What is your fave book?

Interested to know what book your reading now? What is it basically, mystery? romance? Whats your fave book so far...?

Currently finished the Maltese Falcon, i've gotten into a bit of detective stories at the moment, but i finished fear and loathing the other month, and i loved it! Absolutely hilarious....

Fave book of all time would have to be the Godfather...

I used to read a lot but haven't been so much lately, but one of my favourite authors would have to be Guy Gavriel Kay, the trilogy 'the fionavar tapestry' is awesome.

i just read ninteen eighty four again, wicked book

ab

I don't have favourite books, but I do have favourite Authors.

Beverly Harper
Wilbur Smith
Bryce Courtenay (His newest book, Matthew Flinders Cat is very well done. Made me so angry in parts about the treatment of the little boy.)

When I was little, Enid Blyton rocked my world!

Favourite book - Godfather
Favourite book series - Dragon Lance
Favourite Author - Dean Koontz or Mario Puzo
Book im reading now - Servants of the Twilight - Dean Koontz
Last book i read - The Sunday Smuggler - Christopher V.V. Parnell

fav series: lord of the rings....
Fav Book: Rainbow 6
Currenlty reading: nothing...

Favourite book - stories of a Geisha... it was one of oprah's book club choices.
Favourite book series - wilbur smith series.. the courtney's
Favourite Author - Wilbur smith, dean koontz is pretty good
Book im reading now - Birds of prey, wilbur smith
Last book i read - chopper reads biography, stories from the inside i think its called

there is another series i read but i cant remember what its called will find out and edit it later... its more about high crimes and inter national war and shit like that.. pretty interesting read.

I also reccomend high society, very funny and sad at the same time, and also raises interesting points...

as for chopper read novels, v funny and gruesome at the same time! Apparently his first 2 and last book are based on true events, while the others are fantasy...

Matthew reily's great for action, just finished scarecrow, heaps good book.
Also finished whispers by Dean Koontz, very disturbing book.

fav series: author Robert G Barret: all his books with main character Les Norton
Fav book: author Linda Javin: Rockin Roll Babes from Outerspace
Fav Authors: Robert G Barret, Raymond E Feist, David Eddings

Currently reading: Three men in a raft
a book, all fact, on three guysone Australian, one Canadian, one South African who travel the Apurimac to the Amazon and along the Amazon all in a white water raft.

lord of the rings

Fave book: "Flow my tears, the policeman said" - Phillip K Dick

What is it? Dick writes sci-fi, but he uses his writing as a springboard for the most creative artform Ive ever come across. Truly new ideas permeate every story he writes. Scifi is the background, human relationships he makes his foreground, one of the genres weaknesses for his peers. The themes of this book are Law and Chaos / Fame and Anonymity. Its about a world famous guy that nobody knows. His books rearrange the way u think and leave your thoughts echoing in yr head for weeks. This book is the pinacle of artistic thought in any medium ever.

Equally beautiful and totally different is "Ubik" which is about creation / degradation of form

Fave series: LOtR or Conan short story series by Robert E Howard. Generally If an author writes a series of books I usually consider him pulp trash trying to amuse the bored with endlessly mindless duplicating cyclicle verbose bullshit thats not worth wiping my ass on.

Authors: Phil K Dick. Robert A Heinlein. Robert E Howard. H P Lovecraft.

But Im an opinionated intellectual elitist.

Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Fightclub by Chuck.P and Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh oh yea and erm...um Harry Potter! tee hee!

Actually most of my fave books have all been turned into (or vice versa) movies

Currently reading Trainspotting. Not bad so far, but its taking me a million years cos it takes a while to get used to the language

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 5 2003, 02:13 PM)

its taking me a million years cos it takes a while to get used to the language

I get that as well! It takes me ages to read the first couple of chapters of a book, but once I get used to it I can just fly through. Bizarre...

