Favourite Books & Favourite Writers

[Convict13]

Can't really say "favorite" here with absolute certainty, it changes around.

 

I read a lot of Dickens (a lot...), he's my literary comfort food.

 

Favorite romance: Jane Eyre

 

Favorite author: Austen

 

Favorite modern novels: Life of Pi, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Remains of the Day

 

Favorite fictional character: Sherlock Holmes (surprise)

 

Favorite childrens' books: Winnie the Pooh

 

Favorite comic strip: Calvin and Hobbes

 

 

The Remains of the Day is such a wonderful story, I saw the movie many many years ago with my mother and went out and bought the book and it's so humble, I don't know how else to describe it, yes it's a favourite of mine and I should re-read it.  Love your Jane Eyre choice too.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Today, audiobooks and especially English TV-series help me not to lose contact with the language - which would be disastrous for me because English is a veeeery important part of my job. And at the moment, all you guys help me, too, and in such an entertaining way. Thank you for that

 

You're very welcome!  If you don't mind telling, what sort of work do you do?

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Most read book (have owned a copy of it for about 26 years, I'm 36 so have fun with the math) is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.  In college (university) I read the 2nd sequel Road to Memphis.  About 6 years ago, I bought the rest of the books she wrote about the Logan family.  The whole series looks at life in the deep south after slavery ended in the US up to the US' entry into WWII.  The series is a trilogy that starts with Roll of Thunder, has a prequel, then several short stories that I believe all come in between the prequel & book 1 (no where near the number of stories as Sherlock, but there are 4 novels).

 

Also like Chronicles of Narnia (own all of them and that is our curriculum this year for homeschooling my son).

 

Then there's the early reader book that I could quote almost verbatim : Each Peach Pear Plum which has a lot of fairy tale & nursery rhyme characters in it.

Adult fiction: Anything written by Frank Peretti (his solo stuff haven't read is co-written works yet).  He writes suspense & one mystery/suspense.  The Left Behind Series (although I haven't read Book 9 to the end yet & it's been 13 years since I read book 8).

 

I also like books on the Bible & Christian history.  A good one on how we got an English Bible and many English words (some mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare) is a biography titled Tyndale (don't remember the author).

[Schlauer Fuchs]

You're very welcome!  If you don't mind telling, what sort of work do you do?

 

Well, I'm a student, I'm currently writing my Master's Thesis and earning some money by offering remedial courses in English for students at a school in my neighbourhood and working for the "(German) Association of language centres, language teaching institutes and institutes of foreign languages" (awful long name...). Next year, I'll start my "traineeship" at a school to become a teacher - and as you might have guessed by now, English is one of my subjects

[jesskayding]

Let's See.... Kim Kardashian's new Book, ' Selfies '

 

SIKE your MinDs!

 

 

[T.o.b.y]

I've been musing all day (that's what I generally do when I get some time off and finally, finally don't have to go anywhere or see anybody), and I've figured out why Jane Austen is my favorite writer. It's because every single word in her novels is there for a reason. And you don't realize this until you've read the book to the very end and then read it again. When I read "Emma" for the first time, I thought it was the most trivial and boring thing ever. There are pages and pages of just people making small talk. But if, after it's been revealed at the end what was going on between those people the whole time, you go back to the beginning and look at those seemingly pointless passages again, you realize that if you had been clever, if you had only observed and deduced correctly, you could have figured the whole thing out yourself much sooner, because every single F***ing sentence was a clue.

 

Her tales of manners and courtship are actually mysteries. Not murder mysteries, but love mysteries, hate mysteries, jealousy and emotional repression and manipulation and deceit mysteries. She must have been a "proper genius", as the cabbie would say. And I love that while she wrote about women and for a mostly female audience, she expected her readers and characters to be intelligent, rational, to look closely and form their own opinions based on their own judgement. That's a pretty feminist approach for the 1790s and early 1800s...

[Redbeard]

My favourite author is Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  I am definitely into the classics overall.  I love books like Jude the Obscure, Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Christo, Tom Jones, etc.  

My all time favourite book is The Brothers Karamozov. 

[Arcadia]

My all time favorite, desert island, too-obsessed over book is Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit). I even love the appendices. Heck, I've even read the index a couple of times.

