# what are your favorite novels??? (1 Viewer)



## rotsuchi1

Curious to know what my fellow writers like....

I like Stephen King novels and one of my new favs is Wings by Aprilynne Pike.
( i also read tons of manga  )


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## Ariel

My favorite novel is Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird.". It has been my favorite since I read it in the fifth grade.

Otherwise I read just about anything that grabs my attention.


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## rotsuchi1

I love 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. ^^


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## moderan

Stand on Zanzibar, the Mote in God's Eye, The Little Sister, Pop 1280, Resume With Monsters, Catch-22 all come to mind immediately. Hundreds of others would jostle for position.


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## dolphinlee

Anything by Austen, Eddings, Tolkein, McCaffrey and Pratchett.


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## Mr mitchell

Simon Kernick, Ultimatum.


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## Bilston Blue

Julian Barnes' _The Sense of an Ending_. 

Sebastian Faulks' _Birdsong.
_
Sarah Blake's _The Postmistress._


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## PiP

I enjoy Nicholas Evans, John Grisham, Khaled Hossein, (and more recently Jilly Cooper). 
I hang my head in shame as I read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy out of curiosity. ;-) in one week. Yeah, well there's not much of a plot, just ...
However, the worst book I've EVER read is Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali.

PS

any recommendations for well written Romantic Novels, please?


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## JosephB

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (I've probably read it 5 times and often pick it up to read a paragraph or two.)
Revolutionary Road
The Great Santini
To Kill a Mockingbird

To name a few -- it's really hard to narrow it down.


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## ttts

Michael Chabon is really funny. I liked _Wonder Boys_. I also liked _Lord of the Flies._ Even though we had to write a three-page essay on it.:mad2:


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## JosephB

Nothing can ruin a good book like an essay.


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## ttts

Hahaha. I know right. I feel like I would have enjoyed our assigned novels a LOT more if we didn't have to analyze them. It can be interesting, but normally, it just ruins the entire book.


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## FleshEater

The Road-McCarthy

Anything Palahniuk because he's never boring...well...I heard Tell-All is terrible.


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## sophiagia10

I'd vote for all of Jane Austen's novels and Possession by A.S. Byatt. A delicious book!


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## Skodt

FleshEater said:


> The Road-McCarthy
> 
> Anything Palahniuk because he's never boring...well...I heard Tell-All is terrible.



I love Palahniuk. With that said Choke was horrible. It was dribble, and didn't really follow any line of thought, and Pygmy was non-sense as well. 

Favorites include Lullaby by Palahniuk, Harry potter (This series really pulled me into reading), Dune, and Journalism written by hunter thompson.


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## Robert_S

I loved "Slaughterhouse Five" so much, I read it in like two days. Also "World War Z" was a quick, engaging read. Lastly, "Moby Dick." It was a very long read and I had to put it down for a break, but I eventually got it done and I actually liked it. The dialog was hard to follow, but the narration was awesome.


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## Anachronomicorn

Some of my favorites include The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault, Shardik by Richard Adams, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle and the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin


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## spartan928

Robert_S said:


> I loved "Slaughterhouse Five" so much, I read it in like two days. Also "World War Z" was a quick, engaging read. Lastly, "Moby Dick." It was a very long read and I had to put it down for a break, but I eventually got it done and I actually liked it. The dialog was hard to follow, but the narration was awesome.



I love Vonnegut. Cat's Cradle is one of my favorites. A Clockwork Orange, The Road, 1984...but my favorites change all the time. Just a few off the top of my head.


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## Skodt

I loved Slaugtherhouse five by Vonnegut. So, of course, I chose to read more from him, and to my displeasure, I was sorely disappointed by Breakfast of Champions. I was quickly turned off by his humor and random rambling. I also dislike, how the fourth wall was broken so much, and how the characters reacted to the situations they found themselves entwined in. Overall, I was really sad about the experience of the book. Maybe someday I will run my fingers through another Kurt book, but it may be awhile yet.


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## Caragula

John Fowles - The Magist
David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas
The Lord of the Rings
Herman Melville - Moby Dick


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## Dave Watson

The Stand - Stephen King
The Beach - Alex Garland
Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Watchers - Dean Koontz
Bane - Joe Donnelly
Talulla Rising - Glen Duncan. Just finished this and it's one of the best books I've read in a long time.


