So what IS your favourite book?

[TomOfSweden]

...of all time. The one you've loved the most, that has changed your life the most, that you've re-read the most or which you've recommended the most to others. If you can't manage just one, then tell us the ones that share the first place.

I'll start with Genome by Matt Ridley. Every page was mind boggling and awesome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome_%28book%29

another book which isn't my favourite but deserves to be mentioned because it's so awesome is Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. It's just pure genius. So is all his books, but this one stands out I think.


So what do you think guys?

[Thorne]

There's no way I can pick just one. But I do have my favorites.

Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" is up there, mainly because it's such a wondrous tale of adventure mixed with a fairly consistent "history" of its own.

Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series. Seldom does a book (or books) get me so engrossed that I want to reach into the pages and help the good guys, or strangle the bad guys. There were times when I had a strong physical reaction to what was happening, and not always good reactions, either.

Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", an irreverent look at government and society, probably one of Heinlein's best.

Auel's "The Clan of the Cave Bear" and its sequels, just because they were fun to read! That girl is single-handedly responsible for the advance of civilization!

Turtledove's alternate history books, too numerous to mention. Extremely detailed and well thought-out "what-if" scenarios with just enough reality to make you think things really COULD have happened that way.

I don't know, there are so many. My home library has over 700 books, hardcover and paperback, and they've all influenced me in one way or another.

We even have a Bible, a gift from my sister, though I've never touched it (it might scar me for life ;) ) and we keep it locked in a dark closet where innocent children won't be corrupted by it.

[DOMLORD]

Anything from Tolkien is outstanding.
Then there's "Fight Club" and "Choke"
Finally anything from Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan) is kind of corny but under rated and awesome.

[Thorne]

Anything from Tolkien is outstanding.
I don't know if I would go that far. "The Silmarillion" was interesting, but rather slow and somewhat boring in parts. Good background for the history of Middle Earth, though.


Finally anything from Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan) is kind of corny but under rated and awesome.
Yeah, I enjoyed the Conan stories, too, but I don't think I could classify them as being among my favorites.

[Alex Bragi]

Good thread (as usual) Tom.

Ok, anything by the late great Sidney Sheldon. He was a brilliantly gifted author, but more than that I love that he loved to write about strong female characters.

[mkemse]

Call Of The Wild

[Euryleia]

It is hard to choose just one, so here are my favorites:

For just wonderful word play and children's books that aren't really for children: Norman Juster's Phantom Tollbooth, Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-glass, and The Book of Merlin by T.H. White

Great characters, including the cities that the stories take place in: Armisted Maupin's Tales of the City, A.S. Byatt's Possession, Mary Renault's Last of the Wine and Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy.

Fascinating World Building: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, Ammonite by Nicola Griffith, Parable of the Sower by Octavio Butler.

Excellent Southern US writing: Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides, Fanny Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes, Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver and Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton

[seekingsusie]

Lord of the Rings ...

[Ozme52]

There's no way I can pick just one. But I do have my favorites.

Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" is up there, mainly because it's such a wondrous tale of adventure mixed with a fairly consistent "history" of its own. Enjoyed them and the movie rocked because so much of the imagery matched my own. But it's never merited a full reread for me.

Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", an irreverent look at government and society, probably one of Heinlein's best. Yes... but a flawed book. Heinlein unwittingly misidentified the main protagonist and killed him.

Auel's "The Clan of the Cave Bear" and its sequels, just because they were fun to read! That girl is single-handedly responsible for the advance of civilization! I would be right with you, but Auel riddled it with Larmarkian evolution... and that spoiled it for me. LOL

Turtledove's alternate history books, too numerous to mention. Extremely detailed and well thought-out "what-if" scenarios with just enough reality to make you think things really COULD have happened that way. I'm all over that with you... but was disappointed with his newest series which begins with Opening Atlantis. It's good but isn't really new or thought provoking. He tried to do something with the natural history of the land (zoological) but missed the mark. Just a retake on Australia more or less. Birds instead of marsupials...