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 5 2003, 01:57 PM)

But Im an opinionated intellectual elitist.

Me too so I might check out some of your recommendations

QUOTE (Captain Spaz @ Dec 5 2003, 02:15 PM)

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 5 2003, 02:13 PM) its taking me a million years cos it takes a while to get used to the language I get that as well! It takes me ages to read the first couple of chapters of a book, but once I get used to it I can just fly through. Bizarre...

Yea normally im fine cos im a bit of a nerd when it comes to books but heres an example of Trainspotting:

"Aw ah sais, Ah wanted the radge tae jist fuck off ootay ma visage, tae go oan his ain....."

its not that hard to understand but jus takes a lil bit of getting used to. Same with Clockwork Orange cos thats written in Nadsat - It is English with a polyglot of slang terms and jargon thrown in.

"...there was no law yet against prodding some of the new veshches which they used to put into the old moloko, so you could peet it with vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom or one or two other veshches which would give you a nice quick horrorshow......"

Im a big fan of the Spot series of book. They challenge my reading ability.

I loved trainspotting, once you get into the habit of sounding out the dialogue in your head it makes it much easier, and gives the book a nice personality

QUOTE (fozee @ Dec 5 2003, 01:54 PM)

fav series: author Robert G Barret: all his books with main character Les Norton

that is familiar.. the Les Norton parton.... why is it familiar.. what is the book about???

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 5 2003, 02:13 PM)

Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Fightclub by Chuck.P and Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh oh yea and erm...um Harry Potter! tee hee! Actually most of my fave books have all been turned into (or vice versa) movies Currently reading Trainspotting. Not bad so far, but its taking me a million years cos it takes a while to get used to the language

I like clockwork book better than the movie, which reinterprets the theme.

Yeah the language is insane, Burgess was a languages nut who studied various slang dialects.

For a further challenge try james Joyces Ulysses. I tried it after clockwork but found it unreadable. Id love to know if anyone can crack it.

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 5 2003, 02:27 PM)

"Aw ah sais, Ah wanted the radge tae jist fuck off ootay ma visage, tae go oan his ain....." "...there was no law yet against prodding some of the new veshches which they used to put into the old moloko, so you could peet it with vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom or one or two other veshches which would give you a nice quick horrorshow......"

Okay you win!!!!

QUOTE (muffins @ Dec 5 2003, 02:32 PM)

I loved trainspotting, once you get into the habit of sounding out the dialogue in your head it makes it much easier, and gives the book a nice personality

yea, i found it easier just to read it aloud at first...anyone who walked past my room and heard me thought i had gone crazy

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 5 2003, 02:40 PM)

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 5 2003, 02:13 PM) Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Fightclub by Chuck.P and Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh oh yea and erm...um Harry Potter! tee hee! Actually most of my fave books have all been turned into (or vice versa) movies Currently reading Trainspotting. Not bad so far, but its taking me a million years cos it takes a while to get used to the language I like clockwork book better than the movie, which reinterprets the theme. Yeah the language is insane, Burgess was a languages nut who studied various slang dialects. For a further challenge try james Joyces Ulysses. I tried it after clockwork but found it unreadable. Id love to know if anyone can crack it.

Sorry double post!

The book is MUCH better than the movie!
The movie finished a chapter short of the book, which is the most important chapter! The movie ends up giving u a completely different impression of how Alex turns out after everything....that really pissed me off

cant go past the chopper read books for me. scary yet entertaining stories from the crim most hate. like his pictures too.

