Your favourite books - what, who, when, why?

[sallonoroff 10]

Wasp Factory, Iain Banks

 

Agreed. Excellent book. As are most of Banks'.

 

I think Complicity is my favourite of his though.

 

 

Contender for my favourite ever book has to be "Not now Bernard" though...

 

 

 

.

[Tricky 10]

...Almost (but not quite) anything by Elmore Leonard for crime fiction...

 

Classic stuff. If you haven't tried any George Pellecanos you might well enjoy them too. Or Hiaasen?

[Jessica23 10]

Classic stuff. If you haven't tried any George Pellecanos you might well enjoy them too. Or Hiaasen?

 

And for a UK version, Christopher Brookmyre?

 

He's similar to Hiaasen in lots of ways - satirical.

 

I bought my first Elmore Leonard the other week - Cuba Libre. Looking forward to actually reading it.

[RiffRaff 10]

A standard : Three Men in a Boat, Jermone K. Jerome.

 

Still funny today...

[Zebra 10]

Ahhhh The Time Traveller's Wife, I really enjoyed that but her second book was a peculiar picture book. Wasn't impressed with it.

Herbert's Once, I really enjoyed that but not as much as The Magic Cottage.

Also in agreement with Imajica and Weaveworld.

 

I should have mentioned Wuthering Heights, that my classical favourite, I love it as a novel, in film and even Kate Bush's song.

Not looking forward to the new version which is about to begin filming, some very peculiar choices for Cathy. The book is just full of games, mental anguish and a weird obsessive love (and yet I would just love to have someone like Heathcliff, just without the psychological issues on either part).

[samesame monkey 10]

And for a UK version, Christopher Brookmyre?

 

He's similar to Hiaasen in lots of ways - satirical.

 

I bought my first Elmore Leonard the other week - Cuba Libre. Looking forward to actually reading it.

 

I always hover over Christopher Brookmyre books and never buy/borrow them, I think I will now, I love Carl Hiaasen!

 

My current favorite is The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It isn't new...came out in 2003, I think. Love story but not a really sappy one. It speaks to me about how true love survives all challenges, even time and distance.

 

I also thought this was a great book, really inventive.

[pattricia 580]

"Why Skies are Blue and Parrots Talk, by Andrew Thompson. Its the answers to questions, youve always wanted to ask like : Why do people get dizzy when spun around ?: Why are men more likely to cheat on their partners than women ?: Why cant you tickle yourself ?and lots of other interesting questions which the book tells you the answers to.Just bought it today in Bakewell.

[bluecanary 13]

I should have mentioned Wuthering Heights, that my classical favourite, I love it as a novel, in film and even Kate Bush's song..

 

Arggghh! I can't get Kate Bush out of my head now!

 

I agree, it is a great book, and stands the test of time so much better than many other novels from the same period. I think it's one of the few (maybe even the only?) book I've read where the protagonists are actually quite unpleasant, selfish people - but you still care for them.

[Rich 12]

One of my fave books is HG Wells' War of the Worlds, one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever told IMO. Just a shame that to date it hasn't recieved a worthy film adaptation, the 1953 version had almost no connection to the book apart from the Martians dying of exposure to Earth's Bacteria, and the 2005 Tom Cruise version was crap.

[babychickens 10]

one of the few (maybe even the only?) book I've read where the protagonists are actually quite unpleasant, selfish people - but you still care for them.

 

Finding books like that is a skill of mine.

[metaphoria 10]

'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte is a wonderful story, probably my favourite.

 

Why? Because the misfortunate, plain orphan girl, develops a sense of character, that outshines the upper-class socialites...and gets (what I would consider) 'the prince'.

 

Of course.

[ddeckerslyke 10]

A standard : Three Men in a Boat, Jermone K. Jerome.

 

Still funny today...

 

Of course!! Laugh out loud funny. A great book.