Page 1 of 2

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 4:33 pm
by Phoenix
Mine must be the Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov.

The plot is fantastic and it is probably the best Science fiction book I know of.

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 4:52 pm
by Welshy
Alex Rider books - just a shame there will be no more but then the author will be writing the Gregorivich series that will interlink...

Nick

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 6:29 pm
by CharleyHotel
Looming Tower -- Lawrence Wright

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 6:30 pm
by Phoenix
Can we please have reasons, and type of book please.

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 7:39 pm
by CharleyHotel
Mine was a non-fiction book: it was a good read because it took a single event and put it in perspective and also explained a lot of the motivating factors behind it/how it could be prevented.

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 8:47 pm
by Seraphim
That's cool Phoenix-I wrote a paper on Asimov's Cave's of Steel-that's a really awesome book if you haven't read it yet. I am an avid reader and have several books which I find awesome. Here are a few in no particular order

1) The Man Who Was Thursday-it was such an exciting and yet confusing mystery/intrigue-I was shocked when I read it. I should probably read it again soon since the first time I didn't quite understand the ending

2) The Black Swan/Captain Blood/The Sea Hawk-these books are brilliant swashbucklers-pretty much anything by Sabatini appeals to me strongly for its adventure, intrigue, plotting, and romance. Right now I'm re-reading his book Scaramouch

3) The Scarlet Pimpernel-for the same reason as above

4) Miracles on Tap-one of my favorite books ever, its the exciting true story of members of a volunteer organization to which I belong and the amazing work they did way back in 1920's Ireland. It was written by the organization's founder who had a surprising gift for writing.

I like books that capture my interest right from the beginning and have an exciting "tempo". When there isn't action I want there to be some kind of intrigue so I can figure out the mystery. Historical fiction usually heads my reading list. However, fact or fiction I tend to become more immersed in a book which is written in the first person or in some other way allows readers to enter the character's psyche- and I like those books best.

I have lots of other books that I love but these are some that I consider to be the "best".

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

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 8:49 pm
by Phoenix
R.Daneel OLivaw and Elijah Bailey!
That series was awesome.

The Books:

Caves Of Steel
The Naked Sun
Robots of Dawn
(and set 300 years later)
Robots and Empire

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

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 1:51 am
by Talon
I have to say I've never been drawn into a series of books as much as I was when I read Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. The undertones are fantastic. I think it's written for young adults, but the style of writing and subject matter have too much depth to fit inside that cookie cutter category.

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

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 2:45 am
by SvenPhantom
Crime and Punishment, One Day in the Live of Ivan Denisovich

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

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 3:29 am
by iqmal_97
The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander MCcall Smith.

I fell in love with it the first time i read it. The story contains some very interesting characters and the lessons of the book are very clear and easy to understand as well as meaningful. :D

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

Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 5:51 pm
by Gunny
I enjoy supernatural horror like Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft.
The Stand is my favorite.

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

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 7:26 am
by Midnight Rambler
Talon wrote:I have to say I've never been drawn into a series of books as much as I was when I read Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. The undertones are fantastic. I think it's written for young adults, but the style of writing and subject matter have too much depth to fit inside that cookie cutter category.
Definitely, great series. Reading it at the moment actually...

My favourite series is the Oregon Files by Clive Cussler. Slightly fictional but has plenty of real world connections that make it really smooth reading.

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

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 7:39 am
by Dragon029
I don't read too much, but the last series to immerse me was the Commonwealth / Void saga by Peter F. Hamilton (its about 5, 800 page novels about a world based in the far future facing grave threats - I highly recommend them, but also forewarn that Hamilton plays somewhat of a joke on the concept of religion. Also, sexuality is... more open, but still has an insignificant place in the series).

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

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 10:15 pm
by Talon
Best you've ever read was To Kill A Mockingbird? :shock:

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

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 11:32 pm
by SvenPhantom
It isn't a bad book, I liked it.

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

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 11:38 pm
by Talon
Bad, no, but best, far from it. It gets a lot of attention because of its message.

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

Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 11:44 pm
by CharleyHotel
And its true author gets too little credit (*cough cough: Truman Capote)

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

Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:27 pm
by redcell
Gunny wrote:I enjoy supernatural horror like Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft.
The Stand is my favorite.
Have you read the Necronomicon, then? :P
It's interesting. A lot of the metal bands I like draw inspiration from Lovecraft's work.

As for me, I love reading Tom Clancy's works. Cold War fiction is pretty good, and my favorite book from him is The Hunt for Red October. I've read the book twice, and saw the movie many times. :P

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

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 3:11 am
by Gunny
Yep I sure did.The Mythos he created around Cthuhlu and the old ones is truly darkly inspired or drug induced. :lol: Don't get me wrong I read other kind of books as well.
My favorite Tom Clancy is Sum Of All Fears.I didn't like the movie though as much as the book cause they took to many liberty's with Ryan's character as well as the plot probably due to 9/11 to close for comfort I guess.
The Rainbow 6 series is good to.

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

Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 4:02 am
by Talon
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.