Favorite book of all time

[siamesecat2965]

Ha, you guys have cool stuff. Mine has to be "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." The themes, the characters, the descriptions were incredibly rich and satisfying.

Boo!  You said mine already!  Written by Betty Smith.

More synopsis.  It is a coming-of-age story of a girl from (guessing here) about 8 to 18 or so during Depression-era Brooklyn.  As Finecabernet says, the descriptions of the characters and the place are amazing.  So many little vignettes are linked together to form a story that captures a time and a place but at the same time it is the story of a unique person and family.  I've probably read it 10-15 times.

Other favorites (yes, cheating here):  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. 

Betty Smith's other books are pretty good too.

All three of these books have had a profound influence upon me.

This is one of my favorite too, but you were off on the dates a little bit. It's actually the ten years or so prior WW1, with one of the last scene's being Francie's reaction to the newspaper announcing the war.

Oops!

Sorry, I hope that didn't come off as being nit picky, I just reread it over the summer and that last bit really stuck with me.


Like PeterM I have too many favorites to choose just one, so I'll go with the favorite that I'm rereading right now, American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  Really interesting conceit - all of the Gods are real as long as they have believers.  There are a number of interwoven stories but the main plot follows a guy named Shadow.  It's hard to give too much of a summary without revealing some plot points, but it's really a great read.

Slightly OT but I just bought this one as it was one of Amazon's Kindle books 3.99 and under for OCt. NOt at all what I normally read, but I've been branching out lately, so I figured the price is right so I'll give it a shot.

[nayberry]

it's tough but one i reread over and over again is Adiamante by L.E. Modesitt Jr

amazon bumph "In the far future, Earth is just one planet inhabited by humanity, the capital of a long-abandoned interstellar empire. The people of Earth have built a new society and slowly the planet is recovering from millennia of selfish exploitation and the destruction of wars. Suddenly, a former colony's fleet of twelve warships built of nearly indestructible adiamante appears in orbit and tries to intimidate the people of Earth into submission. The people of Earth will not surrender, but their principles also don't allow them to take defensive measures until the fleet actually attacks. Ecktor deJanes is the newly appointed planetary coordinator and has the terrible responsibility of protecting the lives of all the Earth's inhabitants. Somehow he must maintain his society's principles while preventing the fleet from turning the planet into a lifeless ball of rock."

it's a tale of morality and evolution with spaceships and revenge thrown in.

i have gone through about 7 paper copies and just got the kindle version the other day.

(i also love the host, most jane austen and almost all david edding/terry brooks/terry pratchett)

[Kaora]

it's tough but one i reread over and over again is Adiamante by L.E. Modesitt Jr

amazon bumph "In the far future, Earth is just one planet inhabited by humanity, the capital of a long-abandoned interstellar empire. The people of Earth have built a new society and slowly the planet is recovering from millennia of selfish exploitation and the destruction of wars. Suddenly, a former colony's fleet of twelve warships built of nearly indestructible adiamante appears in orbit and tries to intimidate the people of Earth into submission. The people of Earth will not surrender, but their principles also don't allow them to take defensive measures until the fleet actually attacks. Ecktor deJanes is the newly appointed planetary coordinator and has the terrible responsibility of protecting the lives of all the Earth's inhabitants. Somehow he must maintain his society's principles while preventing the fleet from turning the planet into a lifeless ball of rock."

it's a tale of morality and evolution with spaceships and revenge thrown in.

i have gone through about 7 paper copies and just got the kindle version the other day.

(i also love the host, most jane austen and almost all david edding/terry brooks/terry pratchett)

Oh that caught my attention.  I'll have to read it!

[Betelnut]

it's tough but one i reread over and over again is Adiamante by L.E. Modesitt Jr

amazon bumph "In the far future, Earth is just one planet inhabited by humanity, the capital of a long-abandoned interstellar empire. The people of Earth have built a new society and slowly the planet is recovering from millennia of selfish exploitation and the destruction of wars. Suddenly, a former colony's fleet of twelve warships built of nearly indestructible adiamante appears in orbit and tries to intimidate the people of Earth into submission. The people of Earth will not surrender, but their principles also don't allow them to take defensive measures until the fleet actually attacks. Ecktor deJanes is the newly appointed planetary coordinator and has the terrible responsibility of protecting the lives of all the Earth's inhabitants. Somehow he must maintain his society's principles while preventing the fleet from turning the planet into a lifeless ball of rock."

it's a tale of morality and evolution with spaceships and revenge thrown in.

i have gone through about 7 paper copies and just got the kindle version the other day.

(i also love the host, most jane austen and almost all david edding/terry brooks/terry pratchett)

Oh that caught my attention.  I'll have to read it!

Me too. It doesn't look like my library has it though!

[Julian]

One book?  One book??  Inconceivable!

I'm going to nominate a series, Colleen McCulloch's Roman series.  I think it starts with the First Man in Rome. 

It starts in the later days of the Roman Republic just prior to the rise of Gaius Marius, and ends at the start of Octavian / Augustus Caesar's reign as emperor.  They're all big meaty books with massive glossaries, intensively researched, and written with quite a wonderful sense of character and humour. 

She does seem to have a healthy dose of worship for Julius Caesar though. 

They're wonderful books, worth the read, and definitely up there in my Favourites list.

If anyone else likes big meaty historical novels, please also try Edward Rutherford.  Sarum, New Forest, Dublin, New York, etc.  Brilliant reads.

