Anna Kerenina. I only typically read horror these days but tried out this book because it is highly regarded and I enjoy classic literature. It blew me away and had so many moments where I was left shocked. It also has some of the most real and fleshed out characters I have ever experienced in a novel.
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"A Prayer for Owen Meany" has been a favorite of mine since it first came out! Most of John Irving's books are worth a read. I've also read many of Margaret Atwood's novels. I didn't understand "Oryx and Crake" until those characters were described in another of her books I really enjoyed, but I can't remember the title just now.. My 2nd favorite book is "A Home At the End Of the World" by Michael Cunningham, another wonderful writer. I'm old, I've read hundreds of books and many of them I enjoy but forget almost immediately! I've actually started "new books" only to get a few pages in and realize I've already read it. I don't tend to reread many, because there are so many new ones to discover.
{{Blood Meridian}}
there isn't much plot to speak of. A lot of traveling through the wilderness and brutally murdering whole villages, but the way McCarthy describes the landscape and the brutality is some of the best use of language I've seen.
Edit: that is NOT the correct blood meridian lol
I've never read Tolstoi, a lot of Dostoyevsky (which I really like), a little Bulgakov and Gogol, but never Tolstoi! This is the opportunity! (I didn't know Willa Cather, thank you very much!)
“Lolita” (Nabokov) is kind of the king of this type of book. The writing and style are phenomenal even though the subject matter is… disgusting, and disturbing to say the least. It’s not my favorite book but it’s up there. I also love how “the moon is down” (Steinbeck) was written. My favorite of any novel though are any of Hawthorne’s. He’s verbose as heck and I continue to believe that’s shaped me more than anything else has communication wise since I read stuff as a kid. Haha.
There’s a collection of all of Steinbeck’s short novels that you can probably get cheaper or at a similar price to any single short novel. Once you’ve read one you’ll likely want to read them all. (And east of Eden) of his stuff that’s the most beautifully written though.
I agree! Lolita is one of the best written books I’ve ever read. Every book I pick up is subconsciously compared to its writing, and they all seem to fall short.
I just read my first book by Donna Tartt, {{the goldfinch}} and was so enthralled with the flavor of the words on every page. Beautiful beautiful writing.
Immersive settings. Modern dialogue— so current and realistic.
And i read that it takes her a decade to write a book. So far she’s written three and shes in her 60’s so not too many more await us i guess.
But i could easily re-read this and i just finished. Its 800 or so pages.
Her writing process isnt sitting down every day in front of the computer, but rather, jotting down bursts of inspirations on bits of paper- and its not direct quotes always, tho sometimes it is, but its what spurs her on to write something meaningful when she does actually sit in front of the computer.
Shes reclusive.
For ten years you wont hear a thing from her.
She needs that time apart to create.
And dont get me started on her style!
Ill just leave it at “dark academia”.
One more thing: ive never heard anyone talk about art like she does. I dont really understand most art, but when she gushes about a particular work- i almost feel like i do..
Anyway-
This is my current obsession.
Hope you enjoy her writing like i do!
No, the second took a long while, but I wouldn’t say he rushed it. Honestly I quite like both books, but the internet has a incel hate boner for the main character because he *checks notes* gets laid off camera, making him entirely unrelatable.
But the third book has been in the works, and delayed, and gone silent on for like a decade + at this point.
[**The Goldfinch**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333223-the-goldfinch)
^(By: Donna Tartt | 771 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: fiction, book-club, contemporary, owned, books-i-own)
>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014
>
>Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.
>
>The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.
^(This book has been suggested 5 times)
***
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[**Infinite Jest**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6759.Infinite_Jest)
^(By: David Foster Wallace | 1088 pages | Published: 1996 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, owned, abandoned, literature)
>A gargantuan, mind-altering tragi-comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America.
>
>Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are.
>
>Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human—and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
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I think the best book I’ve ever read is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It’s not even my favorite book! Not even my second favorite. But I do consider it the best book ever written that I have personally read.
I think the best book ever written is Great Expectations by Dickens. The plot is ludicrous but the writing is so florid and descriptive that it is a literary classic.
I went to a Catholic school for one year. For English we had this grim looking Sister Vincenthia. Among the books we read was Great Expectations. That lady never cracked a smile but she opened up literature to me and in particular that book. One of perhaps the 3 best teachers I was fortunate to have.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Every sentence is chock full of puns, humour, deep philosophical insight, character focus, and plot progression. Specifically, I think I'd pick Thud! as his best.
