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YOur favorite novel and why is it memorable to you?
Posted by Hangingonahyphen • 10/25/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: deadly sin, lawrence sanders, novel, suspense-thriller
Let me begin.
Mine is the Lawrence Sanders suspense-thriller "The First Deadly Sin". It's memorable to me because it was the first full-length novel I ever read and there was even a story behind that book.
I found it when I was five and made a promise to myself that I would read it when I learn to read. At age 15, I rediscovered the book hidden in the shelf buried in dust, remembered my promise, and that's it. I was hooked into reading for life.
That story about the Sanders novel was also the topic of an old blog:
hangingonahyphen.blogspot.com/2008/07/looking-for-lawrence.html
Now, tell me your favorite novel and tell me why is it so.
User Comments
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Know what, I'm aching to visit and put a comment on the blogs of people who give good answers... So please...
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mine is Harry Potter. I like it because professor dumbledore saying
"there are thing worst than death harry"
and I've seen people who would say in their every single pray "please god just take me. Let me free from all of this missery" -
I haven't read any of the books but I have watched the films and loved them. You just gave me a great idea... Let me try to get hold of the books. You must be the adventurous, imaginative, sort of 'dreamy' kind of guy to love it...
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correction...I'm childish
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Hahaha... why did I miss that? I think it was the great dialogue that made it memorable to you...
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I think that's the perfect term though.the only novel
i read till the end is only harry potter and lord of the ring.
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Elliot Pattison's "Beautiful Ghosts" - it's a remarkable story that explores the intricacies and harsh realities of Tibetian life. There's a strong thread of spirituality and you find yourself really rooting for Shan (A harsh Chinese official who was betrayed by his own people and relegated to the misery of a Tibetan jail for many years, before he escaped and began his life among a group Buddhist monks)- he's the protagonist, who slowly develops an awareness of his own spiritual growth only what could on be described as a rocky path to redemption. Oh, and that's only the tip of the "iceberg" as far as the plot goes.
It's not necessarily an easy read - but it's a complex and compelling story that really gets you thinking about the human condition and how it all relates to your own existence. (IMO)-
It would have been a real wonderful read, the way you described it. I don't know if it is available here. I'll start looking and tell you about it. The closest novel I can remember is Top of the World by Hans Ruesch which is about the Eskimo's unbelievable fortitude surviving the arctic. Thank you for sharing.
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A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. I can't give the synopsis, 1349 pages condensed cannot give the gist.-
Then tell us at least what it's all about. Is he Indian? The best novel I read from India was The God of Small Things by Arundyathi Roy (hope I got the spelling right).
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I'm taking a short cut and giving you a link.
www.shvoong.com/books/2772-suitable-boy/
and about the author
www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=200000019
Yes he is Indian and a wonderful poet as well.
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Silmarillion by Tolkien.
A single person during his lifetime creating a whole new mythology on par with the older mythologies of the old civilizations which took centuries to develop is an amazing feat.
Tolkien is the greatest. -
It makes me feel such a loser not having read Tolkien. I'll check him out. Thank you for sharing...
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"The world is divided into into those who have read Tolkien and those who are going to read them."
You just happen to belong to the latter half. Don't worry.
But do read The Hobbit and Lord of the rings before you read Silmarillion. You will not be able to appreciate the book otherwise.
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Hmm my favorite of late is Eat, Love Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert - It inspired my recent trip to Italy. -
"little big man" by thomas berger.
i'd seen the movie when i was fairly young and enjoyed it, so i wanted to read the book and hopefully continue that experience.
the book turned out to be SO much better i couldn't believe it.
ruined the movie for me, actually.
hard to explain why i love it so much.
it's just an incredibly entertaining book.-
Thanks for telling me. I would take note to look for it. I hope it's available here. You guys are making me feel sorry for the great books I missed. I haven't heard of them, to be honest. I have the same experience about films not living up to the written version. That's why I consider the Godfather and Bridges of Madison County as exceptional films in that they gave justice to the novels. Thank you...
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Mine is 1876 by Gore Vidal. It opened my eyes to what a really talented writer is able to produce. -
I am sorry I can't reply with just one.
1. Harry Potter Series for pure fun and the only book series I have ever been able to read more than once.
2. John Adams by David McCollough - fantastic historical non fiction.
3. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - WOW!-
Agree with you on 2 out of 3.
haven't read John Adams.
But Hitchhikers is amazing.
Am reading Life, the universe and everything right now -
It's okay. The list you gave is outstanding, and I will include them in my future reading assignment.
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As much I love Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...Book one of a five part trilogy....my favorite book I'm ashamed to say is L.Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth which is nothing like the movie, but actually good. I've read it at least five or six times.
I am so ashamed.-
Great books make lousy movies. Lord of the rings is an exception. Though the movie isn't that great but not lousy either.
