What are your favorite all time books?

[GregA]

1984 / Animal Farm: George Orwell
Catch 22: Joseph Heller
Lord Of the Rings / The Hobbit: J.R. Tolkein
How To Solve It : G Polya

 

[Cyrus]

I've read Animal farm and Catch 22, Yosarian!

F-451 was a good book too. Come Montag!

 

[Cyrus]

Here is a great little story you will enjoy. It's quite funny

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/GriImpe.html

I am reading it for my Lit course.

 

[fourier jr]

Sphere - Michael Crichton

that was my favourite book for a long time around when the first jurassic park movie came out. i always thought it would make a cool movie but it got severely butchered when someone actually did make a movie out of it.

 

[Mickey]

The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field by Jacques Hadamard
i'm about halfway through it now & it has articulated & 'demystified' many things that i suspected about discoveries (or inventions, creations etc) of any kind, not just mathematical ones. one thing that really stood out for me was a sentence or two about classmates of galois who said that galois was repulsed by his algebra texts because they didnt give any insight into how mathematical discoveries were made. i guess they just said 'this is how its done, do it this way' etc etc without explaining why it was interesting or important to learn or where it came from. after reading that i had a better understanding of why my favourite textbooks are my favourites and not other ones.

Hell yeah! Isn't that why everyone hates their math books?

I mean, here you are, being forced to recognize the work of other famous mathematicians, and despite that force, you're not told why they or their work are famous in the first place. Did they get famous because of similar education? Hard to imagine that.

From reading the Amazon reviews, I hear the author claims that famous mathematicians make a distinction between thought and language, contrary to the ideas of many linguists and philosophers. If this is true, then it seems that mathematicians who argue that mathematics is a language are going down the wrong path.

Clearly, the same thinking on the distinction between thought and language can apply to other subjects, and may help us to see what makes a famous person in those fields as well.My favorite all time book(s)? I don't know. I'm reading Penrose's "Road to Reality" right now to help decide whether or not I should commit to a physics program. This may sound silly, but I really think that my favorite all time book is the first book I ever learned to read.

It wasn't even a real book. It was a thin stack of 8x11 pieces of paper, photocopies of pages of a book, stapled in a corner. I could take it anywhere. It was "my book." People would ask, do you have "your book?" Learning to read it was an unforgettable kind of joy, like a nexus of the joys of learning, exploration, self-motivation, accomplishment, imagination, and people sharing their joy of the whole thing with you too. I wish I could have more moments like that.

 

[JasonRox]

One of the books that stands out a lot for me is...

The Ice Master by Jennifer Nivel

It's about the Canadian Arctic Expedition and its tragedy in 1912-1914.

I can't really think of any other great books right now. This has to be certainly one of the greatest books of all time.

I liked a lot of books, but sometimes I feel like the book can be easily duplicated by another author or already has been duplicated. For example, Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking has been duplicated very easily by other authors and not only that but also by the author himself. Very repetitive.

 

[pace]

So far Lord of the Rings, White Fang by J. London, 1984 by Orwell, and Crime and Punishment by Dostojevskij. D. writes really really obsessivly.

 

[BobG]

No particular order. Just some good ones that have always stuck in my head.

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee?)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Skipping Christmas (John Grisham - maybe not a classic, but Grisham's best book, anyway)
War of the Rats (can't remember the author, but it was a duel between a Soviet sniper and a German sniper - much better than the stupid movie)
The Lamb's War (I wish I could remember that author's name, too - very bizarre story)
The End of Eternity (Asimov - could have chosen the Foundation Series, as well)
White Fang - Jack London (not sure why I liked this one more than Call of the Wild)

 

[GeoMike]

A couple that come to mind:

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson
Touching the Void - Joe Simpson

-GeoMike-

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Gemmel..that's the guy writing about Thunk, the Death Hammer, or someone like that?

