List down your favorite books of all-time!

[Aragorn]

I love books...and I'm always out to read more. I'm sure everyone's got a couple of favorite books they'd keep for their kids, or even their grandchildren to read. List them down!

You can include fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, comic books, graphic novels, humor, anthologies, or inspirational novels.

[babyfat]

Great topic, Aragorn! Here are some of my favorite books: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984, which is also very good); Animal Farm by Orwell, which makes the hairs on my arms, neck and back stand on end every time I read it; Alice in Wonderland; Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I also like reading anthologies -- my favorites are Story by Rofel Brion, and Forbidden Fruit: Women Wrote the Erotic (various authors). I also collect children's books. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a classic -- I believe children's books don't get much better than that. Some are touching ("I Love You Forever"); some are just plain funny ("The Cat in the Hat"). If you read a good children's book, you'll be surprised how profound it can be, how relevant its message is, and how moving. Little Blue & Little Yellow is one example -- it will at first seem to be a story about primary colors, but as you turn the pages you'll see how it touches on racial discrimination. I also love, love, love Roald Dahl's "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" and "Witches." Happy Reading!!!

[Aragorn]

Those are some very interesting books...I've heard of Margaret Atwood, but I never knew her type of writing. Reminiscent of 1984, huh? Sige, I'll pick it up one of these days.

Also, I agree with you wholeheartedly on children's books. Some other Silverstein classics for me are: The Missing Piece, and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. To those of you looking for that special someone, these books will give you a fresh new perspective.

I love The Cat in the Hat! But my personal Seuss favorite is Oh, The Places You'll Go! partially because it was read to us in 1st year college math class by our teacher, right after a horrible mid-term exam.

Regarding Roald Dahl, I suggest you pick up his autobiography, Boy (there's a sequel to that, but the title escapes me). It's about his life, but you'd wonder if he wasn't really Charlie under another name! =)

Come on, guys, keep those lists comin'!

[batang uliran]

Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tokien.
Dune Trilogy - didn't really care for the ones that came after. By Frank Herbert.
Foundation Trilogy by Aasimov
Ringworld by Heinlein.
Anything by John Le Carre

As you can tell, my interest in Sci-Fi is obvious.

[Mavi]

These are my favorites:

Guess How Much I Love You
I Love You Forever
My co-teachers made up a tune for the mother's lullaby. Our kids just love it when we sing it to them!
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Heart That Followed Me Home
This is too abstract for my 5 yr olds to grasp, still it is very nice. Each time the boy would do a good deed, his pet heart would grow bigger. This was written by a Filipino.

Faery Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol
I loved to solve his cases.
Amelia Bedelia series by Peggy Parish
Funny, funny, funny!
A Bear called Paddington by Michael Bond
I have never met such a polite bear in my life!
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
The Cow-Tail Switch a West African Folk Tale
The Velveteen Rabbitby Margery Williams

These books have more than 10 pages and buying them for my library would be worth it. Sana in the future, someone could put up a children's library where parents (along with their children) may borrow books to read to their children before they go to bed. Can you imagine having to buy one book for every night you read to them? I'd like to buy them for my own but like babyfat said, children's books can be very expensive. I suppose it's because they're hardbound.

[nix]

I enjoy all the writings of Raymond Feist, especially the Magician series. I also like the works of Leo Tolstoy a whole lot, especially his short stories.

[Aragorn]

Batang Uliran:
try out The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, by Stephen R. Donaldson. Great trilogy, somewhat reminiscent of Tolkien's original work, but more focused on the individual's struggles.

also, I heavily recommend getting Twilight Zone Complete stories, written by the one and only Rod Sterling, who wrote and directed the original tv series, while you're in the states. It's very entertaining, and perturbing reading. One of my personal favorites.

[Aragorn]

You know, in the States, Barnes and Noble actually allow their customers to browse through the collection.

Also, they've got a non-profit foundation that donates children's books to public schools and to parents. sayang nga...

But locally, I think our local publishers are coming out with very good works, both in terms of art and paper, and story. They're cheaper, too. But you're right about imported children's books. My three Shel Silverstein books cost me over P1,200! Ouch!

[babyfat]

Mavi, you're a preschool teacher? You should take your "kids" to the Kids' Lib in Q.C. It sells childrens' books, but it also encourages browsing. You can stay there the whole day and I don't think you'd be pressured by the storekeepers into buying a book. It's owned by Felix Migel and Amel Zubiri, themselves children's book authors. I haven't been there, but I tool a class called "Writing & Illustrating for Children" and our teacher, writer Jose Badelles, couldn't stop talking about the place.

[ChiQui]

I read "Little Women" when I was younger and even until now, I don't mind reading it over and over. It's the type of book that you can't seem to get enough of.

I also like reading "Chicken Soup for the Soul". There are many enlightening stories that either make you think about you life or make you feel good about it. :)

[Genevieve]

my fave book is THE FIRM by John Grisham, actually any books by him is a good one, its like once you start reading it, u cant seem to stop till u finish it Ü

[Ada]

Aragorn: Margaret Atwood is a sci-fi writer. I think Handmaid's Tale is her most popular work. I have a copy which you can borrow if you want.

The books I love:

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude and Chronicle of a Death Foretold -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2. Star of Acabar -- Og Mandino

3. To Kill A Mockingbird -- Harper Lee

4. Catcher in the Rye -- JD Salinger

5. 1984 -- George Orwell

6. The Sands of Time -- Sidney Sheldon

7. Doctors -- Erich Segal

8. It -- Stephen King

9. Butcher's Theater -- Jonathan Kellerman

10. I Kissed Dating Goodbye -- Joshua Harris

As a kid, I loved Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Sweet Valley High, and Childcraft.

