Jean]

When I need "comfort food", I always re-read Wodehouse
1. :huglove: Me too! Jeeves is one of my favourite characters of all time!!
2. Plus, where I live in the UK is still very much dominated by Bertie Wooster born into money types so its quite satirical for me.
<...>
3. I would go with Great Expectations (Dickens), Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) and The Hobbit (Tolkien) as my staples - other than that theres so many from so many genres.
1. :huglove: Jeeves is my favorite, too, although at times I think lord Emsworth (Blandings series) was my Twinner!

2. I can only wish that nowadays rich kids were as magnanimous and kind as Wooster was, - I only recently fully realized that's what he was, with all his fear of aunts/engagements and ignorance and all.

3. Dickens is my favorite author ever. Not Great Expectations, though; nor, come to think of it, any of his novels in particular. Just - Dickens.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is damn good... but I can never think of it as a novel, rather a very, very long poem in prose; that's what all Bradbury prose is like, though.

and Tolkien bores me like hell...
::runs away::

[Darkthoughts]

Ha ha! You should be applauded for having the balls to say you find Tolkien boring :D I prefer The Hobbit to LotR because of the lack of history lessons in it - I presume thats what bores you about Tolkien? His over involvement (at times) in his own mythology? I love the Hobbit for many reasons, one being it was the first proper book my father read to me and LotR because I think its such an English book at heart, I see it as a great fantasy adventure, but also a commentary on how English countryside (The Shire) has been ruined by industry.

As for Bertie Wooster, you're right, his heart of gold was his redeeming feature - Jeeves would never of stuck with him had it not been so. Most of the rich kids round here are more of the "cads and bounders" variety!

[ManOfWesternesse]

[QUOTE=Darkthoughts;7243][QUOTE=Jean;6906]When I
and Tolkien bores me like hell...
::runs away::
Oh! Heretic! Heretic!
We're on our way with the torches and the pitchforks!!:onfire:

[Letti]

[QUOTE=Darkthoughts;7243][QUOTE=Jean;6906]When I
and Tolkien bores me like hell...
::runs away::
Oh! Heretic! Heretic!
We're on our way with the torches and the pitchforks!!:onfire:

In that case visit me as well, please. ;)

[Jean]

Ha ha! You should be applauded for having the balls to say you find Tolkien boring :D I prefer The Hobbit to LotR because of the lack of history lessons in it - I presume thats what bores you about Tolkien? His over involvement (at times) in his own mythology? I love the Hobbit for many reasons, one being it was the first proper book my father read to me and secondly because I think its such an English book at heart, I see it as a great fantasy adventure, but also a commentary on how English countryside (The Shire) has been ruined by industry.
I believe I, too, would love it now, it had been one of the books of my childhood. Unfortunately, I read it when I was already a grown-up, and it ruined the fascination. I read it as I would any other work of fiction, and as such, I am afraid it is not very good: the characters are... I can't even say underdeveloped... rather nonexistent; so is the dialog; the worst is, he doesn't have any sense of humor, which makes it next to impossible for me to read his writings... I can - academically - appreciate the historical value, but it is not enough for me as a reader. He has everything I don't like in fantasy: all he writes is about an imaginary, artificially constructed, world only (the world being rooted in actual lore rather than author's wild imagination is a redeeming feature, though: it makes the world less artificial and more viable, at least to an extent), and I can really enjoy only the stories of living human souls. That's why I love King so much, I think.

[Telynn]

The Dune series.

This is amazing. Who has read it?


The first three are good. After that..... *splat*


http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/482/dunecatfj1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[ZoNeSeeK]

I know what you (Tel & Lisa) mean by it going off a little but Im not sure if I want to condemn it yet without rereading it. I just had a feeling I wasn't understanding it 100% and thats whats caused the confusion, maybe.

