Your 7 Favorite Books Ever

[revo]

There was that trend on FB about naming the 7 best books you've ever read, so let's do that here. It'll give me some ideas.

1 - Lords of the Realm, by John Helyar -- best book ever written about the business side of baseball, IMO. So good, I just read it again 24 years after the first time I read it.
2 - Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough
3 - The Fifties by David Halberstam
4 - The Liberation Trilogy (yeah, it's 3 books: An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, & The Guns at Last Light) by Rick Atkinson
5 - And the Band Played On - Randy Shilts
6 - Animal Farm - George Orwell
7 - Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

[Mithrandir]

My favorite 7. 7 that I really, really, really enjoyed while reading them.

Glass Books of the Dream Eaters - Gordon Dahlquist
Wuthering Heights - Bronte
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Larsson
The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
The Fountainhead - Rand
Hound of the Baskervilles - Conan Doyle

[Sour Masher]

It would be hard to name my 7 favorite books now, as my tastes have changed a lot over the years. However, like Mith, I'm going to interpret this question as being about which books were the most enjoyable when you read them. For me, my greatest reading experiences happened in my formative years (which, being a slower former, took me through my teens right into my late 20s). I loved all of these books when I first read them (the final two are fix ups, so some may not consider them proper novels, but since I love short stories as much as novels anyway, I had to include them).

1. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini (absolute best ending scene in any story, ever, or at least, I felt at the time)
2. Enders Game Orson Scott Card (the movie didn't do it justice; combined with Ender's Shadow, just great read)
3. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (really overlooked 1950s sci-fi novel; writing is so wonderfully tight)
4. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (I'd love to see this on film, but it would take a trilogy, and it would be an epic bomb)
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (always thought Huxley's dystopian novel was better than Orwell's)
6. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (another book I read in college that spoke to me at the time)
7. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (Bradbury made me envious of a childhood I never had in many of his stories; but this collection was just great sci-fi/fantasy)

Really, these days, I read so few novels, because I fear the time commitment of finishing them. I prefer a light snack of reading before bed, so I'm a sucker for short story anthologies. One of my all time favorite, for some devilish fun, is https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Demons.../dp/0385185634. It is the best collection of demon and devil stories I've ever seen, and they run the gambit for funny to disturbing. I used to love buying anthologies of genre fiction back when book stores were a thing--they'd often be in the bargain bin, and provided great bang for my poor buck.

[revo]

For me, I would say the “best books” are the ones when I finished them, I was almost in tears that they were over, lol.

[B-Fly]

Hmm. This is a tough one for me, because some of my favorite books are non-fiction, and there are some authors I love so much that it's hard to choose just one or two.

1. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
2. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut is my favorite author and I could name about four or five others from him easily, but I can't leave off these two. Slaughterhouse was his most impactful novel, but I think Cat's Cradle was perhaps more fun. I just love Vonnegut's voice and his satire and humanism.

3. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain

Vonnegut is probably a 20th Century Mark Twain, in terms of humanism and satire. This one is the one that I found the most fun and satirical when I first read it as a kid.

4. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

Holden Caulfield is probably my favorite character in terms of unique voice and perspective.

5. The Inferno - Dante

This book is so imaginative and biting and influential and bizarre. It probably influenced our modern conceptions of life after death far more than any of the holy books themselves.

6. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion - Jonathan Haidt

Such an important book in our modern times where it's far too easy for everyone to hide in their own ideological echo chambers taking potshots at the strawman they've established as the stupid/ignorant/immoral/selfish "other".

7. Race Matters - Cornel West

Probably a bit dated now, but understanding the history, causes, impacts and psychological and sociological components of matters of race in our society has always been both personally and professionally very important to me, and this book, which I read while in law school and delving into constitutional law and civil rights law, was hugely influential on me. A lot of insight.

[Gregg]

I thought this was a great question. I am glad you posted it.

1- Bible
2- The World According to Garp- John Irving
3- Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck
4- Theodore Rex-Edmund Morris (this is the best of the trilogy)
5- The Greatest Salesman in the World-Og Mandino
6- Little Big Man-Thomas Berger
7- I would insert one of the many biographies I have enjoyed, but I need to think about it for awhile.

[DMT]

For the record, I started this last night so I'm not duplicating others' picks, great minds yada yada.

1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
3. 1984 by George Orwell
4. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
5. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
6. The World According to Garp by John Irving
7. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth

[DMT]

Another seven because why not.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
The Magus by John Fowles
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman

[Sour Masher]

I just remembered how much I enjoy reading Christopher Moore, but I can't think of which one I want to bump, so I'll add that Moore is really funny, and for me, his best work is Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff.

[senorsheep]

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland/ Through The Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll) - A clever and deviant clash of logic and whimsy for those of us who prefer alternate realities.
The Lord Of The Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) - The greatest story ever told.
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) - "So there are others out there who think like me..."
Animal Farm (George Orwell) - Orwell looks like more of a visionary genius with each passing era.
The Second World War (Winston Churchill) - Six eloquent volumes of living history from the eye of the storm.
A Song Of Ice And Fire (George R.R. Martin) - A Game Of Thrones, A Clash Of Kings, and A Storm Of Swords were perfect and brilliant, then the series started meandering with A Feast For Crows.
John Adams (William McCullough) - I didn't even know I cared about John Adams before I read this. World class historical writing.

