What is the best book you ever read?

Question

Fact or fiction (though fact is much more satisfying), what are some awesome books?
Preferably something you can learn from...

Answer 1

Don Quixote - you will learn a lot from it. It has humor, romance, intrigue, pathos, irony and wisdom and so much more. I love it because like Don Quixote, I am a chaser of windmills and seeker of impossible dreams. It is a book that you should read at least three times. Once when you are young, once when you are middle aged and once when you are old. You will never grow tired of it. Pax- C

Answer 2

I believe fact is far less "satisfying." It's all fact, but fiction is fact make beautiful, and as Mark Twain said, "plausible."
One can learn from all that is good. One can learn from bad, too, but it's more difficult.

My super-favorite book is "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge" by Rainer Marie Rilke.
First of all Rilke is my favorite poet, and this is his only novel. How could I not love it?
Words, words, words. It is always the words, the way they are put, the way they are said, even more than the story that moves me, and Rilke is morbid and miserable, but from that he creates Beauty. Rare beauty. I live in beauty, when I read a great book, and I am happy for days.

I know no such thing as a "depressing" story. The only thing that depresses me in reading is bad writing.

And "Malte Laurids Brigge" is awesomely powerful, painfully sensitive and beautifully truthful.

I love it. Some other awesome books are all books written by Jose Saramago, Per Lagerkvist, Virginia Woolf, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, John Fowles, Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. You learn life from these books. You learn love for the word and the power of saying much with little and with beauty. You learn people, their honorable qualities, their failings, their struggles and their heroism. You learn who you are from the stories of others.

Answer 3

The Iliad and The Odyssey (both epic poems by Homer). There are many things you can learn about human nature from these two volumes. The Iliad is a classic tale of love, war, and revenge. The Odyssey is a story about a man's long, difficult journey home from said war, and everything that happens to him along the way. Metaphors and life lessons can be drawn in abundance from both of these stories.

Answer 4

I can't commit to best book. There are so many,
and like with songs and movies and people, it
depends on mood, time of day, etc.

However, the one I've found most daunting
is Andrew Solomon's "The Noonday Demon,"
released I think in 1999, give or take.

THAT is how to write a book.

He handles it all, he's compelling, and
considering its subject, he's stunningly
easy to read.

You want something to learn from--this is it:
The skies of bare and true humanity, through
a couple-thousand loops.

Answer 5

The Years of the Hungry Tiger. By John Gordon Davis.
It's set in Hong Kong,under British rule. The hero is a British policeman who has a relationship with a communist school teacher.
It's a combination of thriller/love story set in an interesting stage of Chinese history.
The first chapter is really hard to get through, or so my friends say. If anyone wants to read it, skim through the first chapter. It's worth it.

Answer 6

The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexander Dumas

Been here for over 100 years and still brilliant. Has adventure, revenge, a teeny bit of romance and important history in the backround. But more important- both the complicated plot and the story morals make you think.

Answer 7

probably the work that had the greatest overarching influence upon me, were the books of jrr tolkien's middle earth: the silmarrillion, the hobbit, and the lord of the rings trilogy. they led into a profound and lasting love for language, understanding of honor and courage; perseverance and strength of character.
as i write this, i am realizing how long its been since i reflected upon this. also, if one had come by accident upon the silmarrillion---which chronologically precedes the age that the hobbit and lotr are set---as i did, these pieces might have had an even greater effect on those who read and loved them.

Answer 8

There are way too many to list! But the book that has probably shaped my own style of writing has been Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.

Answer 9

Catch 22.

Answer 10

i love "Anthem" by Ayn Rand..it takes place in the future where individualism was long forgotten; there was no I or You or Me. It was all Us, We, Our, etc. It's such a cool book.
More info about this story, you could check out:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/anthem/summary.html

I also like "Animal Farm" by George Orwell..it's about farm animals taking over the farm...but then the leader, the most intellectual of the animals, abuse his powers and becomes a tyrannist...it's a true-to-life story about Soviet Russia under, i believe, Stalin.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/animalfarm/summary.html