Top 5: Books

[RugbyMuffin]

Ok.

Lets hear them. A little description will help too

Right now, in my brief reading career:

1. Count of Monte Cristo -
Classic tale of revenge.


2. The Three Musketeers: 20 years after -
Would recommend all 5 books of the series, but this is my favorite of the bunch. History of a "modern-day action hero character's life" set in historical France when the Parisians ruled society. The fall of the French gentleman-warrior.


3. Lonsome Dove -
Would recommend the series of 4 books, tho the final book in the timeline of the series is very average. Classic Western with a very down to earth vibe to it.


I know that is a whimpy list & only 3 books, but in all honesty I really only started reading consistently about 1 1/2 years ago. Just started.


.....................and I am out of books to read.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Some that come to mind right now:

1. Catch-22: Easily my #1. Brilliant satire about how insane war is.
2. The Aeneid: My favorite of the ancient classics.
3. Animal Liberation: The classic book about animal rights.
4. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln: Incredibly well-written about the leadership skills of a fascinating man.
5. Einstein's Dreams: A little book with lots of fascinating concepts of time.
6. The Poisonwood Bible: The piece of modern fiction that I just could not put down.
7. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt: This and the others in the trilogy are incredibly well-written books about one of the most interesting people to have ever lived.
8. A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide: Deeply disturbing, but very well-written book on a topic we should all know more about.

Based on what I know about you, Rugby, I think you'd like Einstein's Dreams most.

 

[CardLogic]

4. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln: Incredibly well-written about the leadership skills of a fascinating man.

Tremendous book! We could use a man like Lincoln in the office again.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Some that come to mind right now:

1. Catch-22: Easily my #1. Brilliant satire about how insane war is.
2. The Aeneid: My favorite of the ancient classics.
3. Animal Liberation: The classic book about animal rights.
4. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln: Incredibly well-written about the leadership skills of a fascinating man.
5. Einstein's Dreams: A little book with lots of fascinating concepts of time.
6. The Poisonwood Bible: The piece of modern fiction that I just could not put down.
7. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt: This and the others in the trilogy are incredibly well-written books about one of the most interesting people to have ever lived.
8. A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide: Deeply disturbing, but very well-written book on a topic we should all know more about.

Based on what I know about you, Rugby, I think you'd like Einstein's Dreams most.

Thanks!

I want more from the rest of you. Don't make me fly out there again.

 

[D-Dogg]

Some that come to mind right now:

1. Catch-22: Easily my #1. Brilliant satire about how insane war is.

I read this book every two or three years. I kind of perpetually read it...keep it open, read a bit, etc.

It very well might be my favorite book. Several times when I've listed faves, it leads the list. It's flat out brilliant. Completely off the charts wacky, but deep and meaningful too.

It's some catch, that Catch-22.

 

[D-Dogg]

5. Einstein's Dreams: A little book with lots of fascinating concepts of time.

This sounds awesome...just put a digital hold on it at the library. Totally in my wheelhouse.

 

[DWKB]

1) East of Eden
2) Count of Monte Cristo
3) Slaughterhouse Five
4) Lord of the Flies
5) The Catcher in the Rye

 

[AZZenny]

1. The Sunne In Splendor - Sharon Kay Penman. Sweeping, meticulous historical novel presenting the infamous King Richard III in a deeply sympathetic light. No question, all time #1 for me.

2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera. A complex, meditative novel of love and meaning in Czechoslovakia just prior to the Soviet Invasion of 1968.

3. ****** - Vladimir Nobokov. We all know the disturbing story line, but the thing is, what a gorgeous novel.

4. Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy. The movie was a travesty. This is a beautiful, wrenching, brilliantly written novel.

5. Dandelion Wine - Ray Bradbury. Also, several of his story anthologies, especially Martian Chronicles and A Medicine for Melancholy.

6. On The Road - Jack Kerouac.

7. Mists of Avalon - Marian Zimmer Bradley - retells Arthurian Legend from the perspective of Morgana, a woman of magic at the time when magic first came under fire from modernity.

8. The Beekeeper's Apprentice - Lauri King. A retired, irritable Sherlock Holmes becomes oddly attached to a brilliant orphaned teenaged American girl. Very well-done. Also, one of the sequels, "Oh Jerusalem" is especially good.

9. Olivia, by R. Lee Smith is a particularly odd favorite of mine, but the book totally consumed me and stuck with me for weeks. Most of her other books are very good, too. Sort of fantasy-erotic horror-mythic genre.

10. Achilles in America - Dr. Jonathan Shay. Integrated the Illiad of Homer into his work with Viet Nam Vets with severe PTSD, seeing the Illiad as the very first description of classic combat-related PTSD. Blew away both classical scholars and clinicians. Amazing book.

Also - Twelve Poets. Glenn Leggett, Ed. 12 of the finest English-Language poets, enough of each one to get to know him/her. Or, The Concise Treasury of Great Poems, English and American. Edited by Louis Untermeyer. I am well on the way to wearing out my third copy. Good poetry is something you can pick up anytime, thumb into and read one or two, and come away with new eyes for the rest of the day.

Edith Hamilton's "Greek Mythology" - to really understand the roots of our culture and literatature, Greek myths are an important element, and here they are lovingly and simply retold.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones - Paul Reps. Little Zen stories and fables, wonderfully presented.

And yes, Catch-22, Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse Five.

 

[ajcardfan]

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - The greatest American novel, IMHO. Before Twain, American writers mimicked European style.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird - Second greatest American novel. Atticus and Scout are probably my two favorite literary characters ever.

3. A Farewell to Arms - Love Hemingway, and this is his best book IMO.

4. Heart of Darkness - Fantastic novel that is also a powerful allegory for my own attraction to darkness.

5. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Much copied, never surpassed. The greatest fantasy work of all time.


Also, many of you mentioned many other of my favorite books. I just wanted recognition for those not listed yet.

 

[82CardsGrad]

So many GREAT books already mentioned... I would add:

Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

Killing Lincoln - Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

John Adams - David McCullough

 

[AZZenny]

How could I have missed To Kill a Mockingbird? Magnificent book.

 

[jw7]

I have read so many, but can't rank a top 5. I like pop fiction better than classics, usually. Stephen King, yup. Harry Potter, yup. Hunger games, yup.

I do have 1 favorite that I think I have posted before:

Replay by Ken Grimwood.

Just read the user comments. There are so many that say that this is the best book they have ever read.

 

[D-Dogg]

I do have 1 favorite that I think I have posted before:

Replay by Ken Grimwood.

Just read the user comments. There are so many that say that this is the best book they have ever read.

I LOVED that book. It was great. I heard they made a crappy movie out of it.

 

[Rex]

Top 5 Books

I have my own list of top 5 books, namely:


1.Lone Wolf - by Jodi Picoult- has much to say about families—both human and animal.
2. The Fault In Our Stars- by John Green
3. The Night Swimmer- is about a young American couple who move to Ireland and open a pub in a small coastal village outside of Cork.
4. The Flight of Gemma Hardy - by Margot Livesey -Loosely based on Charlotte Brontë s
5. Forgotten Country - by Catherine Chung- begins the beautiful debut novel.

It has a nice story!!

 

[jw7]

heard they made a crappy movie out of it.

Nope. No movie ever made. Think the screenplay is bought.

Maybe too much like "Groundhog Day" that they don't want to pursue.

 

[D-Dogg]

Nope. No movie ever made. Think the screenplay is bought.

You're right:

n 2010, it was reported that Warner Bros. was planning on filming a version of Replay starring Ben Affleck. The screenplay for this adaptation has been written by Jason Smilovic.[5] Robert Zemeckis is in talks to direct.[6]

But the bold part is why I thought there was a crappy movie made of it. Because there will be.

 

[Pariah]

I read so much that it's hard for me to really rember which books are really good vs just good or okay. I generally put down the books I'm not enjoying.

Although some mentioned here are jogging my memory. Einstien's Dreams and Replay were really well done.

Also, the first book I read by one of my favorite authors, Jim Thompson, always sticks in my mind: The Killer Inside Me.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[CtCardinals78]

1) Masters of the Air- A history of the 8th Bomber Wing in WWII

2) Patriots-The Men Who Started the American Revolution by AJ Langguth

3) Battle Cry Of Freedom-James McPhearson

4) Citizen Soldiers- Stephen Ambrose

5) In the Blink of An Eye-The FBI investigation into TWA 8000

As you can tell I'm a fan of non-fiction, I don't know why but I always found fiction to be boring. My favorite fiction book was The Chocolate War. I read it in HS and loved it.

 

[CtCardinals78]

Oh I forgot Under the Banner of Heaven
Into Thin Air and Into the Wild all by Jon Kratkauer my favorite author.

 

[Gaddabout]

I had to read so many books for college, it kind of sucked the joy out of it. I later learned most didn't actually read all those books. I also have a hard time with less-the-beautiful prose, so a lot of the popular books just flew right by me. However, here are some books that have had a deeeeep impact on me with powerful prose.

