Favorite Books

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anthony kiedis's autobiography "scar tissue" was an awesome read.

definitely not one of my favorites but worth reading.

favorites in no particular order:
1) brothers karamazov - dostoevsky
2) jitterbug perfume - tom robbins
3) infinite jest - david foster wallace
4) autobiography of malcolm x
5) enders game

-mota
 
and i f&cking loved the redwall series growing up.
-mota
 
malcolm x ay? LOL what interesting things did you learn in that book? he has a pretty wack autobiography...if you know what i mean? 😉 (hint: this isnt a racist reference)
 
1. Dune by Frank Herbert, probably read it 15 times in my life. If you think enders game is a good scifi book, this book blows it out of the water, and actually has meaningful symbolism and classical themes.

2. Humanity by ?? Glover. The best nonfiction book ever written in regards to the state and complexity of the human race when it comes to violence. It chronicles the unique (or ubiqituous) mental state that was required for each major violent conflict in the 20th century. It is a horribly violent account of the wars of the 20th century that tries to put a human face on the people (like your next door neighbor or yourself) that are capable of these violent acts, and how our humanity can shine through and we can change or we can stay the same. He showes examples of both people that can respond to their glimpse of empathy and those cannot respond to it.

3. Complications by Atul gawande. This one just hit home because I will be starting med school this fall and it seems to be not only optimitistic but straight forward about the medical profession. Yeah there are things wrong but there is also a lot that can really help people and the things that are wrong have the potential to be fixed.
 
red dot said:
great thread -- i hate to burst your bubble but: someone else beat you to it
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haha, I'm glad you remember that long-living thread. There were some great contributions made in there, but there's always room for more book threads 🙂
 
Rogue Synapse said:
Is everybody really so painfully academic and literary in their free reading? Honestly? Here's a sampling from the prolitereat:

David Sedaris - "Me Talk Pretty One Day"
Tom Clancy - "Clear and Present Danger" (or, pretty much all his works)
Patrick O'Brien - "H.M.S. Surprise" (or, pretty much everything he's written, e.g. The Far Side of the World, The Thirteen Gun Salute, Master and Commander)
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Nope, not all of us are. David Sedaris is great. If you liked his books then you should also borrow a copy of the audio books. He's a really good narrator. Its really funny.



My list:

1) To Kill a Mocking Bird
2) Kissing in Manhattan
3) After You'd Gone
4) God of Small Things
 
1) Harry Potter Series
2) The Da Vinci Code
3) Pride and Prejudice
 
There are many, three from top of the head:

One Hundred Years of Solititude by Garcia-Marquez
Cosmicomics by Italo Clavino
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
 
Gerrymandering said:
how interesting! Divine Comedy? i didn't know of any premed/med student who would read such a book...ive heard it's pretty entertaining though
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its pretty interesting...i don't know how much of a leisure book it is, it helps if you read it for a class and hold discussions on it 👍
 
Sure, good question.

1) SPHERE by Michael Crichton (based on the sheer # of times I've read it)
2) NIGHT by Elie Wiesel (because of the struggle for humanity)
3) WATERSHIP DOWN (because it's adventurous, among other things)

I've read all the HARRY POTTER books and while I enjoy them, I don't think they are 'god's gift to literature' as some others would have you believe.
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Hey, I love all three of these! I might have listed them in my top 5. You've got great taste 😛
 
I actually did read the Divine Comedy for fun (no, not kidding). It was very interesting, and I thought it was a great leisure book.
 
DrVanNostran said:
Hmm..

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Kite Runner
3. Pride and Prejudice (My sisters rip on me because I like this book...)
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You're my book-soul-mate. You don't happen to love John Grisham books also and have gone through a stephen king phase in your teen yrs?
 
masterMood said:
1) The Great Gatsby
2) Heart of Darkness
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I can't believe someone would put Heart of Darkness as one of their favorite books. You can't be serious...

I also fall into the category of never touching a book twice. I also don't really like to watch movies more than once. I own quite a few books which is weird considering I do not re-read them. My favorites are:

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
River God - Wilbur Smith (I think he has several good books, especially the ones about the Courtney family)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J R R Tolkien

^ no particular order.
 
one hundred years of solitude (and anything else by garcia marquez)

i'm all about harry potter too. it isn't great literature, as been pointed out, but it's very entertaining and incredibly addictive. not sure how i'm gonna due if the next book comes out bn august and june...

and... i'm really interested in indian / bangladeshi lit right now. the namesake was good, red earth and pouring rain, any other suggestions for that genre?
 
