Reply With QuoteJohn Irving - A Prayer For Owen Meany
That's my claim to fame - my uncle is Tom Sharp. Strangely, I've never read any of this books, though!Originally Posted by Parabola
John Irving - A Prayer For Owen Meany
Some but not all of Tom Sharpe's are brilliantly funny. The Throwback (it's a tad dated now - I re-read it a few months ago), Blott on the Landscape and certainly the first of the Wilt books were hilarious.
My favourite has to be - sorry if this offends - Lord of the Rings. It captivated me when I first read it as a student and no other book has had that effect since. I've read it half a dozen times since.
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Last edited by Glamdring; 5th January 2013 at 14:12.
May I recommend 'A Canticle for Leibowitz' by Walter M Millar? Excellent post apocalyptic novel dealing with issues such as science v superstition, church v state.
Last edited by cad monkey; 5th January 2013 at 13:17.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz. A nerd from the DR. Life In New York For Oscar and the horror's of another American puppet dictator Rafael Trujillo. Trujillo was truly an unspeakable monster.
The Diamond Age. I Llke all Stephenson's books but Little Nell and the mouse army and a great Touring Test make it a favorite.
At Play in the Fields of the Lord. Peter Matthiessen. Religion and the destruction of the Rain Forest and it's culture.
The girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy . Do not mess with Lisbeth Salander, the toughest chick in fiction.
Lincoln: A Novel by Gore Vidal. If you're interested in Lincoln this is excellent.
And with a lot of other people Catch 22. If you were ever in the military you have got to love this book.
Lastly for the kid in me, Treasure Island, a cracking adventure.
Ted
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius.
Although i recommend to read more than one version.
Also the Count Of Monte Cristo.
Last edited by studly; 6th January 2013 at 01:56.
Love Dick Francis, wrote an essay on Hot Money, first I ever read of his and got me betting on the Arc, while I was still at school I remember and as a big fan of the sport of kings he was always a fav of mine. I like Robert Goddard too for that - cant put it down and damn thats the alarm - thriller.We were read 'Dead Cert', Dick Francis's first novel in our English class way back in 1966. Since then I have read and re-read every one of his books as they came out (one every year, more or less) up until he sadly died. They were brilliantly researched by himself and his wife, and were..and still are...informative, as well as great books. Thankfully, his son Felix (who corroborated with his father on several books) is carrying on writing the novels himself.
Other favourites include 'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less' by Geoffrey Archer (loved the TV adaption years ago), and Sherlock Holmes, both the short stories and the four novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
...Oh...and Das Krapital from Viz......
The Excorcist. Brilliantly terrifying. Ive read it four times.
The Moons a Balloon by David Niven. Kinski Uncut by Klaus Kinski a close second for the sheer comedic insanity of the man; doesn't even have chapters, just one long rant!
Genet. The Thief's Journal.His style is an acquired taste,but worth the effort.
Too many to list but all these made a lasting impression on me at first reading:
Essays & Lectures - Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
The Way of Zen - Alan Watts
The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
Day of The Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
Enigma - Robert Harris
...and another honourable mention for Piece of Cake. They don't come much better than this.
Glad to see Michael Herr's 'Dispatches' get a mention. A great war book.
The book that made the biggest impression on me last year was the 'Kindly ones' by Jonathon Littel. Another war book (though fiction), it is fierce and terrifying...
Good call. Hilarious and touching. I reread it every couple of years.
I'm going to add another: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I always felt that if I'd understood just a little more it could have been life-changing.
I think I have several I really like but have not read much of them again.
The Name of the Rose -Umberto Eco
The Lovely bones - Alice Sebold, as it was just so well written.
I also like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, although I confess I am not quite sure what happened at the end.
Conversations with God - Neale Donald Walsch, although the first of the set was my favourite.
American Tabloid - James Ellroy
John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent. Essentially, a book about hope, despite all the reasons for cynicism.
Crime/Murder
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Sagittarius Rising - Cecil Lewis
One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
This is a great thread and I've bookmarked loads of reading material, here's some from me:
Dumas - "The Three Musketeers" and the sequels, "Twenty Years After" and "The Comte de Bragelonne"
"Sherlock Holmes" (all of them)!
"Fatherland" - Robert Harris.
"Flying Fury" James McCudden - a brilliant and moving diary of a World War One ace.
"A Large Helping of Yorkshire Pudding" - Wilf Green (if you can find a copy) the true story of a working class lad's rise to fortune through motorcycling, brilliantly written, funny, moving and inspiring. Also the follow up "Another Helping of Yorkshire Pudding"
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Kidnapped (since I was a littl'un)
This Thing Of Darkness. My best read ever.
As mentioned above it chronicles Darwin's travels on HMS Beagle but actually focuses on the Beagle's captain, Robert Fitzroy and his battle with depression, hence the title.
My second is Sagitarius Rising by Cecil Lewis, the memoirs of a First World War fighter pilot. It is so beautifully written it is almost prose.
Also-rans: The Moon's A Balloon by David Niven, The Angel's Game and Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
My daughter's middle name is taken from that of the heroine in Kidnapped. Apparently the name did not exist before the book, meaning Robert Louis Stephenson invented it.
Mine would be The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith.
Proper Indiana Jones type adventure..... but better!
There is a woman in Kidnapped..?
You have me scratching my head with this; could I be so bold as to ask the name?
i remember reading that jm barrie invented the name wendy for peter pan (think it's wrong) but can't remember the girl's name from kidnapped ?
cheers,mick
I mistakenly recalled David meeting Catriona at the end of 'Kidnapped'. Actually he meets her at the start of the book 'Catriona' which picks up exactly where 'Kidnapped' ends. To confuse things, Catriona does feature in the Michael Caine film of Kidnapped.
