OT: Bookworms

[chimchim]

Hey y'all, just for fun, all you bookworms out there, what are your top 5 most favorite books? I am always buying books based on recommendations from friends. Would love to see what you are reading and maybe find a good book to read!

You can list one bonus series of books if you want!

In no particular order, here are mine:

1. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
2. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
3. Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles - Raymond Arroyo
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb

BONUS: Twilight Saga

 

[Morandir835]

Let's see Ms. Chimchim:

1- Lord of the Rings- J.R.R. Tolkien
2- Dune Messiah- Frank Herbert
3- The Silmarillion- Tolkien
4- Dune- Herbert
5- Children of Dune- Herbert

 

[the_vape_nerd]

Here's my top 5 and a few others:

1. Confederacy of Dunces- John Kennedy Toole (I live in New Orleans so I might be biased here, lol).
2. East of Eden- Steinbeck
3. Breakfast of Champions- Kurt Vonnegut
4. Going Postal- Steven Jaramillo
5. The Selfish Gene- Richard Dawkins

Here's some I like also:

The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
I'm also reading through this "Game of Thrones" series by George R.R. Martin (it is now an HBO series, btw)
I like anything by author Douglas Coupland.
Anything by the media writer and social critic Douglas Rushkoff.

Heres some novels I've recently read:

The Help- Kathryn Stockett (truly hilarious look at southern life through the eyes of several black maids)
The Passage- can't recall the author, Justin something...it's about vampires after a nasty accident at the CDC...not really about vampires though. It's hard to explain.
I read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I didn't find it all that great.


Ok, thats it for now. I will have to post again when I think of some new ones. Good post.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

Oh I forgot to mention T.C. Boyle.

The Inner Circle is good. It's about Alfred Kinsey the sex researcher.

Also, Drop City about a commune of hippies back in the 1970s or maybe 60s.

 

[Tracker II]

I have spent all spring and summer reading and applying what I read in The Forager's Harvest and Nature's Garden, both by Samuel Thayer. If you know someone "outdoorsy" Chimchim, then I highly recommend these two books. As one reviewer said, I feel sorry for other authors of outdoor edible type books because these two books obsoleted them all.

It's funny how I used to wage war against all the "weeds" and other unwanted growth on our property; now I just eat them, lol.

 

[Eddie.Willers]

Hmmm...something meaty to set the brain going...

1. George Orwell - "Burmese Days"
2. Sinclair Lewis - "Main Street"
3. Ayn Rand - "Atlas Shrugged"
4. Anthony Burgess - "Earthly Powers"
5. Martin Amis - "London Fields"

I guess those would be the five I took to my imaginary desert island - as long as I could have electricity to keep the lifetime supply of vaping cosumables in use!

 

[wader2k]

I might add to this later.....but top is Silverlock by John Myers Myers Silverlock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another favorite writer is James Branch Cabell. James Branch Cabell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A poem from Silverlock above:

"I invoke the Commonwealth!
I know what was in Orthroerir;
Orthroerir was in it,
In it, it was hoarded,
Hoarded, it was stolen,
Stolen, it was spilled,
Spilled, I caught it,
Caught, it was given away,
Given away, it stays my own,
My own is the Commonwealth.
I invoke it!
The land may not be hidden from its lover."

A short synopsis: A survivor from a shipwreck ends up landing in the Commonwealth. The commonwealth is inhabited by all the characters from literature. Identifying the various characters from literature makes this book a joy for any lover of classic literature.
An example of the many nuggets is this one I found while searching for Orthroerir: Odroerir (German for the Islandic 'Óðrerir') is the (vessel of) the mead of Wisdom and Poetry in the old Nordic mythology. But don't get me wrong, the book is fun read without trying to dig up all the references. Anyone wanting to dig deeper into this book will find this site very informative: http://www.anitra.net/commonwealth/

 

[dohsma]

Jeez, I read so much, I'm not sure I could come up with a top 5 list. My ATF is the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I'm currently reading the fifth "Song of Ice and Fire" book. I'd rather be reading than doing just about anything else

 

[chimchim]

Jeez, I read so much, I'm not sure I could come up with a top 5 list. My ATF is the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I'm currently reading the fifth "Song of Ice and Fire" book. I'd rather be reading than doing just about anything else

Me too! I wish I could make a living reading! Feel free to list some of your faves, I won't limit YOU to only 5!! LOL!

 

[chimchim]

Another fave of mine is:
LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel

 

[incantius]

i can give you a few series/trilogies....but fav books??? no way!!!

• The Chronicles of Thomas Convenant (1st, 2nd, & Final)
• All of the Krondor books by Raymond E. Feist
• All of the David Eddings' Mallorean, Elenium & Belgariad books
• Dang near anything by Piers Anthony
• Le Morte D'Arthur (an oldie but a goodie) By Sir Thomas Mallory link to background

(as you can see i'm a big fan of fantasy books lol)

 

[Mookelboo]

Oh what a great topic ChimChim!!

A mix of old favorites that I have read multiple times and a couple of new ones. Currently reading the second in the series by Hoffman (number 5) it's quite good.