Catch 22
The Right Stuff (Don't tell me you never wanted to be a fighter pilot.)
To Kill a Mockingbird

Those are my three, now I'll cheat (it seems popular 'round here):
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and pretty much everything else by Haruki Murakami
Gravity's Rainbow (partially as a defense for never having finished Ulysses--I mean, how can you read a book that features the search and description of cheese for a whole freaking chapter?)
A Light in August
The Old Man and the Sea
A Farewell to Arms
Dune
The Grapes of Wrath
A Death in the Family by James Agee
Native Son and Black Boy
 
1. To kill a Mockingbird
2. Flowers in the Attic
 
I can't believe someone would put Heart of Darkness as one of their favorite books. You can't be serious...
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I agree. I've read it twice and it was painful both times. I don't know why I even bothered to read it a second time.
My list of favorite books changes almost as often as I change my underwear, but here are some of the staples that have won my long-term adoration:
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth- Chris Ware. A great graphic novel.
The Glass Menagerie- Tennesee Williams. A play, are those allowed on the list?
The World According to Garp- John Irving
American Psycho- Bret Easton Ellis
 
I'll second the Redwall and His Dark Materials series. I want to see my daemon someday!!!
Hmm, I have a bunch of Marakami's books but don't like them for some reason. His writing always seems very bland and empty to me. Maybe that's the point. 👎 :
 
Aish, I'm reading Murakami right now and it's great!

Any Fountainhead people out there? It has got to be the most affecting book I've read thus far.
 
choweee said:
Aish, I'm reading Murakami right now and it's great!

Any Fountainhead people out there? It has got to be the most affecting book I've read thus far.
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Eh, a lot of my friends like him too, and got me to buy lots of his books before I realized what a pale weirdo he was. I have this theory that ppl who like him are just like his protagonist....and if you've read him, you know the protagonist is always the same old guy.


I've actually never gotten past the first page of Heart of Darkness, but I totally love the famous "The Horror, the horror" quote when Kurtz dies.


Edit: Ooh, I just found it...

"Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn't touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision -- he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath:

"'The horror! The horror!'
 
GoJoeyMojo said:
The Glass Menagerie- Tennesee Williams. A play, are those allowed on the list?
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I recently wrote a paper on this play; I thought it (the play not my paper lol) was fantastic. I'm a big fan of Williams's work...Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is my favorite. 🙂
 
i'm currently reading The Crying of Lot 49. it is crazy, for lack of a better description. thoughts anyone?

if it were to be made into a movie, david lynch should do it and metzger the lawyer/ex-actor should be played by johnny depp. imo.
 
enders game, the giver
 
In no particular order:

A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking
Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Eon, by Greg Bear
The Divine Comedy (particularly Inferno), by Dante Aligheri (sp?)
The Hammer of God, by Arthur Clarke
Rendevous with Rama, by Arthur Clarke
2001, by Arthur Clarke
The Forge of God, by Greg Bear
Anvil of Stars, by Greg Bear
Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls (?)
Lion's Game, by Nelson DeMille
any book by Robert Ludlum published between 1980 and 1995 (before and after are crap, IMO)
 
choweee said:
Any Fountainhead people out there? It has got to be the most affecting book I've read thus far.
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I've got Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead, and yeah, they're both "affecting", but I'm such a commie pinko that it affects me in a different way.
 
fountainhead was affecting for me, but i somewhat took it to heart and refused to do ECs i didnt want to do for my apps, and then i didnt get into any schools of my choice. dunno what to think of it. i do feel it was an analogous situation though

curious...i drive a civic hybrid but im big on capitalism and the right wing
 
Shredder said:
curious...i drive a civic hybrid but im big on capitalism and the right wing
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Cool! That's my car, too. I participate in a pretty stimulating forum at Greenhybrid, and I'd have to say the vast majority of members there seem to be quite conservative. Hybrids aren't just for liberals - if you think about it, they embody conservatism. Reduce dependence on foreign oil, help to encourage development of new technology, and most importantly (no matter what you may read in the 'liberal media'), you'll save quite a few bucks, as I'm sure you know with your car. Sure, they also have that green cachet that seems to be so popular with liberals, but I'd encourage you to check out Greenhybrid some time. My name there is "Civic Duty".
 
i know this much is true- wally lamb
world according to garp or prayer for owen meany- john irving
a short history of nearly everything- bill bryson
 
The Wasteland- TS Eliot
The Dream of a Common Language- Adrienne Rich (she's my hero and I LOVE her)
any of the Harry Potter Books, any of the OZ books (by L. Frank Baum)

Jitterbug Perfume- Tom Robbins: hands down my favorite book 👍
 
AggieJohn said:
I can't believe someone would put Heart of Darkness as one of their favorite books. You can't be serious...

I also fall into the category of never touching a book twice. I also don't really like to watch movies more than once. I own quite a few books which is weird considering I do not re-read them. My favorites are:

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
River God - Wilbur Smith (I think he has several good books, especially the ones about the Courtney family)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J R R Tolkien

^ no particular order.
Click to expand...
i like joseph conrad's writing style, and just because the book is gloomy and somber doesn't mean it's not a good book. I like it because it exposes the dirty truth of the supposed "white man's burden."
 
xaviera_o said:
and... i'm really interested in indian / bangladeshi lit right now. the namesake was good, red earth and pouring rain, any other suggestions for that genre?
Click to expand...

check out rohinton mistry's books a fine balance (part of oprah's club, fwiw) and such a long journey. they really capture the depressing fatalism that's such a part of indian life.

and also for an older book, vs naipaul's a house for mr. biswas is awesome. funny, tragic, moving. he didn't win a nobel prize for nothing!
 
funshine said:
Eh, a lot of my friends like him too, and got me to buy lots of his books before I realized what a pale weirdo he was. I have this theory that ppl who like him are just like his protagonist....and if you've read him, you know the protagonist is always the same old guy.


I've actually never gotten past the first page of Heart of Darkness, but I totally love the famous "The Horror, the horror" quote when Kurtz dies.


Edit: Ooh, I just found it...

"Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope never to see again. Oh, I wasn't touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror -- of an intense and hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision -- he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath:

"'The horror! The horror!'
Click to expand...
It's probably true that people who like Murakami identify with his protagonist. It doesn't seem like that'd be hard to do, the guy is pretty neutral. He's just very blase about all the crazy stuff that's going on around him. "Hmm, there appears to be some psychic sex going on, I think I'll pick up my tie from the cleaners." For me, it seems to have all the imagination of sci-fi, but without bothering with the sci. (I'm a sci-fi fan, also.)
 
red dot said:
i'm currently reading The Crying of Lot 49. it is crazy, for lack of a better description. thoughts anyone?

if it were to be made into a movie, david lynch should do it and metzger the lawyer/ex-actor should be played by johnny depp. imo.
Click to expand...
Gravity's Rainbow is better. Lot 49 doesn't have the complexity and scope to be really fascinating in the same way. Reading Pynchon is more like taking a tour of a very strange mind that reading a novel, but it's a pretty interesting journey. Gravity's Rainbow is also funnier.
 
The Passion, Jeanette Winterson
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (although I think we are going to find out that Truman Capote wrote this book upon Lee's death)
The Quantity Theory of Insanity, Will Self
Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters, JD Salinger
A Prayer for Owen Meany , John Irving
 
nikibean said:
Jitterbug Perfume- Tom Robbins: hands down my favorite book 👍
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soulmate?
-mota
 
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (this is the book that solidified my world view...)

Lullabye - Chuck Palahniuk (i like all of his books, but this was my favorite)

Wrigleyworld - Kevin Kaduk (not really a "great" book, but it's a fun read, and i happen to be reading it now, so it's on the brain...)
 
Oculus Sinistra said:
1) SPHERE by Michael Crichton (based on the sheer # of times I've read it)
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yeah, that book has quite a "re-readability" to it. definitely one of my favorite crichton books...that and maybe Prey, which i loved.
 
ANYTHING Vonnegut. Kurt Vonnegut is the God of my literary world.
 
thehero5000 said:
ANYTHING Vonnegut. Kurt Vonnegut is the God of my literary world.
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Oh, yeah, add Cat's Cradle to my list!
 
Here is another book EVERYONE forgot!!!

The Bible

How can someone miss that?? it's the biggest selling book worldwide...It changed my life no doubt!!

🙂
 
xaviera_o said:
and... i'm really interested in indian / bangladeshi lit right now. the namesake was good, red earth and pouring rain, any other suggestions for that genre?
Click to expand...

I read The Space Between Us by Umrigar (sp?) last month. Incredibly moving, I highly recommend it.
 
Gerrymandering said:
Here is another book EVERYONE forgot!!!

The Bible

How can someone miss that?? it's the biggest selling book worldwide...It changed my life no doubt!!

🙂
Click to expand...

uhhh
-mota
 
Gerrymandering said:
Here is another book EVERYONE forgot!!!

The Bible

How can someone miss that?? it's the biggest selling book worldwide...It changed my life no doubt!!

🙂
Click to expand...
Hmmm...not a big fan. I just didn't find the characters that believable. Plus, I think the authors made a serious error when they left out 12+ years of Jesus' life.
 
My favorite books are****in Dr. Seuss. I ****in lived my life on those books. That's why i wanted to become a bitch ass doctor!

The Bible is the ****. How can you say it ain't believable? you're going to hell bitch
 
ShyRem said:
I also have a problem with how long some of the characters lived. I mean, really. 400 years old?
Click to expand...
They were busy doing a lot of begetting! Or maybe it was meant to be sci-fi?
 
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