What is your favorite book?

CopperWater · Post by **CopperWater** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:07 pm

Mine has to be Animal Farm by George Orwell. When I first read it in 5th grade I didnt quite get the whole story but I liked the pictures

But I've read it alot since then I think the story is a great representation of opression by a leader. What is your favorite book?

araknid70 · Post by **araknid70** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:14 pm

Animal Farm is a satire of Communist Russia. I can't remember the details since I did pseudo-literature lessons in school on AF when I was eleven (that's ten years ago). AFAICR the pig that ran away is supposed to represent Trotsky, the leader of the pig is supposed to be Lenin (I think), and Boxer the poor horse is supposed to be the overworked population.

My fav is still Lord of the Rings. I got the unabridged version with annexes when I was 13, and read the whole thing maybe 4-5 times. The poor book looks like a wilted plant now. Second is Magician by Raymond E. Feist.

I'm not really into classics, but one of the few that I have read is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov... a unique, if slightly disturbing read.

Tower_Master · Post by **Tower_Master** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:01 pm

Well, assuming one meant "favorite" for sheer enjoyment of reading, (and I'm not going to argue about classic literature here because that'd take up an entire extra thread

), I'm going to say "America: Democracy Inaction" by John Stewart. A (not-so)serious must-read for anyone! Not a page turns that doesn't incite histerical laughter !!!

werebeargoddess · Post by **werebeargoddess** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 10:07 pm

[QUOTE=CopperWater]Mine has to be Animal Farm by George Orwell. When I first read it in 5th grade I didnt quite get the whole story but I liked the pictures

But I've read it alot since then I think the story is a great representation of opression by a leader. What is your favorite book?[/QUOTE]

you copied my thread.

But I don't mind.

Anyways, I don't know what my favorite book is. I've read so many books that none of them stand out in particular. Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks was good, though. And so was Exile's Honor by Mercedes Lackey. Those are just a few of my favorites, though. It would take a good while for me to name all the others.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:08 pm

I have many favourite books. One is King Lear by William Shakespeare. It's a marvellous tragedy which shows mankind in its true, petty and pitiful nature.

Another is Ulysses by James Joyce. It's a stylistic masterpiece, the fundation of modernistic literature.

A third is And Quiet Flows the Don by Michail Sholokov. It's a great story about how human beings become dehumanised.

Yet another one is Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Nice and postmodernistic in style, showing how belief remove an individual from reality into a world full of mysteries he created himself. A must read for all who fancy conspiracy theories and mysticism!

CopperWater · Post by **CopperWater** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:19 pm

Sorry for stealing your board, this is my first message board for a long time. My favorite childhood book was The Halloween Handbook. It wasnt realy a book but a list of tacky stories, jokes and halloween recipies. My mother eventualy hid it because she was tired of reading it to me twice a day.

But I guess that is what finaly got me into reading as a small child.

fable · Post by **fable** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:57 pm

[QUOTE=C Elegans]Another is Ulysses by James Joyce. It's a stylistic masterpiece, the fundation of modernistic literature. [/QUOTE]

This, from a person who said they didn't like fiction which was heavy on style, and preferred straightforward prose...! I suppose there are always exceptions.

I'd have a hard time picking favorites, but still...

The Aeneid, by Virgil. Unlike the Iliad and the Odyssey, this ancient classic touches me by bringing its characters to life. They dont serve as backdrops to an epic; the epic is the backdrop to them. The tale is old, but the people in it are faced by the same problems we all face in our lives: violence, betrayal, love, hope, loss, death.

Jurgen, by James Branch Cabell. A highly stylized, witty, erudite, erotic, nose-thumbing work about a 14th century pawnbroker who recaptures his youth as a poet, screws Guenevere (on a throne), marries the Lady of the Lake, has an affair with a hamadryad, entertains the Queen of the Philistines all night long with his powers of arithematic, visits heaven and hell (the latter having patriotism as its religion)...It twits both American politics and religious beliefs, and laughs loud and long. Was banned, by the way, by the Society for Prevention of Sin and Vice, in New York City in the late teens of the last century. Was brought to court by celebrities of the time and reversed.

The Mahabharata. A religious epic that reads sorta like a combination of a superheroes comicbook, a lengthy, in-depth philosophical tract, and a vision of a universe where the individual is nothing, and everything.[/b]

Crime and Punishment, by Dostoevsky. Insights into character and morality that I've found in no other writer of fiction.

The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco. Knowledge versus dogma, a murder mystery, and a healthy helping of authentic early Renaissance background.

Scaramouche, by Rafael Sabatini. Pure fun: larger-than-life characters in 18th century France, and great detail showing court life, the theater, and the eve of the Revolution. With swordfights, a hero in love, and great wit, of course.

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:10 am

Well, I've fallen in love with the writings of Alexander Dumas, personally. The Three Musketeers is an amazingly fun read, as is the Count of Monte Cristo. Something about his style just entrances me. It's to a point where I own the Heritage Classics of the Dartanigon romances, and the collected works of Dumas and Hugo in pocket book form.

Macleod1701 · Post by **Macleod1701** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:14 am

I've got to say that Stephen King's Dark Tower series is fantastic, how one man can have so much gumpf in his head and remember it is amazing

Brynn · Post by **Brynn** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:34 am

Well, at present the Harry Potter series is my favourite. No, I'm not 11, but still...

I've read all the books from cover to cover 2x in Hungarian, 3x in English - now I'm re-reading book 4 and 5 just to kill time until book 6 comes out

Either you have to love them or or hate them, I think.

