|
Post by orioles70 on Nov 27, 2019 2:22:30 GMT
|
|
|
Post by BSJ on Nov 27, 2019 19:42:02 GMT
So many! Four Books I reread. The Cairo Trilogy (Three books) - Naguib Mahfouz. Story of three generations of a Muslim family in Cairo during Britain’s occupation of Egypt in the early twentieth century. The Way We Live Now – Anthony Trollope. A very amusing satire of the greed and corruption in the upper-class Victorian society. He’s my favorite author. Book I read last March. Gentleman From Moscow – Amor Towles. “A thirty years saga the Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov is placed under house arrest inside the Metropol Hotel in Moscow in 1922 when the Bolsheviks spare him from death or Siberia because of his 1913 revolutionary poem written in university.”
|
|
|
Post by orioles70 on Nov 27, 2019 19:55:51 GMT
Another thumbs up for A Gentleman From Moscow. Amor Towles also has a short story that's part of an interesting 6 part series - each written by a different author - and they're free to Amazon Prime members so I think I will try part one of Forward and see if I make it through to his story which is part 4 www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WK7PVFT?ref_=series_rw_dp_labf
|
|
|
Post by Helmut83 on Nov 27, 2019 21:12:57 GMT
"The Feast of the Goat", by Mario Vargas Llosa. I've never devoured a book so quickly.
|
|
|
Post by vlogdance on Nov 27, 2019 22:03:26 GMT
For a moment, I thought you'd said you'd never devoured a goat so quickly, Helmut bach...
(Hope it wasn't a spaceship driver.)
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Nov 27, 2019 22:14:49 GMT
As a child it was either The Beano or Tales of Narnia and as an adult,probably Playboy...
|
|
|
Post by Grroosss on Nov 28, 2019 11:30:34 GMT
I rarely have time to read anymore, but I was a voracious reader as a kid, so I can’t possibly choose a favorite book. I haven’t reread any of these*, but just based on my recollections here are some that have stood out most over the years (roughly in the order I read them):
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams* - A classic. My absolute favorite when I was little, and the one** exception to the above—I don’t even know how many times I had this one reread to me, or reread it myself once I’d learned to read.
The Warriors series by Erin Hunter** - Okay, I lied, I did reread the first series of these once, too; easily the books I was most obsessed with during my childhood. They’re about four clans of cats that live in the forest, and though they’re cats, they have very human personalities and face very human problems.
All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot - The tales of a country veterinarian. Probably the reason I decided that actually, no, I don’t want to be a vet when I grow up. Probably also the reason I knew what “spotted dick” and “a fortnight” were long before any of my peers did.
The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart - Four gifted children are recruited for a secret mission and must work together to solve the puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers they encounter. Lots of fun for the reader to try to solve the puzzles too.
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - Aptly subtitled There and Back Again; a quest to defeat a dragon. In my opinion, the book is superior to its movie counterparts. (And no, I still haven’t got around to reading The Lord of the Rings.)
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan - Full of zany humor and epic demigod-vs-monster battles, and a great way to learn your Greek mythology. Quite frankly, the movies are an embarrassment to the books.
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - ‘Nuff said.
Tin Star and sequel Stone in the Sky by Ceil Castellucci - On her way to a new planetary colony with her family, a girl ends up stranded on an alien space station and must contend with loss, revenge, and her own humanity.
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman - I pretty much hated nearly every book that I was required to read for a class until this one (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which I read the following year, are probably the only other required books that I’ve really, genuinely enjoyed). It’s an imaginative take on the different ideas Einstein had for his theory of relativity.
The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer - A retelling and merging of popular children’s fairytales with a sci-fi twist.
|
|
|
Post by Buttler on Nov 28, 2019 13:12:25 GMT
It's pretty impossible answer this question.
Probably Moby Dick (Herman Melville).
I can tell you the ones I loved anyway (from what I remember).
- Norwegian Wood (Haruki Murakami)
- The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury)
- La variante di Lüneburg (Paolo Mauresing)
- The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
- Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
- Cien años de soledad (Gabriel García Márquez)
- 1984 (George Orwell)
- Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
- Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
- The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
- Ivanhoe (Walter Scott)
- Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
- Walden: Life in the woods (Henry David Thoreau)
- Martin Eden (Jack London)
- Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
And so on...
I just finished reading "The Testaments" by Margaret Atwood and I'm going to read "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens.
