The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams writes the most 'compressed' humour I have ever read in any book ever. Every sentence and every paragraph all lead to some kind of punchline...
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Douglas Adams writes the most 'compressed' humour I have ever read in any book ever. Every sentence and every paragraph all lead to some kind of punchline that you did not expect.
I have read HHGTG many times and find something new every time. This also applies to all other books he has written (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and the Salmon of Doubt for example).
Douglas Adams is a one of a kind genius who died far too young. I wish there was more of his writing.
Kids and adults can read his works and all get something out of it. It is timeless in a way that a Bugatti Veyron is. Everyone can see why his writing is amazing. Be that in the now, or 100 years from now. He has a uniquely precise perspective on the human condition and he wrapped it in comedy.
That is nearly impossible to achieve and something I shall forever measure myself by as someone who would love to one day write something similar.
It's probably going to seem strange, but it's got to be Ender's Game for me. I love the psychological nature of it, mixed with the war games aspect of it. I also think that, of all sci-fi books,...
It's probably going to seem strange, but it's got to be Ender's Game for me. I love the psychological nature of it, mixed with the war games aspect of it. I also think that, of all sci-fi books, Ender's Game is the best at keeping the technology grounded in what can be possible, while also exploring the possibilities that the tech could create in inventive ways. It's not a hard read, but damn is it a fun one.
Have you read the other books in the trilogy? I just finished Speaker for the Dead, and I can say that it keeps the psychological nature but I'm not sure if I would describe the ansible as...
Have you read the other books in the trilogy? I just finished Speaker for the Dead, and I can say that it keeps the psychological nature but I'm not sure if I would describe the ansible as possible. I haven't read Xenocide though (yet).
Picking one book as my favorite is nigh impossible. Best I can do is favorite series, which are Dune, Malazan Book of the Fallen, Mistborn, Hitchhiker's Guide, Dresden Files, The Asian Saga...
And favorite authors, which are Neil Gaiman (American Gods), Neil Stephenson (Snowcrash), Tom Clancy (the books actually written by him, not just with his name attached), William Gibson (Neuromancer), Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream?), Kurt Vonnegut (so it goes)... I could seriously go on forever here. :P
Is the Malazan worth giving another shot? I have Gardens of the Moon lying around, I bought it several years ago and if I recall correctly only got like 50 to 100 pages into it before putting it...
Is the Malazan worth giving another shot? I have Gardens of the Moon lying around, I bought it several years ago and if I recall correctly only got like 50 to 100 pages into it before putting it down. I thought it was kind of difficult to read (English is my second language)
I absolutely adore the Malazan series but they are not easy reads even for native English speakers. Steven Erikson does not hold his readers’ hands whatsoever and just drops them right in to the...
I absolutely adore the Malazan series but they are not easy reads even for native English speakers. Steven Erikson does not hold his readers’ hands whatsoever and just drops them right in to the middle of this world he created with literally hundreds of thousands of years of unique history, traditions, nations, races, cultures, magic systems, etc... Add to that the fact that he also uses a ton of made up words and names to describe much of the world, all of which you’re just expected to figure out the meaning of by seeing them used by characters in the books and you can see why it’s so difficult.
However I honestly do feel like if you can soldier through that initial incredibly steep learning curve and get used to Erikson’s unique writing style that Malazan is one of the best and most rewarding Fantasy series ever written. It’s one of the few Fantasy series that I can actually remember the names of dozens of characters even though it’s been about 5 years since I last read them just because of how unique and deep the characters were and how much I was made to feel for them.
Agreed, If we went by sheer numbers I've read/listened to Dune probably about 20 times (Fantastic audiobook by the way, it has multiple voice actors for some chapters). I feel like the Foundation...
