What is the most enjoyable book you have ever read?

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   sarahsherlockposted 14 years ago

   I decided at the beginning of this year that I would read more but I do believe that, like wine, life is too short to read bad books!
   
   I have recently purchased the kindle app on my iphone and am keen to purchase but I can't see the wood for the trees!

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      Susana Sposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Probably Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, but it really is hard to choose! I read constantly and have several favourites.

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      dutchman1951posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      "A Pirate looks at 40"  J. Buffett
      
      had fun reading it.

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      bougracposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      hi everybody i miss the opprtunity to share this new subject with you here . i am really interested in literature and i love reading books especially literature novels , magazines, journat, news , media , reading about scientific researches, and about foot-ball teams . but i am so unhuppy with the time passing and feel worry about the day's death before being known worldwidely .i come up one day with a bad thinking . as i become older and have now 23 years old woops. do not laugh i may discover what you think about this middle age , you probably say it's the age when you florich ok maybe for you but for me it's quite different and i have lost 20 whitout reading anything . god!! that's the real problem america children hve startd with adsense before us !!! they have access to internet when they are 10 years .................

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   Cleancloverposted 14 years ago

   "How to gain benefits from wheat grass juic"

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   kmackey32posted 14 years ago

   This is odd but I do not have a long enouph attention span to read a book....I have actually never finished one...

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      sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm a bit like that myself. That's why I need to know the book is good first, it might spur me on!

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   WryLiltposted 14 years ago

   "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. It may not change your life but it may just change your thinking.

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      pisean282311posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      i second that..but she wrote book bit late..it would have been ideal gift for karl marx...her fountain head is my favorite...

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   Cleancloverposted 14 years ago

   I prefer to listening than reading. There re cd's and tapes i listen

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      sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I also prefer music but feel that there are probably some great books that I should read too before I die!

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   richtwfposted 14 years ago

   That's a real tough one Sarah!
   
   Mmmm let me think ... I would suggest 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' by Richard Bach. It's a great little read which you can easily read in one short sitting and leaves you with an indelible and poignant message for life.

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   calpol25posted 14 years ago

   Ken follets "Jackdaws" ultimately the best ever war story book ever written

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   sarahsherlockposted 14 years ago

   has anybody read 'War and Peace'?

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      Mishaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      With you attention span you don't want it. It's about a dozen times a regular book size

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         sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         You obviously know me too well already

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            Mishaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            LOL You just commented on your attention span above, hence my conclusion

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               WryLiltposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I've actually read it twice. It is a good read but the epilogue is a killer!

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      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I think I made it half way.. I do want to finish it at some point. the language is so rich and detailed.
      
      
      what kind of books do you like? you know with your Kindle, you can order some of the classics free, there is no cost for most of jane Austen books if you like her style, Pride and Prejudice, etc.
      
      http://freekindlebooks.org/

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      Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Stay away from ALL Russian authors.  If you're not suicidal already you will be after reading them.

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         sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks - I'm not sure whether i'm put off or more intrigued now

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            Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier remains one of my favorites.
            
            Some folks earlier suggested "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand.  If you think you may have a taste for her philosophy -I'm betting you won't - maybe read "Anthem" first.  Same author, same point but less time invested reading it.

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               rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Cold Mountain is a beautiful piece of American literature at its finest. and it's not hard to read.
               
               The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway 
               
               Out of Africa - Isak Dinesen
               
               I enjoyed Anna Karenina (another long Russian novel)
               
               I'll think of more. there's one I'm thinking of and can't remember the title!

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               EmpressFelicityposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Actually, I'd say the most readable of Ayn Rand's novels is We The Living. It covers the same ground as Orwell's Animal Farm, but is even more chilling than Animal Farm because it's set in the Soviet Union of the 1920s and is written very, very well by someone who had actually experienced what it was like in the Soviet Union at that time.  If anyone thinks that Communism is a good thing, We The Living is the perfect reality check.
               
               I enjoyed Atlas Shrugged but I did find the fanaticism a tad off-putting in the end.  The Fountainhead is better, IMO.
               
               It's weird but Ayn Rand is almost unknown in my home country (Britain).  Her black-and-white views don't sit very well with the English way of looking at things but I still think she's well worth reading.

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                  WryLiltposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  We The Living made me cry. It's just so poignant and it can't be described unless you read it. Yes there are some deep moral undertones but on a relationship and personal level it is beautiful, too.

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         ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I still didn't find any of those as bad as Tess of the D'Urbervilles.  I was depressed for weeks after reading that one.

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   SilentReedposted 14 years ago

   There are so many. But  my all time favorite would definitely be Alexandre Dumas' "the Count of Monte Cristo".

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      sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, I'll make sure that one is on the list.

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    Pearldiverposted 14 years ago

    I was really lucky because with my favorite book I didn't have to hurry to read it before my batteries went flat
    
    I don't know if you know it because it wasn't a very fast seller... it was : The Hare and the Tortoise.

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    rembrandzposted 14 years ago

    I read this one loads of years ago, but I remember so vividly how I enjoyed reading it.
    
    It's If tomorrow comes by Sidney Sheldon

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    C.V.Rajanposted 14 years ago

    Story: Harry Potter Series (All books)
    
    Spiritual: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    Usually the book I'm reading is my current favorite. If you want an all-out page turner, go for the Laurell Hamilton Anita Blake vampire hunter series. Guilty Pleasures is the first in the series.
    
    If you want an beautifully written and crafted, incredible family saga, placed in the American mid-west, that involves secrets and a murder, try Nancy Pickard's "Scent of Rain and Lighting." She's my current favorite writer. It's one of the best plotted books I've ever read.
    