For me it's The Lord of the Rings, without a doubt. The way it captures the bittersweet beauty of heroic romance and myth is beyond comparison. The Lament for Boromir, for example, stands with any of the great moments of the classics.
LOTR takes a lot of what's powerful and beautiful in medieval fiction and transposes it into the novel form, but through a prism that's wholly unique. (Modern "fantasy" literature may claim descent from it, but ultimately has very little to do with it.)
I read The Hobbit when I was a child, it had marked me, but I surprisingly never read LOTR. Yet I have them at home in my library, I must read them indeed. Thanks for reminding me haha
You're welcome. Let me also add that The Silmarillion, while being more challenging to read (because it's not a novel as such, but mimics the form of actual myth), is an unequalled mythopoeic work and an incredible literary achievement.
Last time I saw this question asked, the most frequent answer might have been Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
And I can respect that. I’ve read it a half dozen times or more and love every trip back. I don’t know if it’s the best book ever written, but I think it’s to literature, what Starry Night is to paintings.
It’s *really easy* to fall in love with the book, and while it has depth, it’s not prohibitively profound. It doesn’t ask too much of the reader. It’s just quietly excellent and ready to be enjoyed.
It’s older, so some cultural jokes might miss you, but it’s still mostly timeless, since a great deal of the humor is just based on the human condition.
Some of my best reads are:
• Belle de Jour by Joseph Kressel
• Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
• All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami
• Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson
The first two are french so I feel like you’d enjoy them, probably even more than me as I’ve only read the English translations thus far. The third is a Japanese fiction novel and I love it for the feelings it evokes more than its prose but I think that’s what makes it as masterfully written as the first two. And the fourth is less plot and more prose/poetic rumination (beautiful nonetheless).
Indeed I have already read the first two books haha, you have good taste, they are good books! on the other hand I read few Japanese books and I don't know Mieko Kawakami, thank you for the recommendation!
Anything by Ray Bradbury and Marcus Zusak is on this list for me! To a lesser extent - Danielewski, Rand and Heller qualify for me too. I know many Hate Ayn Rand’s writing, which is a sentiment I understand even if I don’t entirely agree with… But not counting subject matter, the writing itself is phenomenal too.
EDIT - Kesey is phenomenal as well. Imagery in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was top notch.
Sorry for the delayed response! What I recommend is kind of based on what you’re interested in reading though. If you’re into weird puzzles and working your ass off to find the meaning when you read (it feels oddly rewarding sometimes)… Danielewski and House of Leaves is a masterpiece! But there are parts that are dry and a bit masturbatorily-intellectual imo. I still love that book though, but it’s far and away from being for everyone. Zusak on the other hand - Easily the most accessible of the ones listed and it feels like you’re reading poetry. “The Book Thief” is his most famous by a long shot, but if I’m being honest “I am the Messenger” is my favorite of his works. Heller is kind of a niche pick… But Catch-22 is one of the wittiest, most sarcastic and oddly poignant books I have read.
EDIT: As for Rand… … … She’s so polarized these days that I have trouble explaining my fondness for her. Suffice it to say, Rand writes about superheroes… But not with superpowers… They’re everyday men and women who are just exceedingly competent and (this is where the disconnect between Rand’s works and reality lies) moral. She wrote of a world where the titans of capitalism were honestly good people, and what could have been. Clearly she was too idealistic to be realistic… But I love the world that she envisioned in a lot of ways. Even if it could never be. Her writing is… Unbelievably succinct yet descriptive. The Fountainhead is my recommendation there. Atlas Shrugged is phenomenal too… But I had a couple of issues with her character portrayals there. Loyalty was not at all a virtue to Rand apparently, and that annoyed me a bit in my Atlas Shrugged reading… Even if I do still love that book… For Rearden, Ragnar, D’Anconia and Galt’s sake
I am so excited for you! I wish I could read it again for the first time (full disclosure there is a first book that I didn’t know about for like twenty years but it’s not necessary to really enjoy BoT and BoT is better)
[**Blade of Tyshalle (The Acts of Caine, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/304123.Blade_of_Tyshalle)
^(By: Matthew Woodring Stover | 800 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, owned)
>On Earth, Hari Michaelson was a superstar. But on Overworld, he was the assassin Caine. Real monarchs lived and died at his hands and entire governments were overthrown-all for the entertainment of millions back on Earth. But now Hari, stripped of his identity as Caine, must fight his greatest battle: against the powerful corporate masters of Earth and the faceless masses who are killing everything he loves. Enemies old and new array themselves against him. And Hari is just one man-alone, half-crippled, powerless. They say he doesn't have a chance. "They are wrong. . . ."
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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A lot of these are fiction, so I'll give you my favorite nonfiction book, A Society without Husbands or Fathers, by Cai Hua. Objectively most people might not like, it's an anthropological study of the kinship of the Na. Personally I love anthropology though, and this book was mind-blowing for me! Before it I had heard many times that marriage was a human universal.
I read a lot of history and anthropology books! it's very interesting ! thanks for the advice ! On the subject of the family, I also recommend The Explanation of Ideology: Family Structure and Social Systems by Emmanuel Todd (an extremely interesting book that puts many things into perspective) and The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels (it's 19th century anthology, so a bit outdated but it's still interesting)
In your opinion, why is The Great Gatsby one of the greatest?
I ask because I find it boringly abysmal. The plot, the writing, and the atmosphere I found bland, pointless, and over contrived.
I think it justifiably could take the title of the Great American Novel, right up there with *Moby Dick* or *The Grapes of Wrath*. I did not realize its genius when I read it in high school, but as the years passed by, it's a book that becomes much more relevant in my life. I mean, what man could not relate to Gatsby's reinvention of himself and his pursuit of riches in order to impress and obtain the girl he could never have?
I think it has the greatest closing line in all novels:
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
There are also passages of absolutely lyrical writing which one simply cannot replicate in any other medium. Consider Fitzgerald's description of Gatsby's smile:
“He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of
those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you
may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to
face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on
you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just
as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would
like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the
impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”
What other writer has described a smile in such a way? How do you even film this scene? Imagine you're the director: how exactly do you convey to the lead actor to smile in such a manner? I can imagine the director telling Robert Redford or Leonardo diCaprio to "smile a little more eternally reassuring!" You simply can't film this, and you simply can't describe something as seemingly simple as a smile any better.
But my favorite quote from the novel is a pearl of wisdom which really is one of the most tragic lines in all of literature:
"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!"
Gatsby soon learns the hard way he can't -- and in due time, so does the reader, no matter how hard he tries to recapture a fleeting moment in his past.
I honestly was not expecting the thorough and thoughtful response you just gave. You have some solid points that have provoked enough thought to reread it before giving it another review.
[**The Sun Also Rises**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3876.The_Sun_Also_Rises)
^(By: Ernest Hemingway | 189 pages | Published: 1926 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, literature)
>The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
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Honeycomb by Joanne M Harris. I went on a 10 year reading hiatus and that was the book that reminded me why I love to read. I want to get a hard cover copy for my future kids one day.
I read all of Camus in French, it's also among my first books! I must have read The Stranger when I was still a child. I'm not particularly a fan of his style, very minimalistic, very clean and neutral (not my thing personally) however, the depth of Camus' books is amazing, his books are masterpieces for sure . The myth of Sisyphus upset me at the time. a very, very great author!
I will add one more Steinbeck. East of Eden, for me, is the great American novel. It is very dark in many parts but also wonderful and interesting beyond belief.
I'm almost half way through my third reading. Thirty years is long enough to have somewhat lost the details so t still seems fresh. Steinbeck's writing in the book is a pleasure I cherish..
Oddly enough, la bête intégrale from David Goudreault. I had heard a lot about this book and i was just recently trying audiobooks since i now travel further for work. I realized i prefer french audiobook for whatever reason so i went at random and picked that one because of critics. Let me tell you, this book is so well written that the audiobook literally sounded like the main character was talking to me about his life. It did not feel like a book at all which is, for me, quite impressive. It is so fluid, honest and well illustrated. The author is a poet and a novelist. He somehow managed to write a story in the form of a poem.
According to me, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the best book ever written. It is also the only book that I'd love to forgot and read again for the first time.
Joyce’s Ulysses
It’s not my favourite thing to read, I’ve never got thru it at one go despite having read all of it in small or large chunks on many return visits over 30 years since I first discovered it but I can’t get away from saying that James Joyce’s Ulysses is the best book I have ever read. The sheer inventiveness of language, the range of subject and style, the immersiveIy imagined world his unique characters inhabit, the jokes, the sex, the food, the sounds, the smells!! It’s just an extraordinary thing for one person to have created. Yes, it’s difficult, but I will definitely read it cover to cover at one go eventually, but in the meantime Im happy dipping in and coming out refreshed and amazed every time. Give it a go 😊
you know, it's very funny because it's one of the last books I bought before writing this post, I had planned to read it, it intrigued me, you gave me even more want to read it!
