What are your 10 favorite books?

Riley Owain · August 15th, 2016, 10:43 PM

What are your 10 favorite books?

My 10 favorite books

1. The Gambler - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ( 1866 )
2. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte ( 1847 )
3. Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens ( 1864-65 )
4. The Idiot - Fydor Dostoyevsky ( 1869 )
5. Niels Klim`s Underground Travels - Ludvig Holberg ( 1741 )
6. The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann ( 1924 )
7. The Brothers Karamasov - Fydor Dostoyevsky ( 1880 )
8. War with the Newts - Karel Čapek ( 1936 )
9. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ( 1869 )
10. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen ( 1811 )

**seany65** · August 17th, 2016, 03:04 AM

Dunno if they are my 'top ten' favourite books, but some I like at the minute are:

War of the Worlds. H. G. Wells.

The time machine. H. G. Wells.

The Canterbury Tales. (Not 'translated'). Geoffrey Chaucer.

Piers Plowman, B/C versions. (Not 'translated'). William Langland, or not.

Farenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. Just manages to stop short of being 'too poetic'.

The private memoirs and confessions of a justified sinner. James Hogg. Different to what I expected and quite 'atmospheric'.

Barnaby Rudge. Charles Dickens.

**tygrkhat40** · August 18th, 2016, 02:38 PM

Favorites of mine.

I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. I'm going to be spending a few days at a beachhouse in Canada next week and I'm bringing these with me.

The Berkut by Joseph Heywood. Stalin sends an elite unit to hunt down Hitler, who escaped Berlin with the help of an SS commando.

Fast Copy by Dan Jenkins. A Texas girl transplanted to New York returns to her hometown to run the local paper and ends up investigating the "Texas Murder Machine."

You Gotta Play Hurt by Dan Jenkins. A year in the life a sports columnist for a major sports magazine; dealing with friends and enemies at the major sports events in America and abroad.

Going Long by Jeff Miller. The story of the 1960's American Football League as told by the men who lived it.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything and So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams. I don't have Mostly Harmless.

M*A*S*H Goes to Maine by Richard Hooker. Hawkeye reassembles his comrades from Korea in his hometown in Maine.

penfold007 · August 18th, 2016, 04:03 PM

In no particular order, apart from the first two:

Emma, by Jane Austen
The passion, by Jeanette Winterson
The C programming language, by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie (non fiction)
The Dolls house, by Neil Gaiman (a collection of comics from the Sandman series)
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
Jonny Mnemonic, by William Gibson (a short story)
The girl with the dragon tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
Thomas the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner , a retelling of Child ballad number 37
The snow goose, by Paul Gallico
Mort, by Terry Pratchett
Excession by Ian Banks. That's an eleveth, sorry

.

While sci-fi is my literary staple, there's not much of it in that list.

**Schwenck** · February 5th, 2019, 12:34 AM

Well, this is a pretty off the cuff list, without a vast amount of thought:

George Orwell: Selected Essays, Journalism and Letters, Vol 1-4
Jane Austen: Pride & Prejudice (but all Austen is great)
Harry Harrison: Bill, The Galactic Hero
Tom Wolfe: The Right Stuff (and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test & The Painted Word)
Gore Vidal: On Our Own Now (and Burr & Julian)
Greil Marcus: Mystery Train
William Boyd: Restless
Len Deighton: Funeral in Berlin
Leslie Charteris: She was a Lady
Alastair Horne: To Fight a Battle (plus the other two books in Horne's great trilogy, The Fall of Paris and The Price of Glory).

I'd recommend these books to anyone.

**bloke57** · February 5th, 2019, 12:15 PM

Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte
The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
Life, The Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams
Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
Trouble With Lichen - John Wyndham
A Mystery for Ninepence (great kid's book) - Phyllis Gegan
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Revolution in the Head (the best book about the Beatles) - Ian MacDonald.

**Sir Honkers** · February 5th, 2019, 08:46 PM

What...none of you guys read Penny Dreadfuls...surrrrrrrre you don't
my list, not in order
Lies Sleeping and The Furthest Station - Ben Aaronovitch
The Woman Who Died A Lot and The Last Dragonslayer- Jasper Fforde
Frankenstein
Dracula
The Lair Of The White Worm - also by Stoker
Century Rain and Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds
The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination - a short story anthology by some of my favourite writes.

**scoundrel** · February 5th, 2019, 09:39 PM

These things change over time of course. For example I used to love reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull but it does nothing for me now. I suspect this reflects a loss on innocence in myself. My current list would be -

The Cruel Sea ~ Nicholas Monserrat
The Lord of the Rings ~ JRR Tolkien
Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen. Emma is her best book but I find P&P the most pleasing.
The Silence of the Lambs ~ Thomas Harris
Twilight ~ Stephenie Meyer - laugh as much as you like, but it is a very clever and darkly amusing book.
Dracula ~ Bram Stoker
Master and Commander ~ Patrick O'Brian
Jane Eyre ~ Charlotte Bronte - fantastic book.
On The Beach ~ Nevil Shute
Huntingtower ~ John Buchan

I have quite a few honourable mentions, such as The Stand by Stephen King, The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, Silas Marner by George Eliot and the very observant and ironic What Maisie Knew by Henry James. I loved the way Maisie finds herself an accidental ward of her delinquent mother's fancy man, a libertine and bounder called Sir Claude [a classic Terry Thomas character], who is profoundly and very properly shocked that his mistress and her ex-husband would just abandon Maisie to be cared for an protected by a rotter like Sir Claude; and who yet turns out to be the only male adult who really loves and looks after Maisie and makes sure she's alright. Not Henry James's most famous book, but quite a good introduction to his extremely ironic way of seeing.

