The Alienist- Caleb Carr
The Transall Saga-Gary Paulsen. Probably no one here has read it though.
“The Bone People” by Keri Hulme. The most beautiful and satisfying book bar none I’ve ever read. I must have read it at least 20 times.
Jane Austen, especially “Mansfield Park” and “Emma”.
Terry Pratchett.
Laurell K. Hamilton’s “Anita Blake: Vampire Killer” series.
Harry Potter.
“Uncle Oswald” by Roald Dahl. An unbelievably raunchy tale from the man who brought us “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
Now if you want to talk about reading books until they fall apart…I’m on my second copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird” (loved the movie) and my third of “Jane Eyre” (movie was okay, I mean the one with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, all others sucked).
“a tree grows in brooklyn” - it made me genuinely laugh out loud AND sob
“‘where did you go?’ ‘out.’ ‘what did you do?’ ‘nothing.’” by robert paul smith - it’s this obscure book that my mom has a really old copy of that i read once every few months
“the castle in the attic” by elizabeth winthrop - it’s a kid’s book that i always take to read at the dentist for some reason (does anyone else have a dentist book?)
“harriet the spy” by louise fitzhugh - the movie was dumb and they left out the most meaningful parts, along with the depth in harriet’s character. but the book’s amazing
“i went to the animal fair” by heather harpham - one of the only Christian books i’ve read that’s quality writing
“maniac mcgee” by jerry spinelli
“jane of lantern hill” by lm montgomery - better than all her other books put together
“jane eyre” - i’ve read it so many times and underlined all my favoite passages, so i skim it for the good parts rather than reread it
“the president’s daughter” by ellen emerson white - it’s one of the few truly witty young adult/teenage type books out there - plus it’s very reminiscent of the 80s, which i love
“the diary of anais nin” volumes 2 and 3 - the hands down best books ever. the bulk of my journals is made up of quotes from these books
Well, well.
If you can forgive my preference for Troilus and Cressida over Lear, perhaps we should have drinks sometime if you’re ever in Charlotte. I think we have a lot in common, **rackensack **!
In the Skin of a Lion - the best of Michael Ondatje, way better than The English Patient, in my opinion. Every time I read it I find something new. (Took me four reads to find the line “Here’s to heavenly fathers”)
She’s Come Undone - this makes me cry every time, because her pain is so real and her sorrow so deep.
Books I want to read, after reading this thread:
I Know This Much is True - can anyone who’s read this give me a comparison, enjoyment-wise, to Lamb’s earlier works?
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
If you liked She’s Come Undone, you will LOVE I Know This Much is True. I liked it better than She’s Come Undone.
Read it!
Thought of another: The Calvin and Hobbes books.
“Bad news, Dad. Your ratings are down.”
Well I can never get enough of Heart of Darkness. It took me a few passes to get by Conrad’s ponderous prose, but it was worth it. Second Skin by John Hawkes has gotten a lot of attention from me, especially whenever I need to read a tale of pyschological surrealism punctuated by suicide and quixotic self-delusions.
Neuromancer is also a great read, as is King’s The Gunslinger, and most anything by Clive Barker, but especially Weaveworld. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath gets taken out for a spin regularly.
Plus there’s this playful little story called Uncleftish Beholdings by Poul Anderson. I just love this one.
Well I can never get enough of Heart of Darkness. It took me a few passes to get by Conrad’s ponderous prose, but it was worth it. Second Skin by John Hawkes has gotten a lot of attention from me, especially whenever I need to read a tale of pyschological surrealism punctuated by suicide and quixotic self-delusions.
Neuromancer is also a great read, as is King’s The Gunslinger, and most anything by Clive Barker, but especially Weaveworld. Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath gets taken out for a spin regularly.
Plus there’s this playful little story called Uncleftish Beholdings by Poul Anderson. I just love this one.
I’m going to second these two, as well as PunditLisa’s mentioning of the Little House books, and add A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, The Lucky Starr books by Isaac Asimov and the Anita Blake novels by Laurell K Hamilton.
I’m going to second these two, as well as PunditLisa’s mentioning of the Little House books, and add A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, The Lucky Starr books by Isaac Asimov and the Anita Blake novels by Laurell K Hamilton.
Sorry about the multi-post. It just didn’t want to seem to show up!!!
Scrolling through this thread, I was hoping no one had said this. You beat me to it. Have every book. Read them all many, many times. Classics.
“I don’t need parents. All I need is a recording that says, ‘Go play outside!’”
Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond series.
And Marlitharn? Keri Hulme once said my baby was beautiful 
The Rebel and The Fall by Albert Camus - Every time I read them I get a whole new side of what he’s saying.
Naked Lunch by William Burroughs - I haven’t read it in a while, but I probably read it 20 or 30 times over the space of a couple of years a few years back. I have a short attention span at times, and this book caters to that.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood for sheer reading pleasure, and for a feel-good romance, As You Desire by Connie Brockway.
A couple comments: I have “Game of Kings” sitting right besides me and have attempted it no fewer than five times. Just CANNOT seem to get into this. Maybe it’s because I’m such a poor Anglo-historian and I have a hard time following all the political nuances. And then every fifth word is in French…::sigh::
Also, didn’t realize we had Anita Blake fans amongst us. Don’t know if it’s cause I’m a dog lover, but I’d choose Richard over Jean-Claude anyday. Call me picky, but I prefer my lovers to be alive.
A couple comments: I have “Game of Kings” sitting right beside me and have attempted it no fewer than five times. Just CANNOT seem to get into this. Maybe it’s because I’m such a poor Anglo-historian and I have a hard time following all the political nuances. And then every fifth word is in French…::sigh::
Also, didn’t realize we had Anita Blake fans amongst us. I’m a Richard fan myself. Jean-Claude sucks.
Sorry for the simulpost. My server keeps coming up that the SDMB server isn’t responding.