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## Captnq

Paranoia: Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Shot.
The Coming Of The Quantum Cats.
The Forever War (Forever Free kinda sucked)
Ender's Game.


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## Teagan_A

I am a big reader, I should say we are big readers here. My teenage son is a huge reader also. He is homeschooled and we chose to use a literature based curriculum because of our love of books.

A few favorite books of mine; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, ...

I also enjoy these authors; Cleo Coyle, Diane Mott Davidson, Ellery Adams, Joanne Fluke, James Patterson, Tami Hoag, Lisa Gardner, Lorna Barrett (including hers under other pen names), Susan Wiggs, Karen Rose, Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, ...


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## Kirra

My favorite books have, of course, changed over time. 

I've loved Tolkien since I discovered him in fourth grade, and The Three Musketeers gave me great pride when the librarian in fifth grade said that it was the only book she had that was too hard for me to read (it was an elementary school library), and I not only read it but gave her a competent summary. 

Consistent favorites are The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Jamison, One Day in the life of Ivan Denosovich, Fahrenheit 451, almost anything by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, and Samson Agonistes, by Milton. I'm not overly fond of Pamela, but find the anti Pamela (one example is Shamela) movement quite amusing. 

And I know this goes against popular literary thought, but I don't enjoy Jane Austen (I much prefer the Bronte sisters) and I have undying hatred for Charles Dickens. I can appreciate their strengths, and have read many of their works, but I really can't stand them.


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## Apple Ice

Pigletinportugal 

I would recommend "One Day" by David Nicholls. I never usually read anything to do with romance, however, I have never enjoyed a book quite like this one. It's really great


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## PiP

Hi Apple Ice, I've checked it out on Amazon and added to my wish list. Thank you!


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## Apple Ice

No problem, if you do decide to get it then I'm sure you won't be disappointed. There's a film out too but as with most  novel-to-films it's apparently not very good


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## PiP

That's true. I can't understand why some films depart so far from the book


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## Apple Ice

I know, the casting tends to be bad as well. Everyone has their own version of a novel and a film is just making you watch someone else's version


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## Senserial

"Lord of the rings" - Tolkien
"Jane Eyre" - Charlotte Bronte
"Pride and prejudice" - Jane Austin


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## BreakingMyself

The Shane 'Scarecrow' Schofield series by Matthew Reilly.


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## escorial

Cannery Row,Sweet thursday..and The Wayward bus.


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## huntsman

_The Postmistress_


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## KerriFF

Top Ten -in no particular oder, because that's just way too much pressure:

Anna Karenina
The Hours
House of Leaves
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Cosmopolis
Invisible Monsters
Wuthering Heights
The Awakening
Let the Great World Spin
Lolita


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## Alabastrine

I really like Stephen King's son, Joe Hill. I also just finished (late last night...or more like early this morning) an author I had never heard of .... Chelsea Cain. The book was called Heartsick. Really a fun read.


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## Sintalion

The Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkein
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
A Stranger in the Kingdom, by Howard Frank Mosher


There's like 20 more I can't place. These are just a few.


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## Grimball4

At the Mountain of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft


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## Carlton

*In Cold Blood* by Truman Capote 
*The Old Man and the Sea* by Ernest Hemingway 
*The Remains of the Day* by Kazuo Ishiguro 
*Midnight's Children* by Salman Rushdie 
*The Great Gatsby* by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
*The Picture of Dorian Gray* by Oscar Wilde 

...and many, many others.




_


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## Kepharel

My favourite novel is usually the one I am reading at the mo'. Unfortunately I hardly ever read anymore: Maybe one or two books a year if that.  If reading a novel more than once is an indicator then it would have to be Earth Abides by George R Stewart and the Silver Locusts by Ray Bradbury which I have read many times. Otherwise it is just the classics such as Le Morte d'Arthur and The Odyssey. I have read a Stephen King short called The Langoliers a few times too. Good news is I have ordered a book from Amazon for just a pittance which I am waiting to arrive called Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiadis.  I haven't a clue about it other than the blurb so it will be easy to put down if I'm disappointed. but I could be pleasantly surprised.


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## bunnybun

Lol are there no George R. R. Martin fans in this forum, lol? 

