ian Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Ok it's simple. You have the chance to give everyone one book of FICTION to read. What would you pick? Something obscure, or something classic? For me it would be "The many-coloured Land" by Julian May. This is the first book in a saga of four with a sci-fi / fantasy theme. I first read it when I was 15, and would put it (and the rest, but I'd be breaking my own rule of only one book!) up with Lord of the Rings Over to you! Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Crikey...this is nigh on impossible! Erm...maybe His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman? That's quite a good read. Or Harlan Coben's Deal Breaker? The Complete Works of Shakespeare? Blimey, I don't know, Ian! Why'd you ask ME? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Only the one? Really? Wow, this is hard! I'm going to go for Ratking by Michael Dibdin, the first in series of Aurelio Zen mysteries set in Italy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixie Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Difficult choice. Ummmmm, maybe To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee...or Little, Big by John Crowley...or, ummm....Don Quixote by Cervantes...or Bleak House by Charles Dickens...or A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving...or Stranger in a Strange Land by R.A. Heinlein...ummm...or Lolita by Nabokov. That's just one. Yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Vinay, this month's reading circle book is Les Mis. Perhaps you would like to join in the discussion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Vinay, this month's reading circle book is Les Mis. Perhaps you would like to join in the discussion? I'd love to but it's been over 4 years since I've read Les Mis! I should reread before I join and sadly, there's not enough time. There's nothing against me trying to reread it now though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee I couldn't imagine anyone reading that and not liking it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amesy Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Everyone needs that amount of humour in their life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Books do furnish a room Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Is asking for Dance to the Music of Time, by Anthony Powell (in 12 volumes) cheating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 This is so difficult .. I think I'd try and give them something that maybe they haven't read so I'd probably steer clear of the classics or anything that's got a huge reputation. Perhaps a book like Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke or possibly Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. I know I've cheated with three .. if I had to choose just one then I'd go for the Gaiman because it's story telling at it's best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 Are short story collections allowed? I'm sure that the Ray Bradbury short story collection (the one that comes in in the cardboard slipcase with *all* of the short stories) would manage to guarantee a person fall in love with the written word. If short story collections are disallowed, then either The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy or something by Stephen Fry would be my next choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 Easy! The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. If said person has already read it (it's a classic, remember), then I'd give them The Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 I wouldn't choose fiction - I would choose non fiction - probably one of the Conversations with God books or something by Eckhart Tolle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Ian, you are evil! This is an impossible question! For me, it would probably be either The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien or A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami. Or The Bell Jar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 There are some very interesting choices here, many of which I haven't read, so I'll put them on my virtual TBR pile The only thing you all seem to agree on is how evil I am! Muhaa haa haa! (little finger at side of mouth) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 I would pick something a little obscure but that made me so joyful when I read it, I'd want to spread that joy around to everyone - it's Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith, part of the Canongate Myths series and a modern re-telling of Ovid's myth of Iphis. An absolute gem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Since my favorite genre is crime with murder mysteries, I would choose the best one out there. Agatha Christie's "And then there were none". A book everyone should read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Agatha Christie's "And then there were none". A book everyone should read. You weren't annoyed with the end of the novel? There are better works in the Christie canon. I'm more impressed with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, due to the sheer audacity of the entire premise. Also, with And Then There Were None, you have to skirt around the troublesome early titles the novel was published under... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 You weren't annoyed with the end of the novel? There are better works in the Christie canon. I'm more impressed with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, due to the sheer audacity of the entire premise. Also, with And Then There Were None, you have to skirt around the troublesome early titles the novel was published under... No, I was not. I really enjoyed it. I had nightmares because of it cause I read every night before going to bed. I like Agatha Christie, I did enjoy The Murder of Roger Ackroyd too. And The murder on the orient express. Also the ABC murders. Agatha was the queen of who dun it, still is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eliza1 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Since my favorite genre is crime with murder mysteries, I would choose the best one out there. Agatha Christie's "And then there were none". A book everyone should read. I have one Agatha Christy novel - They came to Baghdad. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, maybe for my next read. I'll have to buy a copy of your recommendation to go with it I would probably read Ferdinand Celine's Journey to the end of the night. I've always wanted to read it, and If I only had one book I wouldn't want to read something familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 I have one Agatha Christy novel - They came to Baghdad. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, maybe for my next read. I'll have to buy a copy of your recommendation to go with it If anything, one should read And then there were none because its one of the most sold books ever in the world. Over 100 million copies sold. Wiki-quote: It is Christie's best-selling novel with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery ever, and one of the most-printed books of all time (Publications International lists it as 7th most-printed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 My recommendation would have to be Nineteen Eighty-Four, as it's one of the thought provoking books I've ever read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 (edited) If I was restricted to fiction, then I would probably have to agree with vinay87: Les Miserables. But with a free choice, I think I'd go down the non-fiction route, probably JR Roberts's History of the World. I might even learn something! Edited November 29, 2010 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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