# 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:** 3
**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, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/41 "2003-01-14T21:23:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*I have to add _Lightning_ and _Watchers_ by Dean Koontz to my list. \*\* Those were good books of his! I also liked **Phantoms** , it had a “night of the living dead” feel to it. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/42 "2003-01-14T21:24:22Z")
**Generation X** by Douglas Coupland. ---
**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, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/43 "2003-01-14T21:28:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*Those were good books of his! I also liked **Phantoms** , it had a “night of the living dead” feel to it. \*\* Yeah, those three, plus _The Bad Place_ and the one about the space ship (what was that one called?) are about the only ones of his that I liked. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/44 "2003-01-14T23:55:09Z")
**rjk** , thanks – I found the Bramah book at the Amazon marketplace for a reasonable price. The Mitchell book looks good too. Still pondering that one. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/45 "2003-01-15T00:00:41Z")
my favorite book? wow, that’s a tough call. I think I would have to go with _The Dharma Bums_ by Jack Kerouac. Something about that book just inspires me everytime I read it. ---
**Author:** ![austen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@austen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/austen)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/46 "2003-01-15T00:21:44Z")
Sense and Sensibility Pride and Predjudice Persuasion Mansfield Park Sense a theme? 🙂 Also - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - just that. I loved it. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/47 "2003-01-15T03:42:09Z")
**The Lions of AlRassan** - Guy Gavriel Kay (okay, absolutely anything by Guy Gavriel Kay) **Good Omens** - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman and, of course **The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy**. I read it for the first time when I was 11, and I landed my husband by quoting the entire prologue from memory. He got down on his knees and asked me to marry him. We had just met. ---
**Author:** ![aaaaaarrgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@aaaaaarrgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaaaaarrgg)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/48 "2003-01-15T04:06:45Z")
well that is really haaard. for me, top two are tied: lord of the rings (entire trilogy mind you, it is all one book no matter what harper collins says) by jrr tolkien and the grapes of wrath by john steinbeck. two amaaazing stories. highly highly recommend them. well well worth the lengths. for lighter reads, absolutely the hitchhikers trilogy by douglas adams (5 books in all), the harry potter books by jk rowling (don’t diss they are quality and NOT childrens books, dont believe the new york times). ---
**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:** [January 15, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/49 "2003-01-15T07:14:27Z")
_Watership Down_ - Richard Adams _Catch-22_ - Joseph Heller _Huckleberry Finn_ - Mark Twain _The Heart of Darkness_ - Joseph Conrad ---
**Author:** ![AchimbaProphet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@AchimbaProphet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AchimbaProphet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/50 "2003-01-15T07:26:47Z")
Candide - Voltaire ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/51 "2003-01-15T12:42:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*Yeah, those three, plus _The Bad Place_ and the one about the space ship (what was that one called?) are about the only ones of his that I liked. \*\* I totally forgot about the bad place, I should get some lashes for that…In any event, what space ship one? _Strangers?_ I read _Strangers_ such a long time ago, I can’t remember if that’s what you are referring to or not. In my earlier years I was a Koontz fan, I had to have read a good majority of his books. These days though I’ve branched out from just the strictly “horror” categories, although _Watchers_ is still, IMO, a great book. Something about a dog… The only bad thing about that book is 4 **horrible** movies have been made about it! ---
**Author:** ![GCU\_Stout\_Heart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gcu_stout_heart/32/3032_2.png) [@GCU\_Stout\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GCU_Stout_Heart)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/52 "2003-01-15T14:31:19Z")
Reading this thread has made me realise what a very personal thing a favourite book is, and I wonder how good a way it is of compiling a list to read yourself. From the lists above, I have read several and my personal opinion was that they were at best uninteresting, at worst quite dire; for example: **A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Catcher in the Rye, A Prayer For Owen Meany** (although I do love most of John Irving’s books, to be fair). Then again, some of my favourites have already featured: **The Poisonwood Bible, The Hitchhiker’s Guide** series, **To Kill a Mockingbird.** So, if I add a few of my own favourites, it with the proviso that I am a quiet, introverted sort of a lass, who generally leans towards things like lush description and internal monologue rather than action. If that might be your bag, baby, try: **The Love Department** by Carol Shields **Cider With Rosie** by Laurie Lee **Even Cowgirls Get The Blues** by Tom Robbins On the other hand, I can’t forget the science fiction novels of Iain M. Banks, which are so intelligent I return to them again and again, particularly: \*\*Excession, Feersum Enjinn\*\* and **Look To Windward.** ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/53 "2003-01-15T18:05:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*I totally forgot about the bad place, I should get some lashes for that…In any event, what space ship one? _Strangers?_ I read _Strangers_ such a long time ago, I can’t remember if that’s what you are referring to or not. > > \*\* That’s it, _Strangers_. Thanks. I only like a few of Koontz’s books; _Strangers, Watchers_ (that’s the dog one), \*Lightning, The Bad Place, \* and _Phantoms._ I just LOVE _Lightning._ That’s one of my favorite books. Definitely on my Top Ten list. I knew _Watchers_ had been made into a really bad movie with a kid in the lead role instead of a man, and _Phantoms_ was made into a really bad movie fairly recently with (I think) Ben Affleck. A couple others have been made into low-budget TV-movies. _Intensity_ had Billy Zane in it. I don’t know why his books turn out to be such dud movies. I don’t care for most of his other books. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/54 "2003-01-15T18:20:23Z")
Not in order: Jane Eyre Pride and Prejudice The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy The Straight Dope (the first one was the best one, imho) Moby-Dick Lolita Guards! Guards! Beloved (can I count The Norton Shakespeare as one book?) Ulysses ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/55 "2003-01-15T18:55:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*That’s it, _Strangers_. Thanks. > I only like a few of Koontz’s books; _Strangers, Watchers_ (that’s the dog one), \*Lightning, The Bad Place, \* and _Phantoms._ \*\* Personally I think “Watchers” is his best work (as you can tell). > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > **I just LOVE _Lightning._ That’s one of my favorite books. Definitely on my Top Ten list.** Lightning is also up there, WWII Nazi time-traveling scientists-pretty good IMO. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > **I knew _Watchers_ had been made into a really bad movie with a kid in the lead role instead of a man, and _Phantoms_ was made into a really bad movie fairly recently with (I think) Ben Affleck. A couple others have been made into low-budget TV-movies. _Intensity_ had Billy Zane in it. > I don’t know why his books turn out to be such dud movies.** Ah, you are thinking of **Corey Haim**. Yes that movie utterly blew, but as sad as it is to say, it was a lot better than the three that followed…How is that possible?? A lot of Koontz’s books have been turned into movies actually: Servants of the Autumn Twilight, Watcher, Phantoms, Whispers, and the one about the mountain climber in the building… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \* > \*\*I don’t care for most of his other books. \*\* The problem I have with Koontz is it seems he writes just to write. A lot of his books feel like they have similar characters/plots and some are just such a struggle to get through. The last one I read (I think) was strange highways, a collection of short stories, which had at least one good story in it. I can’t remember it off hand, but the main character was a dimension jumping bear (I think) who was attempting to catch a killer. ---
**Author:** ![queen\_bee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e9c0ed/32.png) [@queen\_bee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/queen_bee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/56 "2003-01-15T21:27:55Z")
_Nights at the Circus_ - Angela Carter \*Ask the Dust \*- John Fante ---
**Author:** ![GreatPig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@GreatPig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreatPig)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/57 "2003-01-15T21:32:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by louise83 \* > > **Even Cowgirls Get The Blues** by Tom Robbins My favourite Robbins books are **Skinny Legs And All** and **Jitterbug Perfume**. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/58 "2003-01-16T02:33:51Z")
Other favorites: Dune, Frank Herbert The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley Grendel, John Gardner 1984, George Orwell The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald The Watchmen, Alan Moore Snowcrash, Neal Stephenson Wicked, Gregory Maguire ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/59 "2003-01-16T04:21:04Z")
- **The Wasp Factory** by Ian Banks - very dark, uterly engrossing. - **Stand on Zanzibar** by John Brunner - classic sf, written in the 60s, set in the turn of the centuary. Huge sprawling plotlines and a wonderfuly detailed future vision. One of two books that I wish everyone would read. - **The Seventh Samurai** by Helen DeWitt. The other bok I want everyone to read. - **Rain** by Kirsty Gunn ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348/60 "2003-01-16T11:55:54Z")
Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind and Days of Atonement by Walter Jon Williams. Armor and Vampire$ by John Steakley. The Island in the Sea of Time trilogy by SM Stirling [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favorite-book/148348.md?page=4)