you'll have to catch me first! granted, it was pretty much the first book i had read that wasn't in some way required for school since i was about 9, but i still enjoyed the hell out of it. it would be hard to tailor a book to my interests more than brown did. sure, he may not be the best writer, but the story was great. as for books i had to read for school, in 5th grade we read a book called The Westing Game. i loved that book. a friend and i always held that book in high regard well past the time we could even remember what happened in it. for some reason it was just so awesome even though all i remember was that 4 characters had last names with the 4 cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) in them and i think they all ended up being the same person. as for a more recent book from school, i'll go with A Tale of Two Cities. we had to choose b/t that, great expectations, and probably oliver twist, and i'm glad i chose this one. especially loved the ending and last lines. and finally, some Agatha Christie book probably makes my top 4 or 5 list, but i can't honestly remember any specific one that i liked the most right now. when we had to read a certain number of pages each 6 weeks, i read quite a few of her books.
lots of great books already mentioned but it would be impossible for me to pick an absolute all time fav. i'm kinda surprised no one mentioned 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' ... in my youth i could never get enough of Louis L'amour. not high brow literature by any means but that guy was one hell of a storyteller.
Hustler But occassionaly there is a good read in Juggs or Perfect 10. (I'm kidding, I'm happily married man, though I've forgotten what naked women look like).
do you or anyone here have an idea what 2 or 3 of louis L'amour's best books are? ive always thought about trying some of his stuff out but he has so many to choose from though.
rimrocker, it is really good to see another member enjoys Vidal as much as I do. I'm reading Burr right now
There are so many. None of them really stand out as the "best" as they are all very similar (that's not a bad thing). Here are some that I have enjoyed, in no particular order: The Daybreakers Comstock Lode Last of the Breed (not a western, but still a great adventure story) The Quick and the Dead The Empty Land Bendigo Shafter
Ann Rice wrote under "Anne Roccalaire" -close to that. Some of the hottest writing. When my wife and I were dating I would read it to her. My favorites: "A Winter's Tale" "The Chinaman" by Stephen Leather " A Present for Santa" "I Claudius" "A Call from L.A." "The Fool's run"-Jonathan Camp
There are a lot of good books in this thread, but not my favorite: "Of Human Bondage" "The Eyes Of The Dragon" has a lot of value to me. I'd also like to give a shout out to "The Razor's Edge" and "Ender's Game".
some good suggestions in the previous replies. i'm a big fan of the Sackett novels tho ... Sackett's Land To The Far Blue Mountains The Daybreakers Sackett
Thought of another: The Blind Assassin by Atwood. I should read more of her books. And, there are a lot of good novels by CS Lewis, but my favorite would be That Hideous Strength.
For pure fun nothing beats a good Tom Robbins mind bender... Another Roadside Attraction Still Life with Woodpecker Jitterbug Perfume Skinny Legs and All Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates
DRY! Not my cup 'O tea. Should have been retitled "The Theater Hipster's Guide to Being A Theater Hipster"
Guns of the Timberlands High Lonesome Hondo Matagorda Are all good. Matagorda is a favorite among that group, because a backdrop is the hurricane that destroys Indianola.