Last edited by Shakespeare; 9th January 2013 at 21:45.
Mentioned previously, but for laughs...
Riotous Assembly
Alan Clark Diaries
Philp Dick's The Man In The High Castle.
I'll add the N+1 th vote for LoTR, but there are really so many great books... I'd have to find standouts for different categories
Non-LoTR Fantasy, I'd go for 'The Drawing of the Dark' by Tim Powers; [Just noticed that Fostex checked this as well!] one of his many great books, although early Gene Wolfe was excellent as well.
If you like like short books (Is it only us Olde Pharts who remember most novels being 180 - 250 pages) then 'The Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth is a little gem - best read on Christmas Eve by a roaring fire.
For adventure stories, I remember really enjoying 'King Solomon's Mines' by H. Rider Haggard (as a nipper)
Naval Historical fiction; C.S. Forester cannot be beaten - although I love the Hornblower series, 'The Ship' really stands out for me.
For spies, I always preferred Len Deighton (Funeral in Berlin) to Fleming (Le Carré's pretty good as well)
The first SF book I read (at eleven) is still one of my favourites - 'The City and the Stars' by Arthur C. Clarke.
The most recent SF book to make me go 'wow' is probably 'Black Man' by Richard Morgan.
I've never got into Dickens, names like 'Mr. Thwackitt' (or even Chuzzlewit) put me off! A bit like the old fashion for writing names as initial - dash, e.g. "the Marquis of M------------------"
-- Tim
Last edited by in_denial; 9th January 2013 at 23:14.
Thanks for that. I had decided to re-read it, you have saved me hours.
Among many others :
Robert Musil :
Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften [The Man Without Qualities]
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de St-Simon :
Mémoires [Memoirs]
Cao Xueqin :
Hong Lou Meng [Dream of the Red Chamber]
Kawabata Yasunari :
Snow Country
Joseph Conrad [Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski] :
Nostromo
I didn't know that name... I concluded you must be talking about the tenant woman (Jennine?) or David's mother. Must read that book again - must be 20 years or more since I did!
Friend of mine gave his daughter the middle name Andromeda... which I love so much I never call her anything else. She gets very cross at me ;)
Way too many to seriously consider. However, one that has stuck in my mind for nearly fifty years is this Best Seller, perhaps because of my impressionable young mind at the time!
Not sure I could choose a best book, but I think anything by Primo Levi is worth reading; I can particularly recommend The Wrench.
For the current trend of reading kids’ books, I can recommend The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. It’s a bit of a comic masterpiece with a deeper meaning for adults.
Last edited by Imbrex; 10th January 2013 at 23:54.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is probably the finest book for me. First read it at school and liked it but then when my old school was closed down they had a sale of everything in it. I went, saw a copy of the book and bought it. Took it home, read and digested it and was left in awe. Might have been the associated memories with school (I loved English and my teacher was fantastic) or the fact that I somehow scarily empathise with the gaining or losing of a mind but the book left me shedding tears. No other book has done that to me so I guess it is something special.
Other than that I am a fan of Lord of the Rings for the fact that Tolkien created a world that came to life in my mind. As a child I read the books and loved the story, as an adult I am simply fascinated by the beautiful use of the English language therein.
The Glass bead game by Herman Hesse. Brilliant.
The third policeman by Flan O'brien if you are into Irish surrealism. Hilariously funny.
All time: The Magus by John Fowles
Recently: The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
Most depressing: Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Funniest: Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister scripts by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn
He can I'm afraid, Forester is good but Patrick O'Brian knocks Hornblower (and the rest) into a cocked hat. So much denser, more complex and fulfilling.
Another in the genre is Alexander Fullerton, I particular I like The Blooding of the Guns, the first of the Everard series, a fictionalised account, but otherwise very accurate, of the Battle of Jutland.
Another 2 good ones, well IMO
Dead man writing by Jonathan Wilson
One flew over the cuckoo's nest by Ken Kesey
Yep hugely entertaining. Read the lot.
New Yes PM on Comedy central or Gold in a few days!
The best book I've ever read was Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. It's just loaded with potent imagery. I daren't watch the film though as I'm worried it'll destroy my love of the book.
Other favourites:
The Outsider - Albert Camus
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby - Something strangely familiar about the character...
The story of my experiments with truth - (Mohandas) Gandhi - An amazing insight into his life just before he became 'big'. Very honest and the least egotistical autobiography ever.
Virtually anything by John Irving.
Musashi by E. Yoskikawa
Regards,
Al
You have impeccable taste, Sir.
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert Anson Heinlein
The Outsider by Colin Wilson
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
The Crisis of European Science, Edmund Husserl
Neuromancer, Burning Chrome by Gibson
The Hunt For Red October, Tom Clancey
A Small Town In Germany by John LeCarre
The Long Goodbye by Chandler
The Road To Serfdom, Hayek
That's a start...
There are some quality picks on here, thanks all.
I'm hesitant to rate any book as "best ever", but Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh made an indelible impression.
I remember at school, the really intellectual types would carry their textbooks around, alongside a volume of what they were reading 'at the moment'. Anything by Tolkien would be just the ticket : accordingly I can't stand Hobbits / LOTR.
One thing the literati wouldn't be seen chucking ostentatiously onto their desks was P G Wodehouse. Personally I enjoy his books more than almost any other author I've read (ok, that group wouldn't over fill the Albert Hall - and I only read Tolkien when it was a set text) and certainly he must be the most consistently effective British humorist of the 20th century. I don't think any of his books lack at least one laugh out loud moment.
Last edited by Bristolian; 15th January 2013 at 01:24.
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