[Ada]

I was in Powerbooks recently and was looking for a good suspense/thriller novel. I left empty handed because I was overwhelmed by the number of authors I had to choose from (all of them were unfamiliar to me.) Any suggestions?

[Aragorn]

Suspense-thriller, eh?

Try these:
anything by Mary Higgins Clark - she specializes in mystery-type stories, but definitely more unpredictable and more psychologically detailed than Perry Mason books.

You can also pick up "Thinner" by Stephen King, if there are any reprints out. They turned it into a movie about 8 years ago.

How about Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead"? It's a very good, absorbing plot, with the same kind of suspense as "Congo".

A classic would be "Firestarter" by Stephen King also...I loved the movie, and I loved the book!

If you're into the surreal, see if Powerbooks already has Neil Gaiman's first novel, "Neverwhere". It's about this guy who accidentally gets stuck in London's "underground" (literally) society. Very good reading.

[Ada]

Hi Aragorn!

Any specific title from Mary Higgins Clark? I recently finished her Remember Me and I didn't quite like it. Too choppy.

You're right about Thinner . It's one of King's better books.

I'll try to see if I can get a hold of Gaiman and Crichton's books.

[Mikoid]

Aragorn,

I have to agree with you on the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. It's brilliantly written with some of the most vivid descriptions of a fantasy world I've ever encountered! It's damned depressing but it makes the end even more triumphant!

Don't read the Second Chronicles, though. It's hopelessly morbid depression without the triumph.

Which reminds me, don't I have a falling-apart copy of Book 2: The Illearth War still with you?

A good pulp swords-and-sorcery set is Feist's Riftwar saga, particularly the first two books Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. It's like reading a game of Might and Magic (or is it the other way around???).

I've got a collection of the entire Sandman cycle, and since I classify it as literature, I'll recommend it to anyone. The way Gaiman binds mythologies together into a profound story is uttterly amazing (see, I even used three T's)!

The best Sandman books: Season of Mists, Brief Lives, and The Wake. The best single issues: Ramadan, The 2nd to the Last Issue with the Chinese Art, and The Sound of Her Wings.

Other favorites: James Clavell's Shogun, for his take on feudal Jap culture. Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, for brilliant discussions and a sweeping tale of future history, er, psychohistory. William Gibson's Neuromancer, because he was on-line before anyone else. Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, for bringing us the One True Dark Knight. Carl Sagan's Contact, for teaching us to dream like the ants.

- Mikoid


"By dipping them in myth, we see them more clearly." - CS Lewis

[babyfat]

Ada: Try "The Green Mile" (in 6 parts) and "Different Seasons" (which has one story for every season, including the more well-known "Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption") both by Stephen King.

Hmmm... "The Handmaid's Tale" is supposed to be... sci-fi? Never really saw it that way, although it does look into some very frightening possibilities for the future...

[batang uliran]

babyfat:

Stephen King's The Green Mile is about to come to the widescreen starring Tom Hanks and it's supposed to be one of the hottest upcoming movies.

[Ada]

Hi Babyfat!

I've read "Different Seasons" and enjoyed "The Shawshank Redemption" eventhough it wasn't Stephen King-ish in nature. I couldn't even believe that "Stand By Me" was based on one of his works.

Yeah, "Handmaid's Tale" is supposedly sci-fi. It was one of the required readings in a sci-fi lit class I took.

[faura]

When I saw the topic I was hoping to find suggested Filipino reading fare, or at least a listing of notable books/novels by Filipino authors. Perhaps someone can start with that (or should that be done under another topic -- well, this IS "Pinoy Culture"). It may sound out of place, but let me just throw in this title by Jun Cruz Reyes:

Tutubi, Tutubi, Huwag Pahuhuli sa Mamang May Bigote


(Apologies if the title is not entirely accurate. It is a long one, I do not have a copy onhand, and I am digging (deep) into memory.)


[This message has been edited by faura (edited 08-20-1999).]

[Ada]

For books written by local authors, my picks would be:

Gapo
Dekada '70
Luha ng Buwaya

[Aragorn]

faura:
some of my favorite filipino books:

canal dela reina
bata, bata, paano ka ginawa?
ginto sa makiling
gapo ( i agree with Ada!)

Plus, Quijano de Manila's writings are always a great favorite. Also, try Butch Dalisay's anthologies. Very human, very moving, very Filipino, despite being written in English.

[Jacob]

Ada: Try reading Michael Connelly's books. Easy reading kasi mabilis ang pacing and Connelly knows how to keep things interesting. He's a former journalist kaya alam niya ang conventions ng mystery/thriller genre tapos nilalaro niya ito. May mga nakakatawang mga side comments about life in LA. Unexpected ang mga twists sa ending. The books include Black Echo, Black Ice, Concrete Blonde, Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight, The Poet, and Blood Work

Another book to read on the suspense thriller side is Hellfire Club by Peter Straub. I'm still reading it pero what I can tell it's a part serial killer/part puzzle. Nanghostage yung serial killer para lang malaman niya ang mga mysteries behind his favorite fantasy novel. Gagawin movie daw ito starring Ewan McGregor.

[emilie]

Chiqui, "Little Women" is also one of my all-time favorites. I also LOVE "Anne of Green Gables". Anyone read it? Some other books I like are by Eric Segal, Robert Fulghum, Terry Brooks, Iris Johansen (suspense), Richard Carlson (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff series), Joseph Galdon's The Mustard Seed...actually there are too many. I love reading all kinds of books and the list could go on and on...Locally, a couple of favorites are Dekada '70 and Without Seeing the Dawn. Almost forgot -- in comics, I love "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Cathy"!

[This message has been edited by emilie (edited 08-21-1999).]

[Aragorn]

emilie: believe it or not, Little Women is one of my all time favorites, and I liked Anne of Green Gable a lot...especially the part about friendship.

