Favorite Writers / Books ?

[eliogabalo]

Who're your favorite writers ? And the most beautiful books you've read ?
My favorite authors are L.F. Céline, John Fante and Charles Bukowski. The most beautiful books "Mort à crédit" of L.F. Céline and "Ask the Dust" of John Fante. Another wonderful book is "Lolita"of V.Nabokov.

[Excaliborg]

favourite author is terry pratchett.

the most enchating novel i read is the emporer of scent. best of all its a true story.

other wonderous works include the adventures of tintinand the tales of asterix and obelix

[mykel73]

Terry Brooks is my favorite author.

[BlueRaven88]

i dont read anymore. last book i read was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when i was like 11 or something. theres just no good fantasy novelists out there that can hold my attention anymore. besides, with all the time i spend on my computer id have no time to read anyway. i love technology too much to do anything as primitive as read a book :p:respect:

[cocklover]

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein.:yes:

[tightship]

im a sucker for fantasy

some favs are:
george rr martin - song of fire and ice series. hbo is gonna make this into a series and i cant wait. hbo does such a good job with its original programming. if you like fantasy and you have not read martin you need to.

robin hobb - assassin's apprentice through fool's fate. six book series. outstanding, outstanding series.

robert jordan - wheel of time series. probably second to only lords of rings as far as popularity goes. VAST plot and a VAST amount of characters. i think the series is up to 12 or 13 books long now. one more book to go to finish the series. unfortunately, jordan just died.

i like many others but there is 3. martin and hobb are favorites.

[Ogryn1313]

C.S Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia. I loved them as a child and so they'll always stick with me.
Robert Howard, Conan the Barbarian. This character was around since the early 1930's and first appeared in Wierd Tales. A kind of magazine. Conan has been around ever since in many forms but Howard's original stories are gripping and laced with social commentary. They were written in a fashion you don't see anymore.
Frank Herbert, Dune. Heavy read but awesome.
H.P. Lovecraft, Poe has nothing on this guy.
I also read Star Wars and Forgotten Realms novels. A bit of a childish indulgence.
Otherwise the bulk of my library is WW2 history, art books, and other historical works.

[Mimecore]

I don't exactly an avid reader, although I do like to read.

If you put me on the spot, I have to say I'm a fan of John Steinbeck and Sam Shepherd. The latter helped me get through a dreadful acting class I thought would be fun.

[wendals]

My best writer is J.R.R Tolkin. I like how much effort he put into designing the languages and the backstory to middle earth

[reddyheart]

I liking the dark tower of Stephen King and, of course, the books of Dan Brown.

[St. Araqiel]

Tom Clancy (Executive Orders, Rainbow Six, Teeth of the Tiger)
Carl Hiaasen (Tourist Season, Double Whammy, Native Tongue, Strip Tease, Stormy Weather, Lucky You, Basket Case, Nature Girl)
Eric Nylund (The Fall of Reach, First Strike, Ghosts of Onyx)

[giancarlo]

I also don't have much time for reading, though it's a very pleasant and relaxing activity. But hey!, we are living in the century of speed - the TV and the interent are much more effective...

[fem-fem]

Melanie Hong - "my Life as Ladyboy"
Roger Roche - "Notice from Bangkok"
Vanity - "Vanity, one women,two bodies"
Shilapaar Noortekapsa - " FemBoys" vol I and II

[Bionca]

HP Lovecraft (Call of Cathullhu, etc)
Neil Gaiman (Sandman, American Gods)
Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time series)

[belfagar]

Douglas Adams

The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. and the 5 set in the trilogy.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Kurt Vonnegutt - Best writer ever, his best books are slaughterhouse 5 and Mother Night. Mother night is particularly dark and twisted.

Phillip K Dick - Brilliant sci-fi author, some of his short stories are the best. of course the brilliant A Scanner Darkly is one of the best.

Terry Pratchtt - YAY!! Everyone loves PTerry! keep fighting that Altzheimers TP. All his discworld books are wickedly funny, pick any and just read. It's usually best to pick one near the beginning of a story arc, but there's no need to know what happened in the last ones. Also, his 2 scifi books 'dark side of he sun' and 'Strata' are very good too. If you've read Ringworld, you should totally read Strata, it totaly nails RW if you know what I mean, very funny. ;)


I used to like Michael Crichton's books. Jurrassic Park and Lost World were great, so was Congo but his new stuff is a bit shit. Especially State Of Fear. it's bloody awfull, disparate elements, shit characters, shit plot, it held together about as well as the story I wrote in year 8 English.