Good choices Thorne

[Ozme52]

I guess when I read for enlightenment and knowledge, I absorb in a way that I rarely think about the book itself... and they all commingle and combine to create my own personal perspective and awareness of the world around me... the universe I live it.

When I read for entertainment, with rare exceptions, once the book is done, it's done. Even those I poured through in short order... barely more than an entertaining movie.

So my 'favorite' has to be those stories that bring me back to reread over and over again.

The Lensman Series - Seven books by E.E. Doc Smith. Space opera from the 1930's.

and

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card.

I enjoy them afresh, every time I crack them open.

[seekingsusie]

Ursula Le Guin -- Left Hand of Darkness.

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and I really hope that whoever finishes this series based on his notes before his death does a good job.

[Thrasher]

Surprised nobody mentioned Phillip K Dick(androids), Dashiell Hammett(red harvest), Jim Thompson(too numerous to mention)(Grifters). John Irving(Hotel New Hampshire)
What about "Dune"
"The Floating Opera" (Barth)
"The thought Gang" by Tibor Fischer is the funniest book I've ever read

[Thorne]

I guess when I read for enlightenment and knowledge, I absorb in a way that I rarely think about the book itself... and they all commingle and combine to create my own personal perspective and awareness of the world around me... the universe I live it.

When I read for entertainment, with rare exceptions, once the book is done, it's done. Even those I poured through in short order... barely more than an entertaining movie.

So my 'favorite' has to be those stories that bring me back to reread over and over again.

The Lensman Series - Seven books by E.E. Doc Smith. Space opera from the 1930's.

and

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card.

I enjoy them afresh, every time I crack them open.

Funny, but even though I've been reading science fiction my whole life I've never really been able to get into either of those series. I remember reading the original "Ender's Game" when it was a novella in Analog magazine, I believe. It did nothing for me.

I know when I was younger, and poorer I suppose, I could read some books more than once and still enjoy them. LOTR was one of those. I probably read it at least four times when in my 20's. But now I find I'd much rather find something new than go back to something I've read before.

[nighttimestar]

Okay so this really silly. But can a your favorite book be a book you are reading now??? I love to read and can breeze through most books in a couple of days.

Currenty I am reading Andy Warhol's The Philosophy or Andy Warhol (from A to B and back again) Some of sayings and looks on life he had are so simply put that it gives you a sense of peace when you read them.

[alaure]

One of the books that I especially love is The Student Conductor by Robert Ford. It blends classical music (a huge love for me, and a part-time job) with romance and politics, not to mention well-crafted writing. Whilst it is satisfying as a quick read, I would recommend to read it slowly (often going back over paragraphs) to make the most of the language in it and the literary mise en scene.

[sisterhoney61 {RW}]

My all time favorite book is An Unknown Woman by Alice Koller. It is a memoir, originally written in 1962/63. Koller is 37, single, has a PhD but no job and no home (she crashes at friends' homes). She decides to live for three months in the middle of winter in Nantucket. Her only companion is a German shepherd puppy (and she doesn't know anything about dogs). She goes to Nantucket to find out the truth about her life and what she wants to do with it.

I've reread this book several times. It was one that truly showed me that you can live your life the way you want to, as unconventional as it may seem to others. You can be true to yourself. You don't need the white picket fence and two car garage and 2.5 kids and the golden retriever in order to be happy.

[sisterhoney61 {RW}]

Since others were discussing series here, I want to say what my favorite series are:

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey
The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Evangeline Walton

[donriser]

Oh how I love, LOVE reading!! So many different categories of books too. Here are a few of my favorites:

Fiction:

The Secret Life of Bees ~ Sue Monk Kidd
Cry the Beloved Country ~ Alan Paton (Powerful book)
The Poisonwood Bible ~ Barbara Kingsolver (really love this author)
Lying Awake ~ Mark Salzman
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ Khaled Hosseini

Erotic fiction:

Just finished book 2 of the Marketplace Series ~ Laura Antoniou (really enjoying these).
Master/Slave ~ N.T. Morley (great compilation of short stories)

[Tufty]