I like Dumas very much, too, the 3 muskeeters was the only book besides HP that I read more than once

Salvatore, of course.

I love reading books on history, especially early Hungarian history, too, and about things that I'm interested in - they're sometimes more interesting to me than novels.

Macleod1701 · Post by **Macleod1701** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:36 am

Oooo no Harry Potter aint my cup of tea.

Quite enjoy Brian Lumley books though.
Does anyone remember who wrote Ghormanghast? Thats fantastic too, very strange but good

Yeltsu · Post by **Yeltsu** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:13 am

Dune By Frank Herbert, I love number 1, 2, 5 and 6. Those are the best.

@ Fable: the Mahabharata is great, I absolutely love it!

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:45 am

[QUOTE=fable]The Mahabharata. A religious epic that reads sorta like a combination of a superheroes comicbook, a lengthy, in-depth philosophical tract, and a vision of a universe where the individual is nothing, and everything.[/QUOTE]

This sounds intriging.
What is the story about?

Grimar · Post by **Grimar** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:53 am

The riftwar trilogy by raymond E. feis is great. Farseer trilogy by robin hoob is also good.

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:13 am

[QUOTE=Grimar]The riftwar trilogy by raymond E. feis is great. Farseer trilogy by robin hoob is also good.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for mentionng those, otherwise I'd have to name them again.

Robin Hobb is my favorite fantasy writer. She really gets into the minds of the characters. Excellent!

Feist writes too many books. I read a lott of them and he is good but the first ones are the best. In the end characters are repeated to often.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:40 am

[QUOTE=fable]This, from a person who said they didn't like fiction which was heavy on style, and preferred straightforward prose...! I suppose there are always exceptions.[/QUOTE]

Hrm, well, I guess that in my book (sorry for the pun) a masterpiece is a masterpiece regardless of genre really. It is true that I generally dislike fiction that focus on style rather than telling a story, but Joyce's Ulysses is a shining exception. I love it, I have even read it two times

For all the fantasy fans posting here, I can really recommend Edmund Spencer's The Faerie Qveene. It is written in stanza so it may feel awkward at first if you are not used to reading poetry, but you quickly get used to it. Tolkien took many ideas out of this work, and for fantasy fans, all the battle, the monsters, heroes, dragons, elves and magical weapons should make up for the Spenser stanza

You can find it here:
http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/spenser/texts.htm

Personally, I like sir Philip Sidney's The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia better. That's a beuatiful epic prose work in typical Renaissance style

Vicsun · Post by **Vicsun** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:57 am

[QUOTE=C Elegans]I have many favourite books. One is King Lear by William Shakespeare. It's a marvellous tragedy which shows mankind in its true, petty and pitiful nature.[/QUOTE]
I finished reading King Lear about a week ago and I have to concur, though I'm still partial to Hamlet as far as Shakespearian plays are concerned

On a related note, I read an article in the NYTimes a couple of months ago (I can't get to it now without paying for archive access...) discussing Shakespearian literature and claiming it is generally universally disliked and those who claim to enjoy the plays are only doing so in order to appear to be 'cultured' or 'elitist'. I cringed a little. The anti-intellectualism movement that seems to be set in motion annoys me more than a little.

Back on topic: I also enjoy Luis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I re-read those books every couple of years and I seem to appreciate them more every time I do so.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:15 pm

[QUOTE=Vicsun]I finished reading King Lear about a week ago and I have to concur, though I'm still partial to Hamlet as far as Shakespearian plays are concerned

On a related note, I read an article in the NYTimes a couple of months ago (I can't get to it now without paying for archive access...) discussing Shakespearian literature and claiming it is generally universally disliked and those who claim to enjoy the plays are only doing so in order to appear to be 'cultured' or 'elitist'. I cringed a little. The anti-intellectualism movement that seems to be set in motion annoys me more than a little.
[/QUOTE]

Hehe, I actually don't like Hamlet a lot! My favorite from the era is Christopher Marlowe though, what a pity he was murded when he was young. In his plays, there are no heroes, no villains, no good and no evil, only the narrow minded, egoistic and short sighted human nature that is forever stuck to create a miserable world.

Anti-intellectualism is something I am very used to, living in Sweden. It is prevalent in many other countries too of course. Anti-intellectualism is usually very anti=Academia and anti expertise based on formal education, so what is established in the academic world, is looked down upon. Thus, Shakespeare, Joyce, Dostoyevsky as well as Raphael, Rembrandt and Picasso, are viewed as "elitist" and belonging to an esotheric club for people who only want to pose as "intellectuals".

Anti-intellectualism is dangerous to a society, because it denies knowledge and opens up for ideological propaganda and manipultion.

(Sorry for the OT)

Stoned_Golem · Post by **Stoned_Golem** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:20 pm

Porbably Magic the gathering: Nemisis

almost all the main characters died by the end, evil prevailed, and the one main character that survived turned into an evil mutant. sounds great huh?

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:32 pm

[QUOTE=Rob-hin]This sounds intriging.
What is the story about?[/QUOTE]

The Mahabharata is literally about two related families (especially the five brothers of one, called the Pandavas) that maintain a vendetta against one another. Each is vailiant, intelligent, well-trained, and has as allies the most intelligent, strongest, and powerful of allies. But one side is arrogant, seeing itself as the proper rulers of the universe. Krishna, leader (well, he is, here) of the gods, joins the other side, and helps them defeat their enemies--all the while causing several of those who win to increasingly question the worth of such a victory. As I mentioned above, it's got plenty of magic, swordplay and trickery, as well as philosophy and wisdom.