 

Some other faves, off the top of my head:

• Shane by Jack Schaefer. First "grown ups" book I ever read.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of my favorite movies, too.
• The Ramayana, retold by William Buck.
• Dune by Frank Herbert. But not the sequels.
• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, and pretty much everything else he wrote.
• Watership Down, Richard Adams.
• The Man Who Was Magic by Paul Gallico. Also Thomasina, possibly because I love cats and Patrick McGoohan.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams.
• The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The book upon which the movie Gettysburg, which I also like, was based.

Not much of a mystery fan, but I do like a lot of the Dick Francis novels, and also Tony Hillerman's.

Pretty much anything by Robert Heinlein (except for the most famous one, Stranger in a Strange Land, which left me cold.) Also Ray Bradbury.

 

I'm afraid the force-feeding in school kind of ruined most of the classics for me, but I discovered Dickens and Steinbeck on my own, and I quite like them.

 

Those are all pretty old, I don't have much time to read anymore. But more recently I've enjoyed:

• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susana Clark, and I fervently hope she's writing another book!
• The crazy, funny Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore.
• Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner.
• The Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland, which was a surprise because I didn't get much out of her other, more vaunted books, the Girl in Hyacinth Blue and the Passion of Artemisia.
• Currently I'm reading the Book Thief. Fabulous, in both senses of the word.
• And next on my list is something by Neil Gaiman. Not Stardust, already read that, it was okay but not great.

I used to read a lot of manga too before it got to where I couldn't afford it. But I've droned on too long (Maison Ikkoku ), ciao.

 

Oh, and add me to the list of "not a Harry Potter fan". Sorry, good idea, not well written enough for my taste.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Watership down was a good book. I read that 20 years ago by choice in high school then gave a speech on it.

[Carol the Dabbler]

My all time favorite, desert island, too-obsessed over book is Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit). I even love the appendices. Heck, I've even read the index a couple of times.

Sorry, the rule is one book per desert island -- that's umm, eight. Or at least four.

 

• Dune by Frank Herbert. But not the sequels.

Sequels? What sequels? Loved the book, too bad they never made a movie of it.

 

Pretty much anything by Robert Heinlein (except for the most famous one, Stranger in a Strange Land, which left me cold.)

OK, then I've gotta ask, have you read I Will Fear No Evil?  I bet you loved The Door Into Summer!

 

[avoca]

My favourite book is either

 

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (which I have read about 20 times and sadly the ending never changes) and if you have only ever seen the movie you are missing most of the story, actually that movie annoys me, but the TV series is sublime.

 

 

 

one of my faves as well. named one of my cats after lord sebastian flyte.

 

aside conan doyle, some of my faves are tolkien, alexandre dumas, oscar wilde and patricia highsmith.

 

I find entertaining the books by mrs kinsella- wickham, as well as the whole HP saga.

 

lately I'm reading lots by alexander mccall smith.

 

most boring book ever read? jonathan strange & mr norrell. IMO, of course

[Carol the Dabbler]

lately I'm reading lots by alexander mccall smith.

I've read most of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series to date (almost caught up). My husband and I both love those, with their gentle commentary on human nature.  We also loved the television series, and wish it had continued. But I know the author writes other series as well. Which ones are your favorites?

 

[avoca]

 

lately I'm reading lots by alexander mccall smith.

I've read most of the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series to date (almost caught up). My husband and I both love those, with their gentle commentary on human nature.  We also loved the television series, and wish it had continued. But I know the author writes other series as well. Which ones are your favorites?

 

the whole edinburgh series   (44 scotland street and the other 2).

 

I recently got trains and lovers as well.

[Arcadia]

 

My all time favorite, desert island, too-obsessed over book is Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit). I even love the appendices. Heck, I've even read the index a couple of times.

Sorry, the rule is one book per desert island -- that's umm, eight. Or at least four.

 

Nope, I've got the all-under-one-cover, published-as-it-was-intended-to-be-published edition, nyah nyah.   Well, okay, I'd have to give up the Hobbit. Fine.

 

 

• Dune by Frank Herbert. But not the sequels.

Sequels? What sequels? Loved the book, too bad they never made a movie of it.

