Fun Stuff > ENJOY

Favorite books

<< < (3/27) > >>

Surgoshan:
I don't know.  My copies are all different sizes and different font types, so I can't judge.  However, American Gods strikes me as a much longer book.

And Good Omens was co-written with Pratchett, so who knows how that worked?

imagist42:
I have mass market paperback versions of Good Omens, American Gods, Anansi Boys and Neverwhere all sitting in a row on my bookshelf, and American Gods is the longest one by roughly 150 pages (Good Omens comes next, and the other two are about 50 pages shorter than that).

Oh, right! Favorite novels.

The aforementioned American Gods (I haven't been all the way through Anansi Boys or Neverwhere yet, so they have no place in this discussion for me) is absolutely great. I think Neil Gaiman has single-handedly done more for fantasy (or, at least, the fantastic) than any other living author. I can see how people would feel American Gods in particular drags toward the end, but his writing is just so full of... well, I can't quite describe it concisely, but it's full of something that you should not be missing out on.

By the same token, China Miéville's Perdido Street Station is a masterpiece. Miéville just kind of creates this world and sucks you into it. A common criticism of the book is that his prose is slightly on the experimental (and, consequently, obtuse) side, but such sections aren't quite as prevalent as these critics would have you believe. For the most part it reads wonderfully, and is simulatenously immediately slap-you-in-the-face engrossing and deep, significant thought-provoking in a way that few other books have achieved. I am now working my way through his next book, The Scar, and while it is starting off a bit slower I can see the same aspects of his style shining through.

Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is one of those novels that, while already extremely long, could continue on for twice as many pages and I would never tire of it. Every time I read it I begin to think "Well of course, of course, of course gentleman-magicians shaped the course of English history, who could possibly think otherwise?" She has a way of making this historical fiction so real, so plausible that no one could doubt it. Some complain that the middle third (the war segment) drags, but I think if you'll just read it with a wholly susceptible mind then you won't care at all.

More quickies: everything Douglas Adams ever wrote is just bloody hilarious. So are Don Quixote (seriously), Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and Kurt Vonnegut's... well, several books, but mostly Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle I guess. I like Terry Pratchett (who doesn't?) and I'm pretty sure he keeps getting better and better. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is one of the only books I've studied that didn't make me want to tear my eyes out (I read Catch-22 before I was required to, Great Expectations would have been a whole lot better if I weren't trying to analyze it, and I wouldn't call Fahrenheit 451 terrible), and in retrospect it was pretty great overall. Also, Ender's Game. I am pretty sure I do not need to explain that one.

Re: poetry: the only books I actually own are T. S. Eliot's Waste Land and Other Poems, the complete works of William Carlos Williams, and a smattering of Bukowski. The Last Night of the Earth Poems is my favorite and I highly recommend "we ain't got no money, honey, but we got rain" to anyone who wants to see what the man's all about.

That is all I guess?

BlakeJustBlake:
Spring Snow
On The Road
Treasure Island
Siddhartha
The Dark Tower series
The Sickness Unto Death
Code Complete
The Pragmatic Programmer
The Mythical Man Month
The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
The C++ Programming Language


Ok, so not everyone will be interested in the last 5....

Dissy:
A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson
I honestly don't know why this is my favourite book.  I think the story is so engaging, everytime I pick it up, I have trouble putting it down.  It has everything you want in a book: love, betrayal, spy stuff, murder.  It is not your typical book, it is both very linear, and not linear at the same time.  The book's story is set in three different periods in the life of a man which you visit in every chapter, but there is a common theme to each chapter.

Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern, Good Parts Edition by William Goldman
"Does it have any sports?"  "Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..."  Need I say more?

ThePQ4:
Heck yes, Princess Bride! (Although, I secretly hate it just as much as I love it...)

All of my favorite books are childish...

Harry Potter Series (J.K. Rowling, obviously): Mainly because it was the first series that I actually read to completion and always wanted more of it. It really inspired me to create my own stories and make friends who shared similar interests to my own. Plus it opened my eyes to a whole heck of a lot of different things, that I won't go into... I also find something new hidden in them, every time I read them --whether it's a one-liner I never noticed before that makes me laugh, or some kind of a clue as to what was coming.

Rats Saw God (Dave Thomas, not the singer): I have read this book about six times, but I do not own it. It's kind of hard to explain why I love this book, when I didn't much care for any of his other works (except for Slave Day which was pretty good). I guess I liked the way the story was told --going back to the past in Texas but also getting to see how the story from the past was affecting the way he was dealing in the present. It was just a really good story.

The Broken H (part of J.L. Langley's Cowboy series, but this is gay so you probably don't want to read it): I love this book because, 1. I think Native American Guys are Hot. 2. I think sheriffs can be pretty hot. 3. Cowboys are hot. 4. She writes in a witty, catchy tone that mimics what I try to achieve. I get totally wrapped up in her books every time I read them (about four times, and I haven't even had them for a year). I always find something different in them (plus, it's fun to fix all of the typos... Loose ID is an ebook publisher that only prints a select few paperbacks, a couple of times a year...and I guess they don't have a very good editorial department. It's great fun)

The Stephanie Plum Series (Janet Evanovich): What is there not to love about Stephanie Plum? There are 14 books out now (I haven't started the newest yet, it just came out, it's sitting on my floor waiting to be read). She started to go a little down hill around #10, but my Mom assured me that 14 has made up for sucky 11, 12, and 13. It's funny, has cute guys (for the ladies), lots of explosions (for the guys), and is filled with mystery and intrigue (for everyone!). And if you don't love Grandma Mauzer, you are dead inside. Seriously.

Wow, I have just realized that all of the other books that I actually like on my shelf right now are Yaoi mangas... I need a better hobby. (And besides those listed above, I have...13 novels in my room... I think I need to get more of my books from home).

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page