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[MrOogieBoogie]

Lists like these are especially useful if you're like me and want to depend on others with similar tastes to branch out your own reading material. So share up.

In no real order:

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell
Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami
A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin
The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy
Dune, by Frank Herbert

 

[obin_gam]

 

[Count Dookkake]

Sabbath's Theater - Philip Roth

 

[User 479360]

Plus:

Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
Horns and NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
1984
Abarat

 

[Woorloog]

Dune, Dune, Dune.

I have other favorites too but nothing beats Dune. I regard it as the foundation of my interest in literature, and certainly has influenced my interested in ecology, psychology and religions, along with science fiction in general.

 

[Ultima_5]

white noise
whispering bodies
catcher in the rye

 

[Damerman]

the stranger

 

[dc3k]

harry potter is dope

 

[Verdre]

Peter S Beagle - The Last Unicorn - A beautiful spoof on fairy tales and an exploration of them.

Stella Gibbons - Cold Comfort Farm - Actually a spoof on a sort of dead genre, but transcendes it so that you don't even need to come into it knowing anything about what it's making fun of.

James Thurber - The 13 Clocks - What a fairy tale would actually look like drawn out into a full story.

Catherynne M. Valente - Six-Gun Snow White - A beautiful retelling of Snow White set in the american west. It's too bad about the awful title.

 

[CharminUltra]

To Kill A Mockingbird
The Lord of the Rings
Nineteen Eighty-Four
The Hobbit
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Frankenstein
Dune
House of Leaves
Slaughterhouse Five

 

[Puck Beaverton]

Vineland
Crying of Lot 49
Mason & Dixon
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
On the Road
LA Confidential
The Big Nowhere

 

[tearsofash]

Brave New World
Ender's Game series

 

[BigSkinny0310]

Lord of the Flies

Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

[Gnome]

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
A Song of Ice and Fire by GRRM
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The Giver by Lois Lowry


Right now I'm thinking about reading some good mystery as I don't think I've ever given the genre a fair shake before.

 

[Dad]

Catch-22

I've always been curious about the sequel but I've heard nothing but awful things about it

 

[Trouble]

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Gap Cycle by Stephen R. Donaldson
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
The Long Earth Series by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett

 

[ohkay]

Slaughterhouse Five
1984
Catch 22

 

[Zubz]

"A Confederacy of Dunces" is my favorite novel, full-stop.

The Time Machine Did It, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hitchhiker's Guide, Frankenstein, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Invisible Man (Ralph Waldo Ellison's) are definitely all up there, though.

I enjoy Sherlock Holmes as well, but never read anything but the short stories. I should rectify that. Same with The Time Machine Did It; I'm a huge fan of John Schwartzwelder from The Simpsons alone, and The Time Machine Did It, although goofy and not about to win any Pulitzers, was hilarious from start to finish. I know the series probably isn't continuity heavy, but there're 9 more of those I need to read.

 

[kswiston]

I read a ton of genre fiction, most of which I live but treat as disposable fiction for the most part. I like the well known stuff from Lois Bujold, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, JRR Tolkien, GRRM, Joe Abercrombie, Steven Erickson, and several others in that category.


My favourite two more literary (living) authors are Cormac McCarthy and Kazuo Ishiguro. McCarthy for the expressive imagery (especially in Blood Meridian and The Road) and Ishiguro because his novels break your heart. I also like the first person, stream of consciousness of novels like Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.

 

[wesleyshark]

A Song of Ice and Fire
The Expanse

 

[Ashes]

My favourites list has ballooned to over fifty in recent years. Here's just a handful, that for whatever reason, came first to mind:

Blindness, by José Saramago.
Hunger, by Knut Hamsun.
Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy.
The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey.
Night, by Elie Wiesel.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg.

 

[kswiston]

My favourites list has ballooned to over fifty in recent years. Here's just a handful, that for whatever reason, came first to mind:

Blindness, by José Saramago.
Hunger, by Knut Hamsun.
Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy.
The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey.
Night, by Elie Wiesel.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg.

I came close to picking up Blindness on sale a few weeks back. I sort of regret not buying it. I realized it would take me a year to clear out my current novel backlog even if I stopped buying new things (which won't happen) and passed over it.

 

[Ashes]

I came close to picking up Blindness on sale a few weeks back. I sort of regret not buying it. I realized it would take me a year to clear out my current novel backlog even if I stopped buying new things (which won't happen) and passed over it.

