# Do you have a "perfect" book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445 "2014-07-30T21:11:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/21 "2014-07-31T15:34:58Z")
“Little, Big” by John Crowley “Far Tortuga” by Peter Matthiessen Both books verge on being poetry in the beauty of the language, but they are novels through and through. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/22 "2014-07-31T15:39:33Z")
Jane Austen’s _Pride and Prejudice_. I actually like _Emma_ more, but I don’t think it would hurt _Emma_ if the ending were tightened up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/23 "2014-07-31T15:44:36Z")
Good Omens, Pratchett and Gaiman. I’ve reread this book a half dozen times, and it is perfect. Also I think the first James Herriot collection, All Creatures Great and Small is a rather perfect collection of stories. I first read it in the late 70s, when I was about twelve. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/24 "2014-07-31T15:45:00Z")
_Fifth Business_ by Robertson Davies. I second _Lolita_. A pearl of a book. A disturbing pearl. > [@Trinopus](#): > > Also, any of the five Demon Princes novels by Jack Vance, or his four Tschai books. The apex of his mastery of adventure science fiction. Agree on the Demon Prince books, I’ve read them a dozen times. Not so much the Tschai books. Is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![TailGunnerTrout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@TailGunnerTrout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TailGunnerTrout)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/25 "2014-07-31T16:19:03Z")
Books are written by their author’s specs so there is no need to ever change anything and it’d be arrogant to think otherwise. They are all perfect in the world in which their author created them. If you believe you can write better than any author, get off your ass and write your own books and stop worrying about criticising the works of others who actually have the intellience to write themselves. There is a saying that is often twisted to be formatted to fit it’s subject but in this case it’d go a little something like…“those who can write, do write and those who cannot, criticize!” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/26 "2014-07-31T16:25:57Z")
> [@TailGunnerTrout](#): > > Books are written by their author’s specs so there is no need to ever change anything and it’d be arrogant to think otherwise. They are all perfect in the world in which their author created them. If you believe you can write better than any author, get off your ass and write your own books and stop worrying about criticising the works of others who actually have the intellience to write themselves. There is a saying that is often twisted to be formatted to fit it’s subject but in this case it’d go a little something like…“those who can write, do write and those who cannot, criticize!” Absolutely wrong. There are crappily written books out there, and books that are good but have some obvious problems. John Norman, a favorite of mine, had a brilliant concept (softcore slavegirl porn goes great with interplanetary romance stories with a sword and sandal flavor) but he can’t write convincing female characters for sour owl poop, as Harlan Ellison would say, and he slathered a bunch of ideological ranting into the books too. The Gor novels are NOT perfect, fun though they may be on some levels. Oh, and I did write a Gor style novel, Karg, and have a couple of others in the works (Witless on Lothar and an as yet untitled project that I’m about 25,000 words into). But I didn’t do that to make any points about the Gor novels, I did it because they’re all fun projects, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/27 "2014-07-31T16:26:36Z")
Jane Austen’s **Persuasion** , **Bleak House** , by Charles Dickens and **Lonesome Dove** , by Larry McMurtry. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/28 "2014-07-31T16:27:52Z")
Valerie Martin’s _A Recent Martyr_ is not merely my favorite novel of all time, but as near to perfect as I’ve ever read. I’m pretty sure the version of the manuscript in Plato’s Cave is all but identical. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/29 "2014-07-31T17:01:59Z")
> [@TailGunnerTrout](#): > > Books are written by their author’s specs so there is no need to ever change anything and it’d be arrogant to think otherwise. They are all perfect in the world in which their author created them. If you believe you can write better than any author, get off your ass and write your own books and stop worrying about criticising the works of others who actually have the intellience to write themselves. There is a saying that is often twisted to be formatted to fit it’s subject but in this case it’d go a little something like…“those who can write, do write and those who cannot, criticize!” I heard an interview with Philip K Dick many years ago on NPR. His career began when SF was mostly considered trash & he never escaped that ghetto. He only had an editor for two of his books–_The Man in the High Castle_ and another I’ve forgotten. He wished he’d had more editorial help & I agree. Plenty of people who write & manage to get published wouldn’t catch my interest no matter how well they were edited. And a few seem to have written gems that didn’t need polishing. (A maiden lady in Regency days probably had more time to work on her writing than a man trying to sell enough words to the pulps to support his family.) But lots of writers benefit from good editing–the more recent works of GRRM & Anne Rice come to mind. So we’ll keep criticizing. Some favorites I can read again & again: [ul] [li]R A Lafferty _Fifth Mansions_ (mystical SF & sadly OOP)[/li][li]Connie Willis _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ (hilarious time travel with depth)[/li][li]Paco Ignacio Taibo II _Shadow of the Shadow_ (murder mystery with a political edge in 1920’s Mexico City; read in translation, alas)[/li][li]Mark Frost The List of Seven (a ripping yarn)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/30 "2014-07-31T18:02:14Z")
> [@TailGunnerTrout](#): > > Books are written by their author’s specs so there is no need to ever change anything and it’d be arrogant to think otherwise. They are all perfect in the world in which their author created them. If you believe you can write better than any author, get off your ass and write your own books and stop worrying about criticising the works of others who actually have the intellience to write themselves. There is a saying that is often twisted to be formatted to fit it’s subject but in this case it’d go a little something like…“those who can write, do write and those who cannot, criticize!” There is no reason to be abusive when offering your opinion, particularly outside The BBQ Pit forum. [Please note the Warning issued for this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17597673#post17597673) [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/31 "2014-07-31T18:39:14Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > And it know I’ll get flack for this but, Fight Club. They way it reads it’s almost like a song. That’s how I feel about Gone With the Wind. It has a flow to it. > [@](#): > > Here was Melanie, usually so gentle and refined, > screaming like a shrew > and in front of Yankees too > that both of them > were too drunk > to walk. 😃 That’s not how it’s formatted of course, but it could have been! ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/32 "2014-07-31T18:44:43Z")
Of Mice and Men. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/33 "2014-07-31T18:47:48Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > That’s how I feel about Gone With the Wind. It has a flow to it. Repeat the opening “Here” a couple of times and you can kind of sing that to the tune of “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys Are Marching.” ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/34 "2014-07-31T19:33:28Z")
I can make it work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/35 "2014-07-31T19:40:36Z")
_ **Kristin Lavransdatter** _ by Sigrid Undset \*\*\*Riddley Walker \*\*\*by Russell Hoban _ **Our Mutual Friend** _ by Charles Dickens _ **Independent People** _ by Halldor Laxness _ **Hunger** _ by Knut Hamsun \*\*\*The Dwarf \*\*\*by Par Lagerkvist ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/36 "2014-07-31T19:50:25Z")
_Riddley Walker_ is a pretty terrific book. _(Fight Club,_ too). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/37 "2014-08-01T08:00:15Z")
_My Family and Other Animals_ by Gerald Durrel the aforementioned _Good Omens_ by Pratchett/Gaiman the aforementioned _Little/Big_ by Crowley ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/38 "2014-08-01T09:57:34Z")
_Bridge of Birds_ by Barry Hughart ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/39 "2014-08-01T10:35:34Z")
_Right Ho, Jeeves_, by P. G. Wodehouse. The finest prose stylist of the last century, and this was his finest novel. There is nothing about this book that doesn’t work perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445/40 "2014-08-01T12:17:39Z")
_To Kill A Mockingbird._ It’s a short book anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-perfect-book/694445.md?page=3)