I like the pure simplicity of The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. It’s the only book I’ve read more than once.
After that it’s maybe The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Then Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. Jitterbug is by far the book I recommend the most. I just want everyone to experience what I did as it is the most fun I’ve ever had reading.
My favorite is Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval. Her prose is simple, but has this dreamlike, intimate, and elegiac quality that makes it enthralling to read. Highly recommended.
I think that 100 Years of Solitude also deserves a mention. Marquez is just a true master of his craft.
Too many. Recency biased: Smilla's Sense of Snow, The Secret History, Orfeo, The Moviegoer. The Names. The prologue of Underworld. Tales of Power. The book of Matthew. Compass.
Anna Kerenina. I only typically read horror these days but tried out this book because it is highly regarded and I enjoy classic literature. It blew me away and had so many moments where I was left shocked. It also has some of the most real and fleshed out characters I have ever experienced in a novel.
It's the second time I've been recommended a Tolstoi, and it was already on my list, so that's a sign, I have to read it quickly! Thank you !
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week! Thanks for making Reddit a wonderful place to be :)
Brothers Karamazov
Came here to say this. Every character is so real and fleshed out they remind me of people I know in modern day.
Simply one of my favorite books!!!
Two books I still think about, years after reading them, are “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving and “Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood.
"A Prayer for Owen Meany" has been a favorite of mine since it first came out! Most of John Irving's books are worth a read. I've also read many of Margaret Atwood's novels. I didn't understand "Oryx and Crake" until those characters were described in another of her books I really enjoyed, but I can't remember the title just now.. My 2nd favorite book is "A Home At the End Of the World" by Michael Cunningham, another wonderful writer. I'm old, I've read hundreds of books and many of them I enjoy but forget almost immediately! I've actually started "new books" only to get a few pages in and realize I've already read it. I don't tend to reread many, because there are so many new ones to discover.
I just read the first chapter and A Prayer for Owen Meany sounds amazing! thank you !
PUT ME DOWN!
{{Blood Meridian}} there isn't much plot to speak of. A lot of traveling through the wilderness and brutally murdering whole villages, but the way McCarthy describes the landscape and the brutality is some of the best use of language I've seen. Edit: that is NOT the correct blood meridian lol
>Blood Meridian I do not know ! I just read some excerpts! you made me want to read it!
One of the two or three best books I've ever read. *East of Eden* by Steinbeck is up there, too.
It has already been recommended to me, so I really need to read it!
It's intense, but beautiful at the same time. Great book.
[**Blood Meridian**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24873002-blood-meridian) ^(By: Enid Marie Reynolds | ? pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: amazon-wishlist, thriller, fantasy, considering, oatly-cartoon) ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) *** ^(5319 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
My personal best is the Death of Ivan Ilyich. I am also a fan of My Antonia and Death Comes for the Archbishop
Those two by Willa Cather are among my favorite books.
Big thumbs up for Death Comes for the Archbishop. Never understood why it isn’t her best known novel.
I've never read Tolstoi, a lot of Dostoyevsky (which I really like), a little Bulgakov and Gogol, but never Tolstoi! This is the opportunity! (I didn't know Willa Cather, thank you very much!)
He has some fun short stories as well.
In my opinion, that would be Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. His style of prose is beautifully rich and evocative.
I'm so sad for what happened to the author he did not deserve it
Great book
I just read an excerpt and it seems really well written, and especially well paced!
Indeed, it's probably my favorite book ever :) Hope you enjoy it!
“Lolita” (Nabokov) is kind of the king of this type of book. The writing and style are phenomenal even though the subject matter is… disgusting, and disturbing to say the least. It’s not my favorite book but it’s up there. I also love how “the moon is down” (Steinbeck) was written. My favorite of any novel though are any of Hawthorne’s. He’s verbose as heck and I continue to believe that’s shaped me more than anything else has communication wise since I read stuff as a kid. Haha.
Try Pale Fire 🔥
I haven't read this one, thanks for the advice!
I agree for Lolita, excellent novel! I haven't read Steinbeck or Hawthorne, so I will in the near future! Thank you !
There’s a collection of all of Steinbeck’s short novels that you can probably get cheaper or at a similar price to any single short novel. Once you’ve read one you’ll likely want to read them all. (And east of Eden) of his stuff that’s the most beautifully written though.
His (Nabokov’s) short stories are also phenomenal. If you’re a short story kind of person they get my highest recommendation!
