# List your three favorite books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285 "2012-02-28T21:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/41 "2012-02-29T03:27:26Z")
1. A Confederacy of Dunces - Toole: One of the first books I read after college, after multiple nudges by my uncle, and probably the first book I read for pleasure since I was a kid. I’m not sure if it was because of that, but it’s the first book that leapt off the page at me and showed me what fun literature can be when you’re not forced to read something. 2. The Great Gatsby: Probably the best book I’ve read. 3. Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls: Sentimental favorite from my childhood that still holds up in my memory, if nowhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/42 "2012-02-29T03:32:00Z")
_Watership Down_, Richard Adams _Lonesome Dove_, Larry McMurtry _Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_, Mark Twain I guess I like stories about long journeys. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/43 "2012-02-29T03:37:13Z")
I don’t think of novels in terms of favorites, so these are just memorable and enjoyed. Cat’s Cradle - Vonnegut The Caine Mutiny - Wouk Huckleberry Finn - Twain ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/44 "2012-02-29T04:02:00Z")
_Lonesome Dove_ _English Passengers_ _Gone With The Wind_ At least today…Lonesome Dove is always #1 though. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/45 "2012-02-29T04:09:34Z")
**Critical Path** by R. Buckminster Fuller **The Confidence-Man** by Herman Melville **The Illuminatus! Trilogy** by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/46 "2012-02-29T04:23:48Z")
Catcher In The Rye Fight Club Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ---
**Author:** ![Anna\_Nimity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Anna\_Nimity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anna_Nimity)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/47 "2012-02-29T04:41:44Z")
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison Bleak House by Charles Dickens ---
**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:** [February 29, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/48 "2012-02-29T05:19:23Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Actually I picked LotR & the Hobbit. So Tolkien got 2 also. And I picked two by James Joyce. And there have been two Dickenses and two Keseys mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/49 "2012-02-29T05:53:06Z")
Fyodor Dostoevsky - _ **The Brothers Karamazov** _ Roddy Doyle -\*\*\* Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha\*\*\* Anthony Trollope - _ **The Way We Live Now** _ ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/50 "2012-02-29T07:24:33Z")
Only 3? That’s just mean. As a protest, I’ll only give you 2: Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/51 "2012-02-29T07:38:15Z")
Edwards: _Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain_ Rand: _The Fountainhead_ Hugo: _Les Misérables_ ---
**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:** [February 29, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/52 "2012-02-29T10:18:40Z")
Today it’s: Daniel Dennett - _Consciousness Explained_ Barry Hughart - _Bridge of Birds_ Kenneth Grahame - _The Wind in The Willows_ ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/53 "2012-02-29T13:44:20Z")
Narrowing it down to three is difficult, so here are three books I’ve read more than three times: The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien Johnathon Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susannah Clarke Dracula - Bram Stoker I’ve read most of the Discworld books at least twice. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/54 "2012-02-29T13:58:44Z")
_Gone with the Wind_ is number one with a bullet. #2:_Watership Down_ #3:_The Haunting of Hill House_ ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/55 "2012-02-29T14:09:03Z")
Subject to change at any moment, because it depends a lot on my mood, but three books I’ve reread several times and will read again in the future: [Foucault’s Pendulum](http://www.amazon.com/Foucaults-Pendulum-1st-Umberto-Eco/dp/B000TS141M/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330524398&sr=1-3) by Umberto Eco [House of Leaves](http://www.amazon.com/House-Leaves-Mark-Z-Danielewski/dp/0375703764/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330524429&sr=1-1) by Mark Z. Danielewski [The Lord of the Rings](http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-50th-Anniversary-Vol/dp/0618640150/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330524464&sr=1-1) by J.R.R. Tolkien That said, I’m happy to see _A Prayer for Owen Meany_ getting some recognition in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/56 "2012-02-29T14:14:04Z")
I could narrow it down to 30 favorites, maybe, but not to only three. The number one favorite is easy: 1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien After that, the works of about a dozen authors are jostling and trying to get in, and I can’t choose. Heck, I’d have trouble choosing three out of each genre. But for this moment, I’ll say 2. The Collected Works of Terry Pratchett 3. the Constance and Charlie series by Kate Wilhelm ---
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/57 "2012-02-29T14:15:07Z")
1. Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison 2. 1984 - George Orwell 3. Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets - David Simon. Simon’s book should be of particular interest to fans of The Wire. It’s a work of ‘True Crime’ journalism charting a year in the life of a team of Baltimore Homicide detectives. Speaking as someone who had already seen the entire show before picking up the book, I was _amazed_ by how much of the series is based on true events. For instance, that bit where they use the photocopier as a lie detector? That really happened! The anecdote about Prez shooting up his own car? Likewise, and I could go on all day. Anyway, even if that kind of trivia doesn’t interest you, you should still pick it up. It’s a great read, and one of the few books I’ve ever read that I got so into that I decided to ration myself to a few pages a day so I wouldn’t finish it too quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/58 "2012-02-29T15:02:37Z")
A list of three doesn’t even allow me to pick my favorite of each genre I read. But here are three of my favorites, based on what I would take to a desert island (and I’m still cheating by listing series): The Aubrey-Maturin series, by Patrick O’Brian All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot The Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/59 "2012-02-29T15:35:00Z")
_The Holy Bible_ - Even viewed as just a work of literature, the breadth of the narrative and beauty of the language (the King James gets bonus points here) are things of wonder. As a Christian who just finished my first full read-through, it’s more or less impossible for me not to include the Bible. _And Then There Were None_ by Agatha Christie - The first Christie novel I can remember reading, with a great twist that I never saw coming. Bonus points for not making use of any of Christie’s recurring detectives, who can get a bit old sometimes. _Kingdom Come_ by Mark Waid and Alex Ross - My favorite comic, bar none, it gives a great study of the characters of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and a rejection of a lot of what I hate in superhero stories (not to mention beautiful art from Alex Ross.) Honorable mentions go to _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ by Douglas Adams, _World War Z_ by Max Brooks and _The Hound of the Baskervilles_ by Arthur Conan Doyle. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285/60 "2012-02-29T16:10:43Z")
In no particular order: _The Mote in God’s Eye_ - Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle \*The Moon is a Harsh Mistress \*- Robert A Heinlein _Gaudy Night_ - Dorothy L Sayers Absurdly difficult choice ☹ but all good reads. Couldn’t pick out one of the Aubrey/Maturin series or a favourite S M Stirling (anything but the Draka!), nothing from Ngiao Marsh, Ellis Peters, or Lesley Davis, no James Clavell or even - God help me - Tom Clancy! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-three-favorite-books/614285.md?page=4)