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Catweazle
119 posts
11 months
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shalmaneser said: Micra Bore said: Damn you're right, that's a great read. There are sequels I haven't read - any idea if they're any good?
For those saying Catch 22 - read The Slaughterhouse 5. I love them both.
For those saying The Slaughterhouse 5 - I thought The Sirens of Titan was better, and made more sense.
I like a bit of Ballard me. Doesn't matter which in particular, they're all the same really. I've heard of the sequels but never read them - I don't want to destroy the magic of the original by reading some lacklustre sequels! Forever Free is a proper sequel but doesn't have the same impact as The Forever War. Forever Free has no connection to the first two and is inferior in my opinion, although it is superior to a lot of Sci-Fi written by other authors.
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northwest monkey
1,072 posts
58 months
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Currently reading "The Stand" by Stephen King for about the 10th time so very possibly the best book I've read.
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coppice
618 posts
13 months
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My word ..some 'courageous' nominations for best book ever read. And some which I'd agree with- or only mildly disagree anyway.I read early on that somebody had nominated Jackie Stewart's autobiography as best book. Hmm- if it deserves an award it would surely be for the most fawning celebrity obessed advertorial I have ever read. Great driver and safety campaigner, Sir Jackie, but spare us the deathless prose.
So- on my list - Hemingway was always the man and it would be the less obvious choice of Islands in the Stream (which had NOTHING to do with Dolly Parton)or probably A Moveable Feast which makes me wonder why I bother when I write - wonderful spare prose that moves me to - yup- tears every time I re read it. Hardy- Tess I always adored; and Postcards by Annie Proulx is extraordinary. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin is truly wonderful- if borderline bonkers.
Oh, and I adored Catcher in the Rye too.....
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PlankWithANailIn
68 posts
18 months
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Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, simply loved it. Being turned into a film to be released next year. The film will also include the story in the book Ender's Shadow, which was written 14 years later and expands one of the other characters, it is also a great book and I am looking forward to the film.
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BenM77
2,110 posts
33 months
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I believe my best books are ahead of me but for now here are a few that stand out as great reads.
Dune. The first book is the best, the next two are also quite good.
Catch 22.
Enders Game. I didn't read the sequels, a great book on its own.
The Bourne Trilogy for action, great books from Ludlum.
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Frenchda
610 posts
102 months
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northwest monkey said: Currently reading "The Stand" by Stephen King for about the 10th time so very possibly the best book I've read. I go back to this every couple of years - one of the best books of my favourite genre. I am plucking books of this thread for future reading, keep it up please.
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BOBBY G
401 posts
79 months
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[quote=coppice]My word ..some 'courageous' nominations for best book ever read. And some which I'd agree with- or only mildly disagree anyway.I read early on that somebody had nominated Jackie Stewart's autobiography as best book. Hmm- if it deserves an award it would surely be for the most fawning celebrity obessed advertorial I have ever read. Great driver and safety campaigner, Sir Jackie, but spare us the deathless prose.
So- on my list - Hemingway was always the man and it would be the less obvious choice of Islands in the Stream (which had NOTHING to do with Dolly Parton)or probably A Moveable Feast which makes me wonder why I bother when I write - wonderful spare prose that moves me to - yup- tears every time I re read it. Hardy- Tess I always adored; and Postcards by Annie Proulx is extraordinary. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin is truly wonderful- if borderline bonkers.
Oh, and I adored Catcher in the Rye too.....
Please can you forward me on your copy of Catcher in the Rye. I would very much like to read it again.
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coppice
618 posts
13 months
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Err ..buy your own..cheeky sod !
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marcosgt
6,200 posts
45 months
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Back from the dead thread  "1984" by Orwell is right up there. Sadly, it's also as relevant today as it was in 1948... "On The Beach" by Nevil Shute is a great book, much under-rated I think (as are many of his books). I really enjoyed "The Tesseract" by Alex Garland (and I thought The Beach was a self-indulgent mess, personally), rattled through it in no time, but I'm not sure it's a candidate for 'best book I ever read'. Of the stuff I was forced to read at school, I only recall Lawrie Lee's "Cider with Rosie" with any affection, a very evocative book. In terms of Non-Fiction, "Band of Brothers" is good, but possibly my view is shaped by having seen the TV series. Matthew Parker's "Monte Cassino" is a brilliant book, better than many of the other much praised war books in my opinion, many of which just become long lists of unit movements, place names and dates. M
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blindswelledrat
18,965 posts
101 months
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Mobsta said: I stopped reading the "what book are you reading now" thread last year, as nearly all the posts simply added to the long list of book names which weren't exactly TOP recommendations, nor was a summary provided.
It would be great to have a quality thread which loosely summarises what everyone feels is one of their best reads, along with a brief summary for those who are interested. Couldn't agree more, good thread idea Next2pages said: Maverick: Its good
Eisenhorn (warhammer)
Pistonheads annual
Godwhale
Stig of the dump Thats a shame
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BOBBY G
401 posts
79 months
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coppice said: Err ..buy your own..cheeky sod ! I just wanted to burn your copy.
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nick heppinstall
3,067 posts
149 months
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When I was a nipper : The Adventures of the Wishing Chair
When I was a Teen : Sword of Shannara
Adult : Nights Dawn Triology by Peter f Hamilton
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Fishtigua
2,983 posts
64 months
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I still haven't met anyone else who has read William Boyd's New Confessions. I found the novel so well written I kept looking in the middle for the photos, it reads so well as an autobiography. It's based on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Les Confessions.
Bloody good read.
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rev-erend
17,903 posts
153 months
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I'm not sure if I could nominate a best book ever but I have read some great books by :
JRR Tolkien
Terry Pratchett
David Eddings
Tom Clancy
Terry Pratchet
John Milton
John LeCarre
Clive Cussler
Phillip Pullman
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Legend83
6,408 posts
91 months
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Fiction:
- 1984
- The Book Thief
- A Tale of Two Cities
Non-Fiction:
- Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart
- If This is A Man
- A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution
War:
- Stalingrad
- The Price of Glory
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coppice
618 posts
13 months
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Fishtigua said: I still haven't met anyone else who has read William Boyd's New Confessions. I found the novel so well written I kept looking in the middle for the photos, it reads so well as an autobiography. It's based on Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Les Confessions.
Bloody good read. You have now; and you are right too.
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Obiwonkeyblokey
4,849 posts
109 months
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NOt the best, but certainly ne of the most enjoyable
The Wolf of Wall Street
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The_Doc
2,249 posts
89 months
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Dixie68 said: Chickenhawk by Robert Mason. Biography about his time as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Easily the best war era book I've ever read. Gave this book to my brother after I'd read it twice He's now a helicopter pilot
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The_Doc
2,249 posts
89 months
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shalmaneser said:  The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Utterly brilliant. '. Read and re-read this one many many times Can I also nominate Neuromancer by William Gibson. Proper proper SF
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Munka01
71 posts
8 months
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I have read too many good books to name one. Top three would be..
Mr Nice - Amazing autobiography by Howard Marks. Truely amazing life starting with being the first Welshman to be offered a scholarship to Oxford, and leading to be the biggest weed smuggler in the world.
Marching powder - Rusty Young - autobiography of an Australian man serving a sentence in a Bolivian jail, where you must buy your cell. He ends up being a tour guide for the jail where backpackers came and stayed in his cell for a night for a fee and get smashed on pure cocaine made in the jail. Simply unbelievable story.
Escape by David McMillan - A true story of the only westerner to have ever escaped from Bangkok's 'Hilton' jail.
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