1. The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy. Forget the movie version, this novel is awesome. Both hilarious and heart-wrenching. If you are a military brat, this one will have something for you in it.

2,3,4. The Fourth Hand, A Widow for One Year, & A Prayer for Owen Meany, all by John Irving.

5. The Black Marble, by Joseph Wambaugh.

6. Any or all of the 87th Precinct Mysteries by Ed McBain (Sorry. I got hooked on these when I was a youngster, and I can’t pass a bookstore without checking to see if there’s an old one that I don’t own. I truly mourn the loss of the author, who succumbed to cancer in 2005.)

7. Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry Again, deep-six that cheap-shit TV movie version. This novel is the STUFF. Won a Pulitzer prize and deserved it. The prequels, Dead Man’s Walk & Commanche Moon, as well as the sequel, Streets of Laredo are all ok, too.


8. M*A*S*H (& M*A*S*H Goes to Maine), by Richard Hooker
No slight to the Robert Altman film, and forget the hokey last several seasons of the TV show, these two novels are vintage late-60’s writing, ribald and funny as hell. The author was in a MASH unit during the Korean War, so you know that half the characters in there are from his own experiences.

9. Dando Shaft by Don Calhoun. Early 60’s Ad-man reaches mid-life crisis with disastrous but hilarious results.

10. The Psychopathic God, by Robert GL Waite. A fascinating psychological study of Adolf Hitler. Not a history book, but rather a psychological/forensic thesis on Hitler the 'man'.

Bonus: The Arrogance Of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon, by Anthony Summers. Chilling study of Nixon the politician and consummate liar.

:thumbs:


Care to share your favorites?

Hmmm, lets see...

I can take up ten with just the Wheel of Time (http://www.amazon.com/Eye-World-Wheel-Time-Book/dp/0812511816/sr=1-1/qid=1167603041/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)series by Robert Jordan.
Then there is the Harry Potter (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0439887453/sr=1-2/qid=1167603104/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)series.
The entire Sherlock Holmes (http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Complete-Stories-Classic/dp/0553212419/sr=1-1/qid=1167603127/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)collection from The Strand.
The Song of Fire and Ice (http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Song-Fire-Book/dp/0553573403/sr=1-1/qid=1167602965/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)series by George R.R. Martin
Ender's Game (http://www.amazon.com/Enders-Game-Ender-Book-1/dp/0812550706/sr=1-1/qid=1167603155/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Orson Scott Card.
Eaters of the Dead (http://www.amazon.com/Eaters-Dead-Michael-Crichton/dp/0060891564/sr=1-2/qid=1167603173/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Michael Crichton.
Krakatoa (http://www.amazon.com/Krakatoa-World-Exploded-August-1883/dp/0060838590/sr=1-1/qid=1167603210/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Simon Winchester.
John Adams (http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-David-McCullough/dp/0743223136/sr=1-1/qid=1167603229/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books) by David McCullough
Guns, Germs and Steel (http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552/sr=1-1/qid=1167603268/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)by Jared M. Diamond
Snow Crash (http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Neal-Stephenson/dp/344245302X/sr=1-2/qid=1167603287/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Neal Stephenson

Dune
LOTR
Lord of the Flies
The Killer Angels
The Invisible Man (both the Ellison and Wells versions)
The Art of War
Guns, Germs, and Steel

If I think of any more, I'll post them.

Hmmm, lets see...

I can take up ten with just the Wheel of Time (http://www.amazon.com/Eye-World-Wheel-Time-Book/dp/0812511816/sr=1-1/qid=1167603041/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)series by Robert Jordan.
Then there is the Harry Potter (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0439887453/sr=1-2/qid=1167603104/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)series.
The entire Sherlock Holmes (http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Complete-Stories-Classic/dp/0553212419/sr=1-1/qid=1167603127/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)collection from The Strand.
The Song of Fire and Ice (http://www.amazon.com/Game-Thrones-Song-Fire-Book/dp/0553573403/sr=1-1/qid=1167602965/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)series by George R.R. Martin
Ender's Game (http://www.amazon.com/Enders-Game-Ender-Book-1/dp/0812550706/sr=1-1/qid=1167603155/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Orson Scott Card.
Eaters of the Dead (http://www.amazon.com/Eaters-Dead-Michael-Crichton/dp/0060891564/sr=1-2/qid=1167603173/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Michael Crichton.
Krakatoa (http://www.amazon.com/Krakatoa-World-Exploded-August-1883/dp/0060838590/sr=1-1/qid=1167603210/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Simon Winchester.
John Adams (http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-David-McCullough/dp/0743223136/sr=1-1/qid=1167603229/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books) by David McCullough
Guns, Germs and Steel (http://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552/sr=1-1/qid=1167603268/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books)by Jared M. Diamond
Snow Crash (http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Neal-Stephenson/dp/344245302X/sr=1-2/qid=1167603287/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-1641979-0933643?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Neal Stephenson

You list Wheel of Time and Harry Potter before John Adams and Guns Germs and Steel...

What an amusing set of priorities you have.

What an amusing set of priorities you have.

Well, that is what I live for... to amuse you.

</sarcasm>

:banana:

Silly humans.
Your books won't save you when the machines rise and take control of your puny world.

Yet, look what happened to HAL......

Favorite books ( a few)

King Rat by James Clavell

The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

The Autobiography of Henry the VIII by Margaret George

Harry of Monmouth by Maugham

Centennial by James Michener

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Well, that is what I live for... to amuse you.

:banana:

And you succeed admirably.

And you succeed admirably.

I am SO happy for you. :@@:

You should be happy for yourself!

Hmmm my ten favorite books (not in any order):

~The Harry Potter Series, the fourth most of all
~The Abarat Series by Clive Barker
~The Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice, although mostly the first, third, and fourth through fifth
~To The Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson
~Lord of The Flies
~1984
~The Count of Monte Cristo
~The Phantom of The Opera
~Rendevous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

Well that makes more than ten individual books but whatever.

Dark,

Did you ever read Anne Rice's "Mummy"?

Nope... The only non-vampire books of hers that I've attempted to get through are Violin and Servant of The Bones. Both boring enough to make me want to tear out my hair.

The Mummy was pretty good. It was probobly the best of her books outside the vampire series. I believe it was only a stand alone instead of a series.

Hmmm... I shall have to look into that. I haven't been reading much lately; I just pick up my Sudoku book whenever I'm bored...

Hmm. I read more articles than books. And manga doesn't count. But here are some favorites.

The Soul of a Chef - Michael Ruhlman
The Making of a Chef - Michael Ruhlman
Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
The Man Who Ate Everything - Jeffry Steingarten
Blue Highways - William Least Heat-Moon
On The Road - Jack Kerouac
Made In America + Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Luo Guan Zhong (Chinese)

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Awesome Dio!

here's mine

I kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl - Joshua Harris
The Firm and Pelican Brief - John Grisham
Undue Influence - Steve Martini
Chances Are - Barbara Delinsky
Sahara - Clive Cussler
Congo and Disclosure - Michael Crichton
The Rising Sun (not sure if this is also Michael Crichton's)
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
Chesapeake - James A. Michener
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown


That and some from Mary Higgins Clark and well, romance from Danielle Steel, Jude Deveraux, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, etc. Depends on my mood really.

I have not read many books, but what I have read was rather good.

WAR AND PEACE by Lev Tolstoy
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
1984 by George Orwell
ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
THE GREEN MILE by Stephen King
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by Ken Kesey

I think that's about it...

Not 10, but here are a few:

Into Thin Air
Red Storm Rising
The Beatles
The Making of the Atomic Bomb

(I tend to read non-fiction)

10. The Psychopathic God, by Robert GL Waite. A fascinating psychological study of Adolf Hitler. Not a history book, but rather a psychological/forensic thesis on Hitler the 'man'.


sounds interesting. will try to find and read. thanks

My Losing Season - Pat Conroy
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Killing Pablo - Mark Bowden (non-fiction but I still enjoyed it)

Currently reading Angels and Demons, really have enjoyed it so far and after I finish it I'll be moving on to Digital Fortress, also by Dan Brown.

Angels and Demons was great... I haven't read Digital Fortress, but I read the back cover and wasn't impressed enough to put it at the top of my reading list.

