Our Most Beloved Books

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Arydra
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Arydra » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:29 pm

The only Sword of Truth book I personally liked was Wizard's First Rule. I just could not make myself to finish the second book. I keep having people recommend Discworld, but I have yet to actually find a copy anywhere.
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lingrem
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by lingrem » Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:15 am

Oh I find the Discworld books easy to find.

I've been working my way through them the last few years, and I love every moment of it! Although I have been reading them all spectacularly out of order! Which isn't like me, but well, you usually only find a handful of them in stock at a time, so I just buy whichever are there.

Which is currently difficult for me, as I'm not quite sure which ones I own as they are all in a different province!
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WastesTime
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by WastesTime » Mon Apr 15, 2013 6:38 am

Discworld novels are fantastic. I have never thought I'd be laughing out loud while reading a book! Definitely recommend.
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by lingrem » Mon Apr 15, 2013 10:22 am

haha yeah, I giggle and cry when I read books.

But Discworld certainly makes me laugh. A lot. I scared my cat yesterday when I was reading Feet of Clay. More than once.
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Arydra
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Arydra » Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:18 am

lingrem wrote:haha yeah, I giggle and cry when I read books.
I admit I do the same thing. Although it is more of a "manly" chuckle and the last time I cried was finishing the game Mass Effect 3. Although I really need to stop laughing while reading because everyone keeps looking at me funny, especially in quite rooms.
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Zambee » Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:09 pm

I agree that Wizards first rule was the best of them. The story became more romantic than adventure, and more preachy further on. I didn't like Soul of the fire or Pillars of creation all that much, but stuck with them for the bigger picture's sake.

I have several Discworld books on audio, mostly read by Stephen Briggs. He reads them better than any of the others as far as I've heard them.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by firefly » Sun Apr 28, 2013 4:39 am

It would probably make me very sad if I lost my poetry books (Edgar Allan Poe, Jos├® R├®gio, Fernando Pessoa) not only because I love to re-read them but also were some of the first books bought with my own money :D Also The Death of the Beekeeper by Lars Gustafsson and 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (this was a gift and I loved it, as was with "The Dark is Rising") and pretty much anything from Mia Couto, I love his writing style.

Not currently on my bookshelf as I got them from the library but some books I would really like to buy: Messieurs les Enfants by Daniell Pennac (plus his Mallausenne books) and Harry Potter (yes, I still read it, I got it for my Ebook but want it in paper too). And the Mysts of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Oh dear, those are quite a lot are they not? I'm Portuguese, so some of my choices must be unknown to most of you, I think.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Jibjib » Sun Apr 28, 2013 1:11 pm

Of all the (many) books I have, there's actually only one I'm attached to, in that I could replace the others with a different copy. It's this kids book I had when I was learning to read about an otter, a mouse and a vole that live on a steamboat, and dear freaking God it is still as awesome today as it was 16 years ago :P
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RocketScientist
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by RocketScientist » Sun Apr 28, 2013 7:43 pm

Aw, it's too bad you're far away, Firefly. I was just going to donate my copy of Mists of Avalon.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Alavar » Sun May 05, 2013 3:09 pm

firefly wrote:I100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I read it few years ago. All I can remember now is few floating images of Strangeness (big S) and ending that made me both sad and creeped out. It's one of those books that I want to reread someday to see if I can understand it this time (if there is something to understand there :P )
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by firefly » Mon May 06, 2013 10:25 am

RocketScientist wrote:Aw, it's too bad you're far away, Firefly. I was just going to donate my copy of Mists of Avalon.
:(

Ah, well, there is always the library for now for me. Thanks for the thought anyway :)

Alavar wrote:
firefly wrote:I100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I read it few years ago. All I can remember now is few floating images of Strangeness (big S) and ending that made me both sad and creeped out. It's one of those books that I want to reread someday to see if I can understand it this time (if there is something to understand there :P )
I've read it twice and still think I am missing something somewhere. But I really like it anyway.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by RJJ7 » Tue May 14, 2013 9:12 am

Strange that there would be such a disproportionate amount of fantasy favorites amongst the readers of a fantasy webcomic.

Anyway, there are so many incredible books that I'm attached to, and so many great authors, that I would be hard pressed to pick just one. Plus, a number of authors just seem to have a distinct style that pervades their work. It could be any of half a dozen books of theirs that would satisfy the need. When I'm in the mood for a Sabatini, I have a half a dozen books with entirely different settings and stories that will nevertheless entertain me with his dry, sardonic humor and eloquent phraseology. I'd like to have at least one of the works of each of the following authors (with my temporary preferences listed in order afterwards).

1- J.R.R. Tolkien (The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit) [fantasy]
2- Rafael Sabatini (Scaramouche, Captain Blood, Mistress Wilding, Bellarion, The Snare) [historical fiction/adventure/romance]
3- Alistair Maclean (H.M.S Ulysses, Where Eagles Dare, The Guns of Navarrone, The Golden Rendezvous) [WWII and Spy stories]
4- James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful) [autobiographical/comedy]
5- Edith Pargetter (The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet) [historical fiction]
6- Lloyd Alexander (The Black Cauldron, The First Two Lives of Lukas Kasha, The Book of Three, Taran Wanderer, The Castle of Llyr) [fantasy]
7- C.S. Lewis (Narnia) [fantasy]
8- Allen French (The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow) [historical fiction/mythology]
9- G.A. Henty (Beric the Briton, St. George for England, The Dragon and the Raven) [historical fiction; use sparingly!]
10- Rosemary Sutcliff (The Lantern Bearers) [historical fiction]
11- Jane Austin (Pride and Prejudice) [yeah, I went there; historical fiction]
12- Eloise Jarvis McGraw ("Mara, Daughter of the Nile", The Golden Goblet) [historical fiction]


Off the top of my head, I wouldn't have said that I read a lot of historical fiction. But looking at that list... wow. Yeah, I guess I read a lot of historical fiction.
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Gord_the_Rogue » Fri Jul 26, 2013 3:19 pm

William Gibson- Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Count Zero (but not Difference Engine, it was good in parts but I thought it was generally a mess.
My copy of The Encyclopedia of Things that Never Were
Secret Teachings of all Ages
LotR + Hobbit
H.P. Lovecraft collection
Harry Potter series

Gee, this is hard to do. I have too many books that I love, but I guess those would be at the top.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by deathofbarney » Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:02 pm

Sword of truth, wheel of time, anne mccaffery ( whole friggin collection I have), and the hades factor by ludlum.
Throw in Ashes of the sun as well.
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Just Karen » Mon Mar 10, 2014 9:10 am

"The Last Herald-Mage" series by Mercedes Lackey. I reread it about once a year. Sadly, I lost my hardcopy (roommate) and had to replace with a Kindle version.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Crayling » Tue Mar 18, 2014 2:59 am

Neverness by david zindell.

Also my leatherbound eye of the world limited , still in it's plastic. Not because it is neccesarily one of the best books ever, but because it was my first fantasy book

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by LooksClosely » Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:30 pm

I'd like to recommend "The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh", "The Name of the Wind", and various things by Heinlein.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by RedwoodElf » Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:56 pm

1: Tolkien of course (Anyone who puts Tolkien anywhere further down their list than 3 or 4 probably hasn't really read it or was just born too late.)
2: Larry Niven's "Known Space" books (Ringworld, The Man/Kzin Wars, etc)
3: Azimov's Robots/Foundation universe books
4: Robert Asprin's Mythadventures series
5: Piers Anthony's Xanth series
6: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever
7: Poul Anderson's "There Will Be Time"
8: The Journeys of McGill Feighan (series)
9: The Crossroads of Time
10: The Probability Broach

(Note that there's a lot of time travel/dimension travel stuff in there.)
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Unlucky-for-Some » Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:52 pm

LotR/Hobbit/Silmarillion obviously.
But also Wizard, the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Collected Lovecraft
Oh and a special subset of my Pratchett books - specifically the signed ones :)
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by AlphaPanda » Wed Apr 23, 2014 12:57 pm

Dwarves

Reading the series again, focusing on the worldbuilding and timescale now. Funny, how many errors the author made in that regard.

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by Mec » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:20 pm

Excerpts from my list (hiding a few, though):

George Orwell, 1984
because he follows his ideas to their conclusion rather than letting the good guy win
also the first book i ever read where people had sex (although i didn't understand it at the time (I was very young))

Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
antihero, action, adventure, space flight, just pushes all my buttons at once!

Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery
this is how a man or a woman should live

Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers
It stunned me how exhilirating this book was.
You don't need cars or planes for high-speed action sequences!
Sequels were prosaic, though.

Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle In Time
For several years I lived in the same city as Ms. L'Engle.
I regret I never wrote her a fan letter nor asked her out to lunch.

Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games Trilogy
Go ahead, laugh at my low-brow fannish tastes!
I just wanted to lap up every word and then some.
And I keep fixing dozens of flaws in my head while I am reading these books too.

D.A. Henderson, Smallpox: The Death of a Disease
D.A. Henderson is a paladin. That is all.

Joel Rosenberg, Guardians of the Flame series
An original take on "D+D players transported to D+D world".
The series did peter out wihout resolution of one of the central mysteries, though.

Isaac Asimov, I, Robot
I wanted to be Susan Calvin when I grew up!

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errantcoyote
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by errantcoyote » Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:02 pm

So many good books, never enough time.

Did anybody mention Ender's Game (and the rest of that series)?
I also loved The Camulod Chronicles (Skystone and Uther were my favorites in the series)

Swiss Family Robinson was my first unabridged novel-length book as a kid. I still love it.
The book that moved me the most was The Brothers Karamazov (Ivan's nightmare with the Devil in particular).

What classic science fiction or fantasy novels do you think have aged well and would be appealing to someone today that has never read them? Which ones seem dated due to writing style or other reason?

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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by SamWiser » Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:45 pm

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I really like The Princess Bride. It's a great story, and it's "abridged" writing style are great for people who have read older books but find the extensive descriptions tedious.
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by DoodleMoogle » Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:28 pm

It's funny. I'd like to say something standard, like Lord of the rings and the Hobbit.
I read all those books way early, at least compared to the kids around me. I also loved the Narnia books, but that's mostly because I saw the BBC miniseries and fell in love with those.
The books are frankly secondary to me. Nah, the one book that is most beloved to me is Soulforge by Margaret Weis. All the books before that were either pushed on me or just recommended.
I found Soulforge at a flea market. Being a lonely kid I immediatly had a connection with that book and I've read it dozens of times.
It's probably also partly to blame for my overly sarcastic attitude. I love that book. :)
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Re: Our Most Beloved Books

Post by thesilence » Thu May 21, 2015 3:53 pm

We will say only this - our single favorite book, and a significant portion of the top 100 or so, are nonfiction.

(We firmly insist that graphic novels are a distinct category from "books" and deserve a top 100 of their own.)
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