Are Ye Lettered Men?

[Nostradamus]

Now, I'm the first to admit that I yam no great scholar of Fine Literchoore, but I was a bit shocked to find no threads on favorite books or authors ! It's all very good and well that you folks can quote lines from obscure movies and of course we all know the value of certain short lived TV programs, but have ye never become intoxicated from the musty aroma of an old tome?

Ah, I'm just givin' ya a hard time, I can tell from from the posts yer well read--but I still find it odd that I'm the first to bring it up. Did I miss something? Anyway, here's my pathetically short list to start:

• 1. Anything and everything by Terry Pratchett, with Good Omens and Men At Arms at the top;
  2. Likewise for Mark Twain, though it's been awhile;
  3. Harry Browne for non-fiction political and economic philosophy;
  4. Dave Barry for shallow but hilarious humor;
  5. The Onion for acid-tongued satire;
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, duh squared;
  7. Just started A.C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, don't know why it took me so long!

I know I'll think of more later, but that will have to do for now. So, pretend you're a proper intellectual and impress me with your book-learning.

[Tyler Durden]

Id have to say that my very favourite book is Lord of the Rings. I have quite an interest in anything that Tolkien writes although the Silmarilian was pretty hard going. My 2nd favourite author is Chuch Palaniuk, and his best book being in my opinion Survivor, although Fight Club and Choke take some beating. The last book i read was Popcorn by Ben Elton. That was pretty incredible. Id advise anyone to read it if they get the chance.

1. Anything and everything by Terry Pratchett, with Good Omens and Men At Arms at the top

Ive never really given him a chance. is he worth reading?

[StrawberryGirl]

Yay- I love seeing what books other people think are great- it lets me add to my list of stuff to read! Here are some of mine, in absolutely no particular order.

My Name is Asher Lev- Chaim Potok
The Giver- Lois Lowry
The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand
To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee (if these were in a particular order, this one should be at top)
The Shawshank Redemption- Stephen King
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis

hmm. That appears to be all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll add more later.

[K-man]

I mostly like nonfiction/biography/autobiography type stories so following that I'll list a few books I found fascinating.
1.) Underboss: Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. by Peter Maas, Enthralling and scary.
2.) Special Agent: My life on the Front Lines as a Woman in the FBI. by Candace Delong A real page turner. Lots of detail on how she helped nab the Unabomber.
3.) Inside the Lion's Den by Ken Shamrock and Richard Hanner. Inspiring true story.
4.) The Boz by Bryan Bosworth O.K. I admit I read this book in like 1987 but it is just interesting to hear what life is really like for an all-American athlete at a major university.

[socalledfan]

Great thread, Nostradamus, oh wise one!!!

I have to go with Strawberry Girl on "To Kill a Mockingbird." That is my favorite book of all-time...such heartbreaking beauty. It gets me every time.

Some other works I love. The first four are contemporary fiction, but the rest are classic favorites:

"White Oleander" by Janet Fitch
"She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb
"The Invisible Circus" by Jennifer Egan
"Remembering Blue" by Connie May Fowler
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"Charlotte's Web" by E.B.White
"The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer
"The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by (I forget author's name)

There are tons and tons more but I am drawing a blank.

Peace and luv and good stuff,

SCF

[dTheater]

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by (I forget author's name)

Betty Smith I think. Great old movie too.

And to whoever said Shawshank Redemption, you do know that's not a novel but part of a collection of short stories and that's it's called "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", right? Just FYI...

My favorite book, right off the top of my head: "Eye of the Needle" by Ken Follet. Also loved "Sphere" by Michael Crichton, although I'm not much of a sci-fi fan. Those are just 2 that come to mind; and they're both pretty mindless 20th century American fiction.

[NIGHTJESSI]

Since I edit and write all day, I often don't feel up to reading, much as I enjoy it, once I get home from work. I do enjoy vampire novels, though, especially Anne Rice and books on the White Wolf roster, as well as the poetry of the master, Edgar Allen Poe. And if we can count magazines, then I enjoy reading Blender, Metal Edge, Metal Maniacs, Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, among others.

[Nostradamus]

This just cinfirms my theory that people will never pass up a chance to brag about their literary conquests . Now some replies to your replies...

• Tyler Durden: Terry Pratchett, my favorite author, has sold more than 23,000,000 copies of his 50 novels, including the 38 books of the Discworld Series... and he isn't even dead yet! But I know you don't trust the numbers, so I'll just say this -- Of all the entertainments I can think of, TV, Movies, Women, Fast Cars, Watching Plants Grow, etc, none have exceeded MSCL for sheer joy and enthrallment on so many levels. Still, there are a few works that equal it, and Terry Pratchett books are among them. You can start the DiscWorld anywhere, but The Color of Magic was the first. Good Omens, co-authored with Neil Gaiman, is a great stand-alone parody of DoomsDay legends. Now to echo your question...
  
  StrawberryGirl: I've never really given Ayn Rand a try. Is she worth reading?
  
  K-man: If you like non-fiction criminal conspiricies, try True Blue, The Real Stories Behind NYPD Blue, by David Milch and Det. Bill Clark. That's just coffee-table stuff -- if you want something meatier, may I suggest Rule by Secrecy, by Jim Marrs. Agree with Marrs' conclusions or not, but he's documented his research down to the last quote.
  
  socalledfan: I've been meaning to read The Catcher, though probably not for the same reasons you did . (inside joke-see Conspiracy Theory)
  
  dTheater: Sphere was great, but don't waste your time with the movie!
  
  NIGHTJESSI: The 2nd edition of Vampire: The Masquerade is my most treasured book! The musk has been aged and blended with Nag Champa and always brings back memories of my RPG days. My friend and I played in a room with emerald green walls and ceiling, the incense curling through the air and Gregorian Chant echoing off the tiled floor... ahhh... good times! I think Pratchett must be a Poe fan, he wrote this homage scene, roughly quoted: (Wizards have summoned Death, and He is holding an hors d'oeuvre) Wizard: "How's the party?" Death: "IT WILL GET INTERESTING AT MIDNIGHT." Wizard: "What happens at midnight?" Death: "THAT'S WHEN THEY THINK I'LL BE TAKING OFF MY MASK." And finally, yeah, the light stuff counts! My shelves are groaning under the weight of Popular Science and Buffy fan mags. The Onion is an online satirical newspaper, but be forewarned, it can get very dark and is definitely not for kids! http://www.theonion.com

Whew! That's all for now, I'm getting tired, but think about this: Poetry!

[StrawberryGirl]

Nostradamus: I'm certainly no authority on Ayn Rand- The Fountainhead is the only thing I've ever read by her, but I really loved it. I can't even put my finger on why, by I seriously couldn't put it down. I've been meaning to read something else by her, but the Simpsons are on way too often to ever get around to that. And now a question for YOU. I'm most likely revealing my sad, sad lack of knowledge regarding all things literary, but- I don't know anything about Terry Pratchett. What type of stuff does he write? Those titles sound sci fi, which would normally turn me off, but with that glowing recommendation, I don't know...

Oh, and dTheater- yeah, I know about the Shawshank thing, I was just being insanely lazy about writing out the title.

[mglenn]

This is a topic you shouldn't start me on... I have to go to Barns and Noble at least twice a month if not more and Amazon is on the links bar of my browser... anyway here goes:

Anything by Tom Clancy... I've got to get the new one
(Without Remorse is my fav)

Airframe by Michael Crichton

War Stories (True Stories):
Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson
(I actually met Carlos Hathcock... that was a humbling experience)

Element of Surprise.. don't remember the author.

Currently reading "The Longest Day" by C. Ryan (D-Day account)

Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko (First book is about how he founded Seal Team 6... the rest of his books in the series are fiction. They are also good)

Black Hawk Down... loved the movie too

War of the Rats... based on the battle for Stalingrad

Techo:

Just for Fun - Linus Torvalds, David Diamond
Cyberpunk - Katie Hafner, John Markoff
The Cuckoo's Egg - Clifford Stoll (Great book)
Hackers - Steven Levy (Another Fav)
Moon Lander - Thomas J. Kelly ( We flew to the moon with basicly a commador 64 in control.)

Other Stuff:
The Mothman Prophecies - John Keel (Fun and Freaky, I read it in 48 hours)
Vertical Run - Joseph Garber (Fast, action packed!)
Dune - Frank Herbert
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams, if you like Pratchett try Adams

I'm sure I have more but thats what I can think of now.

[K-man]

Hey Mike,
I read that Marine Sniper book about 8 years ago. A friend of mine in the Navy gave it to me and I loved it. I love stuff about the Viet-Nam war. His accounts are plenty scary and tense. That guy is a real life Rambo.

[Sascha]

Oh yeah, what would be an off-topic forum without a "favorite book" topic I too love to hang out in book stores, I wish I'd have more time to read...

Anyway, here is my short list of favorites:

• Douglas Adams
• Douglas Coupland ("Mircoserfs" is fantastic, right now I'm reading "Miss Wyoming")
• Arthur C. Clarke
• "Teach yourself TCP/IP in 14 days" (*grin* ... well, okay, not really a favorite, but I have an exam about stuff like that in a few weeks and still haven't done anything for it... )
• Stephen King
• "My Legendary Girlfriend" by Mike Gayle (painfully funny )
• "Sofies World" by Jostein Gaarder
• A few years ago, I was a fan of the SF-series "Perry Rhodan", but I guess that's not very known outside of Germany.
• And yes, I admit it, I had fun reading Harry Potter 1-3

And part 1 of the Discworld series by Terry Patchett is already lying on my bookshelf, but I also want to finally read "Lord of the Rings" anytime soon...

[StrawberryGirl]

yikes, I can't believe I forgot the Harry Potter books on my list. Typical, but hey, who cares? They are great fun!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

When the Harry Potter books first came out, I thought they were just kid books but once I read them I was a convert.

Okay that's not entirely true. I thought the first one was okay. Not great, but okay. The second one was okay, but I was tenacious (d) and I kept on reading. The third one was great and is still my favorite.

My boyfriend didn't read any of the books until we took a class together in college - all fairy tales, it was awesome. Then he too was sucked into the magical world of Harry Potter.

One of my friends once said he didn't get the Harry Potter hype so I asked if he had read them. Of course the answer was no. I threatened to send him #1 for his birthday, which I did, which he read, and now he is about to start reading #4 (which is now in paperback!). Hee hee.

I loved discussing these books with the kids I tutored because they wanted to guess who the bad guy was and what would happen next. I think anything that gets kids to read is a good thing.

[NIGHTJESSI]

To get a bit OT in this thread, you mentioned Vampire: The Masquerade, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the TV adaptation, Kindred: the Embraced. I admit that I never read the RPG books but I have enjoyed the threads releated to Masquerade in other White Wolf titles and do own some of the clan books that I have yet to read.