The Power of One (a must-read)

Shogun
Tai Pan
King Rat
The Hunt for Red October
Enders Game
Enders Shadow

I'll think of my other favorites later

The Bible by men inspired by God
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
Stranger In A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
Shogun by James Clavel
White Lotus by John Hersey
The Ringworld Series by Larry Niven
The Lazarus Long Series by Robert Heinlein
Lonesome dove by Larry McMurtry
I Robot by Isaac Asimov

Heinlein gave us the word GroK and Asimov gave us the three rules of robotics.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Angels and Demons was great... I haven't read Digital Fortress, but I read the back cover and wasn't impressed enough to put it at the top of my reading list.

Angels and Demons is really good. Digital Fortress I thought was just OK.

Angels and Demons is not as good as the Da Vinci Code IMO. Its a little more off the wall in fact, I think. Mainly the ending. But yeah dont wanna spoil it.

Some of my favorites are: the two mentioned above, enders game, 1984, paradise lost, dracula, catcher in the rye, ect... lots more cant think.

Currently reading the templar legacy by steve berry. Ive really gotten into the religious historical fiction books lately, i just got finished reading the entire left behind series as well.

I have a total of 12 to be exact :)

She Who Remembers - Linda Lay Shuler
Voice of the Eagle - Linda Lay Shuler
Let the Drums Speak - Linda Lay Shuler

Mother Earth, Father Sky - Sue Harrison
My Sister the Moon - Sue Harrison
Brother Wind - Sue Harrison

The Good Mother - Sue Miller
Friday - Robert A Heinlein
Indecent Proposal - Jack Englehart
Sisters of the Black Moon- F.J. Pesando
Crown of Columbus - Louis Edrich

and The Oddesey - Homer

here's mine
Congo and Disclosure - Michael Crichton
The Rising Sun (not sure if this is also Michael Crichton's)


I love those 3 books too. The Rising Sun is Crichton too btw.

What if we don't have a ten Favorite....
I read to many and my Favorites change with my mood.
But here are my favorite Authors, not in any particular order.

1. Anne McCaffrey
2. Robert A Heinlein
3. George R R Martin
4. Robin Hobb
5. Lynn Flewelling
6. Terry Goodkind (Thoe I am not to happy with him right now.)
7. Tamora Pierce
8. J K Rowling
9. Christopher Paolini
10. John Sandford

It would be difficult to narrow my choices down to 10 books. As with the poster above, I'd rather go with favorite authors, in no particular order:

Tom Clancy
W.E.B. Griffin
Robert Heinlein
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.K. Rowling
Clive Cussler
Dale Brown
Issac Asimov
John Grisham
Robert Ludlum

Nice list es.

Thankew, thankew verrrry much.

I'm surprised Ray Bradbury isn't getting more votes.

His short stories are masterpieces, IMO--stuff like "Kalaiedoscope" or "The Veldt" or "The Thousand Year Picnic" or "The Lake".

I could read his stuff over and over and have.

All time favorite: The Kite Runner
The Da Vinci Code
Angels and Demons
The Gunslinger and Dark Tower series

Heinlein seems to be on a lot of lists.

Some favorites:

A Distant Mirror, The Guns of August, The Zimmerman Telegram, The March of Folly, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, all by Barbara Tuchman.

Lord of the Rings, The first three Dune books, War As I Knew It by George Patton. Patton by Ladislas Farago, Broca's Brain, The Dragons of Eden, The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan.

Red Storm Rising (his best IMO), The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, by Tom Clancy.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Things They Carried
Ghost Soldiers
The Art of War
The Prince
Catch 22
Stranger in a Strange Land
Cat's Cradle
Syrup
1984
The World According to Garp
Brave New World
Gulliver's Travels
Fahrenheit 451
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Sherlock Holmes
The Paris Option

there's alot of great books out dere but u must read The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli he was a philosopher in the 14th centenry.

and also The Art of War by Sun-tzu.

knowledge is infiniti

crazylegs, you actually read and still use words like "dere" and "centenry." Astounding.