No that's Thrudd the Barbarian, or maybe your thinking of Conan, this guys a bit better than Robert E Howard(God bless his sacred jock strap though) And the comic strip in White Dwarf Magazine although that is easily the funniest send up of fantasy I've ever seen, I mean anyone who can include Daleks and nukes in fantasy get's my vote

Shannow was a biblical character, in that he followed the old testament in a post apocalyptic world of brigand and lawless savages, Gemmel is about character, and realistic character not big man slay everyone, and get mislead by princess, who uses and abuses him ,but senselessly violent man realizes the error of his thinking through the trials of his existence, it's not your common or garden fantasy, just as PK Dick or Asimov or AC Clarke aren't your common or garden fantasy. Do androids really dream of electric sheep

OK I'll bite and go for classics that really inspired me:-

Crime and Punishment: the murderer who justifies his misdeads

Don Quioxote: the windmill slayer.( as funny as you like and positively inspiring, we're all itinerant knights at heart yes? Although usually not so delusional )

Moby Dick: a whale of a tale(have to say the pacing was sublime, a wave crashing on a shore after it rolls across the seas is the way I'd describe the text in it's pacing)

Of Mice and Men: simple men with complicated motivations.

The Lord of the Flies: Lost the series in the form of Children I guess, "kill the pig smash him in"

The Trial: bemusing and frightening Kafkaesque derision of fascist adherence to rules.

Animal Farm: metaphore at it's finest.

Brave New World: one of those dystopian fantasies that reflects the world as it could be and thankfully isn't

The Day of the Triffids: a great expose of what would happen should the world meet a potential cataclysm

The Illiad: a fascinating read and better than the film Troy, obviously, who the hell believes Hollywood, brave attempt though given the restrictions of a modern worlds views

The Oddysey: cmon, can we get anything more fantastic and yet absorbing from the ancient world.

The Devils: perplexing array of Characters that although confusing lead to a great assumption about the way people behaved, although slightly biased against communism

OK off the top of my head, but I can't write them all. And besides fantasy was my first love, and it will be my last I mean LotR, just the quintessential power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely tale.

 

[mathwonk]

i .iked les miserables, and the count of monte cristo, and moby dick, especially the classic comics versions.

also courants calculus, spivaks calculus, and van der waerdens modern algebra, and shafarevichs basic algebraic geometry, and mike artins algebra, and milnors topology from the diffble viewpoint, and don quixote but not the classic comic which did not capture the profound humor.

also feynman on physics, and de broglie on quanta, as well as nan yar by a yogi whose name i forget.

 

[Physics_wiz]

"The Road to Reality" by Penrose. Even though I haven't finished this book, the small part I read can only be described by one word: "Beautiful"

Just thinking about it makes me happy

 

[Cyrus]

Now in Lit we are reading: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man [James Weldon Johnson]

Book: http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/jwj/auto.htm

 

[Astronuc]

I enjoyed "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375826688/?tag=pfamazon01-20" and "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037582670X/?tag=pfamazon01-20" by Christopher Paolini. There will be third book out sometime in the near future. It's along the lines of LOTR, i.e. similar themes, but it is quite enjoyable.

 

[star.torturer]

"The Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan

realy, that's a suprised, not many like it. i love it and is waiting for 11 to come out in paperback.
hitchikers guide is brill
space odesys are good
LOTR is good

I enjoyed "Eragon" and "Eldest" by Christopher Paolini. There will be third book out sometime in the near future. It's along the lines of LOTR, i.e. similar themes, but it is quite enjoyable.

#
i read these, just doesent seem the right type

any hard scifi opera's and long winded total fantasy

 

[DeadWolfe]

Gravity's Rainbow
Don Quixote

 

[nazzard]

These are my favourite books in chronological order, starting with a childhood classic

• "The Wizard of the Emerald City" by Aleksandr Volkov
  
  and all other books of the Magic Land series with beautiful illustrations by Leonid Vladimirskij (stories based on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum)
  
  
• "Satanic mill" by Otfried Preussler
  
  
• "Three Comrades" and "The Black Obelisk" by Erich Maria Remarque
  
  

 

[PRodQuanta]

I enjoyed "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375826688/?tag=pfamazon01-20" and "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037582670X/?tag=pfamazon01-20" by Christopher Paolini. There will be third book out sometime in the near future. It's along the lines of LOTR, i.e. similar themes, but it is quite enjoyable.

I agree. Those are great books. There is also going to be an Eragon movie out near Christmas time (found that out on http://www.hsx.com (refered by PRodQuanta))

My favorite books would have to be:
The Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron (also going to be a movie)
The Tree of Avalon series by T.A. Barron
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Transal Saga by ...? Kind of a kiddish book, but a great read.
Night by Elie Wissel (sp?)

I'm not going to list any physics or science books...

Paden Roder

 

[Astronuc]

I agree. Those are great books. There is also going to be an Eragon movie out near Christmas time (found that out on http://www.hsx.com (refered by PRodQuanta))

Cool!

Also - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449010/ (status - post production).

I'll have to take the family to this one.

Edward Speleers of Chichester, England, UK beat out 180,000 applicants to play the role of Eragon. Hmmm. I'd not heard of the call for that.

Sienna Guillory as Arya.

Jeremy Irons as Brom.

Of course, Djimon Hounsou would play Ajihad.

It will be interesting to see how they do the Urgals. It figures they have several muscle guys, e.g. Nils Allen Stewart and Mark Tisdale playing Urgal characters.

 

[PRodQuanta]

Cool!

Also - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449010/ (status - post production).

I'll have to take the family to this one.

Edward Speleers of Chichester, England, UK beat out 180,000 applicants to play the role of Eragon. Hmmm. I'd not heard of the call for that.

Sienna Guillory as Arya.

Jeremy Irons as Brom.

Of course, Djimon Hounsou would play Ajihad.

It will be interesting to see how they do the Urgals. It figures they have several muscle guys, e.g. Nils Allen Stewart and Mark Tisdale playing Urgal characters.

That will definitely be a midnight premier must-see

Paden Roder

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Transal Saga by ...? Kind of a kiddish book, but a great read.

And Harry Potter isn't kiddish? I see

 

[larkspur]

I liked http://www.antgear.com/theland/overview.html".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Covenant

 

[selfAdjoint]

I liked http://www.antgear.com/theland/overview.html".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Covenant

Me too. Kind of a slog with all that overwhelming moral earnestness, but rewarding.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Me too. Kind of a slog with all that overwhelming moral earnestness, but rewarding.

Thomas Covenant was a powerfully written anti hero, a man who believed nothing, didn't want to be what they said he was and behaved deplorably because of it. Nice work by Stephen Donaldson, anyone read his gap series I thought it was at least as good if not better? Love the twist of hero becoming bad guy and bad guy becoming hero and victim becoming persecutor great books.

 

[larkspur]

anyone read his gap series I thought it was at least as good if not better?

Until this morning I did not realize there were any new TC books published. I am going to order The Runes of the Earth. It has been so long since I read the series I may have to go back and read all of them again.

 

[selfAdjoint]

Thomas Covenant was a powerfully written anti hero, a man who believed nothing, didn't want to be what they said he was and behaved deplorably because of it.

But in the end he was the world-saver they all thought he was destined to be! Another role reversal. Note this is prefigured in his name: Doubting Thomas, plus Covenant.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Until this morning I did not realize there were any new TC books published. I am going to order The Runes of the Earth. It has been so long since I read the series I may have to go back and read all of them again.

The gap series, it's based on the opera The Ring Cycle by Wagner. Set in space with the creepiest aliens you're ever likely to read about who inhabit a zone called forbidden space. But the power play and character development is the real story. Check out the real story it's really a novella that spawned the series, and if you like that, you'll love the rest.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/series/-/89332/mass%5Fmarket/103-7971756-8590216&tag=pfamazon01-20

The Real Story is a short but intense tale set in a future in which humans travel between the stars using "gap drives," controllable brain implants are punishable by death, and a private company called the United Mining Company runs law enforcement for all of known space. Ensign Morn Hyland lives aboard a police ship with most of her family, chasing down pirates and other illegals who prey on the weak or smuggle goods into forbidden space.