War of the worlds was a good book too. Movie not so much.
Do you notice a connection between the two (WOW and Battlefield earth)?
hint : scientologists
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Hmmmm... My Favorite is
"How to start reading a Novel and what are the reasons why we shouldn't read a Novel" Author Unknown... Very intersting -
The books that have inspired me are sort of all over the board.
--Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. (Liked the dark atmosphere and social commentary)
--Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (My first humorous sci-fi experience-- loved the tone)
--In God We Trust All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd (excellent humorist who wrote the original tale for "A Christmas Story," that film where the little boy in the 1930s wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas)
--"Something Wicked This Way Comes," by Ray Bradbury. (really impressed how he uses language to create suspense and tone)
--"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. (excellent book all around, again very atmospheric)
--A number of Stephen King's books, simply because they sucked me in to the stories.-
Finally, a comment I can really relate to. I adore Stephen King. Although my attempts at writing ghost-stories suck big time I wouldn't ever want anyone to know I read Stephen King because that means his genius has no effect on me no matter if I read him a million times. Yes, Stephen King is tops!
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Gone with the Wind... I realize it is an older novel, but I fell in love with the story that was written of a time when the United States was in transitioning into something better and the battle that ensued while doing it.
One I couldn't finish was Stephen King's Pet Cemetery.. I got about a quarter way through, it was too real to me in portraying human nature and how choices are made and why... that freaked me out! I still to this day can't get myself to pick the book back up, -
My favourite self help book was Dave Peltzer - Help Yourself
My favourite alltime classic is probably A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Favorite childrens stories - I couldn't just do one: Black Beauty, Heidi, Lion the witch and the wardrobe, Never ending story with many more
Favourite books from this last year: Kate Morton - The Forgotten Garden or for a crime thriller Linwood Barclay - No time for Goodbye-
I have never gotten a chance to find a copy of The Neverending Story, though I've seen and enjoyed the film a number of times.
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@TSR It is a lovely book I have read it many times. I can remember always reading in places and times that I wasn't supposed to which is why I think I identified with it so much.
Michael Ende was the author - a good read
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I will have to pursuit finding a copy-- thank you for reminding me of it, and sharing your own little bit of the story. I always enjoyed, in the film, how Bastian hid in the attic of school and just read. There was something delightful about that.
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@chrissymarie...it is Dave Pelzer...maybe you just had a typo
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@PotatoeChef - Yep it was a typo and you ae correct.
All recommendations were from memory. I apologise I didn't spellcheck.
Nevertheless, it is probabaly the most uplifting self help book that I can recall reading.
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Jane Eyre: I found it at a rummage sale, an extremely old copy of it, when i was 16? I read the book cover to cover in 2 days. It was the first book that I read in that short of a time spurt... without skipping to the end. Up until Jane Eyre, I was a notorious skipper-to-ender. It sucked me in, and I didn't miss a word of it. I don't know if it is still my favorite favorite, but definitely holds a nostalgic place in my reading history.
Gothic morbid vintage romantic suspenseful drama... what more could a 16yr ask for?
Now, If i find the urge to skip to the end of a book, that usually signifies that a book isn't worth my time... and many aren't. -
It by Stephen King. ...because I was pregnant with my daughter when I read it.
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That's it. I knew it!
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"1984" G.Orwell
The best book i read.-
I didn't read it, too bad for me. I had a blast with Animal Farm. Would you tell me which one is better?
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I'm addicted to sci-fi and fantasy. The most memorable one being Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. While there are many books that I enjoy revisiting this one is the only one that once finished I had to go back to page one and read it again. It shows life through the unfiltered eyes of children and the loneliness of being in a position of power, something I can truly relate to.
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To Kill a Mockingbird - love the characters-
To Kill a Mocking Bird is also one of my favorites. I get depressed reading it though...
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I'm with some others in this thread... To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It opened my eyes to a lot of things like institutionalised racism, the power of grace, and the magic of being children at a time when I was no more than a child. Also, it has one of the coolest names for a character I've ever come across: Atticus Finch!
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Hey, had anyone read "The Prince of Tides"? It's got so many subplots. The one I like was about the battered child who happened to be a student of the main character. So he went to the home of that child and bit up the father, with the child cheering in the background. I love twists like that... If you read the book, tell me about it...
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Like most people I have a list a mile long but Catch 22 is a book I can read again and again and every time it is still fresh and makes me cry with laughter.
I would also add anything written by John Steinbeck just because he is the best writer I have ever read.-
Oh yes, Steinbeck. I'm with you pal... I was so young when I read Mice and Men, and it hit me hard. It was hauntingly tragic I hated how it ended. The grapes of wrath was also fantastic.
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Straight Man by Richard Russo. . . one of the funniest novels since. . .
Catch 22!
and A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving which is a book that will haunt me forever. -
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