what is the best book you have read?

Answer 1

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving

Answer 2

The Duncton Wood Trilogy, by William Horwood - It sounds daft but it's about a big war between good 7 bad moles and the violence in it is well written as is the adventure, love and characters. It makes me laugh out loud and cry my heart out. I've been reading the trilogy over and over since I discovered it in the 90's and it still affects me now.
Once into it it's best not to read it at night because you'll end up staying up all night because you can't put it down.

Anything at all by Jonathan Kellerman, he writes crime/psychological whodunnits.
The lead character is a psychologist called Alex and the stories concern him and his best friend (a police inspector) trying to solve murders that are almost impossible to solve. The books are a great insight into modern life and the way people think plus how we as a society deal with the mentally ill, homeless and addicted.
I know I've made it sound stuffy but they are a fantastic exciting read with lots of twists and turns.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is one of my favourites it has everything in it mystery, adventure, romance and a woman overcoming the odds. It's set in the early 1900's and the descriptions are amazing you really feel you could be there.

Answer 3

Hanta Yo by Ruth Beebe Hill

The story of an original people, a multigenerational saga which reveals an American Indian culture from the inside. Based on a document recorded on tanned hide by a member of the Mahto band of the Teton Sioux, it takes you into the lives of two families of this band and describes their world as it was from the late 1700s to the 1830s, before the white man came onto the red man's territory.

The book was translated from modern English into a now-archaic Dakota/Lakota dialect and then re-translated into an English based on Webster's 1806 edition and faithfully reflecting the Indian idiom.
(From inside flap of book)

It is a little long, but it is truly the best book I have ever read...and I've read quite a few ;-)

Answer 4

Count of Montecristo by Alexander Dumas.The hero is Edmond Dantés, a young French sailor who, falsely accused of treason, is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of Château d'If. After staging a dramatic escape he sets out to discover the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo and catch up with his enemies. A novel of enormous tension and excitement, Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge, with Dantés, believing himself to be an `Angel of Providence', pursuing his vengeance to the bitter end before realizing that he himself is a victim of fate.The author did a great job describing the emotions of the prisoner.Disbelief,denial,self pity,madness,apathy and finally hope.For God's sake don't see any of the movies based on the book.They don't do justice to the book.

Dresden file book series by Jim Butcher.There are 8 books in the series beginning with stormfront.It narrates the story of Harry Dresden,chicago's only professional wizard who works as a detective.He stands between the general population who is ignorant about the supernatural world and the monsters - vampires,werewolves,fallen angels,fey.He is aided by Bob,a talking skull.Karrin Murphy-a police officer and Thomas-a white court vampire.

Savage and Ascension by Kelley Armstrong.Both are available free from the author's website.They tell the story of Clayton,how he was made a werewolf,how Jeremy rescued the feral child wolf and earned Clayton's undying gratitude,and how Clayton became someone to reckon with in his Pack.Told in 1st person from Clayton's view,it is poignant and touching at times and humorous.We understand how his childhood influenced his later life.

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini.When his best friend, a young clergyman, is killed in a mockery of a duel by an arrogant noble, just to quiet his eloquent expressions of democratic ideals, Andre-Louis Moreau vows revenge. From that point, through meteoric careers as a consummate actor and scenario writer, then as a fencing master, and finally a politician, the brilliant Moreau keeps thwarting the aims of the aristocratic Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr. However, the nobleman causes pain to Moreau as well, and the time must come when the two will meet to settle their enmity once and for all. You are not likely to guess how their confrontation finally turns out. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, this swashbuckling novel is exciting throughout, and it presents one of the most dashing heroes in fiction, a man who can fight equally well with his mind, his mouth, his pen, and his sword, a man who stirs up events wherever he goes.

Answer 5

The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin
Although they consist of 4 books (The Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu) I like to think of them as chapters of one long story.

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
(Sabriel, Lireal, The Abhorsen)
Likewise.

Answer 6

This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlmen - By Tadeusz Borowski, is a first person account of surviving in Auschwitz as a prisoner. The irony is, that by performing assigned duties that grant him daily life, the prisoner becomes a part or fixture of the concentration camp.

Answer 7

"Best" describes so many contexts....for prose and sheer tenacity in the use of language and storytelling I'd have to say the "best" would be Moby ****.

If you meant which was my favorite then James Clavell's series of books he wrote about the Orient fall into that. His descriptions of medieval Japan in Shogun were wonderful.

Answer 8

Cats Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut Jr

Answer 9

House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton

Answer 10

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.