Goonersworld

If you haven't read the Harry Potter series you haven't truly been to hogwarts. Definitely worth it if your an adult, but at the same time don't expect complex story telling. It's a great book but it is still a children's book.

@ VaVa

Great list.

Haven't read many from the lot (especially the non-fiction ones).

Regarding HP, you have to read it. It's essentially gripping storytelling. I've always maintained that for commercial filmmakers or writers, Harry Potter is a goldmine to learn the craft. It's a children's book as Pud said, but it ages - and that makes it a compelling read. Do expect loopholes and convenient storytelling liberties. That doesn't make it any less immersive.

Va-Va-Voom wrote:- The Hobbit (Tolkien's magnum opus)

I'm busy reading through this. I'm only about halfway but I'm really struggling to see how it's anything more than a standard adventure story

Pudpop wrote:

Va-Va-Voom wrote:- The Hobbit (Tolkien's magnum opus)

I'm busy reading through this. I'm only about halfway but I'm really struggling to see how it's anything more than a standard adventure story

I liked Hobbit more than LoTR.

Tell us about it after you finish the book.

I will, as long as I'm not banned afterwards

nah, LOTR > Hobbit
Silmarillion > Hobbit as well obvs

also, yes, Blood Meridian is fantastic.

Luzh 22 wrote:Anybody read the Malazan book of the fallen series? I'm currently on book 8-10. It's becoming more convoluted the longer it goes on...

Actually reading book 7 right now. It's a very interesting world he built, but I'm not always thrilled with the writing/characters.

My list keeps on changing - but here's a top-10 fiction list - not in any order:

- Dracula
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
- The Hobbit
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- Anna Karenina
- The Picture of Dorian Gray
- And Then There Were None
- The Shining
- The Sun Also Rises
- The Devotion of Suspect X

Yago wrote:nah, LOTR > Hobbit
Silmarillion > Hobbit as well obvs

also, yes, Blood Meridian is fantastic.

I have rarely enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed Hobbit. It's a top-5 for me definitely.

The Hobbit is written for young children, the LOTR is written for teens+. If you're looking for the dark undertones of LOTR, in The Hobbit, you're gonna be disappointed.

Yago wrote:

Luzh 22 wrote:Anybody read the Malazan book of the fallen series? I'm currently on book 8-10. It's becoming more convoluted the longer it goes on...

Actually reading book 7 right now. It's a very interesting world he built, but I'm not always thrilled with the writing/characters.

I like the characters (mostly) and find them interesting, particularly the fallibility of them. But, yeah, some of the tangents are too much imo.

2nd book (chain of dogs) is the best imo. Some great writing in that, it was intense AF.

Angelito wrote:This section is usually so quiet.. So, list some of your favorite books that you have read. It may be fiction or non-fiction. Ideally, a top-10 list, but whatever you prefer.

I don't know if I can rank them because they were read at different periods in my life, which will undoubtedly affect the ranking. But in no order, ten of my favorite novels (there are plenty more, but for a quick list):
•The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
•The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov (GOAT sci-fi author and arguably his greatest work)
•The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
•The Giver by Lois Lowry
•Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Okonkwo is such a f***ing asshole, but I still love the novel for some reason)
•Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (possibly the worst I've ever felt for a protagonist)
•11/22/63 by Stephen King
•Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
•Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (like Vava said, hilarious)
•Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Angelito wrote:This section is usually so quiet.. So, list some of your favorite books that you have read. It may be fiction or non-fiction. Ideally, a top-10 list, but whatever you prefer.

Chronicles of Prydain - 5 books. Favourite books of all time

Prefer Hobbit books to LOTR books. Much easier to read

Got all the Bourne books. Far better than films

Shit load of autobiogarphies as well

Just have read this one. All in all a great book; a little too violent for my liking though!
Stieg Larsson has done a wonderful job with the characters I think.
By the way, does anybody here prefer e-readers?
Which one would you recommend? All help and suggestions will be much appreciated.
https://www.bestadvisor.com/ereaders

Finished A Brief History of Seven Killings recently.

It's a fictionalized account about the assassination attempt on Bob Marley and what became of the triggermen. Also deals with the political environment of Jamaica during that time.

Madness.

David Copperfield.

Not finished yet but it may just become my favourite novel.

Beautifully written with some of the most memorable characters ever created.

It's also hilarious.