# What is your favorite book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348 "2003-01-13T19:15:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alex\_arg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@alex\_arg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alex_arg)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/21 "2003-01-14T05:55:32Z")
The Count of Monte Cristo, by A. Dumas The art of love, by Erich Fromm ---
**Author:** ![auliya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90db22/32.png) [@auliya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auliya)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/22 "2003-01-14T06:05:58Z")
whew… that’s hard, so many good books. I have a soft spot for Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy though, it never pales with rereading ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/23 "2003-01-14T06:38:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*But then again, it could be because I’m a twin and my brother’s an evil dick-phlem. \*\* So should I stop picturing you as Meatloaf and start picturing you as Caramon? 😉 Not sure that I can pick a favorite – but Douglas Adams’ _Hitchhikers Guide_ series certainly comes to mind as something I can read (and have read) again and again. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/24 "2003-01-14T06:39:25Z")
**Archergal** , I almost agree with you on _The Last Unicorn_, but it’s edged out by W. O. Mitchell’s _Who has Seen the Wind_, about growing up in a small prairie town. (Maybe partly because it’s set in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, my home town (even if he did call it “Crocus” in the book).) BTW, since you and **Auntie Pam** both mention _Bridge of Birds_ (which I’ll have to track down), you might like Ernest Bramah’s Kai Lung books; you can download the earlier ones at [www.gutenberg.org](http://www.gutenberg.org) and try to find the last, _Kai Lung Unrolls his Mat_, in hard copy. ---
**Author:** ![GreatPig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@GreatPig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatPig)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/25 "2003-01-14T11:45:14Z")
A few of the better ones that come to mind: Literary: _The Remains of the Day,_ by Kazuo Ishiguro _Atonement,_ by Ian McEwan _100 Years of Solitude,_ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez _The House of the Spirits,_ by Isabel Allende (and just about anything else of hers) _Martin Dressler,_ by Stephen Milhauser _The Magus,_ by John Fowles (a solid and confusing read) SF/F: _The Sarantine Mosaic,_ by Guy Gavriel Kay (2 books) _The Book of the New Sun,_ by Gene Wolfe (4 books originally) _The Riftwar Saga,_ by Raymond Feist (3 books in the original series) _Hyperion,_ by Dan Simmons _His Dark Materials,_ by Philip Pullman (3 books) _Stardust,_ by Neil Gaiman (more fairy tale than fantasy). Also _Neverwhere_. Historical: _Ramses,_ by Christian Jacq (5 books) _Alexander,_ by Manfredi (3 books) _The Wanderers,_ by Caiseal Mor (3 books) And of course there are heaps more great books. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/26 "2003-01-14T12:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monstre \* > \*\*So should I stop picturing you as Meatloaf and start picturing you as Caramon? 😉 \*\* _Ahem_ ::Puffs out chest:: The ladies already think of me as Caramon:D No, no, not from the first of the twin novels, where Caramon is out of shape…Oh boogers…I’m still lumped in with fat mental images… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/27 "2003-01-14T14:20:26Z")
I don’t do favourite, but then again, there’s just something about **The Catcher in the Rye** by JD Salinger. I love it. I goddamn love it. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/28 "2003-01-14T14:49:56Z")
I could never pick just one. _A Tree Grows In Brooklyn_, By Betty Smith _To Kill A Mockingbird_, by Harper Lee _A Fine Balance_, by Rohinton Mistry _The Poisonwood Bible_, by Barbara Kingsolver _Pillars Of The Earth_, by Ken Follett ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/29 "2003-01-14T15:01:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\* > _A Tree Grows In Brooklyn_, By Betty Smith > \*\* I love that book. I have different favorites, depending on what I’m looking for in a read. _The Ordinary Princess_ by M. M. Kaye is definitely one of my favorites - it just makes me grin to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/30 "2003-01-14T15:21:55Z")
My favorite as of late, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” and I’ll be damned if I can remember the author’s name. But he’s a kid, and it’s his first attempt at writing, and it’s simply great. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/31 "2003-01-14T15:24:03Z")
**The Gypsy’s Curse** Harry Crews **Far From the Madding Crowd** Thomas Hardy ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/32 "2003-01-14T15:31:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*My favorite as of late, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” and I’ll be damned if I can remember the author’s name. But he’s a kid, and it’s his first attempt at writing, and it’s simply great. \*\* Dave Eggers. ---
**Author:** ![Zumpel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bb73d2/32.png) [@Zumpel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumpel)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/33 "2003-01-14T15:31:45Z")
Small Gods — by Terry Pratchett Der Minus Mann – by Heinz Sobota (dont know if it got translated, though) ---
**Author:** ![Merejane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Merejane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merejane)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/34 "2003-01-14T16:27:00Z")
**Winter’s Tale** , by Mark Helprin – a wonderful, magical book. This is one of those books that people either love or hate, as evidenced by the [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) reviewers, who tend to give it either 5 stars or just 1 or 2 stars. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/35 "2003-01-14T16:44:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lsura \* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by BiblioCat_ > > **A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, By Betty Smith** > > **I love that book.** Me, too. _A Tree Grows In Brooklyn_ is my favorite book. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/36 "2003-01-14T19:17:35Z")
Okay, so to ease the restrictions a little more, you _can_ post more than just one favorite book! Keep it coming! ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/37 "2003-01-14T20:56:44Z")
**The Stand** , by Stephen King ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/38 "2003-01-14T21:01:37Z")
The Stand - Stephen King Swan Song - Robert McCammon The Talisman - Stephen King and Peter Straub To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Watchers - Dean Koontz ---
**Author:** ![Homer\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c37758/32.png) [@Homer\_J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer_J)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/39 "2003-01-14T21:08:50Z")
Catcher in the Rye Lord of the Rings 1984 But im sure i’ll add more ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/40 "2003-01-14T21:22:29Z")
I have to add _Lightning_ and _Watchers_ by Dean Koontz to my list. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348.md?page=3)