My all time fav is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

[Pertez]

Sensei ~by David Charney

[mogollondog]

Lord Of The Rings definitely and A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

[Logic1]

Personally I cant name just one but I have to put a few down
Lotr series and the Hobbit for sure
Shogun by James Clavell (the tv series was pretty darn awesome aswell)
2001 a space odyssey by Clarke
hmm I am pretty sure I can come up with some more books that I really loved but those are for now anyways

[icey]

i read a hell of a lot and all genre so id be hard presed to say which is my favourite, erotic books id say has to be beautys punishment by anne rice.

i love true story ones so the tory hayden books
angelas ashes by frank mccourt is wonderful both funny sad and inspiring.

the book of the die by luke rhinehart i found a bit weird but very very different and id certainly recommend it.

its about an eminent psychiatrist who decides to live each day by the dice,
so he will each day set up a way of being or an action for each number some good some bad and he got more and more strange until eventually all his choices were weird and had some peculiar effects on his life!

its very very difficult to explain it and the write-ups dont do it justice it sounds a bit naff, but i would say if ever you get the opportunity read it! its a really great and original book





Just finished book 2 of the Marketplace Series ~ Laura Antoniou (really enjoying these).

ive been trying for ages to get hold of this series and cant half the bookshops say they'll order them in then never get round to it, will have to use amazon.

[AdrianaAurora]

If it’s well written subject doesn’t mean much to me, it depends on what mood I am in. I love reading, I read a lot and I read everything. I love getting into other peoples heads and their thought process, so obviously I love books with BDSM theme. But if I had to pick my absolute favourites…

“The Trial” (“Der Process”), Franz Kafka – I love the way Kafka writes, its brilliant, complex and yet so everyday. And it’s scary how modern and relevant it still is today.

“Waiting for Godot”, Samuel Beckett – The best existential analogy ever.

"September" Rosamunde Pilcher – I don’t usually go for books in this genre, but this one is simply so beautifully written. It doesn’t happen often that I wish there was more, and this is a thick book with good ending.

[Thrasher]

Maybe the Master and Margarita?

So powerful and full of mystery that I seriously considered giving up writing.

[Ownedfyre (mm1)]

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice and Queen of the Damned by the same

[MMI]

The Magus by John Fowles.

[denuseri]

wow, i dont know if i could really list all my fav's lol, obviously as a kajira i more than liked the entire "Gor" series by John Norman, i am an Anita Blake zealot, but i really really loved kelly armstrongs bittin, steaphen kings dark tower series, but the absolute best for me was Collegine Mccullocks "First man of Rome " series,,in addition to Herodotus, Thycidides, Xenophon etc etc etc, (history majior sorry) i dont mind an occasional jaunt through people magazine lol

[Hiro Protagonist]

Well, if I had to name one, it would be Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

The most amazing first two chapters ever written. period. full stop.

[Roadrunner2005]

Hmm...my favorite book would be Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami

[ashtonDs]

arrrgh...
I've read so many, I can't remember them all, but here's a short list:

Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Read them to each of my kids (all at different times) and several times by myself.
Hitler's Willing Executioners, by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen
America, John Stewart
The Celestial Bed, Irving Wallace
Pern Series, Anne Mccaffery
Dune, Frank Herbert
The Bible Yeah, I know. But you haven't sat down with my crowd to study it.


Originally posted by sisterhoney61:
...golden retriever in order to be happy
sisterhoney, I may have to disagree on that one. Red is pretty cool. Don't know what I'd do without him. He takes me for walks, plays ball with me... huh, what? OK I'll shutup now :)

[kitara]

The Great Gatsby is amazing, as is The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood... anything by Euripides is always brilliant, and then there's the cheesy kids books; like the Northern Lights books by Phillip Pullman, Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen by Garth Nix, the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz, and, of course, Harry Potter :p

[TomOfSweden]

The Bible Yeah, I know. But you haven't sat down with my crowd to study it.



I'm reading Lost Christianities by Bart Ehrman.

