Favorite books?

[cascadeco]

Well, I love to read and am always looking for suggestions. So maybe I'll get some from other posters?? I doubt there's much of an mbti trend, other than maybe genres of books, but who knows.

I tried to do my homework to make sure this topic hadn't been brought up yet, but nothing showed up in my searches (although I'm surprised??!!?).

Here are some favorites (and I have a lot - but hey, I'll just write them all out) --

Fiction/classics

Love in the Time of Cholera - Marquez
East of Eden - Steinbeck
Bleak House - Dickens (well, any Dickens really - David Copperfield, The Old Curiousity Shop, etc etc)
The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky (also Crime and Punishment, and The Idiot is kinda cool, but it became quite tedious - and this is coming from someone who obviously can read your more 'tedious' books)
Portrait of a Lady - Henry James (Wings of the Dove was really interesting also; just much more...challenging, and almost too psychological)
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
The Razor's Edge W. Somerset Maugham (and I really enjoyed Of Human Bondage also, even though the protagonist drove me crazy in the middle 1/3 of the book)
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
A House for Mr. Biswas - V.S. Naipul
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand - I must give her a shout-out, as at the time, I loved the book. However, the book also really depressed me (as did Atlas Shrugged) - so I will never read either again.
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

Sci-fi/Fantasy
LOTR series, and Silmarillion - Tolkien
RAMA series - Arthur C. Clarke
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
Ringworld series - Niven
Wheel of Time series - Robert Jordan
Sword of Truth series - Terry Goodkind
Foundation series - Asimov
Dragonriders of Pern series (hehehe) - Anne Mccaffrey
DUNE series - Herbert and son

Non-fiction/Other
From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present, 500 Years of Western Cultural Life - Jacques Barzun
Piece by Piece - Tori Amos
The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Out of Africa - Isak Dineson
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

 

[Colors]

I didn't like The Poisonwood Bible (possible more like loathed, but I will concede that it was a in-class read), but I'd like to know what you saw in it. And I mean that in the most sincere way possible. It's entirely possible I approached it in the wrong mindset, and I'd like to know more. (And I happen to be too lazy to try and decifer the vague phrases used by book reviewers.)

Other than that, I've only read LoTR and Memoirs of a Geisha on your list, so maybe... A History of Love by Nicole Krauss. I read it last year. One of those sprawling "mood" sort of novels, but I found this one actually touching. Not action oriented though, if you are into plot.

 

[cascadeco]

I didn't like The Poisonwood Bible (possible more like loathed, but I will concede that it was a in-class read), but I'd like to know what you saw in it. And I mean that in the most sincere way possible.

Hey, I appreciate how you worded your question! As for what I saw in it, I think it helped that I've always been rather fascinated by religion, and how different people/personalities approach it, and then you throw in history, and sociology, and culture, and psychological things associated with it...just the whole complex religion topic. So the whole 'plot' of the book -- bringing a religion to a nation that...spoke a different language (literally and figuratively!), and the ultimate failure of it..appealed to me. And most of the books I have a deep appreciation for have a human element to them, and speak towards different personalities, and paint rich character descriptions - and also illustrate how different people react to the same situation quite differently. So Poisonwood Bible to me was also about how each of the family members reacted to the exact same situation, and how they each changed as a result (or, in some cases, didn't change). It's been a while since I read it...but that's what I remember.

I have not heard of the Nicole Krauss book, so thanks for the suggestion!

 

[OctaviaCaesar]

Victorian Literature

If you like Dickens and haven't tried any of these authors, I recommend them highly:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Casterbridge
by Thomas Hardy

These are pretty much the only books in the world that I can reread forever

 

[Athenian200]

Let's see...

Till we have faces -- C.S. Lewis

Lord of the Rings -- J.R.R Tolkien

I am (not) Spock -- Leonard Nimoy

Q-Squared -- Peter David

The South was Right -- James & Arnold Kennedy

Discourse on Method -- Rene Descartes

The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams

Psychological Types -- C.G. Jung

 

[miss fortune]

Strange Pilgrims- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The World According to Garp- John Irving

and why haven't you read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?!?! (I'm assuming that anyone with sense who's read it would love it!)

 

[Cerpin_Taxt]

Ulysess
The Brothers Karamazov
Crime and Punishment
The Death of Ivan Illich
Anna Kareina
Great Expectations
One Hundred years of Solitude
The Stranger
The Age of Reason
Blood Meridian
The Crying of Lot 49
Death in Venice
Siddartha
Steppenwolf
Metamorphsis - Kafka, not Ovid.
Hamlet
King Lear
Beyond Good and Evil
Geneology of Morals
Thus spoke Zarathustra
Guns, Germs and Steel etc.....................

 

[GZA]

My favourite book is Don Quixote. I loved it because Don Quixote was a hilarious character... I also could kind of relate on some level, being the dreamer I am. I guess I can also relate to the part where people switch from thinking hes a madman to thinking he is sensible and intelligent, because that happens to me a lot. People think I'm dumb or on drugs but later say "oh, you're actually smart". I particularly enjoyed Don Quixote and Sancho's debates on philosophical ideas, and their differences in perspective. It was also hilarious how Sancho bought into Don Quixote's fantasies.

Another one of my favourite books is The Hobbit. I read it years ago, so it has faded from my memory a bit, but I always liked it more than LotR because it was so laid-back and carefree. Plus LotR was very boring at times. The Hobbit wasn't. It was cheerful and adventerous

I like On the Road by Jack Kerouac quite a bit. I love the way he describes things, its so free. "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!" I love that kind of stuff. It was a little boring on occasion, but overall it was a really good book to read.

Chronicles by Bob Dylan is a favourite of mine. He also has a great way of explaining things and describing events. Plus I'm a big fan of his music, so it was fascinating to read his thoughts.

The Picture of Dorian Gray was good, too. I liked Oscar Wilde's dialogue a lot. He also had some great jokes, like saying that intellectuals have big ugly noses from thinking too much Great theme, too, its funny how relevant it is today.

Although I havn't really read every word of any of his books, I like Jared Diamond. I started reading the book "The Third Chimpanzee" at my uncles, and it was really interesting, so I skimmed maybe a total of 3/4 of it over a couple of days when I was staying with him. I've also read some parts of Guns, Germs, and Steel, which is also quite interesting. Its about evolution and athropology, if you havn't heard of it.

 

[cascadeco]

Hey -

I read Guns, Germs, and Steel several yrs back. I remember enjoying the overall message of the book, and learned some things, but I also remember getting a bit tired that the author kept restating his premise over and over and over again.....kinda reminded me of Ishmael in that sense... ;-)

whatever - I'll have to look into your three books. And no, I actually have not read Hitchhiker's yet.....

athenian - hmm...five yrs ago I would have been more inclined to read some of those, but now I'm becoming much more into fiction than non-fiction!! I did read three by C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity, Screwtape Letters, and...one other....arg, can't remember the title. Anyhow, I like how he writes, although I no longer hold those religious viewpoints.

Cerpin-Taxt - looks like there's a lot of crossover between what you've read and what I've read. I haven't read about half of what's on your list though, so I'll have to check some others out.

GZA - I've read 'On the Road', and enjoyed it -- in a fascinated sort of way. He's like the anti-me, but it was interesting nonetheless. I'll have to check out the Dorian Gray book - I've heard of it. I loved the Hobbit too, as a kid. You're right, it's 'happier.' I haven't read Don Quixote. I'm curious now, I'll have to add it to my list.

Octavia - I've read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and loved them. I'll definitely look into the other authors -- and I already have!! I'm halfway through Far From the Madding Crowd and am loving it!!!!!!!!! Good suggestion.

 

[Domino]

Wuthering Heights -- Emily Bronte
The Problem of Pain -- C. S. Lewis
The Outsiders -- S. E. Hinton
Dark Night of the Soul -- St. John de la Cruz
The Three Musketeers -- Dumas
The Horse-Dealer's Daughter -- D. H. Lawrence (I have something of a crush on him)

My sister likes me to read out loud to her, and one of her favorites is "The Wind in the Willows". She's so Mole.

I also collect really really awful paperback sci-fi from the 50s through the 80s. I love that stuff!

 

[quietgirl]

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Breakfast of Champions & Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

There are more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Domino]

My dad loves Vonnegut and he's an INFJ. I wonder if that's a leaning?

 

[sassafrassquatch]

A Nasty Bit of Rough
Round Ireland with a Fridge

 

[CzeCze]

Things I Liked Reading. 'Tipping the Velvet' is probably favorite contemporary novel that I've read. LOVED IT. She really makes characters and periods and places come alive and not just if you're a lesbian. ^_^ Jeannette Winterson has a very original way of turning a phrase and her stories are compellingly different. Lao She had one of the best short stories I've read, it was so perceptive and well balanced and from the POV of a woman and it was so convincing I thought Lao She, the writer, was a woman. But no -- he was a revolutionary man! Perhaps like a Chinese DH Lawrence? Nah.

Fiction:

Madame Bovary - Gustav Flaubert
The Awakening - Kate Chopin
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters

Collection of Works:
Written on the Body - The World and Other Places: Stories - Jeanette Winterson
Blades of Grass: The Stories of Lao She (Fiction from Modern China)

Non-Fiction:
The Unwanted - Kien Nguyen

 

[sundowning]

You would probably enjoy Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. I always recommend it even though no one ever checks it out. Maybe you will, though!