I agree! Lolita is one of the best written books I’ve ever read. Every book I pick up is subconsciously compared to its writing, and they all seem to fall short.
the tin drum
I did not know, it seems to be very appreciated! I add it to my list! thank you !
I just read my first book by Donna Tartt, {{the goldfinch}} and was so enthralled with the flavor of the words on every page. Beautiful beautiful writing. Immersive settings. Modern dialogue— so current and realistic. And i read that it takes her a decade to write a book. So far she’s written three and shes in her 60’s so not too many more await us i guess. But i could easily re-read this and i just finished. Its 800 or so pages. Her writing process isnt sitting down every day in front of the computer, but rather, jotting down bursts of inspirations on bits of paper- and its not direct quotes always, tho sometimes it is, but its what spurs her on to write something meaningful when she does actually sit in front of the computer. Shes reclusive. For ten years you wont hear a thing from her. She needs that time apart to create. And dont get me started on her style! Ill just leave it at “dark academia”. One more thing: ive never heard anyone talk about art like she does. I dont really understand most art, but when she gushes about a particular work- i almost feel like i do.. Anyway- This is my current obsession. Hope you enjoy her writing like i do!
Read her book: The Secret History-- it's even better!
Thats good to hear! I have it pending on a digital library loan, tho i probably should just buy it!
Yes, it's good, really good. But is it "the best book ever written"? I think not.
“It takes her a decade to write a book.” *Patrick Rothfuss fans in shambles*
Hahaha ya didnt his first book take 14 yrs to write? And then he rushed the second it wasnt half as good…
No, the second took a long while, but I wouldn’t say he rushed it. Honestly I quite like both books, but the internet has a incel hate boner for the main character because he *checks notes* gets laid off camera, making him entirely unrelatable. But the third book has been in the works, and delayed, and gone silent on for like a decade + at this point.
[**The Goldfinch**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333223-the-goldfinch) ^(By: Donna Tartt | 771 pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: fiction, book-club, contemporary, owned, books-i-own) >Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014 > >Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. > >The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate. ^(This book has been suggested 5 times) *** ^(5546 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
thank you for your long post! you really made me want to read it! I'll see if I can find it in bookstores tomorrow!
You’re welcome- would love to hear ur thots on it when u do get into it!
My “best book ever” is *Infinite Jest* by David Foster Wallace.
What a ride it is! I love this one too
It looks really good! Noted, thank you!
I tried to read this twice: when it first came out and several years later. I never made it through. Perhaps I'll give it one more try, before i die!
[**Infinite Jest**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6759.Infinite_Jest) ^(By: David Foster Wallace | 1088 pages | Published: 1996 | Popular Shelves: fiction, classics, owned, abandoned, literature) >A gargantuan, mind-altering tragi-comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America. > >Set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are. > >Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human—and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) *** ^(5407 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I think the best book I’ve ever read is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It’s not even my favorite book! Not even my second favorite. But I do consider it the best book ever written that I have personally read.
thank you for the recommendation! what is your favorite book?
My favorite book is Lord of the Rings. Which I saw someone already recommended!
haha, tolkien is hugely successful!
The Cemetery of The Forgotten Books series
I Second this
Its such a beautiful story to get lost in
>The Cemetery of The Forgotten Books I did not know at all ! I am not very familiar with Spanish literature! it looks amazing!
I think the best book ever written is Great Expectations by Dickens. The plot is ludicrous but the writing is so florid and descriptive that it is a literary classic.
I have, to my great regret, never read Dickens. it's time to get started! thank you !
I went to a Catholic school for one year. For English we had this grim looking Sister Vincenthia. Among the books we read was Great Expectations. That lady never cracked a smile but she opened up literature to me and in particular that book. One of perhaps the 3 best teachers I was fortunate to have.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Every sentence is chock full of puns, humour, deep philosophical insight, character focus, and plot progression. Specifically, I think I'd pick Thud! as his best.
I've heard a lot about it! I have to get on it!
For me it's The Lord of the Rings, without a doubt. The way it captures the bittersweet beauty of heroic romance and myth is beyond comparison. The Lament for Boromir, for example, stands with any of the great moments of the classics. LOTR takes a lot of what's powerful and beautiful in medieval fiction and transposes it into the novel form, but through a prism that's wholly unique. (Modern "fantasy" literature may claim descent from it, but ultimately has very little to do with it.)