If you're interested in the Bible and Christianity it's a fascinating read. Marcionism was a Christian sect which could rival the sect which later became Catholisism in size. They branded each other as heretics. And if they'd won Christians today would have believed in two gods.

All the different variants of the Bible is amazing. The Gnostic Bible even survived.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nag_Hammadi_library

Or the Ebionites who's gospel of Matthew has two extra chapters. Marcionism only took Paul's and Luke's seriously, and saw the rest as filler. Ebionites rejected Paul.

With all these different Bibles we get radically different Christian theories. It's an amazing read. Every page is mind-blowing. I read "the history of God" by Karen Armstrong. Which is a great book, but she describes a much simpler compilation of the Bible than what was actually the case. It's understandable, since it's long enough as it is.

I wouldn't call Lost Christianities my favourite book, but if you've got any interest in Christianity/theology, it should be a must read.

[tessa]

My all time fav is 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

Same for me. An outstanding piece of literary art.

:wave:

[Kuskovian]

Well the one I have read the most often would have to be: the 1977 edition of The World Book Encyclopedia (best gift my parents ever gave me other than thier love).
I know its dated, but for me it is a hell of a lot easier.
I allways reach for it way before the internet (especially wikipedia).

As far as favorite books go, I supose it is a close tie between Uhuru by Robert Ruark and For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemingway.

[Virulent]

I don't really read a lot of fiction... though I do have some favorites... "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" is a great bit, and a great lesson; though in novels I'm very fond of The Stranger. The final passage is one of the best things ever written;
As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself — so like a brother, really — I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I completely empathize.

Mostly though I read non-fiction.

I'm quite fond of Sex, Time, and Power. Its a clever thesis that the peculiarly human sapience we're all so proud of is the result of menstruation, along with the attendant conjecture that women attained sapience before men. I buy a copy for every woman who earns my respect.

I love The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Of all political philosophers, I think that Malcolm X espoused the ideas I find most livable. In a similar vein, Goldman's Anarchism. Orwell's writings from Burma are never far from my mind.

Finally, anything written by Feyerabend, though especially Against Method. A lot of people seem to like to crib off of Hempel, Popper, & Kuhn when discussing the history & philosophy of science; I don't know where they were educated but the simple truth is they're sophists. Feyerabend is the only author who has the intellectual courage to deconstruct science-as-it-is.

[Rational Head]

We the Living, The Virtue of Selfishness, The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Capitalism~~ Ayn Rand.

Ethics of Liberty~~Murray Rothbard

Time Will run Back~~Henry Hazzlitt.

Human Action~~~Ludwig Von Mises!

[sardis]

0ne of the many in my top 3....

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Falling in love with a time traveller has it's complications...and rewards

The triumph of love over time.

An amazing book

[sardis]

I'll start with Genome by Matt Ridley. Every page was mind boggling and awesome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome_%28book%29

another book which isn't my favourite but deserves to be mentioned because it's so awesome is Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. It's just pure genius. So is all his books, but this one stands out I think.


So what do you think guys?[/QUOTE]

If you enjoyed Genome you should try The Red Queen by Ridley

Explains what I should have known about sex when I was 18

[MissElizabeth87]

So, I've always been more-than-slightly obsessed with reading... I've got quite a bit more than one favorite of all time. haha.

Books that I can read over and over again: The Sloppy Firsts Series by Megan McCafferty. Insomnia by Steven King. Robin McKinley's rewritten fairy tales.

Books that I love for sentimental reasons: Jacob Have I Loved (first book I ever read on my own). The Secret Garden. Anything by Madeleine L'Engle. Any of Tolkien's works (including the Simarillion!!). The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

Books that have taught me... well, a LOT: Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge (It's Christian non-fiction, but it's just a really good book about being a woman). Our Town by Thornton Wilder (It's actually a play, but it's beyond amazing). Chocolat- can't remember who that's by right now... but oh my goodness.

There are others but those are the ones I could name off the top of my head. :)

[DarkPoet]

"If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" by Italo Calvino, a must read for everyone interested in writing.

