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Your most recommended books -list


frankie

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I suspect there are more that are not fond of the book, but given the overwhelming praise for it are somewhat cowed by the tsunami and feel a bit shy of mentioning their dislike.

Awww, a person should never feel bad about voicing their opinion about a book :friends0:. I fully understand it though, I'm also hesistant to say I liked or disliked something if a lot of other people thought the opposite.

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Here's my list of recommended books:

 

Fiction/Literature

 

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter by Henry Murger

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Ireland: A Novel by Frank Delaney

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

Hanna's Daughters by Marianne Fredriksson

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

The Stand by Stephen King

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

 

Nonfiction

 

And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Bohemian Manifesto by Laren Stover

Maiden, Mother, Crone by D.J. Conway

 

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting, but it's a start, at least!

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Great list, Echo! I see a lot of books there that I really loved (and just two I really didn't ;)).

 

I'm so pleased to see you around here again.  :friends3:

 

Thanks, Kylie! I'm so glad to be back!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Paul, willoyd, bookmonkey....y'all can add me to the list of extreme dislike(rs) of The Book Thief

 

I suspect there are more that are not fond of the book, but given the overwhelming praise for it are somewhat cowed by the tsunami and feel a bit shy of mentioning their dislike. 

Here's another one that did not like The Book Thief.

There are more of us than you think. ;-)

 

Of course, I also didn't like The Shadow of the Wind or One Hundred Years of Solitude, two other novels that seemed to receive endless praise.

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Me too. We could form an anti-fan club ;)

:D

 

Since this is a thread for books we recommend, I should post a few of mine here.

 

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Little, Big or The Fairies' Parliament by John Crowley

Possession by A.S. Byatt

Peace by Gene Wolfe

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

 

I have lots more, but that's a start and what I can think of at the moment.

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Here's another one that did not like The Book Thief.

There are more of us than you think. ;-)

 

Of course, I also didn't like The Shadow of the Wind or One Hundred Years of Solitude, two other novels that seemed to receive endless praise.

Glad to see that! :)

 

Yes!  both of those left me gasping for air.  Unfinished.

 

Agree, def recommend Lolita, and also Nabokov's "detective" story, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. :)  I've only read about half of Nabokov's work, but really for anyone that has read at least that much Look at the Harlequins! is absolutely hilarious. 

 

John Banville's loose trilogy, I call it the Freddy trilogy.....The Book of Evidence, Athena and Ghosts.  Then his Untouchable is a fictional telling of Kim Philby's spying and defection.  Excellent.

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Love this thread!

 

Here's what I could come with so far, but I'm sure I'll be back ;)

 

Fiction:

The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

The Shining – Stephen King

The Dante Club – Matthew Pearl

The Lady and the Unicorn – Tracy Chevalier

A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

Instance of the Fingerpost – Iain Pears

The Secret History – Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt

The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova

Girl with a Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier

Circle of Friends – Maeve Binchy

The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand

Ordinary People – Judith Guest

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

My Name is Asher Lev – Chiam Potok

The Outsiders – SE Hinton

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

The Last Runaway – Tracy Chevalier

 

Fiction Series:

Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

Julian Kestrel mysteries – Kate Ross

Flavia de Luce – Alan Bradley

Jonathan Argyle mysteries – Ian Pears

Thursday Next – Jasper Fforde

 

Non-Fiction:

Close to Shore – Michael Capuzzo

Land of the Burnt Thigh – Eudora Edith Khol

Bring Warm Clothes – Peg Meier

The Art Spirit – Robert Henri

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People – Toby Young

Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder (fiction or non-fiction?)

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Glad to see that! :)

 

Yes!  both of those left me gasping for air.  Unfinished.

 

Agree, def recommend Lolita, and also Nabokov's "detective" story, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. :)  I've only read about half of Nabokov's work, but really for anyone that has read at least that much Look at the Harlequins! is absolutely hilarious. 

 

John Banville's loose trilogy, I call it the Freddy trilogy.....The Book of Evidence, Athena and Ghosts.  Then his Untouchable is a fictional telling of Kim Philby's spying and defection.  Excellent.

I did finish both of those, but I was rather miffed at myself for wasting my time. ;)

 

I have almost all of Nabokov's books, but have read so few. I have a feeling I will love most if not all of them, though. His command of the English language astounds and awes me.

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Possession by A.S. Byatt

 

I want to read and love this book but it intimidates me. I know that it's going to be a difficult read, I need to have my dictionary opened :blush: 

 

Here's what I could come with so far, but I'm sure I'll be back ;)

That's the best part about the thread: you can come back with recommendations and make other people's wishlists longer :giggle2:

 

 

A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

The Secret History – Donna Tartt

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

Here here! :cool:

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I want to read and love this book but it intimidates me. I know that it's going to be a difficult read, I need to have my dictionary opened :blush: 

 

frankie, it's really not a difficult read once you get into the rhythm of it. I tried it twice and almost gave up on it. The third time, I got past the first 50 pages, and I was pulled into it. It had an unexpected twist ending that literally made me burst into tears. That rarely happens in my reading experience. It was so worth it. Try to put aside your notion that it's a difficult read. I thought it would be, too, but in the end it wasn't. :smile:

