redpillbox Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Don't think this has ever been done before here and I've always received the best book recommendations from the VC "Now Reading" Thread...so the next logical step is... Name the Top 5 books you've ever read, any genre, fiction, non-fiction, anything goes...perhaps there will be some clear cut VC favorites? It'll be interesting to see...I'll save my list for now. To all the readers: Lay it out there...I'm really interested to know what you think, pick up some recommendations, etc. What are they and why do they make your head spin? Peace. Red Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IATTBYB Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - HSTThe Civil War - Shelby Foote (all three volumes)The Godfather - Mario PuzoBrave New World - Aldous HuxleyFor Whom the Bell Tolls - Hemingway Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radiokills Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Catch 22 - Joseph HellerThe Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward AbbeyAmerika - Franz FafkaFinnegans Wake - James JoyceThe Road - Cormac McCarthy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Very difficult to select only 5 (I did 6) but these below have resonated very strongly with me: Cannery Row, John SteinbeckPeace Like A River, Leif EngerThe Things They Carried, Tim O'BrienThe Great Shark Hunt, HSTDon Quixote, CervantesMoby Dick, Melville Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tapmyglass Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 these are my favorites I dont know if they're the best but I love em East of Eden- John SteinbeckTo Kill a Mockingbird- Harper LeeHistory of Love-Nicole KraussBeloved-Toni MorrisonThe Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven- Sherman Alexie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anthony Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Tough question. These are the first that come to mind: (INPO) The Satanic Verses - Salmon RushdieMicroserfs - Douglas CouplandA Prayer For Owen Meaney - John IrvingLife of Pi - Yann MartelA Catcher In The Rye - JD Salinger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mpolak21 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 1.) Franny and Zooey-- JD Salinger2.) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius-- Dave Eggers3.) Wonder Boys-- Michael Chabon 4.) Norwegian Wood-- Haruki Murakami5.) Beloved-- Toni Morrison. --Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lamradio Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 The Civil War - Shelby Foote (all three volumes) I'll have to check that out. I'm hooked on Civil War books right now. Just finished Gettysburg by James Reasoner. My all time favorite is The Killer Angels by Michael Shaarah. Probably one of the greatest novels ever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WilcoFan Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Truman - McCullough1984 - Orwell --- duh... My top 2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scalzunfield Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Top 5 novels off the top of my head (I'm probably forgetting something):TC Boyle - "The Tortilla Curtain" - So rich with symbolism and meaning.TC Boyle - "The Road To Wellville" - Shows off Boyle's storytelling skills moreso than in any of his other novels.Steven Hall - "The Raw Shark Texts" - Wow, this book is a mindbend. I know no other way to describe it.Neal Stephenson - "Cryptonomicon" - Epic, a spectacular weaving of the past and present.Kurt Vonnegut - "Slaughterhouse Five" - I feel like this book prepared me for any other novel. So totally unique, so filled with meaning and beautiful imagery. I can honestly say I've read this more than any novel ever written. Easily my #1 of all time. The man was probably the greatest writer of the past 50 years. So it goes. I don't read much non-fiction anymore, but have loved the bits of Shelby Foote's Civil War series that I have read. Favorite non-fiction is Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" hands down. Perfect book that really is the best argument I've read for being atheist. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 This is tough... 1. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith3. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant4. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte5. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver Honorable mention to Wuthering Heights and Mansfield Park Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hollinger. Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 This is tough... 1. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith3. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant4. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte5. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver Honorable mention to Wuthering Heights and Mansfield Park Were you my freshman year english teacher? Because that looks suspiciously like our reading list. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Five books I really, really liked in no particular order. The Stranger - Albert CamusMarriage and Morals - Bertrand RussellHam On Rye - Charles BukowskiAsk the Dust - John FanteThe Road - Cormac McCarthy It's so hard for me to do a "Top" anything, especially with books...there are too many good ones and such a great variety out there that excite me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Louis de Bernieres' Latin American trilogy:The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether PartsSenor Vivo and the Coca LordThe Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal GuzmanThe Catcher in the RyeThe FountainheadThe Great GatsbyThe AlienistThe Devil in the White City The Complete 3-volume Set of Calvin and Hobbes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hollinger. Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 The Master And MargaritaPrimary ColorsDharma BumsSlaughterhouse FiveDon Quixote Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Ham On Rye - Charles BukowskiAsk the Dust - John FanteTwo nice selections. I've always preferred Bukowski's poetry to his prose but that's a good read. I really like Fante's The Brotherhood of the Grape as his best, too, but Ask the Dust is excellent as well. Fante, of course, a hero of Bukowskis.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yup, it was Bukowski's praise of Fante that made me read it and I loved it. Haven't read The Brotherhood..., I'll look into snagging a copy. Thanks for the tip! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GtrPlyr Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Hunger - Knut HamsunA Fan's Notes - Frederick ExleyWhere I'm Calling From - Raymond CarverTropic of Cancer - Henry MillerThe Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger (also these ones: The Stranger, Bad Behavior, Ask the Dust, Stranger in This World, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Lord of the Rings - TolkienImmortality - KunderaName of the Rose - EcoAmerican Tabloid - EllroyPaddle to the Sea - Holling Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Holy cow that's tough. First to come to mind: The Stand - Stephen KingA Prayer for Owen Meany - John IrvingAmerican Pastoral - Philip RothFear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter ThompsonA storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Here's just five that pop out at me: The Autobiography Of Malcolm X - Alex HaleyDoes It Matter? (Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality) - Alan WattsRevolution For The Hell Of It - Abbie HoffmanAcid Dreams (The CIA, LSD, and the Sixties Rebellion) - Martin Lee and Bruce ShlainFear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72 - HST Also, props to Kerouac and Vonnegut as well (esp. On The Road & Slaughterhouse Five) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 This is such a great topic, and it's going to make my reading selections for this year so much easier! I'll be furiously jotting down titles. As for myself, I have two clear-cut favorites, but will need to consider before coming up with 5. Even so, it'll be "5 books I'm passionate about" more than my top 5. I can't do top anythings because on different days, different ones stand out. But I do have some favorites. Coming soon to a topic near you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Jewish immigrant fiction... The Williamsburg Trilogy by Daniel FuchsCall it Sleep Henry RothShadows on the Hudson Isaac Bashevis SingerThe Family Carnovsky I J SingerThe Rise of DAvid Levinsky DAvid Levinsky LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 This is such a great topic, and it's going to make my reading selections for this year so much easier! I'll be furiously jotting down titles.Ditto! I will need to take some time before I could list five, but I'm glad to see my favorite book -- A Prayer For Owen Meany -- already getting lotsa love! Once this topic dies down, I'm going to have to start an offshoot: "Top Five Books to Read While On the Road." With our big around the world trip coming up, I'm looking for good reading material. Many good "road" books like On the Road (duh!) or any Kerouac and HST stuff I've read. I already have the Snow Leopard on my list though. I've always wanted to read it and figured I should save it for this trip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 The Phantom Tollbooth (instilled in me a love of reading and wordplay that I carry with me to this day. I read it at least once a year and as I get older, even more often.)The Life of Pi by Yann MartelMe Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisLamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher MooreThe Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien I think it's somewhat interesting to note that at least 3 of these books deal somewhat directly with the art and nature of story telling (Tollbooth, Things They Carried, and Pi). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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