"Fool on the Hill" by Matt Ruff. Made me laugh so hard I literally dropped from the couch. "Set this House in Order" by the same author is also worth reading. A little lighter, but nonetheless hilarious, are Martin Millar's "The Good Fairies of New York" and Bo Fowler's "Scepticism Inc."

My all time favourites are Hermann Hesse's "Glass Bead Game" and " Narcissus and Goldmund".

[JimmyJump]

"The World According To Garp" (John Irving), "2001, a Space Odyssey" (Arthur C. Clarke), "Caliban" (Isaac Asimov), "Sinuhe, The Egyptian" (Mika Waltari) and "Ancient Evenings (Norman Mailer) are currently my top five.

Other favourite authors include Jack Vance, Erich von Däniken, Robert Ludlum, Vernor Vinge, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, etc.

[Shwenn]

Surprised nobody mentioned Phillip K Dick(androids), Dashiell Hammett(red harvest), Jim Thompson(too numerous to mention)(Grifters). John Irving(Hotel New Hampshire)
What about "Dune"
"The Floating Opera" (Barth)
"The thought Gang" by Tibor Fischer is the funniest book I've ever read

I will have to get The Thought Gang immediately because this is the first time I've born witness to a fellow Barth fan. I read "Lost in the Funhouse" in a creative writing class and it changed everything I'd thought about writing. As for "Hotel New Hampshire", when that movie 'Hope Floats' came out, I actually got angry. I could only think, "It's SORROW floats. Not hope. Sorrow."

My all time favorite book ever is:

Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

I don't care how many movie treatments of this book you've seen, it's worth reading and reading carefully.

Other favorites authors/books:

Literature:
William T. Vollmann - You Bright and Risen Angels
Arudhati Roy - The God of Small Things
Margret Atwood - The Blind Assassin
Cormac McCarthy - Border Trilogy (Though The Crossing made me briefly suicidal)
Raymond Carver - Anything. Just pick anything. It'll rock your inner world.

Sci-Fi:
Neil Stephenson

Horror:
Stephen King - but only his short stories. His books do nothing for me. His short stories put me in quite a state.

[lstsl]

I too love reading and look forward to reading some of the books listed above

TANGENT: anybody here have an e Reader? It's like an iPod for books, the screen is specially designed for reading text so it doesn't strain your eyes like lcd or led screens... all sorts of cool stuff, the battery lasts for 75,000 page turns (War and Peace five times over). I love mine!

But anyways; favorite books:

The Hobbit, but not LotR (it was just too slow for me, loved the movie though)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Pandora's Star trilogy and Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
THE WHEEL OF TIME SERIES!!!!!!!! by Robert Jordan (whom I will never, ever forgive for dying while writing the last book. EVER!)
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently series by Douglas Adams (who I will never, ever forgive for dying while writing The Salmon of Doubt)
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (great word play, and a satire of everything that ever happened on earth at any time, often simultaniously!)

And the MacDonald Hall series, No Coins Please, I Want To Go Home etc by Gordan Korman (I know they're little kid books but they are great, kids conspiring against adults. Kind of like 'Escape tunnel from East Germany' type thing but less depressing.

All university textbooks, and highschool science texts!!

This is in no way a complete list :)

[Thorne]

THE WHEEL OF TIME SERIES!!!!!!!! by Robert Jordan (whom I will never, ever forgive for dying while writing the last book. EVER!)

Fortunately he left copious notes and ideas. His wife (?) has already hired another writer to complete the series based on these notes. Don't know when it will be done, but at least we know it's coming!

[Shwenn]

TANGENT: anybody here have an e Reader? It's like an iPod for books, the screen is specially designed for reading text so it doesn't strain your eyes like lcd or led screens... all sorts of cool stuff, the battery lasts for 75,000 page turns (War and Peace five times over). I love mine!

That is so unappealing to me.

I'm a total print junkie. Like all junkies, I'm reverential about the whole ritual that surrounds getting my fix. The heroin addict loves the act of cooking the powder in a spoon. The smoker relishes opening a new pack of cigarettes. I'm that way with actual books.