Anyway, my favourites:

Dune by Frank Herbert
A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
The Succession Royal by Maurice Druon
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah


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## JustRob

If I had a favourite novel then based on Oscar Wilde's observation I would have read it more than once, but I don't recollect reading any novel more than once although I do harbour intentions in respect of some which so far I've not fulfilled. Maybe I just haven't read my favourite novel at all yet. One day I'll find it. I don't have a scale against which to rate the rest.


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## midnightpoet

If it isn't by Poe, Doyle, Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald, Connolly, Leonard, Silva, or the like, I probably haven't read it.  However, since I've been on this site I have been branching out into other genres.  Historical fiction/fantasy intrigues me the most.  Favorite?  Probably the Maltese Falcon.


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## RJ_Parnell

If I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to say The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.  It was interesting to read something that what written over the span of so many years, and tied into so many other stories.


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## musichal

A Tale of Two Cities
White Fang
The Sea Wolf
Jane Eyre
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Gulag Archipelago 
...Huckleberry Finn
Red October
The Onion Field
Hobbit & LOTR

I could keep going, so many favorites, the list would likely differ an hour from now


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## Dave Billig

The entire _Dune_ series by Frank Herbert (Especially books 1-3)
_The Road_ by Cormac McCarthy
_We Did Porn_ by Zak Smith
_Blankets_ by Craig Thompson (graphic novel)

Any list like this and I know I'm forgetting something


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## Bard_Daniel

Bluebeard (Kurt Vonnegut)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Steppenwolf (Hermann Hesse)
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man (James Joyce)
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
Night (Elie Wiesel)
The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
The Magic Mountain (Thomas Mann)
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon)

To name a few....


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## Este

Worth Dying For by Lee Child, The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter, All the Pretty Girls by JT Ellison and XO by Jeffery Deaver, and I've read all of Lee Child's books at least once, as well


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## Este

Sorry about how I've just written the above. I don't know why it's done that. (Ignore this, I've just edited it so it looks good now)


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## Lewdog

I really enjoyed reading Patricia Cornwell's series of books about her heroine Kay Scarpetta.  It seemed like there was no case she couldn't solve or anything she couldn't do.


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## Mesafalcon

Caragula said:


> The Lord of the Rings
> Herman Melville - Moby Dick



Ya, was gonna say these. I do need to read more lol.


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## playerpiano

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Slaughter House Five Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Night by Ellie Weisell


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## Bishop

Planet of the Damned, by Harry Harrison, and Starship Troopers, by Robert A Heinlein. The former is the most entertaining book I've ever read, and the latter truly changed my outlook on civil service, and what it means to be a responsible adult in modern society. I actually attribute nearly all of my corporate success to the personal responsibility and work ethic I gained because of taking a hard look at myself after reading about Rico's transformation from bumbling teen to hardened leader.


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## Schrody

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, His Dark Materials Trilogy, Perfume, Trainspotting, Silence of the Lambs... I won't mention my other, non-fiction favorite books!


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## LeeC

"_How does it come about that certain souls can never find peace, either on the heights, on the surface of the earth, or in the depths of the ocean?_"  ~  Halldór Laxness

No single favorites, but finding more than enough to contemplate in the reality of life, one book I enjoyed is "Where Does the Wild Goose Go?" by Willem Lange. It's a collection of fifteen humanistic short stories ranging in topics, among them an insightful hunting piece entitled "The Three Bears" and a seriously humorous piece entitled "A Damyankee in Texas." 

"_Life is rather like opening a tin of sardines: We're all of us looking for the key._"  ~  Beyond the Fringe


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## LeeC

Another exceptional writer:


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## Patrick

I feel I should drop this admission like a public fart, moving swiftly away from it. However, much like a fart, I suspect it will follow me around in the trousers, so to speak. But I can't run afterwards without first offering an explanation.

It's Ulysses by James Joyce.

When I was a child struggling to understand my grandmother's copy of Ulysses, I hated James Joyce and Ulysses. But no novel (and no author for that matter) has managed to so consistently intrigue me over the years. There are many novels I have enjoyed more at one particular time or another, but, with the possible exception of Tolkien's LOTR, I don't return to any of them. Once I've read a novel, that's it; it has now reached its nadir. Ulysses is the only one I return to, and the more I do, the more I think it's brilliant. This is true even though I have a lot of ambivalence about stream of consciousness and constant self-conscious literary referencing. 