Oh my! I totally forgot, You Must By Law or you will be Beaten With Sticks go and read the His Dark Materials trillogy, by Phillip Pullman.

Best fantasy series ever. Go read Northern Lights (Golden Compass for you unfortunate yanks), it totally rules. If only they hadn'y fucked up the film :( damn christian-appeasment.

[lopey]

Kurt Vonnegutt - Best writer ever, his best books are slaughterhouse 5 and Mother Night. Mother night is particularly dark and twisted.

Tiger gotta hunt, bird gotta fly, man gotta sit and wonder:

"why, why, why?"

Tiger gotta sleep, bird gotta land, man gotta say:

"I understand"

:respect:

[sesame]

Ian M. Banks (Superb Sc Fi and amazingly complex)
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
T. H. White (King Arthur and Merlin Mythology)
The once and the future King
The sword in the stone
Joanne K. Rowling(Woohooo Harry Potter!! Magic!)
All the Harry Potter books.
Carlos Castaneda (Philosophy, Nagual and Don Juan)the Best
Fire from within
Art of Dreaming
Journey to Ixtlan
2nd ring of Power

[sesame]

SluttyShemaleAnna,
I like your article about authors. Its very detailed.
May be I will read 'Dark side of he sun' and 'Strata' by Terry Pratchtt , as you have mentioned. I'm pretty much into sci-fi.

[Bionca]

seems to be a common thread...

Lots of sci-Fi fantasy here... hmmmm

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Tiger gotta hunt, bird gotta fly, man gotta sit and wonder:

"why, why, why?"

Tiger gotta sleep, bird gotta land, man gotta say:

"I understand"

:respect:

Of course, how could I have forgotten cat's cradle? Bokonism is the best religion after Pastafarianism.

[marlowe]

1) "The Talented Mr Ripley", Patricia Highsmith. Great novel about identity. The Matt Damon film version is crap, the French version "Plein Soleil" with Alain Delon is better.
2) "The New York Trilogy", Paul Auster. Good elusive stories.
3) "What Am I Doing Here", Bruce Chatwin. Stories and travelogues of the beautiful and bizarre.
4) " Martin Beck series", Sjowall and Wahloo. If you're into detective fiction this series of 10 novels is the best.
5) "Have Mercy on Us All", Fred Vargas. Whacky detective stuff in Paris.
6) "Contempt", Alberto Moravia. Novel about the precarious nature of love.
7) "Let it Come Down", Paul Bowles. Novel about continual rain and other things.
8) "From the Holy Mountain", William Dalrymple. Good book if you're interested in Byzantine history and eastern christianity.
9) "Winnie-the-Pooh", A.A.Milne. Taoist philosophy from a bear, a piglet, and a donkey.
10) "Foxy Dreamy, Yes Indeedy", Stephanie Gabrielle Talbot. Kids stuff for grown-ups.

[fionahavelock]

The Monogamy Myth, a personal handbook for dealing with affairs by Peggy Vaughn.... whooaaa...

[sesame]

Dan Brown- Da Vinci Code
( This book displays the uncanny power of good writing and research to make bullshit palatable.)

Swami Yogananda- Autobiography of a Yogi
(Great writing, but also a bit biased at certain places)

Swami Rama- Living with the Himalayan masters
(Superb, Top notch, un-put-downable
It describes the lifestyle of Yogis living in the Himalayas)

Paul Brunton- A search in secret Egypt
(Its a very interesting research work; never vexing at any point.
It also describes some really wierd things.)

[ila]

Dan Brown- Da Vinci Code
( This book displays the uncanny power of good writing and research to make bullshit palatable.)


That is so very true although I didn't find the bullshit all that palatable. It made me start to gag after a while.

[ila]

My favourite author of fiction would be Robert Ludlum. My favourite book from him is The Parsifal Mosaic. In my view it is a true masterpiece of intrigue.

Another favourite author is James A. Michener. He has written some truly interesting books, both fiction and non fiction.

[ila]

Another favourite authore is Shakespeare. Although he wrote plays and not books I think he is one of the greatest wordsmiths of the English language. I was not interested in his works at first, but then I had an English teacher, many years ago, that really explained what was being said and provided great insight to his works. Since then I have gained a deep appreciation for his writings.

I like mostly history books. I also like fiction in which historical facts can be woven into the story of the fictional characters.

Books on the military are another favourite, but I prefer to read the stories of the common soldier.

I'm not too fond of biographies or autobiographies, but there are some that I will read.

I must not forget one of my favourite reference sources. I like to read encyclopedias. It was a habit I developed when I was very young and these many years later I still read them just for general interest.

[sesame]

Shakespeare ... ...I was not interested in his works at first, but then I had an English teacher, many years ago, that really explained what was being said and provided great insight to his works. Since then I have gained a deep appreciation for his writings.
Ila, why dont you start a new thread about Shakespeare? Or, you could explain what is being said by Shakespeare in lucid terms... :yes:

Pleeeeeeeeease!:hug:

[Loki]

Clive Cussler, Stephen King, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, James Rollins, Dan Brown

[ila]

Ila, why dont you start a new thread about Shakespeare? Or, you could explain what is being said by Shakespeare in lucid terms... :yes:

Pleeeeeeeeease!:hug:

I appreciate the thought Sesame, but I'm not sure where I would even begin.

[hankhavelock]

Hmmm... hook me up with some Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum or Len Deighton, and then I'm totally happy. I can't brag about being particularly "litterate".

[hankhavelock]

My favourite author of fiction would be Robert Ludlum. My favourite book from him is The Parsifal Mosaic. In my view it is a true masterpiece of intrigue.

Another favourite author is James A. Michener. He has written some truly interesting books, both fiction and non fiction.

Hehe, The Parcifal Mosaic... that's where I got my nickname ;-) And I kid you not :-)

[victornl]

I think i've read all the Michael Crichton books, i really like his writing style.
For the rest i read mostly (action) thrillers

[ShemaleFan_UK]

My favourite author is Isaac Asimov and my favourite books by him are the books in the "Foundation" series.

Another favourite book is "I Will Fear no Evil" by Robert Henlein.

[kraken111]

HP LOVECRAFT - EDGAR ALLAN POE - CLIVE BARKER:innocent:

[GRH]

I'm not a big fan of fiction, I find that I read philosophical works more often than not...That said...

I much prefer the stylings of Nietsche...While I don't agree with all of his assertions, his style of writing and acessibility is second to none within the world of philosophy...

I also like the works of Castaneda, Ram Dass, and others...

In terms of fiction, I have MUCH respect for Tolkien and all of his works, I own everything he has ever written. Along a similar trend, I much respect the work of C.S. Lewis and his writings.

[barbecue7]

hey bionca, i love robert jordan too, he is who really got me into fantasy, i also like terry goodkind and terry brooks and a number of others, have any other favs?

[jimnaseum]

"The Talented Mr Ripley", Patricia Highsmith. Great novel about identity. The Matt Damon film version is crap


I KNEW there was a great book behind that movie, Hollywood has to dumb it down for a bigger box office.

Honorable mention: LeCarre- Smiley's People
Book I've bought like 4 times: Hesse- Glass Bead Game
Nicest surprise in High School: Fitzgerald- Great Gatsby

In college I took a test and it had the weirdest question- "Who is the best writer in Western Civilization?" I shook my head and wrote William Shakespeare, and kept on working. A few minutes later, a student raised his hand in the middle of the test and said "What kind of stupid question is this, doesn't it depend on interpretation and personal taste who's the best writer?"
The Professor answered "There is one writer who is so head and shoulders above all the others that 10 out of 10 literary experts agree that he is the best writer"
At least I got one right.

[TheSkronkDonkey]

Fiction:
Contact - Carl Sagan
2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C Clarke
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Snow Falling On Cedars - David Guterson
A Passage To India - E M Forster

Some Non-Fiction:
Cosmos - Carl Sagan
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
Moab Is My Washpot - Stephen Fry
Last Train To Memphis: The Rise Of Elvis Presley - Peter Guralnick

[CreativeMind]

One of my all-time favorite lines about books was from Steve Martin who said in a comedy routine (as I recall the line): "Oh yeah, I love to read! There's nothing like sitting down and enjoying a great book! And let me tell you, MOBY DICK was fantastic. At the end...when Ahab's rope gets tangled and he's tied to the whale...and the camera pans over to Gregory Peck as they sink into the sea...man, that's just great writing."

Personally, my all-time favorite would be Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars among other things or someone like E.E. "Doc" Smith and his intergalactic Lensmen series. I just have a soft spot for old school pulp adventures because back in the Thirties and Forties it was adventure on a more innocent and grand scale of exuberance, a time where anything seemed possible both then or for the future.

