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gracie
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
573 Posts |
 Posted - 06/05/2003 : 11:33:41
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to continue the lists trend- whats your favourite and least favourite book?
i read loads of books and have lots that i really like but if you pinned me down i'd say 1984.
for the worst i'd have to say catch 22, i just couldn't get into it.
i also tried queer by william borroughs and hated it. |
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Itchload
= Cult of Ray =
USA
891 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 12:05:54
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I think Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, it's written so well and I'm a sucker for perverse "forbidden love" tales.
Don't really have a least favorite.
p.s. for future responders, in the interest of people like me who might want to check out your picks, please only list one or two...if you list 50 books then they're not exactly your "favorite" and it gets overwhelming. |
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Carolynanna
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Canada
6556 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 12:16:16
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The book "Not Wanted on the Voyage" I think by Timothy Findley is pretty damn cool, it is a wacko and pretty sacriligious retelling of Noah's ark.
If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. |
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speedy_m
= Frankofile =
Canada
3581 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 12:28:07
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The Great Brain series of books. If you're a kid, you'll love them. I have great memories of reading these books when I was a pup. Also pretty much anything by Gorden Korman. Especially the Bruno and Boots books. Every one in a while I'll pick up one of these classics and read them again.
As for more "mature" reading, I like Margret Atwood a lot. Anything by her is quality. |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 12:30:11
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I love the book Cowboys are my Weakness, which is short stories by an author called Pam Houston. I have read it at least four times.
I just read The Nanny Diaries and I thought it was boring, poorly written and way overrated. So that is my current 'least favorite'. |
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BrendanT
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
907 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 12:32:05
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Madame Carolyanna,
Your choice of best book is amazing. I loved it. Actually looked at it on my bookshelf the other day and contemplated re-reading it again. Nice one!
Another favourite would have to be Hell's Angels by HST.
Strummer-man
I had me a vision!
Buttercup! Bubbles! Let's go! |
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pong
= Cult of Ray =
France
315 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 12:52:02
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yes, if they are one book i want people to read is 1984. maybe it will change the world, because i think in a few year it will be like in this book.
and some of my fave :
dune, all the Lovecraft's book, and a lot of french writer (Sartre, boris vian, Dantec, ...), or Kafka, Kundera, Burgess, Amitav Gosh, ...
- Pong
"i'll be on the first fligh" |
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Carolynanna
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Canada
6556 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 13:01:09
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Thanks Brendan, who could not love a book where the devil is a drag queen.
Do you even know what a plethora is? |
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Erebus
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1834 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 13:10:57
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fav: the Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
worst: anything by Michael Moore |
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Brackish Girl
~ Soul Eater ~
Ireland
1750 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 13:13:33
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is 1984 the one that was made into a film? with that guy, shit, um...that guy who plays basil or whatever in austin powers? i know he's been in better films...caberet? anyway, a good book is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett. i know what you're thinking, 'fantasy geek' but its really funny! a piss-take of the Omen.
in your face, space coyote!! |
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mereubu
= FB QuizMistress =
USA
2677 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 13:55:29
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I haven't gotten to read a novel in a couple of years--lately only plays. In that area, I enjoy Jacobean tragedies (they're so over-the-top!) especially John Webster's Duchess of Malfi. Brecht's plays are always a good read, too. (Many plays don't read well--best in performance--but some are fun to read too.) Tony Kushner's Angels in America pts. I & II are great reading.
Novel-wise, my fave is John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. I try to re-read it every couple of years. |
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therewererumours
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1240 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 15:41:59
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Stormy Weather by Carl Hassien was a really good book I read awhile ago. I read a pretty good book last summer but it's name and the authors name escape me now, it was written by the same guy who wrote Remains of the Day(which was made into a film). Last things I read was Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, it was very twee and Victorion but also very touching and quaint and The Dalky Archieves by Flann O'Brien, classic peice of Irish nonsence .
My friends had read On The Road by Jack Karauck and recommened it to me. I really could'nt get into it and gave up three qauters of the way in.
"I meet a man with no little toe and a real big head" |
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ObfuscateByWill
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1887 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2003 : 18:17:42
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Three books I dig -
1. Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris)
2. Evasion (Anonymous)
3. Einstein's Monsters (Martin Amis)
It doesn't take much to impress me.
*Me Fail English? That's Unpossible! |
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The Holiday Son
= Quote Accumulator =
France
2010 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 02:00:29
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1984 is the best book I've read.