Blindness is very short. And one of those stories whose premise is original enough that in general readers pick it up out of curiosity, in that we all somehow instinctively know, that even if we don't love it, like the books biggest fans, we'll at least
a, like it, and,
b, be reading something that makes us think.

 

[Azzanadra]

My absolute favorite, something I decided by age 16, is The Catcher in the Rye. While I originally appreciated it for the teenage angst that appealed to me at the time, now it appeals to my sense of nostalgia, of the raw idealism, curiosity and appreciation I held in years past.

The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is another one- Diaz's prose is like a drug, continuously engaging, funny, sad and cathartic- all without seeming too cheeky or fourth wall breaking.

A more controversial pick is Watchmen, I don't care what the literary snobs say- its is a masterpiece, not just the best graphic novel but one of the best novels period.

I am a big Stephen King fan, so I am compelled to drop one of his books here- Salem's Lot, it was my first King novel but that slow-burn had a payoff like none other. Its easy revisiting this book strangely enough even when I know how it wraps up- that sense of evil and dread surprises on every re-read.

Finally, I will drop a fantasy book because that is one of my favorite genres in any entertainment medium- The Once and Future King, despite being long and laborious read, somehow manages to be the most "complete" fantasy experience I have ever read, combining whimsical childhood aspirations, yearning for a time ling gone, the doomed idea of a gilded age, personal tragedy, grand adventure and a sobering look at reality into one giant tome.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

 

[Codeblue]

Catch-22 did a lot to mold my political beliefs and sense of humor.

Doubt I'll ever read a book I enjoy more.

 

[brianjones]

infinite jest
Lolita
nine stories (sallinger)
psychotic reactions and carburetor dung
Jesus' son
great gatsby
stoner

I really need to read more..

 

[Sch1sm]

Clive Barker - Imajica
Cornelia Funke - The Thief Lord
Stephen King - The Green Mile
Markus Zusak - I Am The Messenger/The Book Thief

Harry Potter books were a good chunk of my reading time growing up. Lots of re-reads, so it's way up there for me.

 

[Epcott]

Snow Crash is an all time favorite.
Words of Radiance
Mistborn
Jurassic Park
American Gods
Memoirs of a Geisha
ASOIAF A Storm of Swords
Ancillary Justice
Altered Carbon
The First Law
Death by Blackhole
Star Wars: Lost Stars

 

[Steamlord]

Candide
Crime and Punishment
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Sound and the Fury
Dubliners
Lolita
The Stranger
The Crying of Lot 49
The Island of Doctor Moreau
The Road
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Lord of the Rings

If we're counting plays I'll throw in Macbeth, No Exit, and Ghosts.
I've read and loved all of Kafka's short stories but for whatever reason I have yet to read his novels.

I pretty much stopped reading because I got kind of burned-out after I got my English degree. I should probably start again.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas.

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

Shogun by James Clavell
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice

 

[Zelenogorsk]

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk
Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
The Rats in the Walls by H.P. Lovecraft
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

 

[Patrick S.]

My favourite book ever is The Neverending Story.

I've read almost every book by Stephen King multiple times. Many times he screw ups his endings, but his writing style is untouched for me. Among his books my favourites are Black House, The Talisman, The Eyes of the Dragon, Salem's Lot, Needfuil Things and the Dark Tower series.

Other than King, I've reread Ender's Game countless times, and I think I love it more than most Stephen King books.

 

[RainForce]

Mistborn, Ender's Game and Snow Crash are probably my favorites.

 

[StaffyManasse]

I adore Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

 

[PatThePassive]

Such a good long read for kid me.


My absolute favorite.

 

[kukubrew]

Many of the ones already mentioned but Ringworld is probably my all time favorite:

Read it the first time as a young kid and since then reread quite a few times. Love the scope, intelligence and characters in this book!

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Many of the ones already mentioned but Ringworld is probably my all time favorite:

Read it the first time as a young kid and since then reread quite a few times. Love the scope, intelligence and characters in this book!

Based on the novels I listed in the OP would I enjoy Ringworld?

 

[Pickman]

Armor by John Steakley. Finally available on Kindle, too.

 

[capitalCORN]

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marques
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
Many Waters - Madeleine L'Engle
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Masterpiece - Emile Zola

Fuck, so many more! Can't recall right now...