QUOTE (JayVee @ Dec 5 2003, 12:30 PM)

Book im reading now - Birds of prey, wilbur smith

HAHA NO JOKE!!! I'm reading that book right now as well!
I'm almost finished. What part are you up to?
I've read it before and the sequel, Monsoon is really good also.

a called called it was one of my fave books ever

QUOTE (LightningChyld @ Dec 5 2003, 03:10 PM)

QUOTE (JayVee @ Dec 5 2003, 12:30 PM) Book im reading now - Birds of prey, wilbur smith HAHA NO JOKE!!! I'm reading that book right now as well! I'm almost finished. What part are you up to? I've read it before and the sequel, Monsoon is really good also.

are you serious? yeah.. im up too page no 566.... i started reading it around xmas last year but stopped when uni got busy and only just started reading it again...
yeah i've read a couple in the series... i read monsoon i think and another one i think.. but i didnt read them in any order so i get a little confused. cool books!

QUOTE (JayVee @ Dec 5 2003, 03:24 PM)

QUOTE (LightningChyld @ Dec 5 2003, 03:10 PM) QUOTE (JayVee @ Dec 5 2003, 12:30 PM) Book im reading now - Birds of prey, wilbur smith HAHA NO JOKE!!! I'm reading that book right now as well! I'm almost finished. What part are you up to? I've read it before and the sequel, Monsoon is really good also. are you serious? yeah.. im up too page no 566.... i started reading it around xmas last year but stopped when uni got busy and only just started reading it again... yeah i've read a couple in the series... i read monsoon i think and another one i think.. but i didnt read them in any order so i get a little confused. cool books!

My fave Courtenay one is "Power of the Sword." Great book. I haven't read all the Courtenay ones though, and I wouldn't mind!

i would too.. but there is so many books and most of them are pretty long.. i'll remmber to look for that one when i finally finish this one, thanks.

ooohhh to many to choose from!!! classic wise I recon Thomas Convent the unbeliever.. and DEFINATELY Hitch hikers Guide to the Galaxy

i have two favourites:

1. american psycho by bret easton ellis

and

2. the list of seven by mark frost (co-creator of twin peaks)

filth by Irvine welsh ---> AWESOME!

" Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers "

and

" Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy " ( although I prefer to watch the dvd now because it's much easier to follow )

is picture magazine classed as a book?

Well, where DID I come from...?

Attached Image

The best book ever has to be "Wheres Wally" or "Grug" then again "Bangers and Mash" comes up pretty close too
Its all so hard to choose......

Hahaha yes.. grug so rules.
At the mo im reading 'Warlock' by Wilbur Smith only part way through it but I reckon that this could possibly be my fave book

Terry Pratchetts discworld series - hard to pick a fave..

would have to say "Jingo".. funny shit

kind of fantasy (which i dont normally go for) cross with.. i dunno... satire and british absurdity.. have read all 30 odd novels...

Anything by Dr Suess.

Personnal faves are Great Day for Up, I wish that I had duck feet, The Bears Picnic, A little bug went Kachoo or the Lorax

Magician by Raymond E Feist

I like Tad Williams work. Especially the Otherland series.
Also Robert Jordan, the Wheel of Time must be one of largest stories ever.....!

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 5 2003, 01:57 PM)

Fave book: "Flow my tears, the policeman said" - Phillip K Dick

Holy shit, someone else knows/likes Philip K Dick.

My faves:

"The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" - Deals with the nature of reality and conceptions of god. Philip himself said it dealt with "absolute evil as I understood it at the time" and was so scared of it he refused to proof read it.

"Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" - The novel which became Blade Runner.

Honourable mentions: A Scanner Darkly, Ubik, The Man In The High Castle. Haven't read Flow My Tears but I've been meaning to for ages. Anyone who wants to start reading PKD, don't just pick up any of his books because he wrote piles of them and a lot of them are crap. Do Androids Dream...? isn't a bad place to start.


And books by other authors:

William Gibson - Neuromancer. THE cyberpunk classic. This book invented the word "cyberspace". "Burning Chrome", a Gibson short story anthology, is also great.

Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash. More cyberpunk, funnier and more cartooonish.

Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon. Yet more cyberpunk. Ultra-violent, smart, and super slick.

Pratchett's Discworld series - hard to pick a fave but I'd say "Men At Arms".

Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide series is great, but my favourite of his is probably "The Long Dark Teatime Of The Soul".

Hunter S Thompson - Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.

Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" series.

QUOTE (ChrisV @ Dec 6 2003, 03:00 PM)

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 5 2003, 01:57 PM) Fave book: "Flow my tears, the policeman said" - Phillip K Dick Holy shit, someone else knows/likes Philip K Dick. My faves: "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" - Deals with the nature of reality and conceptions of god. Philip himself said it dealt with "absolute evil as I understood it at the time" and was so scared of it he refused to proof read it. "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" - The novel which became Blade Runner. Honourable mentions: A Scanner Darkly, Ubik, The Man In The High Castle. Haven't read Flow My Tears but I've been meaning to for ages. Anyone who wants to start reading PKD, don't just pick up any of his books because he wrote piles of them and a lot of them are crap. Do Androids Dream...? isn't a bad place to start. And books by other authors: William Gibson - Neuromancer. THE cyberpunk classic. This book invented the word "cyberspace". "Burning Chrome", a Gibson short story anthology, is also great. Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash. More cyberpunk, funnier and more cartooonish. Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon. Yet more cyberpunk. Ultra-violent, smart, and super slick. Pratchett's Discworld series - hard to pick a fave but I'd say "Men At Arms". Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide series is great, but my favourite of his is probably "The Long Dark Teatime Of The Soul". Hunter S Thompson - Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" series.

Fuck yes, someone that likes cyberpunk! I love W Gibson books... I found neuromancer alright, it was groundbreaking in terms of ideas. However Burning Chrome is absolutely wicked, remember that one called a Shattered Shards of a Hologram Rose or something? That was heart wrenching in the end... Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep is excellent too, though i prefer the bladerunner adaption, it futhers the story etc.

Just gotta love terms like 'console cowboy' etc! (i think i just exposed the inner geek in me )

My favourite of Burning Chrome was Hinterland - the one where they keep sending people into that portal thing in space and they come back dead or insane. That might actually be my fave short story ever. "Burning Chrome", "Johnny Mnemonic", "Fragments..." etc were all well wicked as well. I agree Burning Chrome is his best, I listed Neuromancer first because it's a novel and it's such a classic. The sequels Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive were alright but not up to standard and I couldn't get into his other stuff (Virtual Light, etc) at all really.

I preferred Androids... to Blade Runner because the film left out Mercerism and all the associated stuff.

If you haven't read either Snow Crash or Altered Carbon grab them now! Altered Carbon is tailor made for Gibson fans.

mines "the long walk" I think by steven king
dont know why is about these teenage guys that have 2 walk and keep walking and if they drop below 5mph then they get thier heads blown off
an the winner get nething they desire

During a recent period in Darwin, with no TV for nine months, I got stuck in to reading a few books, which included mostly twentieth century liturature.

I started off reading Through the Looking Glass: and What Alice Found There the sequal to Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Yes, they are regarded as children's books but an interesting character was Carroll - bit of opium eater if I'm not mistaken (which I could very well be).

I read some of Ernest Hemingways works and especially enjoyed For Whom the Bells Toll and Old Man by the Sea. Hemingway is one of the best writers of all time. Pure simplicity and yet is able to tell complex and intriguing stories.

Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Inspirational!

Other Authors needing mention:
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Joseph Conrad
Ken Kesey
James Agee
Norman Mailer
Tom Wolfe


Favorite Author: Hunter S. Thompson of Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas fame
Fave (obscure) book: Ape and Essence - Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World)

I've also read and enjoyed Magician by Raymond E Feist (and most of the other books in the Rift War Saga) as well as (most) of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Two great series.

I was a bit of book worm in between heading out to Time and mixing a few tunes on the comp. Not much else to do in Darwin without a TV.

I'm currently reading "No Fixed Address - The hunt for Brenden Abbott".