Special mention: The Amber Chronicles (Roger Zelazny) - The quality of the writing isn't always top shelf, but this anthology sticks with me because of the wildly imaginative story and universe created by the author. On other days, I might flip it with John Adams. Somebody really needs to put a screenplay together; this could be a phenomenal cable series.

Honorable mentions: The Hobbit (Tolkien), The Stand (Stephen King), Dune (Frank Herbert), Lord Of The Flies (William Golding), A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess), Hyperion (Dan Simmons).

Good ones already mentioned: 1984, Ender's Game, Brave New World, the Vonneguts, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (any Mark Twain is excellent), Inferno, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Favorite book when I was a kid: A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle) - What a kick in the balls it was to fire up the movie trailer and see stupid Oprah making a ridiculous mockery of the story that captured my young imagination.

[TranaGreg]

I'm mulling over my seven, but wanted to comment here ...

5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (always thought Huxley's dystopian novel was better than Orwell's)

I will likely have Brave New World on my list too, but I do find it fascinating that for several decades the reason it resonated with me more than 1984 was that the BNW universe could actually happen from my vantage point, whereas the 1984 universe just seemed completely impossible that it could ever actually unfold ... and yet, as sheep just pointed out, Orwell's is looking to have been the real visionary genius; mindblowing.

[Sour Masher]

I'm mulling over my seven, but wanted to comment here ...



I will likely have Brave New World on my list too, but I do find it fascinating that for several decades the reason it resonated with me more than 1984 was that the BNW universe could actually happen from my vantage point, whereas the 1984 universe just seemed completely impossible that it could ever actually unfold ... and yet, as sheep just pointed out, Orwell's is looking to have been the real visionary genius; mindblowing.

Yeah, no doubt. Thought Orwell was heavy handed with his version, but maybe not so much. I still like Huxley's writing style better.

[Sour Masher]

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland/ Through The Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll) - A clever and deviant clash of logic and whimsy for those of us who prefer alternate realities.
The Lord Of The Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) - The greatest story ever told.
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) - "So there are others out there who think like me..."
Animal Farm (George Orwell) - Orwell looks like more of a visionary genius with each passing era.
The Second World War (Winston Churchill) - Six eloquent volumes of living history from the eye of the storm.
A Song Of Ice And Fire (George R.R. Martin) - A Game Of Thrones, A Clash Of Kings, and A Storm Of Swords were perfect and brilliant, then the series started meandering with A Feast For Crows.
John Adams (William McCullough) - I didn't even know I cared about John Adams before I read this. World class historical writing.

Special mention: The Amber Chronicles (Roger Zelazny) - The quality of the writing isn't always top shelf, but this anthology sticks with me because of the wildly imaginative story and universe created by the author. On other days, I might flip it with John Adams. Somebody really needs to put a screenplay together; this could be a phenomenal cable series.

Honorable mentions: The Hobbit (Tolkien), The Stand (Stephen King), Dune (Frank Herbert), Lord Of The Flies (William Golding), A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess), Hyperion (Dan Simmons).

Good ones already mentioned: 1984, Ender's Game, Brave New World, the Vonneguts, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (any Mark Twain is excellent), Inferno, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Favorite book when I was a kid: A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle) - What a kick in the balls it was to fire up the movie trailer and see stupid Oprah making a ridiculous mockery of the story that captured my young imagination.

Wow, you brought up a lot that I'd forgotten I loved or just barely missed my list. Either you read widely, or we have very similar reading histories. Alice in Wonderland is up there for me, Zelazny is a great writer, I forgot how imapctful the Hobbit was when I first read it, but yeah, love all the Tolkien stuff, Lord of the Flies was a powerful read, as was A Clockwork Orange. Hyperion was great too, as is Vonnegut, Twain, Douglas Adams.

And I too loved A Wrinkle in Time, but had no desire to see the movie. After seeing what Hollywood did to one of my all-time favorite short starts--Mimsy Were the Borogoves--with its totally tepid adaptation in The Last Mimsy, I soured on adaptations of tales that, to me, work better in print that they ever could on screen. But since you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, you can to read Mimsy Were the Borogoves, if you haven't and can find it. A super clever and interesting take/twist on things.

Another really good read, that hasn't been mentioned that I remember really liking is Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. A medieval murder mystery. And that makes me think of a whole genre I forgot I love. So many great mystery novels I could have listed...

[DMT]

I too loved A Wrinkle in Time as a kid and made the unfortunate mistake of seeing the movie. So I re-read it with my 7-year-old and I don't know if the entire story was just ruined forever for me, but I didn't find the book nearly as enjoyable as my memory from childhood.

[senorsheep]

Zelazny is a great writer...

Is he a great writer, or a good writer with a great imagination? I liken The Amber Chronicles to the original Star Wars movie trilogy - the writing is kind of basic in the artistic sense, but the universe (Zelazny/Lucas) created is so fantastic, I can get past it. I feel the same way about Tolkien - I always say LOTR is the greatest story ever told, but I wouldn't call it the greatest story ever written. Is there a difference? Maybe I'm splitting hairs.

And I too loved A Wrinkle in Time, but had no desire to see the movie. After seeing what Hollywood did to one of my all-time favorite short starts--Mimsy Were the Borogoves--with its totally tepid adaptation in The Last Mimsy, I soured on adaptations of tales that, to me, work better in print that they ever could on screen. But since you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, you can to read Mimsy Were the Borogoves, if you haven't and can find it. A super clever and interesting take/twist on things.

How have I never heard of Mimsy Were The Borogoves? I'll check it out - thanks!