[Telynn]

Well, that was the problem. I made it through God Emperor ok, but it was kinda dull. I read the next one after that (Heretics or Chapterhouse?) and had to force my way through it. I started on the next book (again, Heretics or Chapterhouse) and realized that I wasn't retaining anything, just like the last book. So I put it down and haven't missed it at all. I can't even tell you what the 5th book was about. Nothing at all. I can tell you alittle about God Emperor so that one atleast stuck with me a little bit.

[ZoNeSeeK]

Yeah, god emperor is where he started to binge on the acid, i think :)

the last two were when the Bene Gesserit wanted to fully control Arrakis, I think? Something like that. There was some sort of resistance? Leto II was some kind of fat worm. i dont know. It sounds buggered up :) now i need to reread them :)
---


3,500 years have passed since Paul Atreides became the messiah of the Fremen and the Emperor of the universe.

I think the majority of the confusion and contunuity problems occured right there. Shifting a plot thousands of years into the future tends to fry your brain :)

[Darkthoughts]

Oh yes...the fat worm book! :D Thats where I gave up, halfway through that book. I was also totally lost and confused by it. The stuff his son wrote was less complicated, but a bit tacky - I read House Atreides and House Harkonnen (they're set around the time of Jessica's childhood, so interesting from that pov) but didn't bother with the Butlerian Jihad because the style of writing put me off...shame, I wanted to know exactly what happened during the jihad...but...oh well!

[OchrisO]

Yeah. I'm a Dune fan through the movie and miniseries. I once tried to read The Butlerian Jihad and the style made me want to stab my eyes out.


Also, I like Tolkien, and very much acknowlegde all that he did for the high fantasy genre, but I just can't handle his writing style very much. I can only read him in small doses before it starts to feel like work. :\

[Telynn]

Yeah. I'm a Dune fan through the movie and miniseries. I once tried to read The Butlerian Jihad and the style made me want to stab my eyes out.


Also, I like Tolkien, and very much acknowlegde all that he did for the high fantasy genre, but I just can't handle his writing style very much. I can only read him in small doses before it starts to feel like work. :\

I am very ashamed to admit that I do tend to skip huge parts of the more descriptive parts of LOTR. In fact it was about 3rd or 4th read before I actually read the whole battle of Helms Deep. I was like "Oh Shit! How did I miss this!!!!":pullhair:

[Darkthoughts]

^ Me too Tel :D Actually I'm not a big fan of book to movie conversions, but seeing the battles etc in the on-screen versions actually helped clarify a few points when re-reading.

[ZoNeSeeK]

Read the wikipedia synopsis on God Emperor / Heretics / Chapterhouse and it all came back to me, with the Scattering and the Honored Matres and the Bene Tleilaxu and all the Duncan Gholas.

I guess the hard part is you come to love the Atreides family by the end of Children that its hard to remain attached as it flies into the future and the typical houses have turned to dust, sort of.

[CRinVA]

Dune books 5 and 6 (Heritics and Chapterhouse) were tough but I enjoyed them; I also enjoyed the six prequels written by Bryan Herbert and Kevin J Anderson. Yes their style is different than Frank's but not a style I would want to "poke my eyes out" for. And then there is book 7 (Hunters of Dune) and the forthcoming book 8 Sandworms of Dune. It appears the story is coming full circle from the Butlerian Jihad!

There is also going to be another prequel with titles Paul of Dune, Irulan of Dune and Jessica of Dune - which gets back to the Atreides tales!

[She-Oy]

I really really enjoy Lord of the Flies.

But my all-time favorite book that I can read over and over is "To Kill A Mockingbird"....praise Harper Lee.

[Chassit]

Tolkien's trilogy, hands down.

[Letti]

I really really enjoy Lord of the Flies.

I started to read that book but somehow I couldn't finish it.. should I?

[kithereal]

Watership Down

KIT

[Erin]

Lord of the Flies is an excellent book, I loved it in high school when we read it. Along with 1984 of course.