Through a strange turn of events, one particularly nasty perpetrator ends up with Morn as his companion--or at least that's the way it appears to the folks at the space station's bar. Why would a young, strong, beautiful police officer associate with a crusty, murdering pirate? People watch with interest as Morn appears to fall in lust with another racy illegal, Captain Nick Succorso. Morn and Nick must have plotted together to frame Angus and escape together, right? But the real story was quite different.

The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict
Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap Into Vision
A Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap into Power
Chaos and Order: The Gap Into Madness
This Day All Gods Die: The Gap Into Ruin

But in the end he was the world-saver they all thought he was destined to be! Another role reversal. Note this is prefigured in his name: Doubting Thomas, plus Covenant.

Do you know I never really thought about his name, thanks

An inspired series though without a doubt.

 

[PRodQuanta]

And Harry Potter isn't kiddish? I see

I used to think so until I read book 6. At that pace, book 7 (coming out 7/7/07) will be R rated.

Paden Roder

 

[Astronuc]

The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho is a compelling book.

Coelho has an interesting biography - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho

http://www.paulocoelho.com/engl/

 

[Mk]

The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
The Demon-Haunted World, by Carl Sagan
The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

READ THEM! The first is the essence of entertainment, and the next two, have had an impact on my life. I highly recommend them.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The most used books in my collection are
The CRC Handbook of Chem and Physics
Feynman Lectures on Physics [Parts I, II, and III]
Classical Electrodynamics [Jackson]
Physics [Halliday and Resnick, Parts I and II]
General Chem [Macmillan]
Introductory Electronics [Simpson]
Handbook of BASIC for the IBM PC [Brady, 1985, not used much lately ]

 

[Azael]

In no particular order

Hitchikers guide to the galaxy. Doesnt get any funnier than that!

Foundation books by Asimo. Just amazing. Sci fi can't get any better than this.

Revelation space by Alastair Reynolds. The new king of sci fi! Different from any sci fi I have read before.

Solaris by Stanislaw lem. No book has ever disturbed me as much as this one. This book scared the **** out of me and at the same time left me with a horrible empty uneasy feeling. I found it so disturbing that I had a hard time reading it and still I loved every page. Defenetly one of the most memorable books I have ever read.

Relativity: the special and general theory by Einstein. I got ahold of this book in 5th grade and it was what got me into physics in the first place. Loved it.

The rama books by Clark. They are all brilliant, can't say any more than that.

2001, 2010, 2061 and 3001 by Clark. Nothing needs to be said about these. 2010 is my favorite in the series.

Heechee series by Pohl. Brilliant aswell.

Il stop here :)

 

[star.torturer]

azael: good choices there with relevation space, do you want to read more of that stuff? have you read the new ones or even a bit of PF Hamilton?

 

[Azael]

azael: good choices there with relevation space, do you want to read more of that stuff? have you read the new ones or even a bit of PF Hamilton?

I have read Chasm City and Redemption Ark and I loved both of them. Gonna pic up a few more books by Reynolds anyday :)

I have read Hamilton aswell. Both the nights dawn triology and the comonwealth saga. His works are excelent. I preferred comonwealth over nights dawn though. I have never read a author that can keep the story interesting over so many pages. I mean hell nights dawn triology must be around 3600 pages.

Do you know any books in the same style as revelation space but by other authors??

 

[arildno]

At the present, Mike Dash's "Thug: The true history of India's murderous cult"
It tells the chilling story of one of the sneakiest, and deadliest, secret socities the world has been afflicted with.

The Thugs were murderers and robbers who delighted in gaining the confidence of their future victims, and offered themselves to be good traveling company on the dangerous roads of India. They could travel as fast friends with their victims for weeks before they found a "suitable spot" to dispatch them (the Thugs had favourite killing grounds, called beles, to which they led their unsuspecting victims).

And as night fell on, and some of the Thugs sat entertaining their victims, another one sneaked up behind, and slipped the cord around the victim's throat and strangled him quickly.

Until their discovery and subsequent extirpation by the British in the 1830's, the Thug gangs were probably responsible for 5000-6000 annual murders, and had been doing so for at least a couple of centuries.

A very good bedtime story!