    Quirky and totally creepy relationship book, brilliantly written, "A Reliable Wife."

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    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    Oh and if you haven't read "The Help" by Stocket, you simply have to.

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    ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years ago

    What sort of books do you enjoy.  Its so hard to narrow this down!
    
    For easy reading, w/ a bit of romance rolled in try the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  Its a historic, romance, science fiction, fantasy series.  (I know, weird, right?) The story is totally fictional with a fantasy twist (involves time travel) but Gabaldon does some amazing research and keeps the settings and historical data accurate.
    
    I love the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jane Auel.  Although, I'm still waiting for what is meant to be the final book in the series... I have a feeling I might be waiting a long time.
    
    I thoroughly enjoyed the twisted fairytale novels of Gregory Maguire:  Wicked (which is TOTALLY diff't from the musical), and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.  (He has more, I haven't read them all yet.)
    
    As for classics, (modern classics) - I found On the Road by Kerouac very impactful.  Its the only book I've ever taken notes on while reading for enjoyment (I scribbled in all my margins just b/c I had so much to think about.)
    
    I love reading any and all of Shakespeare's plays, but I'm a quirky little theatre geek - reading plays is not for everyone.
    
    I just finished I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President, and, honestly, I still haven't totally decided if I loved it or hated it.  Its so bizarre.  I wish someone else would read it and tell me what they thought! lol.
    
    Gosh... So many more.  I think I'll stop before I spend my whole lunch break doing this!

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       sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I just read your review of that one. Sounds really odd. I might see if I can find it. I'll let you know how I get on

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          ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Please do.  I've been dying to find someone else who has read it.  I've had a response or 2 to the review from people who have, but not very much...

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    Mishaposted 14 years ago

    I'm glad you are back, ThoughtfulSpot. I missed your thoughtful spots.

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       ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks Misha!
       I've missed you too.
       
       I'm only a little back.  On a quarter break, but studying for some additional exams. 
       
       Probably no time to get any hubs done (too much thought involved for my current energy level) but I may be able to pop in the forums now and then!

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          Mishaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Don't worry about hubs, just have fun with us

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             ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             How could I not!?

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                Mishaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                And I am glad you do

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    Timmy(B)posted 14 years ago

    The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is easily the best book i have ever read.

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       sarahsherlockposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       What genre is it?

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    Jackson Riddleposted 14 years ago

    Great Expectations is up there for me

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    hamstersmessiahposted 14 years ago

    My favorite book(s):  The Parade's End tetralogy by Ford Madox Ford

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    Hannah Renowdenposted 14 years ago

    For me, there isn't a more perfect book than Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.  There is a very good reason she didn't feel the need to write anything else!

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       Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm using a similar strategy.  I'm going to write my one novel at 85 years of age and receive the Pulitzer posthumously.

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       MeGunnerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       'To Kill a Mockingbird'; is there a movie of the book? I think av seen somtin like that and it was wonderful. Just not sure if the title was exactly this

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          Ron Montgomeryposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, the title is the same.  It was filmed I believe in the 60's and starred Gregory Peck.

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    anonimuzzposted 14 years ago

    I can't name THE best one ever. I can say, though, that I've recently read José Luis Peixoto's "The Implacable Order Of Things" and I was really impressed by its very sad beauty. José Saramago's "Blindness" is also among my favorites. I need to read more from both.

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    Greek Oneposted 14 years ago

    

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    lamayabooksposted 14 years ago

    I'd say Life of Pi by Yann Martel!

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    WryLiltposted 14 years ago

    Read:
    
    Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy (1979–1981)
    The Universe Next Door
    The Trick Top Hat
    The Homing Pigeons
    
    By Robert Anton Wilson
    
    If you want your brain to hurt.

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    MeGunnerposted 14 years ago

    Mine is Mark Twain's 'Adventures of Tom Sawyer'!!!

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    sarahsherlockposted 14 years ago

    Wow lots of suggestions coming through now - thanks everyone!

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    prettydarkhorseposted 14 years ago

    Agree with To Kill A Mockingbird and the Southern novel about love, war -- Gone with the Wind

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    ahostagesituationposted 14 years ago

    "Rain of Gold"--Victor Villasenor.  I read the last word of that nearly 600 page book, opened back to the first page and started reading it again.  It's phenomenal.
    Fiction--I really liked Alice Walker's "Meridian."    At work most of us are reading the "Hunger Games" trilogy and it is disturbing and wonderful.  Really happy some of the classics made it to the top for the people posting.

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    attemptedhumourposted 14 years ago

    John Steinbeck's classic, 'The Grapes of Wrath' is one of the most memorable books i have ever read. It was chosen on a TV book review program recently and the panel pointed out that each chapter was written in a different style, something to be honest, that i had not really picked up. Oddly though the panel didn't mention the one thing that to me that set it above all other books that i have ever read. Simply the best ending ever. Cheers

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    bayouladyposted 14 years ago

    Let the Hurricane Roar!  by Rose Wilder Lane. (The hurricane that she is referring to is weather on the plains as they live in their dugout. ) I think you will like it. Written in the 30s and still in print!
    
    She was the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and her book is about when Charles and Caroline were newlyweds (I think if I remember right...)I still love Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.

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    sarahsherlockposted 14 years ago

    Kindle don't have To Kill a Mocking Bird! In fact there is much that Kindle doesn't have

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    miolunaposted 14 years ago

    Cecelia Ahern - P.S. I love you
    Cecelia Ahern - Where Rainbows End (titled Rosie Dunne or Love, Rosie in the U.S.A)

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