Anyone read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood? It's another book, which like 1984 takes place in an opressive future. Women have become increasingly infertile and the few women who have had babies in recent years are forced to work as maids for rich families and have sex with the master's of their households in hope that they will become pregnant. It's a really fantastic book.

[Letti]

Lord of the Flies is an excellent book, I loved it in high school when we read it. Along with 1984 of course.

I was up to mention it.
1984... what a great book.

[sullivan19]

I've never really read anything other than a King book, but my mum has recommended Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett. Has anyone read it?

[Jean]

I really really enjoy Lord of the Flies.

I started to read that book but somehow I couldn't finish it.. should I?
I don't think so. I think it's one of the worst - from many points of view - books written in the 20th century.

I'm not crazy about 1984, either.

[OchrisO]

I really really enjoy Lord of the Flies.

I started to read that book but somehow I couldn't finish it.. should I?
I don't think so. I think it's one of the worst - from many points of view - books written in the 20th century.

I'm not crazy about 1984, either.


I'm a huge fan of noth books. Have you read the book We by Yevgeny Zamyatin? It was a big influence of Orwell's while writing 1984. Zamyatin was born in Lebedyan, I think. I started a translated version of We once, but I ended up misplacing it before I finished it. I'm just a big fan of political dystopian stuff, I suppose, even back as far as Gulliver's Travels(which I consider dystopian literature).

[Jean]

I read Zamyatin. Didn't like it in the least. Such thin artificial constructs (1984 is marginally better, because it is not as boring and makes at least some attempt to creating characters and dialogs) are, at best, mildly surprizing in the world where one could see the real experience of real totalitarian states. As literature, it doesn't work because too much effort is given to ideology. As satire, it doesn't hold water because the authors have only vague idea of what a real totalitarian society is like.

While Gulliver's Travels is great on both counts! It's eternal, man, and it's genuinely funny.

[OchrisO]

I suppose I find interest in the supposition of what could happen were government control fo society to spiral out of control due to fear and such. Honestly, Alan Moore actually does this much better in V for Vendetta, but he has the benefit of living in a much more technological age. It amazes me some of the things that Orwell wrote into his story that are very feasible, and, were a modern government to move into totalitarianism, very likely. I just find it pretty cool that he wrote about all of these ideas in 1949, especially a lot of the methods of the Though Police. Brave New World by Huxley I find interesting for much the same reason. I think the books captivate me so much(without trying to get too political here) because, while I haven't lived among anything near a totalitarian society, much of what happens in the world and my own government these days scares the shit out of em, and I am sure I don't even know about the worst of it.

[Jean]

well, I have to admit this point of view is sound. All those novels really might work as Warnings. My main complaint is that this specific genre kinda relieves the author of all other obligations. If he makes his Warning gloomy enough, he doesn't have to care of plausibility, or characters, or dialogs, or consistence, or good writing (not necessarily all that at once, of course; 1984 is very well written). As an example, you can compare Brave New World with other Huxley novels.

[OchrisO]

I'll admit that both are pretty bland character-wise, for sure. I like different literature for different reasons. Some stuff that I love has fairly bland characters, but the story fuels things enought that I overlook it. Granted, this happens more often in short stories, where character development isn't essential by any means, but it can happen in novels too. I have a deep seeded hatred for Herman Melville, but I actually somewhat like Billy Budd, though it has some of the most bland characters ever. Rappuccini's Daughter by Hawthorne is an amazing story, though the characters are very weakly written(of course this falls into the short story category).

I think that Orwell was worried about what the world could become given that he has just lived through World War II and seeing what Hitler was trying to make of the world, as well as Stalinism. There have been a lot of comparisons of Emmanuel Goldstein from 1984 to Leon Trotsky as well as the anarchist Emma Goldman. Big Brother from 1984 is physically described a lot like Stalin himself. There are also a lot of similarities in the Youth League in the books and the "Hitler Youth," as well as the Thought Police having similarities to the Gestapo and the NKVD. Given that, and the similarities between how the characters were treated in the novel and the Moscow Trials during the great Purge, I think that the characters themselves weren't developed less because Orwell wasn't a good writer, and more because there were meant to be allusions to then modern groups and people to make a point.

He actually changed the name of the book from The Last Man in Europe to 1984 partly because the original title because it implied a level of heroism in the main character, and I think he wanted the character to be a normal everyman sort of character.

[Ruthful]

I read Zamyatin. Didn't like it in the least. Such thin artificial constructs (1984 is marginally better, because it is not as boring and makes at least some attempt to creating characters and dialogs) are, at best, mildly surprizing in the world where one could see the real experience of real totalitarian states. As literature, it doesn't work because too much effort is given to ideology. As satire, it doesn't hold water because the authors have only vague idea of what a real totalitarian society is like.

I could be wrong in my assumptions-since I'm not as familiar with the history of Zamyatin's activism, which preceded his single novel-but it seems like he was someone who completely misread the intentions of the October Revolution.

All of the Trotskyites and Bukharinites who invested their energy in this false utopia, which didn't take into account the brutality and regimented, autocratic behavior that was essential to preserve a one party, totalitarian state.

One of the interesting aspects of that book is the focus on mathematical equations, which I must say doesn't necessarily lend itself to engrossing dialogue.

I have similar objections to Ayn Rand's fiction, which-in my opinion-is much too didactic for a writer with aspirations to literary immortality.

[Darkthoughts]

Anyone read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood?
Yes! I love Margaret Attwood, Handmaiden was the first book of hers I read, I think my favourite though is The Robber Bride.

[John Blaze]

I really really enjoy Lord of the Flies.

I started to read that book but somehow I couldn't finish it.. should I?

you don't have to, but you should read Fahrenheit 451:cyclops:

[Frunobulax]

I have too many favourite books. Divine Comedy, Douglas Adams stuff, Lovecraft, Orwell, Catch-22...

[Frunobulax]

Fahrenheit 451 is an incredible book, John.

[Darkthoughts]

Hell yeah! Although Something Wicked this Way Comes is my all time favourite Ray Bradbury story.

[ManOfWesternesse]

"Nature's End" - Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka.
- The Earth's (not-too-distant) future - Overcrowded, Over-Polluted, Dying...
- Enter a new political movement - The Depopulationist International...

Very good book.

*EDIT*
(Should also add - Whitley Strieber wrote another excellent Book "The Wolfen" (Werwolves are neither Wolf nor Human, but another species who have been with us since the dawn of time...)

[John Blaze]

Hell yeah! Although Something Wicked this Way Comes is my all time favourite Ray Bradbury story.

Dandelion Wine

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Too many. But i like any of the Necroscope books by Brian Lumley.

[Frunobulax]

Hell yeah! Although Something Wicked this Way Comes is my all time favourite Ray Bradbury story.

Dandelion Wine

I found a nice old paperback of that one at a library sale--I'll have to re-read it now.

[Jean]

I wish Bradbury would have compressed all his novels into medium-sized poems, and his short stories into short poems. As it is, I like him somewhat, but he never fails to make me sick in the end. It's like eating only chocolate. I like a little Bradbury, and I like chocolate, but I can't live on rhythmic poetic prose indefinitely, I long for good old plain storytelling.

[Letti]

I really really enjoy Lord of the Flies.

I started to read that book but somehow I couldn't finish it.. should I?

you don't have to, but you should read Fahrenheit 451:cyclops:

There are far too many books outside I would like to read.

[Letti]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - what a great book
Has anybody read it? I guess yes.

[Jean]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - what a great book
Has anybody read it? I guess yes.
I have, but I am not crazy about it. I got tired of and annoyed by the narrator's intonation on about page 30, and there were many more to go.

