What's your favorite book?

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Another one that I forgot to mention - if you're looking for something non-fiction - is INTO THE WILD by John Krakauer. Story of a kid who decides to give up most of his worldly possessions and tramp around the country, ultimately leading to... well, I think you can figure it out.

 

It's a good book but a frustrating one to read as someone who grew up in the midwest and lieks to think I know a bit about the outdoors... he made so many elementary errors that you just want to scream at the guy. But Krakauer does a great job of telling the story and interweaving it with tales from the kids family and the people he met along the way...

 

Krakauer's books (I've only read this one) are extremely popular and widely read.

 

Another point of interest is that a movie is coming out later this year based on the story and the book - Sean Penn directs.

[pogokat]

i forgot to mention my favorite contemporary writer:

 

George Saunders---grim, creepy, disturbing, hilarious...saunders is on his own planet...

 

I particularly like Pastoralia and The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

 

i've read everything he's published, and he's phenomenal...

[gypcasino]

Krakauer's books (I've only read this one) are extremely popular and widely read.

 

I wasn't a huge fan of Into the Wild or Into Thin Air, however I thought Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer was excellent. It's an astonishing story about the history of the Mormon church interwoven with a story of murder by Mormon fundamentalists.

[rwa12]

I've enjoyed Into the Wild, and Into Thin Air...Banner of Heaven is definitely on my list. I'm interested to see the movie on Alexander Supertramp.

[Mr QL]

I liked The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. Movie iso coming out next year, looking forward to that.

 

Been reading some Hunter S Thompson lately.

[Thurston Fluff]

Just got done reading "World War Z. Good read.

I would be remise if I didn't mention "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. Very dry humor not nearly as popular n the US as it is in the UK. We even named one of our dogs Zaphod Beeblebrox.

[Voodoo Muppet]

I don't know if I can go so far as to call it my favorite, but I highly recommened The Alienist by Caleb Carr.

 

Carr is a history professor at NYU, and is able to really infuse a lot of authenticy into this (fictional) story of the hunt for a serial killer in 1896 New York.

 

One of the things I loved the most about it was that they find the killer in a very logical manner. Unlike many other murder mysteries I've read, there is little luck and a whole lot of reasoning and legwork involved in finding the killer.

[TooLiveBrew]

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I started The Remains of the Day and I can tell I'm really going to like it.

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If you like it that much already, the ending will really wow you.

 

I read Anne Frank's diary in 6th grade (or was it 5th...). I'm just about 100% sure that it would hit me in a completely different way if I read it again. I remember enjoying the book, but in retrospect I wonder how much of her 'diary' is printed word-for-word, and how much is written -- if you know what I mean. Any time there is a 'testimonial' kind of text, I wonder about what role editors played in its content. Since it's a short read, this curiosity will probably lead me to actually re-read it.

[IslandsAC]

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If you like it that much already, the ending will really wow you.

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Yeah I finished it up quick this weekend and really enjoyed it. I want to say more but if anyone's still planning on reading it... I know I wouldn't have wanted to hear about the Soprano's before I was able to see it!

[aracko]

"A Million Little Pieces" is an excellent and easy read.

[xisxisxis]

3 way tie:

 

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

 

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

 

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

 

 

Simply impossible to put down.

[dadofandrew]

I liked the narrative part of Grapes of Wrath, but hated all those chapters in which he described the era. I pretty much just skipped 'em after the first couple, and that added to my enjoyment immensely.

[davemakovec]

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Of books that haven't been mentioned, I have enjoyed Watership Down, which is a good quick and entertaining read.

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That's probably mine right there. It may "just" be about rabbits, but it's as epic a story you could want, full of daring adventures, improbable escapes and war against extinction, all within a day's walk for a person.

 

I would like to mention We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow we Will be Killed With Our Families which, while an excellent, excellent book, is not exactly light reading. In fact, it's pretty horrifying throughout, but an excellent book.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Thought I would bump this - and report on Philip Roth's Everyman.

 

Just finished it last night - a good quick read on mortality and the things you go through when your time is nearing its end and how you look back what you've done...

 

Overall a good read... but I would have changed the last paragraph... anyone who has read it may or may not agree with me - but I'd be interested in discussing it...

[EAsports28]

The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway is incredible. Short, but the descriptive language, plus the Christ allegory...unbelievable.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard.

 

It took me about two years to get through, but it was really good. The movie was an altogether different kind of suckitude, however.

[mothershipconnection]

This will reveal the huge nerd in me, but I've been reading BF Skinner's "Verbal Behavior" for about 2 months. It's an incredibly difficult book, and nobody will every get it their first time through (PhDs in the field need several passes), but it's a must-read if the subject matter is at all interesting to you.

[letsgored]

Two of my favorites that I haven't seen mentioned are "Nothing Like It In The World", a non-fiction work by Steven Ambrose which depicts the transcontinental railroad, and "Killer Angels", the Gettysburg account by Michael Shaara.

[IslandsAC]

I want to thank everyone for their plugs for "100 years of solitude." I'm about halfway through and I can't put it down...

[lukevan]

I'd like to add my props to Krakauer's Into the Wild. I typically lean toward fiction but I enjoyed this book immensely. I actually read it in two days while sitting on my deer stand in the middle of wilderness, which may have enhanced my experience. The first-hand accounts of the kid's actions were really pretty cool.

[Sepolevne]

Cats Cradle is the best Vonnegut. I think even better than Slaughterhouse 5. It's also my favorite book of all time.

 

1984 by Orwell is a great book, but it's kind of depressing.

 

For non-fiction books, if you're kind of a history guy like me, check out Antony Beevor's book The Fall of Berlin. It's written from a Russian history perspective and puts a really interesting spin on the war.

 

Kind of on the other side, I just got done with Michael Crichton's book State of Fear, it's lousy, skip it.

[IslandsAC]

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Kind of on the other side, I just got done with Michael Crichton's book State of Fear, it's lousy, skip it.

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I will definitely second this. It was hard to think it was written by the same genius behind Jurassic Park.

[Schlitz001]

I've read The Tropic of Cancer and enjoyed it very much. I've also read Game of Shadows, which wasn't mentioned here and had mixed feelings about it. Unfortunately I can't get 100 Years of Solitude in my area. I had Hastings order it for me.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

I'm glad everyone is reading 100 Years... It's truly his masterpiece - arguably the greatest living writer.

 

Next on my pile of books here is the Jerry Kramer/Dick Schaap book Instant Replay... Is it as good as I'm expecting it might be? Who has read it?

[litesrn]

I'll 14th (?) 100 Years - that and Catch 22 are my fave classics.

To add to the sci-fi aspect of this thread, I'd add Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card to the list that starts with Dune. I'm also partial to The Uplift War by David Brin.