OT: Fiction

[David 76]

We have non-fiction covered in Fishy's thread.
What are people's favorite novels?
Have to be among your all-time favorites.

Mine are:
A Prayer For Owen Meany
Cider House Rules. Both by John Irving
The Great Santini
Lords of Discipline
The Prince of Tides. All by Pat Conroy
The French Lieutenant's Woman
The Magus Both by John Fowles
The Grapes of Wrath
Easy of Eden. Both by Steinbeck
Sandcastle Girls Chris Bojalian

Edit to correct typos.

 

[upstater]

Just referring to recent books I've read: A Heart So White by Javier Marias.

 

[BFieldHusky]

The Stand
11/22/63

Both by Stephen King

 

[auror]

Fantasy:

• Obligatory - Song of Ice and Fire
• My favorite - Name of the Wind + Wise Man's Fear by Pat Rothfuss.
• My real favorite because I'm not mad at them for not finishing books - Brandon Sanderson's oeuvre: "The Cosmere". Specifically Mistborn series and new Way of Kings series.
• Currently audiobooking the "Broken Earth" trilogy by Jemisin which won an unprecedented 3 straight Hugos.

 

[temery]

Monty Python's 'Big Red' Book.

 

[CTGoonie]

The Stand
11/22/63

Both by Stephen King

I'm determined to read every King book. I would say I'm 75% of the way there but the dude can write faster than I can read. Top King books for me: Dark Tower series, It, Stand, Pet Sematary.

Non King books I liked recently: Justin Cronin-The Passage (coming to Fox in January) and Paul Tremblay - A Head Full of Ghosts.

 

[the Q]

The count of monte cristo

/thread

I’ve got treasure island on my shelf ready to go too.

Also really loved the book “ready player one”

 

[Lynyrd]

Lonesome Dove
The Cider House Rules
The Old Man and the Sea
Greenwich Killing Time
Mother Night
Blood Meridian
The Lord of the Rings
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
It
The Kite Runner
The Outsiders

 

[Bezzz]

The Pale King. David Foster Wallace. Absolute favorite. It'd take me a while to explain this, but you folks wouldn't understand. So, carry on.

 

[Vuce]

Pillars of the Earth

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Out of recent reads..

The Power of the Dog
The Cartel

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

 

[mauconnfan]

 

[husky429]

The Pale King. David Foster Wallace. Absolute favorite. It'd take me a while to explain this, but you folks wouldn't understand. So, carry on.

How to Read “Infinite Jest”

I think everyone should read his short stories. They're astounding.

Pale king and infinite jest are too much for your average reader.

Different book, same truths. I have read everything he's written. The guy had something figured out the rest of us didn't.

 

[polycom]

Ready player one

 

[Bezzz]

How to Read “Infinite Jest”

I think everyone should read his short stories. They're astounding.

Pale king and infinite jest are too much for your average reader.

Different book, same truths. I have read everything he's written. The guy had something figured out the rest of us didn't.

Thank you. I've also read everything he's published. He was a literary genius, so sad when his demons took him down. Cycled between brilliant work at Amherst College and mental hospital stays. I've got a two degrees of separation to DFW that I will always cherish.

 

[donyell34]

Anything Ken Follett and James Mitchner.

 

[BlueandOG]

I'm determined to read every King book. I would say I'm 75% of the way there but the dude can write faster than I can read. Top King books for me: Dark Tower series, It, Stand, Pet Sematary.

Non King books I liked recently: Justin Cronin-The Passage (coming to Fox in January) and Paul Tremblay - A Head Full of Ghosts.

I loved the first two books in the Passage series, but I couldn't get into the third one.

 

[CL82]

Obligatory - Song of Ice and Fire

Just started these on a whim. They are surprisingly good. Martin creates a world and stays true to it. The characters are compelling and Martin is willing to write off main characters, which I love. Just enough foreshadowing to make things interesting but not enough to make the books too predictable. Strongly recommend.

My favorite is the Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brian. Excellent writing especially if you like historical fiction.

Michael Shaara's the Killer Angels would also be right up there.

Someone mentioned The Lord of the Rings which is a great series. I've always like The Hobbit more.

 

[BlueandOG]

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerny is amazing for people interested in misspent youth and redemption in 1980's NYC. I reread it often, particularly when I'm feeling low.

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is also 1980s NYC about human frailty and the crash that comes when people are blinded by hubris. Very funny and well-written.

The Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston and Child is a pulpy thriller with a few great twists. Perfect beach book.

Anything by George Saunders and Donald Ray Pollock.

 

[auror]

How to Read “Infinite Jest”

I think everyone should read his short stories. They're astounding.

Pale king and infinite jest are too much for your average reader.

Different book, same truths. I have read everything he's written. The guy had something figured out the rest of us didn't.

New Yorker going to really use 'insure' when they mean 'ensure'?

 

[mrl2016]

The Circle...It’s like a modern day 1984 equivalent. They made it into a terrible Tom Hanks movie but the book was quite good.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Blood Meridian has already been noted. Really any Cormac McCarthy is great. I enjoyed A Light in August by Faulkner. A lesser known favorite of mine is Handling Sin by Michael Malone. It’s a hilarious modern take on the Odyssey.

 

[RichZ]

Anything from Elmore Leonard except his early Westerns. Fast reads, entertaining, well researched and dialogue rich.

 

[browndog319]

The Book Thief
April Morning
Gone With The Wind plus the authorized sequel Rhett Butler’s People
The Reader
Pride and Prejudice and Emma (Jane Austen is hilarious and considering women didn’t really do what she did back then, it’s pretty remarkable. When you look at how many modern movies are spinoffs of these two books, whether remakes, satires, or simply inspired by, truly remarkable)
This Side of Paradise
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The World According to Garp
The more adult of the “Little House on the Prairie” books - still read them once a year
To Kill A Mockingbird

 

[browndog319]

How to Read “Infinite Jest”

I think everyone should read his short stories. They're astounding.

Pale king and infinite jest are too much for your average reader.

Different book, same truths. I have read everything he's written. The guy had something figured out the rest of us didn't.

Define average reader... that might be the most pretentious thing I’ve ever read.