Fr. Galdon's 'The Mustard Seed' is great reading, and it's perfect for daily reflections. Actually, in a sense, so is Calvin and Hobbes.

[Ada]

Jacob: Took your advice and bought "Hellfire Club." I'll read it after I finish with the novel I'm currently reading.

Emilie: Any particular book from Iris Johansen?

[glass house]

Catcher in the Rye -- JD Salinger
The Celestine Prophecy -- James Redfield (EVERYBODY SHOULD READ THIS!!!)
The Little Prince -- Saint Exupery
The Twelfth Angel -- Og Mandino

[emilie]

nothing in particular by iris j...just like reading her books in general. i also like reading inspirational books like chicken soup, small miracles, book of virtues, don't sweat the small stuff.

[glass house]

emilie...
Want another inspirational book to add to your list? Read "Conversations with God" Hope you like it. And I highly recommend "The Celestine Prophecy".

[sionell]

aragorn and batang uliran and other sci-fi readers....

have you tried Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy? if not, do read it. its romance, adventure, magic all rolled into one. sad part is i lost the first book. huhuhu!! so calling all bookworms if you find this book just email me!! i've been looking for it eversince i lost the book.

i agree with you ada! Stephen King's IT scared the hell out of me! i often catch myself looking at stormdrains loking for a pair of eyes and those orange pompom buttons!! jeez! creepy aint it? Try reading Needful Things and 'Salems Lot both are really good and nice to read when you're alone at night. harharhar.

[Ada]

Hello Sionell!

"Needful Things" was okay except for the ending. I found it too simple and unexciting.

Have you read "Amityville"? That's the scariest book I've read so far. I had to sleep with the lights on and with my windows closed for about a week. It was that scary.

[Aragorn]

Ada: Amityville really scared the pants off me! (not literally, of course!)

Sionell: The Dragon Prince trilogy, huh? Are the books available locally? I wouldn't want to buy the first book only to find out the next two can't be found...I had a hard time with that while reading the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. A friend and I had to scour every Book Sale shop in Manila (separately, too!)

By the way, Ada: Tuloy ba ang EB sa September 11? Which Gerry's grill? What time? Nix and I (with a couple of others) will be able to make it.

[batang uliran]

Was able to snag a Dragon Prince trilogy on Ebay for about $8 total including shipping (used of course). I am going to send payment now and should get the books in about 1 to 2 weeks. Will let you know once I have read it.

[don]

My favorite reading material:

1. Anything by Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth, Michael Crichton, and John Grisham.

2. Kingdom Come and Marvels.

3. Encyclopedia Brittanica (how embarrassing!)

4. Intermediate Accounting 12th Edition by Smith and Skousen.

5. Pugad Baboy collected editions.

By the way, Ada, I'm baaaack! How's it feel to be a Moderator? You get your free car now?

[Ada]

Aragorn: It's great to know that I wasn't the only one who got one heck of a scare from Amityville. Do you know where I can get a copy of that book? I just borrowed the one I read and it was bought from a booksale.

Re the EB: I thought you said the 18th? I guess we can have it on the 11th if that's more convenient for most. I can't promise I'll be there, though, since I already have plans for that day. :( Quick! Post an EB topic in the UAAP forum lest we be accused of announcing it at the last minute again.

Don: Welcome back, so what did you bring us? ;) Car? I finally got that VTEC-leta I always wanted. <;lmao>;

[Ada]

Hey Don, I forgot to ask, what kind of books does Forsyth write? Same genre as Clancy?

[Ada]

Aragorn (Again! Jeez, I'm getting old):

How about Gerry's Timog, say 9 pm? But if you prefer Makati, no problem. Pick whichever location will have people coming in hordes. :D

[Mister Dean]

Have you guys heard of Rohinton Mistry? He's an excellent Indian contemporary fictionist first recommended to me by Paul Go of Ateneo. Fantastic book, "A Fine Balance," available at all National Bookstore outlets. If you want to check out current Indian fiction, I highly recommend Mistry.
Also, for the pop fictionist, Robin Cook is pretty good. Found out the other day that Lea Salonga reads him, so that should normally be a plus, but then again, that could also be taken as a minus, depending on how you see Salonga.
Classic-wise, try Gustave Flaubert's novelette, "A Simple Heart (Un Couer Simple)." Any translation will do, but there's a dog-eared, yellow-paged version in the Ateneo Library that sent me to tears.
BTW, Aragorn, can't the EB be held sometime or someplace else? I'd love to go, but I've got a Watering Hole gig on that day! :( Plus, aren't nix and you going to get the dating saturday nite group together for some september celebrations, ahem? email me, please.

[don]

Hi, Ada! Yep, Forsyth writes spy stuff too, but I prefer him over Clancy. His books are about half as thick as Clancy's, with more exciting plot twists and surprises, so you can read them in half the time. But Clancy has the edge in coming up with overall plots, I think.

I stayed home for the past two weeks, catching up on sleep, TV, going to the dentist, exciting stuff like that. So walang pasalubong :( >;sniff!<;.

VTECleta? Hindi ba BM... BMX? (Isang libo, isang tuwa...)

Talk to you later...

[Aragorn]

Ada: What about hosting the EB on September 25? Just checking. We can stick with the 11th if you want. I can't go on the 18th, because uhm...well, it's my special day, if you know what I mean.

Gerry's Grill Timog.

[Ada]

Don: Thanks for the info on Forsyth. I'll see if I can grab a hold of his books. Good thing there's a month-long sale in National Bookstore (Shangri-La).

So, you took a break from everything eh? And I thought you went away to some far-off exotic place where the internet was unheard of. ;)

Aragorn: Great! Let's have the EB on the 25th then. Your special day is on the 18th? Eh di may manlilibre na sa EB niyan? ;)

[don]

Hello, Ada! Just saw your post. Yay! The annual National Bookstore sale is on!

