Angels & Demons question

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!

A top 5 is a great idea!

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. The Help
3. Outlander
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
5. Little Women

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.

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.

Wow..can't pick one but the ones that have stuck with me forever are:
Forever Amber
All Quiet on the Western Front
Old Yeller
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Pillars of the Earth

my top 5 would be
1.Harry potter series(entire).
2.da vinci code(gripping) .
3.Artemis fowl(awesome).
4.Rick riordan books(all).
5.leaving that empty for his dark materials

my top 5 would be
1.Harry potter series(entire).
2.da vinci code(gripping) .
3.Artemis fowl(awesome).
4.Rick riordan books(all).
5.leaving that empty for his dark materials

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

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

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.

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.

My list would include a mix of the thoroughly unconventional and inventive, such as
1. Trout Fishing in America
2. The slaughterhouse five
3. Metamorphosis

I also thoroughly enjoyed Angela's Ashes, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

Harry Potter Series. I have to count the all 7 books as one because they are parts of whole story. It is something I started reading as an adult thinking that it was just going to be a "kids" book. My nephew kept insisting that they were great and I needed to read them. I found The Sorcerer's Stone for 50 cents at a sale and decided to buy it. I read the book in 2 days and proceeded to burn through books 2 through 5 in about a month! The story is captivating. It is for all ages. I have read all of the books multiple times so far and will continue to do so in the future.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Should be required reading.

I don't know that I can pick just one..... Top 5 maybe....

Remembrance - Jude Deveraux
Outlander - Diana Galbadon
The Harry Potter Series
Where the Red Fern Grows
To kill a Mockingbird

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.

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.

I would also have difficulty with just 1 book being the absolute best. At this minute I will say:
War and Remembrance. That book and the first book in the series, The Winds of War stand alone in the way that they moved me. I've read many others that are almost as good but W & R is superb.

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

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. :)

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.

My favourite book: 'The Pyrates' by George MacDonald Fraiser. No book has made me laugh more.

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.

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

It is really hard to decide the favourite book among millions of amazing books..I'd have to go with Harry Potter, book of my childhood by amazing J.K.Rowling, who created special new world..But at the moment I'd choose Haruki Murakami-1Q84

- 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

"The Quran" of course
The Holy Quran: Arabic Text And English Translation

I agree with everyone that says there can never be a favourite. Every book anyone of us reads changes us in a little way so every read is part of us. So I don't love a favourite book I simply love to read.

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…

Please Kill Me : Oral History of Punk.
first book I've read, entirely based on interviews...loved it!

There are so many to choose from. Some of my favorites, in no particular order, are:

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
A game of thrones (Series so far) - George R. R. Martin
Naked Lunch - William Burroughs
Ham on Rye - Charles Bukowski

...And many many more.

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.

I'm not sure it's possible for me have a favourite but rather there are books that have changed the way I read.

My first is the X-Wing Rogue Squadron series. Before these books I almost never read unless for schoolwork. I was/am a big Star Wars fan so bought the first out of curiosity. After finishing it I went back for the next, and next, and next - I became such a regular at my local WH Smiths that they knew me by first name! If it wasn't for these, I may nit gave gotten into reading.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett was my first non-Star Wars book but the result was just as impressive. After reading this book I started on the rest chronologically & reading each in under a week. This man's humour is perfect.

My third? A Big Boy Did It by Christopher Brookmyre. Turns out I played Quake online with him for years before realising he was an author! Bought this book after he mentioned having just published it & got hooked on them. I have tried other satirical authors but none can provide a plot that can hold me as well as him. Despite loving this book for getting me into him, One Fine Day In The Middle Of The Night is the most read.

I could write for ages like this so shall just summarise by saying that my other two are Legend by David Gemmell (a master writer if there ever was one) and the Saga Of The Seven Suns epic by Kevin J Anderson.

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.

It occurs to me that in my mind there's a very distinct difference in my own opinions on what I consider "The Best Book I Have Ever Read" and "My Favorite Book".

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Without doubt, and by a huge margin, Malice in Blunderland - Jonny Gibbings. It is utterly hilarious. When you read 'laugh out loud' and you read it but don't? Well this book made me ball with laughter. It is, in my mind the complete book. It is stupid, simple, grossly crude - you get drawn in and at the end you realize the book is remarkably clever, and the author actually is a skilled writer. In my mind, the best ending in a book ever. There - I said it. I love this book so much.

If you are an avid reader, there can never be an all time best book. The question should be the best book you have read since the year or month, etc. As for me the best book I have read so far is the The Messiah Secret by James Becker.

My favourite ever book was Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams). My memory is that I enjoyed that more on the first read than anything else. However, I suspect that if I went back and read it again, like most things it wouldn't be as good as I remember.

I'd have a much easier time choosing a best author than a best book.

I couldn't possibly select one book as the best I ever read. The following have all been my favorite at one time or another (limiting myself to fiction here), and I could add many more):

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin
Battle Cry by Leon Uris
Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
River God by Wilbur Smith