All Time Favourite Reads

[Zoe, UK Book Club Founder]

I did a year of Computer Science but didn't like it so this year have changed to Maths with Computing.

[Drew]

ahh so you're a computer genius. all i know about computers is "Ctrl-Alt-Delete" i9s the answer to everything. lol

[Zoe, UK Book Club Founder]

Haha, I have one computer which disagrees - it freezes and then the only way to turn it off is to unplug it!

[Drew]

story of my life. doesnt work properly just pull the plug! well im off to put my feet up, have a cuppa tea and read Kate mosse's The Winter Ghosts. (i recommend it..this is my 2nd time and its a quick intresting read)

[Nicky]

My favorite books of all time..
The Throwback ~ Tom Sharpe
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings ~ Maya Angelou
Harry Potter Series
4 Past Midnight ~ Stephen King
The Lovely Bones ~ Alice Seabold
Sharp Object ~ Gillian Flynn

[Flora]

My favorites are
Silmarillion and LOTR~Tolkein
The Life of Pi
Harry Potter series
The Hungry Ghosts~Anne Berry
Neverwhere~Neil Gaiman

There are many more that are high on the lists but those are the favs

[Kimberley]

Truthfully I am more into paranormal at the minute but I also like political thrillers (at least that is my description).
My all time favourite is .
I have read this book countless times to the point I am on my 4th copy (they just fall apart after a while) and each time I read it I find another twist or way to look at something.

[Ross]

My favorite books, by far, are the Aubrey Maturin series. This is due to my interest in historical fiction and especially sea stories.
But I am surprised not to see it mentioned in a group of U.K. readers. I live in the U.S. and am currently reading "Dr. Thorne" and it raises the question in my mind what the feeling today is in the U.K. regarding the aristocracy. Trollope does a wonderful job of making fun of it in a kind hearted way. From this side of the Atlantic it seems to be a sort of silly anachronism, but do most people in the U.K. see it as a cherished tradition?
Ross in Penfield NY

[Em]

Hi Ross, I'm afraid I haven't yet read any Anthony Trollope so I've yet to see how he perceives the aristocracy but "silly anachronism" just about sums up my view! The aristocracy are so far from my realm of experience as to be virtually irrelevant to me. It's not a subject to which I've given much thought, but in as far as I have it does seem to be a something from a bygone age that has nothing to do with everyday life (I imagine those who consider themselves to belong to this section of society may feel differently though).

[Ross]

Thanks for your feedback Em.
I suppose those who do belong to that segment of society are doing their upmost to keep the tradition going, but I am just curious about what the great majority of the people think.
I recommend "Dr. Thorne" highly if you have an opening in your reading schedule for a masterpiece from the 19th century.
I am enjoying it enournously.
Ross

[Em]

You're welcome, it's an interesting question - when you live in a culture you don't think about it but as someone observing you do see things differently.

I'm heading to the library tomorrow so I'll have a look and see if they've got that book. I was interested so had a quick scan of one or two reviews on this site and I do think I would enjoy it.

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

I have just read a brilliant book that was very funny and well written ~

Marsha Mellow and MeMaria Beaumont

Chic lit at its funniest!

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

Lynne wrote: "I have just read a brilliant book that was very funny and well written ~

Marsha Mellow and Meby Maria Beaumont

Chic lit at its funniest!"

[John]

Light reads, or heavy reads?

For light reads, Eric Ambler's (British writer) thrillers have all been republished in the states by Random House and in the UK by Penguin. The best is probably The Mask of Dimitrios, and although it was first published way back in 1939, the parallels with the present day are striking. It's a page-turner with some thought and humor. I can recommend it for a beach read, airplane read, or by-the-fire on a rainy day read.

Heavy reads . . . I've just reread for the first time in years Greene's The Honorary Consul. Very impressive and still very readable although showing its age in its attitudes towards women, alcohol, etc. Even heavier, I recently reread for the first time since the '70s, The Glass Bead Game. This is a very intellectual book by Hermann Hesse, which I read as an undergraduate. I was desperate for a read and picked it up. I didn't really think I could still get into it. Surprise: I not only got back into it, but found it gripping. Definitely not a beach book, however.