[newbiePA]

Yet another vote for "A Tree Grows on Brooklyn". It was the first book I wore out.  The pages fell apart.  I own a nice hardback copy now.

[Verloona Ti]

Favorite book nonfiction : Evil Sisters by Bram Djkstra. Fascinating book about how the 19th century theories on the origin of mankind and the inheritance of traits became  twisted into beliefs that women were "biological primitives" who were subconsciously driven to pull back all of humanity into the behaviors of the  "cave man days', mostly by depraved behavior with "racial inferiors". That these beliefs were once Science and taught in college classes is bad enough, but Djkstra shows that the beliefs in simplified form were picked up by artists and writers and so entered  both High and popular art...Where they linger to this day. Depressing but fascinating (as is his book Idols of Perversity...The two books might easily be considered one unit.




Favorite book fiction: Bellefleur , by Joyce Carol Oates. Deals with the entire history of the USA via the (non linear and at times confusing) tale of one wealthy, corrupt, powerful American dynasty. This really is a tale of 'North American Magic Realism', and its few  touches of dark fantasy are delightfully eerie.

[nayberry]

it's tough but one i reread over and over again is Adiamante by L.E. Modesitt Jr

amazon bumph "In the far future, Earth is just one planet inhabited by humanity, the capital of a long-abandoned interstellar empire. The people of Earth have built a new society and slowly the planet is recovering from millennia of selfish exploitation and the destruction of wars. Suddenly, a former colony's fleet of twelve warships built of nearly indestructible adiamante appears in orbit and tries to intimidate the people of Earth into submission. The people of Earth will not surrender, but their principles also don't allow them to take defensive measures until the fleet actually attacks. Ecktor deJanes is the newly appointed planetary coordinator and has the terrible responsibility of protecting the lives of all the Earth's inhabitants. Somehow he must maintain his society's principles while preventing the fleet from turning the planet into a lifeless ball of rock."

it's a tale of morality and evolution with spaceships and revenge thrown in.

i have gone through about 7 paper copies and just got the kindle version the other day.

(i also love the host, most jane austen and almost all david edding/terry brooks/terry pratchett)

Oh that caught my attention.  I'll have to read it!

Me too. It doesn't look like my library has it though!

you can normally get it for pennies/cents on amazon if you don't mind a used copy

[MorgnsGrl]

This is really tough for me because I read a lot, in quite a few different genres.  In terms of sheer impact and somewhat surprising ending, I think I have to go with 'Ender's Game' by Orsen Scott Card.

It is a story about exceptional children, including Ender, who attend a battle school where they play games and run war simulations.  Ender is identified as the ultimate leader; he isn't the smartest or the strongest but he is an incredible tactician and knows how to get the best from his team.  As they move on to war simulations, he develops a plan to wipe out the enemy, and does.  And then he finds out it wasn't a simulation.

There are a number of sequels and simultaneous stories about other characters written later that are also good but none of them have the impact of 'Ender's Game'.

DH, DS (age 12) and I all love Ender's Game. In fact, our two young cats are called Valentine and Ender.

On any given day my "favorite" book would probably change, it isn't even easy to make a top 20 list. But today I'm going to say Diana Wynne Jones' "Fire and Hemlock." It's a modern, fantasy-twisted re-telling of Tam Lin.

[learningtofly]

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.  My mom gave it to me as a teenager and it's near to falling apart, but I love it.

Each chapter is a different character in the main character's life and it all ties together.  Just an easy to read novel with ups and downs.  I read a lot and I"ve read a lot of good books, but over the years this is still my favorite.

[heartmug]

Little Women.

[StuffedGrapeLeaves]

Mine would be Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Its a screamingly funny satire about the Apocalypse and Armageddon.

I can't name my favorite quote because there are just too many of them, but one of them is "[Humans] were born into a world that was against them in a thousand little ways, and then devoted most of their energies to making it worse... Just when you'd think they were more malignant than ever Hell could be, they could occasionally show more grace than Heaven ever dreamed of. Often the same individual was involved. It was this freewill thing, of course. It was a bugger."

This is mine, too!  I absolutely love this book. 

My favorite quote, because it never fails to make me laugh every time I read it, is during the the list of dramatis personae when it describes Crowley as "an Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards." 

[Chonsil]

Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

It's about a writer (once famous) who is remembering her life as she lies in hospital. It shifts back and forth between present and the past, and different characters' viewpoints. It isn't a straightforward A to Z narrative, but I find it more interesting because of that and think it is so beautifully written. I think I read it once every year.

And it always makes me wonder if this is what Martha Gellhorn (journalist) was like.

[PitBullMom]

Once A Runner by John L Parker Jr.  It's about a collegiate athlete and the sacrifices he makes to become an elite runner while dealing with political garbage from the school's athletic association. 

[padua]

until i was 24 it was the neverending story by michael ende. i was forever frustrated that when i recommended it to my friends, they would use the excuse that they'd seen the movie. the book was NOTHING like the movie- well, the movie left a lot out, anyway. i found the book absolutely delightful, especially considering it was a translation from german.

after i worked in zimbabwe, fell in love with mukiwa, a white boy in africa by peter godwin. it's a memoir about growing up in a really turbulent time in zimbabwe. it's candid, at times delightful and at times heart-breaking. i would put this up there with the power of one, which is also a favourite.