For horror, Clive Barker...For fantasy, like everyone else, Tolkien or Lewis or Rowling...I loved early Crichton when he blurred science more with a fantastical note (Jurassic Park seems to have been his high point). And then there are always case by case books -- like "A Tale of Two Cities" -- which are classic in nature and you just have to love or something silly like "Meg" about a 200 foot shark on the loose which just makes for fun, doofy reading plopped on the couch.

[Big_Willie]

HP LOVECRAFT - EDGAR ALLAN POE - CLIVE BARKER:innocent:
:respect: My favourites too. :cool: If I had to name one favourite book, maybe I'd say Weaveworld from Barker, a really amazing book.

But I also like other great writers, like Dean R. Koontz, Robert Merle or Umberto Eco for example. :cool:

[rhythmic delivery]

my favorit authors are hunter s thompson, john steinbeck charles bukowski, charles dickons, fyodor dostoyefski, jack kerouack, f scot fitzgerald, george orwell william s buroughs and alot more i cant name now.

some of my favorit books are, fear and laothing in las vegas by hunter s thompson, junky by william buroughs, money by martin amis, ham on rhy by charles buckowski, great expectations by charles dickons 1984 george orwell on the road by kerouack, of mice and men and the grapes of wrath by steinbeck the cathcer in the rhy by j d salenger
and many other fine piece's of literature

[noshy]

Nick hornby:about a boy and high fidelity

[rhythmic delivery]

Of course, how could I have forgotten cat's cradle? Bokonism is the best religion after Pastafarianism.

pastafarianism is that a spelling mistake or some sort of pasta based religion

[nmlss]

I love Edgar Allan Poe's short terror tales and Neil Gaiman. I'm searching for Coraline after the movie premiere, because I wanna read the book first.

[FoxySarah]

I'm a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, and other authors who contributed to the Mythos.

David Farland is another favorite for his "Runelords" series of fantasy novels.

Michael Crichton is a favorite fiction/science fiction author, as is Douglas Adams

And to further prove how much of a geek I am: I enjoy reading Marvel Comics.

[Ogryn1313]

Frank Herbert's Dune, and the later Dune books.

H.P Lovecraft. Though in small doses as his use of language could be a bit troublesome at times.

Robert Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian. Excellent adventure tales.

Military history texts:

Field Marshall Rommel and His Art of War. Very good book written by Rommel himself. The lessons in it can be applied to beyond the battlefield.

Steel Inferno, the Battle History of the 1st SS Panzer Division

Band of Brothers, it was a book too. Excellent read.

Various military field manuals.

Last of the Mohicans

Schindler's List

Star Wars Novels

Ranger Rick's Dinosaur Book...a childhood favorite

Space Station 7th Grade...another childhood favorite

[mrtrebus]

Some of my fave writers are JG Ballard, William Golding, Paul Auster & Arthur Conan Doyle (Im a big Sherlock Holmes fan). One of my fave books that I've read loads of times is Frankenstein.

[orion]

OK .. we've had favourite Television shows .. so what sort of Books do people read (when they're not watching Tele) and why do they like them ??

Supplementary to that .. do people prefer reading "the" Book .. or watching the Film or Television adaptation of the Book ?

To start the ball rolling .. I'm into Thrillers, particularly with a Medical/Scientific theme (not Sci-Fi) .. I think I mentioned in another post that I enjoy reading books by an American Dr called Robin Cook ?

I also like Military themed books .. just read one called "Special Forces Pilot" .. written by an old friend of mine about his experiences as a Royal Marines helicopter pilot in the "hush-hush" part of the Falklands War

I also enjoy "Historical" books, both Fiction & Non-fiction .. in particular the Roman & Medieval periods ..

To answer my own "supplementary" .. I prefer reading the Book .. that way the characters "come alive" in my imagination .. and aren't pre-created by someone else ..

So .... over to you .....

[transjen]

I'm a big fan of TERRY BROOKS love the sword of Shannara series and i also love ANN RICE her vampire novels are great :yes: Jennifer

[ila]

OK .. we've had favourite Television shows .. so what sort of Books do people read (when they're not watching Tele) and why do they like them ??


There is an existing thread on books and authors, right here

http://forum.transladyboy.com/showthread.php?t=345&highlight=books

[orion]

Ahhh .... sorry ..... :frown:

[ila]

Ahhh .... sorry ..... :frown:

It's no problem. I just thought you might like to know. It is possible to search the site using the search tool near the top right of each page.

[orion]

Thanks for the "heads up" Ila .. perhaps you'd be so kind as to move these posts to the appropriate place ?

Keeps everything nice & tidy then ... ;)

[SusanMichelle]

The top three favourite's are:

J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett and third I have to say has an unfortunate name, Michael Moorcock.

[liesjeversteven]

I love all the books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He's just fantastic. I'm not much of an SF or fantasy fan, but I did really enjoy Isaak Asimov and Terry Pratchett.

[irishmike136]

For Sci-Fi :john ringo's "posleen war series":cool:
Historical Fiction: Anything by Bernard Cornwell
Waiting for "Without Warning" by John Birmingham
"What would happen if America vanished?"
and anything by Harry Turtledove.:respect:
Irish:innocent:

[ila]

Historical Fiction: Anything by Bernard Cornwell


For historical fiction with a military theme I like the Sharpe series from Bernard Cornwell. I also like the Horatio Hornblower series from C.S. Forester. A third series I like are the books from Sven Hassel that give a perspective of the German army during WWII from a common soldier's perspective.

For historical fiction I like all the books from James Clavell.

[The Conquistador]

I love anything by Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Edgar Allen Poe. My most favorite book though, is Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. I'll read some Stephen King once in a while and my favorite book series is the Resident Evil series by S.D. Perry. Honorable mention goes to Max Brooks and the most influential zombie themed writings The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z.

[transjen]

Historical Fiction: Anything by Bernard Cornwell
Irish:innocent: I think i read one of his novels it was about King Arthur but i can't recall the title :) Jennifer

[transjen]

Any LOUIS L'AMOUR fans or western fans. hello is this mic on? :yes: Jennifer

[orion]

For those who enjoy "historical" military fiction like the "Sharpe" series .. may I recommend a series by Simon Scarrow ... set in Roman times & following the "adventures" of Centurion Macro & his sidekick Cato ...

http://www.scarrow.co.uk/page12.html

Another author well worth seeking out is Conn Iggulden .. he's written two major trilogies .. one in Roman times .. the other, the story of Genghis Khan from boyhood to his death .. enthralling ...

http://www.conniggulden.com/

[fatbloke]

Really like Terry Pratchett,Stephen King,just getting into Tom Holt,i like Fredrick Forsythe.I also Collect cookbooks and anything on history

[orion]

Ha ha ... Cookbooks ...

The favourites on my shelf include .. Ken Hom, Rick Stein, Nigel Slater & Pat Chapman ...

[irishmike136]

I think i read one of his novels it was about King Arthur but i can't recall the title :) Jennifer

Maybe it was the Warlord Chronicles?

1. The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur
2. Enemy of God
3. Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur

Irish:innocent:

[transjen]

Maybe it was the Warlord Chronicles?

1. The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur
2. Enemy of God
3. Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur

Irish:innocent: It was the winter king :yes: Jennifer

[irishmike136]

It was the winter king :yes: Jennifer
Cool, ;)
He has a new one out called Agincourt.
Irish:innocent:

[orion]

Thanks for that info Mike ..

I'll keep an eye open for that one ...

[transjen]

Cool, ;)
He has a new one out called Agincourt.
Irish:innocent: Heck i still have to get Excalibur :yes: Jennifer

[GRH]

Ha ha ... Cookbooks ...


Cookbooks that are well-written can be fun reads! I don't know any particular authors...But cookbooks prove utilitarian time and time again.

Right now I'm enjoying a textbook on soil microbiology that is coauthored by David Sylvia among others.

[transjen]

Cookbooks that are well-written can be fun reads! I don't know any particular authors...But cookbooks prove utilitarian time and time again.
Perhaps someday i should get one as i can burn water :eek: Jennifer

[irishmike136]

I know a good website if ur looking for something to read
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/
Irish:innocent:

[barry]

bukowski
dickens
eliot
whitman
dunn
hughes
plath
kooser
ethan coen

[bigd631]

I m just curious whats everyone's favorite book is in here?

I am geek my self and my 2 favorites are The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance.

[Enoch Root]

I m just curious whats everyone's favorite book is in here?

I am geek my self and my 2 favorites are The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance.

You would be well rewarded reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.

[bigd631]

You would be well rewarded reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.

I have it on my list to read right after I finish the new Game of Thrones. I saw the movie and loved it!

