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Favorite books of fiction?

I see a lot of requests where peopel ask for recommendaions for atherist books. However, mos to fus love to read a wide variety of books. So, what are your favorite fictional books

snytiger6 9 Mar 21
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Here are a few Ilike.

  1. "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
  2. "Shogun" by James Clavell
  3. "The Persian Boy" by mary Renault

Aldo a pretty rece3nt book, "Where The Crawdads Sing" .. don't recall the author off hand.

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Is there a way to compile a list of all these books in a file? Just so we can reference them when looking for something new to read.

I happen to keep a list of almost every book (3000+) I read in a Word (2007) file. Mostly because it is hard to remember every author and title I've read, and it keeps me from unintentionally reading a book I've already read. I do rate them form one to ten, but most of the books I've finished reading and listed are rated 6-10. The only categorization I do is by author, title and fiction or nonfiction.

I can send my list of books read to anyohne who wants it. However you would need Microsoft Word 2007 or later to open the file, and your email server would need to accept large attachments. Just message me with the email address you want it sent to, with a short note asking for it. The list grows by 1-3 books almost every day.

@snytiger6 Do you have a top ten list?

@GreatNani I like different books for different reasons, which makes it hard to come up with a top 10. For Instance I love the story of Les Miserables, but there is that section where Victor Hugo goes into why napoleon lost t Waterloo... which was educational, but kind of stalled the main story. Anyway, I'll come uip with 10 off the top of my head.

  1. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. I think this is his real masterpiece work. Most think it is "Geh Grapes of Wrath", and that expose novel was a great book, but East of Eden in my opinion was better.

  2. TheSound of Waves, by Yukio Mishima. It was one of his earlier books and mostly overlooked by bibliofiles when taling about his books But is it a nice litle (a short read) upbeat story.

  3. Shogun, by James Clavell. The novel was inspired by actal historical figures and events. However it greatly differs from actual Japanese history, which is why the names are all different.

  4. The disc world series, by Terry Pratchett. This is a fantasy series which kind of makes fun of (satirizes) fantasy adventure books. I went on line to get a chronological list so I could read them in the order of actual story line. They are wildly entertaining.

  5. The Harry Potter series, by J, K. Rowling. It is interesting that she used to early 20th century English boarding school model and made a school for persons with magic to learn how to use their gifts. It's a whole new take on the old and is very imaginative.

  6. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. This is a dystopian future tale. Basically far right wing religious nuts won a nuclear war and the book shows a slice of life of that world. I heard on NPR that she has recently written a sequel, but Ihave not read that oen yet.

  7. The Unincorporated Man, by Dani Kolin. This is a semi-dystopian novel. A billionaire has his body frozen preserved and hidden to hopefully wake up when a cure cn be foudn for his illness. He is accidentally discovered by future generations and finds himself in a world where everyone is incorporated and shares of stock for each person can be bought on the open markets. I foudn the concept both interesting and frightening. There are sequels to this books, which although good are not quite as good as the first.

  8. People of the Wolf (The first North Americans series), by W. Michael Gear. The author and his wife have written two series of books aobu tthe lives of Native Americans before Europeans invaded. The books all start with an archeological discovery, and then the actual story of the book grows out of the item discovered.

  9. Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. This book somehow capture humity in a way that few other books have.

  10. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov. This is actually a collection of short stories. It is very enjoyable. Asimov continues his robots and advances them in his Foundation series. However, I, Robot was originally written as individual stories for science fiction magazines and later collected into a single volume.

OK, as I included series that is far mroe than 10 books.

If anyone reading this has kids in addition to Terry Pratchett, I'd recommend "The Ranger's Apprentice" series by John Flanagan (he also wrote a second series called "Brother's Band" which grow out of the first series) He started writing in order to interest his son in reading.

I'd recommend books considered to be "classics" I sometiems go online and look at required literature reading for colleges and universities to help round out my education a little more.

@snytiger6 great top ten. I have read some.of them.

@GreatNani I forgot "The Persian Boy" by Mary Renault. It chronicles the life of Alexander The Great from the perspective of a Persian slave who becomes one of Alexander's confidants. There is a prequel "Fire From Heaven" about Alexander's childhood, but it just isn't as good. She also wrote a book about the disarray and aftermath after Alexander's death.... can't recall the title off hand though.

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"Small Gods" by Terry Pratchett. Heck, ANY of Terry Pratchett's books from the Discworld series, starting with "The Color of Magic". Terry Pratchett tears into cultural iconography with deft insight and tremendous humor. When he was on a roll, as in "Reaper Man", or "Soul Music"... wow, I need to re-read these!

[terrypratchettbooks.com]

Any Neil Gaiman book--"Good Omens" which is a collaboration with the late T. Pratchett is awesome, especially since it was made into a series found on Amazon Prime now. "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" as well. And of course the "Sandman".

When I read the Terry Pratchett books, I read them in chronological order. Not the order in which they were written, but chronologically in terms of story line(s). I really love how the character of Death, keeps trying to become a better individual.

Anyway, all of Pratchettt's books are very entertaining.

