Best. Books. Ever....

I'm a reader. Grew up reading everything I could, and loved taking my mind on learning excursions and adventures.

Chris quoted a passage from one of my top 3 all-time favorite books in another thread: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It got me thinking about starting a thread asking forum members what their top-3 alltime favorite books might be.

I realize that it's like asking what someone's favorite movie or CD is...always subject to change depending on mood of the moment, but here goes for starters:

#1 Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand...I had heard of this book for many years, but didn't read it until about 10 years ago. If you've ever thought there was something about politics and government that wasn't "quite right" in a sinister sort of way that you can't really put your finger on, this book shines a light on it like a flashlight in a room full of cockroaches. Timeless truths about the role (and power) of the individual in society. A life changing kind of book...I've loaned my copy to many people, and a few haven't really liked it, but for the rest, it was like loaning my DVD set of the 2nd season of '24' to someone who hasn't ever seen Jack Bauer in action: Instant Addiction!

#2 Shogun by James Clavell...this novel takes place in 15th century Japan, and is both entertaining and educational. An English Sea Captain dropped into the complex world of the Japanese Shogunate. An excellent TV mini-series was developed in the 1970's, but the book is far richer and deeper.

#3 The Stand by Steven King...I don't know if any author has put more words to paper than Steven King...this is his best work (IMHO) and a must read for anybody with an active imagination.


Honorable mention...
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Hart's War by John Katzenbach

Please add to the list and point me toward your favorite reads...I'm always looking for new adventures!

Thanks,
Rick

I like all of kings stuff and also Heinlein ... Yes the stand would be one of you SHTF books ... Theres a few things i would do differently though

anything by Harlan Coben

There is no way I could pick only 3 since I read so much (probably 3-4 books per week). The following are some of the authors who's work I enjoy (in no particular order):


-W.E.B. Griffin (military historical fiction)
-John Ringo (military sci-fi)
-Stephen Hunter (drama/crime/military)
-Louis L'Amour (western)
-Robert Heinlein (if you don't know, you're hopeless:biggrin2: )
-Jack Higgins (spy thriller/drama/action)
-Robert Ludlum (same as above...Bourne Identity etc.)
-Randy Wayne White (same as above)
-Marcus Wynne (military fiction)
-Barry Eisler (drama/thriller)
-Richard Marcinko (military fiction...cheesy but entertaining)
-John Grisham (legal drama/mystery)

I could go on for a while but this should give you a rough idea of my reading list (not including non-fiction).

Well, I'm sort of a history freak.

One historical novel I always liked is The Frontiersmen, by Allen W. Eckert. It's one of a series, but after you read about Simon Kenton, you wonder why we bothered with Davy Crockett!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kenpotex

-W.E.B. Griffin (military historical fiction)
-John Ringo (military sci-fi)
-Stephen Hunter (drama/crime/military)
-Louis L'Amour (western)
-Robert Heinlein (if you don't know, you're hopeless:biggrin2: )
-Jack Higgins (spy thriller/drama/action)
-Robert Ludlum (same as above...Bourne Identity etc.)
-Randy Wayne White (same as above)
-Marcus Wynne (military fiction)
-Barry Eisler (drama/thriller)
-Richard Marcinko (military fiction...cheesy but entertaining)
-John Grisham (legal drama/mystery)

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I see a lot of old friends on your list, Matt...'specially Louis L'Amour (I've read every book he published...some many times :yup:)
and W.E.B. Griffin. :hand10:

My favorite book is "The Illiad."

A bunch of the above lists have old favorites. I'd add Northwest Passage, and as a boy I loved My Side of the Mountain. I also love the Larry McMurty Lonesome Dove series (four total)....and...and...

I certainly couldn't pick only 3 out of the hundreds of books I have read over the last few years, but I can tell you that right now I am on a Nelson DeMille kick. I've read 4 of his books the last 2 months or so and I'm having a ton of fun.

I typically read military fiction but I have ben expanding into crime and horror a little bit lately for something different.

I love reading too. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," and "Stranger From a Strange Land," are two of my all time favorites, right up their with Stephen King's "The Stand."

Of course you have to add Tolkien, W.E.B. Griffen, Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Michael Crichton, Dale Brown and to that list.

Maybe it's just me, but Robert Ludlum's books always seem forced and drawn out. While afterwards I enjoyed the story, they all seemed like a chore to read.

Nope, three just isn't enough. Hell, my favorite books would overflow three bookcases.

So many great books and authors, so little time and space...my taste runs to sci-fi, so the following list will be weighted that way.

Heinlein, of course, John Ringo, Dean Koontz (get the re-releases of his older books and read the afterwords - hilarious), Andre Norton, Steve Perry, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Michael Crighton (his latest "State of Fear" is a must-read), Vernor Vinge, William Gibson, Walter Jon Williams, Manly Wade Wellman's "John the Balladeer" stories, Roger Zelazny, David Weber, Jim Butcher, Robert Jordan, Anne Rice (but she is very hit or miss, in my opinon), "Forever War" and "There is No Darkness" by Joe Haldeman, Iain M. Banks, Steven Erikson, Hunter S. Thompson's early works, the early books in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton (before they became softcore porn), Steven Hunter. And the list goes on and on.

The non-fiction books that have made the biggest impression on me lately are:

"Chaos" by Gleick

"The Fourth Turning" by Strauss and Howe

"Freakanomics" by Levitt and Dubner

If those three don't make you think about how things are, nothing will.

A few others that I though of since my last post...

-The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsythe...classic
-The Price of Honor-Col. David Hackworth
-The Intelligencer-Leslie Silbert (great read)
-Don Pendleton--The Executioner novels
-Stephen R. Lawhead (medieval/king Arthur/crusades)

and some non-fiction (I read mostly military history, bio's, etc.)

-Hunting the Jackal--Billy Waugh
-Secret Commandos-- Maj. John Plaster (about his experiences in SOG)
-Marine--a bio. about Gen. "Chesty" Puller
-Marine Sniper--a bio. about Carlos Hathcock

Thanks for all the great ideas! I'm a voracious reader but never know quite what to read. My tastes run to short story collections and the old classics.

J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
Charles Dickens
Tom Peters (business guru)
Sinclair Lewis
John Updike
Shirley Jackson

Current fav non-fiction:
"Fast Food Nation" - Eric Schlosser
"Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America" - Morgan Spurlock

Easy

Shibumi- by Trevanian (I can't count the number of copies I've lent out)

Ishmael- by Daniel Quinn

Tactics of Mistake- Gordon R. Dickson

ooh, the executioner series. i remember those. another good one was the rat ******** series. don't remember who wrote them though.