|
|
|
Post by orioles70 on Nov 28, 2019 14:38:56 GMT
I rarely have time to read anymore, but I was a voracious reader as a kid, so I can’t possibly choose a favorite book. I haven’t reread any of these*, but just based on my recollections here are some that have stood out most over the years (roughly in the order I read them): The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams* - A classic. My absolute favorite when I was little, and the one** exception to the above—I don’t even know how many times I had this one reread to me, or reread it myself once I’d learned to read. The Warriors series by Erin Hunter** - Okay, I lied, I did reread the first series of these once, too; easily the books I was most obsessed with during my childhood. They’re about four clans of cats that live in the forest, and though they’re cats, they have very human personalities and face very human problems. All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot - The tales of a country veterinarian. Probably the reason I decided that actually, no, I don’t want to be a vet when I grow up. Probably also the reason I knew what “spotted dick” and “a fortnight” were long before any of my peers did. The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart - Four gifted children are recruited for a secret mission and must work together to solve the puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers they encounter. Lots of fun for the reader to try to solve the puzzles too. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - Aptly subtitled There and Back Again; a quest to defeat a dragon. In my opinion, the book is superior to its movie counterparts. (And no, I still haven’t got around to reading The Lord of the Rings.) The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan - Full of zany humor and epic demigod-vs-monster battles, and a great way to learn your Greek mythology. Quite frankly, the movies are an embarrassment to the books. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - ‘Nuff said. Tin Star and sequel Stone in the Sky by Ceil Castellucci - On her way to a new planetary colony with her family, a girl ends up stranded on an alien space station and must contend with loss, revenge, and her own humanity. Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman - I pretty much hated nearly every book that I was required to read for a class until this one (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which I read the following year, are probably the only other required books that I’ve really, genuinely enjoyed). It’s an imaginative take on the different ideas Einstein had for his theory of relativity. The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer - A retelling and merging of popular children’s fairytales with a sci-fi twist. glad to see The Warriors series on your list - my daughter had a stack of those about as high as her bed, she's dyslexic and struggled with reading at first, but the combination of a favorite tutor and those books took her from reluctant reader to enthusiastic reader - many years later, she's about to finish up college with a double major in biology and studio art
|
|
|
Post by BSJ on Nov 28, 2019 15:04:53 GMT
The Scarlet Pimpernel! Suspense, action, intrigue and romance during the French Revolution. Great fun! "We seek him here, we seek him there, those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? Is he in hell? That damned elusive Pimpernel "
|
|
|
Post by BIuebird on Dec 7, 2019 17:55:39 GMT
I read mostly fantasy and sci-fi books, maybe this is why I have such bizarre dreams? There's obviously plenty of bird-centric books in here as well, no surprise there! Here are a few of my favorite books/series, along with a really general idea of what they are about:
The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling- Pretty self-explanatory. I read these as they came out, and have always loved them. I remember getting reprimanded for reading into the wee hours of the morning when a new one came out. I just started collecting the illustrated versions to read with my client, who enjoys the stories, too.
The Black Gryphon series, by Mercedes Lackey- a wizard basically boi-engineers gryphons with magic, to fight in the mage wars. (In case anyone is unfamiliar, a traditional gryphon has the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle, but they are often portrayed as a combination between any bird of prey/feline. They are my favorite mythical creatures, unsurprisingly).
The LonTobyn Chronicles, by David B. Coe- Mages form a soul bond with a bird of prey, which allows them to communicate telepathically with the birds
The Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, by Kathryn Lasky- a few of these books were adapted into a CGI film a number of years ago, but the books were far darker. The series follows a band of owl knights, who fight against the "Pure Ones," a group of evil owls who wish to subjugate any owls that are not "Tytos" (owls in the barn owl family).
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card- school age children are trained in space to fight insectoid aliens.
It's also worth mentioning that I am currently half way through a book called Hollow Kingdom, which is about a zombie apocalypse, as told from the point of view of a foul-mouthed, talking pet crow. It's hilarious so far!
|
|
|
Post by queenofthehours on Dec 16, 2019 20:08:48 GMT
This is difficult.
If I include my childhood favourites my list would include Peanuts books, Horrible Histories and Richard Scarry.
My absolute favourite "grown-up" book of all time is War and Peace. Six weeks of reading what is basically a Russian soap opera wasn't enough so when I finished I immediately began the whole thing again. It's the only book I've cried at and is full of believable characters with huge flaws which make them human.
Vanity Fair by Thackeray is a favourite too. It's similar to W&P but heavier on the laughs. Otherwise I think I mainly have favourite authors - Thomas Hardy, Willkie Collins, Kate Atkinson, Neil Gaiman, Ann Radcliffe (Andrew Davies, where's your TV adaptations???), David Peace (for his language), Janet Evanovich and Harlen Coben. The last two are great for when heavy reading is too much.
I'm a big fan of non-fiction and band biographies. Dear Boy by Tony Fletcher, which is about Keith Moon, was very entertaining and I also read a lot of Queen and Beatles books mainly to enjoy the chaotic early years. Sadly the ELO section of my shelf is very sparse - come one Jeff, write us an autobiography! I nearly forgot another of my favourite novels - This Thing Of Darkness by Harry Thompson and the non-fiction biography of it's central character Cpt Robert Fitzroy written by John and Mary Gribbin. Fitzroy, if you are not familiar, captained the Beagle and took along Charles Darwin for company on one of his voyages. He also was instrumental in creating the weather forecast as we know it but his life was very tragic.
One last favourite book is Shallow Graves in Siberia by Michael Krupa. The best true-life adventure story I have ever read.
|
|
|
Post by orioles70 on Mar 5, 2020 3:16:32 GMT
a timely or perhaps untimely read
Last Town on Earth opens with a bang. I'm only about 5 chapters in but loving it. It's a fictional tale about the residents in a logging town in NW Washington State during the Spanish flu pandemic. Fear grips the town, they go to great lengths to isolate themselves but things quickly go wrong.
The book is from about 2005. But coincidentally, the first outbreak of Covid in the US is in NW Washington State. The actions the town does remind me of what went on in China as towns sought to keep outsiders from entering.
It will be interesting to see how many other parallels to the current epidemic there are. Hopefully Covid 19 won't be too serious because then the book could become a little too frightening.
|
|
|
Post by orioles70 on Aug 9, 2021 14:39:01 GMT
it's Book Lovers Day (at least in the US)
my station played a string of songs about books, starting with the Beatles' Paperback Writer this song was my favorite in the book songs
|
|
|
Post by orioles70 on Mar 20, 2022 20:47:27 GMT
I just finished Amor Towles, Lincoln Highway novel. Big thumbs up!
|
|