OT: Favorite Books.

[dean]

I'm a big fan of action type novels.  I've got the entire Ian Fleming James Bond series, and a few by Raymond Benson.  

I'm also a fan of Clive Cussler and the fantastic Matthew Reilly.

If you read Reilly's stuff you'll wish they were made into a movie: non-stop butt-kicking action all round.  Highly reccommended.

Also love Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.  For a bit of a laugh I'll read Red Dwarf.

I've got alot of classics at home from my Literature subjects, such as Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice and I actually didn't think they were that bad.

[Vermin Boy]

I thumbed through "This Book Will Change Your Life" last time I was at a bookstore. Looked cool, though a lot of it is stuff I'd do anyway. :)

Forgot to mention Flannery O'Connor. Best plot twists EVER.

[Scott]

I think I've read more books than I've seen movies. Almost all non-fiction in the area's of Religion, Philosophy, Mythology, Occult, Martial Arts, History, and Biographies. I can't get into non-fiction (though it has been said that fiction is sometimes more true). How is it that I can watch a movie based on fiction, but not read a fiction book? It has something to do with creating images or just the creative process. I've read almost non-stop for 15 years on all subjects and have oddly started watching film for the past 4-5 years. Once or twice a year I find a great book to read, but most subject matter I'm quite familiar with, so it's hard you cover old ground twice. Things have a natural order or process that can be diserned when contiplating them.

It's hard for me to get into a story about "Johnny" someone and what he has to say. I have about 15 volumes of Master Plots that give me interesting passages and the basic concept of the best of the best in fiction.

As far as my favorite book it would be my own non-fiction book called BOOK OF THE THIRD DAY (a.k.a The Book of Scott) that I'm having trouble finishing. After I write something I can't stand reading it. It's like watching a video or listening to an audio of yourself. After writing a dozen pages I stop and put it aside till I get to starting up again, but then I have trouble continuing were I left off. I need like months to myself to complete it. It's all mapped out, but it may not be for me to write this one. It's of a strong religious nature that has never been heard before. It's of a Divine nature. Were is a scribe when you need one? Well, I'm sure it will turn out as intended someday.

[Cricket21a]

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Glaxaxy -  There is actually a book called The Ultimate Hitchhiker's  Guide That has all the books plus it even includes mostly Harmless and I think it has an extra chapter that is not in any of the other books.


I really perfer Anne Rice,(let's see......I've read Taltos, Lasher, The Witching Hour, The Vampire Lestat, The Vampire Cronicles, plus many more than I can't remember off the top of my head) Stephen King( Needful Things, Carrie, Christine, The Talisman. The Green Mile, Pet Cemetary)  I remember watching The movie Pet Cemetary, I didn't like the way they ended it, it just didn't seem right.  I've read most of the V.C. Andrews books but I think the only ones that were worth reading were the first two series she had out The Flowers in the Attic and The Dark Angel series.  The other were written by a ghost writer.  They were supposed to have used her notes to come up with all these books after she died in 1988.
Oh and I like reading Calvin and Hobbs and Peanuts

[Cricket21a]

Smiles, I Have Poe too.  My favorite of his is The Black Cat and his poem Annabel Lee, I forgot all about him.  What's funny is that I spend so much time working I never seem to have any time for reading anymore.  I used to be able to read about 1 book in a couple of days, not I try to start a book and I just never get around to reading the rest of it.

[onionhead]

Ahhh, Vermin Boy!  It's been a while since the name of Flannery OConnor has been mentioned, and on THIS phorum???  Her tome of complete stories sits on my bookshelf, spine falling apart, pages coming out--God, the woman was fabulous!!
Lovecraft was and is my favorite horror fantacist, Stephen R Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant is IMO among the best fantasy stuff ever written, 2nd to JRR Ts Lord of the Rings.  
Waterson's Calvin and Hobbes, of course Schultz's Peanuts gallery, Gary Larson's Far Side (the grosser the better)--essential for an after-work laugh.

[wickednick]

The Lord of the rings books and the Hobbit are some of my favorite books.
Also Im a huge fan of Stephen King.I love his Dark Towers series of books, Which I think are some truly remarkable works of fantasy.But my favorite books of his The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile.

[Grumpy Guy]

I would have to say "Ender's Game, " and "Ender's Shadow" (Both by the great Orson Scott Card).  Fabulous books, even though they both tell the same basic story.

I also read other hard sci-fi (Aurther C. Clark is one of my faves - "Rendesvous With Rama" was absolutely fantastic), but I can't handle space opera in books - only on the big screen.  

As much as I hate to admit it, I LOVE the Harry Potter series.  The books are absolutely fabulous, everything one could want, IMHO.  I was dead set against them until I got dragged (kicking and screaming) to the first movie.  I've been a fan ever since.

Lemony Snickett also has a great series going - "A Series of Unfortunate Events".  Really good stuff.  The prose is somehow very poetic.  It's pretty language, and I like that.  I am rather fond of the English language when it is properly used.  

Of course, I also like Stephen King, although I tend to prefer his short stories to his novels.  I think my favorite of his was "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon", though.  Suspenceful and interesting, without King's frequently overbearing characters.  A good read, and not wordy.

[Chopper2]

do you study Aikido?

[Vermin Boy]

Yeah, I need to read more of O'Connor's stuff-- So far I've only read "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People." I was turned onto her stuff by my high school English teacher, who handed me a copy of Good Country People after class, telling me, "It's right up your alley."

[Susan]

Aha! THe far side, i forgot about that. Anyone own that mammoth collection that just came out? I want it...oh yes...i want all 80lbs of it


by kinds short stories i mean like "Night shift" . I am not easily scared, in fact i'm the one scaring others..heh. But that boogyman story when i read it years ago made me shut my closet door all the way for a good while after that read.

I also read (past tense) ann rice..i liked the vampire chronicles before they were a big hyped up movie..i could never get into those witching books and I stopped the vampire ones after the 4th...which i actually liked the most and cannot remember the title to.  I also like reading where I learn things, I go through phases where i'll learn how to speak sign language..but because i don't know anybody deaf i'll forget it. That was extremely fun and easy to learn. German on the other hand has proved a challenge and I fell out of my studies.

[Brother Ragnarok]

Jurassic Park definitely rules.  Also:
Neverwhere, American Gods, and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman (the last being a collaboration with Terry Pratchett).
Anything H.P. Lovecraft.
The Necroscope and Titus Crow series by Brian Lumley.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest by I forgot the author's name and am too lazy to look it up right now.

Brother R

[Ellie]

"It" by Stephen King, "Carrion Comfort" By Dan Simmons, "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton, and "The Holy Bible". I have plenty more..too many to name.

[lester1/2jr]

My all time favorite is called "Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods" by Robert W Smith.  Smith went to China in the 1960's and studied what are called the "internal arts" in martial arts: Tai Chi, Bagua, and Hsing-I.  Aikido falls into that category too but comes from what Japan? not China.  It's him meeting and learning from various old masters of various moralities and temperments.  


Another bok I like alot is "Hollywod Babylon" by Kenneth Anger.  It's old scandals and stuff from old Hollywod, like Fatty Arbuckle and all that stuff.

[Cricket21a]

There is this book and I kindof forgot about it until I was looking at my bookself.  It's called Historic Haunted America.  It comes out around halloween.  It's a bunch of ghost stories from around the US.  There's at least 3 or 4 stories per state.  I absoluted love the book.  I think the stories are different for each year, I saw one of them in a book store and meant to go back and get it but forgot all about it.  I'm also kind of interested in herbs so I have a few of those books.  Anythings that deals with ancient eygpt, mummies, anthropology, cultures, mythology.  I also have a book about Palm reading.  That can be pretty interesting if you are into that sort of thing.  I also have a couple books for tarot cards.  (Yes, I have a deck.) I have a book on Wicca.  (And No I am not a witch)  I'm just find the occult something that I like reading about.  I like reading the odd stuff, you know 101 uses for a dead Cat type of book.  I have a book on massage that I really like because I've learn a few good techniques from it.  I like useful books, but I wasn't very happy when I had to change the headlights on my car and the book is saying take the bumper off.  Instead there was a latch holding it in from the back.  Needless to say that bumper stayed on.