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frankie, it's really not a difficult read once you get into the rhythm of it. I tried it twice and almost gave up on it. The third time, I got past the first 50 pages, and I was pulled into it. It had an unexpected twist ending that literally made me burst into tears. That rarely happens in my reading experience. It was so worth it. Try to put aside your notion that it's a difficult read. I thought it would be, too, but in the end it wasn't. :smile:

 

I'm relieved to hear that you found it difficult to get into at first, too, and almost didn't read it at all. That gives me faith :smile2: And to hear that it the ending had such a great and unexpected effect on you... I'll try to go into the novel without prejudices, I'll try! :yes: 

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I'm relieved to hear that you found it difficult to get into at first, too, and almost didn't read it at all. That gives me faith :smile2: And to hear that it the ending had such a great and unexpected effect on you... I'll try to go into the novel without prejudices, I'll try! :yes:

YAAAAYYYY! :D

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It looks as if it's just sold out at the Folio Society: it was on their website until quite recently, but I can't find it now.  I did manage to find one of the internal illustrations, below.  I can only confirm that it's a lovely edition - as that is the one which I read last year.

 

003_pss.jpg

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It looks as if it's just sold out at the Folio Society: it was on their website until quite recently, but I can't find it now.  I did manage to find one of the internal illustrations, below.  I can only confirm that it's a lovely edition - as that is the one which I read last year.

 

I knew it was a Folio Society edition and tried looking on their website but couldn't find it there anymore :( Thanks for posting the picture, it's gorgeous!!

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Do you know the Folio Society edition? It's so gorgeous :wub: I bet you would love it. I tried googling for pictures but only found the front cover. 

 

6324402.jpg

 

 

It looks as if it's just sold out at the Folio Society: it was on their website until quite recently, but I can't find it now.  I did manage to find one of the internal illustrations, below.  I can only confirm that it's a lovely edition - as that is the one which I read last year.

 

003_pss.jpg

 

That edition is gorgeous! I definitely don't have that one. Funny, though. The copy I did have I replaced after reading the book, as I wanted a more pleasing cover. The first copy I owned had a picture from the movie, and I thought it was awful .

 

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  • 10 months later...

I have just added Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout to my must read list. It's about a small community in Maine and has a really curious structure. It's not so much a novel but a series of short stories with some characters appearing in some of the stories. it is about nothing much really, but about everything. Love, betrayal, tricky parent and children relationships, loss and the realisation of impending mortality. Can anyone recommend any of her other novels?

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That is a beautiful cover! Almost makes me want it!

 

I hate when they change covers for movies (looking at you, The Marian lol). I hate the huge picture of Matt Damon!

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  • 4 weeks later...

My recommendations below from what i enjoyed reading and re-reading my whole life. All these authors, for those books with authors, are an inspiration for me as i am embarking on my own journey to write a fiction. What better way to spend your time than to read and think about the pursuit to destroy the one ring or Arthur Dent's the adventures in the galaxy or the thoughts that one great man penned on his letters. Whenever i feel down, i just read one of these books to get back on track.

The Lord Of The Rings - Jrr Tolkien
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Harper Lee
The Surangama Sutra
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Harry Potter - Jk Rowling
Truth Vs Illusion - Joy Su
Thirukkural Pearls Of Inspiration
My Name Is Red - Orhan Pamuk
The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffery Archer
To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
JRD Tata: Letters
Elon Musk - Ashlee Vance
How To Develop A Brilliant Memory - Dominic O'brien

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Hello all,

 

I have rediscovered the joy of reading a couple of years ago whilst doing my degree, and would love to hear from you about your favourite books ever.

 

Have you ever read a book that has completely altered the way you perceive the world, or one which has truly shocked you? Which books have you never wanted to place down, or would simply recommend as absolute must-reads?

 

Thanks, and I hope to hear from you 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Goodness I don't know where to even start.

 

I must have read over 1000 books during my lifetime which is far from over (at least I hope not). These books include children's classics, mind, body and spirit, alternative history, popular science, political and economics, religious books and texts, general fiction, travel books and of course the odd biography (and some of them have been very odd).

 

I suppose the books that have most changed the way I view things are the mind, body and spirit books. Books such A Course in Miracles, which I spent close to year studying, the Conversations with God books by Neale Donald and of course Eckhart Tolle. Some of the political and economics books have changed the way I view things as well - in particular Owen Jones 2 books Chavs and The Establishment. My politics are very different to Owen's but I still find myself agreeing with a lot of what he talks about.

 

One of the things I have been doing for the last 4 or 5 years is the Around the World Reading Challenge and this has introduced me to a lot of world literature and authors from countries that a lot of people have probably never even heard of. I have read a lot of books as part of this challenge on different wars and conditions for both men and women in refugee zones and so on. Three books that really stand out for me though have been one on the Rwandan/Burundian genocide by American author Tracey Kidder entitled Strength in What Remains, one by another American Dave Eggers on the so-called lost boys of South Sudan called What is the What (Eggers other fictional work The Circle is also really good)  and one from the small west African country of Togo called Do they Hear You When you Cry. This was written by an exceptionally brave young woman called Fauziya Kassindja whose case made legal history as the first woman to successfully claim asylum to the US on the grounds of FGM and forced marriage.      

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