The smell of a new book. The feel of an old one. Turning a page. Feeling the weight balance slowly shift from right to left. Watching the book begin to bulge as the binding is continuously distressed.

I don't want to give any of it up.

[Thorne]

That is so unappealing to me.

I'm a total print junkie. Like all junkies, I'm reverential about the whole ritual that surrounds getting my fix. The heroin addict loves the act of cooking the powder in a spoon. The smoker relishes opening a new pack of cigarettes. I'm that way with actual books.

The smell of a new book. The feel of an old one. Turning a page. Feeling the weight balance slowly shift from right to left. Watching the book begin to bulge as the binding is continuously distressed.

I don't want to give any of it up.

I agree with you, Shwenn. I'm pretty much the same way.

On the other hand, I wouldn't mind having some kind of cheap, durable reader that I could upload text files into without having all kinds of expensive, unnecessary bells and whistles. I just want to READ the friggin things!

[Meena]

The Objective Ethics
By Ayn Rand!

[Butkus]

I read "Battle Cry" by Leon Uris just before joining the Corps. I knew them all at one point or another and lost most of them just as in his work. "Johnathan Livingston Seagull" is still inspiring. Ann Sperber's biography of Edward R. Murrow is a lesson in integrity. Davis Maraniss's work, "When Pride Still Mattered" is a study in the often high price of success.

[bip0lar]

Hm, I think I'll go with Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm, Huxley's Brave New World and, as far as plays are concerned, Ibsen's A Doll's House.
Beautiful, dark, cynical, exceptional pieces of literature.

[darlingUK]

Well, I'm quite "old-school" in my literary choices. Identifying an ultimate book is a bit tricky, but I'd have to say that anything by Dickens and Thackeray is a must for me.

In terms of contemporary fiction i'd go with 'The Crimson Petal and the White' by Michel Faber.
And John Milton's Paradise Lost is just epic and wonderfully written.

What would we do without books!!?

kisses
x

[Roadrunner2005]

My pick:

Yukio Mishima, "Sea of Fertility"
G. Garcia Marquez, "100 Years of Solitude"
Kundera, "Immortality"
Haruki Murakami, "Dance, Dance, Dance"

[Butkus]

"Battle Cry" by Leon Uris. I knew them by different names but I knew them all. Most of them are on a wall in Washington,D.C.

[Dr_BuzzCzar]

That is so unappealing to me.

I'm a total print junkie. Like all junkies, I'm reverential about the whole ritual that surrounds getting my fix. The heroin addict loves the act of cooking the powder in a spoon. The smoker relishes opening a new pack of cigarettes. I'm that way with actual books.

The smell of a new book. The feel of an old one. Turning a page. Feeling the weight balance slowly shift from right to left. Watching the book begin to bulge as the binding is continuously distressed.

I don't want to give any of it up.

Add me to that group. When traveling I'll read a minimum of 5 books a week. I don't do the bar scene anymore so hotel time tends to be reading time as well as airplane time is reading time too. Flying is hell on a control freak.

On OP question:

I read extensively from literature to trash. It would be absolutely impossible to narrow to just one book.

Authors I've read everything I can find:
Hemingway
Criton
Michner
Clavell
Roark
Hunter
Edgerton
Herbert
Verne

[Masternicktr]

Marx and Engels "on Religion"

[~kay~]

I'm not too sure about life changing, but I have a few favourites.

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card. Ive reread the entire series 3 times, and Enders Game itself about 6 times. I fell in love with Ender reading that book.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Probably my all time favourite book by my all time favourite author. Even if that book completely ruined me from eating KFC ever again.

Not a life changing book, but definitely a favourite is Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. I've never laughed so hard in my life than when I read it. Definitely got a few strange stares reading this on the bus and laughing so hard I cant breathe. Not for grammar nazis.

The most recent read that has stuck with me was The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. Not 100% sure what the authors name is but a beautiful book nonetheless. I cried for an hour when I finished it and read it cover to cover with short food breaks in between.

