Best book ever!!!

Muggle Joined: Jun 08, 2004 Posts: 3

What is the best book you have ever read, other than Harry Potter? Mine would have to be The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle.

Post subject: Re: Best book ever!!! Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 07:07 PM

Transfered to The Library.

I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesmally small, is not exactly zero.

Post subject: Re: Best book ever!!! Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 09:20 PM

Hands down for me is <span style="text-decoration:underline]Pride and Prejudice[/color] by Jane Austen. You have to love those witty and sarcastic comments on society.

I'm quite fond of <span style="text-decoration:underline]The Grapes of Wrath[/color] (Steinbeck) and <span style="text-decoration:underline]Crime and Punishment[/color] (Dostoevsky) though.

Post subject: Re: Best book ever!!! Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 01:59 AM

Quote::

Hands down for me is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. You have to love those witty and sarcastic comments on society.

Yay! P and P! We have a whole cult here; loads of us go around adapting Pride and Prejudice quotes to everything! It truly is the best book ever! Sorry, Harry, but there's only Sirius there for us ['only'? okay, that's a huge 'only'.] Jane Austen has the best characters all round - Mr Darcy *swoon*, Mr Bingley ('Miss Bennet, I can't tell you how delighted I am...'), Lizzy (everyone's favourite girl), and the somewhat legendary Mrs Bennet. Go Jane Austen!

Muggle Joined: Jun 09, 2004 Posts: 12

Well, nothing really matches up to the HP series Wink

. But right now my second favourite is "Angels and Demons" and "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. They're both so well-researched and really witty. Just make sure you read Angels and Demons first! Or else some of the little jokes in Da Vinci Code won't make sense.

Of course, in the past few year's there've been The Moorchild, Prey, HDM trilogy, LOTR series, The Odyssey, Frog and Toad (ermmm... yeah okay that was QUITE a while ago Wink

)... but it changes with my mood.

Post subject: Re: Best Book Ever Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 09:35 PM

I know I've answered this question before in another thread. My favorite book is actually a trilogy, The Coldfire Trilogyby C.S. Friedman. I can go on and on about these books; the same thing happens when I talk about HP. They're a bit older, the last book was copyrighted 1995. But you could find them if you tried. *nudge, nudge*

A basic run-down of the plot:

Quasi-immortal demon vampire saves first a woman, then the world, and finally, himself. Said demon turns out to be a very vibrant and complex anti-hero. His actions are counter-pointed by the other main character, a warrior priest with an unshakable faith in the one true God. I could go on and on but I'll stop now. Maybe I'll go read it again.

<span style="color:#4C4533;]Have you hugged a werewolf today?[/color]

<span style="color:#09850B;]

"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll up the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?"[/color]

<span style="color:065E09;]Don't worry, I'll help ya. What are co-conspirators for?[/color]

1st Year Joined: May 28, 2004 Posts: 59

The LotR trilogy is really good, of course everyone knew that. I really enjoyed the books in a trilogy by Australian author Garth Nix called Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen. They are fantasy novels and in some ways a bit like Harry Potter; the main character must believe in themselves, even though they are very unique, and must somehow defeat a Dark Force which is returning to power. I discovered them because in English we were doing silent reading and I finished my original book in a week, and had nothing to read, so my teacher recommended them. They are all very good, but my favourite is Lireal. This is the back cover blurb:

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr's birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is.Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lireal must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

DRINK COFFEE! Do stupid things faster and with more energy!

1st Year Joined: Jun 01, 2004 Posts: 45 Location: SC

While not epic or even widely known, I'm a huge fan of many young-adult writers. One that I really like is Lois Lowry. I was forced to read many of her books back in the days of elementary & middle school (heh... not that long ago!) and I'm glad I got to read her stuff. I definitely recommend her books. My most favorite are "Number the Stars" & "The Giver" (and it's sequel, (Gathering Blue"). My sister comes home with all kinds of reading assignments and I usually read the books before she has a chance! So much of young-adult reading is amazing and highly under-rated. :no Awesome movies could be made out of so many of them. Most are even so short that you could make the movie word for word... perfection! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START Clap!

--><img src=http://pages.prodigy.net/siriusblack/boards/smilies/clap.gif ALT=":clap]

As for my favorite book(s)... it's really hard to pin-point. I read so much that I cannot make up my mind. I am a huge fan of Anne Rice and have all of her Vampire Chronicle books & Lives of the Mayfair Witches.

