Ophelia Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists - Robert Tressell To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens Gulliver
MDR124 Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Here they are (what a pity it's just 5, but still): The Karamazov brothers - F. M. Dostoevskij Les Mis
busy91 Posted March 13, 2009 Posted March 13, 2009 1. To Kill a Mockingbird 2. The Giver 3. The Good Earth 4. Harry Potter Series 5. Gone With The Wind
The Good Citizen Posted March 13, 2009 Posted March 13, 2009 Can't second guess peoples tastes so I'll just pick 5 I loved. - Grapes of Wrath - Down and Out in Paris and London - Fear and Loating in America - Cold Mountain - Bird Song
Echo Posted March 13, 2009 Posted March 13, 2009 Here are my top 5: The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen David Copperfield - Charles Dickens Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte The Stand - Stephen King
Fionen Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card The Giver - Lois Lowry Wheel of Time series - Robert Jordan
Nollaig Posted March 18, 2009 Author Posted March 18, 2009 I'll update this this weekend, I promise. Michelle, you are to chase me with a stick if I forget!
Nicola Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 Hmmmmmm....... 1. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 2. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman 3. Harry Potter books - JK Rowling 4. Porno - Irvine Welsh 5. Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk I'll change my mind tomorrow
Rawr Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 I'll change my mind tomorrow Haha! Which is exactly why i can't commit to this thread, i'm too loyal to far too many books
Crofty Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 My top 5 i would recommend.... 1. The book thief- Markus Zusak 2. If nobody speaks of remarkable things- Jon Mcgregor 3. The pirates daughter- Margaret Cezair Thompson 4. A thousand splendid suns- Knaled Hosseini 5. Diary- Chuck Palahniuk
ArthurDent Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Interesting idea. Might be a source for my to read list. Here are mine: 1. The man in the maze/Robert Silverberg - This is just so fantasically fiction that you have to think (worry?) about it realistically. 2. 1984/George Orwell - Anyone from anywhere should read this before they reach adulthood with all it's duties. 3. Ender's game/Orson Scott Card - I won't say much, not to spoil things. 4. The hitchhiker's guide to the galexy series/Douglas Adams - Cause after all, life is way to serious to be taken seriously... 5. A thousand splendid suns- Knaled Hosseini - I think that this is one of the most important books that were written in years, and for so many reasons, not the least is the state of women around the globe.
Binary_Digit Posted March 25, 2009 Posted March 25, 2009 I'm delighted to see Ender's Game listed by so many of you. It is undoubtedly one of my favorite books. I've read it many many times. With that said, its not in my five. If I were able to compel you to read five books, I would choose the five that would change your perspective, and maybe change the world. 1. Replay by Ken Grimwood - It will change the way you look at your life, and what is truly important. 2. Watership Down by Richard Adams - Loyalty, Bravery, & Brotherhood in the face of Tyranny. 3. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - Racism debunked. Civilization's true origin revealed. 4. On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Step outside your comfort zone and seize your dreams by the tail. 5. The Republic by Plato - Specifically The Parable of the Cave. Perception and reality while related are not synonymous. Honorable mentions: 1984, Farenheit 451, The New Testament, Catch-22, The Diary of Anne Frank.
rosegarden Posted March 25, 2009 Posted March 25, 2009 1. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett 2. The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly 3. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon 4. The Road - Cormac McCarthy 5. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd How funny, all the titles start with The Carole
bethany725 Posted March 25, 2009 Posted March 25, 2009 1. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett I'm so disappointed in myself.. My husband read this and RAVED about it. I tried it, and totally couldn't get into it. I gave up on page 60 when they were still chasing the pig around...
lexiepiper Posted March 25, 2009 Posted March 25, 2009 Roxi you said to be reminded about this, so *poke*
adu29uk Posted March 26, 2009 Posted March 26, 2009 (edited) 1- Cathcher in the rye- my fave 2-The Stand 3-His Dark Materials 4-The Shining 5-Alice in Wonderland Edited March 26, 2009 by Nici Added capitals
Jo-Bridge Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 3. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - Racism debunked. Civilization's true origin revealed. I love this book! I am always trying to get others to read it!
chrysalis_stage Posted March 28, 2009 Posted March 28, 2009 I think everyone should read a little book with a big impact - White Fang - Jack London
Nollaig Posted March 28, 2009 Author Posted March 28, 2009 Roxi you said to be reminded about this, so *poke* Shhhhh >_< I'll do it later tonight
Binary_Digit Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 3. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - Racism debunked. Civilization's true origin revealed. I love this book! I am always trying to get others to read it! I read this book while on holiday in New Mexico a few years ago, and it totally changed the way I see the world. I'm so glad to hear that you loved it. Between the two of us we should see if we can put together a half decent thread in non-fiction.
Freewheeling Andy Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 It's a great book, as is Collapse. Although to a degree I felt both could have been much shorter - the basic principle is expounded in the first chapter and from then on it's just reinforcing examples to prove the point, and by the end I felt like I was being nagged a bit.
Kylie Posted April 1, 2009 Posted April 1, 2009 I bought Guns, Germs & Steel recently and can't wait to read it. I also want to read Collapse, and it was a close thing between which one I ended up buying!
Ben Mines Posted April 2, 2009 Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) I resubmit: 1. Ulysses, James Joyce 2. Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov 3. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad 4. The Man Without Qualities, Robert Musil 5. Collected Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges 6. War and Peace, Tolstoy 7. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce 8. Time's Arrow, Martin Amis 9. Don Quixote, Cervantes 10. Moby Dick, Herman Melville 11. The Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Burton 12. The Ticket that Exploded, William Burroughs 13. The Captive Mind, Czeslaw Milosz 14. Gargantua and Pantagruel, Francois Rabelais 15. Hamlet, Shakespeare 16. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Colonna 17. Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway 18. Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino 19. Confessions of an English Opium Eater, De Quincey 20. Magic Mountain, Thomas Mann Edited April 4, 2009 by Ben Mines
Bookologist Posted April 3, 2009 Posted April 3, 2009 (edited) Most official best lists make me cringe and really are not to be taken too seriously. Fyodor Dostoyevski- The Brothers Karamazov (imo any official list without this on it is embarassing) one of the best books ever, possibly thee best. Victor Hugo- The laughing man. Franz Kafka- The trial. Alain Fournier- Le Grand Meaulnes. Moliere- Tartuffe. Impossible really to conduct a top 5, you could go on and on.Ben Mines- Good list! just bought Hypnerotomachia Poliphili & Don Quixote. Monuments of literature. Edited April 4, 2009 by Janet
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