I am aware it's difficult for first-time readers, and I think it's a novel that requires a lot of prior reading on behalf of the reader. Being a fan of Homer, Shakespeare, and having an extensive knowledge of the Bible, is a *must* for a true appreciation of each of Joyce's 18 episodes in Ulysses. It isn't a chaotic book or a practical joke as some have suggested; it is an incredible portmanteau of different literary styles with a simply enormous vocabulary that is flexed to lyrical effect at every possible opportunity. To say it's experimental is an understatement; I think it's probably furlongs ahead of contemporary literature, and it's that conviction which has influenced my own stylistic undertakings more than any other novel. I think my love (not ignoring my frustration at times) for Ulysses might just be because I didn't have to study it at University. 

I don't think it's a book for most undergraduates or for those opsimaths who are not equipped with the necessary literary culture. It's one thing to read a scholar's notes on Ulysses (something I rarely do) and another entirely to see, and therefore appreciate, the parallels to the Bible, Homer and Shakespeare (and the many others) for oneself.

It's ironic that a book I hated as a child and returned to later in life has had such a positive influence on me. So read it, hate it, and return to it. It's worth it.


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## Stone Angel

The Black Angel by John Connolly - The Unquiet by John Connolly - everything by John Connolly but, him alone, as i didn't get on with something he had co-written a little while back. 

Also Classic Nora Roberts and Susan Lewis. 

Have a massive love for Kane And Abel by Jeffrey Archer. 

And if I popped up to my bookcase i'd find a load i'd forgotten.


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## The Fantastical

Oh I can't choose... But if I was to just name the ones that I have re-read the most...

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

The Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett

The Tamuli by David Eddings

The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings

Dirk Gently series by Douglas Adams

Just to name a few


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## sas

Clan of the Cave Bear.  I say it's about the first feminist! 

My 13 year old Granddaughter loved it, I thought it would be too difficult. Bought her series for Hedonismas.


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## Olly Buckle

I read mostly non-fiction nwadays, but
The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, by Louis de Bernier. 
It is the first of a trilogy, but the other two almost seem redundant. Everything is in there, pathos, love, hate, cunning, all those things that make up humans, plus it is extremely funny in places. I have tried others of his, but none have touched this so far.

 Robert Seethaler's 'A Whole Life' comes a close second, it is just so beautifully written.


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## Roac

I can’t stop thinking about The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein and just how good it is. At least for me, it took a bit to get into it and then I just could not put it down.


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## Garvan

Oh so many, I just love books! 

Corean Chronicles - L.E.Modesitt J.R.

Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny

The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox - Barry Hughart

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein

Phule's Company series by Robert Asprin

Leaphorn & Chee series by Tony Hillerman

Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis

Duncton Chronicles series by William Horwood


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## Olly Buckle

Good to see Heinlein mentioned in two consecutive posts, not sure if I have read either of those, but 'Stranger in a strange land' was excellent as I remember. There was another, a tome, that was about people who had been exiled to the moon returning some generations later, can't remember the title, but I am pretty sure it was him.


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## Roac

Olly Buckle said:


> Good to see Heinlein mentioned in two consecutive posts, not sure if I have read either of those, but 'Stranger in a strange land' was excellent as I remember. There was another, a tome, that was about people who had been exiled to the moon returning some generations later, can't remember the title, but I am pretty sure it was him.



You could be referring to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It revolves around the lunar colony revolting against the Earth.

Highly recommended.


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## rayhensley

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Misery. Someone should combine the two, lol.


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## Amnesiac

All of Tim Dorsey's novels
"The Onion Girl," by Charles De Lint
"The Book Thief"
Clive Clevenger's, "The Contortionist's Handbook" 
Everything by Ray Bradbury
"A Rose For Emily"
"The Tell Tale Heart" and really, anything by Poe
"Burning Chrome," "Virtual Light," "Johnny Mnemonic," and "All Tomorrow's Parties," by William Gibson
"Snowcrash"
"Market Forces," by Richard K. Morgan
"Flowers For Algernon"
"The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein"
"Frankenstein"
"Moby Dick"
"Ender's Game"
"Like A Charm," by Karin Slaughter
"The Monsters of Grammercy Park"
"Never Let Me Go"
"The Hardboiled Wonderland And The End of the World"
"A Wild Sheep Chase"
"Remains of the Day"
Anything and everything about Van Gogh
"Handbook To Higher Consciousness"
"Illusions"
Just about anything by Chuck Palahniuk
Paper Towns by John Green
Just about anything by Hunter S. Thompson

Jeez....... There are probably hundreds more...