I like all of Forsyth's books, but if you're book-hunting on a budget (which I doubt, since you're now raking in the mega-bucks from being a moderator), I recommend the following (in order of preference):
1.) ICON
2.) The Deceiver
3.) The Negotiator
4.) No Comebacks
5.) The Fourth Protocol

Hope this helps. Happy reading!

[sionell]

ada: amityville?? i saw the movie but i did not get to finish it. ayaw ko!! was too scared! :) i think i still dont have the guts to finish that movie.

batang uliran: wow! buti ka pa! you'll have a complete set of the book. the book has another trilogy its called The Star Scroll, its good but i like the first trilogy

aragorn: the book was available here mga 4 years ago... tagal na no? was able to see a complete set in a bookshop in megamall 2 years ago kaso when i went back for it, the book was already sold sayang!

don: tama ka jan! the annual sale of National bookstore is here!! yey!

[Ada]

Don: Yaiks, you actually think I'm getting paid to become a moderator? Nopey. I just got the title and loads of fun. ;)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll drop by the Shang next week to look for the books you mentioned.

Sionell: The movie doesn't even compare to how scary the book is! Grab a copy of the book but read it during the daytime. It'll help somewhat.

[Aragorn]

Hey guys! I just got a certificate for power books, and I think I'll spend it on Hannibal! Woo-hoo! I'll finally get to read it!

By the way, Ada, I'll keep my eye open for Amityville the book...If I see it, I'll pick up a copy for you.

Sionell: thanks for the info on the trilogy! I'll make sure to keep my eyes peeled.

See you all at the EB this Saturday, Gerry's Grill Timog, 8pm! I'll be wearing my Beatles cap, and nix will leave word with the manager.

[benz]

I don't read books much coz I get sleepy most of the time. However, the books I remember (and LOVE) the most were by Dr. Seuss. They are just so light on the heart, you can't hate them. (e.g. Green Eggs & Ham, The Cat in the Hat)

On the serious side, Mario Puzo's "Godfather" just kept me awake night-in-&-night out. It's something else. The passion...



[This message has been edited by benz (edited 09-09-1999).]

[flyderman]

Mikoid: I'm really fascinated with those Neil Gaiman Sandman comics! However, I could not find a good store to buy it from, and whenever I do, the comic costs A LOT of bucks. Anyway, I'll be getting a copy however so if there are really no alternatives, could you suggest what book I should get first? Should I buy the first Sandman comic or proceed immediately to the best one there is? please help...

The most recent thing I read (and loved) is "Focault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco. A really stimulating read. Another book (which I still have to finish) is H P Lovecraft's collection of short stories entitled "Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and The Macabre". Some stories seem a little old-fashioned and unmoving, but some I really found deeply dark and eerie(ie Call of Cthulu, Whisperer in the Darkness). I am currently looking for Lovecraft's "The Road To Madness" which deals more with psycho-horror (which seems more appealing).

There's another book I am interested in. It's called "Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare" by Michael Hoffman II (I think). It's sort of a conspiracies book, and if anyone read it (or even found a copy) and still lives to tell, please do tell me! Thanks!

[blair mitch]

I'm checking this PEx thing and it seems pretty interesting.
I love books and here are some of my favorites (definitely worth your while if you're a lit buff):
Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel
Garcia Marquez
Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan
Kundera
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

[Mikoid]

Flyderman: You're right, the Sandman books aren't cheap! I had to save and scrimp, and the funny thing was that I bought most of my collection in National Bookstore Subic, where they were selling trade paperbacks for P400/copy.

I suggest starting on the book that got me hooked, "Season of Mists". However, the events that unfold there are around midway through the series, so if you want to start from the beginning, you'll need to get "Preludes and Nocturnes." I read Seasons first, and then read the rest sequentially starting with Preludes.

[applecider]

im not sure if any of you have suggested this book already but trust me on this one, every person whom i gave this book to as a present, or even those who bought it coz i told them to, loved it. they absolutely loved it. its THE ALCHEMIST by PAULO COEHLO, im not sure bout the authors name...looks like i spelled it wrong. but trust me, this book is fabuluous. its about reaching your dreams in life

[§ínned™]

...Paulo Coelho.

§inned™

[doink]

mine would be the shining by stephen king, no one beats the master of thriller....

[PurpleRain]

Here are my picks:

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks
The Partner - John Grisham
It Had to Be You - Susan Elizabeth Philipps
Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman- Kaye Gibbons
Come Together - Lloyd and Reese
Doctors and LoveStory - Erich Segal
Chicken Soup for the Soul Series

I love these books coz I learn something from them and their stories/characters inspire me.

[Assassin_Mage]

hello ppl..
am new here..

nway, I liked Mike Gayle's
"my legendary Girlfriend" a lot.. although it did strike a bit too close to home.

i also like a bit of fantasy and in that category, I really love Stephen Donaldson's
"Unbeliever Series". Which portrays the perfect anti-hero I have ever seen.

In the SF section, I liked Azimov's Foundation series. One of the classic one's but it does leave you a bit wanting more.. since Azimov died without getting out another book on it..

Used to like Sidney sheldon but that was way back when I was in high school.. had to read something :)

Now I go more for the Dry sarcastic wit..

[JDELEON]

Slightly off topic... but isn't CATCHER IN THE RYE the book all these assassins read. =)

(before the movie with Mel Gibson, Will Smith played a young man posing as Sidney Pointier's son and he had a brilliant discussion on Salinger)

Hehehe.

May Angels smile upon you,
Joe

[Isolde]

Guy Gavriel Kay for me is excellent. Just wanted to share that. Song for Arbonne, Tigana, and the Fionavar Trilogy. Gives you a feel of European history set in fantasy.

