Comments on Best Books Ever - page 58

this list is a joke.

A moment of silence for admirers of serious literature everywhere. The Hunger Games was a fun read, but it's a little disheartening to me when it's dubbed by tens of thousands of readers as "the best book ever." Why, my brother, in 11th grade now, isn't allowed to do his summer book report on the Hunger Games because it's "below his reading level." Come on people...

I guess that this list has absolutely no meaning.
There are some pretty good books listed here but you cannot judge books so freely.
For example Harry Potter was a pretty good book for its' genre but you cannot possibly compare it with the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Salinger, Steinbeck and so many others.
You either vote for books of the same genre or at least for books of the same year.
And don't let me get started about twilight being in the list. I mean... COME ON...

This was Time Magazine's 100 all-time best novels - a much better list.
The Adventures of Augie March
All the King’s Men
American Pastoral
An American Tragedy
Animal Farm
Appointment in Samarra
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
The Assistant
At Swim-Two-Birds
Atonement
Beloved
The Berlin Stories
The Big Sleep
The Blind Assassin
Blood Meridian
Brideshead Revisited
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
C - D
Call It Sleep
Catch-22
The Catcher in the Rye
A Clockwork Orange
The Confessions of Nat Turner
The Corrections
The Crying of Lot 49
A Dance to the Music of Time
The Day of the Locust
Death Comes for the Archbishop
A Death in the Family
The Death of the Heart
Deliverance
Dog Soldiers
F - G
Falconer
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
The Golden Notebook
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Gone With the Wind
The Grapes of Wrath
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Great Gatsby
H - I
A Handful of Dust
The Heart is A Lonely Hunter
The Heart of the Matter
Herzog
Housekeeping
A House for Mr. Biswas
I, Claudius
Infinite Jest
Invisible Man
L - N
Light in August
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Lolita
Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Rings
Loving
The Moviegoer
Lucky Jim
The Man Who Loved Children
Midnight’s Children
Money
Mrs. Dalloway
Naked Lunch
Native Son
Neuromancer
Never Let Me Go
1984

O - R
On the Road
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The Painted Bird
Pale Fire
A Passage to India
Play It As It Lays
Portnoy’s Complaint
Possession
The Power and the Glory
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Rabbit, Run
Ragtime
The Recognitions
Red Harvest
Revolutionary Road
S - T
The Sheltering Sky
Slaughterhouse Five
Snow Crash
The Sot-Weed Factor
The Sound and the Fury
The Sportswriter
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
The Sun Also Rises
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Things Fall Apart
To Kill a Mockingbird
To the Lighthouse
Tropic of Cancer
U - W
Ubik
Under the Net
Under the Volcano
Watchmen
White Noise
White Teeth
Wide Sargasso Sea


Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10...


I disagree with Brideshead Revisited. An awful book, even Waugh thought it was terrible.

What I don't get is that Twilight is number one on the worst books of all time list. Now it's number two on the best books of all time list. What a load of crap!!

Ew Twilight? How about no?
It's definitely not the worst book, but one could barely learn a thing from Twilight. I'll never understand why it appears here.

Jonathan wrote: "This was Time Magazine's 100 all-time best novels - a much better list.
The Adventures of Augie March
All the King’s Men
American Pastoral
An American Tragedy
..."

Jonathan I think I saw this list before and I think it was a list of the best books since the year the TIMES was founded. And also only works in English. If not, those list would be very, very bad...

of the top 100, maybe 5 of them would actually BE on my top 100

Hunger games deserve to be first. But, some are too ridiculus to be at some places.

Maybe it's the best young adult books ever written since that's what it's become, and it's till not really that. It's more like the best young adult books that have been turned into movies.

In a real best books ever written list there would be no young adult in the top 100, hell not even in the top 1,000.

And hunger games is just a rewrite of Stephen King's Running Man it does not deserve all the praise it's getting.

Adam wrote: "It's also flawed in that the same book with a different cover might be on the list twice in drastically different places (see Catch-22 or Lord of the Flies).

At least Mockingbird is #1, though."

I agree. I saw the Lord of the Rings books on here twice, individually and as a boxed set.

That said, despite my seeing this list as an exercise in futility, it didn't stop me from adding my own favorite to it.

twilight should be banned. its making people dumb. i bet even stephenie meyer hates the book.check out her favorite books and you will know. doesn't compare to books like the great gatsby, ender's game and the like. it can't even compare to snow white. the writing is bad, storyline unoriginal and totally lacks substance.

Jonathan wrote: "This was Time Magazine's 100 all-time best novels - a much better list.: ..."

:DDD

This is the same Time Magazine which chooses the Person of the Year? I'll stick with the Goodreads list.

Great joke

Ellie wrote: "What I don't get is that Twilight is number one on the worst books of all time list. Now it's number two on the best books of all time list. What a load of crap!!"

I notice that too ,it seems to me that people just don't know what to think about Twilight.

Michael wrote: "This is the same Time Magazine which chooses the Person of the Year? I'll stick with the Goodreads list."

what's wrong with choosing person of the year?

Kofi wrote: "twilight should be banned. its making people dumb. i bet even stephenie meyer hates the book.check out her favorite books and you will know. doesn't compare to books like the great gatsby, ender's ..."

Although twilight it's the greatest book, i think you should give her a little more credit, im glad kids these days are reading at all even if it's twight its better than watching t.v. and by the way the reason why kids are so dumb is because of lazy parents, junk food and shows like spongebob.

Corey wrote: "A moment of silence for admirers of serious literature everywhere. The Hunger Games was a fun read, but it's a little disheartening to me when it's dubbed by tens of thousands of readers as "the be..."

haha that's funny :)

vote based on first page.. they mind taking steps to click pages.

This list is simply absurd. The Harry Potter books as the "best books ever"? Yes, they're good juvenile fiction, but come on. Classics are classics because they are. Obviously, Goodreads readers aren't nearly as well read as one might think.

The Asquinn Twins: Frontier Life

fOR AGES FROM 12-14

Welcome to Ontario's Wilderness Country- Come, see the awesome scenery, and join in the adventures of the Asquinn Twins

"It doesn’t matter what part of the world you flee to," Martha told Conrad. "You can’t hide from him. God knows where you are at all times. We will continue to pray for you"
Conrad nor his half-brother, Nigel, had any answer to this. Conrad tried to form words but all that came out were garbled strangulation like noises.
Martha looked at her twin, then Sherry, Kenny, and last, Bradan. “The side of good won a victory. Conrad, and his evil influence will not be in Forest Lake directly anymore. Here's your chance to be a witness to children of this community,” she said.

Where the White Trillium flower blooms in spring-A vast area situated on the northern part of the province of Ontario, Canada where evil spirits rule this dark area.
The Asquinn twins, Martha and Martin are only three years old when they leave their home in Wales and follow their missionary father, their mother with the baby, Ricky, in her arms, and six-year-old Kenny, into the Canadian north.
The twins are delighted when their father decides to settle in Forest Lake. The family meet with another family, the Turhues. Bradan, six, and Charlotte, (Sherry) three. The children become good friends. Kenny and Sherry become engaged at ten and thirteen years of age to marry at a future date. Bradan and Martha,( at the same age) are engaged and the two sets of parents see a double wedding in their children's future,
Evil devil worshipers rule the land. These people do not scare the twins. When Conrad Cameron, the ruler of the devil worshipers, and the same age as Kenny, reaches high school age, he and his half-brother, Malcolm, the same age as the twins, move from Forest Lake. The twins see this as a victory for Jesus.

BUY AT: https://friesenpress-accounts.appspot...

Kirsten wrote: "I'm annoyed with Twilight. Extremely

And where is The Shack?"

Lorena wrote: "I am rooting for "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
I can understand how "The Book of Mormon," is on that list but before The Bible? No way..."

Including the 'Book of Mormon'? Meretricious rubbish.You must be out of your tiny mind. And I mean tiny...'The Shack' also was a very mediocre piece and contrivedof wotk.

Sorry about the tiny mind comment. Completely withdrawn! And mucho mas apologias!

I cant believe you put "Twilight" on your list. That is one of the worst books in the history of mankind.

Colin wrote: "I cant believe you put "Twilight" on your list. That is one of the worst books in the history of mankind."

No Twilight on my list! Wouldn't even pick it up at a book-burning rally..

This list is pathetic, really. Personal opinions aside, Twilight simply has not earned a place on this list. This isn't a list to celebrate the best mass-marketing tactics for books; it is a list of books which are the BEST.
Twilight offers no literary merit: First of all, the supernatural aspects are written for fetish and fan service (rather than metaphor). It epitomizes "genre fiction" with emphasis on super powers and physical attributes, rather than the nature of the character's condition.
To make it worse, the characters follow a trite sliding scale of morality that completely ignores the ambiguity and complexity of real human morals. Edward and Jasper are the token "tortured" characters, which would be fine, if it were not for the fact that Edward has only ever murdered evil people and Jasper only lusts for blood out of pure, biological hunger. Characters who have ever crossed that moral line for the enjoyment of it are offered zero chance at redemption, thus defeating the true meaning of repentance and forgiveness.
Finally, and from a purely shallow perspective, the writing is objectively terrible. Meyer repeatedly recycles the same incestuous pool of choice words and descriptive phrases throughout the entire tetralogy, which is somewhat reminiscent of a fifth grader doing their weekly vocabulary homework. The pages contain more physical descriptors than plot and is nearly void of psychological or emotional characterization. The background anecdotes are showy and riddled with obvious historical inaccuracies that can be disproven on the very first page of Google after running a general search on the topic; this is a frustrating case of not doing any research and is reflective of Meyer's laziness and lack of pride in her writing.

Ashe wrote: "This list is pathetic, really. Personal opinions aside, ..."

Ashe: But you do realize everything in your comment is a personal opinion--yes?

Kalin, who forever ponders our capacity for self-reflection

The top of the list is a contemporary popularity contest. This makes this list essentially worthless.

That's an embarrassing Top 5.

What I don't get is how those books stay on top with all the outrage expressed in the comments.

Kalin wrote: "Ashe wrote: "This list is pathetic, really. Personal opinions aside, ..."

Ashe: But you do realize everything in your comment is a personal opinion--yes?

Kalin, who forever ponders our capacity f..."

Actually, no. Nothing in my comment is.
- Lack of metaphor? Justifiably true. You won't find the presence of one in any book.
- Black and white morality? Also true. If there are shades of gray, they are in Meyer's mind, but are left out of the actual text.
- Lack of vocabulary? I implore you to tally up the instances of "alabaster", "liquid topaz" and "chagrin" and tell me otherwise.
- Historical inaccuracies? Alright, this one isn't even arguable. Its a purely objective point. Meyer either didn't do the research on this one, or simply didn't care and decided to write her fiction based on her own historical facts.

So, Kalin, the next time you're about to jump on your soapbox next time, lower your nose and actually read a person's comment for context, before embarrassing yourself.

I had a job to find anything on the list that appealed to me, but I chose two to read, so I could join in the swap reviews. I desperately need reviews on my books. I have one 'cyber stalker' who is out to trash all my books. I know who he is, but he hides behind different pseudonyms. ;-(
I need help!

I want to join the swap reviews, s have chosen to read two books. What do I do next?
My previous post did not come on!

Kalin wrote: "But you do realize everything in your comment is a personal opinion--yes?"

Ashe wrote: "Actually, no. Nothing in my comment is."

Earlier, Ashe wrote: "Twilight simply has not earned a place on this list.

This isn't a list to celebrate the best mass-marketing tactics for books; it is a list of books which are the BEST.

Twilight offers no literary merit (...)

(...) the supernatural aspects are written for fetish and fan service (rather than metaphor).

It epitomizes "genre fiction" with emphasis on super powers and physical attributes, rather than the nature of the character's condition.

...
...
...

(...) is reflective of Meyer's laziness and lack of pride in her writing."

I stand corrected ...

(It's hard for me to read a person's comment when it teems with absolute generalizations--and offers few, if any, questions. I automatically feel embarrassed in the presence of such authority.)

Rich wrote: "That's an embarrassing Top 5."
Agreed. I sat through one of the Twilight movies with my teenaged daughter and if the books are anywhere close to being that awful, they should be on the 'worst books' list.

Well i think who ever created this list it must have took some major time. But there are also some major lame books. But at least they got it right b Richelle Meads "Vampire Acdamey". And Twilight, seriously?! I think they just added that because majority rules, but there are thousands of books better than twilight!

Anyone can add books to this list and you can't get rid of them once added, that's how this got out of control.

Oh,.....well whoever added "Vampire Acadamey" and the other books in the series, your on the right track of quality vampire novels!

Hunger Games is #1?? Wait I'm not drunk, am I?

No, but somebody was.

You have to be drunk to say hunger games is #1. But my 11 year old brother agrees and hes a minor. So maybe the list is rigged my elemntry kids. :D

People are saying 'these aren't classics', 'none of this is "intelligent"' or 'serious literature'. Does the title of the list say 'Classics'? 'Intelligent books'? 'Serious Literature'? Nope. It says 'Best'. 'Best' is a personal choice. No one is right or wrong. So many people are getting worked up to a ridiculous degree lol.

To Mandi:
Well said.

am loving the tree that gives

This list is just indicative of who uses this site. I would estimate that most users are below 25 and female considering what is in the top 10. The only books in the top ten that are not recently released (in the last 20 years) YA novels are books that would have been read in school, Like "To Kill a Mocking Bird."

"To Kill a Mocking Bird" is a great book but I read it when I was 14 in school, thus showing who uses this site.

I think the lists should be separated by age groups. Most of the top books listed here are young adult or youth fiction.

"Best Books Ever"--NO

"Most Popular Books This Year"--Probably

Mandi wrote: "Does the title of the list say 'Classics'? 'Intelligent books'? 'Serious Literature'? Nope. It says 'Best'. 'Best' is a personal choice. No one is right or wrong. So many people are getting worked up to a ridiculous degree lol."

+1

I love Charlotte's Web