[Midnite]

It would be hard for me to pick one book as my favorite, I have several favorite authors though, not that everything may have written is the best book that I have ever read.

Robert Heinlein to start off with Time Enough for Love is my favorite by him, but I loved most all of his books.

Tom Clancy, most of the books that he is written by himself in the fiction genre are quite excellent.

Stephen King's the Stand is an outstanding book and one of the few that I enjoyed reading by him.

Any John Norman's Gor series.

The Bible is always an interesting read, and to me it changes somewhat every time I read it, not because the book itself actually changes but because my attitudes and feelings change.

Just my input

[Emerson]

I know, kind of a dead topic, but I can't help myself.

I went to a college where basically all we did is read. And then read some more. And I love reading. A list of my favorites could fill pages, and the top are always in flux, but right now...

The top 5, in chronological order.

The Oedipus Cycle - Sophocles
Don Quijote - Cervantes
Treatise on Human Nature - David Hume
Beyond Good and Evil - Nietzsche
Invisible Cities - Italo Calvino

[lucy]

Goethes "Faust" will always be in my top five.
For entertaining "The hitchhikers guide to the universe" by Douglas Adams and many books by John Irving and T.C. Boyle, especially "Hotel New Hampshire" and "Water music".

The only book that has changed my life was a rather lousy written book with great pictures of Tasmania which made me pack my bag and travel thru Australia for almost a year and visit the places i've lived the first four years of my life.
I came back rather different to how i was when i left.

[Pearlgem]

In no particular order:

'Private Peaceful' by Michael Morpurgo moves me to tears every time I read it.
'The Oxford Book of English Verse' I will never be done with.
The poetry of Donne, Auden, R S Thomas.
Shakespeare!
'The Pickwick Papers' or anything by Dickens delights me.
'Interview with the Vampire' by Anne Rice is just riveting and so sensual.
'Dr Faustus' by Marlowe feasts the imagination.
Any Alan Coren for supreme wit and invention with language. Ditto, PG Wodehouse.
'Gerald's Game' by Stephen King. BDSM gone wrong and the creepiest escape attempt ever.
'Black Narcissus' and 'In this House of Brede' by Rumer Godden. She's a wonderful, insightful writer.

[fellintobed]

This is tough. I'm an avid reader and have gotten different things from different books. Some of the highlights:

Books of fucked-up lives: Exposure, The Saskiad, Deerskin. Puts my own life into perspective, lets me live vicariously and understand the psychology of fellow outsiders, even fictional ones, a little better.

Books that bring me to tears: The Martian Chronicles, Slaughterhouse-5, The Time Traveller's Wife. The greatest themes of all: the futility of slaughter, the helplessness of love, the frustration of desire.

Books that caught me by surprise: Vurt is bizarre and twisted and wonderful, with an ending that satisfies even as it defies expectation. The Princess Bride, far better than the movie - don't believe me? Read it. Cryptonomicon makes math and history topics of fascination and delight.

The one book I turn to again and again, the one book that's as comforting as a blanket and hot tea, the one book I've read since childhood and will read until I can no longer turn the pages: The Outlaws of Sherwood. It is an unorthodox retelling of the Robin Hood legend, and I am forever discovering new nuances and subtle turns of phrase that render it a work of beauty. It is not high literature, far from it, and it has its flaws, and it is so close to my heart that I cannot separate the two.

[the_moirae]

I still don't understand how this subject ended up in "Religion and Philosophy." :confused:

[angela_shy]

it's fascinating reading this diverse set of favourites from this community - what a well-read bunch!

Here's what i can think of right now:

War and Peace, Anna Karenina - Tolstoy The Master
John Keats' poetry - been neglecting this lately.
Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson - a dreamy story.
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte read it half a dozen times... time for another go...
......in fact i love most things Bronte and Jane Austen.

2001 A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke

Anything by Michael Connolly - love Harry Bosch.

Culture Shock BDSM online story by Sir Nathan, which led me here.