For a real mind-blower, read The Descent by Jeff Long. I don't think it's easy to find, but if you can, oh my god. Really creepy. I thought about it for months after I finished it.

[Mikoid]

Assassin_Mage: you're right, Donaldson's "Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" had a main character who was the perfect, perfect anti-hero. I loved his dry one-liners during his battles with his arch-enemy!

Don't read the Second Chronicles, though, they just can't hold a candle to the original series.

[BabyFATS]

1. The Rosary by Florence Barclay
2. The Greatest Salesman in the World 1 and 2, and The Greatest Mystery in the World and Return of the Ragpicker by Og Mandino
3. Living, Loving and Learning by Leo Buscaglia
4. Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus
5. Love Song by Joyce McGill

Ada: Gift of Acabar po pala yon... [delayed reaction :o ]


[This message has been edited by BabyFATS (edited 04-22-2000).]

[DocAbby]

I can't agree more with babyfat and Aragorn regarding children's books. Can't help but love them! In addition to I Love You Forever and Silverstein's books, The Velveteen Rabbit tops my list of favorites.It can really say so much in such a simple story.

Hey glass house, I've read the Celestine Prophecy as well but it was like eons ago. I have a copy of The Tenth Insight (the sequel to Celestine) but I have yet to start reading it.

[slurbrun]

My favorites:

1. "The Little Prince" (basic bible ko) by Saint-Exupery
2. "Letters to a Young Poet" (it saw me through difficult times) by Rainier Maria Rilke
3. One Hundred Years of Solitude (it blew me off) by Marquez
4. Stranger in a Strangeland (love ko na talaga si Heinlein after reading this book. My first Heinlein was a story called "Children of the Cosmos")by Robert Heinlein
5. Omen (aliw lang)by Gaiman and Prachett
6. The Vampire Chronicles (during my vampiric days) by Rice

[Mister Dean]

I'm with sinned on this one. Paulo Coelho is nothing short of genius. "The Alchemist" is one book that should not be missed.

[Noel Vera]

Favorite books--which can change, and which doesn't mean I think they're the greatest, just the ones I happen to like at the moment:

The Arabian Nights, transl. by Sir Richard Burton

A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter Miller

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

Jude the Obscure, Thomas Hardy

The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. ****

Maus, Art Spiegelman

Nausicaa, of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki

The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

Pilgrim to the West (don't remember the author's name)

The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene

Starmaker, Olaf Stapledon

The stories of Jorge Luis Borges

Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

[Dusted]

Ray Bradbury Farenheit 451
Scott Adams The Dilbert principle
Douglas Coupland Microsefs
Stephen King The Stand

[eponine07]

oh, gosh...a lot....

gone with the wind

dekada `70

noli me tangere

little women

city of joy & beyond love (dominique lapierre)

... there are more, but i can't see my bookcase from where i sit....

[brownstone54]

My all time favorite books are...
The Girl's Guide for Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Banks
About a Boy - Nick Hornby
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
Ecstacy - Irvin Welsch
Trainspotting - Irvin Welsch

[j_o_e_i]

THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks :~(

:angel:

[25stars]

some of my favorite books..

1. Little Prince- Saint Exupery :crazy:

2. Diary of Anne Frank :girl:

3. Chicken Soup for the Soul Series :angel:

4. Youngblood Compilation( unfortunately, I only have the 2.0 version, any idea where can I buy the first edition? :D

5. An Invitation- Oriah Mariah Dreamer ( i really love this book, very inspiring, highly recommended!) :angel:

[Darci]

got hooked with books only this year:
so far, these are my favorites:

the little price(book report namin sa college)
pride and prejudice(grabe, nahirapan ako magbasa...)
harry potter series(ang bilis basahin, at sobrang sayang sa pera)
sana humaba pa listahan ko...

[helter_skelter]

I've got some books here....they are classic. These are the books what "THE DOORS" (band) have read .Kaya siguro si Jim
Morrison naging poetic.

1. "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac (my favorite too)
2. "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
3. "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
4. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. "This Side of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
6. "Journey To The End of the Night" by Celine (Im still reading it)
7. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway
8. "The Waste Land" by T.S.Eliot
9. "Light my Fire" by Ray Manzarek (organist of THE DOORS)
dito ko na discover lahat ng librong nabasa ko(my favorite)
....THESE ARE THE BOOKS WITH SOUL TWISTER, HEART OPENER,
FOOT TAPPERS, EYE WIDENERS, REFREHERS & INSPIRERS

[sway_k]

To kill a mockingbird (H.LEE), all of Gabriel GarciA Marquez books, and all of Isabelle Allende's, Catcher in the Rye (J.D.Salinger), and a whole, whole lot more!

[Apostle]

the Bible

[Noel Vera]

"The Bible"

King James edition. Shakespeare wrote part of it, or so I hear.

[sunfish]

my list...

1. perfune- patrick suskind
2. franny and zooey-jd salinger
3. the exorcist-william peter blatty
4. misery-stephen king
5. the fall-albert camus
6. without feathers-woody allen
7. the phantom tollbooth-norton juster
8. city lights pocket poet anthology-edited by lawrence ferlinghetti
9. the cubao series-tony perez
10. dekada 70- luwalhati bautista

[oozbao]

LOVE STORY by Erich Segal.... squeezed out a bucket of tears from me...:~(

[Aragorn]

Gosh, but this is a REALLY old topic!

You know what, though? I realized I never really listed down the books I loved...So here goes!