[Darkthoughts]

I loved it, preferred the book to the film, although I still pictured Jack Nicholson in my head when I read it :D

Letti - have you read the K-PAX trilogy? I think you'd enjoy it.

[Letti]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - what a great book
Has anybody read it? I guess yes.
I have, but I am not crazy about it. I got tired of and annoyed by the narrator's intonation on about page 30, and there were many more to go.

I love that style. Moreover I adore it. I don't mind if it's even longer..

[nyy3723a]

Mine is still Robert McCammon's Swan Song. I picked the book up because I was a huge Led Zeppelin fan and fell in love with the story - the whole post-apocoliptic thing is my favorite type of story.

[tamez]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - what a great book
Has anybody read it? I guess yes.

I really liked this book Letti. the movie is a classic too but, of course
it just isn't quite the same.
in high school i was in a theatre production of it
i played a nameless, extra "crazy" in white makeup and PJs in the corner.
(there's only like one or two female parts in there... Nurse Ratchet ...?)
it was great. i got to do all sorts of weird things on stage
(make crazy eyes and roll around) and i didn't have to learn any lines
:thumbsup:

[She-Oy]

Mine is still Robert McCammon's Swan Song. I picked the book up because I was a huge Led Zeppelin fan and fell in love with the story - the whole post-apocoliptic thing is my favorite type of story.

Tis a good book, indeed. I remember I read it and The Stand almost back to back, and after those two books, I was a little shaken by the possible future...:onfire:

[Letti]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - what a great book
Has anybody read it? I guess yes.

I really liked this book Letti. the movie is a classic too but, of course
it just isn't quite the same.
in high school i was in a theatre production of it
i played a nameless, extra "crazy" in white makeup and PJs in the corner.
(there's only like one or two female parts in there... Nurse Ratchet ...?)
it was great. i got to do all sorts of weird things on stage
(make crazy eyes and roll around) and i didn't have to learn any lines
:thumbsup:

I wish I could have been there to see you. :wub:

[SON-OF-WAYNE]

"Blood Crazy" by Simon Clark
Excellent British horror story, where everyone over the age of 20 goes homicidally insane, and It is up to the kids to form socities.
Think of it as: "Lord of the Flies" meets "28 Days Later"

[Erin]

That sounds really interesting Son-of-Wayne.

*adds it to my list*

[Matt]

Seriously, that sounds very cool. :D

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Logan's Run is a book i could read again and again. The other two books in the trilogy didn't hold up. Logan's Return was a short story i came upon and told of Logan's return to earth at 40 years of age. Made my head spin when i realized i was older then Logan!!!

Love any of the Thomas Covenant books by Stephen Donaldson

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin is a classic, too.

Does anyone have info on Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance by Robin Furth? Curious if it adds any new info or it is just a "Cliffnotes" type of book that holds a synopsis of all books.

[Matt]

the concordance I got is really cool. It is just a cross reference so not anything new or something to read, just fun.

I have already dog earred it looking up references for various things.

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Mine is still Robert McCammon's Swan Song. I picked the book up because I was a huge Led Zeppelin fan and fell in love with the story - the whole post-apocoliptic thing is my favorite type of story.

Swan Song was a great book. Loved all of McCammons stuff. Was glad to see him reappear with Song Of The NIghtbird.

[Tvmorbid]

Not a single book, but my favourite series of books are Discworld by Terry Pratchett. IO could happily re-read all them everysay for the rest of eternity :D

[Ruthful]

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison.

Because it's the greatest English language novel of the 20th century, IMO.

[Frunobulax]

What about Slaughterhouse-Five? A classic I've enjoyed reading multiple times as well as an amazing anti-war novel. And The Rum Diaries by Hunter S. Thompson.

[sarah]

The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Yeah, the movie is brilliant. The book is better.

oh sarajean is a huge fan of this book as well. I haven't read it yet but it is on my long long list of books to read.