 

Where were you in the '80's, living on Caladan?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(franchise)#Original_series

 

 

Pretty much anything by Robert Heinlein (except for the most famous one, Stranger in a Strange Land, which left me cold.)

OK, then I've gotta ask, have you read I Will Fear No Evil?

 

Yes, I rather enjoyed that one, it amused me. I don't know, something about the character of Valentine in "Stranger" just irked me. I don't remember it well enough to say what. I seem to recall he was rather messianic? That would do it.

 

I bet you loved The Door Into Summer!

Because one of the main characters was a cat, you mean? Darn tootin!!!!! Although I think my all time favorite was Starman Jones. Apparently I'm drawn to the brainy types. Who knew?

 

The first sci fi book I ever read was Heinlein's Time for the Stars; I remember the librarian tried to dissuade me from checking it out because it was a "boy's book." But I liked the cover art so I checked it out anyway; and was absolutely riveted. I'd never read anything like it, it rather blew my mind. I was nine.

 

Lest we be too hard on the librarian; we were only allowed to check out 2 books at a time. When I showed an interest in LOTR, she gave me special dispensation to check out all three at once, and extra loan time. So all is forgiven.

[Carol the Dabbler]

My all time favorite, desert island, too-obsessed over book is Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit). I even love the appendices. Heck, I've even read the index a couple of times.

Sorry, the rule is one book per desert island -- that's umm, eight. Or at least four.

Nope, I've got the all-under-one-cover, published-as-it-was-intended-to-be-published edition, nyah nyah.   Well, okay, I'd have to give up the Hobbit. Fine.

Well, to quote someone who knows far more about Tolkien than I do:

 

The Lord of the Rings is actually consists of six "books". It's usually published as 3 volumes (for reasons) or sometimes as a single volume (which was Tolkien's original intent), but whatever format it's in, it's always 6 books. (And a multitude of appendices.)

 

 

 

• Dune by Frank Herbert. But not the sequels.

Sequels? What sequels? Loved the book, too bad they never made a movie of it.

Where were you in the '80's, living on Caladan?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(franchise)#Original_series

I was attempting to read the Dune sequels and trying to forget the movie! (My emoticons were intended to convey sarcasm -- apparently I missed.)

 

The first sci fi book I ever read was Heinlein's Time for the Stars; I remember the librarian tried to dissuade me from checking it out because it was a "boy's book." But I liked the cover art so I checked it out anyway; and was absolutely riveted. I'd never read anything like it, it rather blew my mind. I was nine.

 

Lest we be too hard on the librarian; we were only allowed to check out 2 books at a time. When I showed an interest in LOTR, she gave me special dispensation to check out all three at once, and extra loan time. So all is forgiven.

Our librarian tended to ask, "Wouldn't you rather check out a book that you can read yourself?" And our library apparently didn't have science fiction, or I would have discovered the genre before I was in my twenties. So I think your librarian was a peach!

[Arcadia]

Well, to quote someone who knows far more about Tolkien than I do:

 

The Lord of the Rings is actually consists of six "books". It's usually published as 3 volumes (for reasons) or sometimes as a single volume (which was Tolkien's original intent), but whatever format it's in, it's always 6 books. (And a multitude of appendices.)

 

This is revenge for my lose/loose remarks, isn't it? Fine. Here.

My all time favorite, desert island, too-obsessed over book literary work is Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit). I even love the appendices. Heck, I've even read the index a couple of times.

Happy?   

 

 

 

 

 

• Dune by Frank Herbert. But not the sequels.

Sequels? What sequels? Loved the book, too bad they never made a movie of it.

 

Where were you in the '80's, living on Caladan?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(franchise)#Original_series

 

I was attempting to read the Dune sequels and trying to forget the movie! (My emoticons were intended to convey sarcasm -- apparently I missed.)

 

And my lack of emoticons was intended to convey the same. Shall we call it a draw?

 

 

 

The first sci fi book I ever read was Heinlein's Time for the Stars; I remember the librarian tried to dissuade me from checking it out because it was a "boy's book." But I liked the cover art so I checked it out anyway; and was absolutely riveted. I'd never read anything like it, it rather blew my mind. I was nine.