1. The Lord of the Rings (obvious ba?)
2. Anything by Neil Gaiman, although my favorites are Neverwhere, Stardust and the Sandman series
3. Tom Clancy (when writing about Jack Ryan)
4. Jack Higgins (when writing about WW II or the IRA)
5. The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough
6. The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O, and the Giving Tree, all by Shel Silverstein
7. The Velveteen Rabbit ("What is Real?...")
8. The "Charlie" stories by Roald Dahl
9. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
10. The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

[with_a_K]

in no particular order-
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rigns trilogy
The Silmarillion
- JRR Tolkien
Neuromancer
Mona Lisa Overdrive
Idoru
All Tomorrow's Parties
- Wlliam Gibson
Memnoch the Devil
Exit to Eden
- Anne Rice
To Kill a Mockingbird
- Harper Lee

and since I've seen Sandman on some lists:
Kingdom Come - Mark Waid and Alex Ross
Blade of the Immortal - Hiroaki Samura

[battleangel]

i also love the sandman series :)

haruki murakami's books: a wild sheep chase, dance dance dance, hard boiled wonderland and the end of the world. this guy is so good that he makes the words "suspended disbelief" an understatement

catcher in the rye by jd salinger - my favorite book since i was a kid

the harry potter series, especially books 1 and 4 :)

bata bata, paano ka ginawa by lualhati bautista. didn't seen the movie though

[Kurama]

1) the belgariad
the malloreon
belgarath the sorcerer
polgara the sorceress

2) the crystal shard trilogy
the dark elf trilogy
the legacy
starless night
siege of darkness
the silent blade

3) dragonball z (they *are* books, too) :)

4) sandman

5) little women

6) the little prince

7) harry potter

[Gollum]

fave books of all time:

sophie's world (jostein gaarder) --- philosophy in a nutshell (well almost!)

le hussard sur le toit/ the horseman on the roof (jean giono) --- love in the time of cholera gone dark

love in the time of cholera (gabriel garcia marquez) --- as funny as ggm gets

como agua para chocolate/ like water for chocolate (laura esquivel) --- magical realism at its best

it (stephen king) --- scared the **** out of me. now i hate clowns, and those who love clowns (my apologies to german moreno)

the lord of the rings trilogy (jrr tolkien) --- nothing comes close

the silmarillon (jrr tolkien) --- epic saga like no other

question: do we consider comic books as books? because i really loved neil gaiman's series on the endless (especially "time of your life", where death takes center stage)

hi to everyone! i'm your new neighbor.

[Gollum]

has anyone here read angela carter?

i should have included her "the infernal desire machines of dr. hoffman". galeng nya. you should all read it.

and anais nin's erotica, btw.

[Edited by gollum on 01-14-2001 at 04:43 AM]

[Gollum]

pede bang humirit pa?

i also forgot to mention "trainspotting" and "marabou stork nightmares", both by irvine welsh, in my list.

yung marabou stork, lalo na.

tsaka yung griffin and sabine series ni nick bantock.

[igutz]

to kill a mockingbird
the catcher in the rye
trainspotting

[Jennifer]

Memoirs of a Geisha
The Chronicles of Narnia

[completenonsens]

This thread is quite old, but who cares? :D
Wuthering Heights - read it in junior high and refused to go to school for three days so I could finish it; that's how gripping it was.

Robinson Crusoe - yes, it IS tedious because it has practically no dialogue, but what did you expect? He's alone in the island for 28 years! What got under my skin was probably the insight on human behavior and his relationship with God and others.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Absolutely wonderful, for kids aged 0-99. I'll never forget Atticus's closing speech in the court.

The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember - just when we thought that profundity has no place in the 90s, here comes Nicholas Sparks

And Then There Were None - arguably the greatest mystery novel of all time, by Dame Agatha Christie

Mysteries of Taal - better if you're reading it while looking at Taal

Love Story, Oliver's Story
The Rainmaker
The Testament
Sphere
Syempre, Harry Potter

[f0r5aK3n]

Originally posted by Aragorn
Sionell: The Dragon Prince trilogy, huh? Are the books available locally? I wouldn't want to buy the first book only to find out the next two can't be found...I had a hard time with that while reading the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. A friend and I had to scour every Book Sale shop in Manila (separately, too!)



are Melanie Rawn books really hard to find there????

all her books are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY ME!!

The Dragon Prince Series is actually 6 books..
The GOLDEN KEY w/ it's not yet released sequel The Diviner.

The Golden Key is the most unique book I've ever read! I highly recommend this one

and there's the Exiles series which isn't completed yet.. awesome fantasy concepts on magic!

[cretinous00]

lord of the rings (tolkien)
silmarillon (tolkien)
the caine mutiny (wouk)
moby **** (melville)
the black marble (wambaugh)
illiad
le mort du arthur
chanson de roland
the mahabharatha
a tale of two cities
in our time (hemingway)
centennial (michener)
the great train robbery (crichton)

[Manco]

Too many to choose from. Off the top of my head:

BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy
DIRTY WHITE BOYS by Stephen Hunter
FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury
PREACHER by Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon (it's a comic
book)
WATCHMEN by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
ELLROY'S L.A. QUARTET (BLACK DAHLIA, BIG NOWHERE, L.A.
CONFIDENTIAL, WHITE JAZZ)
AMERICAN TABLOID also by James Ellroy
FINDER by Greg Rucka
EON by Greg Bear
THE ALIENIST by Caleb Carr

[indiegirl]

hey everyone. i'm new here!

Queen of the Damned -- Anne Rice
The Giver -- Lois Lowry
The Narnia Chronicles -- C.S. Lewis
Memoirs of a Geisha -- Arthur Golden
Like Water for Chocolate -- Laura Esquivel
Ode to Billy Joe -- Herman Raucher
The Miko -- Eric van Lustbader
The Ramayana

there are still so many great books out there that i'm itching to read...

[pronestar]

anything by jostein gaarder
rita mae brown, not the cat books, though.
anais nin
griffin and sabine
anything by shirley jackson

[Sportster]

breakfast at tiffany's - when you have a crush and just can't get it on

catcher in the rye - for those with a superiority complex

on the road - if you need a vacation but don't want to leave your bed

hitchikers guide to the galaxy - fast forward into the future

lord of the rings - grand epic with small characters

stephen king books - to read or not to read..

[chryseis]

Books I wouldn't mind reading again and again are:

She's Come Undone- Wally Lamb
The Kitchen God's Wife- Amy Tan
To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
The Shipping News- E. Annie Proulx
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by- Pearl Cleagle
Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
City of Joy- Dominique LaPierre
Number the Stars- Lois Lowry
The Watsons Go to Birmingham- Christopher Curtis
Wrinkle In Time- Madeline L'Engle
Harry Potter series
and
all books by Grisham, Archer and Segal

I like these books because they made me feel sad and happy at the same time.

Teka, pahabol, I forgot to mention Jamie Suzanne, one of the authors of the Sweet Valley series, who I still love :)

[Grey Wanderer]

dear me, dear me, it's so difficult to choose...but here goes...in no particular order...

1. The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion - is it any surprise that my user name is such? Ü

2. Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton
3. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
4. The 'Dragonriders of Pern' saga
5. A Swiftly Tilting Planer by Madeleine L'Engle
6. Julius Caesar - Shakespeare
7. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
8. The Boys of Summer - Roger Kahn
9. The World According to Garp - John Irving
10. The Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
11. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
12. The Prydain Chronicles - Lloyd Alexander
13. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
14. The Sandman series - Neil Gaiman
15. Light Cavalry - Fr. Horacio de la Costa, SJ
16. The Giver - Lois Lowry
17. A Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Patterson

I'm sure I've missed a few, but there they are so far. :D

[MoocHie]

invisible cities by italo calvino
foucault's pendulum and the name of the rose by umberto eco

[olivertravel]

Too many favorite books 4 me 2 list, but when asked ALL time faves, books from my childhood came 2 mind.

Though I didn't grow up reading all these books, I like these books so much and find their messages important even to my adult life that I read these to children whenever I'm in a classroom situation, lotsa good pictures for children from grades 1-5:

The Stories that Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
Price comparison (http://isbn.nu/0394828925/price)
-if for the first story alone "The Pudding", totally hillarious reading...

You are Special by Max Lucado
Price comparison (http://isbn.nu/0891079319/price)
-a good story about self-acceptance in a very competative world. Christian valued, yet substancial.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Price comparison (http://isbn.nu/0060256656/price)
-unconditional love simplified.

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein
Price comparison (http://isbn.nu/0060256575/price)
-wanna understand olivertravel? This book right here is my autobiography.:|


[Edited by *happy*phantom* on 04-04-2001 at 02:45 PM]

[human_vibe]

a tale of two cities
the last resort
ramayanA!!!

[deedee]

Just Friends by Robyn Siesman
Message in a Bottle, The Rescue, A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger
The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern abridgement by William Goldman
Twisted Jessica Zafra
Harry Potter series (go JK!)

[sunfish]

perfume-patrick suskind
neverwhere-neil gaiman
talking it over-julian barnes
american psycho-bret easton ellis
the fall- albert camus
zen and the art of writing-ray bradbury


so far that's all i can think of...will post again@!

[sunfish]

oh yeah...
there's:

franny and zooey- jd salinger
catcher in the rye-jd salinger
letters to a young poet-rainer maria rilkE
the adrian mole series- sue townsend
the lord of the rings trilog-jrr tolkien

and the list goes on and on

[phantom]

Excluding the classic classics, some of the all-time favorites in my library are:

Almost all books by Taylor Caldwell (e.g., Captains and Kings, Ceremony of the Innocent, Devil's Advocate, Pillar of Iron, Dear and Glorious Physician, The Great Lion of God, Testimony of Two Men, etc).

Some of Jeffrey Archer's books (especially Kane and Abel)

Books by Leon Uris (e.g., Roots, Trinity)

Some of James Clavell's books (Shogun, etc)

Some of Irving Stone's books (especially The Agony and Ecstasy)


Can you tell I am partial to historical fiction? :)

[cong]

in no particular order. dont know about THE all-time, but theyre all gread reads.

Cather in the Rye by JD Salinger
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Gravel Edition: The Pentagon Papers- The Department of Defense papers on US involvement in Vietnam.
Crime and Punishment by Dosteovsky. classic!
Pure Drivel by Steve Martin...hilarious!
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
Complete Poems of Emily Dickenson.
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantez Saavedra
Essays and English Traits by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
You can never tell by George Bernard Shaw.
Collected Poems of Edwin Arlinton Robinson....Richard Cory is my favorite poem of all time.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Antigone by Sophocles

TA (Tanghalang Ateneo) did Antigone in 1993.