1. Brothers Karamazov and Heart of Darkness: Read both of these as a companion in seminary. It was a depressing summer. However, no two secular books have impacted my worldview more than these

2. Life After God and Blue Like Jazz: BLJ is something of a Christian 'Life After God' -- intentional, as Donald Miller, a conservative evangelical, is almost as big a fan of Douglas Coupland, a gay Canadian as I am. Only mention because I love incongruity in social constructs. Coupland's prose just flows off the page like a fresh rain. Both are heavy on pop culture ticks and long diversions into personal insights, but they always make it worth the effort to push through them. I recommend anything by Coupland from Microserfs and before.

3. To Kill A Mockingbird. I've been to Monroeville. I know where Harper Lee and Truman Capote grew up. My grandfather was six years old in northern Alabama when the Scottsboro Boys Trial started (which was what the book was loosely based on). So when I first read this in high school the whole thing was vivid to me. Still, probably the best American novel.

4. Reservation Blues. If you've never read anything by Sherman Alexie, your life is incomplete. Charming man, very funny, but always on point. This book just opened up the NDN mind for me, helped me understand many things I couldn't understand previously. And it challenged me in some ways, which is always preferable.

 

[jefftheshark]

There are so many to choose from, but off the top of my head, these are the 5 that most influenced me as a younger reader:

1) Catch-22, Joseph Heller - Even though this work is generally considered one of the best anti-war novels of all time, Heller himself said that the book was about the evils of bureaucracy more than just war. This was the first book I read that made me realize how powerful words can be to both make us laugh and think all at the same time.

2) Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - This might not be Vonnegut's best effort, Slaughterhouse-5 might be, but this is my favorite. The re-introduction of Kilgore Trout as a stand-in for the author gives the reader a great platform for observing the craziness/confusion of life in pre-Baby Boom America.

3) Shogun, James Clavell - A wonderful read, full of adventure and political suspense against a backdrop of a culture so far removed from Western understanding as to almost be alien. I was discussing this book with my 16 year old and said that it one of the best science-fiction books of all time, except it is set in 15th century Japan instead of Alpha Ceti II or whatever.

4) Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein - A true sci-fi book, this novel is a must-read for anyone trying to understand the mindset of post WW-II America. It is both a homage to the warrior/citizens who went off to fight in the last unabashedly "good cause" and an Eisenhower-esque warning of the dangers of a military-industrial complex. Many condemn the work as fascist but in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. As a political work the author's position is that only those who have proven by their own self-sacrifice that they have the ability to put the welfare of the whole above their own individual concerns can participate in government. A true Libertarian philosophy if I've ever heard one, and far better than the selfishness of Rand.

5) The Godfather, Mario Puzo - Puzo is a great storyteller. A richly textured work, yet easily accessible by nearly anyone, the tale is a parable of immigrant life anywhere and a great lesson on the seductive lure of great power and its inevitable corruption.

JTS

 

[AZZenny]

Loved Shogun.
Didn't really enjoy Brothers Karamazov, but have read Crime and Punishment a few times. Great book. Heart of Darkness haunted me for a long time, too, still pops into my head at strange moments.

I also really love One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Such beautiful writing. It was my first introduction to Magical Realism, which I really enjoy when it works.

 

[Gaddabout]

Didn't really enjoy Brothers Karamazov

In seminary it gets spiritualized, which I think was the original intent of the author. If you read it as a secular/moral tale, it's just downright bleak and hopeless. So is Heart of Darkness for that matter, but that one's so full of the crisp truth, it just feels good to confess right along with it.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

3) Shogun, James Clavell - A wonderful read, full of adventure and political suspense against a backdrop of a culture so far removed from Western understanding as to almost be alien. I was discussing this book with my 16 year old and said that it one of the best science-fiction books of all time, except it is set in 15th century Japan instead of Alpha Ceti II or whatever.

5) The Godfather, Mario Puzo - Puzo is a great storyteller. A richly textured work, yet easily accessible by nearly anyone, the tale is a parable of immigrant life anywhere and a great lesson on the seductive lure of great power and its inevitable corruption.

Read Shogun. Excellent book. Have read Tai-Pan and King Rat by Clavell. All good.

Puzo is a good writer also. The Sicilian was really good.

 

[Neo]

I couldn't pick five so I divided into three categories. Still, I will likely rethink this and would answer it differently if you asked me an hour from now.

Literature Category:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
A Separate Peace
The Sorrows of Young Werther
Slaughter House 5
To Kill a Mockingbird

Non-Fiction Category:
Unbroken
Endurance - Shacklton's Incredible Voyage
Killer Angels
Wild Swans
A Short History of Nearly Everything

Popcorn Category
Harry Potter Series
Jack Aubrey Series
Ender's Game
The Shining
Battlefield Earth