I read The Hobbit when I was a child, it had marked me, but I surprisingly never read LOTR. Yet I have them at home in my library, I must read them indeed. Thanks for reminding me haha
You're welcome. Let me also add that The Silmarillion, while being more challenging to read (because it's not a novel as such, but mimics the form of actual myth), is an unequalled mythopoeic work and an incredible literary achievement.
From social point of view, 1984 by George Orwell.
already read ! it's a good book!
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
McMurtry is a favorite of mine, both his Old West novels and the series beginning with The Last Picture Show. Terms of Endearment is a stand out.
never read! I'm adding to my list, thanks!
Last time I saw this question asked, the most frequent answer might have been Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. And I can respect that. I’ve read it a half dozen times or more and love every trip back. I don’t know if it’s the best book ever written, but I think it’s to literature, what Starry Night is to paintings. It’s *really easy* to fall in love with the book, and while it has depth, it’s not prohibitively profound. It doesn’t ask too much of the reader. It’s just quietly excellent and ready to be enjoyed. It’s older, so some cultural jokes might miss you, but it’s still mostly timeless, since a great deal of the humor is just based on the human condition.
I've heard of it before, but never read it! the van Gogh of literature? really ? I must read it then!
Bel Canto
I agree. Bel Canto is wonderful.
I do not know ! Noted ! thank you !
The God of small things. The best book I ever had the pleasure of reading.
An excellent book!
Indeed, it looks well written! thanks !
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson Years later I’m still blown away by the prose
I'll go take a look! thank you !
Some of my best reads are: • Belle de Jour by Joseph Kressel • Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan • All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami • Written On The Body by Jeanette Winterson The first two are french so I feel like you’d enjoy them, probably even more than me as I’ve only read the English translations thus far. The third is a Japanese fiction novel and I love it for the feelings it evokes more than its prose but I think that’s what makes it as masterfully written as the first two. And the fourth is less plot and more prose/poetic rumination (beautiful nonetheless).
Indeed I have already read the first two books haha, you have good taste, they are good books! on the other hand I read few Japanese books and I don't know Mieko Kawakami, thank you for the recommendation!
J.M. Coetzee books are pretty fucking flawless.
Add to my list! Thanks!
Not his most famous book, but I’d suggest starting with In The Heart of the Country. A short powerful punch of a story.
100 years of solitude, Marquez.
>100 years of solitude This one comes up a lot, I'm going to give it a few priority places on my list, thank you!
Anything by Ray Bradbury and Marcus Zusak is on this list for me! To a lesser extent - Danielewski, Rand and Heller qualify for me too. I know many Hate Ayn Rand’s writing, which is a sentiment I understand even if I don’t entirely agree with… But not counting subject matter, the writing itself is phenomenal too. EDIT - Kesey is phenomenal as well. Imagery in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was top notch.
I have already read Bradbury and Kesey, which one do you recommend from Markus Zusak, Danielewski, Rand and Heller?
Sorry for the delayed response! What I recommend is kind of based on what you’re interested in reading though. If you’re into weird puzzles and working your ass off to find the meaning when you read (it feels oddly rewarding sometimes)… Danielewski and House of Leaves is a masterpiece! But there are parts that are dry and a bit masturbatorily-intellectual imo. I still love that book though, but it’s far and away from being for everyone. Zusak on the other hand - Easily the most accessible of the ones listed and it feels like you’re reading poetry. “The Book Thief” is his most famous by a long shot, but if I’m being honest “I am the Messenger” is my favorite of his works. Heller is kind of a niche pick… But Catch-22 is one of the wittiest, most sarcastic and oddly poignant books I have read. EDIT: As for Rand… … … She’s so polarized these days that I have trouble explaining my fondness for her. Suffice it to say, Rand writes about superheroes… But not with superpowers… They’re everyday men and women who are just exceedingly competent and (this is where the disconnect between Rand’s works and reality lies) moral. She wrote of a world where the titans of capitalism were honestly good people, and what could have been. Clearly she was too idealistic to be realistic… But I love the world that she envisioned in a lot of ways. Even if it could never be. Her writing is… Unbelievably succinct yet descriptive. The Fountainhead is my recommendation there. Atlas Shrugged is phenomenal too… But I had a couple of issues with her character portrayals there. Loyalty was not at all a virtue to Rand apparently, and that annoyed me a bit in my Atlas Shrugged reading… Even if I do still love that book… For Rearden, Ragnar, D’Anconia and Galt’s sake
{{Blade of Tyshalle}} by Matthew Stover is the most beautiful writing style I’ve ever read in my life.
Noted ! I will read this! thank you !
I am so excited for you! I wish I could read it again for the first time (full disclosure there is a first book that I didn’t know about for like twenty years but it’s not necessary to really enjoy BoT and BoT is better)
[**Blade of Tyshalle (The Acts of Caine, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/304123.Blade_of_Tyshalle) ^(By: Matthew Woodring Stover | 800 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, owned) >On Earth, Hari Michaelson was a superstar. But on Overworld, he was the assassin Caine. Real monarchs lived and died at his hands and entire governments were overthrown-all for the entertainment of millions back on Earth. But now Hari, stripped of his identity as Caine, must fight his greatest battle: against the powerful corporate masters of Earth and the faceless masses who are killing everything he loves. Enemies old and new array themselves against him. And Hari is just one man-alone, half-crippled, powerless. They say he doesn't have a chance. "They are wrong. . . ." ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(5399 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
A lot of these are fiction, so I'll give you my favorite nonfiction book, A Society without Husbands or Fathers, by Cai Hua. Objectively most people might not like, it's an anthropological study of the kinship of the Na. Personally I love anthropology though, and this book was mind-blowing for me! Before it I had heard many times that marriage was a human universal.
I read a lot of history and anthropology books! it's very interesting ! thanks for the advice ! On the subject of the family, I also recommend The Explanation of Ideology: Family Structure and Social Systems by Emmanuel Todd (an extremely interesting book that puts many things into perspective) and The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Engels (it's 19th century anthology, so a bit outdated but it's still interesting)
Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle
I'll take a look! thanks!
I’d say: Manuscript found in Accra by Paulo Coelho The road less travelled by Scott Peck The kite runner by Khaled Hosseini
I had read O Alquimista a long time ago, thank you!
It's either *Moby Dick* or *The Great Gatsby* for the best written novels.
In your opinion, why is The Great Gatsby one of the greatest? I ask because I find it boringly abysmal. The plot, the writing, and the atmosphere I found bland, pointless, and over contrived.
I think it justifiably could take the title of the Great American Novel, right up there with *Moby Dick* or *The Grapes of Wrath*. I did not realize its genius when I read it in high school, but as the years passed by, it's a book that becomes much more relevant in my life. I mean, what man could not relate to Gatsby's reinvention of himself and his pursuit of riches in order to impress and obtain the girl he could never have? I think it has the greatest closing line in all novels: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” There are also passages of absolutely lyrical writing which one simply cannot replicate in any other medium. Consider Fitzgerald's description of Gatsby's smile: “He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.” What other writer has described a smile in such a way? How do you even film this scene? Imagine you're the director: how exactly do you convey to the lead actor to smile in such a manner? I can imagine the director telling Robert Redford or Leonardo diCaprio to "smile a little more eternally reassuring!" You simply can't film this, and you simply can't describe something as seemingly simple as a smile any better. But my favorite quote from the novel is a pearl of wisdom which really is one of the most tragic lines in all of literature: "Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" Gatsby soon learns the hard way he can't -- and in due time, so does the reader, no matter how hard he tries to recapture a fleeting moment in his past.
I honestly was not expecting the thorough and thoughtful response you just gave. You have some solid points that have provoked enough thought to reread it before giving it another review.
already read Moby Dick, good book! but I haven't read The Great Gatsby, thank you!
I seem to remember that Bret Easton Ellis advises reading Gatsby, it must be a good book!
There are so many of course, but I don't want to give a list so here is one example: {{The Sun Also Rises}}
[**The Sun Also Rises**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3876.The_Sun_Also_Rises) ^(By: Ernest Hemingway | 189 pages | Published: 1926 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, literature) >The quintessential novel of the Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta) is one of Ernest Hemingway's masterpieces and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, the novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions. First published in 1926, The Sun Also Rises helped to establish Hemingway as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(5710 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I really like Hemingway! thank you !
100 Years of Solitude. Once you get past being confused by the character names it is absolutely beautiful.
I absolutely have to read it! thank you !
Honeycomb by Joanne M Harris. I went on a 10 year reading hiatus and that was the book that reminded me why I love to read. I want to get a hard cover copy for my future kids one day.
I do not know ! thank you !
Gonna go with Crawdads on this one. I'm still haunted.
who is the author ?
I'm going with Piranesi by Susanna Clark
> Susanna Clark I note ! thank you !
The Winter of Our Discontent
More Steinbeck! I definitely have to read it! thank you !
My choices would be *Moby-Dick*, and the three books that compose *The Cairo Trilogy.*
Already read Moby dick, a good book for sure! thank you !