1 - The Woman In White - Wilke Collins
2 - Outlander series (yep. all of them, multiple times and I hang my head in shame since they're romance novels but gosh darnit they're good!!) - Diana Gabaldon
3 - Good Omens - Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman (anything Pratchett is brilliant)
4 - The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry
5 - Left Hand of God - Paul Hoffman

Chimchim, it's interesting you listed Pillars, I tried to listen to the unabridged audio book but but, gave up. The only other book that got the same treatment was The Name of the Rose by Umberto Echo. Maybe I should give it another go. Thanks again for a great topic!

 

[chimchim]

Oh what a great topic ChimChim!!

A mix of old favorites that I have read multiple times and a couple of new ones. Currently reading the second in the series by Hoffman (number 5) it's quite good.

1 - The Woman In White - Wilke Collins
2 - Outlander series (yep. all of them, multiple times and I hang my head in shame since they're romance novels but gosh darnit they're good!!) - Diana Gabaldon
3 - Good Omens - Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman (anything Pratchett is brilliant)
4 - The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry
5 - Left Hand of God - Paul Hoffman

Chimchim, it's interesting you listed Pillars, I tried to listen to the unabridged audio book but but, gave up. The only other book that got the same treatment was The Name of the Rose by Umberto Echo. Maybe I should give it another go. Thanks again for a great topic!

Glad you liked the topic. Books are very special to me. I got my love for reading from my 88 yr. old Gram. She is a huge Diana Gabaldon fan! I have never read her before. Pillars was amazing to me, it was pretty crude/graphic but I LOVED it! There's another book that is the sequel to Pillars called "World Without End." My gram read that and she said it wasn't as good as Pillars.

 

[plantlvr]

I love to read, was always at the library when i was younger and just picked up a couple books on hold. Do you know you can go to your library website and place holds on books ( even the new 'on order' ones ) and they email you when they get there? Awesome

One that always stands out for me is 'The Green King', can't remember the author but he also wrote 'Perfume', both great.
I loved the Jack London books about dogs and wolves, 'Papillion' is great, love the Dresden Files and Repairman Jack series, paranormal thrillers,read all Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and love Biographies and cooking behind the scenes books, like Anthony Bourdain...
I'm sure there is more, those just popped out, sorry more than five !

 

[Keener]

The Repairman Jack series is amazing. F. Paul Wilson is an amazing author, and a super great fella' in general.

Way too many books to list. But a few amazing authors...

Gary Braunbeck
Jack Ketchum
Joe Lansdale
F. Paul Wilson
"The" Harlan Ellison
Ray Bradbury
Stephen King
Edgar Allan Poe
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Kealan Patrick Burke
Ronald Malfi
Ronald Kelly
Clive Barker
Rio Youers
Ambrose Bierce
Ramsey Campbell

...to name but a few lol.

 

[KrisBKream]

Wow this one is ridiculously difficult. Here goes, off the top of my head, and in no particular order

1. Song of Ice and Fire series. Not the happiest books ever, but definitely one of the most well-written stories I've ever encountered
2. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. So epic, it's ridiculous. If you haven't read it yet, LISTEN TO THE AUTHOR!!! At the REAL end of the story, he tells you to stop reading, which I did. But a year later, I gave in and read his last chapter, and I have been kicking myself ever since. Remember, a good story is about the journey, not the destination.
3. Harry Potter. I'm sorry, I'd love to join the anti-Potter crowd because of the movies, and I do realize they are children's books, but they have a nearly universal appeal.
4. Othello by William Shakespeare. Only problem I have with this one is that the body count was too low
5. Tale of Two Cities. When I was forced to read this in high school, I found it too dry to be interesting. As an adult, it is a gripping story. Still a tad dry, but exercises my brain just enough to make me feel good without making things difficult.

I have more, but considering 3 of my 5 are actually 19 books... I'll stop

Edit: Ok, I lied. I NEED to add a sixth! The Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison. Pure guilty pleasure sans guilt. I should be done now. Brave New World. Ok, that's all. Now I'm done.
AH... AH.. AH... Lord of the Flies CHOO!!! Wow, excuse me!

 

[incantius]

oooooooooooooooo how could I have missed the Harry Potter series (well i did say there's too many to name favorites lol) but the movies do not even come close to doing the books justice imo

 

[the_vape_nerd]

Say do any of you have the e-reader, Nook by Barnes and Noble? I ask because I've been sorta looking for someone to share the books with. There's a lend book feature for some if not all the books, but you can only do it once. It might be cool if someone else from the forum has one and would be interested in the lending with me.

 

[chimchim]

Say do any of you have the e-reader, Nook by Barnes and Noble? I ask because I've been sorta looking for someone to share the books with. There's a lend book feature for some if not all the books, but you can only do it once. It might be cool if someone else from the forum has one and would be interested in the lending with me.

I have a Kindle
I absolutely love it!
I know you all know this, but if you are on Amazon and search for 0.00 free kindle books, tons of free books come up. All classics are free!

 

[the_vape_nerd]

I know that Kindle users like their devices too chimchim and I think if I had it to do over, I'd get a Kindle instead. Mainly just b/c Amazon has better book prices. Still I do love the nook.