**Schwenck** · February 5th, 2019, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloke57

Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen

Revolution in the Head (the best book about the Beatles) - Ian MacDonald.

Yes, the best book about the Beatles music, absolutely great book.
As you enjoyed that, I would recommend a short documentary on the Beatle's music by Howard Goodall. You can find it on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQS91wVdvYc
He also did one on Sgt Pepper (also on YouTube) but it was less interesting.

I enjoyed the first volumes of Mark Lewisohn's biography, and I am looking forward to the next, when it arrives - it is way overdue. Possibly he is being over influenced by Robert A Caro.

**Meini Again** · February 5th, 2019, 11:59 PM

Sentimental Education ~ Gustav Flaubert ~ re-read a new copy every Christmas.I've got about a dozen different so far... it's that or vodka, I'm simply pleased.Set in Revoluntiary France, depicts a student, besotted with an older lady and hardly realises the revolution going on around him.

Slaughterhouse Five~ Kurt Vonnegut ~ a sci-fi/WW2/part biography/bombed in Dresden as a POW/kidnapped to another world.

Catcher In The Rye ~ J.D.Salinger ~ obviously

To Kill A Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee ~ A loving recollection, fictionalised of a time when racial differences in the USA were being healed in a small town... Atticus Finch, the lawyer, set a benchmark of dignity and truth. Story told through his daughter's eyes.
* Like JD Salinger.Harper Lee avoided public attention/interviews etc from the early 1960s

Catch 22 ~ Joseph Heller ~ How can you resist such a first line..."It was Love at First Sight"... a sane man driven to insanity by the rules of war and profiteering.

Various Austin Books.... but mentioned..because of my late partner... However.....I never "Got-It"

August 15th, 2016, 10:43 PM	#1
Riley Owain Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 131 Thanks: 0 Thanked 948 Times in 112 Posts	What are your 10 favorite books? What are your 10 favorite books? My 10 favorite books 1. The Gambler - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ( 1866 ) 2. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte ( 1847 ) 3. Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens ( 1864-65 ) 4. The Idiot - Fydor Dostoyevsky ( 1869 ) 5. Niels Klim`s Underground Travels - Ludvig Holberg ( 1741 ) 6. The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann ( 1924 ) 7. The Brothers Karamasov - Fydor Dostoyevsky ( 1880 ) 8. War with the Newts - Karel Čapek ( 1936 ) 9. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ( 1869 ) 10. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen ( 1811 )

August 17th, 2016, 03:04 AM	#2
seany65 Vintage Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 3,653 Thanks: 80,476 Thanked 32,735 Times in 3,527 Posts	Dunno if they are my 'top ten' favourite books, but some I like at the minute are: War of the Worlds. H. G. Wells. The time machine. H. G. Wells. The Canterbury Tales. (Not 'translated'). Geoffrey Chaucer. Piers Plowman, B/C versions. (Not 'translated'). William Langland, or not. Farenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. Just manages to stop short of being 'too poetic'. The private memoirs and confessions of a justified sinner. James Hogg. Different to what I expected and quite 'atmospheric'. Barnaby Rudge. Charles Dickens. __________________ <-- That's Emer Kenny and I want to be stuck in her front bottom. Quote from electrofreak : I'd rather have questions that can't be answered, than answers that can't be questioned.

August 18th, 2016, 02:38 PM	#3
tygrkhat40 Long Suffering Bills Fan Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: The City of Good Neighbors Posts: 9,669 Thanks: 304,243 Thanked 152,630 Times in 9,629 Posts	Favorites of mine. I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves. I'm going to be spending a few days at a beachhouse in Canada next week and I'm bringing these with me. The Berkut by Joseph Heywood. Stalin sends an elite unit to hunt down Hitler, who escaped Berlin with the help of an SS commando. Fast Copy by Dan Jenkins. A Texas girl transplanted to New York returns to her hometown to run the local paper and ends up investigating the "Texas Murder Machine." You Gotta Play Hurt by Dan Jenkins. A year in the life a sports columnist for a major sports magazine; dealing with friends and enemies at the major sports events in America and abroad. Going Long by Jeff Miller. The story of the 1960's American Football League as told by the men who lived it. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything and So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams. I don't have Mostly Harmless. MASH Goes to Maine by Richard Hooker. Hawkeye reassembles his comrades from Korea in his hometown in Maine. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.* To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

February 5th, 2019, 12:34 AM	#5
Schwenck Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 724 Thanks: 22,659 Thanked 9,745 Times in 726 Posts	Well, this is a pretty off the cuff list, without a vast amount of thought: George Orwell: Selected Essays, Journalism and Letters, Vol 1-4 Jane Austen: Pride & Prejudice (but all Austen is great) Harry Harrison: Bill, The Galactic Hero Tom Wolfe: The Right Stuff (and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test & The Painted Word) Gore Vidal: On Our Own Now (and Burr & Julian) Greil Marcus: Mystery Train William Boyd: Restless Len Deighton: Funeral in Berlin Leslie Charteris: She was a Lady Alastair Horne: To Fight a Battle (plus the other two books in Horne's great trilogy, The Fall of Paris and The Price of Glory). I'd recommend these books to anyone. __________________ Schwenck

February 5th, 2019, 09:39 PM	#8
scoundrel Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: England Posts: 26,242 Thanks: 162,409 Thanked 278,560 Times in 26,187 Posts	These things change over time of course. For example I used to love reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull but it does nothing for me now. I suspect this reflects a loss on innocence in myself. My current list would be - The Cruel Sea ~ Nicholas Monserrat The Lord of the Rings ~ JRR Tolkien Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen. Emma is her best book but I find P&P the most pleasing. The Silence of the Lambs ~ Thomas Harris Twilight ~ Stephenie Meyer - laugh as much as you like, but it is a very clever and darkly amusing book. Dracula ~ Bram Stoker Master and Commander ~ Patrick O'Brian Jane Eyre ~ Charlotte Bronte - fantastic book. On The Beach ~ Nevil Shute Huntingtower ~ John Buchan I have quite a few honourable mentions, such as The Stand by Stephen King, The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, Silas Marner by George Eliot and the very observant and ironic What Maisie Knew by Henry James. I loved the way Maisie finds herself an accidental ward of her delinquent mother's fancy man, a libertine and bounder called Sir Claude [a classic Terry Thomas character], who is profoundly and very properly shocked that his mistress and her ex-husband would just abandon Maisie to be cared for an protected by a rotter like Sir Claude; and who yet turns out to be the only male adult who really loves and looks after Maisie and makes sure she's alright. Not Henry James's most famous book, but quite a good introduction to his extremely ironic way of seeing. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

August 18th, 2016, 04:03 PM	#4
penfold007 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 329 Thanks: 909 Thanked 2,854 Times in 327 Posts	In no particular order, apart from the first two: Emma, by Jane Austen The passion, by Jeanette Winterson The C programming language, by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie (non fiction) The Dolls house, by Neil Gaiman (a collection of comics from the Sandman series) Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens Jonny Mnemonic, by William Gibson (a short story) The girl with the dragon tattoo, by Stieg Larsson Thomas the Rhymer, by Ellen Kushner , a retelling of Child ballad number 37 The snow goose, by Paul Gallico Mort, by Terry Pratchett Excession by Ian Banks. That's an eleveth, sorry . While sci-fi is my literary staple, there's not much of it in that list.

February 5th, 2019, 12:15 PM	#6
bloke57 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Unaffordable housing Posts: 4,923 Thanks: 31,646 Thanked 68,928 Times in 4,921 Posts	Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis Life, The Universe and Everything - Douglas Adams Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson Trouble With Lichen - John Wyndham A Mystery for Ninepence (great kid's book) - Phyllis Gegan Dracula - Bram Stoker Revolution in the Head (the best book about the Beatles) - Ian MacDonald.

February 5th, 2019, 08:46 PM	#7
Sir Honkers Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Land Of Glorious Leader Posts: 30,361 Thanks: 286,977 Thanked 386,348 Times in 30,314 Posts	What...none of you guys read Penny Dreadfuls...surrrrrrrre you don't my list, not in order Lies Sleeping and The Furthest Station - Ben Aaronovitch The Woman Who Died A Lot and The Last Dragonslayer- Jasper Fforde Frankenstein Dracula The Lair Of The White Worm - also by Stoker Century Rain and Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination - a short story anthology by some of my favourite writes.

February 5th, 2019, 11:59 PM	#10
Meini Again Vintage Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: North Wales Posts: 3,637 Thanks: 32,358 Thanked 31,827 Times in 3,566 Posts	Sentimental Education ~ Gustav Flaubert ~ re-read a new copy every Christmas.I've got about a dozen different so far... it's that or vodka, I'm simply pleased.Set in Revoluntiary France, depicts a student, besotted with an older lady and hardly realises the revolution going on around him. Slaughterhouse Five~ Kurt Vonnegut ~ a sci-fi/WW2/part biography/bombed in Dresden as a POW/kidnapped to another world. Catcher In The Rye ~ J.D.Salinger ~ obviously To Kill A Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee ~ A loving recollection, fictionalised of a time when racial differences in the USA were being healed in a small town... Atticus Finch, the lawyer, set a benchmark of dignity and truth. Story told through his daughter's eyes. * Like JD Salinger.Harper Lee avoided public attention/interviews etc from the early 1960s Catch 22 ~ Joseph Heller ~ How can you resist such a first line..."It was Love at First Sight"... a sane man driven to insanity by the rules of war and profiteering. Various Austin Books.... but mentioned..because of my late partner... However.....I never "Got-It"