The Art of War
-Great one

The Prince
-Also a good one. He's one of my favorite philosophers

Catch 22
-need to read this one

1984
-read it when I was 10, hated it then

Fahrenheit 451
-read it for school, hated it too :(


The Paris Option
-please tell me that isn't by Paris Hilton

Hey Vile, have you read Rainbow 6 or Executive orders?

Hey Vile, have you read Rainbow 6 or Executive orders?

I've read Executive Orders but not Rainbow 6.

History and Science Fiction seem to be the two most popular genres.

Vilepagan, if you liked Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, you will probably enjoy, A World Lit Only By Fire, by William Manchester.

Nobody seems to share my preferred type of reading: anecdotal essays. In my case I listed two travel writings and like four more or less anecdotal books on food. After those, my preffered reading are sociological, scientific, cultural, and philosophical essays. Followed by analysis and history of entertainment related subjects, like film, music, and other performing art. History and literature, not so much. Current issue, not at all. It's kind of the opposite of most people's taste.

Nobody seems to share my preferred type of reading: anecdotal essays. In my case I listed two travel writings and like four more or less anecdotal books on food. After those, my preffered reading are sociological, scientific, cultural, and philosophical essays. Followed by analysis and history of entertainment related subjects, like film, music, and other performing art. History and literature, not so much. Current issue, not at all. It's kind of the opposite of most people's taste.
I LOVE history. I tried to read A Distant Mirror but it was a little dry and boring for me, honestly. At least at the beginning.

The Paris Option
-please tell me that isn't by Paris Hilton

Nope, that's "Backdoor to Paris"


The Paris Option is a spy book by Robert Ludlum (or however it's spelled).

The Paris Option is a spy book by Robert Ludlum (or however it's spelled).
I was engrossed in his Bourne Trilogy back before they started making the movies. Those were entertaining.

Sherlock Holmes


Haha, a vote for Sherlock!
Great original stories.The readers had a fit when Doyle killed him off, because he was sick of him, and he was forced to bring him back!

Holmes is one of those very rare things--a fictional character so compelling, so real, that many people think he actually existed.

That is talent.


Quote--dio--"Nobody seems to share my preferred type of reading: anecdotal essays. In my case I listed two travel writings and like four more or less anecdotal books on food. After those, my preffered reading are sociological, scientific, cultural, and philosophical essays. Followed by analysis and history of entertainment related subjects, like film, music, and other performing art. History and literature, not so much. Current issue, not at all. It's kind of the opposite of most people's taste."

I enjoy travel writing too, as well as adventure stories. "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer is one of the best books I've ever read. Man against the elements. ......"The Perfect Storm" is also a good read.

I've read Executive Orders but not Rainbow 6.

Rainbow 6 is a great one, not as good as The Hunt for Red October, but still a good one.

The Paris Option is a spy book by Robert Ludlum (or however it's spelled).
I'll have to check it out. I loved the first two Borne Identity books, didn't even know there was a third one though.

Thanks for the great titles. I will be making a trip to the book store.

I am reading the Twelve Ceasers right now, but a few of my favorite authors are Clive Barker and Anne Rice.

I have a lot of favorites... haha. These are in no certain order.

1: The Memoirs of Cleopatra- Margaret Geroge
2: Autobiography of Henry VIII- Margaret George
3: All Three books in the Sevenwaters Trilogy- Juliette Marillier
4:Gilgamesh- Unknown
5: Crime and Punishment- Fyodor Dostoevsky
6: Kushiel Trilogy- Jacqueline Carey
7: The Golden Ass- Apuleius (trans. by Robert Graves)
8: I, Claudius and Claudius the God- Robert Graves
9: The Arabian Nights- Translated by Hussain Haddawy
10: Inferno- Dante Alghieri

Another fan of history. Welcome aboard.

In no order and a couple per author

Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins (all of his really)
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Trinity, Redemption - Leon Uris
Of Human Bondage - William Someret Maughm
For One More Day - Mitch Albom
Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores - Gabriel Garcias Marquez
The Witching Hour, Lasher - Anne Rice
Night - Elie Wiesel

War and peace, and les meserables o.O lol, long freaking books let me tell you.

Didn't read Les Miz but loved the stage production.