Favourite Book(s) Thread

[laxfish76]

Simple enough.

I would have to say American Gods, by Neil Gaiman.

That book is simply enthralling I could not put it down.

I also just finished Anansi's Boys, a book staring Fat Charlie Nancy, and it was very good too.

How about you?

//Lax

[Castrum]

The old Magic: The Gathering books (pre-Mirrodin), The Sword Of Truth series (Pillars Of Creation is my personal favorite; first one I read), Shadow Of The Xel'Naga (a Starcraft novel), the Horus Heresy series (Warhammer 40K), the old Diadem series (one of my childhood favorites), Halo: Fall Of Reach and First Strike, and many more.

[xxSonOfAsgardxx]

Bilbo The Hobbit, LOTR, Dracula (Bram STOKER), The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend (David GEMMELL), La Conférie des Eveillés (Jacques ATTALI), Legends of Norse Mythologie :p (Jean MABIRE)

[Janot79]

My favorite books are The DarkTower series by Stephen King. especially wolves of the calla.

[Eleazar]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Anything to do with Arda (if you don't know what that is you don't deserve to know)

[The_Fallen]

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
or
Slam by Nick Hornby

[Nixon]

VALIS by Philip K. Dick

[TheFacelessOne]

I don't read nearly as much as I used to. Off the top of my head, one of my favorite books is called Headhunter by Michael Slade. Its a complex murder mystery about a serial killer, and it had one of the greatest endings ever! It was a total shocker - I literally yelled Holy Sh!t. Also a great sci-fi series is The Gap Cycle by Stephen R Donaldson. It's 5 books in total;
1. The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story
2. The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge
3. The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises
4. The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order
5. The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die
and they're all great reads!

[Wiiggin]

Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide, both by Orson Scott Card.

[Ender]

Hard to say, really.

Armor, by John Steakley.
Dune, by Frank Herbert.
Dark Tower series was a fantastic mention.
Orson Scott Card was another great mention. I liked Ender's Game a lot. Really had an impact on me when I first read it.

Wiiggin, what sets those books apart as being better than the others in your opinion? I've read all the Ender and Bean books, and all in a very short time period, so I can't really distinguish between books.

Speaker of the Dead stands out solidly in my mind, but Xenocide has been lost in the tangle that is all of the Ender universe.

[Guirec730]

I loved me some Ender's Game as well.

Blindness, by Jose Saramago

Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton (since 4th grade, still love it)

History of the Devil, by Clive Barker (technically a play)

[LurkLurkLurk]

Hard to say, really.

Armor, by John Steakley.
Dune, by Frank Herbert.
Dark Tower series was a fantastic mention.
Orson Scott Card was another great mention. I liked Ender's Game a lot. Really had an impact on me when I first read it.

Wiiggin, what sets those books apart as being better than the others in your opinion? I've read all the Ender and Bean books, and all in a very short time period, so I can't really distinguish between books.

Speaker of the Dead stands out solidly in my mind, but Xenocide has been lost in the tangle that is all of the Ender universe.
I am amazed.
These are all my favorite books!
I LOVED Armor. Armor was amazing, even if it was sporadic and hard to follow at points.

I say that Children of the Mind was better than Xenocide, but not NEARLY as good as Speaker for the Dead.

The Dark Tower series was amazing, and got even more amazing after I read most of Stephen King's short stories. He created his own universe of characters and somehow made a heroic tale using all of them. I was amazed.
The only one I didn't care for was Wizard and Glass (The one that was 90% flashback...didn't like it too much)

Dune, however.
Meh.
Never really cared for it.
Way to many spin offs.

[Shaynard]

I can read Anne Rice books until my eyes bleed... I read the LOTR trilogy, the hobbit and the Simmerilian once a year... I try to read non fiction more often though.

[sir woimz]

Some of the books I read.

The 50 Greatest Consipricies
Dude Where's My Country
Stupid White Men

[Batou079]

a few of my favs.

LOTR series, C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis
Dune, Frank Herbert
Darwin's Blackbox, Michael J. Behe

Err, crap i can't think of anymore.
That last one was actually a book i read my freshmen yr of college for a class.
And i really enjoyed it.

