I don't know how anyone can answer this question honestly. We don't even know what great books are still to come in the future so it is pretty impossible to know right now. I have favorites yes, but I do not have one single favorite and I'm sure that more books will continue to amaze me.

I think it`s not about Favoritism, I think it`s more to do with what book has impacted your life, that one book that you read at a time in your life,where the written word or story has had a profound effect on your thinking at that moment in your life.I have that moment only once with a book and it has never left me and that was the .
I read it at a time when I was in a cross roads of my life and needed to question were my roots lay in life.
this book taught me how to look at the question differently and in doing that I found my answers I was seeking.

I thing that The Gargoyle is the best book I have read. It is my favorite of all time so far. It had a lot of darkness in it but there was also love and light, and the stories within the stories were amazing. I downloaded it from Amazon the second time I read it because I can't bear to write in a book and there were so many poignant lines and Kindle allows you to highlight so.....I guess I love it enough to have two copies, one hardcover and one kindle.

I think once you get past the first 100 or so pages, one of the best books I have ever read was Dune. The story of the Harkonnen's (I may have spelled that wrong), the Fremen and the spice trade, and how all of it was interwoven was amazing. Frank Herbert is truly an incredible story teller. Once you get past the history portion of the book, and into the "meat" of the story, it is almost impossible to put down. I may have to read it again as I read it a couple of decades ago when I was an early teen on the trains in Japan.



The other book I have read that I think is definitely one of the best is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It has all the eerie, fog steeped, lone manor house by the sea atmosphere as Wuthering Heights creates out on the moors of England . The main characters are even eerie and fog steeped especially Maximillian with his brooding and dark nature.. And the young wife, haunted by the notorious Rebecca trying to find her way as the head of the household is poignant. Everywhere she turns there are remnants of Rebecca, literally as they find her boat and her body and assume that she went down in a storm. Rebecca is clearly still in charge of Manderly. The end of the novel is perfectly written.

I have read Hsin Hsin Ming by Sosan interpreted by Osho and I love it so deeply that every time I go near it I feel joy. I like it because it has all the answers of my questions.
And I can't forget The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho because it has all the element to make me stand up in any circumstances.

When I turn the last page and feel my precious love has just left me forever..., but only until another one walks in to my life!

My hands-down winner for Best Book Ever is "Little, Big" by John Crowley. This is an enchanted book, so well written it makes me cry with envy in places, absolutely absorbing and it spoke to every fiber of my soul. Some of the language has stuck in my spirit and will be there forever--every time I see a chestnut tree in autumn, every time I see that first winter snowflake, every time I touch a cold stream of water. The imagery is evocative. The characters are memorable. The plot is absolutely riveting. In my opinion, of course. Crowley is a masterful writer.

I can't pick a best book I've ever read but I can point out some of my favorites.

Watership Down by Richard Adams. The first time I read it was in the 6th grade and I've revisited it every couple of years since and still enjoy it very much.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Another book that I have my 6th grade English teacher to thank for and also a book I revisit often. I even read it to my kids and had fun with it.

George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. The intricate plotting and the different things I get each time I reread them just leaves me envious of the authors skill to pull me into the story.

Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel Legacy series. The way she writes is beautiful and the stories are fulfilling and make me think.

I have other favorites but do I revisit them often? No. These are the books I own that I couldn't part with and they would be on my list of must haves if I were stuck on an island or locked in a bomb shelter because they never get boring.

Rabindranath Tagore
It is very difficult to find the best book i have read. But the novels of Rabindronath Tagore that i find best of all.

In no particular order :)

Red Tent - Anita Diamant
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Great Gasby - F Scott Fitzgerald

For me it's the Harry Potter series, each book was delicately plotted and the connection between characters are well organized. There are a lot of secrets which were all well hidden and its revelations are very timely and in tune with the events as well. The more you read the more you'll get thrilled by the happenings. It pertains to a world which is more exciting, mysterious and of course more magical than our world, the muggle world. :)

Though I find many books to be incredible, nothing has ever beaten the Harry Potter series for me. They were instant classics...inspiring, brilliant, non-stop entertainment, amazing storytelling, and told in a way that all ages can enjoy.

a many splendored thing by han suyin, les miserables by victor hugo, east of eden by john steinbeck...