The Sunday Smuggler that Spadge mentioned is also worth a read. Pretty shocking, yet piss funny at the same time.

Can't say I've really got a favourite book. Used to read a bit as a kid, nowdays just grab a book every month or so to read on the bus to and from work.

i just read a book by *some guy* called matarese circle or sumthin??
some secret organisation trying to take over the world.. . usual stuff!
i'd rather listen to music than read a book

A book that I would highly recommend to people who may be interested in something a little more obscure than the average novel is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It was originally written in Czech and has been translated extraordinarily well and damn it is a meticulously crafted book. It concerns a Czech surgeon and his affairs with many, many women. It is set in the period of communist repression in eastern Europe in the 1960s. It is probably my favourite book of all but it is hard to say.

Others I'd recommend to people:

Perfume by Patrick Suskind (translated from the German)
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (translated from the German)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Last Tycoon: a Western by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

I am currently reading Don Quixote by Cervantes (translated from the Spanish)

Good thread!



By the way, you've got good taste in books there Chief.

I am a huge fan of Anne Rice and the Vampire chonicles series. Fave out of the lot is The Vampire Lestat.

Also loved Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

Im very big on gettikng a book and reading it three or fours times.

QUOTE (rockshow girl @ Dec 6 2003, 11:44 AM)

Hahaha yes.. grug so rules. At the mo im reading 'Warlock' by Wilbur Smith only part way through it but I reckon that this could possibly be my fave book

yeah ive read that.. recommend the whole series.... top stuff

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 5 2003, 02:40 PM)

For a further challenge try james Joyces Ulysses. I tried it after clockwork but found it unreadable. Id love to know if anyone can crack it.

I'm really glad you said that because I always assumed for some reason that Joyce was some dreary old philosophic author but now I've just started reading Ulysses and I'm enjoying it so far I'm also nearly finished 'Portrait of the artist as a young man' and I think I'm gonna track down his other books.

QUOTE (muffins @ Dec 7 2003, 10:41 PM)

I'm also nearly finished 'Portrait of the artist as a young man'

I dont read a lot of books but I really enjoyed that.

I cant leave this thread without remembering back to my younger years where I was obsessed by SE Hinton. That was then, this is now, The Outsiders and Tex were all great books. Dont know if they still hold up now Im older so I might have to pull them off the shelf.

My wife is trying to make me read Wild Swans at the moment as she said it was brilliant but big books and my time dont exactly fit very well.

penthouse forum!


Seriously though Marching powder by Rusty Young has to be one of the better books ive read this year...

QUOTE (The Chief @ Dec 6 2003, 04:30 PM)

Favorite Author: Hunter S. Thompson of Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas fame Fave (obscure) book: Ape and Essence - Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World) I've also read and enjoyed Magician by Raymond E Feist (and most of the other books in the Rift War Saga) as well as (most) of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Two great series.

Fear and Loathing was I found it heaps hard getting really into it, but after a while i couldnt put it down! Still yet ta see the movie tho....

I've owned Magician for bout a year now, i got it as a pressie fro my birthday and i still havent read it! As far as fantasy goes im not a huge fan.....does Harry Potter count??
Considering a couple of u guys have mentioned Magician might have to give it a go afterall!

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 8 2003, 08:08 AM)

Fear and Loathing was I found it heaps hard getting really into it, but after a while i couldnt put it down!

I couldnt get into it either...
I'm yet to finish it... have prolly 30 pages left... just not really interested

I'm reading the Celestine Prophecy atm. It's turning out to be quite an adventure

QUOTE (ChrisV @ Dec 6 2003, 03:00 PM)

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 5 2003, 01:57 PM) Fave book: "Flow my tears, the policeman said" - Phillip K Dick Holy shit, someone else knows/likes Philip K Dick. My faves: "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" - Deals with the nature of reality and conceptions of god. Philip himself said it dealt with "absolute evil as I understood it at the time" and was so scared of it he refused to proof read it. "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?" - The novel which became Blade Runner. Honourable mentions: A Scanner Darkly, Ubik, The Man In The High Castle. Haven't read Flow My Tears but I've been meaning to for ages.

