What are your top 5 favorite books?

[Purple*Lotus]

I am planning a library trip. What are your top 5 favorite books? You can leave out the Bible if that is one of them, because I am already reading that

Thanks

[tinybutterfly]

Some of them are series.

The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Harry Potter ( all of them) by J.K. Rowling
Short stories by Charles DeLint, then the novels that are about Jilly Coppercorn ( The Onion Girl, Widdershins, Promises to Keep)
A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
The Twilight books by Stepheny Meyer

That's more than five, I know...and there's a bunch more. This is all fantasy except for A Severe Mercy.

I did love Silas Marner for a long time, too. Author is George Eliot.

I'll stop.

One more, The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman.

[LaLaLaLa]

I read a lot, so can't choose my top 5 favorite ever, but here are some I've recently enjoyed.

"The Year of the Flood" by Margaret Atwood if you like end-of-the-world chaos and genetic engineering. This is actually a companion book to her earlier "Oryx and Crake," which you should read first if you're interested in catastrophic books where almost everyone dies and there's little to no hope for civilization.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger was beautiful and heartbreaking and thought-provoking. I may have been, like, the last person in the United States to read it, though. Maybe you've already read it. If not, do.

"A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute is a bit old and old-fashioned, but it's a nice little love story about a strong woman who doesn't accept the way her world is but instead molds it to fit her goals.

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson is the true story of the Chicago World's Fair, told parallel to the story of a serial killer living in the same area at the same time. The construction of the fair with such rudimentary materials was truly awe-inspiring; I really felt the magic of the fair. The serial killer part was fascinating, too.

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel is about a boy who is shipwrecked and finds himself on a lifeboat with a tiger. He must figure out how to survive without drowning or being eaten by his passenger. This is another book that almost everyone read years ago. Sometimes I'm way behind the trends.

Do you read young adult stuff? Good for quick reading, and there is some really fantastic writing out there. Here are some of my YA favorites.

"Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes" by Chris Crutcher is an excellent story of a girl struggling to come to terms with abuse and the guy who is a great friend to her. Actually, I love almost everything Crutcher has written. "Whale Talk" and "Stotan!" are also really good. His characters are mostly guys, very much into sports, and usually his books deal with abuse of one kind or another. "Chinese Handcuffs" was the only one of his books I found too intense.

"This Lullaby" by Sarah Dessen is the book I wish I could write. It's the story of a hard-hearted, driven high-school girl who finds herself in a relationship with a quirky guy she can't seem to shake.

"Sloppy Firsts" by Megan McCafferty is another story of a high-school girl falling in love with a guy who is totally wrong for her. This is the first in a five-book set, some of which drag on a bit. The first and second were good, though, and the fifth one was passable.

I hope this helps! I have a list a mile long of books I'd like to read, and it keeps growing by the minute. I'll probably add to it when I come back and read what other people have written here.

[MadiMamacita]

i am reading the Mercy Thompson series- vampires, werewolves, other creatures.. its not high brow but its fun!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mer...hompson_Series

my other faves are The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (the only thing of hers I didn't fall in love with was Prodigal Summer) and The Red Tent by Anita Diamant- i have read both countless times.

And I have heard great things about the Dark Tower series (by stephen King but not horror)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dar...r_%28series%29

i like series.

[lonegirl]

Hmmmmm....I have too many to say just 5

Anything by Piers Anthony (I have all of his books)-If you like puns the Xanth series is great

The Twilight Series

The House of Night Series by PC and Kristen Cast (teen section)

Cecelia Ahern's books "PS I love you" "A Place Called Here" "Where Rainbows End"

If you like fun animal/vet books: James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small Series
Dr Perrin's "Don't Turn Your Back in the Barn"

I love most fantasy novels.

[vbactivist]

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger - a beautifully written book with a compelling story.

[kosheng]

hmmm... patricia cornwell is one of my favorite authors~ i've liked all of her books. janet evanovich is another. pure mind-candy entertainment.

[ms.shell]

that's a hard one!

first, an aside, apologies to op-

"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel is about a boy who is shipwrecked and finds himself on a lifeboat with a tiger. He must figure out how to survive without drowning or being eaten by his passenger.

from your description of the story, i really wanted to ask you if this book would be appropriate for a very advanced young reader?

My top 5 favorite books? that's a really tough one! They probably wont be fiction....

the Road Less Travelled M. Scott Peck
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Annie Dillard
Animal Vegetable Miracle Barbara Kingsolver
....her novel Prodigal Summer is definitely one of my favorite novels
Kids Are Worth It Barbara Coloroso
...well, that's the 5 i thought of tonight! i have many more favorites and these may not be the top 5, but ALL DEFINITELY worth reading if you haven't!

[Sarah W]

1. Lamb- Christopher Moore- He's hilarious and has a ton of good books
2. The Time Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
3. Atlas Shrugged-I'm no crazy Ayn Rand fan and I have a lot of criticisms for the book, but it's still a favorite. Maybe because it's so long??
4. Sookie Stackhouse series-Charlaine Harris-It's Twilight w/ better writing and rated R

Jodi Picoult-I love her, but her subjects are pretty heavy. Not light reading.

I love Patricia Cornwell, too. With the exception of her last 4 books. They're crime fiction and pretty violent, so if you aren't into that you won't like the books.

[TEAK's Mom]

Some favorites that haven't come up yet:

*Possession by A.S. Byatt (or anything else she writes)

*the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold

*anything by Pamela Dean

*Beloved by Toni Morrison

*The Eight by Katherine Neville

[Theia]

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Also "The Pilgrimage" and "By The River Piedra I Sat and Wept"
Books by Katherine Kerr (Fantasty)
Books by Robert Jordan

I think you might really enjoy "The Pilgrimage".

[Purple*Lotus]

I will tell you that the only book I ever just flat out could not stand was The Poisonwood Bible. I can't tell you how many people are shocked by that I just could not get past the first 50 pages of it.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I am making a list. I have a ton of books but when I moved they were all put in storage, in the very back. I wish I could get anywhere near them but I am not about to try moving a washer and dryer until I am actually signing a lease on my own apartment

[tinybutterfly]

Oh, yes, on The Devil in the White City and the James Herriot books! I used to LOVE James Herriot! And Barabara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle! I really liked her books Animal Dreams, The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven...

[SleeplessMommy]

anything by dave duncan (fantasy) or terry pratchett (fantasy/humor). each author has about a years worth of reading

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by ms.shell

first, an aside, apologies to op-

from your description of the story, i really wanted to ask you if this book would be appropriate for a very advanced young reader?

Butting in to answer - my dd read Life of Pi when she was 12 y.o., and it was fine. Not sure how "young" you are thinking. I can see any tween reading it. It's been years since I read it myself, but I can't recall anything terribly inappropriate in terms of outright violence or sex. I think the concepts of losing your family in a boating tragedy and being shipwrecked alone at sea, cannibalism, etc. may be quite disturbing for sensitive young (age 6 to 8 y.o. or younger) children though.

To answer the OP - I always have trouble picking absolute favourites, but some books I've enjoyed reading:

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
The Piano Man's Daughter by Timothy Findley
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

They aren't my favourites, but I'm not sure what would be. They are engaging and interesting and will keep you involved for awhile.

[doubledutch]

Nine Stories by J D Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok

i also love everything else by the above writers, as well as cormac mccarthy, mark twain, and love a lot of other classics like the great gatsby and to kill a mockingbird. for some reason, i just don't love william faulkner, james joyce, toni morrison, charles dickens . . . i don't know, i mean, i can appreciate their awesomeness but just don't enjoy the books very much. but you know what else i love? judy blume's books for teenage girls.

[doubledutch]

ooh, ollyoxenfree, we were posting at the same time but i just wanted to say my dh *loves* murakami and has read me a lot of passages. i've never read any of the books but want to read kafka on the shore first.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by doubledutch

ooh, ollyoxenfree, we were posting at the same time but i just wanted to say my dh *loves* murakami and has read me a lot of passages. i've never read any of the books but want to read kafka on the shore first.

I think there's almost a secret club of Murakami readers out there! I also liked Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World and a few others, including his non-fiction Underground about the aftermath of the 1995 sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway - lots of compelling insight into modern Japanese culture. I haven't read Kafka on the shore, nor quite a few others. Norwegian Wood is the one that tops my list. If you like short stories, you might like after the quake.

And OP - the Murakami discussion reminds me of another author who started out as kind of a "Murakami-lite" - David Mitchell, who wrote Ghostwritten, number9Dream, Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green.

Good thread. I was heading to the library this week, and now I've got quite a few titles to check out. Thanks!

[Monarchgrrl]

The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk

Outlander by Diana Galbadon

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Harry Potter series

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

[gillibean]

I'm not sure if these are my all-time favourites but they're the ones that are coming to mind right now.

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle

Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli

Anne McCaffrey's Dragon series

The Chrysalids - John Wyndham

The End of Eternity - Isaac Asimov


I like sci/fi and fantasy mostly (can you tell). I like books that let me escape for a little.