Agreed, If we went by sheer numbers I've read/listened to Dune probably about 20 times (Fantastic audiobook by the way, it has multiple voice actors for some chapters). I feel like the Foundation series and Ender's Game were the catalyst that got me to love reading in general. There's a few Autobiographies I am quite fond off such as Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis and Bossypants by Tina Fey was a riot.
Wow... I thought I was a little crazy about Dune having read the series about 5 times now. I was tempted to list the Foundation series as well but I only read it the once, unlike the other series...
Wow... I thought I was a little crazy about Dune having read the series about 5 times now. I was tempted to list the Foundation series as well but I only read it the once, unlike the other series I listed which I have reread a bunch of times, and since I already listed way more than OP asked for I figured I was pushing my luck enough already. :P
Heh yeah I got dune when I was about 15, I read it twice a year until I was 20, then almost one a year since. Mind you I skip large portions of it to get to the good parts at this point.
Heh yeah I got dune when I was about 15, I read it twice a year until I was 20, then almost one a year since. Mind you I skip large portions of it to get to the good parts at this point.
I really loved shogun. I picked it up from a second hand bookshop when I was a kid, we didn't have a bunch of money so I'd get a 50p book once a month. I chose it at random and honestly expected...
I really loved shogun. I picked it up from a second hand bookshop when I was a kid, we didn't have a bunch of money so I'd get a 50p book once a month. I chose it at random and honestly expected it to be a bit boring, It was completely unexpected.
If you like Shogun I would highly recommend the rest of the series as they are fantastic as well. And if you haven't seen it already there is a pretty good miniseries from the 80s based on Shogun too.
If you like Shogun I would highly recommend the rest of the series as they are fantastic as well. And if you haven't seen it already there is a pretty good miniseries from the 80s based on Shogun too.
Moby Dick, without a doubt. It's difficult to explain what exactly Melville is doing (you really have to read it), but if I had to give a description I'd say that Moby Dick is Melville writing the...
Moby Dick, without a doubt. It's difficult to explain what exactly Melville is doing (you really have to read it), but if I had to give a description I'd say that Moby Dick is Melville writing the equivalent of the Bible for 19th century America, and he does it in a postmodern style when postmodernism won't be a thing for another century.
The prose is absolutely sublime as well:
“The boat! the boat!” cried Starbuck, “look at thy boat, old man!”
Ahab’s harpoon, the one forged at Perth’s fire, remained firmly lashed in its conspicuous crotch, so that it projected beyond his whale-boat’s bow; but the sea that had stove its bottom had caused the loose leather sheath to drop off; and from the keen steel barb there now came a levelled flame of pale, forked fire. As the silent harpoon burned there like a serpent’s tongue, Starbuck grasped Ahab by the arm- “God, God is against thee, old man; forbear! ‘t is an ill voyage! ill begun, ill continued; let me square the yards, while we may, old man, and make a fair wind of it homewards, to go on a better voyage than this.”
Overhearing Starbuck, the panic-stricken crew instantly ran to the braces- though not a sail was left aloft. For the moment all the aghast mate’s thoughts seemed theirs; they raised a half mutinous cry. But dashing the rattling lightning links to the deck, and snatching the burning harpoon, Ahab waved it like a torch among them; swearing to transfix with it the first sailor that but cast loose a rope’s end. Petrified by his aspect, and still more shrinking from the fiery dart that he held, the men fell back in dismay, and Ahab again spoke:-
“All your oaths to hunt the White Whale are as binding as mine; and heart, soul, and body, lungs and life, old Ahab is bound. And that ye may know to what tune this heart beats: look ye here; thus I blow out the last fear!” And with one blast of his breath he extinguished the flame.
As in the hurricane that sweeps the plain, men fly the neighborhood of some lone, gigantic elm, whose very height and strength but render it so much the more unsafe, because so much the more a mark for thunderbolts; so at those last words of Ahab’s many of the mariners did run from him in a terror of dismay.
Thanks for reminding me what a pleasure Moby Dick was to read. It's been something like 10-15 years, but this passage reminds me of its wordy, complex, articulate, smooth prose. I finished reading...