And, my second novel has just been published in the UK! Sorry, I had to plug it! http://jplathrop.net. It's a little heavier than Ambler, but lighter than Greene and a great deal lighter than Hesse.

[Andy]

Jane wrote: "Favourate books
Legend

Raising the Stones

A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift
And am looking forward to getting the sequel to the..."

Tepper is one of my favourite authors but i have not found many people who have read her, i think beauty is my favourite.

[Andy]

Not including Lord of the Rings which is obviously in a class of it's own and the whole Discworld series, i would go for:
The Book Thief, 1984 and To Kill a Mocking Bird.

[Em]

Good choices Andy, I find it virtually impossible to choose a favourite ever book (or even books)!

[Liz, Your Friendly Moderator]

Nick wrote: "a couple of my favourite books are

The shadow of the wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Mort - Terry Pratchett
The Millenium trilogy - Ste..."

The Shadow of the Wind is great, one of my favourites of the last few years too.

[Dan]

Favourite books? Ooh.

Lord of the Flies
The Old Man and the Sea
The Go-Between
L'Etranger
Requiem por un Campesino Espanol

The five books I've re-read more than any others. And, yep, I wish I'd written them!

[Leah]

Oooh, lets see, favourite reads...
Precious Bane by Mary Webb
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Germinal by Emile Zola

[Karen]

Zoe, I used to read Koontz. My first of his was one of my all time favorite reads: Watchers.

If you haven't read it and enjoy dog stories, I highly recommend it!

[Liz, Your Friendly Moderator]

Dan, I'd forgotten all about The Go-Between - How could I? Great book (and the film's good too...)

[Dan]

Liz wrote: "Dan, I'd forgotten all about The Go-Between - How could I? Great book (and the film's good too...)"

Yes, the film seem to capture the melancholy of the book - with all the underlying confusion, manipulation and sexual tension. I think the novel is often overlooked, but I love it. Poor old Leo being used by all the grown ups and not realising it until he looks back over that sultry summer. Brilliant. Oh, look, you've made me want to go away and read it again now!

[Clare]

Some of my favourites include:

Watership Down by Richard Adams
East Of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
The Deptford Mice Trilogy by Robin Jarvis
Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
The Peppermint Pig by Nina Bawden
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

[Ian]

i am reading both of them books soon.Em wrote: "Drew wrote: "hi guys
I thought the lovely bones was a great book. Have any of you read her autobiography "Lucky" its really good.
"

I've read both books too, although I did enjoy The Lovely B..."

[Niamh]

Harriet wrote: "Zoe wrote: "I've been wanting to read Little Women ever since it was on Friends!"

Yes! When Joey muddles up the characters' genders! I love friends :)
It's a really good book, as is..."

just downloaded the whole set of little women books on my kindle for £0.71. have only read two of them, i am going to start from the beginning!

[Sandy]

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon awww this is one of my favourites xx

[Nebuchanezer]

My favourite books are

American Tabloid by James Ellroy
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy &
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

[Tuğçe]

All time favourite is a quite strong word I guess. If it was about movies I would have said GREASE, I loved it from the first time I watched it and watched it several times more and never bored. I actually like to re-watch the movies I like without getting bored but I never tried Re-reading a book I like (I am not counting the ones that were forced in high school mostly shortened versions) but here are some of my favourites, they are the ones I would definitely go back to, if one day I decided to do a re-read instead of a new book.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
One Day by David Nicholls
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

[Ben]

Favourite reads is near impossible. I usually give a default answer or recent favourite, when asked. This lot are a mixture of the two:

Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
Hospital by Toby Litt

[Rachel]

my favourite books are

To Kill a Mockingbord by Harper Lee
The Great Gatesby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath
The Catcher in The Ry by J.D Salinger &
1984 by George Orwell

[Tuğçe]

Rachel wrote: "my favourite books are

To Kill a Mockingbord by Harper Lee
The Great Gatesby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath
The Catcher in The Ry by J.D Salinger &
1984 by George Orwell"

I have read The Great Gatsby and enjoyed it and I have the rest of your list in my TBR but never had a chance to settle for any of them yet.

[Sophie]

"Zoe wrote: "What books would you recommend to other people?"

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
Filth by Irvine Welsh

[Rachel]

Tugce Nida wrote: "Rachel wrote: "my favourite books are

To Kill a Mockingbord by Harper Lee
The Great Gatesby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath
The Catcher in The Ry by J.D Salinger &
1984 by Geo..."

They are all amazing, i have no doubt you would enjoy them

[Helen]

I can't pick a favourite! I keep reading posts and thinking 'oh i love that'. My early reads were Far Away Tree too, I also liked Blyton's Wishing chair - or something like that!

[Alyssia]

I have lots of favourite books but the books that really made an impact on me are Gone With the Wind, The Little Princess and it pains me to admit this Animal Farm because even though I hated the book, the message was important.

[Melki]

Many, many favorites, but I'll post 5 (for now...)

Ella Minnow Pea
The Loved One
Sixpence House: Lost in A Town Of Books
Year of Wonders
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

[Dave]

As an adult:
Stephen King's IT is a favorite I re-read every 4 or 5 years.

As a child I devoured Enid Blyton and Malcom Saville books

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

Dave wrote: "As an adult:
Stephen King's IT is a favorite I re-read every 4 or 5 years.

As a child I devoured Enid Blyton and Malcom Saville books"

I had loads of Enid Blyton books as a kid! Never read Famous Five or Secret Seven though, I devoured Swallows and Amazons instead! Stephen King's The Stand is my all time favourite which I have read loads of times!

[Deanne]

The Lord of the Rings, I read it when I was 11 and fell in love with the character Faramir.

[Becca]

Deanne wrote: "The Lord of the Rings, I read it when I was 11 and fell in love with the character Faramir."

My favourite book of all time! I absolutely love Tolkien and any of his Middle Earth creations. I'm also enjoying George R.R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and I can see them becoming fast favourites. Other of my favourite books (but LOTR is at the top of the list!) is Margaret George's historical fiction novels, The Memoirs of Cleopatra and Helen of Troy. The Harry Potter series is also on my list of favourites.

[Dave]

I have to admit to really disliking LoTR as novels. Theirs a brilliant story in there somewhere - as evidenced by the brilliant films, and the even better stage play (don't get be started on that I can go on for days, about its brilliance!!).

But the books were such turgid affairs describing the history of every blade of grass in minute detail. I managed to get through them in Uni but can't ever see me reading them again.

[Ian, Former Moderator]

I read LoTR when I was about 17 and loved it and it probably would have been the best book I had read at that age, but when I read it again about 10 years ago I was very disappointed - felt a bit like Dave above.

[Andy]

LOTR brilliant however many times i read it.

[Helen]

Loved it. My daughter described it as a group of people wandering around a field!

[Vicky]

Its really hard to pick out a favourite, even narrowing it down to a top 5 is hard enough.

I'd go for (many of which I read when I was quite young):
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl
My Side of the Mountains by Jean Craighead George
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

The last one especially is like a comfort blanket when I re-read it.

[Stefanie]

A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
The Third Life of Grange Copland, Alice Walker
Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan

As a child:
Little Black Sambo, Helen Bannerman
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle
A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L'Engle
BFG, Roald Dahl

[Liz, Your Friendly Moderator]

Stefanie wrote: "A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
The Third Life of Grange Copland, Alice Walker
Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan

As a child:
Little Black Sambo, Helen Bannerman
A ..."

Hi Stefanie,
Ah! A Fine Balance, I've been meaning to read that for a while - I will have to push it up to the top of my to read list! I enjoyed The Bonesetter's Daughter a while back, have you read Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress?

[Bill]

It's always hard to choose a top five or so, but here you go, my all-time favourite Top Five books -

1.
2.
3.
4. , and
5.

[Samantha (Bookbliss87)]

I couldn't name my favourite book - there's just too many of them. I have a top 5 though;

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. Where Rainbows End - Cecilia Ahern
3. Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks
4. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
5. A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks

I also like fantasy series;
1. The Otherworld Series - Kelley Armstrong
2. The Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
3. The Twilight Saga - Stephenie Meyer