Pears Cyclopedia - an early '80s version - many happy childhood hours dipping into it.
Astronomy Yearbook - '80s version? Patrick Moore

.........probably loads more that will occur to me in a minute....

angela

[RopeMeRoseRed]

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles - I have read this book several times and it is my one of my favorites

To the Edge by Kirk Johnson - A novel about running 134 mile race through Death Valley. I eventually got to go there and crew for a friend who ran the race. It was life changing. Reading the book changed my life.

[wmrs2]

The Bible. It proves nothing if you choose not to believe but it confirms my faith.

[Saheli]

I liked Candide by Voltaire, because I love sarcasm.

I also liked A Child Called It which I won't read again because it always makes me really depressed. But I loved the book because there is a certain comfort that companies the depression...at least my childhood wasn't that bad. Poor kid. Sad story. Takes a lot of guts to write that stuff...lots of memories brought up.

[Miner]

Hmmmmm - lots of books that really grabbed me in the lists posted by others - Thorne and Oz in particular named a lot of my favourites.

In addition, anything by Modesit and deLint. I've read (and reread deLint's books til they fell apart over the years).

Barry Hughart - I've read "Bridge of Birds", "Eight Skilled Gentlemen" and "The Story of the Stone" so many times it isn't funny. I have never been able to get my hands on "The Chronicles of Master Li and Number 10 Ox". It is available - but very rare (and quite expensive). They are rolicking good 'detective' fiction set in a China that never was.

On a serious note, and since this topic has been moved to the religion section for some wierd reason, "Identity and the Sacred" by Hans Mols (a brilliant look at the structure and sociology of theology).

And the books that hit me hardest between the eyes:
"Down These Mean Streets" by Piri Thomas (the autobiography of Piri Thomas, a Latino of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent who grew up in El Barrio [aka Spanish Harlem]).
"The Last Poet of the Blaskets"
and Pieg (more poetry by a Blasket poet - the mother of the man known as "The :ast Poet of the Blaskets")

[VaAugusta]

Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta

Edit: On a few things others have said. I am dreadfully fearful of opening 2001 in the book form. It is my favorite film and I don't want to ruin it.. however intrigued I am by the book. Saheli mentioned A Child Called It I honestly feel that this book seriously changed my life. I don't know how to put it, I used to be a bothersome kid or something, I don't know, then I read it and it seemingly changed me into a much calmer person. It's quite an astonishing book, and the ending is one of the most disturbing and wild I've read considering it is a true story.

[miners_girl]

Three books I re read regularly are the Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker (Regeneration, The Eye in the Door and The Ghost Road).

[owned puppy]

A few of my favorites:
A Fine Balance~ Rohinton Mistry
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns~ Khaled Hosseini
and for non fiction Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations... One School at a Time~ Greg Mortenson

[fascinated]

It's really hard for me to give favorites because I love nearly every book I read.

Harry Potter! by J.K. Rowling. Come on...you can't help but love them. Good versus evil. Wands. Epic adventure.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. So good. So sad. So romantic. While the movie does a pretty good job of it, the book really is better.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. Not a romance. But it makes you think (it made me think, anyway).

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. 'Nuff said.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare. I know this one isn't really a book, but it's another one that'll make you think.

The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner. I actually got the opportunity to hear him speak about his book. He said that they spent millions of dollars on the movie remaking his life when he did it for free, which is true. It's as good as the movie, but a lot different because he made it while raising his infant son (not a four year old like in the movie).

Not so much, but anything written by Melissa de la Cruz I like. They're girly books; good for a read at the beach.

[depthcontrol]

Because of what they have meant to me and how they have helped me endure life, I will always love the Harry Potter series. I read read them time and again when I feel down, and it always gives me comfort, in a light reading that I have fond memories within. I love them not only because of the books in themselves but because of the people I have met because of them, how it has been something that has always connected me and my sister, how it was the reason I started writing myself and thus, in length, the reason I have had to not commit suicide in very difficult times of my life. So while it is only a series of books to some, to me they have changed my life. Call me a nerd if you will, that's just how it is.