Thanks for reminding me what a pleasure Moby Dick was to read. It's been something like 10-15 years, but this passage reminds me of its wordy, complex, articulate, smooth prose. I finished reading it while camping with my family along Lake Superior. That is a good memory. I think I'll have to read the book again someday.
I have two. Blood Meridian: Or the Evening of Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy. This book is very difficult to read just based on McCarthy's style and penchant for era-appropriate language....
I have two.
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening of Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy.
This book is very difficult to read just based on McCarthy's style and penchant for era-appropriate language. It is also extremely violent - but never have I felt such a reward for completing a book. He is without a doubt one of American's greatest writers.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Though she ended up winning a pulitzer for The Goldfinch (another excellent book) I believe her real talent lies in The Secret History - a story about six close friends at small, elite college in Vermont and is described as an "inverted detective story" closer to a "why done it" as opposed to a "who done it" (I borrowed this description from Wikipedia but it def gives a good idea about where the book goes)
Cool! Just be warned..its not quite like a regular detective story but I promise you wont be able to put the book down! Tartt is just an amazing, amazing writer.
Cool! Just be warned..its not quite like a regular detective story but I promise you wont be able to put the book down! Tartt is just an amazing, amazing writer.
My favorite novel, as my name may give away, is Catch-22. To quote the first line, "It was love at first sight." I mostly read non-fiction nowadays, and I listed some of my favorites in this thread.
My favorite novel, as my name may give away, is Catch-22. To quote the first line, "It was love at first sight."
I mostly read non-fiction nowadays, and I listed some of my favorites in this thread.
I can never pick a favorite, but Catch-22 is always in the top three. The other two are probably East of Eden and the Hitchhiker's Trilogy (five books, but they're sold together so I think they...
I can never pick a favorite, but Catch-22 is always in the top three. The other two are probably East of Eden and the Hitchhiker's Trilogy (five books, but they're sold together so I think they can be counted as one).
Does it have to be a book? Can it be a story instead (short stories, novellas)? My favourite story of all time is 'Flowers for Algernon'. (Yes, the author later wrote a longer novel based on this...
Does it have to be a book? Can it be a story instead (short stories, novellas)? My favourite story of all time is 'Flowers for Algernon'. (Yes, the author later wrote a longer novel based on this story, but I think the short story packs more punch.) This story is brilliant, and it's guaranteed to make me cry - which is why I don't re-read it very often, despite it being my all-time favourite story.
If I have to choose a favourite book, I'm going to name a book I keep re-reading because it's comfortable and, every time I read it, it feels like catching up with an old friend: 'I, Asimov', one of Isaac Asimov's autobiographies. I love his writing. To me, he's the authorial equivalent of those actors about whom people say "I could listen to him/her read the phone book, and it would be great". No matter what he's writing about, I'll enjoy reading it.
Trouble is, it changes without warning. There are three: Nine Hundred Grandmothers by madman R. A. Lafferty; Tales of Power by the crazed Carlos Castaneda; and finally, Collected Fictions by the...
Trouble is, it changes without warning. There are three: Nine Hundred Grandmothers by madman R. A. Lafferty; Tales of Power by the crazed Carlos Castaneda; and finally, Collected Fictions by the blind librarian Jorge Luis Borges.
China Meiville's Embassytown because it ticks all my favourite language, linguistics and post-structuralist boxes. It's a fascinating philosophical investigation into the nature of language,...
China Meiville's Embassytown because it ticks all my favourite language, linguistics and post-structuralist boxes. It's a fascinating philosophical investigation into the nature of language, consciousness and perception wrapped up in a clever, funny and genuinely engaging story (cf, eg, Asimov who is intellectually interesting but somewhat dry). Meiville almost never disappoints but this is him at absolute peak form. Absolutely superb.
Honourable mention to House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. It's hard to describe. It's hard to read. It's not, Danielewski insists, ergodic literature and I sort of agree with him, but also it sort of is. It's just turned up to 11, then some more, then the knob breaks off. He says it is this:
"Signiconic = sign + icon. Rather than engage those textual faculties of the mind remediating the pictorial or those visual faculties remediating language, the signiconic simultaneously engages both in order to lessen the significance of both and therefore achieve a third perception no longer dependent on sign and image for remediating a world in which the mind plays no part."
So yeah. It's that. It's also long and it's weird as fuck and it's absolutely terrifying. Reminiscent of Lynch at his best in the sense of the uncanny it inspires in the reader. You know how Lynch can make a ceiling fan or a seatbelt really unsettling and scary? Danielewski can do that with an empty page, or a single letter. It's an amazing piece of work. Read the hardback edition if you can get it, because it genuinely does make a difference. I'm an avid e-reader but I'm fairly sure this book would be impossible to render satisfactorily in electronic form.
My absolute favorites have to be ‘Failure is not an option’ by Gene Kranz (flight director during gemini/apollo days) and ‘Skunkworks’ by Ben Rich (Skunkworks director through the F117 days)....
My absolute favorites have to be ‘Failure is not an option’ by Gene Kranz (flight director during gemini/apollo days) and ‘Skunkworks’ by Ben Rich (Skunkworks director through the F117 days). Honorable mentions to ‘Into the Black’ about the space shuttle program and ‘Blind mans Bluff’ about submarine espionage during the cold war.
Hard to pick a favorite. But the book that had the most influence on me was Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, because for the first time I actually felt like I had read a book that...
Hard to pick a favorite. But the book that had the most influence on me was Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, because for the first time I actually felt like I had read a book that both took itself seriously and also wasn't afraid to go absolutely bonkers with ideas. Dunsany's book felt to me like he captured imagination in a small bottle and then he kept tapping on the bottle like a little kid, trying to see if imagination would show her face to him.
If I had to say a single book it would be Catch-22. Adding series, it's either Mortal Engines or Discworld. Most books I only read once but these keep me coming back.
If I had to say a single book it would be Catch-22.
Adding series, it's either Mortal Engines or Discworld. Most books I only read once but these keep me coming back.
I'm a huge Neal Stephenson fan, so that's kinda too easy of an answer for me. So instead I'm thinking of the stuff I've read that's further afield than my usual sci-fi intake. One that hit me...
I'm a huge Neal Stephenson fan, so that's kinda too easy of an answer for me. So instead I'm thinking of the stuff I've read that's further afield than my usual sci-fi intake. One that hit me hardest at the time was You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. Holy smokes. I couldn't tell you much about plot or characters because it's been a long time, but I remember being completely blown away by the range and depth of emotions. It's something absolutely life affirming and absolutely heartbreaking. (Eggers also wrote a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but I haven't read that one through yet.)
I have a hard time with ever, because I don't think I can even guess the total number of books I've read, let alone order them by preference. The most fascinating/engrossing book I've read...
I have a hard time with ever, because I don't think I can even guess the total number of books I've read, let alone order them by preference. The most fascinating/engrossing book I've read recently, though, was Isaac's Storm, which chronicles the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, through the eyes of the meteorologist stationed on the island.
I agree that it's impossible to pick one as I have so many favorites but the 2 that stand out are "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "Ishmael". The Count is one of my favorite stories of all time and...
I agree that it's impossible to pick one as I have so many favorites but the 2 that stand out are "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "Ishmael". The Count is one of my favorite stories of all time and the book is just awesome. Ishamel, though, just opened up my perspective a little on how I think about life. It's a really weird book but it's excellent.
I can't say "ever" but most recently I really enjoyed Flash Boys by Michael Lewis. Amazon's description:
I can't say "ever" but most recently I really enjoyed Flash Boys by Michael Lewis. Amazon's description:
In Michael Lewis's game-changing bestseller, a small group of Wall Street iconoclasts realize that the U.S. stock market has been rigged for the benefit of insiders. They band together―some of them walking away from seven-figure salaries―to investigate, expose, and reform the insidious new ways that Wall Street generates profits. If you have any contact with the market, even a retirement account, this story is happening to you
This made me curious, so I went digging to see what I could find: What is your favourite book and why? What are the most influential books to you? What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
Considering this is all new
This made me curious, so I went digging to see what I could find:
Definitely the book "The Rest Of Us Just Live Here" by Patrick Ness. Incredible book that came at the right time to help me with the problems I was dealing with in a narrative setting.
Definitely the book "The Rest Of Us Just Live Here" by Patrick Ness. Incredible book that came at the right time to help me with the problems I was dealing with in a narrative setting.
Hmm that is a tough one as I stopped reading when I got into puperty and now i am only reading science, business books. For fanatasy I have to go with the Harry Potter series and the last book in...
Hmm that is a tough one as I stopped reading when I got into puperty and now i am only reading science, business books. For fanatasy I have to go with the Harry Potter series and the last book in particular. For sci-fi I´d go with the Legacy of the force books.
The best I've read this year is Shimon Peres' autobiography, No Room for Small Dreams. Really insightful how a kid who escaped the Nazis in WWII Poland helped shape a new country.
The best I've read this year is Shimon Peres' autobiography, No Room for Small Dreams. Really insightful how a kid who escaped the Nazis in WWII Poland helped shape a new country.
If I have to just say one book, I almost always say "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith. I love the Sci-Fi Film Noire feel he's got. If I get to say more, I often add "Memory, Sorrow, &...
If I have to just say one book, I almost always say "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith. I love the Sci-Fi Film Noire feel he's got.
If I get to say more, I often add "Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn" by Tad Williams as my favourite fantasy series. There's nothing groundbreaking, but the entire thing is delightful High Fantasy.
If I get to say even more, I might add "It" by Stephen King. It's a great, terrifying book.
Not sure. My first favorite book was Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, and my last favorite book was Lolita. I've read lots of great books since then, but I can't say that any of them are my...
Not sure. My first favorite book was Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, and my last favorite book was Lolita. I've read lots of great books since then, but I can't say that any of them are my favorite. Maybe Lolita was really the first book I fell in love with.
My pick from teenaged years would be Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice. The whole view of god and the devil as being coworkers/friends gave me a perspective I had never considered. Recently? Uprooted...
My pick from teenaged years would be Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice.
The whole view of god and the devil as being coworkers/friends gave me a perspective I had never considered.
Recently?
Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
Just a fun fantasy book that I couldnt put down and talked about with friends.
Late to the thread, but I'll submit a decent non-fiction book for anyone interested. I'd strongly suggest checking out Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by...
Late to the thread, but I'll submit a decent non-fiction book for anyone interested.
Late to the thread/website, but I'll throw in mine. The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg seems like a fairly generic teen coming of age story, until it starts actually dealing with heavy...
Late to the thread/website, but I'll throw in mine.
The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg seems like a fairly generic teen coming of age story, until it starts actually dealing with heavy topics such as alcoholism and AIDS.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Douglas Adams writes the most 'compressed' humour I have ever read in any book ever. Every sentence and every paragraph all lead to some kind of punchline that you did not expect.
I have read HHGTG many times and find something new every time. This also applies to all other books he has written (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and the Salmon of Doubt for example).
Douglas Adams is a one of a kind genius who died far too young. I wish there was more of his writing.
Kids and adults can read his works and all get something out of it. It is timeless in a way that a Bugatti Veyron is. Everyone can see why his writing is amazing. Be that in the now, or 100 years from now. He has a uniquely precise perspective on the human condition and he wrapped it in comedy.
That is nearly impossible to achieve and something I shall forever measure myself by as someone who would love to one day write something similar.
It's probably going to seem strange, but it's got to be Ender's Game for me. I love the psychological nature of it, mixed with the war games aspect of it. I also think that, of all sci-fi books, Ender's Game is the best at keeping the technology grounded in what can be possible, while also exploring the possibilities that the tech could create in inventive ways. It's not a hard read, but damn is it a fun one.
Have you read the other books in the trilogy? I just finished Speaker for the Dead, and I can say that it keeps the psychological nature but I'm not sure if I would describe the ansible as possible. I haven't read Xenocide though (yet).
Picking one book as my favorite is nigh impossible. Best I can do is favorite series, which are Dune, Malazan Book of the Fallen, Mistborn, Hitchhiker's Guide, Dresden Files, The Asian Saga (Shogun), The Aubrey-Maturin Series (Master & Commander), The Sharpe stories (also an excellent TV series with Sean Bean) ...
And favorite authors, which are Neil Gaiman (American Gods), Neil Stephenson (Snowcrash), Tom Clancy (the books actually written by him, not just with his name attached), William Gibson (Neuromancer), Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream?), Kurt Vonnegut (so it goes)... I could seriously go on forever here. :P
Is the Malazan worth giving another shot? I have Gardens of the Moon lying around, I bought it several years ago and if I recall correctly only got like 50 to 100 pages into it before putting it down. I thought it was kind of difficult to read (English is my second language)
I absolutely adore the Malazan series but they are not easy reads even for native English speakers. Steven Erikson does not hold his readers’ hands whatsoever and just drops them right in to the middle of this world he created with literally hundreds of thousands of years of unique history, traditions, nations, races, cultures, magic systems, etc... Add to that the fact that he also uses a ton of made up words and names to describe much of the world, all of which you’re just expected to figure out the meaning of by seeing them used by characters in the books and you can see why it’s so difficult.
However I honestly do feel like if you can soldier through that initial incredibly steep learning curve and get used to Erikson’s unique writing style that Malazan is one of the best and most rewarding Fantasy series ever written. It’s one of the few Fantasy series that I can actually remember the names of dozens of characters even though it’s been about 5 years since I last read them just because of how unique and deep the characters were and how much I was made to feel for them.
Agreed, If we went by sheer numbers I've read/listened to Dune probably about 20 times (Fantastic audiobook by the way, it has multiple voice actors for some chapters). I feel like the Foundation series and Ender's Game were the catalyst that got me to love reading in general. There's a few Autobiographies I am quite fond off such as Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis and Bossypants by Tina Fey was a riot.
Wow... I thought I was a little crazy about Dune having read the series about 5 times now. I was tempted to list the Foundation series as well but I only read it the once, unlike the other series I listed which I have reread a bunch of times, and since I already listed way more than OP asked for I figured I was pushing my luck enough already. :P
Heh yeah I got dune when I was about 15, I read it twice a year until I was 20, then almost one a year since. Mind you I skip large portions of it to get to the good parts at this point.
I really loved shogun. I picked it up from a second hand bookshop when I was a kid, we didn't have a bunch of money so I'd get a 50p book once a month. I chose it at random and honestly expected it to be a bit boring, It was completely unexpected.
If you like Shogun I would highly recommend the rest of the series as they are fantastic as well. And if you haven't seen it already there is a pretty good miniseries from the 80s based on Shogun too.
Moby Dick, without a doubt. It's difficult to explain what exactly Melville is doing (you really have to read it), but if I had to give a description I'd say that Moby Dick is Melville writing the equivalent of the Bible for 19th century America, and he does it in a postmodern style when postmodernism won't be a thing for another century.
The prose is absolutely sublime as well:
Thanks for reminding me what a pleasure Moby Dick was to read. It's been something like 10-15 years, but this passage reminds me of its wordy, complex, articulate, smooth prose. I finished reading it while camping with my family along Lake Superior. That is a good memory. I think I'll have to read the book again someday.
