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What is the best book you ever read?

Posted by thehappinessblog • 7/28/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic

I need some book recommendations... read any good books lately? I want to feature a top 10 list on my blog site entitled "Best Books"
www.theHAPPINESSblog.com

User Comments

7/28/07

mwfinch

The Life of Pi

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1. 7/28/07
  
  bidarlah
  
  one of my fav.
7/28/07

zawadi

the Bible

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Never heard of it....
  
  Thanks for adding it!
7/28/07

elfreakz

all Sophie Kinsella books example like Shopaholic. very funny!

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1. 7/28/07
  
  bidarlah
  
  agree with you too!
7/28/07

gosmelltheflowers

Siddharta, Herman Hesse.

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1. 7/29/07
  
  sanktjohanser
  
  ditto, the best book ever.
7/28/07

morgan9405

The things they carried....
Tim O'Brien

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7/28/07

WokeupToday

Al Gore's Assault On Reason

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7/28/07

guyar

Catcher in the Rye.... it rocks

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  I had a tough time with this one....
2. 7/28/07
  
  MadameX
  
  I bought Catcher in the Rye at an outdoor festival during my first year of college (spring of 1985) and started reading it in the park. I read it walking to the bus. I read it on the bus. I went home and went to dinner alone so that I could keep reading it. It wasn't until many years later that I got around to reading Franny & Zooey, and I was very disappointed.
7/28/07

richgrad

I just did a book review on Talent is never Enough
ping.sg/read/Talent_is_never_enough
Check it out

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7/28/07

Boba

Lord of the rings trilogy

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7/28/07

Getty72

I have to agree with Boba, it's gonna have to be the "Lord of the rings" trilogy for a fictional read. This story took carried me through my early teen years, and I still pick it up now and again.

However, as a factual read it absolutely has to be Primo Levi's "Surviving Auschwitz"... it is the most emotional book that I have ever read. A first hand true account of one man's survival in Auschwitz, the German concentration camp in war torn Poland during the Second World War... this is a book that has changed my outlook on life ever since.

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  It is a great book.... I was surprised to find it here. Thanks!!
7/28/07

clioandme

Only one? How about anything by Thomas Pynchon or Kurt Vonnegut.

I enjoy good murder mysteries too.

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1. 7/28/07
  
  MadameX
  
  I've never heard of Thomas Pynchon, but you've definitely raised my curiosity. Any recommendations for a first look?
2. 7/28/07
  
  clioandme
  
  His books are all so different that it is hard to suggest a place to start. I think he is one of those authors where you are best off sitting in the book shop and seeing how you do with the first ten or so pages.
  
  Gravity's Rainbow was my favorite of his once upon a time, but I haven't revisited it for some twenty years. His more recent Vineland is good. But he's an acquired taste, I think.
3. 7/28/07
  
  MadameX
  
  Damn. I'm sure you know that I just HATE sitting around bookstores, especially on perpetually rainy afternoons like this whole week has been, browsing through new authors...
7/28/07

josephlayden

"The Lord of the Rings" here too.

I loved Vonnegut and Pynchon too, especially Player Piano and Crying of Lot 49.

(Was that a joke naming Al Gore? You don't believe the science fiction of Michael Moore as well, do you? Or even if you do believe their propaganda, surely you don't think they are literary giants for their writing style lol?)

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7/28/07

bloggingmix

International Finance by: Kim et al
And Philip Kotler's Marketing Books

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1. 7/28/07
  
  jungl
  
  Lol, are you serious?
  I would fall asleep after 2 pages of a book like that
7/28/07

bidarlah

the GODFATHER!

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7/28/07

Mythmaker

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski or Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. Far too hard to pick just one!

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7/28/07

aningeniousname

Catch 22 for its comic brilliance and I Claudius just because it's great.

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1. 7/28/07
  
  Enlight
  
  The movie series of I Claudius is excellent about the Julian line of Emperors of Rome.
  
  Although I have not read the book.
2. 7/28/07
  
  Getty72
  
  I agree "Catch 22" is one of a kind... great book!!
7/28/07

Starlily

Could NEVER list just one!--

Hobbit or LOTRs, by JRR Tolkien
*The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran*
Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman
Stonehenge, by Bernard Cornwall
Jack Whyte rocks too...
agree Sophie Kinsella is giggle out loud funny

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Leaves of Grass... a MUST read! One of my favorites
7/28/07

awannabe

The Battlefield of the Mind by: Joyce Meyer

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Honestly, never heard of it... but I'm looking into it!
7/28/07

Enlight

Outside of spiritual reading. The meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and the Diary of Anne Frank.

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Those are two of my favotires too! I really like another book called Man's Search for Meaning by Frankel.
2. 7/28/07
  
  Enlight
  
  I will look it up.
  
  Basically, the best book of all time that I have read is the Bhagavad Gita.
  
  Most wonderful, comforting, eye opening, spiritual reading I have every studied.
7/28/07

heitner

Wikinomics

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7/28/07

creative666

I am reading it at the moment... its called "The 33 strategies of war"

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Sounds intresting. Is it pro or anti war?
7/28/07

davidspan

I have two old mans war, and house of sand and fog.

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7/28/07

MadameX

Interesting, in context, that few if any of the books suggested could possibly be classified as anything approaching "happy".

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Seriously.... that is funny (?)
7/28/07

neoauteur

The Art of War

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Classic! I love it.
  www.theHAPPINESSblog.com
7/28/07

quincyjohn

I'm currently reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.

I'll try to make a review after reading.

quinkoytawops.blogspot.com

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7/28/07

GrimlyFiendish

The Assassin Trilogy by Robin Hobb and anything involving the city watch by Terry Pratchet.

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7/28/07

dharmagypsy7

Steppenwolf and the Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  My wife read those two and she says they are great! Thanks for the post.
7/28/07

josephlayden

(Interesting, in context, that few if any of the books suggested could possibly be classified as anything approaching "happy".)

I dunno The Prophet was kind of happy, and The Hobbit to a certain extent.

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  True!
7/28/07

pioniwol

I LOVE books and reading!

I can recommend some good, no GREAT books for personal development..

"Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want" by Barabara Sher - I recommend anything by her!! Very quick and friendly and USEFUL!
"What Color is Your Parachute" by Richard Nelson Bolles

More recently, I read...

"Making a Living Without a Job" by Barbara J. Winter - that oughta make ANYONE happy!
"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki - actually, anything by the Kiyosaki's - Kim just wrote "Rich Woman" and "Prophecy" is especially well done!

The Harry Potter series is pretty good - for a break.

I'm seeing a trend here - I'm a 'serial reader' because I'll read everything in a series and love the epic saga type of things. The Anita Blake series comes to mind, David Weber's Honor Harrington too tho I stopped short of finishing them all to date...

Will you be reviewing fiction or non-fiction for your list?

I could go on for days...

BTW, I started keeping track of the books I read. Right around 2000, I put the finish dates, the title and the author into a composition book and I've tracked everything I've finished (in book format (i'm not tracking ebooks tho i read many of them too)) for the last 6 1/2 years consistently. It will help with bibliography references anytime I need it.

Pam Hoffman
seminarlist.blogspot.com

p.s. thanks for asking - i'm getting some good info too!

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Paul,
  I do the same things with the books I write. It's a great system for recalling the things we've read.
7/28/07

MadameX

Thanks for posting this question--the fact that I didn't have an answer to it inspired a blog post!

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Thanks... I am happy to get people thinking.
  www.theHAPPINESSblog.com
7/28/07

jungl

My fave book is Gert Nygårdshaug - Mengele zoo.
Don't think it has been translated to English..

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7/28/07

People

Pale Fire.

And The Count of Monte Cristo.

And The Sun Also Rises. And Crime and Punishment. And To the Lighthouse. And The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

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1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Awesome list! Thanks
  www.theHAPPINESSblog.com
7/28/07

jgriffin123

catch 22

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7/28/07

sabakhalid

the kite runner-khaled hosseini

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1. 7/28/07
  
  clioandme
  
  I forgot about that. Excellent read!
  
  The author has a new one out now too. Need to get my hands on it sometime.
2. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  I totally agree... thanks for that post!
7/28/07

robinj

Mine .....now if Oprah is reading this I am open to offers :O) lol

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  What is the title?
7/28/07

m38967

i'm terribly ashamed i can't answer this question, i haven't read a decent book in soooooo long. tisk tisk. i read many mags, but not books. hopefully in the not so distant future, i will dedicate some time for a good hearty and delicious read.

Missy.

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Try reading some of these posts and see if a book interests you. A good book, and there is a list of them here, can make a huge difference. I LIKE MAGS too!
7/28/07

daisythecurlycat

I don't have one favorite, but I just finished Pigtopia by Kitty Fitzgerald and I loved it. It is equal parts fable and horror story. I was both charmed and horrified by parts of this story.

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7/28/07

Theresa111

The Boxcar Children and it's sequel Surprise Island (as a child)

The Prince of Tides (as an adult)

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7/28/07

decoratorinside

Steven King - The Stand

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Too scary!
7/28/07

badthing

Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis

[reply]
1. 7/28/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  Shoot, never heard of it... I'll look it up. Thanks for the post.
  www.theHAPPINESSblog.com
7/29/07

SleepingDude

Think and Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill

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1. 7/29/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  I absolutely love that one.. changed my life!
7/29/07

jphillips

Hyperion and Endymion - Dan Simmons
How to make friends and influence people - Dale Carnegie
Deception point - Dan Brown

Those are my 3 faves (in that order)

[reply]
1. 8/03/07
  
  jphillips
7/29/07

zakman

"How to Make Friends, Help Them & Yet Make a Million Dollars in the Process"

-- by Jonathan C-Phillips

(I mean it will be my best book when it will be written in 2009.)

[reply]
1. 8/03/07
  
  jphillips
  
  haha, I like the sound of that! lol
  If I can just finish writing my "conversational blogging" ebook
7/29/07

writingtrue

Joyce's "Ulyssess." It still stuns me.

"Dubliners" is a close second.

Oh, to write like that!

Writer

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7/29/07

ThriftShopRomantic

Jane Eyre. I read it during a period of time where my work was very frustrating, and good Victorian Gothic fiction where the heroine's life was more rotten than mine was actually very therapeutic.

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1. 7/29/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  I read this in college... I liked it too. It is a classic!
7/29/07

decoratorinside

Here's another I finished.
HIS PERFECT WOMAN, by Kay Stockham

If you like heartwarming, tasteful love stories, GET THIS BOOK... It made me cry. I will not spoil it, but ladies, You'll love it!

here's the link: www.amazon.com/His-Perfect-Woman-Harlequin-Superromance/dp/0373714246

Hanna
www.decoratorinside.com

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7/29/07

jpearce

One of my fave coffee table books is The 48 Laws of Power by Joost Elffers and Robert Greene.

Another is How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. The title is deceiving but its one of his best. Read it!

[reply]
1. 7/29/07
  
  thehappinessblog
  
  The 48 Laws is such a great book... thanks for reminding me of it!
7/29/07

decoratorinside

Happiness! I'm sorry I didn't see that you were starting a best books page. OOPS omit Steven King's The Stand... And investigate "HIS PERFECT WOMAN".. It has special interests to cancer survivors.

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7/29/07

dpasquella

You guys gotta read this book! I couldn't put it down! (Literally!)

www.amazon.com/dp/1419615831?tag=letmegoonando-20&camp=14573&creative=32764...

(hehe)

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8/03/07

Kiwipulse

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
www.amazon.com/dp/0307275639?tag=kiwpul-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&c...

This true story about the love between a spiritual mentor and his pupil has soared to the bestseller list for many reasons. For starters: it reminds us of the affection and gratitude that many of us still feel for the significant mentors of our past. It also plays out a fantasy many of us have entertained: what would it be like to look those people up again, tell them how much they meant to us, maybe even resume the mentorship? Plus, we meet Morrie Schwartz--a one of a kind professor, whom the author describes as looking like a cross between a biblical prophet and Christmas elf. And finally we are privy to intimate moments of Morrie's final days as he lies dying from a terminal illness. Even on his deathbed, this twinkling-eyed mensch manages to teach us all about living robustly and fully. Kudos to author and acclaimed sports columnist Mitch Albom for telling this universally touching story with such grace and humility.

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8/03/07

thehappinessblog

I read that one... I loved it.

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8/03/07

OneEyedView

Fingerprints of the Gods - Graham Hancock

The bestselling author of The Sign and the Seal reveals the true origins of civilization. Connecting puzzling clues scattered throughout the world, Hancock discovers compelling evidence of a technologically and culturally advanced civilization that was destroyed and obliterated from human memory. Four 8-page photo inserts.

oneeyedview.com/store/shop.php?c=014&n=1000&i=0517887290&x=Fingerprints_of_...

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1/19/09

famouspick

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

famouspick.blogspot.com
Book recommendations from famous people

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