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[the_painted_bird]

I've been reading a lot this year (10 novels already) and I'm very interested in what other people like to read, particularly which novels they like most. If there are any works in particular that have affected you ("life-changers") greatly, or the most, please discuss. For me, there are a few. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, The Road, Never Let Me Go, among others. When these books ended I was left with a sense of awe over their construction and conclusions. If there are any that you enjoy, or if you feel the same about some I've mentioned, please share with me!

My all-time favorite would be The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, not entirely because of the details of the plot, but because of the style of writing that carries events and characters along. It was a pleasure to read. I've read everything by Murakami and that book is one that I'll return to for the rest of my life.

 

[DietRob]

People will give me a lot of shit but I don't care... Maybe it's not even a novel but it got me into reading.


The Beach - Alex Garland

 

[Jedeye Sniv]

I always end up thinking the most recent thing I read was the best. But stuff that sticks with me? Valis by PKD, House of Leaves by that guy with the hard to spell name, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, A Storm of Swords by GRRM.

I'm a genre guy apparently.

edit: Actually, when I saw Hyperion I mean the first two books, it's one story and I read it as such. SO AWESOME.

 

[campfireweekend]

My absolute favorite would be How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. Most of the novel is incredibly abstract meta science fiction fused with a very powerful emotional core that really resonated with me.

From your mention of Sci Fi I think you should give it a go

 

[VeryGooster]

City of Glass by Paul Auster. I should pick my copy up of The New York Trilogy and read it again, but it was just beautifully constructed madness to me.

 

[balddemon]

this is like asking me what my favorite song is. literally do not have an answer.

I guess I could answer based on the books I've read the most...I've read the Nightside series several times, I've read the March Upcountry series several times, Harry Potter several times, etc. Pretty much every book I read, I love.

anything sci fi/fantasy is good imo.

 

[Switch Back 9]

As an adult it would be 1984. I just love how bleak and soul crushing it is. Obrien is a brilliant villain, and the ending was just fantastic.

As a child it was Watership Down. Love love love that book. I should definitely read it again soon.

My inbetween medal goes to the Hobbit. I've probably re-read it more times than any other book. It's the perfect short novel.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

I read The Road right after I became a father and it had a profound impact on me. Possibly it is my most favorite novel because of that.
At the very least it is always mentioned on my list of favorites.

 

[snacknuts]

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I generally don't enjoy fiction, but I love everything I've read by Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse-Five is my favorite of the lot. I've read it at least three times and have had the itch lately to read it again. I just adore his writing style.

 

[ptolemy]

Underwater Adventure - Willard Price. First book given to me by my dad when I started reading by myself. Read countless books since then and probably enjoyed and appreciated some of them more but I hold the book that started it all in my heart.

 

[noobasuar]

A scanner darkly - such a good story that really spoke to me.

 

[yankeehater]

As an adult it would be 1984. I just love how bleak and soul crushing it is. Obrien is a brilliant villain, and the ending was just fantastic.

As a child it was Watership Down. Love love love that book. I should definitely read it again soon.

My inbetween medal goes to the Hobbit. I've probably re-read it more times than any other book. It's the perfect short novel.

Holy shit your post freaked me out. 1984 and Watership Down are my 2 favorite books by far. I would give the nod to 1984, just because I love how detailed the world in it is.

 

[VeryGooster]

A scanner darkly - such a good story that really spoke to me.

I have my Philip K. Dick boxed set on my desk. Was thinking of starting A Scanner Darkly first, actually.

 

[Forsaken82]

My first real novel was probably RL Stine's Superstitious.

edit: Holy shit... I thought this was a "First Novel" thread not favorite...

ewww definitely not Superstitious...

That might go to A storm of Swords..

 

[Switch Back 9]

Holy shit your post freaked me out. 1984 and Watership Down are my 2 favorite books by far. I would give the nod to 1984, just because I love how detailed the world in it is.

Hahaha that is awesome! ! Kindred spirits You clearly have excellent taste.

