Favorite Books

[Mr. J]

What are some of your favorite books? Trying to do more reading these days.

 

[B.e.]

 

[Chutney]

Off the top of my head:

No Exit - Jean-Paul Sartre
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Leviathon - Thomas Hobbes
Iliad - Homer

 

[Casual]

Ender's Game, A Song of Ice and Fire (series with four out of eight books out), Hatchet, Blink, The Stand

 

[Skiptomylue11]

I don't read much fiction, but here are some I liked:

Gorky Park - Martin Cruz Smith (I enjoyed it, Cold War era, plot twists I think)
Guns of Navarone - Alistair MacLean (WWII era, good characters)
Force 10 from Navarone - Alistair MacLean
^^ A movie was made of both books.
Animal Farm - I felt sad for the horses.
Lord of the Rings - I read them before watching the movies, I enjoyed reading them and felt they were better than the movies immediately after I saw the movies. They have a lot of detail in the books. However I wouldn't read them after seeing the movies, because it is a lot more time-consuming reading them when you know what happens than watching the movies.

Non-fiction:
Courier from Warsaw - Jan Nowak (About the underground army in Poland in WW2, I think its non-fiction, although some names are changed I think.)
The Bible: I've read it once, but I would like to read it again soon. It takes me longer to read it than most books though.

 

[Sasha]

Here's some of my favorites as listed on my Facebook page...

Ivo Andric - The Bridge on The Drina
Paulo Coehlo - The Alchemist
Charles Dickens - Hard Times
Fyodor Dostoyevksy - Crime & Punishment
William Faulkner - The Sound & The Fury
Bob Frissell - Nothing In This Book Is True But It's Exactly How Things Are
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
Carl Jung - Man & His Symbols
Machiavelli - The Prince
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude
Kent Nelson - Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still
George Orwell - 1984
John Steinbeck - Of Mice & Men
John Steinbeck - The Moon Is Down
Jon Stewart - Naked Pictures of Famous People
Frank Herbert - Dune
Stanislav Szukalski - Behold!!! The Protong
Aleister Crowley - Love, Sleep & ?gypt
Nick Cave - And The Ass Saw The Angel
Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory
Massimo Mattioli - Squeak The Mouse
David Brin - Earth
Leonard Shlain - Art & Physics
Salvador Dali - Diary of a Genius
Terence McKenna - Archaic Revival
Gary Zukav - The Dancing Wu Li Masters
Adrian Gilbert - The Mayan Prophecies
Aleister Crowley - The Legacy of the Beast
Thomas Paine - The Age of Reason
Plato - The Republic
Michael Baignet, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln - Holy Blood, Holy Grail
Walpola Rahula - What The Buddha Taught
P. D. Ouspensky - Fourth Way
Paracelus - Four Treatises of Theophratus Von Hohenheim Called Paracelus
Elaine Pagels - The Origin of Satan
Henry Miller - Black Spring
Bret Easton Ellis - American Psycho
Timothy Leary - High Priest
Blair McKenzie Blake - IJynx
Sun-Tzu - The Art of War

 

[M Two One]

Watership Down by Richard Adams.

 

[Skiptomylue11]

Wow, Sasha that is a fairly big list.

Oh and I forgot 1984, didn't like Brave New World as much. I liked Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck as well.

Oh and how is Plato's Republic?

 

[Sasha]

It's hard for me to choose favorites. All those books to me deal about different things, and that's how I relate to them. They've in a way helped me become the person I am today. Though, it's only a fraction of what I've read.

The Republic is an interesting read. It's the only thing I've read by Plato so far. I'd highly recommend it.

 

[Shard]

<div class="quote_poster">Casual Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Ender's Game, A Song of Ice and Fire (series with four out of eight books out), Hatchet, Blink, The Stand</div>

Hell yea, Hatchet for the win.

My favorite book though is Hearts In Atlantis by Stephen King.

 

[Skiptomylue11]

Well my favourites list is a fraction of what I've read as well, however my list probably is 1/8 of the total number of fictional works that I have read. I think some people can read like 5 times as fast as me when it comes to leisurely reading.

I actually picked up a copy of Plato's Republic for a dollar a month ago. I think it fell behind my dresser though.

EDIT: Shard, Aww man, now I'm remembering Hatchet. If its the book I think it is I want to go camping.

 

[Shard]

<div class="quote_poster">Skiptomylue11 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">
EDIT: Shard, Aww man, now I'm remembering Hatchet. If its the book I think it is I want to go camping.</div>

Yep, great book for pretty much any age. I read it in elementary school, middle school, and even did a report on it in high school.

 

[Detroit Madness]

Not much of a reader but some I've liked...

To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
The Last Season- Phil Jackson
Holes- Louis Sachar
Hatchet- Gary Paulsen
Surviving Hitler- Andrea Warren

 

[umair]

I am surprised no one said:

NIGHT HOOPS!!

