what was the best book you ever read?

[IntenseFan]

Lots of love for Orwell and 1984. Any love for Animal Farm also by Orwell? I'd actually say that was the inspiration for 1984 and is better in many ways.

Also, Clarke gets props for the Odyessy series, but my all time fav of his is Rendevous with Rama (not any of the sequels though).

[Locke]

Originally Posted by IntenseFan

Lots of love for Orwell and 1984. Any love for Animal Farm also by Orwell? I'd actually say that was the inspiration for 1984 and is better in many ways.

Also, Clarke gets props for the Odyessy series, but my all time fav of his is Rendevous with Rama (not any of the sequels though).

Animal Farm was definately a good one, but 1984 is just too close of a prediction to lose out.

Rendezvous was great too, I cant say anything bad about any of his work to be honest with you, he is in my top 5 favorite authors. The sequels were okay, but definately not the same caliber.

Locke.

[Vulcan]

Some of the books that I remember. Not necessarly great but anyways:

Adventure - Tom Sawyer, Three Years before the Mast, Mutiny on the Bounty, White Fang, Kidnapped, King Rat, Catch 22.

SciFi- Stranger in a Strange Land, I Robot, A Boy and His Dog [made into a movie, don't watch this with your girlfriend].

Historical- Juluis Caeser, Hamlet, The Robe.

Religious- The Bible, The Bhagavad Gita, The Prophet.

Occult-The Teachings of Don Jaun:A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, The Third Eye [by Lobsang Rampa, a fake lama who died in Calgary, but fun read at the time], The Sleeping Prophet [about Edgar Cayce]

Lots more books such as The Grapes of Wrath, A Tale of Two Cities, helped shape my thoughts.

[feartheflames]

what is 1984 about?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by feartheflames

what is 1984 about?

It was published in '49 and is a dystopian view of what the Earth could be like in 1984.

People are always watched with cameras, told what to think, what to say, the Ministry of Peace is in charge of a long-running war. The Ministry of Truth says things like "two plus two equals five", and so on.

[flip]

heart of darkness by joseph conrad is a great exploration of the evil humans can do when left to their own devices and have no law and order. much better than the similar themed lord of the flies it is the basis for apocalypse now. they even kept the names the same. fight club is a great book.

[octothorp]

My #1 favorite would be Robert Kroetsch's Studhorse Man, but then I'm a Canlit geek. Runner-ups would be Blindness by Jose Saramago, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and Ghormanghast by Mervyn Peake.

[Red]

King Rat - James Clavell (sp?)

Maybe not the best book, but one that was stuck in my mind for many years that I had to read it again.

[metallicat]

I read Animal Farm just recently, I agree that it was very good. But I had never read 1984, so I picked it up, and I just can't get into it. I'm going to keep trying, but no promises...

[Biff]

Originally Posted by Red

King Rat - James Clavell (sp?)

Maybe not the best book, but one that was stuck in my mind for many years that I had to read it again.

Some Clavell is outstanding (Shogun - Seriously great book, Noble House - my other fave Clavell, Taipan - also very good, and King Rat). Other Clavell is a bit rangy and slow-paced and tougher to read, IMO (Whirlwind, Gai-Jin).

If I was on the proverbial desert island and could only take one bookshelf, Shogun and Noble House would be on it.

[The Goon]

A book that I had to read in high school and changed my life was Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Even though he was a fictional character, I hold Atticus Finch up as a model of integrity that I have strived to duplicate in my life (and often fallen short).

[Red]

Originally Posted by Biff

Some Clavell is outstanding (Shogun - Seriously great book, Noble House - my other fave Clavell, Taipan - also very good, and King Rat). Other Clavell is a bit rangy and slow-paced and tougher to read, IMO (Whirlwind, Gai-Jin).

If I was on the proverbial desert island and could only take one bookshelf, Shogun and Noble House would be on it.

Noble House sounds great, I will definetely get it. I read Shogun back in the day, but I could never get in to it, it seemed slow and I had already seen the TV series. I should try it again though because the story was just fantastic.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by octothorp

My #1 favorite would be Robert Kroetsch's Studhorse Man ...

That's an interesting book alright. I grew up in the same part of Alberta as Kroetsch and where he based that book. The characters in the book are eerily familiar. I enjoyed the book he wrote about the fossil hunter who boated down the Red Deer river too ... can't remember the name for sure, was it Badlands? I knew a guy who had Kroetsch for a prof. He practically worshipped him. He's certainly a great Canadian writer.

[Superfraggle]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
"A Modest Proposal" - Jonathan Swift (an essay, not a novel, but great nonetheless.
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

OK, so that's four. But I really did narrow it down a lot.

[Top Shelf]

I should really expand some of the genres I read, but I just love the escape of Fantasy. Some of my faves, all series:

Song of Fire and Ice - George RR Martin: Best fantasy series I have ever read. Anyone I lend these books to go agress, it is awesome, not your "cookie-cutter" fantasy books, you never know what is going to happen. Only thing that sucks is that he isn't finished the last few books, so fans are always waiting for the next book.

Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan: Another excellent series, but one that we are always stuck waiting for the next book.

LOTR: Sometimes I forget how good this series really is because I've read it so many times. Tolkein rules!

Darksword Trilogy: Another excellent series.

The Belgariad and Mallorean - David Eddings: I just started re-reading these books, the first time I read them was in Grade 6 or 7. Again, not the most challenging read, but a pretty good story and definitly a page turner.

I did really enjoy the Tom Clancy "Ryanverse" books. I read them all in order and they were some of the most amazing books. Unbeleivable the amount of detail that Clancy goes into. He definitly has a distinct style though, so you kind of know the formula he uses once you've read a few of his books.

Awesome thread!

[Flameschick]

Island - Alistair MacLeod

No Logo - Naomi Klein

Silvermeadow - Barry Maitland

Pilgrim - Timothy Findley

Murder On The Orient Express - Agatha Christie

The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

anything by Peter Straub

[FireFly]

You know, I didn't really like 1984 that much. Apparently I'm weird. I loved Oryx and Crake though. Really fantastic. Margaret Atwood truely is a Canadian great.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by Superfraggle

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

I loved this series. It's simply comedy genius.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Flameschick

Pilgrim - Timothy Findley

Murder On The Orient Express - Agatha Christie

The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

Excellent selections!

Locke.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy

it simply can't be beat. i rarely laugh out loud at books, but this series had me busting a gut more than a few times