[connie]

I have a lot, many that I read and re-read again and again, the Discworld Novels, especially the Nightwatch ones, The Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit, the Silmarillian, the Chronicles of Prydain, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Zanth series, the Myth Novels and the Phule novels, Hitchhikers Guide, The Harry Potter series and oh so many others, I love to read.

[shadows]

I literally have hundreds of books. I am currently organizing and writing down all of them to prevent getting anymore doubles! I really like the "Swords" books by Fred Saberhagen.:)

[transjen]

I have a feeling two of my three favs will be unknown to most but in order my three fav novels of all time are
1] Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
2] Azure Bonds by Jeff and Kate Grubb
3] Interview with the Vampire by Ann Rice

:yes: Jerseygirl Jen

[shadows]

I have a feeling two of my three favs will be unknown to most but in order my three fav novels of all time are
1] Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
2] Azure Bonds by Jeff and Kate Grubb
3] Interview with the Vampire by Ann Rice

:yes: Jerseygirl Jen

I must not be like most people, as those are familiar to me.

I really enjoy Terry Brooks's 'Shannara' series. The original trilogy is great, but I haven't read it in many years(I have to pick up The Elfstones Of Shannara before I read it again).

Azure Bonds was a great book, and they made a computer game based off it(you didn't play as Ariel, but you met with her during the game). It was the first book of a trilogy, The Wyvern's Spur and Song of the Saurials were the second and third respectively.

I have also read a couple of Ann Rice's books. Good stuff!

[transjen]

I must not be like most people, as those are familiar to me.

I really enjoy Terry Brooks's 'Shannara' series. The original trilogy is great, but I haven't read it in many years(I have to pick up The Elfstones Of Shannara before I read it again).

Azure Bonds was a great book, and they made a computer game based off it(you didn't play as Ariel, but you met with her during the game). It was the first book of a trilogy, The Wyvern's Spur and Song of the Saurials were the second and third respectively.

I have also read a couple of Ann Rice's books. Good stuff!

Be still my heart, a guy who not only loves hockey but also knows great books
But Azure Bonds the herion's name is Alias not Ariel, Ariel was the little mermaid from Disney

:yes:Jerseygirl Alias

[connie]

Love the Shannara series, read them all and his Magic Kingdom for sale series as well. Loved the Dragonriders of Pern series, for that matter all of pern, but my favorites were the Dragon Harper books. I really loved the Elven Airship, the Disappearing Dwarf, and The Stone Giants, by Blaylock. The Borribles triology by Larabetti and the Redwall books, which are just wonderful. I read a lot of classics as well.

[shadows]

Be still my heart, a guy who not only loves hockey but also knows great books
But Azure Bonds the herion's name is Alias not Ariel, Ariel was the little mermaid from Disney

:yes:Jerseygirl Alias

Ack! You are quite correct that her name was Alias, not Ariel. I honestly don't know why I made that error.:blush:

Enjoying good books and hockey are just two of my wonderful qualities. LOL!:)

I don't suppose you enjoy working on jigsaw puzzles, do you?:)

[shadows]

Love the Shannara series, read them all and his Magic Kingdom for sale series as well. Loved the Dragonriders of Pern series, for that matter all of pern, but my favorites were the Dragon Harper books. I really loved the Elven Airship, the Disappearing Dwarf, and The Stone Giants, by Blaylock. The Borribles triology by Larabetti and the Redwall books, which are just wonderful. I read a lot of classics as well.

The Magic Kingdom: For Sale! series is an enjoyable one, as is the entire "Myth" series by Robert Asprin.

Another series I enjoy(and have to dig out of storage in my spare room so I can read it all over again) is the 'Guardians Of The Flame' by Joel Rosenberg. One of my favourites by far!:yes:

I own a few of Katherine Kerr's books but I haven't read them yet. I am missing one or two, and I would prefer to get the entire series before reading them.

I love getting my books either from a used book store(there are two of them in my city) or from the thrift shops!:)

[GRH]

I like books of all stripes. I used to read a lot of Star Wars books...Don't really do this anymore. I have a decent swathe of classic literature...Stuff like the complete works of Shakespeare, Milton, Poe, Tolkien, etc.

What I read the most are nonfiction books. I just don't have a lot of time for flights of fancy when there is so much REAL knowledge to be read. I have a lot of plant/nature books, finance books, books on drugs, and spirituality. I probably spend most of my time in spirituality books. I like a lot of Eastern religion books (Tao te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, etc.), but I'm really a fan of Brennan Manning (author of the Ragamuffin Gospel).

[Enoch Root]

I like books of all stripes. I used to read a lot of Star Wars books...Don't really do this anymore. I have a decent swathe of classic literature...Stuff like the complete works of Shakespeare, Milton, Poe, Tolkien, etc.

What I read the most are nonfiction books. I just don't have a lot of time for flights of fancy when there is so much REAL knowledge to be read. I have a lot of plant/nature books, finance books, books on drugs, and spirituality. I probably spend most of my time in spirituality books. I like a lot of Eastern religion books (Tao te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, etc.), but I'm really a fan of Brennan Manning (author of the Ragamuffin Gospel).

You might be a good person for my inquiry. There is much I would learn of science and history, etc. Yet I have no love for textbooks. Dry old things they tend to be. I would rather welcome something scholarly that isn't so marvelously boring. Have you any idea of books like that? I know about Carl Sagan's books but that's about it.

[smc]

I am a voracious reader. I read a lot of classics, and to the degree possible I always read in the original languages if they are ones I know. I love to read poetry, especially German poetry of the Romantic and Late Romantic periods and American poetry of the twentieth century. On the rare occasions when I "allow" myself to read something purely for fun, it is usually a novel suggested by a friend or colleague. Right now, I am reading the Harry Potter books ... a summer reading "project" that just feels right, since I missed out on the Pottermania that swept through people younger than me. I'm in the middle of the second book, and enjoying it immensely.

[connie]

The Magic Kingdom: For Sale! series is an enjoyable one, as is the entire "Myth" series by Robert Asprin.

Another series I enjoy(and have to dig out of storage in my spare room so I can read it all over again) is the 'Guardians Of The Flame' by Joel Rosenberg. One of my favourites by far!:yes:

I own a few of Katherine Kerr's books but I haven't read them yet. I am missing one or two, and I would prefer to get the entire series before reading them.

I love getting my books either from a used book store(there are two of them in my city) or from the thrift shops!:)
I too quite enjoyed the Guardiansof the Flame series, losing track of it only when Carls or was it Karls' son took over for him in the books. I also loved the spell singer series, by alan dean foster.

[SluttyShemaleAnna]

Wahh, why's it gotta be my favourite one? Can I give a top 5 in no particular order? Ok, and restricting to fiction only I'll do non-fic later

Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K Dick (can this count as 1/3 of a book as it's not a novel?)
The Wasp Factory - Ian Banks
Strata - Terry Pratchett
Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

Wahhh, Can it be a top 10?

ok, i'll just add A Scanner Darkly and be done...

Ok actually, I will pick a favourite; Mother Night, a totaly brilliant book, written as the autobiography of a nazi who wasn't a nazi, but also was a nazi. The book stands on it's truely brilliant creation on a confused and bizarre, but ultimately believable and relate-able character in an even more confused and bizarre world.

Ultimately I like scifi novels the best, I've never been one for classics or character/narrative driven books, I like concept driven books best, and sci fi delivers on that (by that I mean proper scifi though, not some space opera drivel, Dune fans, i'm ripping on you here...) , not that I don't like good narrative driven books, I just like it better when a book is less a story, and more a trojan horse for some unnatural thought process.

[GRH]

You might be a good person for my inquiry. There is much I would learn of science and history, etc. Yet I have no love for textbooks. Dry old things they tend to be. I would rather welcome something scholarly that isn't so marvelously boring. Have you any idea of books like that? I know about Carl Sagan's books but that's about it.

Whoa, that's two REALLY broad fields that I don't have a terrible amount of experience with. As for science, I have some books on astro physics. A really accessible read is anything by Stephen Hawking. Of course, he talks about astronomy, the origin of the universe, things like that. As for natural history/science, a quintessential read would be Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." I have a lot of old National Geographic books that cover some interesting topics. Regarding history, this is a topic I don't do much reading on. Autobiographies and biographies are perhaps one of the less dry methods of getting a feel for a certain time period.

[shadows]

I am a voracious reader. I read a lot of classics, and to the degree possible I always read in the original languages if they are ones I know. I love to read poetry, especially German poetry of the Romantic and Late Romantic periods and American poetry of the twentieth century. On the rare occasions when I "allow" myself to read something purely for fun, it is usually a novel suggested by a friend or colleague. Right now, I am reading the Harry Potter books ... a summer reading "project" that just feels right, since I missed out on the Pottermania that swept through people younger than me. I'm in the middle of the second book, and enjoying it immensely.

