Top 3 books you've read....? and the most overated?

[RDMcG]

JREwing said:

Best:
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald. I take a copy anywhere I go (within reason).
1984 - George Orwell
Red Dragon - Thomas Harris

I'd have to think about the worst for some time.....

Read all three. Gatsby and 1984 were on my list too, Red Dragon was engaging , but for me the #3 was a short book called "Enduring Love" by Ian McEwan

[andyxxx]

I read a lot of historical fiction and like it gritty and realistic.
My top three changes constantly but at present:

1 Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurty) read it several times and has been my fave book for years and enjoy most of his other books.
2 Angels in Iron (Nicholas C Prata)
3 Dawn of Empire (Sam Barone) Easy reading yarn that I have re-read and if you like it the other books in the series are as good.

There are loads of books I don’t continue to read because they are not for me.

1 Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel) I just cannot get into it, despite trying a number of times.
2 Gone with the Wind(Margeret Mitchell) To me thoroughly boring.
4 Many, many books I have not persisted with and too many to list.

[MC Bodge]

andyxxx said:

I read a lot of historical fiction and like it gritty and realistic.
My top three changes constantly but at present:

1 Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurty) read it several times and has been my fave book for years and enjoy most of his other books.

Yes, Lonesome Dove is brilliant and others who I have recommended it too have also thought so.

I'm hoping to start on the prequels soon.

[andyxxx]

MC Bodge said:

Yes, Lonesome Dove is brilliant and others who I have recommended it too have also thought so.

I'm hoping to start on the prequels soon.

I particularly liked Comanche Moon.

If you enjoy westerns, I could recommend loads but a couple that I really enjoyed:
Josey Wales: Two Westerns (Forrest Carter)
The Brittle Star: An epic story of the American West (Davina Lagdale)

[MC Bodge]

andyxxx said:

MC Bodge said:

Yes, Lonesome Dove is brilliant and others who I have recommended it too have also thought so.

I'm hoping to start on the prequels soon.

I particularly liked Comanche Moon.

If you enjoy westerns, I could recommend loads but a couple that I really enjoyed:
Josey Wales: Two Westerns (Forrest Carter)
The Brittle Star: An epic story of the American West (Davina Lagdale)

Thanks. I had never read a "Western" before Lonesome Dove, although I have enjoyed historical books about the US.

[Lotusgone]

Best: Day of the Jackal, Forsyth
Sharpe's Tiger, Cornwell
Any Sherlock Holmes

Worst, basically books I couldn't finish. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby : A Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling: any Dickens. Respectively: characters I couldn't care at all about, characters I really didn't like (any of them) and stupid names for characters (Mr Pumblechook, oh sod off).

[j4r4lly]

Imperial Governor - George Shipway
Eagle in the Snow - Wallace Breem
The Shipkiller - Justin Scott

Can't really name any particularly poor books, so I assume my subconscious has deleted them from my memory.....

[MC Bodge]

Lotusgone said:

Best: Day of the Jackal, Forsyth
Sharpe's Tiger, Cornwell
Any Sherlock Holmes

Worst, basically books I couldn't finish. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby : A Casual Vacancy

I liked both. I've never read Dickens.

[Perseverant]

Like most teenagers of my generation, I read "Lord of the Rings" a few times. I love the films too (not the dreadful cartoon made many years ago). I thought I'd revisit the books but was disappointed by the style. A bit sad, but I suppose tastes change over the years.
As regards favourite books, well, that's difficult! I read "Huckleberry Finn" every couple of years or so and recently read "Moby Dick" again. Another I've read several times is "The Last Grain Race" by Eric Newby. He signed on as an apprentice on "Moshulu", one of the last big commercial sailing ships - out from Belfast in ballast to South Australia, load with grain then back to Queenstown. This was October 1938 to June 1939. An incredible voyage of endurance and hard living with photos by the writer. Maybe an unusual book but recommended!

[br d]

Perseverant said:

Like most teenagers of my generation, I read "Lord of the Rings" a few times. I love the films too (not the dreadful cartoon made many years ago). I thought I'd revisit the books but was disappointed by the style. A bit sad, but I suppose tastes change over the years.

I was having a quick work out the other day, I have read LOTR over 40 times! Handed to me by a very cool English teacher when I was 12 I read it twice a year till I was 30 then probably once a year till 35. That was 20 years ago and I think only a few times since then.
After a few reads I did start to skip 4 or 5 chapters because I couldn't stand the Sam Gamgee heavy sections.

It's interesting how your favourite character changes over time, I went through all the members of the Fellowship one at a time (except Sam!) but by the end it was Galadriel, Eowyn and Faramir by far.

If I really like a book I am happy to keep re-reading it, Use of Weapons I've probably read ten times and I'm about to start my 5th listen through (audiobook) of all 20 Aubrey-Maturin novels.