What is the greatest book you've ever read....?

Question

I haven't had one of those "can't put down" books in such a long time, but, I'm out of idea's. I prefer to read non-fiction..any suggestion's out there?

You know, I didn't think about it, but how am I to choose a best answer until I have read everyones suggestions? Thanks to everyone with such an incredible response!

Read everyones book suggestions that is.

Answer 1

Non-fiction: "Red Star Rogue" by Kenneth Sewell. Its research on a cold-war era issue... narrow appeal of interest, but...

Fiction: "Clan of the Cave Bear" and the rest of the series by Jean Auel. A VERY good read.

Perhaps you can add a few of your recent "can't put down" recommendations in the comments ?

Thanks and Happy Reading

Answer 2

There are not that many books which will make me heavily bawl however the single that got here closest with "A Prayer for Owen Meany" with the aid of John Irving. John Irving is extremely stable at blending humor and drama mutually and there are areas of the e book that are extremely the numerous funniest issues i've got examine. Owen is, in lots of procedures, a very humorous character which (with out attempting to furnish away too lots) makes the ending so heartbreaking. that's a narrative approximately love (of the platonic variety), selflessness, and loss. that's between the final books I examine interior the previous 365 days.

Answer 3

Fiction: 100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Read it in both the original Spanish and in English. The English translation was beautifully made, it did not lose any of its meaning.

The novel is about 100 years in the history of a family in an imaginary South American town named Macondo. It is perhaps the best example there is of magical realism.

Non-fiction: Probably The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston. It is about the first Ebola outbreak in the USA that affected humans (there was another outbreak that only affected monkeys). The variant is called Ebola Reston, named after the town in North Virginia where the outbreak happened. A couple years after I read the book we moved to Reston, less than two miles from the site of the outbreak, did not realize it was the same Reston until I re-read the book a while later.

Answer 4

"Above the Clouds: A Reunion of Father and Son" by Jonathan Bach; this book will mesmerize you. I bought it and mailed it to my estranged daughter (the love of my life, the center of my universe, and the only person that has succeeded in hurting my feelings) but I doubt she read it. It puts into words many feelings and emotions that we sometimes find so difficult to verbalize. I recommend it. Jonathan Bach is the son of Richard Bach, also an author of some considerable fame.

Richard Bach wrote "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," "Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah," and "The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story" (a non-fiction). I also recommend that you read these uplifting books. They will have a positive effect on you.

There are are also several other books that I would recommend but, they not recent books. For example, 'The Fountainhead," by Ayn Rand, which I first read in 1964 and have since read again about 7 or 8 times, and I consider my bible! It was written in the late 30s by a Russian immigrant, it was turned down by 14 or so publishers, but it was published in the early 40s and it became a rage across America; it became a rage again in the 60s when I read it and again in the 80s, shortly before the author's death. If you read this book, you won't want to put it down! (It still contains an error; it uses the word "egotist" instead of "egoist").

The other two books are also very old, by George Orwell, "Animal Farm" and "1984." I think that even if you've already read these you might want to review them. These books, written by the early 1940s are amazingly relevant to today's social and political climate.

You might want to read a series of books by John Jakes, The Kent Family Chronicles that start with "The Bastard," about a young man born out of wedlock to an English nobleman and a French peasant woman, and his adventures as he flees his half brother who tries to kill him; he meets many historical figures, like Ben Franklin, Paul Revere and other historical figures; the rest of the other 6 books also use history and inventions and customs of the day as they came into vogue as a backdrop to the adventures of Phillip Kent's descendents from pre-Revolutionary times to 1890. Fantastic reading, too. I would suggest that you get all of the books at once!

Answer 5

You know this is a very difficult question. I have been privileged to read so many wonderful books in my lifetime. Since you say you prefer non-fiction, I'll cut it down somewhat.

OK, I can't do "greatest," that's too hard. But here's something I will recommend, which I have read recently. "Know It All" by Ed Zotti, editor of The Straight Dope. This is apparently a column written by Cecil Adams, "The World's Smartest Human Being." Well, perhaps one of the smartest, anyway. Matter of opinion, you know.

Actually, both Adams and Zotti are expert researchers, and expert explainers. They can explain things the rest of us know we know, but don't know how to put together right. They can also explain things we never thought about before. Zotti is at his best in these. "How do houseflies manage to land on the ceiling upside down?" "Why do your fingers and toes wrinkle in the bathtub?" "Which is correct: 12 midnight a.m. or 12 midnight p.m.?" [neither]

Zotti is an answerer, just like us. Only one of the more clever ones. He writes his own questions!

Answer 6

The DaVinci Code...surely a can not put down book....also really good page turners were The Notebook and The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks and Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Some other good ones were Steven King's the Green Mile and The Lovely Bones.

Answer 7

Catch 22

Answer 8

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This is based on a true story and is one of the best books I have read in many years. Its done the rounds where I work and everyone who read it adored it.

Answer 9

"Follow The River" a book by James Alexander Thom about the true ordeal of a pioneer woman who was captured by the indians and escaped. Her name was Mary Ingles. It was very inspiring. She had a lot of courage. I re-read it every year. The movie they made about it was very boring compared to the book.

Answer 10

Non fiction - "The Bell Curve"
Fiction - "Crime and Punishment" (Raptures of intensely enlightening narration - probably the most exciting novel that will ever be written.
Then "War and Peace" (So good I couldn't put it down and I finished it within two weeks)