I believe you will be quite satisfied when you are finished the series. It starts out light-hearted and the tone becomes darker each book starting with The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Also, you will see how her writing actually improves as the series goes along.

I read Deathly Hallows in 2 days! I will probably read the series again sometime in the future.:)

[shadows]

I too quite enjoyed the Guardiansof the Flame series, losing track of it only when Carls or was it Karls' son took over for him in the books. I also loved the spell singer series, by alan dean foster.

I have a few of Alan Dean Foster's books. I think I only have one from the Spell Singer series, but the rest can be found in the local used book store(I saw them there the other day). Andre Norton's 'Xanth' series of books are pretty interesting, and there are a lot of them to read!

[shadows]

Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham



An excellent novel. I actually didn't mind reading it when it was chosen as the book everyone in the class had to read way back in Public School.:)

I also enjoyed the novel 'Shane' when it was chosen for us to read.:cool:

[transjen]

I thought the Xanth series was by Piers Anthony not Norton
Anywho the Spellsinger series is a good series but i only have the first two
Another series i love is the Elric series
I also like the first three Dragonlance novels
:yes: Jerseygirl Jen

[Enoch Root]

The Baroque Trilogy by Neal Stephenson. It'll keep you occupied for about a month at least, assuming you read 100 pages a day.

The Diamond Age is fantastic as well.

And if you want to view mankind at its most violent I doubt you couldn't do better than "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy.

[shadows]

I thought the Xanth series was by Piers Anthony not Norton
Anywho the Spellsinger series is a good series but i only have the first two
Another series i love is the Elric series
I also like the first three Dragonlance novels
:yes: Jerseygirl Jen

That is the second error that I have made now.:blush: You are indeed correct, Jennifer. It was Witch World that I was think of earlier.

I have over 30 various Dragonlance novels, as well as numerous Ravenloft ones. I like the Ravenloft ones as they have a darker tone to them.:)

[transjen]

I love the Witch world books
and my fav Ravenloft novel is Knight of the blackrose

[shadows]

I love the Witch world books
and my fav Ravenloft novel is Knight of the blackrose

I haven't read that one yet, but Lord Soth is one of my favourite villains in the entire Dragonlance mythos.:respect:

[Melissa Pink]

Wahh, why's it gotta be my favourite one? Can I give a top 5 in no particular order? Ok, and restricting to fiction only I'll do non-fic later

Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Phillip K Dick (can this count as 1/3 of a book as it's not a novel?)
The Wasp Factory - Ian Banks
Strata - Terry Pratchett
Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

Wahhh, Can it be a top 10?

ok, i'll just add A Scanner Darkly and be done...

Ok actually, I will pick a favourite; Mother Night, a totaly brilliant book, written as the autobiography of a nazi who wasn't a nazi, but also was a nazi. The book stands on it's truely brilliant creation on a confused and bizarre, but ultimately believable and relate-able character in an even more confused and bizarre world.

Ultimately I like scifi novels the best, I've never been one for classics or character/narrative driven books, I like concept driven books best, and sci fi delivers on that (by that I mean proper scifi though, not some space opera drivel, Dune fans, i'm ripping on you here...) , not that I don't like good narrative driven books, I just like it better when a book is less a story, and more a trojan horse for some unnatural thought process.

Phillip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut are two of my favorite writers. I like most of their work but "The Man in the High Castle" and "Mother Night" are two of my favorites. I like the social commentary of both men and the World War Two themes of both novels are especially relevant in today's turbulent world.

I read "Myra Breckinridge" by Gore Vidal years ago and really related to her.

My other favorite writer is Charles Bukowski. Anyone that has ever felt like an outsider in the "mainstream" world, been poor, drank too much, had gratuitous sex and worked a series of shit jobs can relate to Bukowski's life as illustrated eloquently in his prose and poems set mostly in Los Angeles in the 40's and 50's.

[jdawg]

I usually only read non-fiction so most books would be considered boring. My favorite book was Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. I cant believe I let somebody have it! Great book.

[luvasiants]

Hello...

La sombra del viento (The shadow of the wind) - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Slaughterhouse-five - kurt Vonnegut
Portnoy's complaint - Philip Roth
Divina Commedia "Inferno" (Divine Comedy "Hell") - Dante Alighieri
Il etait minuit cinq a Bhopal (Five past midnight in Bhopal) - Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro

Regards.