[bing_gon]

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

[SiOMs]

memoirs of a geisha
a walk to remember
jane eyre
pride and prejudice
chicken soup for the college soul
to kill a mockingbird

...read on... :bookworm2:

[taltos]

my list:

1. catcher in the rye by j.d. sallinger
2. pedagogy of the oppressed by paulo freire
3. queen of the damned by anne rice
4. about a boy by nick hornby
5. kitchen esp the novella "moonlight shadow" by banana yoshimoto
6. swimming pool library by alan hollinghurst
7. folding star by alan hollinghurst
8. a boy's own story by edmund white
9. maurice by e.m. forster
10. thinner by stephen king
11. death in venice by thomas mann
12. dream noises (anthology of shorts from filipino authors such as her majesty Jessica Zafra, clinton palanca, etc)
13. the city and the pillar by gore vidal
14. witching hour by anne rice
15. sea of tranquility by paul russel
16. wormwoods by poppy z. brite
17. forbidden colors by yukio mishima
18. trainspotting by irvine welsh (and his collection of shorts) kahit na i have re-read it several times to understand this twisted tale of addiction
19. twisted series
20. dekada 70 by lualhati bautista
21. a novel in tagalog by jun reyes (the central character is an activist in the lates 70s early 80s?, nalimutan ko na plot basta maganda!)
22. first two books of the cubao series by tony perez

[taltos]

i forgot to add:

23. brothers karamazov by fyodor dostoevky
24. adrian mole series by sue townsend
25. celestine prophecy

see you! :bookworm2:

[taltos]

i forgot to add:

23. brothers karamazov by fyodor dostoevky
24. adrian mole series by sue townsend
25. celestine prophecy

see you! :bookworm2:

[Siva]

Staring at the Sun by Julian Barnes

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

and of course, the Harry Potter series!

[teanuts]

to kill a mockingbird
catcher in the rye
the godfather
omerta
the last don
--kahit anong book ni Mario Puzo

[blitzerflitzer]

Dracula--Bram Stoker (the great-great-great-granddaddy of vampire stories)

Encyclopedia of Secret Knowledge--Charles Walker (study of the occult, great pics and ilustrations and has a good explanation über the thing we called the Secret Knowledge)

Carmilla and Other 12 Short Stories--Sheridan Le Fanu

The Bell Jar--Sylvia Plath

Ariel--Sylvia Plath

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams--Sylvia Plath

Cry to Heaven, Vampire Lestat and Interview with the Vampire--Anne Rice

Lost Souls, Exquisite Corpse--Poppy Z. Brite

Delta of Venus, Henry and June and Incest--Anais Nin

Leaves of Grass--Walt Whitman (my husband cannot comprehend his poetry, na ja, i had this former editor who asked me what's my age bec. i left that book lying on my desk, he said I was too young to read the poems!)

Queer--William S. Burroughs

Neverwhere--Neil Gaiman

The Lover--Marguerite Duras (just like anais, the way she describes lovemaking and sex borders to poetry and passion)

The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays--Albert Camus (ok, ok, so there were episodes in my life i was really depressed and i wanted enlightenment)

In Search of Vienna--Henriette Mandl (my husband gave this to me as a way of informing me of the city, where I live now)

120 Days of Sodom and other Writings--Marquis de Sade


pui! i still remember the difficulty of hauling these books from antipolo to vienna!

:D

[eydryth]

how can i? wow! this is by far my favorite topic here :) how does one begin to make a list?
i saw interesting titles that you all mentioned...i loved some of them...this is just a random list
the space is not enough for my fave books...baka i might miss someone and magtampo yung book na yun...LOL kidding aside...

my prized possessions :)

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Robber Bride (my fave of all Margaret Atwood books)
The Stories of Eva Luna (Isabel Allende)
Wuthering Heights
The Little Prince
The Velveteen Rabbit
If Tomorrow Comes (my fave of all Sidney Sheldon books naman)
The Giving Tree (loved this)
A Wrinkle in Time (that Madelain L'Engle trilogy)
The Twelfth Angel (I cry everytime i read this)
Emilie Loring's books (old and sweet...really comforting)
The Pearl (Steinbeck)
Collection of poems by Rilke
Collection of stories by Isak Dinesen
Songsmith by Andre Norton and A.C. Crispin (that's where i got this handle)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gabriel Garcia Maquez)

i could go on and on....and i will but probably next time... :) hope you don't mind.
i am just so thrilled that there are also others out there who like to read, as in READ.

right now i am reading AWARENESS by Anthony de Mello...so far, so good.

[Hot Pants]

The American Gods, Neverwhere, Sandman by Neil Gaiman
-surreal, romantic, symbolic, engrossing and simply wonderful.Neil Gaiman is my favorite writer.

The Dark Tower Series, Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
-traveling alongside Roland the Gunslinger in his quest for the Dark Tower can take you to strange and endearing places and there's no way that i'll let myself be left behind. i'll follow him until he reaches the Dark Tower and be able to unveil its mysteries.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
-this is a fresh approach to fantasy and i just can't seem to put the book down the instance i'm enchanted by the world J.K. Rowling has presented us.

Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon
- good characterization and a greatly involving plot..

:goon:

[Hot Pants]

and may i add..

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman - truly ineffable

:goon:

[saguaro]

1. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Takes you to another world!

2. Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morrell

3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

4. 1984 by George Orwell (o sige, Animal Farm na rin)

5. Dekada '70 by Lualhati Bautista

6. If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon (first SS book I read, don't read his books anymore though)

plus a lot of Stephen King books. those that don't bore me to death anyway. Good ones I've read so far (besides the DT series) are

1. The Shining
2. Eyes of the Dragon
3. Hearts In Atlantis (needless to say the movie doesn't do it justice)

[syriadee]

In no particular order:

> Doctors (Erich Segal)
> Love Story (Erich Segal)
> Kane & Abel (Jeffry Archer)
> The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor Hugo)
> Ariel (Sylvia Plath)
> Letters to a Young Poet (Rainier Rilke)
> Night Shift (Stephen King) and the two other short story collection, i forgot the titles
> The Sorrows of Water (J.Neil Garcia)
> Prose and Poems (Nick Joaquin)
> Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
> The Dragonlance trilogies (Margareth Weiss & Tracy Hickman)

the list goes on...

[^^XTC®^^]

1. J.D Salinger - Catcher in the Rye
2. Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse 5
3. William Golding - The Lord of the Flies
4. John Grisham - The Partner
5. Mario Puzo - The Godfather
6. Thomas Harris - Hannibal
7. Stephen E. Ambrose - Band of Brothers