Gravity’s Rainbow–the conspiracist’s bible.
Those are not really books, they’re collections of sayings, synonims and recipes. They belong with other tools. Nothing more.
Now, I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in the stories in the Bible but the King James version is very well written. It has nice entertaining stories. It is a unique historical document. It tells the story of the life of the most influential carachter ever created (carachter not person, see?). It is the most popular (sold more copies) and arguably the most influential book ever.
It may also be a a collection of stories, myths, folklore, and second hand hearsay. That changes nothing.
[nitpick]You mean Hermann Hesse[/nitpick]
I would tend to nominate Encyclopedia Britannica, but I think any Encyclopedia could be recreated in depth if not in precise content so if the book did not exist it would not be as great a loss to the world as the book I will nominate which is
The complete works of Shakespeare
If that is too much of a cheat, then I would nominate Hamlet on its own.
My favorite has always been The Merchant of Venice, but I also like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
its between:
Catcher in the Rye
and
Oh the Place You’ll Go
Another vote for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
I also have to go for the complete works of Shakespeare. Get the Pelican edition if you can.
So what are you saying? That stories, myths, folklore, and hearsay can’t appear in books? Or that a work written by many different authors at different times isn’t a book? Because either way, you’d be disqualifying a lot of things that everybody normally thinks of as books.
Mind you, I don’t find it a particularly good book. Spineless, one-dimensional characters, predictable and repetitious plotting, and frequent indulgence in violent revenge fantasy to satisfy the lowest common denominator are my main complaints.
Well what about War and Peace, dammit? I’ve read that book twice and been totally immersed in it. I know it’s a whipping post for long-winded books, but once you’re into it, really into it, you don’t want it to stop. Having said that, you have to find a good translation. The first time I read it I happened to pick up a perfect translation that made it relatively easy to read, the second time I read it, I mistakenly picked up a similar-looking translation that required a whole lot more effort to read.
There’s a million other books I love, also, but that’s the one that would make it onto the deserted island with me.
Banger,
What the hell was I thinking? I wasn’t…
The problem here is differentiating between “best” and “my favorite,” but I’ll try.
The best (and also way up there on my fave list) is To Kill A Mockingbird. Probably followed by Catcher in the Rye. The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, by Marlowe, is not the best, but it is one of my favorites. LOTR is one I really enjoy, but certainly not the best. Maybe in the top 20. The top for just making you think has got to be Stranger in a Strange Land. I’m not going to count the whole Bible, but Revelations has always been one of my favorites. I could add about a billion more, but there’s just not time.
The best book I’ve ever read is probably On The Road by Jack Kerouac.
But, I’ve also got to include Slaugherhouse Five, or The Children’s Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, 1984 by George Orwell, 1985, A Clockwork Orange and The Doctor is Sick by Anthony Burgess, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Stand and the Dark Tower series by Stephen King and The Complete Tales of Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne.
Nine Stories (which I actually prefer to Catcher in the Rye)…
I’d have a difficult time picking just one Shakespeare, but if I HAD to, I’d vote for Hamlet…
Ulysses (James Joyce - likely, if I had to pick, it would be my #1)…
Maybe this question should be broken down by centuries and genre…
-bbb-
The Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson is up there.
BTW, the best book of the Bible is either Song of Songs/Song of Solomon/Canticles/whatever the hell else they call it, or Ecclesiastes (notwithstanding some sexist bits). Song of Songs because of the sex depicted in a graphic, yet positive way, and Ecclesiastes because it acknowledges the basic futility of life, and also says something about not being too righteous, which is always a good Biblical excuse for bad behavior.
The King James Bible is y favorite book because it has been the most helpand inspiration in my life. I also enjoy books such as a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, lord of the rings, the wheel of time, almost all of Robert Ludlum’s books, i also read alot of thoreau’s stuff. i love reading. its makes a good escape.
My personal favorites:
Watership Down (my absolute all time favorite book. Whether it’s objectively the “greatest” I don’t know, but I love it)
Confederacy of Dunces (funniest book I’ve ever read)
Huck Finn (probably the best American novel ever written)
Clockwork Orange (Truly unique and terrifying)
East of Eden (great characters, great story, and the “timshel” discussion is fascinating)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (sentimental but provocatibve and effective)
Many others, too numerous to mention…
My favorite book of all time is “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom. It’s an amazing book that a lot ppl have never heard of.
Brave New World. No question.
Please tell us which translation is the good one! Please?
I wish I could say the entire narnia series by C. S. Lewis, I can’t because I’m limitied to one book and not one book seems to be better than any other in the series.
I guess I’ll go with The Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams.