What Are Your Top Three Favorite Books?

[PLFXpert 0]

Please include a brief description as to why.




I know the "favorite book" thread has been done before, but the "why" isn't always obvious--espcially if you're not famliar with the person posting.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[livendive 8]

"Just a Couple of Days" by Tony Vigorito. It's just raunchy, rowdy, and incredibly fun, while also having a feel-good message to it. I've started his second book, "Nine Kinds of Naked", but got distracted by another book after just a few pages. I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

"Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal", by Christopher Moore...absolute hilarity. I'd also throw most any book by Tom Robbins into the mix here too, who I consider to be one of the most underappreciated authors of our time.

"The Stand" (Stephen King) or "Swan Song" (Robert McCammon), both of which are essentially the same book. Post-apocalyptic hijinx with supernatural twists, I've read both of them several times.

Also, I'm currently listening to "The Life of Pi" and am absolutely entranced about three quarters of the way through. J.R.R Tolkien and Douglas Adams get very high marks from me too...honestly it's tough to pick just three.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[Thanatos340 1]

1) Enders Game - Orson Scott Card
Simply a Brilliant book. I can read this book over and over again and learn something new every time.

2) Armor - John Steakley
A fantastic book that has some great characters in Felix and Jack Crow. These same characters can be found in Steakleys only other Book “Vampire$” but in a totally different world.

3) To Sail Beyond the Sunset - Heinlein
It was Heinlien at his finest.

Honorable mentions:
Fool on the Hill - Matt Ruff
Callahans Crosstime Saloon - Spider Robinson

[ChibiKuma 0]

I'm a fiction fan really...

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
I like the whole take on a more realistic side to the King Arthur story.

White Shark by Peter Benchley
I love marine life and this was a somewhat graphic book.

Queen of the Damned by Ann Rice
Any book with vampires is good. This one was one of my favorites of hers. Too bad the movie didn't do it justice...at all.

Hard to narrow it down to just three though really.

TPM #131
People are just as the stars....there are bright ones and there are those that are dim.

[JohnRich 4]

The Bible.

The Dictionary.

The Constitution.

[poe62 0]

House of Leaves--Mark Z. Danielewski
It breaks convention. If you have read it, you know what I mean.

The World as Will and Idea--Arthur Schopenhauer
I love philosophy, and this one really messed with my world for a bit.

Jude the Obscure--Thomas Hardy
I've never read a book that left me so cold and in awe at the same time.

~Nikki
http://www.facebook.com/poe62

Irgity Dirgity

[gravitysurfer 0]

The Bible

PD Stiletto Owners Manual

"Oh the places you will go" Dr. Suess

Edit to add: agree very much with livendive regarding Tom Robbins. Brilliant.

aloha.

[BikerBabe 0]

My choices stem from the fact that i am a hopelessly romantic idealistic nerd at heart. I read for pleasure, and i love fiction.

"A Tale of Two Cities" - Charles Dickens. Yeah yeah, you hated reading it in school. I LOVED it. It has an amazing story, richly-drawn characters, an exciting setting, and one of the most romantic and timeless sacrifices for love ever put into print. *swoon*

Lord of the Rings - Tolkien. The man didn't just create fantasy fiction. He created a world, several languages, and left a mark on popular culture that will probably endure for the rest of recorded history.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. what can i say...i AM a chick, after all :P

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[kashton 0]

River God - follows a fascinating plot during the Egyptian times with ample action moments and a very fun plot.

Black Hawk Down - fast paced action, written very well, time line is easy to follow, I learned a lot from it.

Embraced by the Light - everyone should read this book

That John Denver's full of s**t man...

It's a great day to be alive

[JSE 1]

Snow Crash - its about a hacker who rides a motercycle, carries a katana sword, and works as a pizza delivery boy for the mafia. Its just cool.

Magic Kingdom for Sale - its about a middle aged lawyer or something like that who ends up buying a magic kingdom from a magazine ad only to find out its real. He is now the king of a run-down magic kingdom with lots of problems. Its like a child fantasy come true, but not quite.

enders game- already mentioned.

[happythoughts 0]

The Foundation (series) by Isaac Asimov.
It gives a good view of the flow of politics by framing it as science fiction.

HHGG by Douglas Adams.
Humor, but mainly growing the ability to see from perspective.

Anything by John LeCarre.
He could write a telephone book and I'd read.
Just a wonderful style of writing that is entrancing.

[jack79 0]

"To have and have not" - Hemingway - I think Hemingway's Key West days were clearly his best and I think this story is particularly dark, but I'm a huge Hemingway fan.

"Guns Germs and Steel" - Jered Diamond - History is fascinating and i think it's cool to hear one person's thoughts on why some civilizations flourished and some died out.

"Searching for the Sound" - Phil Lesh - I love the Dead.

