Favourite Books of All Time

[Cel]

Darklord of Derkholm by Diana Wynn Jones - Probably my favorite book in the world. I know the name sounds childish and it is sort of a kids book, but both young and old readers can enjoy it. Here's the plot:
   In a magical alternative world, Mr. Chesney's Pilgrim Parties descend once a year from (presumably) our world, expecting all the trappings of a fantasy land: the evil Dark Lord, the Glamorous Enchantress, attacks from Leathery-Winged Avians, and wise Wizard Guides. The real fantasy world is nothing like that. But Mr. Chesney is backed by a very powerful demon, so the entire world must put on an enormous act, just for the tourists, and it is devastating the fantasy world. The farmlands are laid to waste, populations slain, dragons and elves are unable to mate, and if they do not cooperate, the demon will come after them.
At the suggestion of the Head of University, Querida, the all-knowing Oracles are consulted on how to end the carnage wreaked by the tours. It appears that the only way to end the tours is to make the (apparently incompetent) Wizard Derk the next Dark Lord, and his son, Blade, the Wizard Guide for the final tour.

It's both awesome and funny.

I also have to suggest pretty much anything by George Macdonald, particularly, The Golden Key, Lilith, The princess and The Goblin and its sequel The Princess and Curdie.

[Flayne]

Most of these books sound like they are for young teenagers... adult fiction > youth fiction.

And by adult fiction, I don't mean graphic novels (book porn).

your point being?

[Chromatophore]

I dont know if its my favourite but "of all time" made me think of Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

[Astrocyte]

A good book is a good book, the target audience doesn't matter. I would even say good children's books and young adult books bear rereading from time to time as you "grow up." You get different things from them at different points in your life.

Fight Club
Yeah, you've seen the movie, and if you are female, this loses half its appeal, and you can go cry about no Brad Pitt, and how Jack is an infinitely better name than Joe.

Hey!! I thought the book was pretty great, and I didn't think Brad Pitt was that awesome in the movie... But maybe I'm just crying 'cause I'm about to get my period or something, I'll go buy some shoes to make myself feel better.


Anyway, back to topic... It's hard for me to say "of all time" but these are the first four that jumped into my head.

The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Winner of the first-ever Hugo Award. Takes place in the near future where telepaths are common and integrated into all levels of society. Then the first premeditated murder in decades happens. The book alternates perspectives between the detective and the murderer (who himself is being hunted by a third party), and not in a half-done way -- you know everything about both men from the beginning, the mystery comes from the things that neither of them know. It was written in the 50s, so it has some decidedly non-PC stuff in it, but it's both a fun science fiction book and a smart detective story.


East of Eden by John Steinbeck
No, really, not EVERYTHING Steinbeck writes is depressing! East of Eden actually has both sad AND happy parts!* The book has it all -- love, hate, sex, violence, revenge, forgiveness, hope, dreams, family drama, and probably a few other things in a story about... well, it's hard to say what it's about. It's huge (602 pages) and it's about people. It starts with a handful of them and follows their lives and their choices, and the meanings of their lives and choices. Look, I'm doing a terrible job describing it, but if you want a realistic and beautifully written American epic, grab this book.

* Note to folks outside the U.S.: A lot of Americans have to read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath in high school. It's a good book and an accurate picture of its era, but it also does a great job putting people off Steinbeck forever because it's horribly depressing.


We by Evgeny Zamyatin
Takes place in a dystopian world where life is governed by rules of absolute efficiency, and follows an engineer as he begins to fall prey to emotions that he has always believed are pointless and meaningless. The book was snuck out of the USSR, published in Czechoslovakia, and then filtered westward where it influenced Orwell, Huxley, Rand, and Le Guin.


His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
The books are Northern Lights (inexplicably renamed The Golden Compass in America), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The setting is a sort of parallel world to ours, with twists -- technology isn't as far along, but magic and science and religion all coexist in daily life; there are races other than humans; and everyone has an outward manifestation of their soul, called a daemon. The daemon is tangible, can speak, is as intelligent as you are, and comes in the form of an animal that reflects your personality (children's daemons are shapeshifters until sometime in their teens). It starts off following a tomboyish orphan named Lyra, a ward of Oxford College in England. A playmate suddenly disappears, and she takes it on herself to find him. And the story gets bigger from there, fueled by Lyra's determination to save her friend no matter what.
There's a movie version of the first book, but it suffers from some of the common problems of adapting big books into movies: it tried to keep too much of the book, and it relies too much on exposition. It looks beautiful and the casting is incredible -- but it doesn't make much sense if you haven't read the books, and there's an awful lot of talking.

[ddevans96]

Honestly, the line between 'teenage fiction' and 'adult fiction' is very thin. As much as I hate to bring it up, the Twilight series is a good example of that.

[Onizuka]

I don't have a favorite book per say, but definitely a favorite series.

Discworld Series This is the description from wikipedia:
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues.

There's multiple storylines, and they're such great reads.

[Cel]

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand - modeled my old/other avatars after him.

VERY YES. I can't believe I forgot to mention Cyrano de Bergerac. Since my family is part French, we often joke that we're Gascons.

[Vipy5]

Most of these books sound like they are for young teenagers... adult fiction > youth fiction.

And by adult fiction, I don't mean graphic novels (book porn).

Most of these are for young teens, but these books can be reread as you get older, there is no defining line between teen and adult fiction, as ddevans mentioned.
You also mentioned that graphic novels are book porn, I find that very offensive, as my dads job is to write graphic novels, and through him I have gained a great storage of knowledge and understanding. Graphic novels are no less books than any novel.

[artimies7]

Many of these I have read.

Two to note: Under the Dome, By Stephen King, and the Maximum Ride series, by James Patterson.

[Astrocyte]

I don't have a favorite book per say, but definitely a favorite series.

Discworld Series
<snip>
There's multiple storylines, and they're such great reads.

Truth! They're really funny, and you don't have to read them in order -- there's not an overarching plot.

[Rutarete]

I've got 2 favorite series.

1. Remnants by K.A. Applegate.
It's like a middle school level reading series (14 short books). But it's one of my favorites because of the story.
Very simple Overview: An asteroid 1/3 the size of the earth slams into earth, breaking it apart. NASA sees it coming a few days before impact, and hastily throws together 80 hibernation capsules and launches. (This takes place in 2011, which is somewhat ironic). Those of the 80 that survive when they wake up must find a way to survive. (if i say any more i'd be giving away the plot)

2. The Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist
This is adult fiction. I couldn't summarize it better than the author does, so here's the website: http://www.crydee.com/
The series isn't finished yet, but almost.

[918273645]

The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
DR. SEUSS IS F***ING AWESOME.

Gone series: 4 books atm, gets a good perspective on life and how spoiled we are.

Hunger Games: 3rd one was quite...shocking, but twists in plot make it awesome

The Looking Glass Wars: An unknown series atm, the "real" story to Alice in Wonderland

Ranger's Apprentice: Fun little series, the mid-evil period makes it more believable