My drive to work is over an hour and lately I've been listening to audio books to get me through. I've never been much of a reader, but I really enjoy listening to books. I've listened to many of the books that I should have read as a kid, but I'd like an idea of what is out there that is in the "must-read" category. Books that I have enjoyed: (in no particular order) Cannery Row - Steinbeck Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt Black Hawk Down - Mark Bowden LOTR books - Tolkien The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown The Call of the Wild - Jack London Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe Isaac's Storm - Erik Larson These are a few off of the top of my head. I just finished the Da Vinci Code, which I enjoyed, so today I'm going to start "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. I know that there is another book thread, but that was not helpful as far as "must-read" books. I'm hoping for your top-ten list.
My personal favorites: The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas Dune - Frank Herbert Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
I've never listened to an audio book for enjoyment (just self-help), but I do read a lot of fiction, and I can tell you that hands down, my favorite books are the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Book one is A Game of Thrones. Again, I've never listened to it, but I've heard that the audio book is good stuff.
Not my top-10 list (I am an avid reader, and I cannot even imagine a top 10 list) but I highly recommend these 10 that are off the top of my head: Cryptonomicon by Stephenson Aztec by Jennings Ender's Game by Card Life of Pi by Martel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Moore The Alchemist by Coelho The Stand by King Hyperion by Simmons The Killer Angels by Shaara All The King's Men by Warren Warning: Angels and Demons, while a fun read, exposes the author as formulaic.
I used to listen to books on tape alot because of a commute as far as Classics: John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird Watership Down I also discovered I actually liked Shakespeare by listening on tape. I really enjoyed Julius Ceasar (easier to listen to then read) for a good casual read: anything by John Irving I find amusing The first 3 Stephen King Gunslinger books
On the Road- Jack Kerouac Catcher and the Rye- J.D. Salinger Vampire Chronicles- Anne Rice Servant of the Bones- Anne Rice Clear and Present Danger- Tom Clancy not sure I can name my fav. John Grisham book but most of them are very good Oh, and White Fang pwns Buck and The Call of the Wild These days I read for entertainment, which is why story tellers like Rice and Grisham really dominate my list. When I was in school and was looking for intellectual satisfaction the authors of the beat generation usually had my bookmark.
high fidelity - hornby the unbearable lightness of being - kundera a heartbreaking work of staggering genius - eggers
Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk Choke - Chuck Palahniuk Diary - Chuck Palahniuk Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk Do you see a trend here? EDIT: Forgot to mention that Survivor is my favorite, and Fight Club is a lot different then the movie, and even better and Beautiful Monsters is an amazingly good read too...
One of the best books ever written. Lolita - Nabokov, read by Jeremy Irons I've read that book about ten times now. It's a landmark of writing in the English language. Only listened to a snippet of the audiobook though. There is a group called "The Teaching Company" that puts out lectures on academic subjects by recognized experts in their respective fields. It can be dry, but it's usually very interesting stuff. If you're sneaky, you can find places to download them in mp3 form. Everytime I think about all this great media it makes me wish I had a longer commute. All that time just to listen.
a number of nice suggestions already. just from looking at what you sid you enjoyed, i think "all the pretty horses" by cormac mccarthy is right up your alley.
Well, one book from this year that I'm enjoying is The Historian, but then again I'm a sucker for vampire/dracula lore. It's a pretty long book (took the author 10 years to write) and is very detailed and well-researched.
I bought a set of CDs with Stacy Keach reading all of Hemingway's short stories. It's a great thing for car rides because you can listen to a whole story during a drive. In no particular order. The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald On the Road - Keruoac The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway Winesburg, Ohio - Anderson In Our Times - Hemingway Collected Stories - Maquez
Currahee! : A Screaming Eagle at Normandy - Donald R. Burgett Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose Parachute Infantry - David Kenyon Webster The VICTORS : Eisenhower and His Boys - Stephen E. Ambrose
Beautiful Monsters? Wow, is that like the unreleased sequel to Invisible Monsters? And just for the record my order of Palahniuk favorites goes: Invisible Monsters Diary Lullaby Fight Club Choke Survivor Survivor was the first thing I read by him, so like RM95 was saying with Invisible Monsters, maybe I need to re-read it.
John Steinbeck - Grapes of Wrath the first 100 pages which describe a turtle crossing the road probably would make a tough listen on tape My must read list Dune - Frank Herbert Shogun - James Clavell Doubly Whammy - Carl Hiaasen Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden The Alienist - Caleb Carr I also suspect that the Robert Parker's Spenser novels would make great audio books. Harry Potter books might also fit the category.
moby dick a tale of two cities *these probably arent available on audio, but if you for those interested... duel of eagles - best book ive ever read on the alamo/texas history. does a great job of dispelling alot of the myths. however the real story and backgrounds on the major players are often more scandalous/interesting than all the myths created over the years. history of the conquest of mexico - my favorite history book and one of the best books ive ever read. things fall apart - a very short read by african author chinawa achebe (m.s.?). fantastic story about how life/traditions in africa change w/ the appearance of the europeans. keith richards bio - victor brokus delivered from evil - complete history of wwII. its over 1,000 pages. covers all aspects of wwII, from history leading up to conflict, whole chapters devoted to backgrounds of the major players and generals on both sides, details of every battle. ive read it 3 times.
If you're going for Audio Books, then I highly, highly recommend "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier. The book itself is excellent (it won the National Book Award), with poetic prose, a mythical journey, and a subtle love story. But the audio book is even better. It's read by the author, and he reads the book with a flat delivery, which you might think would be boring, but it actually works so well with the material. The delivery of the prose is so soothing and low-key that it's practically mesmeric. And it's perfect for some of the dry sarcasm (there isn't a lot of this, but when it shows up, it's hilarious). IMO, too often an audio book reader will "act out" the story instead of just reading it. That's fine for some novels, but for some books, I'd rather listen and focus on the author's prose and language rather than the reader's performance. Some books are just better served by being delivered like that of a speech-maker, instead of an actor.
Yeah, you caught a mistake Survivor is easily my favorite book of his... but that's just because I am a warped individual.
One Hundred Years of Solitude-Gabrial Garcia Marquez Dune (the whole series)-Frank Herbert The Stranger-Albert Camus The Sun Also Rises-Heminway did anyone know that there are going to be two more Dune book thats going to come out in 06 and 07 thats suppose to cap off the series? i sure hope its good.
