Favourite Books/Novels/Pieces of Writing?

[ThePhoneGoddess]

The Night Of The Hunter by Davis Grubb. I love this book. It is very sad and vulnerable, and frightening and wicked at the same time. Beautifully written, too.

I also love Ulysses by James Joyce. It's like chewing on taffy. You can't just zip through the book, you have to read it slowly, and think a lot about what you're reading. I've read it 3 times already and I still don't get it all. Hopefully by the time I die I will have read it enough to get most of it.

The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco. I had to read all of the classic writers the priest refers to in this book in college, so I love it because I can get all of the references. That, and it's a damn fine yarn.

The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner. This book always takes my breath away, with its beauty and depiction of emotional corruption.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Considered the first modern action-adventure novel. I love it for the depiction of knights and chivalry, and for Rebecca of York, one of the most fascinating female characters in the history of Western Literature.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Forever by Pete Hamill

I couldn't get more than a few chapters into Wicked. Something about it bugged me... You know there's a sequel to it already? Son of a Witch, and there's soon to be a second about the cowardly lion.

Already? Wicked came out in 1996 (I had to buy it for a class my senior year in college; it was fairly new in hardcover then). Son of a Witch came out in 2005; A Lion Among Men is the 3rd, out this month. (I didn't realize there was a new book coming out, but that explains all the Wicked gifty stuff on special displays in B&N - pens, hats, tshirts, etc. It's also the 5th anniversary of the Broadway show.)

I liked Wicked, but I never read Son of a Witch. I couldn't get into Ugly Stepsister, either. He has a couple others: Mirror, Mirror and Lost. Haven't tried to read them.

Who said The Sound and the Fury? I hated that book. The one book in college that I actually had to get Cliffs Notes for (not an easy feat from my little school in the middle of nowhere with no car). Oddly enough, I wrote my midterm paper on it, despite my hatred.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Who said The Sound and the Fury? I hated that book. The one book in college that I actually had to get Cliffs Notes for (not an easy feat from my little school in the middle of nowhere with no car). Oddly enough, I wrote my midterm paper on it, despite my hatred.

*raises hand* That was me. I have noticed that people either really like stream-of-consciousness writing or they really don't. I love it, which is why Ulysses is my favorite book, and why I also love Henry Miller. TSATF is also written that way. I am intrigued by the fact that you wrote your paper on it. It's an insidious story. it gets in your craw and doesn't let go. It really stuck with you, didn't it?

[clod75]

Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord Of The Rings"- ALL of the volumes.

For the longest time I refused to see the movies because I was scared they would all suck but I was happy when I did. They don't ever replace the books though.

[saint]

Most anything by Vonnegut or T.S. Eliot will rock my world

[CaroPhoenix]

The Plague by Camus

Any books that deal with the "Dark Jewels Trilogy" by Anne Bishop

The "Death of" series by M. C. Beaton

All of the J. D. Robb mysteries

Anything written by Kinky Friedman

Hercule Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie

Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

These are my favorite Children's books:

Anything about "Charlie and Lola" by Lauren Childs

"I love you all day long" and "Daddy all day long" by Francesca R.

The Rollie Polie Olie stories by William Joyce

The Miss Spider stories by Kirk

All The Backyardigans stories

[smileyeagle1021]

Oh, did I mention I adore Dostoyevsky?

Yay.

Crime and Punishment FTW

Oh and also I love the Seafort Saga by David Feintuch (6 published books, one unpublished). Love the characters... that is Feintuch's strength is in his ability to make characters who you become involved with).

yeah... I'm actually kind of ashamed to admit that while reading the books I've had feelings that some would consider a crush for some of the characters.

[CaroPhoenix]

yeah... I'm actually kind of ashamed to admit that while reading the books I've had feelings that some would consider a crush for some of the characters.

I've had a crush on Sherlock Holmes for most of my life. So no worries ... I don't think you're odd!

[lupo pazzesco]

First and foremost my god of the literary, Tolkien!! I read the Lord of the Rings books once a year, at least. I agree with clod that the movies were good, but will never replace the books. I just told myself Hollywood had to interpret them to get the main points across to the masses, not just die hard Tolkien fans. Ahem. Moving on.

Anne Bishop's Black Jewels world, and her two books Sebastian and Belladonna. Another brilliant writer, IMHO.

