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05/22/2005 06:27:29 AM · #26 |
I don't read much real literature, but my favorite until now is Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, will read War & Peace this summer. For books like that it is very useful to also study the culture. Can recommend 'Natasha's Dance' for that and it is also funny to read about places where you've been.
My favorite writer now is Terry Pratchett, I've got the whole Discworld series. The earlier books were better. My favorites are Pyramids, Small Gods and Thief of Time.
When I was younger (10-20) I must have read almost all fiction about the 2nd world war. Also like technical SF and fun stuff like Douglas Adams.
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05/22/2005 06:35:00 AM · #27 |
My Final Year Thesis,
It was a complete work of fiction.... ;-) |
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05/22/2005 06:41:07 AM · #28 |
I'm not a great reader so this list wont be nearly as long as the favourite movie thread.
Anything by Tom Clancey
Chickenhawk by Robert Mason - if anyone has read the sequel to this, I would be most interested in hearing about it as it is out of print.
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05/22/2005 07:38:24 AM · #29 |
pls excuse the spelling but
Heinlein,Zelany,Pournelle,Nivin,Azmnov,Silverburg,Clark,R.Forward,
tiptree,tolkien,herbert,... many many more ...
last time i counted there were 1200+ SciFi paperbacks & 100+ Hardcovers
in the basement..
& heavy stuff, Ayn Rand, Alexander Solzynitzin, Camus which covers another book shelf or three
think i have three books open now ... household book budget >>200/month
had to slow down since we had kids ;)
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05/22/2005 11:27:13 AM · #30 |
The Mysterious Island -- Jules Verne
Opus 100 -- Isaac Asimov (A sampling of his writings up through book number 99)
Sturgeon is Alive and Well -- Theodore Sturgeon (short story collection); also the novella The (Widget), The (Wadget), and Boff from the collection Aliens 4
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress -- Robert Heinlein
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd -- Agatha Christie. Not necessarily my favorite of hers, but it got me started ...
Two Against the North (Lost in the Barrens) -- Farley Mowat
The Cruise of The Dazzler -- Jack London
The Devil's Dictionary -- Ambrose Bierce
The Joy of Cooking -- Irma S. Rombauer, Marian Rombauer Becker
The Declaration of Independence -- Thomas Jefferson
Please note that many of the "classics" mentioned in this thread are available as free, downloadable text from Project Gutenberg -- you can join as a proofreader if you want to help make public domain works available to the public.
Message edited by author 2005-05-22 11:37:17. |
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05/22/2005 12:37:04 PM · #31 |
I used to read all the time... from the time I was 4 years old I was constantly walking around with a book in my hand. Then I had kids... ;o)
My reading for pleasure has been replaced over the past 15 years with reading for classes, reading with my students, and reading with my own children. I've worked with adolescents for about 10 years now, so I have a pretty broad view of literature for that age group. Some of my favorites are listed below, and if you have kids that are approaching the tweens and teens, these might be some to check out.
Holes by Louis Sachar (the movie is good, but the book is awesome)
the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (older adolescents)
The Chocolate War by Robert Coumier (along with Beyond the Chocolate War and I am the Cheese)
A Seperate Peace by John Knowles
White Fang by Jack London
The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
any of the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia McLachlan
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
any of Jon Scieszka's books (The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Math Curse, Tut Tut, See You Later Gladiator, Summer Reading is Killing Me, Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci, among many others)
For younger kids, these are some gems I've found over the years...
Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst (along with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day)
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. (along with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and several others)
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Monica Hanks
My Great Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
all of the Eric Carle books (The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Busy Spider, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Clumsy Beetle, plus the ones he illustrated for Bill Martin Jr. like Brown Bear and Polar Bear)
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting
On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier
The Napping House by Audrey Wood (she has a ton of other good books as well)
Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis (yes, the actress)
Anyway, thought I'd share those with you in case you have kids or need some good gift ideas for kids that are in your life.
The last book I read for myself for pleasure was Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Great book, short, easy read. I did take about a year or so to complete the entire Left Behind series, and those were pretty entertaining as well. I read the first book of two spin-off series from Left Behind...one is a political series, the other a war/military series, and they were OK but not quite as interesting to me personally. When I was younger, I read a lot of Jackie Collins books. Her Lucky series was really good if you like that kind of thing.
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05/22/2005 01:51:38 PM · #32 |
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possessioin of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Some of mine:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Timeline by Michael Crichton
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Utopia by Thomas Moore
Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Along Came A Spider by James Patterson
I'm sure I'm forgetting many but I read a lot and it's hard to keep track.
June
Message edited by author 2005-05-22 13:55:42.
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05/22/2005 02:20:49 PM · #33 |
Like Bear_Music, I read at least 5-7 books in a week. Some of my favorite authors in no particular order. Just going by the most worn spines in the bookcases:
Amy Tan, Annie Proulx, Louise Erdrich, Anne Dillard, Alice Walker, John Steinbeck, Chaim Potok, and Richard Powers. Then of course, there's sci fi.
right now, I've also got going: the latest quarterly of Granta (on Factories), Glimmer Train (short stories), Analog and Asimov mags. |
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05/22/2005 02:34:35 PM · #34 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Bukowski.
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Ooh, a fellow fan! I approve. :)
Message edited by author 2005-05-22 14:34:44. |
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05/22/2005 02:36:52 PM · #35 |
I love a good read, something flawlessly written and emotional. Enything from the oprah book club is on my list. My very favorites:
I know this much is true by Wally Lamb
The secret life of bees by ? (not flawlessly written, but the story is just wonderful!)
The shinning by stephen king (the only king book I've read because it scared the crap out of me, but this writting style is just amazing, the way he discribes characters is unparalled. |
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05/22/2005 02:47:01 PM · #36 |
| The secret life of bees I loved that story, simple, but very good read. |
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05/22/2005 08:05:42 PM · #37 |
And oh, yeah: "Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas Hofstadter...
Yes, and all of his work in general, but this one is my favorite possibly after The Mind's I. Along that line of thinking: the works of Daniel Dennet and Raymond Smullyan. My favorite piece in The Mind's I is definitely Smullyan's Is God a Daoist?
While we're on non-fiction, I adore Oliver Sacks.
...Glimmer Train (short stories), ...
absolutely!
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05/22/2005 08:22:31 PM · #38 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
I have a bookcase full of engineering texts and references that I ahve read too, but usually, they are not exactly "literature". |
I wonder if you have "The Ancient Engineers" by L. Sprague de Camp. Not only was he an excellent science fiction writer, he was rather good in the non-fiction arena as well. Took me a while to find this in my 'stacks' but just leafing through the pages makes me chuckle once more. He was such a good writer.
Edited - wanted to highlight "such" but couldn't do it.
Message edited by author 2005-05-22 20:23:40. |
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05/22/2005 09:19:57 PM · #39 |
| Philip Pullman is a good writer - "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and his books for younger readers too. |
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05/22/2005 09:22:48 PM · #40 |
i dont know what is wrong with me but i hate reading. It is just something i cant get into. I try and i try. I have tried subjects that interest me but i still dont like it.
My husband on the other hand LOVES reading. He likes Dan Simmons, Katharine Kerr, William Gibson etc. Anything sci-fi.
My kids also love reading. Thank god they didnt get my traits. They love the usual Harry Potter, etc. My youngest loves Hagar. LOL
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05/22/2005 09:28:22 PM · #41 |
I love 'bag of bones' by the master of evil...
Stephen King
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05/22/2005 09:42:33 PM · #42 |
Well currently, I am reading The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, Abridged by Hans-Friederich Mueller. It is a bit more managable at 1600 pages, instead of the 7 volumes. Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan, book 9 in the Eye of the World series, And Sands of Time by C.G. Wedgewood.
Among my all time favorites: The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein, The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo, Patriots by A.J. Languth, The Prince by Machivelli, Boss by Mike Royko, The Eye of the World series by Robert Jordan, The Shannara series by Terry Brooks, The Illuminatus trilogy by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson.
Some that I am just proud to have gotten through & enjoyed, Don Quixote by Cervantes, The Infrerno by Dante, The Persian Wars by Herodotus, The Essential Plato, Democracy in America By DeTocqueville, The Iliad, The Oddessy, by Homer.
My wife & I knew we were together forever when we mixed our book collections. As of now we have 6 doublestacked bookshelves with paperbacks, 5 with hard cover fiction, 2 with hardcover non fiction, 1 with textbooks, & 2 filled with our kids books. Last time we moved it was 54 boxes of books, and yes we have gained plenty since then.
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05/22/2005 09:51:54 PM · #43 |
Originally posted by Pug-H:
Philip Pullman is a good writer - "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and his books for younger readers too. |
His Dark Materials is a great trilogy! Very interesting ideas in those. |
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05/22/2005 09:53:01 PM · #44 |
Originally posted by sfalice:
Glimmer Train (short stories) |
I love Glimmer Train :) |
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05/22/2005 09:55:40 PM · #45 |
At the moment, I can't think of any books that I haven't enjoyed -- I just love to read.
My favorites of favorites of favorites, though, would have to be --
Jane Eyre
Redeeming Love (by Francine Rivers)
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05/22/2005 09:59:23 PM · #46 |
| Everything Stephen King has written. |
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05/22/2005 10:00:41 PM · #47 |
Anything by Heinlein. Also Thomas Pynchon. Mason & Dixon is a great book.
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05/22/2005 10:47:33 PM · #48 |
Originally posted by just-married:
...Glimmer Train (short stories), ...
absolutely! |
Also posted by
mocabela
I love Glimmer Train :)
Glad to hear of two more people who ride the Glimmer Train
Alice |
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