Fuck u know a good book when u read one. SICK. 3 stigmata is the bollocks. Recently gave it to a friend to read, KAN-D and CHEW-Z are mad reality drugs wickid.

I love DADoES, yeah the movie takes 2 themes out of like 8 in the book. Mercerism, and the animal empathy story, etc etc. That shit rules.

I own 30+ of his books dude and all his short stories.

To keep on topic, fave book among Heinlein's novels: Time Enough For Love. A fun adventure story that just happens to free the readers mind from all of societies taboos. The middle third of the book is to me, a heaven, a better place than this world, leaving me peaceful and content.

I agree with the poster below who said 'Perfume' is a good book. Did u know Kurt Cobain's scentless aprentice is about that book?

QUOTE (Rainbow_Brite @ Dec 8 2003, 07:08 AM)

Considering a couple of u guys have mentioned Magician might have to give it a go afterall!

Yep it's a pretty good read!
But unlike most books, I found I couldn't read it more than once, dunno why...

Enchanted Forrest 6 Booklet

clive custler is another brilliant author.....
i read EXODUS thats a good read....

QUOTE (eLmoX @ Dec 8 2003, 09:02 AM)

I agree with the poster below who said 'Perfume' is a good book. Did u know Kurt Cobain's scentless aprentice is about that book?

Yup... that's how I got on to it big fella.

Cheers Kurt.

of the stuff already mentioned by Others (I won't go into detail) -

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - by favourite books by far. the only series I've read multiple times. A deeper read than ...

#2 Lord of the Rings - A Classic.

Discworld Series - Terry Pratchett has peaked but the new books still bring about numerous laugh out loud moments. faves - Guards!Guards! , Mort, The Last continent, Moving pictures and Witches Abroad

Anything by Phillip K Dick - but in particular The Man in the High Castle & A Scanner Darkly

(WHICH IS BEING MADE INTO A FILM WITH JOHNNY DEPP!!!!!! (So I hear))

Magician/Rift War Saga Raymond E Feist & The Servant of the Empire series with Janny Wurt (love the whole east/west parallels)

The Player of Games - Ian Banks - One of my favourite authors - probably his best book IMHO

Watership Down - if you haven't read it you should - totally disregard the animated film....... What was the song from that film?

I liked the Belgariad but went off David Eddings after that

and If I only recommend one book to a person it's....

The ILLUMINATUS TRILOGY (hey that's 3 books I hear you say)

but it's always published as a 3in1 tome. so I think it counts as 1.

by RA Wilson, btw

in the noteworthy category -
Last Legends of Earth , AA Atanasio
David Gemmels intertwined Atlantis/King Arthur/Post-Apocalypse series
Wheel of Time (I just hope it ends well)
Foucaults Pendulum - Umberto Eco
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World , The Island, The Perennial Philosophy
George Orwell - 1984 (I hope this is still required reading on highschool lists)

When i was younger I used to enjoy Agatha Christie, Tom Clancy & Stephen King books and younger still Choose Your Own Adventures, Asterix Comix and my favourite kids book
Tha Black Hand Gang (big influence, made me want to read alot when i was 9 )



NON-FICTION Recommended Reading List

ISIS UNVELIED & THE SECRET DOCTRINE by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.
PIHKAL by Alexander Shulgin
Food of the Gods by Terrence McKenna
Bloodline of the Holygrail by Sir Laurence Gardner (the source book for the Da Vinci code)
Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian mystery in The Source of Measures by J. Ralston Skinner
The Emperors new Mind by Roger Penrose
No Boundary by Ken Wilber
The roman empire by Colin Wells
Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them by Al Franken
Big Lies by Joe Conason