~Angela~<span style="color:orange;font-family:comic sans ms;font-size:medium;]I'm not weird, I'm gifted![/color]

1st Year Joined: Jun 13, 2004 Posts: 54

Banishment by Dinah Lampitt. Most people have never heard of it but it has to be my favourite of all time and got me hooked on romance novels (although it is not a romance), time travel, regression hypnosis and 17th century history.

In short it is the story of a woman who volunteers to be regressed by someone who does not know what they are doing and she finds herself trapped in a previous life during the English Civil War.

A really great book that was treated awfully by the publishers. They recalled all unsold copies and destroyed them!

1st Year Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 30

*scrawls signature on list titled "P&P Cult Members"*

I don't think I will ever get over my affinity for Madeleine L'Engle's magical tales...I think I'll be fifty and still have all my Madeleine L'Engle books in my library. *Gasps reproachfully at self* Wait a minute, I'd rather go hungry than give up all my books...

And yes, I'm going to shamelessly proclaim my very permanent addiction to Tamora Pierce's novels that are set in Tortall...I will NEVER outgrow those stories...much like HP...

+ + + Majenta + + +

"All eyes see the figure of the wizard

As he climbs to the top of the world

No sound as he falls instead of rising

Time standing still..."

(R. Blackmore,1976)

Muggle Joined: Jun 14, 2004 Posts: 17

Well, that would have to be Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Rowling may have one hell of an imagination, but she's nothing to this guy (no offence to anyone here!). Solitudeis about as deep as you can get into the human condition, while the world surrounding it is so lush and abounding in the supernatural. I don't think anyone could ever make a film out if it. It's a beauty, believe me, and it may actually be part of the reason I like Harry Potter so much.

MagicalFlyingOboe <img src=http://pages.prodigy.net/siriusblack/boards/smilies/rav.gif ALT=":xrav]

1st Year Joined: May 30, 2004 Posts: 30

MagicalFlyingOboe,

Are you familiar with Isabel Allende? I also love Solitude, and when I first picked up an Allende book, I was shocked and thoroughly delighted with the similarities...Allende is, like Marquez, a very gifted storyteller, and it's impossible not to get caught up in her sagas. I think you'd really enjoy her books. The ones I have read are (in this order):

The House of the Spirits

Of Love and Shadows

Daughter of Fortune

Portrait in Sepia

and I just started City of Beasts

cheers,

Maj

+ + + Majenta + + +

"All eyes see the figure of the wizard

As he climbs to the top of the world

No sound as he falls instead of rising

Time standing still..."

(R. Blackmore,1976)

Post subject: Re: Isabel Allende Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2004 03:11 PM

First, I've got to second siriusli's rec for Garth Nix's "Sabriel" trilogy. Truly outstanding books - the second two will never measure up to the first IMHO, but they're definitely worth a read.

Other favorite books include:

- anything by Oscar Wilde. His works are wonderful and the man himself is wit personified

- Bill Bryson's travel books. These will have you on the floor laughing - a great way to learn about other countries and cultures and thoroughly enjoyable reads

- The Da Vinci Code. Seems like everyone's reading it these days, but don't let that turn you off. For once, this is a popular book that truly deserves popularity.

- every single teenager in the world should read Brent Hartinger's Geography Club

- I must admit that I haven't seen the film, but the original book of A Clockwork Orange is said to be the next best thing. Very intense, very shocking, very very good.

- and anything by Neil Gaiman. He's the best author I've ever read - the creepiness of Bradbury, the wit of Wilde, and a unique sparkle all his own. He's done short stories, novels, collaborations, and graphic novels/comics; give them all a taste. You will love, I promise.

~Renee

Post subject: RE: Best Book Ever!!! Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 06:24 PM

It really is amazing as I look at this page that I find so many of my favorite books are also favorite books of other readers. Well, I could never choose one book so I want to give you all my list of my favorite books, as also recomendations(I know its mispelled, don't be too judgemental). Let's see of course The Lord of the Rings trilogy/ anything written by the great JRR, Farhenheit 451, The Catcher in the Rye, The Giver and ...............Slaughterhouse-five. I guess that's all I hope other people read all of these because their all AWESOME!!!!

1st Year Joined: Jun 18, 2004 Posts: 21

My favorite book is The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas