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whats you favorite book and why

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posted on May, 31 2005 @ 01:54 AM
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This is a series but the Stephen King Dark Tower series,great books from start to finish.Well the first one is kinda weak but it is short.



posted on Jul, 4 2005 @ 11:21 PM
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Catch-22 Joseph Heller and SpaceTimePhysics Wheeler and Taylor.



posted on Oct, 5 2005 @ 04:57 PM
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Mine is a book called The Bone Parade by Mark Nykanen. This is a really exciting and creepy read. Great page turner,i suggest to check it out

www.amazon.com...



posted on Oct, 5 2005 @ 06:44 PM
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The Philosphy And Opinions of Marcus Garvey is far and away my favourite book and an immense influence on my life but my favourite novel is....

author:Fyodor Dostoevsky
bookname:The Brothers Karamazov
why you like it:It's simply a masterpiece,the greatest work of one of the greatest writers.If you've read anything else by Dostoevsky and liked it definitely read this,if you haven't read his books before what are you waiting for?
what its about:it's so complex it's imposible to really sum up briefly.On the surface it's about the Karamazov family,the father is murdered and what involvement did the brothers have in it,but as usual with Dostoevsky it's about so much more than the surface storyline,moral responsibility,faith,the burden of free will,obsession all that and much more.



posted on Aug, 11 2006 @ 11:55 AM
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One of my favorites also qualifies as the oldest book in the world:

I Ching (Book of Changes)

For fiction, I like Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty. Another favorite is anything by Agatha Christie. Because I'm in library school, I was particularly intrigued by The Blue Train, because Christie considered The Blue Train to be her first work as a professional writer... she didn't write it because she liked the idea, she wrote it because she needed the money. A more recent favorite is Prey, by Michael Crichton -- although his earlier works were masterful treatments of any topic except love, Prey rectifies that omission... it shows Crichton's increased growth as a writer. From 2006 so far, The Terrorist by John Updike shows both audacity and lyricism in tacking a very difficult subject.

Non-fiction works I admire are a much longer list! Currently at the top are The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman; the young adult-oriented book Chew On This--Everything You Don't Want To Know About Fast Food, by Eric Schlosser; Schools That Rock--The Rolling Stone Guide to the 100 Best College Music Programs; Vindication--A Life Of Mary Wollstonecraft; Chris Carmichael's Food For Fitness--Eat Right To Train Right, by Chris Carmichael; Higher Education In The Internet Age, by Patricia Senn Breivik (evaluates issues in finding reliable information online, among other things).



posted on Aug, 11 2006 @ 01:19 PM
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Well, I don't know about 1 single favorite book; it all depends on the type of book,ie, fiction, non-fiction, etc. But I'll try to name a select few.

Fiction: Stranger in a strange land
by Robert Heinlein
Valentine Michael Smith is the only survivor of the first expedition to Mars- but he never lived on earth... until now. As he interacts with those around him, he changes lives and maybe the world.

I first read this book about twenty-five years ago and I still find myself re-reading it every few years or so. The characters are developed so well and the humor, mixed with dramatic elements make it very attractive.

www.wegrokit.com...

Non-fiction: The Elegant Universe
By Brian Greene
Shows just how vast and complex our universe is and how quantum physics, including String Theory may explain some of the mysteries of space and time.

www.wwnorton.com...









[edit on 8/11/2006 by Stormrider]



posted on Aug, 11 2006 @ 01:52 PM
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Snow Crash by Neil Stephonson.

Need I say why?
If you have not read this book, READ IT! Comedic, Sci-fi cyberpunk novel set in a post mortage sale USA where the average resident of the former nation doesn't even know the Presidents name. Hiro Protagonist is the primary character and by his name alone you know that this novel is not taking itself seriously.

[edit on 11-8-2006 by sardion2000]



posted on Aug, 25 2006 @ 12:39 PM
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Nice to see Neal Stephenson getting some votes here, along with Philip K. Dick.

Like most others here, I can't name just one, so here we go...

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker. People who have only seen Dracula movies and have not read the book don't know how much fun they're missing out on. This is a really entertaining novel; a terrific adventure story filled with interesting and likable (and hateable) characters, great action set-pieces, and atmospheric spooky stuff. It's a relatively long novel, but the Victorian language goes down easily enough, and the way the story is told -- through diary entries, letters, telegrams, phonograph recordings, and other first-person narrative devices -- keeps the action hopping from one character to another, so things never get boring.

2. Foucalt's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. The first thirty pages are so are pretty tough sledding, but after that, this multilayered and monumental occult thriller really takes off. It's a veritable pepper pot of occult practices and belief systems, and their various adherents make for a fascinating crew of characters, both good guys and bad guys. If you're interested in secret societies, ancient conspiracies, paranormal shenanigans, and the ol' Innocent-Scholar-Is -Pursued-After-Uncovering-Horrifying-Secret chase thriller story, your gonna love this phat book.

3. VALIS by Philip K. Dick. Not the easiest Dick book to get into, but one of his best-written, and certainly his most personal. It's a fictionalized account of his real-life encounter with a divine entity. It's about fear and paranoia; about craziness, and about wisdom and love. It's a beautiful book, and requires several rereadings just to absorb the massive amounts of densely-packed information Dick offers up.

4. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. After James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake, the greatest English-language work of the 20th century. 'nuff said.

5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Slightly edging out his The Diamond Age, this book sheds light on a little-known facet of 20th-century history, and also illuminates a plausibly possible near-future. And does both in a spectacularly entertaining fashion. I think Stephenson is going to shape up as one of the great American writers of our time. And I mean Great.

6. Doctor No by Ian Fleming. This deceptively simple James Bond novel is Fleming's greatest literary achievement. Few people take the time to realize it, but his James Bond saga is essentially a series of fairy tales for adults, dressed up in the trappings of a modern spy thriller. Doctor No is the best example of the bunch, complete with dragons and sea monsters and princesses that need rescuing and an evil wizard that needs defeating. Beautifully written high adventure that would've made Tolkien proud.

Honorable mentions go to The Great Shark Hunt by Hunter S. Thompson; Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft; The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Dark Tower series by Stephen King; and everything by William Gibson, Robert Anton Wilson, and Raymond Chandler. And William Shakespeare -- him too.


Baack



posted on Aug, 25 2006 @ 12:54 PM
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"Eyelids of Morning"

Alistair Graham/Peter Beard

This book defies description

not for the faint of heart

I like this book because it's so unique!!



posted on Aug, 27 2006 @ 11:31 PM
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Originally posted by TahoeSkiBum
This is a series but the Stephen King Dark Tower series,great books from start to finish.Well the first one is kinda weak but it is short.


Is Eye of the Dragon in that series? I thought that one was good.

And...
My favorite: Forest Gump
Author: Winston Groom
Why: I read it several times before the movie came out. It is so much better than the movie that the two are difficult to compare. I still read it every so often and I still hurt from laughing so much. I also have to stop reading and dry my eyes because I laugh so hard the tears come out. It is a flash of comic genius from an otherwise dark, unhappy author.



posted on Aug, 28 2006 @ 12:05 AM
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My favorite book is
"Aztec" By Gary Jennings

The amount of research that Gary Jennings had done on Aztec culture to write this historical fiction was amazing. I felt that this book was not only entertaining but educational as well.



posted on Aug, 28 2006 @ 12:51 AM
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My current favorite two books are part of a bi-novel series, and part of a four novel stand alone series.


Pandoras Star & Judas Unchained
by Peter F. Hamilton
It's based in the 24th-25th century (It's only ever mentioned once).
Humanity has had wormhole technology since the mid twenty-first century.
Basically it begins as a look at the lives od people from all walks of life,
and how they live. Eventually a starship is sent to a star system where
a star literally dissapeared to investigate, and upon there arrival they
find the entire solar sytem is isolated within a huge force field, the force-field
turns off, and the alien race that lived there escapes, and through the
two books the entire war is played out

I likew it because it's one of the most plausable scenarios for the future
I've ever read, humanity is'nt a socialist utopia like in star trek,
but rather much like the united states, with an executive and legislative government and a capitalist economic system.



posted on Oct, 1 2006 @ 03:53 PM
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Well if you judge it by how many times you have read it, I would have to say Bill Shnoebelen's Masonry Beyond the light. It may be all false and what not but I just couldn't put it down.



posted on Oct, 8 2006 @ 02:28 PM
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I'll have to throw my hat in on Stephen King also--Dark Tower Series especially (though I haven't read 5-7 yet; no "real" bookstores nearby and Walmart never seems to have book 5.) Insomnia was another really good one as well, actually kinda made me wonder with some of the stuff he talks about in there. At least until I realize my imagination is getting the better of me, then I force it out of my mind.

LotR also of course. If nothing else at least for all the extra work that went into it--it's one thing to write a story set in a fictional world, but to create extra background, even detailing the languages and history to that depth, when it's hardly used in the plotline, is something else. Reading the appendices to the edition I have I felt more like I was reading a well-written history text and not a work of fiction.

Strangers by Dean Koontz is another good one too, although I don't care quite as much for his style as King. It's a good book though, keeping several storylines running and then pulling them all together.


CX

posted on Oct, 8 2006 @ 02:46 PM
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One of my faves is by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, it's called "By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept".

Just a simple story that makes you think about life, as does most of his books. The ending is set in a place that i vowed to go and visit one day it sounded that nice.

Other than that i am resently reading the last in the "Pirates" adventure series by Gideon Defoe. Hugely funny and a total escape from the serious reading that i've been engaged in for months now. The books are about the adventures of a gang of really crap pirates, very well written, very dry humour and the sort of book that can be read by adult or child alike.

CX.



posted on Oct, 31 2006 @ 07:23 AM
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I havent finished the Lord of the Rings yet, but I'm about halfway through The Two Towers now and I have to say Its an amazingly vivid epic. Though it would have been a lot tougher to visualize everything if I hadn't seen the movies first. By the time I finish it, it will be my favorite book of all time.

As for my favorite book as of now:
All the way to Berlin, by James Megellis
Excellent piece of history for anyone really interested in history(most notably WW2 history). This story is told from the perspective of the most decorated soldier in the history of the 82nd Airborne. If you let your imagination run with his words, you will be on the edge of your seat the entire way through.



posted on Nov, 9 2006 @ 08:29 PM
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I have two favorites in fiction.

Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank

and

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

My favorite non-fiction books are both by Carl Sagan (not sure why...maybe because my dad encouraged me to read them relativley young and they are what sparked my interest in many a subject)

Demon Haunted World

and

Dragons of Eden



posted on Nov, 9 2006 @ 10:59 PM
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Like a number of others I can't name just one.

Literature

Sophie's Choice by William Styron

A coming of age novel, southern novel set in NY City, and holocaust novel all rolled into one. Tears your heart apart as it gives you hope by showing a young man blossom into a writer.

Science Fiction

Malevil by Robert Merle

My favorite of the many post apocalypse novels I have read. I need to find a copy and read it again.


American Humor

Sneaky People by Thomas Berger

A humorous novel following the bumbling attempts of a car dealer trying to kill his wife so he can marry his buxom mistress. Flawlessly written completely in the vernacular of the 1930's midwest.

Non-fiction

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Illustrates how throughout history the cultures with a slight leg up in technology and a couple of handy diseases, have been able to decimate, dominate, and change the faces of civilizations they have encountered. The information on the growth of civilizations through agriculture and the application of new science are also fascinating.



posted on Nov, 21 2006 @ 01:44 AM
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Originally posted by bodrul
post which book you like to read and why

auther:


"truth" aka "god"



bookname:


the bible



what its about:


how the future encoded it.



why you like it:


When you apply the rules within the bible to the words in the bible, and in all languages, you can see the truth of the future, past, and present. i think it is neat how it was encoded.

for instance:

1) the bible says "judge not lest thee be judged", and since the bible itself is not above this law, and the bible does judge, then we have the right to apply the rules of the word to the words.

2) the bible says "we are in the dominion of satan/lucifer." and "all things in the realm of the satan and lucifer are opposite that of heaven." So, everything is reversed, mirror image.

3) the bible says "the mind of a child shall lead them." So, spell it out phoenetically, like a child would spell it.

4) the bible says "the meek shall inherit the earth.", So, only use lower case letters.


I also like how the bible, and all cultures, originally used english.

now, here are some examples of what it is i find neat about how the future of mankind/womenkind traversed time and encoded the bible:
.....................................................................................................
Question: What were they wearing and where were they wearing it when it all began?

the were:
nude [mirror] edun

that's right, they were nude in the garden of edun!

......................................................................................................
Question: What did god say when he broke up the tongues with the curse of the tower of babel?

F. U. Speach!

F*** You Speach

F*** [mirror] Kuf
U......[mirror] U
Speach [mirror] chaeps or ... cheops.

Kufu Cheops, oddly enough the same names given to the one who constructed the great pyramid.

who wrote about the tower of babel first? Moses. Where did he come from? Egypt.

................................................

What was man's purpose on earth suppose to be?

to name things. but, the "e" in name makes no sound:

nam [mirror] man
.................................................

modern day example?

"see i fart"

see = C

i = i

fart = fart

"c i fart"

C I F A R T [mirror] T R A F I C = TRAFFIC

........................................................

oddly enough, the opposite of TEACH is CHEAT. (neat, huh?)

oddly enough many kids were worried about their LOOKS when they were in SKOOL. (neat, huh?)

thought i would share why i like that book soooo much.

........................................................

A PILL
APPLE
A PILL
APPLE
A PILL


either way:

A PILL a day keeps the doctor away!
An APPLE a day keeps the doctor away!

(neat, huh?)



posted on Nov, 21 2006 @ 07:55 AM
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Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is probably the only book I ever cried while reading. I don't know if I identified more with the alien race or Ender but the ending had me sobbing uncontrollably for hours.

On a lighter note (not much lighter) is the book Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut. I think this should be required reading for every single human being because it forces you to look in a mirror and seriously ask the question, "Just what are people for?"

Jon




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