The 5 best books you have read.

[Misanthropik]

1) "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins

2) "Mysteries of Planet Earth" by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker (I also had the privilege of meeting the man and conversing with him extensively on a number of occasions)

3) "The Unexplained" by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker

4) "The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings" by Edgar Allan Poe

5) "Letter To a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.

I've read many more, but this is my "desert island" list. When I read, I prefer to be taking in knowledge of something, rather than reading a fictional story, but Edgar Allan Poe is by far the greatest macabre-fiction writer, in my opinion (but, again, I haven't had much exposure). His use of poetry mixed with mystery and darkness creates an atmosphere that is captivating and beautiful. I still want to get "Quothe the Raven: Nevermore" tattooed somewhere on me but I can't seem to pick out a suitable spot xD

[Red Celt]

The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins

The only book that has made me change the way that I look at the world. Get it. Read it. I (almost) insist.

The Foundation series - Isaac Asimov

A wonderful sci-fi series that stays in your mind long after you've stopped reading them.

The Heliconia trilogy - Brian W. Aldiss

Awesome trilogy that includes the creation of a religion... based around a totally unaware individual who certainly wasn't a prophet. I just loved how that was presented and how it can be applied to our own history.

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

Primarily because it got me into Banks - who remains my favourite author. It would be too greedy to include all of his books. Also, if you like sci-fi and want to read some fucking awesome sci-fi, please pick up a copy of Consider Phlebas and follow the Culture Series from beginning to end.

Magician - Raymond E. Feist

How a fantasy book should be written. I was torn between Magician and the utterly utterly wonderful series that he co-wrote with Janny Wurts: Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire & Mistress of the Empire.


The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings can't go unmentioned, but they're so obvious that it would be unfair to use up one of the top 5 spots with them. So many other books I'd have liked to mention Anne McCaffrey's The White Dragon is one of my most-read books. Pern was an oft-revisited planet.

[Near]

In no particular order:

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (I think that by reading this, it really helped me to get out of religion all together. Not that it portrays religion in a bad way, it's hard to describe why it helped, but it really did.)

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

The Mbuti Pygmies: Change and Adaptation by Colin Turnbull

[Vera]

[quote='Buddy Christ' pid='118389' dateline='1337745367']
It's hard to list the 5 best, because each book I own has different uses for different moods. Kind of like music, depending on what mood I'm in that day, I could list anything from Elton John to Megadeth.



2. The Dark Elf Series - R.A. Salvatore

The 20+ book series of Drizzt Do'Urden is entwined into my entire being. I've been reading them repeatedly since I could read and they still captivate me and make me reflect.

Oh man, that so funny! I've translated about 12 Drizzt books; for quite some time he was almost like a personal friend (can't say the same about Cattie-Brie though, she kinda drove me crazy)

[shadostr13]

Oh, let's see now

The Lord of the Rings
A Mote in God's Eye
The Thomas Covenant series
The Incarnations of Immortality - Piers Anthony
any thing by Robert Heinlein......

I sneaked in a lot more than 5 books there!

And I even left out the Harry Potter books, even though I love them.....

[Dark Light]

(17-10-2012 05:37 AM)shadostr13 Wrote:  Oh, let's see now

The Lord of the Rings
A Mote in God's Eye
The Thomas Covenant series
The Incarnations of Immortality - Piers Anthony
any thing by Robert Heinlein......

I sneaked in a lot more than 5 books there!

And I even left out the Harry Potter books, even though I love them.....

And I thought I was the only person to ever read a Mote in God's Eye! Maybe it is much more popular than I thought?

My List
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R Tolkien
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (Various)
I, Robot - Isaac Asimov
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

[depat]

This was so hard as there are so many, seems an injustice.
In order of of my life:

William Golding, Lord of the Flies
Taught me early on that life has consequences.

Stephen R. Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Re-taught me how to really enjoy a great read.

Anton Chekhov's Play, Three Sisters
Taught me to appreciate the human condition.

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
Taught me how to live ethically, apart from morals.

Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabit
Read it for the first time at age 55. Reminded me I hadn't cried in a long time.

I dont remember the author, but I read this in Chekhov's Three Sisters. Maybe it's Checkhov's. Googled it but no luck. I remember the words but not the form.

"A green oak grows in a sheltered cove,
A golden chain wound around it,
A golden chain wound around it
And on that chain walks a learned cat"

I felt divestated for these women.

[The Theist]

Lets Do the top 10 instead. Aside from the Bible, without a doubt Frank Herbert's Dune series.

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children Of Dune
God Emperor Of Dune
Heretics Of Dune
Chapter House Dune

And Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guide Series. I have them all in one.

Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Restaurant At The End Of The Universe
Life, The Universe And Everything
So Long And Thanks For All The Fish