 

Lest we be too hard on the librarian; we were only allowed to check out 2 books at a time. When I showed an interest in LOTR, she gave me special dispensation to check out all three at once, and extra loan time. So all is forgiven.

Our librarian tended to ask, "Wouldn't you rather check out a book that you can read yourself?" And our library apparently didn't have science fiction, or I would have discovered the genre before I was in my twenties. So I think your librarian was a peach!

 

In general, I luvvv librarians.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hey, you're the one who chose the desert-island theme!  But sure, take the Encyclopedia Americana if you like.     (I don't do revenge, I just choose to take people literally when it suits my warped sense of humor.)

 

[Arcadia]

Hey, you're the one who chose the desert-island theme!  But sure, take the Encyclopedia Americana if you like.     (I don't do revenge, I just choose to take people literally when it suits my warped sense of humor.)

I would, but I hardly consider the Encyclopedia Americana a literary work. (Two can play this game, bwahahahahaha!)

[Saramarie25]

My all time favourite author...William Shakespeare.

 

I love to read, I never go anywhere without my kindle and I always go back to reading Shakespeare. Also love Thomas Hardy and E.M. Forster.

 

Recently read a book called A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[T.o.b.y]

Recently read a book called A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

Oh, that! Yeah, I read that to give Hornby another chance, and because the summary on the book cover appealed to me. I'd stayed away from his works since I got really mad at what he did with the kid character in "About a Boy". I usually love a Hornby novel until the last few chapters, and then the ending disappoints me, and I go okay, now, where exactly was the point of this story? Did it get lost somewhere along the way? But A Long Ways Down I liked all the way through. I wonder whether the film is any good. Anyone seen it?

[avoca]

My all time favourite author...William Shakespeare.

 

I love to read, I never go anywhere without my kindle and I always go back to reading Shakespeare. Also love Thomas Hardy and E.M. Forster.

 

Recently read a book called A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

I  am ashamed to admit .. I'm not a shakespeare fan 

 

been studying his works extensively in school, seen stage shows, films taken from his books and I still cannot bring myself to like him    

 

there do are some of his works I like a little, though: much ado about nothing, for ex.

 

I really didn't like hamlet: I hope benedict will make me change my mind. 

 

 

 

"About a boy" is a lovely book.   and I do adore E.M. Forster. read all his books. 

[Arcadia]

I don't enjoy reading Shakespeare, but I do enjoy a really good performance of most of the plays. Not amateur performances, though, I'd rather shoot myself in the foot.

[sittything]

This is going to sound completely boring and commonplace, but I love Jane Austen.  I also get irrationally annoyed by people, my husband included, who write her books off as "romance novels" without ever reading them.  Um, no.  They are witty, satirical, and fabulous social commentaries.  Girl was funny and brilliant. They are not just schmoopy romance novels of the 1800's.

 

Another book that I loved that caught me completely off guard was Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.   But I've never read anything else by him. 

 

I also remember from my school days that I loved pretty much anything we read by Dickens, and exactly nothing by Shakespeare (as a lit minor I'm pretty sure this is sacrilege). 

[Arcadia]

Yeah, I love Dickens too. Except for Great Expectations, it never quite caught on with me. Maybe my expectations for it were too high, ahar har har....

 

Jane Austen's okay, I get restless after awhile though, I'm not sure why. I enjoyed one of the vampire knock-offs too, but again I was more than ready for it to be over by the end.

 

Robertson Davies, anyone? Loved the ones I read, need to go back for more.

[Saramarie25]

 

Recently read a book called A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Oh, that! Yeah, I read that to give Hornby another chance, and because the summary on the book cover appealed to me. I'd stayed away from his works since I got really mad at what he did with the kid character in "About a Boy". I usually love a Hornby novel until the last few chapters, and then the ending disappoints me, and I go okay, now, where exactly was the point of this story? Did it get lost somewhere along the way? But A Long Ways Down I liked all the way through. I wonder whether the film is any good. Anyone seen it?

I'm trying to stay away from the film. I always seem disappointed with film versions because I have a good imagination when I'm reading and the film tends to ruin the pictures in my head. That happened with the Harry Potter films BIG TIME!

 

The only film so far that I've enjoyed after I read the book was perhaps Maurice!

 

I agree with you with About a Boy. But that's the only other Hornby novel I've read