 

[ComputerMKII]

1984 by George Orwell. Very powerful book.

 

[Currygan]

too many, but I would say Ivanhoe, A Christmas Carol, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Pride and Prejudice, The idiot, To the lighthouse and King Lear are among my favourites

 

[EvaristeG]

Had an huge impact on me. I read it every year.

 

[Syracuse022]

The Great Gatsby (haters probably gonna hate) and The Rum Diary

 

[Kitsunebaby]

I'm kind of torn. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass), by Lewis Carroll, is one of my favorites since it defined my childhood imagination, yet also has some mature themes (especially in Looking Glass). Plus, the poetry within is spectacular.

I also adore Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell, since it is the epitome of dystopian fiction. The ending is perfect in its hopelessness and the depressingly realistic depiction of the human spirit.

And lastly, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. It's the perfect example of an existential crisis. It's a shame that the translation can't quite replicate Kafka's style and syntax.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

It's really hard to say. I think I could narrow it down to 2-3 probably.

The Count of Monte Cristo
Neuromancer
The Lord of the Rings (cheating as it's more than one book I guess)

Even then it's even hard to say if this list is accurate because it leaves so much out. I think honestly The Count of Monte Cristo is the most re-readable for me of those, but it's hard to say.

 

[kaioshade]

Wuthering Heights.

I read that book ages ago in school, and hated the pacing of it. randomly saw it on my bookshelf and read it again. Everything clicked for me, and all of the characters were well written. I especially saw a lot of Heathcliffs motivations in my own.

 

[Booties]

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Because it's the best novel ever written.

 

[Icefire1424]

Most influential would be The Road. Always serves as a reminder that no matter how difficult life can get at times, it could always be significantly worse.

Most enjoyable would be Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. Always been a military buff, and I just really enjoyed the scenario presented in the book, and how the engagement played out across differnet branches of the military.

Also a nod to Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. Facinated by the Lewis and Clark expedition, and since I'll never have the opportunity to do something that epic in my live, I chose to live vicariously through their memoirs.

 

[the_painted_bird]

Thanks for sharing, guys! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Burt]

Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life

 

[Kinitari]

Probably Pandora's Star (or the Commonwealth trilogy in general).
It's one of the best Sci fi world's I've read about, because it's not dystopian.It's a good story too!
I Just hate that every sci fi book is doom and gloom

 

[Grakl]

A Wizard of Earthsea

It's amazing how this story is told. It's like being told a tale that's been passed down for generations. The world behind the story is fleshed out well, and it is continued in books later in the series. There are so many memorable moments and characters. My favorite fantasy book, and my favorite book ever.

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

Three of my favorite Authors and my picks.

Stephen King - It, The Stand or Wizard and Glass
I first read these in 5th and 6th grade along with Anne Rice's books and a couple of True Crime books. They were my first introduction into bigger novels, because up until then I had only been reading Brian Jacques' Redwall books.

James Clavell - Shogun or Tai-Pan
I later on found these in my school library and bougth the whole series. Fucking amazing books... I prefer to skip Gai-Jin.

Chuck Klosterman - Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puff
I mean, come on. It's hilarious and well written.

 

[Bulbo Urethral Baggins]

I'm having a hard time choosing between The Idiot and Crime and Punishment- both by Dostoyevsky, of course. I guess I favor The Idiot. I read it at a time where I really started to become introspective, what it meant to be human and how we treat others. I couldn't get enough of Dostoyevsky for a while.

 

[Nyx]

First that comes to mind :

This audacious novel is a brilliant (and literal) head trip of a book that brings us into the wildly active, albeit coma-beset, mind of Roy Strang, whose hallucinatory quest to eradicate the evil predator/scavenger marabou stork keeps being interrupted by grisly memories of the social and family dysfunction that brought him to this state. It is the sort of lethally funny cocktail of pathos, violence, and outrageous hilarity that only Irvine Welsh can pull off

I've read it several times already but would do it again without second thought just because it's so damn good.

 

[jacobs34]

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Because it's the best novel ever written.

