Your Favorite Book(s) of all time

Go Ask Alice" by Anonymous....now it has long since come out that no one truly knows if the basis of this book is true....the thing was that this was a girls diary...whether or not this is true or not, the journey of this girl is something amazing and the story is good....well worth reading.

There is no question that this book is totally fake.  http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/askalice.asp

I think it is hilarious and love it. 

I made my husband read it as well when he came to the States for our wedding.  There is no way that book would stop anyone from doing drugs.  Alice gets to do awesome stuff because she does drugs.  She dies in the end, but what teenager ever thinks the bad stuff will happened to them?

I've read a few others published by the same company, but none compares to Alice. 

thanks for the link...I had always questioned the authenticity of the book, but always enjoyed it regardless.

You are right though as well that this book will in no way ever prevent anyone from doing drugs....but reading the trials and tribulations of her "journey" does make for a good read....and the way it is written makes it more interesting as well.

oooh love this thread!  Right up my alley.    I found so many good suggestions, and also kindred spirits. ( a shout of to LM Montgomery readers)
I listed my favorite books a while ago on my blog, here's a copy. 

1. Middlesex By Jeffrey Eugenides- So good, about a young person who discovers that they are a hermaphradite.  It details his family history, and the reasons behind his disorder. 

2. Black and Blue By Anna Quindlen- A story of an abused wife, I read it in an evening and have rarely cried so much from a book.  Amazing.

3. Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man By Fannie Flagg- I've loved this book since my pre-teens.  A story about a young girl coming of age in the south and her father's money misadventures.

4. Dry By Augusten Burroughs- Oh my goodness- this book really put me off the sauce.  A witty and somehow hilarious memoir about alcoholism.

5. Marley and Me By  John Grogan- If you own a lab, or a dog that you really adore this is the book for you.  The tag line is "life and love with the world's worst dog," and you'll cry your eyes out at the ending.

6. The Pact By Jodi Picoult- Kim started me on Jodi Picoult and I've now read most of her stuff.  This book is so amazing and beautiful and sad.  It's about 2 young lovers that make a suicide pact, but one of them survives.

7. The Red Tent By Anita Diamant- Kind of a girls book, a fictional account on the sole daughter of the biblical character Jacob.

8. The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood- The first Atwood book I read.  I stayed up until four a.m. as I couldn't put it down.

9. Plain Truth By Jodi Picoult- Another Jodi Picoult book- this one about an Amish girl on trial for murder.  So good.

10. Sideways By Rex Pickett- You've probably seen the movie, but I really preferred the book.  Groom and best man visit the wine country before the big day.  Hilarity ensues.

11. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy By JRR Tolkien- Wow, I can't get enough of these books.  I first heard them on tape on a trip cross country with the fam and have since read them several times.  I enjoy the movies, but again not even a comparison with the books.  Tolkien was a genius.

12. All of the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery- Ahh, the Anne books are my comfort food.  All L.M.'s books are lovely but these are my real favorites of the bunch.

13. Maus I and II By Art Spiegelman- Comic books detailing the holocaust.  Sounds gruesome, but they really are quite amazing, and should be required high school reading.

14. Wuthering Heights By Emily Bronte- Read this on a rainy cloudy day in front of the fire.  I've seen every movie version of this and nothing compares to the novel, this is a top five fave.

15. Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen- I know it sounds totally pretentious to like Austen, but no more so than this list.  I love all of her books (that I've read) but this one is certainly my favorite.  I think Mr. Darcy is among my favorite literary characters.

16. Rachel's Holiday By Marian Keyes- I have to follow the Austen with something trite, and this book is one of my favorites of that genre.  A funny fictional account of a a girl going through rehab.

17. Geek Love By Katherine Dunn- Super creepy story about a carnival family and their machinations to stay in business.  You can't read this book while eating.

18.  My Year of Meats By Ruth Ozeki- I love Ruth Ozeki in general but this novel (based on fact) caused me to stop eating meat for almost a year.  Chew on that.

19. My Sister's Keeper By Jodi Picoult- I know I've already mentioned a couple of her books, but Jodi P. is among my most favorite authors.  A book about a sister born to save her older sister from dying of leukemia.  Another tissue box needed novel.

20. Naked By David Sedaris- I love all of David Sedaris' work, but this book cracked me up the entire time.  His books are actually best by audiobook, so I would suggest getting them off I-tunes.

*21. Under the Banner of Heaven By Jon Krakauer- Crazy non-fiction book about a fundamentalist mormon group.  So chilling, and another I stayed up all night reading.

I'm excited to see Geek Love on someone else's list! 

18.  My Year of Meats By Ruth Ozeki- I love Ruth Ozeki in general but this novel (based on fact) caused me to stop eating meat for almost a year.  Chew on that.

Hah! I don't know anyone else who's even read this book! Yay!

Both Geek Love and My Year of Meats were recommended to me by fellow book-nerd friends.  Both really affected my appetite as well, so perhaps I should classify them as "diet" books? 