[livendive 8]

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"Guns Germs and Steel" - Jered Diamond - History is fascinating and i think it's cool to hear one person's thoughts on why some civilizations flourished and some died out.

It seems to me that my luck with books is rather streaky. I just finished that one and thought it was really good, am really digging the one I'm currently on ("Life of Pi"), and am really looking forward to my next one ("Nine Kinds of Naked"). So needless to say I'm in a good stretch...and not betting high on any good Christmas releases.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[PLFXpert 0]

Quote

It seems to me that my luck with books is rather streaky.

Mine as well. Mostly because I love a clever psychological thriller and contemplative books in that category are few and far between.

Either that or I just have a bad habit of picking the sucky ones.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Mann 0]

"Winterdance" by Gary Paulsen. The funniest book on earth.
That guy tells stories from a time he started dogsledding. I've NEVER cried like that just because of a book! I mean, literally, I was laughing so hard I was crying =). Even my friends that know nothing about dogsledding laughed. A lot.

"The Master and Margarita" by Mihail Bulgakov.
It is a masterpiece of words and also a story well told - and not only because it's written by an author whose books were forbidden in USSR, but also because it's so f**ing complex that you need to really, really read it And yet - once you get it, pages just flow.

"Lord of the rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
I've read it something like 15 times. Incredible: I can open it wherever and I will notice something that I haven't noticed before. He has put tiny pieces of knowledge into the smallest of conversations, so this book is not only well written, but full of... oh well, I won't be able to explain it anyway.

[labrys 0]

Starship Troopers.
Not a "great" book but I'll never forget how much it made me think when I was a teenager.

Lonesome Dove.
I've read it half a dozen times and I'm sure I'll read it many more. No matter how familiar I feel with the story, it's just a wonderful read.

Le Morte d'Arthur.
There are dozens of books that I could choose as a third.... so I'm going with this one because I dearly love Arthurian literature and this one is the foundation for most of them.

Owned by Remi #?

[labrys 0]

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"Lord of the rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien

But..... that's not a book. It's 3 books.

Owned by Remi #?

[sunshine 2]

Chronicles of Narnia ~ do you really need a reason why?

Cinderella ~ i still have the book from when i was a child. It's ratty and falling apart cause i read it so much, but it was always my favorite.

The Road Atlas ~ i love looking at maps and seeing the names of towns i might wanna go visit.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[HeatherObscura 0]

love the mists of avalon <3


my 3
1. Dangerous Angels : the weetzie bat books by Francesca Lia Block - beautiful ethereal poetic stories...first really LOOOONG book i read, have read it many times since

2. A wrinkle in time -a nostalgic mind blow

3. Dante's Inferno by Dante Alighieri ...classic..takes you into a new realm,and its one of those books you can read over and over because you always miss something the first time around and everything can be interpreted in a different way

[Rstanley0312 0]

1984- bc it is just the greatest book I have ever read and it is coming true.

Into Thin Air- amazing story about an Everest climb gone wrong. As a climber I especially love it.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell-probably the funniest book I have ever read! Tucker Max is a great writer and reading about what he has done in his life is just wrong and so comical.

A very close 4th is Blue Like Jazz because it is exactly how I feel my relationship with God works!

Blues
Rob

Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

[HeatherObscura 0]

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The Bible.

The Dictionary.

The Constitution.

booorriiiinnnggggg

[jakee 1,254]

John Le Carre, The Constant Gardener: An incredibly thought provoking look at how western civilisation exploits the developing world, and a beautifully written, uncoventionally structured narrative. Le Carre may be getting on a bit, but he's at the peak of his powers.

Neil Gaiman, Stardust: Love all of his work, but this, IMO, is his best. A charming fairy tale with a poignant ending, written in the most stunning prose. Think how perfectly Hemingway places every word in The Old Man And The Sea, it's like that. Only completely different.

Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: No explanation neccessary


(NB, these aren't my three favorite books, narrowing it down to so few would be impossible. These are just the first three that I thought of today from the long list of books that I love)

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Rstanley0312 0]

(NB, these aren't my three favorite books, narrowing it down to so few would be impossible. These are just the first three that I thought of today from the long list of books that I love)

2nd

Rob

Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

[PLFXpert 0]

Quote

NB, these aren't my three favorite books, narrowing it down to so few would be impossible. These are just the first three that I thought of today from the long list of books that I love

Yea. No matter what the subject, Bill always says I have too many favorites.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[livendive 8]

Quote

Neil Gaiman, Stardust: Love all of his work, but this, IMO, is his best. A charming fairy tale with a poignant ending, written in the most stunning prose. Think how perfectly Hemingway places every word in The Old Man And The Sea, it's like that. Only completely different.

I'll have to give it a try. I really liked Anansi Boys and Neverwhere. American Gods was good through much of it, but there were also several parts that seemed to drag for me.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)