My list:

1. Night Hoops
2. Holes
3. Full Court Fever
4. Night
5. BackField Package

 

[Midnight Green]

<div class="quote_poster">A.F. Venom Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">

</div>

I read that book sooo long ago it isn't even funny. I don't even remember the story I think I was in like seventh grade when I read it.

 

[Sasha]

<div class="quote_poster">Skiptomylue11 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I actually picked up a copy of Plato's Republic for a dollar a month ago. I think it fell behind my dresser though.</div>
Move the dresser. Retrieve the book. Read the book.

I'm reading Be Here Now by Ram Dass.

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Wikipedia:</div><div class="quote_post">
Be Here Now is considered by many a manual to make the transition from a psychedelic lifestyle to a yogic lifestyle. It continues to be an influential spiritual catalyst, and has inspired many to follow their own path with renewed faith and passion.

The book is broken up into four sections: Journey: The Transformation, From Bindu to Ojas, Cookbook for a Sacred Life, and Painted Cakes. The first is a short biography of Ram Dass' life focusing on his transition from Dr. Richard Alpert to Baba Ram Dass. The second, making up the core of the book, is a freeform explosion of metaphysical aphorisms accompanied by beautiful and poetic illustrations. The third is a manual or 'cookbook' for enacting this change in one's own life and, among a wealth of information, includes various techniques for yoga, pranayama, and meditation, as well as powerful quotations from great teachers of all religions and traditions. Finally, the last section contains an extensive list of recommended spiritual books, including books we should "hang out with."</div>

Very good so far.

 

[Trip]

Ender's Game, The Partner by John Grisham, Catcher in the Rye, She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, and Lord of the Flies.

 

[Sasha]

Never read Ender's Game, but Card is one dumb ************ outside of literature.

 

[Chutney]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting :</div><div class="quote_post">I actually picked up a copy of Plato's Republic for a dollar a month ago. I think it fell behind my dresser though.</div>
That's an interesting read, especially if you're into philosophy. Kind of puts every body else's work into perspective. The chapter where he describes the allegory of the cave is one of the best I've ever read.

 

[Mamba]

Fahrenheit 451
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Contender
The Brave
The Chief

 

[Iggy]

The Giver is a must read. Not sure who the author is though.

 

[Midnight Green]

<div class="quote_poster">Iggy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The Giver is a must read. Not sure who the author is though.</div>

Good book hated th ending though...

 

[Really Lost One]

<div class="quote_poster">Iggy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The Giver is a must read. Not sure who the author is though.</div>

That book is so weird. I remember when I first read it I was so confused. Imagine if the world was completely without color and feelings...

 

[AKIRA]

im a big reader of 50's and 60's beat writers. some of the best books ive read are:

On the road by jack kerouac-this book and allen ginsberg are solely responsible for the existence of bob dylan, jim morrison and influenced everything that 60's were about, its probably the most influential peice of writing besides the bible, and thats not just my opinion.
junky by william bouroughs
naked lunch by william bourroughs
anything written by william blake (poet)
anything written by allen ginsberg (poet)
visions of cody by jack kerouac
dharma bums by jack kerouac
bhagvad gita-hare krsna,buddhism and ancient indian religions

there is alot more but i cant think of them all right now

 

[Sasha]

I love Kerouac!

 

[Iggy]

<div class="quote_poster">Blur Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Good book hated th ending though...</div>

I agree. It just ended and its a mystery what really happened.

 

[Karma]

I used to read every night (my way of falling asleep) until the 7th grade, but that habit unfortunetly died as the Internet became more prominent. I'm trying to slowly get back into reading nowadays, but since most of my nights are filled with staying up to do assignments and homework, I don't know if I'll be able to make it a habit again.

From when I used to read, these were the books I enjoyed the most (that I can remember):

Fiction

Jerry Spinelli - Maniac Magee - Read this first when I was in grade 6 or so, and to this day remains one of the best books I have ever read. The story in itself is amazing.

J.D Salinger - The Catcher In The Rye

Surprisingly, that's pretty much the only novels that I can remember. I was more into reading biographies than anything. which brings me to my list for non-fictional books:

Dennis Rodman - Bad As I Wanna Be - Loved this book from start to finish.

Magic Johnson - My Life

Sam Smith - The Jordan Rules

I really want to read Jack McCallum's :07 Seconds or Less and Phil Jackson's The Last Season.

 

[Really Lost One]

This book is going to be so ghetto ganster

 

[I-Miss-MJ]

<div class="quote_poster">Brian Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">

This book is going to be so ghetto ganster</div>

I can't wait for this.

I only started HP last year and thought it was a kids book, boy was I mistaken.

 

[B.e.]

Even though its nerdy I read Harry Potter to..lol

Barack Obama's book Dreams From My Father is good to.