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The best book you've ever read...

Allan said:
What's that one page-turner we should all read?
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These should not be missed:
  • The Goldfinch -- Donna Tartt (2013)

  • All the Light We Cannot See -- Anthony Doer (2014)
 
Considering my avatar.

The Foundation Trilogy.

However Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury is a close second.
 
Allan said:
...in your life.

What's that one page-turner we should all read?
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That is like choosing between my ex-wives and the loves between those times and the ones who came before. They were all marvelous. I would enjoy them all again. So it is with books.

As a youth, decades ago, I found, "The Crystal Cave," by Mary Stewart the best interpretation of the Arthurian legend.

"The Illustrated Man," by Ray Bradbury.
"Conan, the Barbarian," by Robert Howard.
"Casca, the Eternal Mercenary," by Barry Sadler.
"Orion," by Ben Bova.
"To Our Scattered Bodies Go," the first book in the Riverworld series, by Phillip Jose Farmer.
"The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge," by Carlos Castenada.
"The Pilgrimage," by Paulo Coelho.
"Come Nineveh, Come Tyre," by Allen Drury.
"How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie.
"The Army Officers Guide," Lawrence P. Crocker.
"Shantaram," by Gregory David Robert's.
...And a cast of many others whose names I have forgotten, but I remember every kiss.
 
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Loulit01 said:
You hate Led Zeppelin and Robert A. Heinlein.

Anything else? Ice cream? Baseball? Corvettes? The Little Rascals?
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I believe he was being facetious. He has some older Heinlein bound books.
 
justoneman said:
I did not read that but watched the old movie. It was very good.
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I didn’t realize until a couple of months ago that there were 2(?) sequels. Been meaning to read but haven’t gotten to them yet
 
STUT said:
I didn’t realize until a couple of months ago that there were 2(?) sequels. Been meaning to read but haven’t gotten to them yet
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the main roles are played by Europeans, it is sometimes a little corny, but watch the movie to see the performance of Tilly Locsh as Lotus. It is a capitating portrayal by a woman who is a dancer not an actress.
 
Loulit01 said:
Biography.

Remember the fuss about the book Primary Colors, originally attributed to Anonymous? Turns out the book was written by Joe Klein. Klein also wrote a biography of Woody Guthrie.

I've read many bios and Guthrie's is far from the most significant. But Klein's Woody Guthrie: A Life, is beautifully written. It's always stuck in my mind as a truly memorable biography. If anyone's into Woody, I highly recommend it.
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In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Peter Mattiessen. Agree on the Woody Bio
 
jpevans said:
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Peter Mattiessen. Agree on the Woody Bio
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It's near impossible to pick a favorite book or song. The Leonard Peltier book I read year ago, but when I looked at the shelf it jumped out. BTW Leonard. After 50 years in stir, Joe Biden comuted his double life sentence ti house arrest. He is living out his sentence at Turtle Mnt, Reservation N.D,
Port & Starboard said:
Steinbeck had a way of bringing you inside of his story................... almost as if you were standing right there with his characters.
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Grapes of Wrath could easily been My pick if I had seen it 1st,
 
Fearandloathing said:
I consider it a prequal to the masterpiece, a warm up while developing the true art. He identified the issue but failed to truly capture the looming result
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What, that the Hell's Angles were/are unpredictable, dangerous & & a little scary?
 
STUT said:
The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck
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We read that in school. I still remember a scene where the old man is near the end and the children are sitting with him as he describes his desires for the land he owns. They look over him and smile to each other as they have different plans.
 
jpevans said:
It's near impossible to pick a favorite book or song. The Leonard Peltier book I read year ago, but when I looked at the shelf it jumped out. BTW Leonard. After 50 years in stir, Joe Biden comuted his double life sentence ti house arrest. He is living out his sentence at Turtle Mnt, Reservation N.D,
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I opened my first business in 1980. The location was Fredericksburg, VA. There was a big push in those days to free Leonard Peltier. There was a gathering/concert at the fairgrounds to benefit his cause. That was a long way in the rear view…


jpevans said:
Grapes of Wrath could easily been My pick if I had seen it 1st,
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Allan said:
...in your life.

What's that one page-turner we should all read?
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Great question. Difficult answer.

