EWB's Top 50 Books

[Zaz]

I'll change mine then. No point putting in the entire series, methinks. Especially when no one else will vote for it

[Gongsun Zan]

Zaz wins much love for liking the Dark Tower, but Wolves of the Calla? :S

[Zaz]

That was like my 2nd favourite one. Wizard and Glass is my favourite by far though. Haven't read the last one though.

Also, original post has been edited.

[sirdavinator]

1. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - Good Omens

2. Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams (all 5 books count as one for the purpose of this. There IS a book which have all five books in it)

3. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

4. Cell - Stephen King (one of the few King books I've actually completed)

5. 'Salem's Lot - Stephen King

I dont read enough good books to have 10 books in my list. I'd add The Stand and Battle Royale, but I have to actually read them first

[TGC]

1. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - Good Omens

2. Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams (all 5 books count as one for the purpose of this. There IS a book which have all five books in it)

3. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

4. Cell - Stephen King (one of the few King books I've actually completed)

5. 'Salem's Lot - Stephen King

I dont read enough good books to have 10 books in my list. I'd add The Stand and Battle Royale, but I have to actually read them first

I have one of the versions that has all of the Hitchhiker's in one volume. It's a pretty thick book too.

[Skummy]

Yeah, I've got the Hitch-hikers version with all five books in one. Hardback too, so it's really hefty. I'll count that as one book, I suppose, although if I were voting for it myself I wouldn't, because it includes "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish", which is incredibly underwhelming in my opinion.

Oh, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of support for "Good Omens". It was between that and Smoke & Mirrors for my token Gaiman inclusion, as I didn't want to put two of his books in my list. Kudos to whoever it was I saw voting Neverwhere, too.

Edited November 15, 2006 by Skumfrog

[TGC]

Yeah, I've got the Hitch-hikers version with all five books in one. Hardback too, so it's really hefty. I'll count that as one book, I suppose, although if I were voting for it myself I wouldn't, because it includes "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish", which is incredibly underwhelming in my opinion.

Oh, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of support for "Good Omens". It was between that and Smoke & Mirrors for my token Gaiman inclusion, as I didn't want to put two of his books in my list. Kudos to whoever it was I saw voting Neverwhere, too.

Sadly Good Omens is the only Gaiman book I've read thus far, outside of his comics. I plan to purchase a new Gaiman book when I make it to Barnes and Knoble again, but I'm not sure what to get next. Any recommendations on what would be his best to read next? And sorry you can PM me the answer if you feel like responding since I am fucking up the thread.

[Skummy]

As long as we're remaining on the topic of books, I have no problem with the thread getting some non-voting posts.

Anyway, Gaiman books..."Neverwhere" is fantastic, in my opinion, but I've heard differing opinions. It's pretty much his standard urban fantasy, but really well done. It's incredibly British, in my opinion, I don't know if the US version is different in any way, but I wouldn't be surprised if he made a fair few alterations.

Smoke & Mirrors is a collection of short stories, and some of them are among his best work by far, so I definitely recommend that one.

[probablyoliver]

1. The Beach - Alex Garland

2. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

3. Survivor - Chuck Palahaniuk

4. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol - Andy Warhol

5. The Post Office - Charles Bukowski

I work in a bookshop and I can honestly say with my hand on my heart that those are the only five books I can read over and over again. They are the five books that I base my entire outlook on life upon. Which, with the exception of High Fidelity, is pretty fucking bleak.

Edited November 15, 2006 by Baron Von Marlon

[Skummy]

I found The Philosophy Of Andy Warhol to get really tedious about half-way through or so, so that really surprises me. The early chapters are really fascinating, and "unputdownable", but towards the end it becomes less about his apparent philosophy and becomes almost entirely anecdotal, and he was quite a dull man, so it makes for a fairly tedious read.

That might just be me, though.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I THINK Choke is my favourite Palahniuk novel.

It dragged me in from the very first paragraph....

"If you're going to read this, don't bother.

After a couple of pages, you won't want to be here. So forget it.

Go away. Get out while you're still in one piece.

Save yourself.

There has to be something better on television. Or since you have so much time on your hands, maybe you should take a night course. Become a doctor. You could make something out of yourself. Treat yourself to a dinner out. Color (sic) your hair.

You're not getting any younger.

What happens here is first going to piss you off. After that it just gets worse and worse."

Now THAT'S an intro that makes me want to read a book.

And it seems as though that's my writing role model.

[probablyoliver]

I found The Philosophy Of Andy Warhol to get really tedious about half-way through or so, so that really surprises me. The early chapters are really fascinating, and "unputdownable", but towards the end it becomes less about his apparent philosophy and becomes almost entirely anecdotal, and he was quite a dull man, so it makes for a fairly tedious read.

That might just be me, though.

I do get what you're saying, and I do understand what you mean by him being slightly more dull then people make him out to be, but to me that's pretty much the appeal. Just the fact he could have these wild and vivid ideas on one side, but as he continued he turned to normaldom. I know it's not written as such, but I see it as a 'anyone can do anything' tale told backwards, and that's why I love it so much!

That might just be me, though.

[Guest Ringo Masterson]

I found The Philosophy Of Andy Warhol to get really tedious about half-way through or so, so that really surprises me. The early chapters are really fascinating, and "unputdownable", but towards the end it becomes less about his apparent philosophy and becomes almost entirely anecdotal, and he was quite a dull man, so it makes for a fairly tedious read.

That might just be me, though.

I do get what you're saying, and I do understand what you mean by him being slightly more dull then people make him out to be, but to me that's pretty much the appeal. Just the fact he could have these wild and vivid ideas on one side, but as he continued he turned to normaldom. I know it's not written as such, but I see it as a 'anyone can do anything' tale told backwards, and that's why I love it so much!

That might just be me, though.

[probablyoliver]

Bukowski is a fucking beast. I'm yet to read anything but The Post Office, seeing as my shop is shit and only has that in stock right now (grr). But it's easily the best book I've discovered at work. Started reading it, and I was like "this isn't worth the hype, it's alright but i... HOLY FUCKING SHIT HE JUST RAPED SOMEONE!". That freaked the fuck out of me, and from then on in I was hooked.

Edited November 15, 2006 by Baron Von Marlon

[Rashid]

Why has no one else voted for a Dr.Seuss book? The man's a genius, who deserves much recognition.

Anyone who can write an actual book containing only 22 different words is a man of many talents.

[Hutch2004]

Thought I'd give this ago, since I got so caught up compiling a list of my top ten women, I actually forgot to post it when I was done.

1. 1984 by George Orwell- Great book. By the amount of votes it's getting, looks like we have a winner.

2. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

3. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K Dick

4. The Prestige by Christopher Priest- Not finished it yet, but hell, it's fantastic.

5. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare- Although if you sat me down, and tried to get me to read it now, I'd fall asleep, but at the time, taking my time as I went through it, studying all the little nuances, I was convinced it's the most amazing work of literature ever created.

7. Ubik by Philip K Dick

8. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Purely because it gets a lot of undeserved stick. Yeah, it's overhyped beyond belief, and some of the prose is atrocious, but IT'S NOT THAT BAD. I'll gladly admit that I flew through it in one sitting, and loved every single page of it. A damn good story, unfairly criticised. There are FAR worse books out there regarded as "classics". If only someone'd pay Dan Brown on a writing course, and he learn how to write as well as plot, then we're sorted.

10. Dracula by Bram Stoker. A good book, although admittedly only on here because my mind's gone blank, and I was thinking about it this afternoon. The novel that got me through my first year at University, purely because I got pissed off at everything, and wrote an essay in which I argued Dracula was gay, expecting to get in a bit of trouble. I know, I'm such a rebel. But surprisingly, the lecturer loved it, and said it was one of the best, most well researched essays they'd read. Huh. So maybe I was on to something.

EDIT: Forgot the negative votes.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I hate this book. Not only are there about a million characters (90% of which are COMPLETELY useless), but shite all actually happens, and Oliver is a whiny, little bastard, who faints all the fucking time. If I was Fagin or the Dodger, I would have skinned the little shit when he passed out, and made a nice warm sleeping bag out of his skin, which was probably pasty white and clammy. Dickhead. NEVER have I hated the main character of a book as much as this guy.

Have a Nice Day by Mick Foley. Entertaining, yes. One of the greatest books ever written? No. Not even a little bit.

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing. Dear Mrs Lessing (or probably Miss Lessing, as I doubt anyone would marry a total MORON), I hate your book, I hate your characters, and by association, I have come to hate you too. Please crawl into a pit and die you whingy "all men are bastards, but don't call me a feminist" feminist moose, for making the month of my life it took me to crawl through your dull, ego trip of a novel one of the most painful I have ever experienced. That is all. PS. I hate your face.

Edited November 15, 2006 by Hutch2004

[Whoo]

1. A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

3. The Family - Mario Puzo

4. American Psycho - Brett Easton Ellis

5. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Marie Remarque (I probably butchered his name)

6. 1984 - George Orwell

7. The Iron Heel - Jack London

8. Fool's Die - Mario Puzo

9. Failed States - Noam Chomsky

10. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

Yeah, twoPuzo works and I've not even read the Godfather. Hell, I've never seen the movies, either.

[Liam]

9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Purely because it gets a lot of undeserved stick. Yeah, it's overhyped beyond belief, and some of the prose is atrocious, but IT'S NOT THAT BAD. I'll gladly admit that I flew through it in one sitting, and loved every single page of it. A damn good story, unfairly criticised. There are FAR worse books out there regarded as "classics". If only someone'd pay Dan Brown on a writing course, and he learn how to write as well as plot, then we're sorted.

That's exactly where I stand on it. A good book, that gets way too much stick just for the hype surrounding it.

[Guest Ringo Masterson]

Bukowski is a fucking beast. I'm yet to read anything but The Post Office, seeing as my shop is shit and only has that in stock right now (grr). But it's easily the best book I've discovered at work. Started reading it, and I was like "this isn't worth the hype, it's alright but i... HOLY FUCKING SHIT HE JUST RAPED SOMEONE!". That freaked the fuck out of me, and from then on in I was hooked.

[Laice07]

Why has no one else voted for a Dr.Seuss book? The man's a genius, who deserves much recognition.

Anyone who can write an actual book containing only 22 different words is a man of many talents.