God the end of that book, so good.

I think my favorite novel is Slaughter-House Five. The satire is so on point, and every time I read it I get something new out of it. Although I'm almost finished with Infinite Jest, and it's had a real impact on me. I've never read a work of fiction that has stuck in my mind as much as this one has. It's put in a strange place emotionally. Will reevaluate this question in a couple of months when I've had some time to digest DFW's magnum opus.

 

[CrankyJay]

Count of Monte Cristo...unabridged version.

Highly readable, and a good tale of someone reinventing themselves for revenge. The book is highly descriptive but not heavy handed like Tolkien was in Lord of the Rings.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. Such a great blend of scifi and comedy and it's very well written.

Plus many of the other ones named make my list as well.

 

[Patryn]

American Gods - Neil Gaiman.

Yeah, fuck you. I like mythology and Americana. It's an enjoyable story with a twist that actually got me.

 

[Kraftwerk]

The Stranger (Outsider) by Alber Camus.

It truly changed a lot of my views, and reshaped my personality. Simply incredible work.

 

[Booties]

God the end of that book, so good.

I think my favorite novel is Slaughter-House Five. The satire is so on point, and every time I read it I get something new out of it. Although I'm almost finished with Infinite Jest, and it's had a real impact on me. I've never read a work of fiction that has stuck in my mind as much as this one has. It's put in a strange place emotionally. Will reevaluate this question in a couple of months when I've had some time to digest DFW's magnum opus.

Nothing better than a manly ass man talking about love and how life can be too short.

 

[VeryGooster]

Chuck Klosterman - Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puff
I mean, come on. It's hilarious and well written.

Didn't read that one but I enjoyed IV and Eating the Dinosaur.

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

Didn't read that one but I enjoyed IV and Eating the Dinosaur.

Considering it's about pop culture around the 90's, it's somewhat outdated, but it's an amazing read if you need a laugh.

 

[Ovid]

I would say Game of Thrones. It's the first book that I've ever read that I found difficult to put down.

 

[Zona]

Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks
In addition to being well written it is the best description of life in The Culture itself. I feel he's written a Utopia and done it well.

 

[Sulik2]

I really like Ender's Game for a single book. And The Wheel of Time as a whole series is incredible.

 

[noobasuar]

I have my Philip K. Dick boxed set on my desk. Was thinking of starting A Scanner Darkly first, actually.

Do it! It was the first book I read of his also and afterwards I had to read everything else he wrote.

 

[Kraftwerk]

Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks
In addition to being well written it is the best description of life in The Culture itself. I feel he's written a Utopia and done it well.

The whole Culture series is incredible. I can't get enough, I must had re-read the book a few times by now.

 

[joedan]

Jurassic Park
Hardy Boys

 

[FelixOrion]

Probably one of the Han Solo trilogy books

Paradise Snare if I had to pick one

It's probably not the most well written here, obviously, but it really captures the attitude and style of Han and the Star Wars movies and is just really a fun, movie-like read.

 

[Switch Back 9]

American Gods - Neil Gaiman.

Yeah, fuck you. I like mythology and Americana. It's an enjoyable story with a twist that actually got me.

It was a cool story, but Gaiman's writing suffers hugely when someone isn't drawing pictures for him. His lack of description, especially when it comes to people, really turned me off.

 

[Omegasquash]

I also adore Nineteen Eighty-Four, since it is the epitome of dystopian fiction. The ending is perfect in its hopelessness and the depressingly realistic depiction of the human spirit.

1984 wasn't what made me despise Orwell, it was the teacher of the class in which the novel was read. To this day, I still have a voice in the back of my head saying "FUCK Orwell."

To be fair, she made me hate MacBeth as well. Think of them as instruments of a crime. Lots of folks wouldn't want to be around an item that was used to cause them pain.

Anyway, my favorite is still Huckleberry Finn.

 

[cashman]

I'm not really well read but it would have to be Count of Monte Christo.

 

[Perfect Blue]

Can't decide between Dante's Divine Comedy, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Moby Dick.