In no particular order these are the books I grab if my house was on fire.

About Face - Col. David Hackworth

I Am Pilgrim - Terry Hayes

Up Country - Nelson DeMille

Mask of Benevolence - Dr. Harlan Lane

American Kompromat - Craig Unger

James - Percivil Everette (Brilliant, fearless)

Matterhorn - Karl Marlene’s (The real deal. Will scare the hell out of you)

A Distant Mirror - Barbara Tuchman

A Touch of Frost - R.D. Wingfield

Everything Alan Furst has written or will write.
 
I forgot about this one. It was lent to me by a friend who was an accomplished classical pianist and Who fan.

This is a must read for any musician.

A Romance on Three Legs...

Glenn Gould was famous for his obsessions: the scarves, sweaters and fingerless gloves that he wore even on the hottest summer days; his deep fear of germs and illness; the odd wooden "pygmy" chair that he carried with him wherever he performed; and his sudden withdrawal from the public stage at the peak of his career. But perhaps Gould's greatest obsession of all was for a particular piano, a Steinway concert grand known as CD318 (C, meaning for the use of Steinway Concert Artists only, and D, denoting it as the largest that Steinway built). A Romance on Three Legs is the story of Gould's love for this piano, from the first moment of discovery, in a Toronto dept. store, to the tragic moment when the piano was dropped and seriously damaged while being transported from a concert overseas.
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odmc.overdrive.com

Ontario Library Service Consortium

Browse, borrow, and enjoy titles from the Ontario Library Service Consortium digital collection.
odmc.overdrive.com odmc.overdrive.com

Spoiler follows: The department store that sold and then destroyed Gould's piano - The T. Eaton Company, who were the exclusive seller of Steinway Pianos in Canada. They had a whole floor full of them in their downtown Toronto store.
 
Loulit01 said:
Saw that coming.

Collection: Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Fiction: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Non-Fiction: On the Origin of Species

Poetry: Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
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Recently I finished reading Percival Everett's "James". Wow! If you enjoyed the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you might want to look into James.

Everett, a very talented, brave author took the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and rewrote the story from the Jim's perspective. Jim becomes James, literate and wise as the adventure begins. Humorous, thought provoking, amazing as Everett crafts Twain's novel from a familiar classic to largely the same story but from a surprising perspective. Not possible? I didn't think so either. But he did it, masterfully in the process.

As a result I am now a loyal Percival Everett fan. I'm intend to read everything Everett has written.

James is one of those books I know that I will read again and again in the future.

 
Risky Thicket said:
Recently I finished reading Percival Everett's "James". Wow! If you enjoyed the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you might want to look into James.

Everett, a very talented, brave author took the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and rewrote the story from the Jim's perspective. Jim becomes James, literate and wise as the adventure begins. Humorous, thought provoking, amazing as Everett crafts Twain's novel from a familiar classic to largely the same story but from a surprising perspective. Not possible? I didn't think so either. But he did it, masterfully in the process.

As a result I am now a loyal Percival Everett fan. I'm intend to read everything Everett has written.

James is one of those books I know that I will read again and again in the future.

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I'm adding that to my reading list.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Recently I finished reading Percival Everett's "James". Wow! If you enjoyed the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn you might want to look into James.

Everett, a very talented, brave author took the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and rewrote the story from the Jim's perspective. Jim becomes James, literate and wise as the adventure begins. Humorous, thought provoking, amazing as Everett crafts Twain's novel from a familiar classic to largely the same story but from a surprising perspective. Not possible? I didn't think so either. But he did it, masterfully in the process.

As a result I am now a loyal Percival Everett fan. I'm intend to read everything Everett has written.

James is one of those books I know that I will read again and again in the future.

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That's interesting. I just finished The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It's the Arthurian legends told from the perspective of the women involved: Guinevere, Morgan Le Fay, Morgaine, Igraine, and so on. Very Imaginative.

I'll get to your suggestion very soon.
 
Loulit01 said:
That's interesting. I just finished The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It's the Arthurian legends told from the perspective of the women involved: Guinevere, Morgan Le Fay, Morgaine, Igraine, and so on. Very Imaginative.

I'll get to your suggestion very soon.
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Have you read Le Morte d'Arthur?
 
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