Lori wrote: "for me it's a toss up between Angels and Demons Dan Brown and Shantaram Part OneGregory David Roberts and the reason is because I learned soooo..."

but the culture of India is incompletely represented in shantaram thats what i feel

It is difficult to name one best book. I have read lots of books at early age of 9 years as my father was a teacher and very widely read. He read history books, Hindu religion and lots of novels. I have followed his foot steps. My husband is also well read. One of the good authors is Ayn Rand loved her books. Every book is different and it changes a little of you in everyday life.

I think the best book that I have read to date is The Count of Monte Cristo. The characters and the plots are very complex and interacting. The way everything falls into place is amazing and it was such a great book to read, the action was almost nonstop and where there was a break in that the emotional turmoil of the main characters was explored. It was an amazing book and I would recommend it to anyone! The only thing is you may have to read twice to fully comprehend how everything interacts.

1. Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

2. Nirmala by Prem Chand

The Catcher in the Rye - because it just made me feel good, and it got me in good mood while reading it;
The Name of the Rose - a masterpiece, mix of history, literature, great dialog, excitement and breathtaking ending.

It is hard to choose the best book I have read but 5 Point someone-Chetan Bhagat, Angels & Demons-Dan Brown, Cain & Abel-Jeffery Archery were some of the best. Once you pick up this books, its hard to put it down.And yes Harry Potter is entirely a different word.

Impossible to narrow it down to one. There are books that have wrapped me up so tightly that I lived every minute. The Ninth Buddha by Daniel Easterman and Every Dead Thing by John Connolly are just 2 of them.

1984! Orwell, you saw the world as it really is and not how someone told you it should be, Thank you.

The best book I've read is Chasing Justice by Dan Hunter. It's a tale f revenge and intrigue. It's as good as the count of monte Cristo. http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Justice...

It's so difficult to select just one. Here are 10 that I love (in no particular order)
1: Famous Last Words - Timothy Findley
2: The Talisman - Stephen King & Peter Straub
3: At Swim, Two Boys - Jamie O'Neill
4: The Mountain and the Valley - Ernest Buckler
5: The King Must Die - Mary Renault
6: A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
7: To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
8: Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9: Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald
10: And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie

The list could go on but these are, to me, must-reads. Enjoy :)

I would have to say Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've read a ton of books, but the Outlander characters have stayed with me in a way other hadn't. I couldn't wait for the other books in the series to come out and I still think about them frequently and miss them.

I would have to say that Enders Game is the best book that I've read. It's a combination of good writing, an exciting story, and an intriguing plot.

Trying to pin myself down to one book is a nigh on impossibility. I have read countless good books over too many years for one to jump out above all others. However if the criteria for a good book is one that stays with the reader, changes their thinking, impacts on their future learning and belief system then the list grows shorter. It maybe the criteria is re-readability and of course The Lord of The Rings would fit that bill, but in my case so would War and Peace and Anna Karenina. It might be that as writers and aspiring authors we might feel a book that inspires our muse would fit the category of favourite book, but of course many books could claim to have wetted my creative juices. However, one book which certainly threw me in the direction of portraying the Devil as an ambiguous anti-hero in Mr Charalambus and The One Soul was The Master and Margarita by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. As a novel it is an absolute joy, beautifully written, profound, amusing and truly moving. I loved it when I read some years ago and love it still.

Mr. Emerson's Wife by Amy Belding Brown. If you want to take a trip to Concord, MA and sink into the history there of Ralph Waldo Emerson and his wife Lydia, Thoreau, and even the Alcotts and Margaret Fuller, this is your read. It's a true escape into 19th-century historical love, death, philosophy, feminism, and family.

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Emersons-Wif...

So far, it would be DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver.
EPIC. Believe me. lol:)

Man! Tough question!! But I think I loved Tuesdays with Morrie and the entire Harry Potter series. Both books answer so many questions. The theme to both of them are spectacular and magic is hardly why you read HP

So far, it would be DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver.
EPIC. Believe me. lol:)

I'm Done Crying by Louanne Ferris because she told it like it was and at the time, it was a real eye-opener for many.

A book I've read twice and will read again is Maryanne Wiggins Evidence of Things Unseen. Delightful prose and extraordinary story. Try it....