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## munro6451320

My Favourite novel is douluo dalu and I read all the chapters of douluo dalu novel online. This is one of the best novel.


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## willowarc

It is a bit of an iceberg but rather an enjoyable read none the less. The Otherland books by Tad Williams are great. I think the 4 books together surpass ~5000-6000 pages. They go in the order: City of Golden Shadow, River of Blue Fire, Mountain of Black Glass and Sea of Silver Light. It took me a few weeks to get through all 4 books, but as I stated it was well written and I enjoyed it.


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## Olly Buckle

"Iceberg" reminded me of "Miss Smilla's feeling for snow" by Peter Hoeg. That was good.


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## Aquarelle

_The Mists of Avalon - _Marion Zimmer Bradley (though it is necessary for me to separate the art from the artist on this one)
_The Night Circus _- Erin Morgenstern
_The Name of the Wind _and _The Wise Man's Fear _- Patrick Rothfuss
All the Harry Potter books, but especially _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Anathem_ and _Seveneves_ - Neal Stephenson
and my all time favorite of all time... _The Catcher in the Rye - _JD Salinger


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## Bard_Daniel

I love topics like these! 

I'm going through my Goodreads to remember, but I'll list off anyway! 

The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton
The Crying of Lot 49- Thomas Pynchon
A Scanner Darkly- Philip K. Dick
Detective Story- Imre Kertész
The Journey to the East- Hermann Hesse
Middlesex- Jeffrey Eugenides
Slaughterhouse-Five- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Under the Volcano- Malcolm Lowry
The Stand- Stephen King
The Day of the Jackal- Frederick Forsyth
A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana- Umberto Eco
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde
The Big Sleep- Raymond Chandler
Mother Night- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
American Gods- Neil Gaiman
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold- John le Carré
Cup of Gold- John Steinbeck
The Sound and the Fury- William Faulkner
Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- Ken Kesey
Red Harvest- Dashiell Hammet
Animal Farm- Geroge Orwell
Atonement- Ian McEwan
Dog Soldiers- Robert Stone
Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead- Orson Scott Card
Steppenwolf- Hermann Hesse
Nicholas Nickleby- Charles Dickens
The Island of Doctor Moreau- H.G. Wells
The Old Man and the Sea- Ernest Hemingway
The Giver- Lois Lowry
East of Eden- John Steinbeck
Gorky Park- Martin Cruz Smith
Great Expectations- Charles Dickens
All the Light We Cannot See- Anthony Doerr
Narcissus and Goldmund- Hermann Hesse
The Dead Zone- Stephen King
Lord of the Flies- William Golding
Captain Corelli's Mandolin- Louis de Bernières
Battle Royale- Koushun Takami
All the King's Men- Robert Penn Warren
Candide- Voltaire
Tortilla Flat- John Steinbeck
Breakfast of Champions- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
Darkness at Noon- Arthur Koestler
It- Stephen King
1984- George Orwell
The Book Thief- Markus Zusak
The Master and Margarita- Mikhail Bulgakov
Invisible Man- Ralph Ellison
The Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck
The Glass Bead Game- Hermann Hesse
The Trial- Franz Kafka
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?- Philip K. Dick
The Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Saligner
Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens
Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson
Catch-22- Joseph Heller
A Christmas Carol- Charles Dickens
Les Misérables- Victor Hugo
Shantaram- Gregory David Roberts
The Call of the Wild- Jack London
To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man- James Joyce
Freedom- Jonathan Franzen
The Magic Mountain- Thomas Mann
Night- Elie Wiesel
Flowers for Algernon- Daniel Keyes
Gone With the Wind- Margaret Mitchell
The Sun Also Rises- Ernest Hemingway
Suite Française- Irène Némirovsky
Dune- Frank Herbert
Bluebeard- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Dream Story- Arthur Schnitzler
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time- Mark Haddon
A Farewell to Arms- Ernest Hemingway
The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
The Interrogation- J.M.G le Clézio
The White Castle- Orhan Pamuk
Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
Siddhartha- Hermann Hesse
Ubik- Philip K. Dick

And those are just my super favorites!


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## MzSnowleopard

Squeaks in with Tad Williams _Tailchasers Song_


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