What is the best book(s) you have ever read?

[Welshy]

Chris Ryan books FTW....Used to love them and now are reading them again permenently

Nick

[Taskforce 58]

I loved Zero Hour. Would love to get into reading some more Clancy, I haven't actually read any except Rainbow 6 and Zero Hour. Techno-thrillers are great for boredom.

Go for the earlier ones before Jack Ryan becomes president.

The best Clancy novel is not set in the "Ryanverse". I've read and re-read my paperback copy of Red Storm Rising so many times it is about to split in half. Good thing I have an ebook version on my iPad now.

Some of my favs:
- Lord of the Rings (read it long before it was made into the film trilogy)
- Castles of Steel by Robert K. Massie, about the naval war between England and Germany in WW1. I'm looking for a copy of Dreadnought by the same author, which covers the naval arms race between England and Germany before WW1.
- Spider Robinson's Callahan series.
- I won't bother you by listing anything written in Chinese from my "best books" list, except Romance of the Three Kingdoms which I think is the only one that might have been translated into English.

[Gunny]

Jeez id completely forgotten Red Storm Rising.Its been years no decades since I read that my first intro to Clancy.Immediately went out and bought the computer game DOS for gooness sake I think I still have it some where in my stored stuff.

[Taskforce 58]

Red Storm Rising - one of the greatest computer game I ever played. Logged MANY many hours on it. Won it with a Permit class on the hardest level too.

[Phoenix]

The Hunt for Red October is brilliant so far,

Thanks Taskforce58!

[Bombcat]

I loved Zero Hour. Would love to get into reading some more Clancy, I haven't actually read any except Rainbow 6 and Zero Hour. Techno-thrillers are great for boredom.

Go for the earlier ones before Jack Ryan becomes president.

The best Clancy novel is not set in the "Ryanverse". I've read and re-read my paperback copy of Red Storm Rising so many times it is about to split in half. Good thing I have an ebook version on my iPad now.

Aw, jeez. My copy of Red Storm Rising is just about the only fiction book I always have in case I get bored, is in just about the same condition, and makes me wish I had an e-reader just so that it wouldn't fall apart. Red October is also high on my list.

For folks who enjoy a little Tomcat in their fiction libraries, I highly recommend Ward Carrol's Punk series - Punk's War, Punk's Wing, and Punk's Fight. Written by a RIO, the main character is a Tomcat pilot working through the issues of naval aviation at the dawn of the 21st century.

I'm also a fan of Larry's Bond's three major war novels - Cauldron, Red Phoenix, and Vortex. Cauldron splits the EU apart for a great European war, Vortex features a rather nasty war in late Apartheid South Africa, and Red Phoenix offers a scenario for Korean War II. Not necessarily great literature, but along with Red Storm Rising, these books are a good way to take a step back and look at all the elements which compose the modern battlefield.

[Gunny]

Not to forget Flight of the Intruder and Bat 21.

[Taskforce 58]

Flight of the Intruder is not bad, but a bit far fetched on the premise. Bat21 is quite an amazing story, and being based on a real event make it even more so. I've read all 3 Larry Bond books and yes they are right up there with Red Storm Rising. Don't forget that Larry Bond is actually the co-author of RSR.

[Nodoka Hanamura]

If Manga Counts, Aa Megami-Sama (Oh My Goddess) By Kosuke Fujishima.

[Flake]

Looking For Alaska by John Green

[Phoenix]

I'm now seeing why Clancy is so respected.
Awesome book:

Rainbow Six.

[TheGeno]

Call me a geek but Macbeth is one of my favorites. First read it in grade 10 and I got hooked on it.

[Gunny]

Was that comparing Shakespeare with Clancy I mean I like Clancy but

[vandal]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

[Phoenix]

I knew someone would post that.

But I never thought it would be you

[vandal]

Well it's true, I don't read much and I think it was when I was little when I used to read books. That and every MR Men book too, I like Mr. Funny, Mr. Grumpy and MR. Silly.

[Styk]

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I'm more of a Richard Scarry kinda' guy.

[Seraphim]

fabulous point! This is one of the best books I've ever read: