Best book, singular not plural, you've ever read does not equal a list of favourites.

 

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown I think.

 

I would have to say that my favorite book is the Lord of the Rings, followed closely by all of the Middle Earth stories and Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

 

What I've considered to be the best book has changed so many times that I no longer know what the one best book is. I love books and stories regardless of genre, so I posted the list.

Incidentally, I find it funny that you criticize me for not coming up with one book since you mentioned three books. Three doesn't equal one either unless, of course, you're a trinitarian or a fan of clover.

 

You misunderstood me. I'm not being critical, just stating that your list doesn't give a good idea as to what is the best book you've read. There's wide range of reading material (believe me when I say I am not criticizing that) and it's pretty vague.

I'll admit, I had a hard time narrowing it down as well.

If it's not the genre, then what is it you go for in books? Plot? Characterization? Description? You've left us hanging here.

 

I've read a lot of books on a lot of different topics and subjects and genres, so yeah, there would be a wide range. I tend to either choose books in a particular genre to read for a few months before going on to read several books in another genre or go with a book in one genre and then choose a book in another genre.

The past couple of years I've been in a book club and people have taken turns choosing books. Some of the books we've read are Under the Volcano, Midnight's Children, The Known World, At Swim-Two-Birds, and The Master and Margarita. Currently, we're reading Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust.

What do I go for in books? The first thing I go for is characterization, next is description, and last would be plot.

 

My favourite is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, followed closely by The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

As far as fantasy is concerned it's a tie between A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin and Ender's Game

 

my one is more of a political work, but a very interesting read and strangely enjoyable: The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

 

Nah, I did a search through this area of the forum to make sure there were none.

What you are probably refering to are the very numerous 'I need a good book to read' threads scattered about.

This is much more general.

On another note, posting more than one book or series is fine but it would be preferable for the best to be named.

Then maybe at somepoint someone can go through and find the book most liked by the DLP population.

 

Why do you care so much about grammer? He was obviously contributing to the discussion with some good books, and you are trying to put him down for that.

Dissapointing.

That said, my favorite kind of book at the moment is mystery. Im currently checking out some of Agatha Christie's books, they are pretty good.

Ip mentioned, 'And then there were none.' That was the first Agath. Chris. book I read actually.

Spoiler

THE JUDGE IS THE KILLER!!11!

 

Swim wasn't commenting about his grimmer, as you'll see from his next post he was saying that he would prefer something a little more specific because he just gave a broad list and it doesn't really give you a good idea of what his favorite is.

That said I'd have to go with A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. The whole series is amazing but i felt that that was his best book.

 

Giving away the killer is a big no no; especially if you hadn't marked what the spoiler is about.

 

Agatha Christie.. not a bad author, but not my style. There are a few infintely better authors of the same genre.

As for me? I've read so many that I cant say I know how to choose one and say its better than the rest.

Before reading OotP I would have said that was one of my favorite series, but since Ootp, HP has been on a decline. Currently, my favorite series is the Dresden Files.

The Time Traveler's Wife is damned good. Queen of the Damned is still classic. Most anything from Christopher Moore I like.

And for the record: Dan Brown sucks. He sucks whale balls. People cum themselves too easily over, at best, average books.

 

I'm gonna have to agree with Vash on this one. The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and Digital Fortress all did nothing for me. They seemed, at best, average and at worst a big load of donkey cock.

Back on topic, the Discworld Novels by Terry Pratchett must be my favourite series of all time, and though I'd be hard pressed to pick my favourite I'd have to go for Night Watch or The Fifth Elephant (Sam Vimes is my favourite character, just before Rincewind and Nanny Ogg).

Aekiel

 

^Yeah, I'm going to agree with that. My English teacher roped me into reading that book...and I must say out of all of the books she recommended to me that one was up there with the best of them.

I'm partial to reading crime/action/thriller novels and, although he probably isn't the best writer in out there, I find myself enjoying a lot of John Grisham's work.

Also, Dan Brown's books are certainly interesting, but I wouldn't say I was a huge fan of them....although that might be because so many people are in love with him and I hate being like everyone else... o.o

 

Grisham's a very good storyteller who can be formulaic at times. He can be forgiven to some extent since he did create "the young lawyers in trouble" subgenre.

As far as Brown is concerned, Angels and Demons is his best book. With regard to Da Vinci Code, he didn't put in anything that was terribly original-- what he did do to create a stir was to make the book essentially an alternate history without making it clear to readers that a lot of what he put in was not based on factual information.

 

Okay. I'll narrow it down slightly, but only slightly-- I am a bibliophile after all.

I consider Nick Hornby to be the best contemporary British writer, but my personal best contemporary British novel is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.

Elmore Leonard, Andrew Vachss, Ed McBain, Carl Hiaasen, and Richard Stark are my best mystery and crime writers. I suppose if you had to pin me down on a particular work, I'd go with The Hunter by Stark.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett share my current best science fiction writer crown. Asking me what my favorite work of science fiction would be is difficult, but I think I would go with American Gods or perhaps the Sandman series.

Popular culture. Chuck Klosterman and Nick Hornby are great chroniclers of popular culture. I can't say what's the best book because something always comes up that captures what's going on.

Southern literature. I've always been partial to Eudora Welty's The Ponder Heart. I never could get into Faulkner's novels. I do like his short stories though. Walker Percy's The Moviegoer is awesome as is John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces.

Horror/Fantasy. Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

American literature. Mark Twain is probably my favorite writer. It's been said that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was one of the first great American novels.

Graphic Novels. Geez. Tough decision. Watchmen or the Sandman series? I think I'd go with Alan Moore.

So what's my favorite? I don't know. It changes. What I can tell you though is that the best book I read last year was At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien.

 

singular not plural is grammer.

storm of swords was ok, i liked clash of kings better imo.

 

It isn't grammer. It's grammar. And, he wasn't fucking commentating on his grammar, but using it to say that he should only choose one book. Now shut the fuck up.

1984.

 

A toss-up between:
The Once and Future King
Animal Farm