 

[wildcat]

Ulysess
The Brothers Karamazov
Crime and Punishment
The Death of Ivan Illich
Anna Kareina
Great Expectations
One Hundred years of Solitude
The Stranger
The Age of Reason
Blood Meridian
The Crying of Lot 49
Death in Venice
Siddartha
Steppenwolf
Metamorphsis - Kafka, not Ovid.
Hamlet
King Lear
Beyond Good and Evil
Geneology of Morals
Thus spoke Zarathustra
Guns, Germs and Steel etc.....................

If you want to know about Trieste, do not study about Dublin.

I bought Karamazov in Cambridge.
Dimitry, Alyosha and Ivan.
The serfs and the psychopathic father. Altogether too Russian.
The print and the font were exquisite.
The cover was handsome.
I admire the printing houses and the craftsmen. However the story was pathetic.

Zarathustra I could not read. Nor Siddharta. Too much sugar.

One hundred years of solitude.. I understand this means one hundred years of solitude between the reader and the author. One million years of solitude would have been a more fitting appellative.

The Stranger was the first novel I read in French.. and the last. The French are not much into writing.. what they are into I do not know.

Death in Venice is good in translation only. Thomas could not write German. I wonder if anyone can.

Hamlet is a bore. Why? He is INTP.

King Lear.. tedious and far too long.
The end is dramatic though and a couple of lines are poetry.
Read only the end.

Steppenwolf.. it is all right if you are eleven. Unfortunately we grow up.

 

[CzeCze]

If you want to know about Trieste, do not study about Dublin.

I bought Karamazov in Cambridge.
Dimitry, Alyosha and Ivan.
The serfs and the psychopathic father. Altogether too Russian.
The print and the font were exquisite.
The cover was handsome.
I admire the printing houses and the craftsmen. However the story was pathetic.

Zarathustra I could not read. Nor Siddharta. Too much sugar.

One hundred years of solitude.. I understand this means one hundred years of solitude between the reader and the author. One million years of solitude would have been a more fitting appellative.

The Stranger was the first novel I read in French.. and the last. The French are not much into writing.. what they are into I do not know.

Death in Venice is good in translation only. Thomas could not write German. I wonder if anyone can.

Hamlet is a bore. Why? He is INTP.

King Lear.. tedious and far too long.
The end is dramatic though and a couple of lines are poetry.
Read only the end.

Steppenwolf.. it is all right if you are eleven. Unfortunately we grow up.

I find your assessment of these books very amusing. That is, I think you're funny (in a good way).

Are you German or Russian? Or a philosophy student?

'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' --> "too much sugar".

 

[Punggung]

Stjärnvägar; Rymdljus; Solvindar / Peter Nilsson ----- Space Philosophy at it's finest

Rymdväktaren + Nyaga / Peter Nilsson ----- Can induce Existential anxiety, but damn good anyway

Naiv Super / Erlend Loe ----- Jävla galna norrman

LOTR ----- You know it to be true, it is pointless to resist

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH / Robert C. O'Brien ----- I like rats, especially the ones that are really F*ing smart

Anything Gaiman ----- Maybe not, but if I count all the tired Pratchett shit as really being Gaiman, then ok.

Goodnight mister Tom + Back home / Magorian ----- Deeply founded, Some rest of childhood

Momo + The neverending story / Ende ----- Yeah, saga is a nice way of life.

Ender's Game / Orson Scott Card ----- Great for kids, except of all the murder and gore

Pay it forward / C.R. Hyde ----- Bit bimboish, but still touching

Orlando / Woolf ----- Good

The Paksenarrion Suite / E. Moon ----- Yet another pointless Hero-story. But this one I like. Dunno why.

Everything by Richard Adams, especially Watership Down. ----- "You fools! Come back and fight! Dogs aren't dangerous!"

H2G2 ----- Cannot be expressed in words, at least not in english.

The earliest ten years of "Bamses Äventyr" ----- A communist bear drinking Thunder honey making him the strongest, but still kindest bear in the world. Partnered with a white rabbit in red bowtie and a supersmart turtle in a hight yellow-red hat, I'm sorry but this is as good as comics can become.

 

[wedekit]

Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

 

[Falcarius]

Fatherland -- Robert Harris
The Man in the High Castle -- Philip K Dick
The Complete Maus -- Art Spiegelman
The Bell Jar -- Sylvia Plath
War and Peace -- Leo Tolstoy
Nineteen Eighty-Four -- George Orwell
All Quiet on the Western Front -- Erich Maria Remarque
The Idiot -- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Palestine -- Joe Sacco
Being and Nothingness -- Jean-Paul Sartre