Very very difficult to answer this one! In school we read Mills and Boons (a little embarassing) and adaptation of classics in easy English. Then came a phase of pulp fiction, self-help and now I am into non-fiction. So as the taste changes so does the genre of books and so does the 'best book'. I really don't know how to compare LOTR with Steve Wozniak's auto-biography. I mean both of them are classics in their own rights. I can't name one!

harry potter series a totally different world opened up, among dan brown, its The da vinci code. and his dark materials is a fascinating read..
though i am yet to read the last one

Dubliners by James Joyce. It's 14 of the greatest short stories ever written (including "The Dead", which I consider the best piece of literature of all time) and it maps out the human experience better than any other work.

Lori wrote: "for me it's a toss up between Angels and Demons Dan Brown and Shantaram Part OneGregory David Roberts and the reason is because I learned soooo..." Usually the only thing I learn from a fiction book is how well the author spins the tale.

It's really hard to pick a favourite but I guess The New Life gets the shot and I feel privileged to have read it in its original language.

- The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
- The Godfather by Mario Puzo
- The God of Small Things by Arhundati Roy
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- The Day of the Jack by Frederick Forsyth

I have to say my favorites were - Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham & Cat in the Hat. I love Thing One & Thing Two and eating green eggs and ham on a boat & train. I keep Max Brooks: World War Z on my nightstand and reread my favorite parts often. I remember how Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty felt the first time I read it and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian amazed me with its imagery. So many good books…

Easy, The Count of Monte Cristo. If you've seen the movie you CAN'T say you've read the book. It misses out on so many great parts, not to mention characters. Completely different story.
Love and hate coexist in this superb prose, mixing emotional irrational feelings with logic, wit, and genius.
In men I most value integrity and courage, which Dantes is innately full of.

There's two really for me, they both had an effect on me so I couldn't really choose between them.

First is "Burying the Shadow" by Storm Constantine, this was the book which really made me want to read more. I'd read for assignments at school but never really for pleasure, I took a chance and read this and books have been a joy since.

Second is "1984". It pretty much turned the world upside down for me, it made me question authority (more), question how much of a sheep I was being in life and look again at the social structure of the worlds societies.

Every book has changed me in some way, but these two always have pride of place on my bookshelf. I might get them as ebooks some day, but I doubt I'll ever get rid of my "classic" paper copies.

"Of Mice and Men" by Steinbeck, poignant to say the least, has truly touched my heart in a way no other book has since then.

Without a doubt, without hesitation: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

This book sparked my life-long love affair with the written word. Samuel Clemmens was a master story-teller. I a don't think that he told any story better than this one.

The emotional climax of the book during Huck's dilemma on whether or not to help Jim escape is without equal in my opinion. In that one scene, not only does Clemmens condemn slavery, but also spotlights the hypocricy of a regilion that hid behind scripture to perpetuate such an evil. At the same time he fially shares Huck's true character. The kid known for wanting nothing more than a care-free lifstyle, becomes a man with a backbone straighter and stronger than any cathedral's column.

It is a masterpiece of writing that I would put up against all other authors.

Asking a reader to pick his favourite book is like asking a mother to pick her favourite child.

To Kill a Mockingbird..Read it the first time when I was 10 years old, I am now 62 and still read it at least once a year. Gone With the Wind, great read for anyone, most Stephen Kings books. Just finished Game of Thrones and starting on Clash of Kings (2nd in the trilogy). Not my typical kind of book but very readable.

It's got to be The Stand (revised edition) by Stephen King. Yes, it's very long, but it's so absorbing you don't notice it. I've loved any fiction that has an apocalypse in it ever since.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Should be required reading.

I can't answer that question. But given the cover art shown on this post, I can say without question that it was not Angels and Demons.

To Kill a Mockingbird... is the best book I read it. When I wonted more from that book (it is hard to believe you can get it more..) I took CD version from library and what a joy...
To hear it in beautiful southern accent it was sublime. Every sentence, every coma, every period is on right place with right reason.

Just one?

The Notebook made me cry so uncontrollably on an airplane that someone contacted the stewardess. I am NOT a cryer so that book along with The Wedding are the most beautiful love stories I have ever read.

The most interesting had to be The Living Blood. What an incredible story!!!

I read across genres so I can list many more. These are the three that immediately come to mind. I can't wait to hear other people's choices so I can add to my reading list,... like I need more books to pursue. LOL