It is hands down The Stand by Stephen King.
I have two.
This book is very difficult to read just based on McCarthy's style and penchant for era-appropriate language. It is also extremely violent - but never have I felt such a reward for completing a book. He is without a doubt one of American's greatest writers.
Though she ended up winning a pulitzer for The Goldfinch (another excellent book) I believe her real talent lies in The Secret History - a story about six close friends at small, elite college in Vermont and is described as an "inverted detective story" closer to a "why done it" as opposed to a "who done it" (I borrowed this description from Wikipedia but it def gives a good idea about where the book goes)
Ooh, "The Secret History"! The characters drove me insane and I loved it.
I love detective stories and from your description this one sounds very interesting. I'm adding it to my list of books to read, thanks!
Cool! Just be warned..its not quite like a regular detective story but I promise you wont be able to put the book down! Tartt is just an amazing, amazing writer.
My favorite novel, as my name may give away, is Catch-22. To quote the first line, "It was love at first sight."
I mostly read non-fiction nowadays, and I listed some of my favorites in this thread.
I can never pick a favorite, but Catch-22 is always in the top three. The other two are probably East of Eden and the Hitchhiker's Trilogy (five books, but they're sold together so I think they can be counted as one).
Does it have to be a book? Can it be a story instead (short stories, novellas)? My favourite story of all time is 'Flowers for Algernon'. (Yes, the author later wrote a longer novel based on this story, but I think the short story packs more punch.) This story is brilliant, and it's guaranteed to make me cry - which is why I don't re-read it very often, despite it being my all-time favourite story.
If I have to choose a favourite book, I'm going to name a book I keep re-reading because it's comfortable and, every time I read it, it feels like catching up with an old friend: 'I, Asimov', one of Isaac Asimov's autobiographies. I love his writing. To me, he's the authorial equivalent of those actors about whom people say "I could listen to him/her read the phone book, and it would be great". No matter what he's writing about, I'll enjoy reading it.
EDIT: typos
One Hundred Years of Solitude. So much pain and joy.
Trouble is, it changes without warning. There are three: Nine Hundred Grandmothers by madman R. A. Lafferty; Tales of Power by the crazed Carlos Castaneda; and finally, Collected Fictions by the blind librarian Jorge Luis Borges.
China Meiville's Embassytown because it ticks all my favourite language, linguistics and post-structuralist boxes. It's a fascinating philosophical investigation into the nature of language, consciousness and perception wrapped up in a clever, funny and genuinely engaging story (cf, eg, Asimov who is intellectually interesting but somewhat dry). Meiville almost never disappoints but this is him at absolute peak form. Absolutely superb.
Honourable mention to House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. It's hard to describe. It's hard to read. It's not, Danielewski insists, ergodic literature and I sort of agree with him, but also it sort of is. It's just turned up to 11, then some more, then the knob breaks off. He says it is this:
"Signiconic = sign + icon. Rather than engage those textual faculties of the mind remediating the pictorial or those visual faculties remediating language, the signiconic simultaneously engages both in order to lessen the significance of both and therefore achieve a third perception no longer dependent on sign and image for remediating a world in which the mind plays no part."
So yeah. It's that. It's also long and it's weird as fuck and it's absolutely terrifying. Reminiscent of Lynch at his best in the sense of the uncanny it inspires in the reader. You know how Lynch can make a ceiling fan or a seatbelt really unsettling and scary? Danielewski can do that with an empty page, or a single letter. It's an amazing piece of work. Read the hardback edition if you can get it, because it genuinely does make a difference. I'm an avid e-reader but I'm fairly sure this book would be impossible to render satisfactorily in electronic form.
the wind-up bird chronicles by haruki murakami. probably the only book i've reread every month.
Kafka on the Shore would be my answer.
