Favorite books

[J_Dee]

What are your favorite books?

I was introduced to Carl Sagan circa '99 via his The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. It's easily my favorite work of non-fiction -- it changed my life when I was in my early 20s -- and it's probably the book I've read the most.

As for fiction: Frank Herbert's Dune. I first read it in junior high around 1990; the librarian apparently didn't know that it's sure as hell not "young reader" material (not that anything in the book warped me -- I was practically raised by 1980s HBO).

Comics: The Uncanny X-Men omnibus vols. 1-3. It collects all of the major X-Men appearances in the Bronze Age of Comics (roughly 1971-1984). That's my favorite run of comics ever, and having it all collected in three huge hardbacks is awesome.

 

[Glenn's take]

I always wait for the movie.

 

[Creed Bratton]

Is the SI Swimsuit issue considered a book?

 

[BradleyCrawford08]

Only really read non-fiction, mainly U.S. History related. Band of Brothers and Eisenhower:Soldier and President are two great books by Stephen Ambrose that have helped me understand WW2 and the politics of the Cold War better. I’ve read some historical fiction as well. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is a great read in that area.

 

[Blue Bleeding Marine]

"Columbine" by Dave Cullen

 

[WildcatFan1982]

The hungry caterpillar

 

[VernHatton52]

The Koran

 

[TexasTimCat]

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis

The Stand by Stephen King

The Civil War series by Shelby Foote

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

 

[Wall2Wall]

Way too many to list but from this year I'll go with 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', McConaughey's book 'Greenlights' and Tim Ferriss' 'Tools of Titans'

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

Pride and Prejudice
Where the Crawdads Sing
The Sun Does Shine
The Glass Castle
My Losing Season
The Great Gatsby
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Into the Wild
When March Went Mad
Red and Me
When the Game Was Ours
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking
Basketball Junkie
A Stolen Life

and if we are including graphic novels
They Called Us Enemy
Maus
Bone
Blankets
Essex County
Sweet Tooth
Y: The Last Man
Scalped

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis

The Stand by Stephen King

The Civil War series by Shelby Foote

The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

How many years did it take you to read The Wheel of Time series?

 

[TexasTimCat]

How many years did it take you to read The Wheel of Time series?

I started it in the late 90's when there were around 6-7 books out then I had to wait like everyone else and finished the series when the last book published in 2013.

Me and the wife just completed a complete "re-listen" a few months back in anticipation of the Amazon series that is currently in production.

 

[UKGrad83]

Atlas Shrugged
The Fountainhead
Hobbit/Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road
A Brief History of Time

 

[ganner918]

What are your favorite books?

I was introduced to Carl Sagan circa '99 via his The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. It's easily my favorite work of non-fiction -- it changed my life when I was in my early 20s -- and it's probably the book I've read the most.

As for fiction: Frank Herbert's Dune. I first read it in junior high around 1990; the librarian apparently didn't know that it's sure as hell not "young reader" material (not that anything in the book warped me -- I was practically raised by 1980s HBO).

Comics: The Uncanny X-Men omnibus vols. 1-3. It collects all of the major X-Men appearances in the Bronze Age of Comics (roughly 1971-1984). That's my favorite run of comics ever, and having it all collected in three huge hardbacks is awesome.

Very nice picks, Demon Haunted World could be a bit dry at times but I loved it, was a great read for a nerdy science oriented college kid. Dune is awesome as well.

I'll throw in One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (just a beautiful book), Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut (sci-fi story with Vonnegut's usual wit), The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (got me into hardboiled detective stories), and Ubik by Philip K Dick (blends sci-fi with fever dream fantasy).

I've read almost everything by those 4. Also love most or all of Salman Rushdie, Haruki Murakami, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein.

 

[ganner918]

and if we are including graphic novels
They Called Us Enemy
Maus
Bone
Blankets
Essex County
Sweet Tooth
Y: The Last Man
Scalped

That reminds me: Watchmen is incredible

 

[birdforbogey]

Where the Red Fern Grows

 

[chitown87]

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is the best book I've read as an adult. That author has an unbelievable gift for writing.

 

[Keeping the faith]

One of my favorites was "The Long Walk" by Richard Bachman (Stephen King). Short story but I go back time to time.

The Book of Swords trilogy (Fred Saberhagen). Not fantastic writing but loved the storyline.

The Last Lecture/ Randy Pausch

 

[HymanKaplan]

Crime and Punishment
Breakfast of Champions
Great Gatsby
Homer Price
A Painted House
Physicians Desk Reference

 

[CC_332]

I only really read nonfiction and Erik Larson's books are some of the best I've read. My favorites are Devil in the White City and Dead Wake.

 

[rudd1]

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is the best book I've read as an adult. That author has an unbelievable gift for writing.

-wife has been trying to get me to read this for a while...need to give a look.

-Never been interested in modern (after 1960) fiction...starting to give LeCarre a go as it's "up my street", if you will.

-philosophy, 20th century history and 20th century (again pre-1960) novelists, spanish civil war...and anticommunist writing is my jam.

books that have made a mark:

the god that failed-koestler,gide et al
demian-hesse
The great gatsby-fitzgerald
homage to catalonia-orwell
darkness at noon-koestler
the stranger-camus
the trial-kafka
house of the dead- dostoyevsky

...off the top of my head.

 

[DoubleSecretProbation]

I started it in the late 90's when there were around 6-7 books out then I had to wait like everyone else and finished the series when the last book published in 2013.

Me and the wife just completed a complete "re-listen" a few months back in anticipation of the Amazon series that is currently in production.

If you like Wheel of Time try the Riftwar Saga and other related series by Raymond Feist. A little older but great stories and easy reads and you don’t get incredibly irritated at the characters. First book is Magician. That series was my introduction to that genre.

 

[wildcatsboston1984]

I only really read nonfiction and Erik Larson's books are some of the best I've read. My favorites are Devil in the White City and Dead Wake.

Devil in the White City is on my to read list

 

[Untouchables96]

The Great Gatsby
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
The Corrections
Freedom
Middlesex
The Hours
The Known World
A Confederacy of Dunces
The Color Purple
The Nickel Boys
Less
The Goldfinch
All The Light We Cannot See
The Grapes of Wrath

 

[812scottj]

The Great Gatsby
Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird
Catcher in the Rye
A Time to Kill
Atlas Shrugged
The Shining
Of Mice and Men
The Stand
Shawshank Redemption

 

[CC_332]

Devil in the White City is on my to read list

The way Larson builds up anticipation is interesting. It tells two stories at once and you think you're only interested in the HH Holmes part, but then you get invested into the other story too. I couldn't put it down.

 

[PTI (pti)]

Unbroken
Three Strides Before the Wire
Blood Meridian
The Sun Also Rises
Wild Ride
Born To Run
All The Light We Cannot See

 

[Atrain7732]

Love a lot of books but Gatsby is my all time favorite.

Love history so anything Ambrose or McCullough. Also more recently over the past few years have become interested in true crime novels there is some excellent writers out there in the genre as well. Became enamored with the Golden State killer about a year before they actually caught him so read multiple books just on him was kinda cool to get that perspective than almost immediately find out who he really was.

Some of the ones listed in this thread I’ve not read so will have to check them out.