EDIT: Oh! Just read Shaynards post... i too really enjoy Anne Rice books. :p

[Nimander]

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is an epic fantasy series written by Canadian author Steven Erikson, published in ten volumes starting with Gardens of the Moon. Eight books are available as of July 2008 and two are forthcoming. It is wide in scope and encompassing the stories of a very large cast of characters. Each book tells a different chapter in the ongoing saga of the world upon which the Malazan Empire is located. For the first five books, each volume is relatively self-contained, in that the primary conflict of each novel is resolved within that novel. However, many underlying characters and events are interwoven throughout the works of the series, binding it together. The second half of the series is much more traditionally structured with events in one novel leading into the next.

seriously this is one of the best series I have ever read, if you are into things like LoTR you will LOVE this series.

[Ender]

Ya, I felt the same way about Wizard and Glass. I mean, the flashback story was compelling and all, but I was still like.. GET TO THE PRESENT!

Armor was definitely an unusual read, since it split down the middle who was the protagonist. Like two books in one. Weird. Still, Felix is my hero. I went half and half when I started actively joining and participating in forums, half the time I went with the name Ender (when possible) and the other half Felix. My gamertag is Maseo Guardian, which is a mixed and misspelled title found in the book. Masao, and Guardian Archon.

As for Dune, I haven't read all of the sequels/prequels, but that shouldn't reflect on the original book. At least to me. I mean, I guess if you didn't like that book, that's not a problem, but if you don't like it because of the subsequent books.. that's not really fair, is it?


I'm finding that more and more of the science fiction I read is not as epic as stuff I've read before. Like L.E. Modesitt, Jr., who creates realistic worlds. Well.. they can be a little too realistic at times. I don't want to read a whole book about someone doing his job.. :/

[LurkLurkLurk]

Armor was great, but I must admit that the Felix part was the only part I liked...loved.

Plus, the ending was AMAZING on so many levels.

[Nimander]

Armor was great, but I must admit that the Felix part was the only part I liked...loved.

Plus, the ending was AMAZING on so many levels.

http://www.amazon.com/Armor-science-fiction-John-Steakley/dp/0886773687/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236897428&sr=8-1

just added to my wish list

also amazon just reminded me of the lost fleet series, it's not the BEST, but it's up there.

[Dryker]

Favorite books:
1. Malazan Book of the Fallen series: Steven Erikson (any of them)
2 Song of Ice and Fire series: George R. R. Martin

And as a shameless plug: How Legends Lie: Myself (forthcoming)
If you like H. P. Lovecraft, the Lord of the Rings, Edgar Allen Poe, and the above, check out:
http://site.howlegendslie.com/
Let me know what you think, thanks.

[LurkLurkLurk]

Whoa, advertising and book-liking all wrapped up in one neat post.
I congratulate you.

[Jshorty]

The Inheritance Cycle has to be my favorite. Although I just started the King Killer Chronicles and the first book is the Name of the Wind and I love it. Idk how popular it is yet but it's awesome so far.

[PsyXel]

I know I'm gonna get some laughs here but hey, I enjoyed them so they are some of my top picks:

The LOTR series (including the Hobbit)
The Harry Potter Series
Left behind Series
Why We Suck by Denis Leary
Angels and Demons
Empire by Orson Scott Card
The Visitation and The Oath by Frank Peretti

there's more but I can't remember off the top of my head at the moment.

[Maawdawg]

Left behind Series

This is the next major series I am going to read I think.

[PsyXel]

This is the next major series I am going to read I think.

I really enjoyed the series. I own all the books (bought a book about every two to three weeks) and plan on going back and reading them again.

Word of caution and you'll probably find this on review sites and forums about the series. Books 7, 8, and some of 9 will kind of slow down the story. It's nothing too bad but it's noticable. Keep on reading and book 10 picks it back up and the series will finish strong.

[laxfish76]

Okay, I made a list of my faves.

1)American Gods by Neil Gaiman
This book is simply enthralling, it's a classic staring some of the greatest gods ever. I highly recommend it.

2)Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Another classic. This one is about the sons of Mr. Nancy, AKA Anansi, and how they cope with his death.

3)The Dirt Eaters by Dennis Foon
More of a young adult book, it speaks about the oppressive tyranny of one man's empire, and how one boy stops it. A trilogy.

4)Eragon by Christopher Paolini
A great fantasy, used to love it, now it is still good, but not amazing.

5) Shade's Children by Garth Nix
Good sci-fi book, kept me on the edge. More of a kids book.

6) The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Political views, etc.

Book I am reading now:

The Way of the Shadows by Brent Weeks
Good so far, it's about a young assassin-to-be.

//Lax