Asimov is the best sci-fi writer I've read.
Barjavel is the best french writer I've read. |
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Bartholomew
= Cult of Ray =
USA
344 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 06:05:24
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Ah...Finally a really good topic. Sometimes seems like we're stretching for FB stuff to talk about.
A few of my favorites are: Ubik by Philip K. Dick, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo |
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 07:37:36
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5 favs -
high fidelity - hornby
catch 22 - heller
a heartbreaking work of staggering genius - eggers
hokkaido popsicle - adamson
the once and future king - white
least favs-
anything by jane austin
later-era stephen king
-brian |
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bazza
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1439 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 08:00:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Brackish Girl
is 1984 the one that was made into a film? with that guy, shit, um...that guy who plays basil or whatever in austin powers?
thats john hurt isnt it? er.. dont think he was in austin powers. maybe confusing him with mr caine. great film. personal highlight was seeing Rab C Nesbitt (gregor fisher) in it without a string vest.
personal faves: high fidelity, one flew over the cuckoos nest (ken kasey) and the really excellent catch 22.
most hated book is hard times. i did it for my english exam in school and have lost all passion for english now. me hate english? thats unpossible.
cheers
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pong
= Cult of Ray =
France
315 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 10:04:16
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quote:
Originally posted by The Holiday Son
Barjavel is the best french writer I've read.
wy fave of him are - the end of time, Ravage, and the big secret. (i hope they are traducted in english like that)
- Pong
"i'll be on the first fligh" |
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gracie
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
573 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 10:42:39
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i find stephen kings style of writing really irritating. the actual stories are good which is why so many of them have been made into films but i just cannot get through a stephen king novel.
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greg
- FB Fan -
Canada
159 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 20:17:18
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| The Rebel Angels by Robertson Davies is my personal favourite. Also really love Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski. I am a sucker for anything dreary, bleak, desperate and Russian. I have to recommend A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Solzhenitsyn. |
Edited by - greg on 06/06/2003 20:26:56 |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 20:43:30
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the most recent book i really liked:
GLAMOURAMA.. by Brett Easton Ellis.
Don Delillo's WHITE NOISE is classic too..
all of Henry Miller's stuff will always hold a special place in my heart to.. |
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mun chien andalusia
= Quote Accumulator =
Italy
2139 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2003 : 21:01:27
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In this order
- Foucault's Pendulum (U.Eco)
- Catch 22 (J.Heller)
- Fahreneit 451 (R.Bradburry)
- 1984 (G.Orwell)
- The Importance Of Being Earnest (O.Wilde)
- Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates (T.Robbins)
- For whom the bell tolls (E.Hemingway)
I'm pretty amazed that no one mentioned tom robbins one of the best modern writers.
I know that this is not gonna make me any new friends but one book i hate is Ulysses by James Joyce.My girlfriend gave it to me presenting it as one of her favourites.Never read more boring pages,i don't understand what's so special about it...I think she didn't understand much too just wanted to show off a little...
www.munchienandalusia.too.it |
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gracie
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
573 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2003 : 03:59:32
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i've just finished reading the alchemist and i'm a bit nonplussed at all the attention/hype it has recieved. i found it to be under developed.
a clockwork orange by anthony burgess is a really good book and so is brave new world by aldous huxley. if you liked 1984 and fahrenheit 451 you'll like the above books. with clockwork orange it hepls if you have seen the film so you are used to the language and how its supposed to sound. the handmaids tale by margaret atwood is also an excellent book, especially if you enjoy "end of the world as we know it" books as i do. |
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Omer
= Cult of Ray =
275 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2003 : 04:52:14
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I don't know about best ever, but a few really good books I've read include:
I, Claudius by Robert Graves. The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. Nazi Germany and the Jews by Saul Friedlander |
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bazza
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1439 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2003 : 06:28:06
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quote:
Originally posted by floop
the most recent book i really liked:
GLAMOURAMA.. by Brett Easton Ellis.
did you read american psycho by any chance floop? genuinely interested to hear what you think. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2003 : 07:07:05
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bazza,
i haven't. the only Ellis i've read is GLAMOURAMA and THE INFORMERS, which i wasn't too crazy about. i figure i'll move on to AP at some point. did you like GLAMOURAMA?
i joined the Brett Easton Ellis yahoo group to discuss that book, but everybody is lame there.
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bazza
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1439 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2003 : 08:16:45
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i did actually enjoy the book AP (movie was terrible) even though it was pretty hard to read. ill read glamourama at some stage. thanks for the pointer!
cheers
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GHutt
- FB Fan -
105 Posts |
Posted - 06/07/2003 : 21:11:02
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My favorite author recently has been Kurt Vonnegut. I read a lot of his books in my last semester when I should have been studying. Slaughterhouse-Five, Mother Night, and Timequake are all excellent. Anyone else a fan?
I finished The Catcher in the Rye recently, and really enjoyed it too. I think Catch-22 is next on my list of books to read. I should re-read 1984 as well, since it is really amazing. |
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occidentally tic-tac
- FB Fan -
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 00:15:48
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Don't know how it fits in with Frank Black, but my top 3 books are:
BURR by Gore Vidal
DUNE by Frank Herbert
I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson
with runners-up
COSMICOMICS by Italo Calvino
TALES OF PIRX THE PILOT by Stanislaw Lem
Most hated book (that I've actually endeavored to finish):
TIME AND AGAIN by Jack Finney (but his BODY SNATCHERS is good)
Kill it with your shoe.
-- Daves -- |
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The Holiday Son
= Quote Accumulator =
France
2010 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 03:16:04
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quote:
Originally posted by pong
quote:
Originally posted by The Holiday Son
Barjavel is the best french writer I've read.
wy fave of him are - the end of time, Ravage, and the big secret. (i hope they are traducted in english like that)
no.
La nuit des temps was translated The Ice People.
for the others, check: http://barjaweb.free.fr/SITE/Biblio/traductions/index.html
My fave is Les chemins de Katmendou.
---
Also, High Fidelity is definitely in my top 5 best books of all time! ;) |
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Stuart
- The Clopser -
China
2291 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 06:44:48
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Best books:
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Dee Brown **** Amazing book, if you have read this then you should! ****
Godfather - Mario Puzo
The Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas
War of the Worlds - HG Wells
Stalingrad - Anthony Beevor
Beleive it or not 1984 was one book I couldn't get into.... not saying it's crap though. I cannot think of the crappest book Ive read...
War....... Its not fantastic |
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mereubu
= FB QuizMistress =
USA
2677 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 08:33:45
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| Oh yay, I'm so glad that someone mentioned Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee! Dee Brown was an acquaintance (his grandson--also an excellent writer & historian--is a friend of mine) and he died this past fall at the age of 95. He was one of the greatest historians of the American West that ever lived, an entertaining conversationalist, and just an all-around wonderful guy to know. They don't make em like that anymore. |
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Brackish Girl
~ Soul Eater ~
Ireland
1750 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 10:43:23
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quote:
Originally posted by bazza
quote:
Originally posted by Brackish Girl
is 1984 the one that was made into a film? with that guy, shit, um...that guy who plays basil or whatever in austin powers?
thats john hurt isnt it? er.. dont think he was in austin powers. maybe confusing him with mr caine. great film. personal highlight was seeing Rab C Nesbitt (gregor fisher) in it without a string vest.
personal faves: high fidelity, one flew over the cuckoos nest (ken kasey) and the really excellent catch 22.
most hated book is hard times. i did it for my english exam in school and have lost all passion for english now. me hate english? thats unpossible.
cheers
no, not micheal caine. the other guy! shite, has anyone seen the old version of romeo and juliet? well, i'm talking about the guy who plays tybalt. i pretty much hate romeo and juliet,i don't care that they topped themselves. we've spent 2 years doing that and to kill a mockingbird in school.
in your face, space coyote!! |
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mereubu
= FB QuizMistress =
USA
2677 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 11:50:45
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Oh yeah, that's Michael York in Austin Powers/R&J.
Love To Kill a Mockingbird, though. |
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Thomas
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1615 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 13:59:34
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Favorite
John Steakley's Armor
Least favorite
Stephen King's The Tommyknockers
Thomas
"Our love is rice and beans and horses lard" |
Edited by - Thomas on 06/08/2003 14:00:45 |
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Brackish Girl
~ Soul Eater ~
Ireland
1750 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2003 : 14:57:29
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yeah! micheal yorke! thank you.
to kill a mockingbird is pretty good, even now when our teacher has drilled it into us. i didnt say i hated that, i just hate romeo and juliet. especially romeo, what a moaner.
in your face, space coyote!! |
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