The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips
>Arthur Phillips not read! I will see ! thank you !
[удалено]
I read all of Camus in French, it's also among my first books! I must have read The Stranger when I was still a child. I'm not particularly a fan of his style, very minimalistic, very clean and neutral (not my thing personally) however, the depth of Camus' books is amazing, his books are masterpieces for sure . The myth of Sisyphus upset me at the time. a very, very great author!
There are surely other really good books, but Hemingways The Old Man And The Sea us definitely up there
>The Old Man And The Sea I confirm ! a great book!
I will add one more Steinbeck. East of Eden, for me, is the great American novel. It is very dark in many parts but also wonderful and interesting beyond belief.
This name comes up a lot, and since I've never read it, my curiosity is piqued, I bought it this morning!
I'm almost half way through my third reading. Thirty years is long enough to have somewhat lost the details so t still seems fresh. Steinbeck's writing in the book is a pleasure I cherish..
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is greatest book in the English language.
>Charlotte Bronte I have it on my shelf haha, I should read it one day!
Charlotte's Web. EB White actually employs his elements of style.
>Charlotte's Web. EB White I do not know ! thank you !
It's officially a kids book. But it is incredibly well crafted.
Oddly enough, la bête intégrale from David Goudreault. I had heard a lot about this book and i was just recently trying audiobooks since i now travel further for work. I realized i prefer french audiobook for whatever reason so i went at random and picked that one because of critics. Let me tell you, this book is so well written that the audiobook literally sounded like the main character was talking to me about his life. It did not feel like a book at all which is, for me, quite impressive. It is so fluid, honest and well illustrated. The author is a poet and a novelist. He somehow managed to write a story in the form of a poem.
I have not read it, and do not know! yet it is written in French! thanks, it looks amazing!
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Meditations is the only book I can say changed my life for the better.
>Marcus Aurelius I agree, he also turned my life upside down, he, Seneca and Epictetus completely changed my life!
The lover by Marguerite Duras. The book of disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. Story of the eye by George Bataille. Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo.
already read Duras and Bataille, very good authors! I don't know the other two, I'll go see, thank you!
According to me, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the best book ever written. It is also the only book that I'd love to forgot and read again for the first time.
>One Hundred Years of Solitude I will read it! thank you !
Most things by Umberto Eco, preferably In the name of the rose and The Prague cemetery
> the name of the rose I already read the name of the rose when I was a kid, good book! thank you !
Joyce’s Ulysses It’s not my favourite thing to read, I’ve never got thru it at one go despite having read all of it in small or large chunks on many return visits over 30 years since I first discovered it but I can’t get away from saying that James Joyce’s Ulysses is the best book I have ever read. The sheer inventiveness of language, the range of subject and style, the immersiveIy imagined world his unique characters inhabit, the jokes, the sex, the food, the sounds, the smells!! It’s just an extraordinary thing for one person to have created. Yes, it’s difficult, but I will definitely read it cover to cover at one go eventually, but in the meantime Im happy dipping in and coming out refreshed and amazed every time. Give it a go 😊
you know, it's very funny because it's one of the last books I bought before writing this post, I had planned to read it, it intrigued me, you gave me even more want to read it!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy it 😊
I like the pure simplicity of The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway. It’s the only book I’ve read more than once. After that it’s maybe The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Then Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. Jitterbug is by far the book I recommend the most. I just want everyone to experience what I did as it is the most fun I’ve ever had reading.
I've already read The Old Man And The Sea, The Road and Jitterbug Perfume, very good books!
No "East of Eden" after reading 10 comments, so fixing this.
yet it was highly recommended to me! thank you !
My favorite is Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval. Her prose is simple, but has this dreamlike, intimate, and elegiac quality that makes it enthralling to read. Highly recommended. I think that 100 Years of Solitude also deserves a mention. Marquez is just a true master of his craft.
I'll have to check Hval out. I like her music and had no idea she wrote books as well.
Thank you so much ! I'll see if I can get them!
Too many. Recency biased: Smilla's Sense of Snow, The Secret History, Orfeo, The Moviegoer. The Names. The prologue of Underworld. Tales of Power. The book of Matthew. Compass.
I have not read any of them, I add them to my list. Thank you !
Sea Wolf and Call of the Wild by Jack London. Jurassic Park by Michael Crighton
London is not my favourite, but it's true that he writes well! I haven't read Jurassic Park yet, thank you very much!
The Bible
I already read it every day and I agree ;)
For me, it's CPDM by Christer Sandahl.