[Erin]

I have a very long list of "To Read's" also. With about 20 recommendations being from sarajean. :lol:

[Darkthoughts]

The Princess Bride is fantastic. I just wish that Buttercup's Baby was fully written too :(

[fernandito]

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin is a classic, too.


I just looked this book up, and I think it sky-rocketed it's way to the top of my to-read list. :excited:

[Mordred Deschain]

I would have to say Dune by Frank Herbert.

[towerguard]

Well, this isn't my favorite, but I like it a whole lot and it's a really an "under the radar" book. The Messiah of Morris Avenue. It's written by the guy who played Ian Faith in This is Spinal Tap.

"In the near future, Christianity has dominated everything, including politics, television, the internet, and even film. The leaders of the semi-theocracy include Reverend Jimmy, a televangelist who is the spiritual advisor to the President, and Pastor Bob, a laid-back reverend who is obsessed with golf and competes with Jimmy for spiritual dominance. Ironically, though Jimmy says he has spoken to God about almost everything, their teachings are the opposite of Jesus Christ's ideas of peace, love, and forgiveness towards everyone. Jimmy even claims on his program that bombing Europe will bring the Second Coming.

However, a jaded ex-reporter, Johnny Greco, bitter towards Jimmy, has already found it, in an Irish-Hispanic Catholic named Jay, who performs incredible miracles of healing sick people, preaches against what Christianity has become, and values peace, tolerance, and love for your fellow man. Dismissive at first, he soon begins to believe in what Jay is saying, and begins to think that Jay truly is "the real deal". Unfortunately for Jay, however, things happen as they did previously..."

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Cannot wait for final Harry Potter book. Just sooo tired of all the hype. First it was the final episode of The Sopranos, now this.

You'd think that Jesus Christ was gonna appear on July 21st or something.
Love the books but give me a break!!

[Darkthoughts]

Has anyone read the Darren Shan vampire saga? Its really good - a refreshing twist and really original take on vampire mythology, plus excellent characters and a gripping storyline.

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Has anyone read the Darren Shan vampire saga? Its really good - a refreshing twist and really original take on vampire mythology, plus excellent characters and a gripping storyline.

Read 'em all. Was a little disappointed with the final book.
I started reading Darren Shan's other series. Started with Lord Loss but didn't interest me enough to make me get the 2nd book.

My daughter is making me read Guardians Of Ga'hoole series by Kathren Lasky and all 3 Warrior series by ERin Hunter.

My son gave me Tuesdays With Morrie. My son didn't get the joke when i told him that Wednesday is Sunday with Tom Carvel.

[Jake Chambers]

Watchers by Dean Koontz....nuff said :P

[Matt]

That damn dog was so smart :rock:

I do like a little Koontz, that's for sure.

[Jake Chambers]

Yeah.. Koontz is the man 2nd to King. lol

The Outsider was a beast

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Yeah.. Koontz is the man 2nd to King. lol



Haven't read Koontz in a long time. He's got so many books out that i cannot remember the one i read.

Used to always look for books by John Saul, too. Suffer The Children was the 1st one of his i read. It was a doozy.

[Jean]

Used to always look for books by John Saul, too. Suffer The Children was the 1st one of his i read. It was a doozy.
I always buy his books in Charity shops and other second-hand book stores. Suffer The Children, his most famous one, is one of those I've been so far unable to find. He is not a great author, maybe not even a good one, but I love reading his stories, especially with kids involved. (Comes The Blind Fury, Nathaniel, All Fall Down, Second Child, Hellfire, etc)

[sarajean]

a scanner darkly by philip k dick (i still haven't seen the movie, and don't intend to anytime soon)

the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by douglas adams

the harry potter books (especially prisoner of azkaban and the half blood prince)

the princess bride by william goldman



The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Yeah, the movie is brilliant. The book is better.

oh sarajean is a huge fan of this book as well. I haven't read it yet but it is on my long long list of books to read.