My absolute favorites have to be ‘Failure is not an option’ by Gene Kranz (flight director during gemini/apollo days) and ‘Skunkworks’ by Ben Rich (Skunkworks director through the F117 days). Honorable mentions to ‘Into the Black’ about the space shuttle program and ‘Blind mans Bluff’ about submarine espionage during the cold war.
Hard to pick a favorite. But the book that had the most influence on me was Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, because for the first time I actually felt like I had read a book that both took itself seriously and also wasn't afraid to go absolutely bonkers with ideas. Dunsany's book felt to me like he captured imagination in a small bottle and then he kept tapping on the bottle like a little kid, trying to see if imagination would show her face to him.
If I had to say a single book it would be Catch-22.
Adding series, it's either Mortal Engines or Discworld. Most books I only read once but these keep me coming back.
I'm a huge Neal Stephenson fan, so that's kinda too easy of an answer for me. So instead I'm thinking of the stuff I've read that's further afield than my usual sci-fi intake. One that hit me hardest at the time was You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. Holy smokes. I couldn't tell you much about plot or characters because it's been a long time, but I remember being completely blown away by the range and depth of emotions. It's something absolutely life affirming and absolutely heartbreaking. (Eggers also wrote a book called A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, but I haven't read that one through yet.)
I have a hard time with ever, because I don't think I can even guess the total number of books I've read, let alone order them by preference. The most fascinating/engrossing book I've read recently, though, was Isaac's Storm, which chronicles the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, through the eyes of the meteorologist stationed on the island.
I agree that it's impossible to pick one as I have so many favorites but the 2 that stand out are "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "Ishmael". The Count is one of my favorite stories of all time and the book is just awesome. Ishamel, though, just opened up my perspective a little on how I think about life. It's a really weird book but it's excellent.
I can't say "ever" but most recently I really enjoyed Flash Boys by Michael Lewis. Amazon's description:
This made me curious, so I went digging to see what I could find:
What is your favourite book and why?
What are the most influential books to you?
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
Definitely the book "The Rest Of Us Just Live Here" by Patrick Ness. Incredible book that came at the right time to help me with the problems I was dealing with in a narrative setting.
Hmm that is a tough one as I stopped reading when I got into puperty and now i am only reading science, business books. For fanatasy I have to go with the Harry Potter series and the last book in particular. For sci-fi I´d go with the Legacy of the force books.
The best I've read this year is Shimon Peres' autobiography, No Room for Small Dreams. Really insightful how a kid who escaped the Nazis in WWII Poland helped shape a new country.
If I have to just say one book, I almost always say "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith. I love the Sci-Fi Film Noire feel he's got.
If I get to say more, I often add "Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn" by Tad Williams as my favourite fantasy series. There's nothing groundbreaking, but the entire thing is delightful High Fantasy.
If I get to say even more, I might add "It" by Stephen King. It's a great, terrifying book.
Not sure. My first favorite book was Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, and my last favorite book was Lolita. I've read lots of great books since then, but I can't say that any of them are my favorite. Maybe Lolita was really the first book I fell in love with.
My pick from teenaged years would be Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice.
The whole view of god and the devil as being coworkers/friends gave me a perspective I had never considered.
Recently?
Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
Just a fun fantasy book that I couldnt put down and talked about with friends.
All the books by Conn Iggulden are fantastic, the fact that you're reading historical fiction makes it seem like you're learning something too.
Late to the thread, but I'll submit a decent non-fiction book for anyone interested.
I'd strongly suggest checking out Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us by Robert Hare and then The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson.
Robert Hare literally wrote the book on psychopathy. I went in expecting the book to be fairly dry and clinical, but it was anything but.
Fiction-wise, I'm all about Michael Connelly and am on the hunt for good pulpy crime stories along the same vein.
Late to the thread/website, but I'll throw in mine.
The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg seems like a fairly generic teen coming of age story, until it starts actually dealing with heavy topics such as alcoholism and AIDS.