Michelle Sagara's series about Elantra, Cast In Shadow, Cast In Courtlight, Cast In Secret and Cast in Fury

Love anything by Mercedes Lackey, and Elizabeth Hadyon's series is also phenomenal.

I also like to read true crime and historical stories about plagues and diseases. Top favorites in that category are:

Diseases and Human Evolution by Ethne Barnes

Witnesses From the Grave: The Stories Bones Tell by Christopher Joyce and Eric Stover

Demon in the Freezer by Robert Preston

The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby

Return of the Black Death: The World's Worst Serial Killer by Susan Scott and Christopher Duncan

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm, Where the Dead Do Tell Tales by Dr. William Bass and Jon Jefferson.

William Bass is one of my heroes in my field. I fangirl over him, and am supremely disappointed that I'll never get to work with him, as he's retiring before I graduate, AND there is, at last check, at least a 3 year wait list to work at the Body Farm. <Sigh>

Er...I have lots more favorites, but this is rather long as it is...more later, I suppose.

[cinema guy]

Dracula by Bram Stoker is probably my favourite book.

I also like Dickens, particularly Little Dorrit.

I also read and reread Jasper Fforde's books, His Dark Materials, Robert B. Parker's Spencer books and Christopher Moore's very, very funny books.

[CaroPhoenix]

Anne Bishop's Black Jewels world, and her two books Sebastian and Belladonna. Another brilliant writer, IMHO.

How could I forget the Ephemera series by Anne Bishop? Thanks for reminding me Lupo!

Also, the Blending Series (The Blending - which is 5 books and then the sequel: The Blending Throned (or something like that)). All the books are written by Sharon Greene.

My husband has turned me onto the writings of Robert E. Howard (he wrote the Conan novels and Soloman Kane and other books).

And of course I love Star Trek books!

I also like the "Star Wrekked" novels - but I can't remember the writer's name - can anyone help me?

[Shangri-laschild]

The Discworld Series

The Mercy Thompson Series (plus the offshoot, Cry Wolf)

The Dresden Series

Strangers In Paradise

[Lace Neil Singer]

Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord Of The Rings"- ALL of the volumes.

For the longest time I refused to see the movies because I was scared they would all suck but I was happy when I did. They don't ever replace the books though.

Hell no. But I will hunt Peter Jackson (who is rumoured to be directing The Hobbit) down and kill him if he massacres The Hobbit. Actually, bitching about the bits they left out of the movies is one of my fave ever pasttimes; however, I have to make sure that my audience is not gnawing their own legs off in boredom every so often. XD

Which brings me to another series of books I like; the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Yep, that is the first one, but my fave is The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe. I so want to go there, dammit!

I also like The Wasp Factory, and Lord Of The Flies. Everyone I know hates The Wasp Factory, I'd love to find a fellow fan. ^^

[Boggles]

The Jasper Fforde books of course (see signature) but only the Thursday Next series. I'm not a big fan of the Nursery Crime books.

The Discworld series. Especially Soul Music and the current Moist Von Lipwig trilogy.

I have read and re-read Douglas Coupland's MicroSerfs and also J-Pod.

I like a lof of other series such as the Lincoln Rhyme novels and Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels.

Also I have to mention Deric Longden. He is an author who writes about his life with his blind wife and umpteen cats in Huddersfield (nearest town to here.) If your local library has them then I would really recommend them although I would warn you that the first two (Diana's Story & Lost For Words) will have you sat bawling your eyes out at some points. Both deal with the loss of loved ones (his wife and mother) but still find the humour in everything.

And finally the Gervase Phinn books. He is a retired schools inspector from the Yorkshire Dales and the books are all about his meetings with the little angels in the schools. Well worth a read.

[InsanityInc]

I'm going to put in a plug for Laurell K. Hamilton. I like the Anita Blakes', and absolutly love the Merry Gentry series. Both are alt reality series where magic works, and there really are things like the fae, zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc.

Most Lackey, McCaffrey, Koontz, I go back and forth from mysteries to sci fi to true crime to whatever catches my eye.
I HATE romance, but my mom got me hooked on a series (Bishop/Special Crimes Unit) by Kay Hooper about a FBI unit that uses sci powers. Because they are so good at using their powers, and catching the bad guys, they catch cases on real monsters. It has a good enough plot and story line to let me overlook the romance thread running through it.