Chary, have you read Ozeki's All Over Creation?  It's also fabulous. 

Chary, have you read Ozeki's All Over Creation?  It's also fabulous. 

No, My Year of Meats is the only one I've read. I'll put All Over Creation on my list, though! Thanks for the recommendation!

1. Anything by Dave Eggers ( ESPECIALLY "What Is The What".....SUCH a wonderful book)

2. Most books by David Sedaris

3. George Orwell "1984"

4. Anything by Chuck Pahlaniuk (especially "Invisible Monsters")

5. Charles Bukowski-"Women"

6.Anything by Augusten Burroughs

7.Johnathan Franzen- "The Corrections"

8 Patrick Suskind- "Perfume"

9. Ray Bradbury- "Farenheit 451"

10.John Kennedy Toole- "A Confederacy Of Dunces"

11.Judy Blume - "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret"

12.Almost any Kerouac (Didn't like Dharma Bums, and I'm not sure why...)

13.Vonnegut- "Slaughterhouse Five"

14.Wilde- "A Picture Of Dorian Gray"

15. I will use my number 15 spot to proclaim, unabashedly, my love for Harry Potter.


yay, books.

Moby Dick (I am probably alone in this, but there is something in that book that I keep going back to.)

The Grapes of Wrath (Again I know alot of people hate this book, but I have a fondness for Steinbeck.)

Jane Eyre (I have loved this book since the first time I read it in Elementary School. Despite the tragedy, I SO wanted to be Jane!)


Anything by Margaret Atwood- such a brilliant writer and able to write in a number of genres.

Anything by Dostoevsky (especially Crime and Punishment and Brother's Karamasov

I'm excited to see Geek Love on someone else's list! 

Yay! Me, too! I loved that book. 

I think Another Country by James Baldwin was one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Also, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (which was not actually written by Malcolm X) completely changed my perspective on a lot of things. It's actually pretty amazing. Also, anything by Toni Morrison, especially The Bluest Eye.

I love the Walter Moseley "Easy Rawlins" series of books for fun. Great little afternoon reads.

House of Sand and Fog really haunted me. The film was good, but the novel is so much better. I guess that's usually the case! The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver was brilliant. Really liked I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb, too.

If you like vampire/horror novels, check out Poppy Z. Brite. I used to read all her stuff. Also, Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A. Collins.

Moby Dick (I am probably alone in this, but there is something in that book that I keep going back to.)

The Grapes of Wrath (Again I know alot of people hate this book, but I have a fondness for Steinbeck.)

Jane Eyre (I have loved this book since the first time I read it in Elementary School. Despite the tragedy, I SO wanted to be Jane!)


Anything by Margaret Atwood- such a brilliant writer and able to write in a number of genres.

Anything by Dostoevsky (especially Crime and Punishment and Brother's Karamasov

I love your whole list--except for "Grapes"--which I had to read in 9th grade and hate with the heat of a thousand dustbowls.  I liked other Steinbeck, but not that one.

Also my favourites that I try and force on anyone are Robin McKinley and PC Hodgell--both amazing and excellent fantasy writers.

Jane Eyre
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility
Les Miserable by Victor Hugo
Summer of my German Soldier
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (the whole Bridgerton series is excellent)

I would also have to add House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, mainly for the aesthetic qualities. It isn't the best read, but the layout is very intriguing and adds to the suspense, IMO. It does drive you a bit crazy, though, which I think is the purpose.

And Lolita by Nabokov. OK, yes, it is about a creepy pervert, but it is so well-written and full of so many subtleties and underlying themes. And who doesn't just love the character name Humbert Humbert?

I would also have to add House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, mainly for the aesthetic qualities. It isn't the best read, but the layout is very intriguing and adds to the suspense, IMO. It does drive you a bit crazy, though, which I think is the purpose.

This is one of my favorites as well. The layout did kinda hurt my head at first, but once I got into it, it made the novel really addicting to me--and I loved the premise of the book, since I'm kinda morbid and love a good horror/suspense story. I only had room for a handful of books to bring over with me to the UK, and this was one of them

Some of my favorites also include Crime and Punishment, Lord of the Rings, and Dune. Crime and Punishment started out as one of those books I needed to read in high school for me, but I loved it and really enjoyed the unit we did on it. LOTR was my first real introduction into the world of fantasy novels, which is definitely my favorite genre (with a healthy mix of science fiction thrown into the mix). I didn't read Dune until they remade the movie on the Sci Fi channel into a mini series, so then I went out and bought the first book because IMHO the books are better than the movies (99% of the time); once I read the first one, I went out and bought all the others. Frank Herbert was a bloody genius I think, and Dune is another one of the few books I brought over with me since I like to reread it all the time.

Good thread indeed!

Some of my all time favorites include:

-The Poisonwood Bible
-The Bean Trees
-Secret Life of Bees
-The Great Gatsby

The Counte of Monte Cristo.

The basic raw human emotions that are the center of this book (love, revenge, greed, despair, etc) are something that everyone in the world can relate to (no matter what time period you live in, what country or what age).