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I happen to love the Harry Potter books. The movies too, but the books are more in-depth/involved. I read the Lord of the Ring series when I was younger, but in a way I like the movies better. I have not read or seen Game of Thrones, but I hear it’s an amazing series. Even to this day, I enjoy the Chronicles of Narnia. But my all-time favorite book is Dracula. NOT the movies. There have been no movies that have done the book any justice. The brilliance of telling the story through the journals of those who were living the story, and the psychological warfare the monster played with his victims... it was all far more frightening than the blood.

Yes, the original Dracula and Frankenstwin books are much better than any of the movies they spawned.

I think Game of Thrones was better on the screen. George R.R. Martin has yet to finish writing the books. By the fifth book the series and book diverged quite a bit.

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Here are a few books, that are great but not so widely read.

The People of the Wolf, by W. Michael Gear
The first in a series called "The First north Americans", all of which are worth reding, and you dont' have to read them in order for them to make sense.

The Persian Boy, by Mary Renault
This tells the story of Alexander the Great, through the eyes of a Persian eunich slave. mary Renault wrote a lot of historical fiction mostly takign place in ancient Greece, However, this book is her masterpiece.

Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis
This looks at the origins and life of an Evangelical preacher, and the hupcrisy in religiou8s leaders. Might be appreciated by peopel o this site. You may also want to read "It Can't happen Here" by the saem author, about how totalitarianism coudl take place in the U.S.

East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
Made into films at least three times, this story is actually loosely based on Steinveck's own distant relatives, and in my opinion is his best work. Sor those who like a short read, try "The Pearl" also by Steinbeck, which is also loosely based on actual events, the originas of which are descrived in his nonfiction work "The Sea of Cortez", which also give you insight into many books he wrote and where may of his estories originated.

Shogun, by James Clavell
Based very loosely on a true story of an Englishman who was ship wriecked in feudal Japan, who ended up befriending a warlord who later became the Shogun. Thsi is a book I reread every so often. Another book by the saem author is "King Rat", which is about the inmates of a prisoner of war camp.

The Unincorporated Man, by Dani & Eytan Kolin
This is science fiction. The premise is a rich guy feezes himself because he has an incurable disease and is later accidently discovered by a future society which is wholly different fromt eh one he left behind. This is ht efirst book of a series og four books. A very imaginative future.

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Another vison of hte future, where Theists take over. So, thsi is nto a very pretty picture of the future. It is still very well done.

Feel free to post your own favorite books which may or may nto be so well known.

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Huckleberry Finn
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Lord of the Rings
Lolita
On the Road

cava Level 7 Mar 22, 2018

I've read all of those

@snytiger6 I also like "Far Tortuga" by Peter Matthiessen, Nathanael West, "Day of the Locust", "Miss Lonnelyhearts", Thomas Harris "Black Sunday", "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs", I read "Lonesome Dove" twice and I think I've seen all the movies. McMurtry's best by far.

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The classics are always a good bet. Dickens' Great Expectations, Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo.

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I highly recommend The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery by Laura Antoniou, it's a hoot and a half, and anyone who is familiar with the LGBT community will likely get more than a few chuckles out of this witty, well written book.

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There are a few I reread every few years because I just fucking love them.

Julian May's Saga of the Pliocene exile. Anyone else read these?

All of Frank Herbert's Dune series.

Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. "In the state of Denmark there is the odor of decay."

A Fire Upon the Deep by Verner Vinge. Fantastic sci-fi with one of the most interesting alien races I've read along with a trippy and imaginative take on the physics of deep space...I know, check it out.

Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides. A non sci-fi/fantasy book on my list, I know. It's outstanding, read it.

Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn series. Set in the Warhammer 40k universe, which is basically atheist catholics in space. Eisenhorn is a holy Inquisitior of the God Emperor and a bad ass. Abnett has mad skills when it comes to writing action. If you dig it, follow it up with the Ravenor series.

1

Hitch Hikers Guide
Earthsea
Magician
The Stone and The Flute

Can't go wrong with The Hitchhikers Guide

1

Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash

Love it! Rollicking fun genius tour de force. Read it 3 times, it so complex and fun. I also love The Baroque Cycle

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THE BIBLE

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The Foundation series by Asimov. Rama series by Clarke. Tolkien. Haven't thought about Wheatly in a while, have the Devil Rides Out.

BillF Level 7 Mar 21, 2018
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I suppose the ones I have let my OCD out for a bit of excercise with were: John Wyndham, Dennis Wheatley (Black magic and the occult), Agatha Christie (Poirot) Frank Herbert & Son and I read everything!!! Havent obsessed for a while though 🙂

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The Once and Future King (T.H. White - loaned it out and never got it back -- miss that book) --
[en.wikipedia.org]

f

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A Prayer For Owen Meany, by John Irving.

Ironic, I know.

I love all of John Irving's books.

@snytiger6 I love most of them. Setting Free the Bears was not a favorite, though.

@Nottheonlyone I haven't read that one ... yet.

@snytiger6 I'm an honest woman... Don't bother.

@Nottheonlyone Although I studied story construction in college, I lack the discipline needed to write or rather rewrite somethign to a point where it is saleable.

Anyway, I still will read "bad" books because i find it interesting to try to figure out why they don't work. I recently read a book by an author I liked, but I hated that particular book. In short it boiled down to the fact that none of the characters had any redeeming characteristics. Even anti-heroes have to have something about them that is likeable and makes you root for them.

So, i probably will red the book, just to see what went wrong.

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