Favorite book(s) and why

[ONUOsFan]

I did a couple of searches and didn't see a thread - at least a recent one - like this, so here goes...

Overall: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling - For me, the best of the series by far, for the relational journey of Harry and Dumbledore (from "You are with me" to "I am with you") and for the bombshell with Snape (my favorite character) at the end... Deathly Hallows was good, but didn't quite have the same emotional impact for me. I've been through the entire series at least three times in print and once on audio.

Classic: The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas - Very long and not always easy to read, but a fantastic narrative. Really takes you to another place and time, so to speak.

Something with a moral to it: The Circle Trilogy (Black/Red/White), Ted Dekker - Take The Matrix, subtract the burlap sack outfits and computerized villians and add a religious allegory... weird, I know, but a pretty compelling read.

Honorable Mention:
- Almost anything by Tom Clancy, although his more recent stuff lacked a bit.
- The Left Behind series, although the last few and the prequels could have been "left behind" without missing much.

 

[ONUOsFan]

Apparently no one else reads around here....

A mod can close/delete this thread, if you like.

 

[Nebugeater]

Clive Cussler - Read one and you will be hooked if you are into a suspense type novel.

Early Stephen King. The Stand is his best work IMO. The Cell, as far as recent work goes stands up well.

John Sandford has some great Crime / Mystery Books. I cannot get enough of the Prey series of crime novels. The settings are not typical of a lot of the genera with many being set in the upper midwest

I do most of my readying anymore on Audio-book while driving. I have done about 120 unabridged audio-books so far. Average about 1 every 10 - 14 days. Get some off ebay and resell and others from the libery. Put most on my Ipod so that limits me to CD versions.

 

[iwc5893]

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

 

[dfergie]

If you like Clancy try Dale Brown and start with the Flight of the Old Dog...

 

[Van]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/chit-ch...do-you-think-would-have-made-good-movies.html

Advanced search is your friend and so is using simple search words like "Book".

Theres one or two threads in the pub member room to.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

+1, heck + 100

Add pretty much anything by Card; re-reading Homebody right now. Fun quasi-horror novel. Only Card I don't care for is his Mormon stuff. Ender's Shadow is an EXCELLENT sequel or parallel novel to Ender's Game.


ALSO, anything by Michael Connelly. Just finished The Brass Verdict, the second Mickey Haller novel. Very good.

Finally, I agree about the Harry Potter series. Definitely a complex work of literature; even though the first one really is a kid's novel. In time, I believe HP will go down as classic English literature along the lines of Lord of the Rings.

 

[bhelms]

I am a Michael Crichton fan (check my sig. line). I find his in-depth and apparently accurate (tho' sometimes fictionalized) inclusion of complex technologies in his works most fascinating. My favorite is probably Rising Sun followed by Airframe, but most in the series are excellent all the way back to Andomeda Strain (the earliest I read, but not his first). I also consider State of Fear a must read for all eco-conscious contemporaries.

For some serious philosophical stuff I am (still!) deeply fascinated by Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. His extremely high IQ makes this a very difficult read for an average guy like me, but I am so in tune with his derivation of the concept of "Quality" that I find I have to reread this treatise ever couple of years to bring it all back to the surface in my aging mind. Pirsig's own mental breakdown as captured in the novel is perhaps an almost inevitable consequence of the enigmas he uncovered in his quest of the understanding of Quality and the middle eastern influence in his life (the root of "zen"). For me, Pirsig's follow-up work Lila did not attain the same level, but it is still an excellent read. Both are autobiographies to a large extent...

 

[thowe21]

If you like Clancy try Dale Brown and start with the Flight of the Old Dog...

If you like Clancy.. try Vince Flynn as well. Great CIA character books.

 

[ONUOsFan]

http://www.satelliteguys.us/chit-ch...do-you-think-would-have-made-good-movies.html

Advanced search is your friend and so is using simple search words like "Book".

Theres one or two threads in the pub member room to.

I actually did see that thread, but best/favorite book and which book would make a good movie are two totally different questions...

 

[vegassatellite]

Let's see.

1984 - This one ought to be required reading in order to vote.

Fahrenheit 451 - Great read about book burning and the suppression of knowledge.

Then I like any Michael Crichton book such as Jurassic Park (movie didn't do this book justice), State of Fear, Prey (especially good book for the sci-fi enthusiast), Terminal Man.

I also like to read books deemed taboo or socially unacceptable. Those would include The Turner Diaries, Mein Kampf, Communist Manifesto (because I hate communism, know thy enemy sort of thing), etc.

I also read boring technical manuals. I've read a service manual on a dishwasher I've never owned before. Exciting, isn't it?

 

[jbernardi]

Crime and Punishment - for an intriguing look into Raskolnikov's mind.