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Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 8th, 2009, 9:28 am
by EllenB
Oooh, great topic! Off the top of my head:

Alice Hoffman - The River King, Second Nature and The Third Angel. I love how Hoffman uses language to make completely outlandish fantasy elements sound plausible. There is a line in Second Nature - 'like all November babies, she could do magic' or something to that effect, and to me, that instantly conjures up a world where such lore is accepted as truth, where this person probably has power and prejudice in their life based on what people believe about them on the strength of nothing more than the bare facts of their life.

Dodie Smith - I Capture the Castle. Ultimate comfort book, about a late teen girl with an unconventional family in 1930s England as she discovers that life really isn't fair.

Catch 22. It's just great. Don't make me explain.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 8th, 2009, 11:47 am
by Reesha
Ooooh, they all sound great! Too many books, too little time.

My top three favorites:

Oh wait. The top three are taken up by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis ten times over. So to be more original...

My top three favorites that aren't Tolkien or C.S. Lewis:

1. Black, Red, White series by Ted Dekker
Premise: One unfortunate guy wakes up in a different world whenever he goes to sleep in our world, and vice versa. Pretty cool stuff.

2. Prophet by Frank Peretti
Premise: A news reporter is compelled to follow a news story his boss doesn't want him to. He tries to report it anyway for the sake of the truth.

3. Whatever book I am currently reading. I seriously always think whatever I'm reading is the best book ever. Right now it is Athol Dickson's Lost Mission.
Premise: I'm not exactly sure yet. It's being very interesting and mysterious at the moment. Great attention-grabbing characters.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 8th, 2009, 10:08 pm
by Trustedwriter
I tend to choose favorite authors rather than favorite books, because oftentimes I can't pick a favorite from among their works.

And of course, because I'm unswerving in my loyalty, Tolkien is the "official favorite" (although I haven't read LotR in awhile). I'll try to pick some close second favorites, however...

1. The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff (historical fiction, set in Roman Britain). Sutcliff's writing is beautiful. Her settings are gritty and real, her people flesh and blood. I often go back and read a few random pages to wake up the writing part of my brain so my own words will flow better. The Lantern Bearers is my favorite of her works that I've read so far. The scenes are breathtakingly visual, and I have grown very fond of the MC in the 2+ times I have read it. He captures my sympathy; I always hold my breath, hoping he will be able to mend the relationships he has been tearing down.

2. C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. Those books, especially the second one, Perelandra, left me in awe. They are verbose, and I admit that I sometimes got lost and bewildered on the page, but they caused me to look at reality from a fresh, new angle. C.S. Lewis is ingenious in using fantasy to make the real world come into sharper focus.

3. Till We Have Faces, another by C.S. Lewis (the retelling of a Greek myth). To be honest, I don't recommend this book to everyone. It is very dark and strange. Lewis is a Christian author, but this book is very pagan, and I have yet to understand the message in it. But I keep going back to it, mostly because I love the atmosphere it evokes...the world is harsh and raw, and the people in it, too.

I guess what really "hooks" me in a book is the atmosphere and the clarity of the visuals...whether I can completely immerse myself in the world of the story, and see all the details in my mind's eye.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 9th, 2009, 3:27 pm
by ink spills
EllenB:
Catch 22. It's just great. Don't make me explain.
I couldn't have said it better myself.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 11th, 2009, 8:58 pm
by Terry Towery
Hmmm. My favorite books? It's tough to distill the list down, but I'll try.

1. The Last Convertible by Anton Myer. God, what a great book!

2. Winds of War and War and Rembrance by Herman Wouk. Two books, I know, but absolutely essential reads!

3. Salem's Lot by Stephen King. It was the book that made me fall in love with books in high school and remains a favorite.

4. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. Excellent Civil War fiction.

5. The Rabbit books by John Updike. My all-time favorite series of books. Updike is God!

And many, many more...

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 22nd, 2009, 9:03 am
by OHNOITSKEN!
I like exciting books that are still a joy to read in a literary sense. Some of my favorites:

The Brothers Karamazov
The Stranger (I guess this doesn't entirely fit, but it is still a fantastic read)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Ghost Story
American Gods
The Golden Compass
The Wizard of Earthsea
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

These are just a few... But yeah, I think a nice mix of old and new. Books that commit too much time to navel gazing make me anxious.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: December 26th, 2009, 9:25 pm
by RiayNight
White Oleander by Janet Fitch is my bible as far as writing goes. She has a beautiful, poetic way of writing that is never too excessive and always successfully emulates the way the characters feel. She has a gift for creating amazing detail with the simplest of sentences. I would recommend it to anyone. If you've seen the movie, it really doesn't compare to the book at all. Read it; you'll be glad you did.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: January 6th, 2010, 12:03 am
by pabrown
I'm reading three great books -- Jeffrey Deaver's Roadside Crosses, Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Moon and James Ellroy's Bloods a Rover. I just finished Jonathan Kellerman's Evidence. My favorite kind, good dark mystery/thrillers.

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: January 6th, 2010, 5:00 pm
by Elana Johnson
I just read some great books, and of the group THE UNNAMEABLES by Ellen Booraem was my fave. I'm onto The Dark Divine (Bree Despain) and then Just One Wish (Janette Rallison).

Re: Post Your Favourites

Posted: January 7th, 2010, 1:42 am
by CharleeVale
I have to say that one of my favorite all-time books is 'The Scent of Magic' by Andre Norton. I've read it probably 7+ times. A great blend of magic, intrigue, action, and romance!

CV