I have a very long list of "To Read's" also. With about 20 recommendations being from sarajean. :lol:

:lol: i just saw this. :blush: i read a lot, okay?

[Darkthoughts]

Has anyone read the Darren Shan vampire saga? Its really good - a refreshing twist and really original take on vampire mythology, plus excellent characters and a gripping storyline.

Read 'em all. Was a little disappointed with the final book.
Any part in particular?
I haven't read any of his other stuff, I was really only attracted to the series by the prospect of a good vampire story.


My son gave me Tuesdays With Morrie.
I read his other book - The Five People You Meet In Heaven - but it was a little too twee for my liking.

[Cuthbert Allbad]

Used to always look for books by John Saul, too. Suffer The Children was the 1st one of his i read. It was a doozy.
I always buy his books in Charity shops and other second-hand book stores. Suffer The Children, his most famous one, is one of those I've been so far unable to find. He is not a great author, maybe not even a good one, but I love reading his stories, especially with kids involved. (Comes The Blind Fury, Nathaniel, All Fall Down, Second Child, Hellfire, etc)


The main reason i stopped reading him was that all his books seemed to involve children, a sleepy little town and a secret from the past. Got to be boring.

As for the Darren Shan Vampire books, i just remember being disappointed that there wasn't a more clear ending.

[Jean]

The main reason i stopped reading him was that all his books seemed to involve children, a sleepy little town and a secret from the past. Got to be boring.

So, you never got to reading those of his books that don't involve children? Man, that's what is boring! I could hardly finish either of his kid-less novels I happened to buy in Paris last time. I assure you, comparing to those, his kid-involving ones are real mastepieces...

[Cuthbert Allbad]

The main reason i stopped reading him was that all his books seemed to involve children, a sleepy little town and a secret from the past. Got to be boring.

So, you never got to reading those of his books that don't involve children? Man, that's what is boring! I could hardly finish either of his kid-less novels I happened to buy in Paris last time. I assure you, comparing to those, his kid-involving ones are real mastepieces...

I don't know when i stopped. I remember reading everything up to The God Project.

[Seymour_Glass]

I love everything J.D. Salinger.
The Man in The High Castle, Ubik, Do Androids Drem of Electric Sheep?(the basis for Blade Runner), and VALIS by Philip K. Dick.
Cormac McCarthy

[glm]

I don't know . . . The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty perhaps.

[Maera]

My very favorite book (Stephen King or otherwise, cry pardon) has to be The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It's the most genuinely touching novel I've read, with starkly honest characters and nicely original plot. Sorry to gush, I just can't quite help it.

[~wander]

My favorite book isn't a King book either, I'm afraid. That title goes to The Sound and the Fury. Accurate psychology and literature will always beat out just literature for me.

[John Blaze]

Shit, just one? That's too hard. I have one in each genre maybe!

But, well.....

Ender's Game. There you go, one book. It's a must read.

Ok, I've been thinking about it, and I changed my choice. Herman Wouk's Winds of War and War and Remembrance are one story, and some of the best reading i've ever done. I've read them both about 30 times, and I love them.

[Truth]

My favorite non king book would have to be almost any jim buther book or i am legend by richard matheson

[glm]

I don't know . . . The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty perhaps.

Changed my mind, definintely Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.

[Ledzepplinrules]

My favorite book of all time Sophie's World by Jostein Gardener I think is how you spell it.

[theBeamisHome]

My favorite non king book would have to be almost any jim buther book or i am legend by richard matheson

Yes yes yes!! I read I AM LEGEND along with some of his other stories and I was mesmerized... I also love Phillip K. Dick (crazy guy) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams had some great quotes.


Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

[John_and_Yoko]

I don't really know about a single favorite, but one title in particular comes to mind because it changed the way I thought about things--I thought I had it all figured out until I read this.

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut.