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Top 10 favourite fictional books

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beast

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« on: September 19, 2006, 08:13:33 AM »
What is your top 10?

Here is mine although it changes every 20 minutes :P

1. Of Mice And Men
John Steinbeck


2. American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis

3. The Catcher in the Rye
JD Salinger

4. Choke
Chuck Palahnuik

5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S Thompson

6. Bliss
Peter Carey

7. The Call of the Cthulhu (and other stories)
H P Lovecraft

8. A Scanner Darkly
Philip K Dick


9. Valis
Philip K Dick


10. A Million Little Pieces
James Frey
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Luke_smith64

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2006, 08:27:38 AM »
no one cares, and what kind of name is 'beast' anyway
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Knight

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2006, 08:32:03 AM »
I can't list a top ten but among my favorites are:

1)  Sphere by Michael Crichton

2)  The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons (esp. Angels) by Dan Brown

3)  Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

4)  The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

5)  The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

6)  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

7)  All Harry Potter books (probably my most favorite)

8)  The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene----edit. forgot this was "fictional book" section but oh well

9)  The Chocolate War by Robert Courmier (sp.?)

10)  And I guess books by Brian Jacques
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Bugman

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2006, 09:18:51 AM »
I could never pick a top 10, I read way too much (or I did, uni made me slow down), but I would heartily recommend any of the following:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, in particular Hogfather, Night Watch, Wyrd Sisters and Lords and Ladies.

A Dog Called Demolition by Robert Rankin.

The Wyrd Museum Trilogy, by Robin Jarvis.

Plus, if you have any younger relations, say about 12 ish, I would suggest The Mistmantle Chronicles by Margi McAllister, and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
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dysfunction

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2006, 09:24:29 AM »
1. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
2. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. Hyperion by Dan Simmons
5. Startide Rising by David Brin
6. The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
7. Gateway by Frederik Pohl
8. Clans of the Alphane Moons by Philip K. Dick
9. The Year's Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois- a yearly anthology, I read it every year
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Erasmus

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« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2006, 10:29:44 AM »
In no particular order:

The Lays of Beleriand by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov
Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
2001 by Arthur C. Clark
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Again, just the first ten that came to my head, in order of psychic arrival.
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Erasmus

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Re: Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2006, 10:35:51 AM »
As for other people's stuff I also add my votes to

Quote from: "beast"
3. The Catcher in the Rye
JD Salinger
7. The Call of the Cthulhu (and other stories)
H P Lovecraft


Quote from: "dysfunction"
6. The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien


Quote from: "Bugman"
American Gods by Neil Gaiman.
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett,


except that I say "in particular Guards, Guards! and Jingo," the latter mostly because of the line, "loitering with intent, loitering within tent..."

Quote from: "Dogplatter"
Illusions by Richard Bach


good but kinda useless as a philosophy.  Much better by Richard Bach is Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
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cadmium_blimp

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2006, 10:54:48 AM »
I don't read as much as I would like to (the library is here isn't any good and I don't have the money to buy a whole lot of books), but I've never gone wrong with Philip K. Dick or the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy.
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Mephistopheles

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« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2006, 12:00:27 PM »
Quote from: "Erasmus"
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams


:)

As for me, in no particular order:

The Talisman, by Steven King.
Of Mice and Men, Steinback.
The Hobbit, Tolkein.
Faust parts 1 and 2, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Yes).
The Tragedy of Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe.
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostevsky (I probably butchered that).
1984, Orwell.  - This is my favorite book.
Animal Farm, Orwell.
The Metamorphosis, Kafka (Short-story, still good).
Anything by Dr. Suess
The Bourne Series, Robert Ludlum.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (All 5), Douglas Adams. - Second favorite.

Most hated book:  Great Expectations.  I can't believe anyone could actually say this is a good book unless they tried reading it and figured it was so boring that no one would actually read it so they could call it a masterpiece.  The book sucked.  The story was okay, you couldn't sympathize with any of the characters, it was poorly written (lack of voice, obscure word choice even for the time), and it drags on.  Alot.
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Inquisitor Bob

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2006, 01:25:25 PM »
Just a note:
Catcher in the Rye was the worst book I read in my life.

1: Molloy/Malone Dies/Untitled - Samuel Beckett
2: The Foundation serie - Isaac Asimov
3: Dune serie - Frank Herbert
4: La Devina Comedia - Dante
5: Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
6: Beowulf - ...
7: Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
8: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
9: Bromeliad serie - Terry Pratchett
10: Adrian and Oliver - Leonard Huizingga
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dysfunction

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2006, 01:40:37 PM »
Quote from: "cadmium_blimp"
the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy.


There's 5 books...
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cadmium_blimp

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #11 on: September 19, 2006, 01:41:04 PM »
Quote from: "dysfunction"
Quote from: "cadmium_blimp"
the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy.


There's 5 books...

I knew that.
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Knight

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2006, 01:43:45 PM »
I almost forgot one of the best books... Mr. Was by Pete Hautman.
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Erasmus

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« Reply #13 on: September 19, 2006, 01:55:03 PM »
Quote from: "Mephistopheles"
Most hated book:  Great Expectations.


Wow... I second that and third that.  Hold on, wait... David Copperfield might have been worse.  No, Great Expectations.  No... damn, can't decide!
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dysfunction

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #14 on: September 19, 2006, 02:36:25 PM »
Quote from: "Erasmus"
Quote from: "Mephistopheles"
Most hated book:  Great Expectations.


Wow... I second that and third that.  Hold on, wait... David Copperfield might have been worse.  No, Great Expectations.  No... damn, can't decide!


Dammit, I love Dickens.
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GeoGuy

Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #15 on: September 19, 2006, 02:40:30 PM »
My ten favorite fiction books are:
    1. Fahrenheit 451 -Ray Bradbury
    2. Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy -Douglas Adams
    3. Discworld series -Terry Pratchett
    4. The Red Dwarf series -Grant Naylor
    5. 1984 -George Orwell
    6. The Da Vinci code -Dan Brown
    7. the LOTR trilogy -Tolkien
    8. The count of Monte Cristo -Alexander Dumas
    9. the Dark tower series -Steven King
    10. The once and future king -T. H. White
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Mephistopheles

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #16 on: September 19, 2006, 02:47:57 PM »
Quote from: "dysfunction"
Quote from: "cadmium_blimp"
the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy.


There's 5 books...


Its called a 5 book trilogy.
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dysfunction

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #17 on: September 19, 2006, 02:48:37 PM »
Ah that's right, I had forgotten, it's "the increasingly inaptly named trilogy".
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Mephistopheles

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« Reply #18 on: September 19, 2006, 02:50:50 PM »
Quote from: "dysfunction"
Ah that's right, I had forgotten, it's "the increasingly inaptly named trilogy".


 :wink:

I believe there was a book called "The Physics of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" or something like that where scientists looked at some of the obscure concepts and reasoned them out a bit.
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Bugman

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Re: Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #19 on: September 19, 2006, 04:35:11 PM »
Quote from: "Erasmus"
As for other people's stuff I also add my votes to



except that I say "in particular Guards, Guards! and Jingo," the latter mostly because of the line, "loitering with intent, loitering within tent..."


I almost added Jingo, and a couple of others, but I had to draw the line. I'm a massive Macbeth fan (hit the dirt, thespians), so I adore Wyrd Sisters.
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quixotic

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #20 on: September 19, 2006, 05:53:37 PM »
In No particular order:

Alchemist - Paulo Cohello
Power of One - Bryce Courtney
Kokoda - Robert Fitzsimmons
Stalingrad - Antony Beevor
When the War Began - John Marsden Series (think 7 in total)
Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Z for Zachariah - Robert O'Brien
MacBeth - William Shakespeare
Flags of Our Fathers - James Bradley & Ron Powers


I also love Roald Dahl as a kids writer  :lol:
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Rick_James

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Re: Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #21 on: September 19, 2006, 06:37:42 PM »
Quote from: "beast"
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S Thompson


I thought this was non-fiction... or a hazy recollection of an actual event at best. Such a good book but.

Personally I'd need to add the Les Norton Series... but probably only Quix or Beast or one of the other Aussies would know them.
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CrimsonKing

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #22 on: September 19, 2006, 06:48:53 PM »
Lessee

1.1984, George Orwell
2.Dark Tower Series, Stephen King
3.Animal Farm, George Orwell
4.The Prince, Machivelli
5.Lord of the Rings, Tolkein
6.Lord of the Flies, Golding
7.Da Vinci Code, Brown
8.Angels and Demons, Brown
9.The Divine Comedy, Dante
10.All the Faust mentioned by Meph

worst book ever: Grapes of Wrath, good god, I had to read it for AP comp, I wanted to kill the teacher, the goddamn book is too long and boring.
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beast

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Re: Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #23 on: September 19, 2006, 07:06:14 PM »
Quote from: "Rick_James"
Quote from: "beast"
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S Thompson


I thought this was non-fiction... or a hazy recollection of an actual event at best. Such a good book but.



Well H S Thompson claims that the book is mainly fiction and that he'd have to be out of hit mind to write that book if it were true.  My impression with all his work is that he exaggerates the truth a lot but in all honesty I don't care if a book like that is true or not - I read it for the enjoyment of reading it, not to learn anything about the events that have happened in Hunter's life.  Same goes with A Million Little Pieces (James Frey) - which is supposed to be his memoirs of rehab but it quickly became apparant that a large amount of the book is false.  I don't understand how this detracts from the quality of the book.
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dysfunction

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #24 on: September 19, 2006, 07:13:39 PM »
Quote from: "quixotic"

Lord of the Flies - William Golding


My (nonexistent) God, I hated that book.
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Desu

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #25 on: September 19, 2006, 07:19:55 PM »
Quote from: "dysfunction"
Quote from: "quixotic"

Lord of the Flies - William Golding


My (nonexistent) God, I hated that book.

I liked it
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Rick_James

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Re: Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #26 on: September 19, 2006, 07:20:55 PM »
Quote from: "beast"
Quote from: "Rick_James"
Quote from: "beast"
5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S Thompson


I thought this was non-fiction... or a hazy recollection of an actual event at best. Such a good book but.



Well H S Thompson claims that the book is mainly fiction and that he'd have to be out of hit mind to write that book if it were true.  My impression with all his work is that he exaggerates the truth a lot but in all honesty I don't care if a book like that is true or not - I read it for the enjoyment of reading it, not to learn anything about the events that have happened in Hunter's life.  Same goes with A Million Little Pieces (James Frey) - which is supposed to be his memoirs of rehab but it quickly became apparant that a large amount of the book is false.  I don't understand how this detracts from the quality of the book.


Agreed.

Have you read the Les Norton series? I can't remember the name of the Author (God I'm terrible) but Les Norton was the main character. He was a funny as bogan Australina working as a bouncer in Kings cross in the  80's (progresses through to current day)
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TheEngineer

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Top 10 favourite fictional books
« Reply #27 on: September 19, 2006, 07:23:55 PM »
No one likes Clancy?  Damn.

1.  Rainbow Six - Clancy
2.  Without Remorse - Clancy
3.  Clear and Present Danger - Clancy
4.  Flight of the Intruder - Coonts
5.  Hunt for Red October - Clancy
6.  A Brief History of Time - Hawking
7.  The Elegant Universe - Greene
8.  Into the Storm - Clancy and Gen. Franks
9.  Prey - Crichton
10. The Andrometa Strain - Crichton

Least favorite:  I am not a fan of the classics, so: anything I was forced to read in high school or undergrad english.  With the exception of Animal Farm as that one was pretty good.
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Desu

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« Reply #28 on: September 19, 2006, 07:25:10 PM »
Quote from: "TheEngineer"
No one likes Clancy?  Damn.

1.  Rainbow Six - Clancy
2.  Without Remorse - Clancy
3.  Clear and Present Danger - Clancy
4.  Flight of the Intruder - Coonts
5.  Hunt for Red October - Clancy
6.  A Brief History of Time - Hawking
7.  The Elegant Universe - Greene
8.  Into the Storm - Clancy and Gen. Franks
9.  Prey - Crichton
10. The Andrometa Strain - Crichton

Least favorite:  I am not a fan of the classics, so: anything I was forced to read in high school or undergrad english.  With the exception of Animal Farm as that one was pretty good.

That was fiction?
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Rick_James

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« Reply #29 on: September 19, 2006, 07:31:07 PM »
Lol maybe in his opinion it is.

How about Wilbur Smith? any of the ones set in South Africa are cool....

Really challenging to get through all the Afrikaanz (spelling) in it, having had no exposure to the language. having said that, I found Hannibal to be interesting for the same reson (with Italian), although not as challenging.
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