garnett Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 For me FANNY HILL started it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CigarmanTim Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The Border trilogy is excellent. good books... and to kill a Mockingbird was classic. How about "a catcher in the rye" the book...the impact with John Lennon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CigarmanTim Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 . try and read lord of the rings every five years or so but i don't think i'm about to rush off to mordor to fight orcs (enough of that visiting new zealand). Have read the triogy and the hobbitt over 6 or 7 times in my life.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davin Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 A portrait of the artist as a young man by Joyce and Moby **** by Melville A little too "Classic" maybe but I was educated by the Jesuits and both books were perfect for the time I read them. First in my middle teens, second in middle 20s. Now that I just hit mid 30s, looking for the next one. As an aside I've recently read a bunch of Benedict XVI's books and while obviously they wont be everyones' cup of tea, I find it hard not to be impressed by the depth of his philosophy and thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Herbie Popnecker. By Richard E. Hughes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Not the most profound book, but one which drew me in quickly and held me captive, making me feel I was there watching it happen, a book I can pick up and open to any page and start reading, or re-read from cover to cover: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - an account of the 1996 Everest disaster. On a side note the "S" encyclopedia will leave quite an impression if you ever get hit with it. Not that I ever did...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuff Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 +1 To Kill a Mockingbird; for the shear simple beauty of the story and the amazing way the principles in this book become real. I don't know; you might have to be from the southern part of USA for this book to work on you. Big Effect: The Winds of War by Herman Wouk and War and Remberance by same. These 3 books will strike close to home. Tuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Abbey 'Desert Solitaire' Desert Solitaire is a terrific book. This is where I started with Ed Abbey, and nothing surpassed it. +1 To Kill a Mockingbird; for the shear simple beauty of the story and the amazing way the principles in this book become real. I don't know; you might have to be from the southern part of USA for this book to work on you. I think To Kill a Mockingbird is universally great. I'm yet to meet someone who has read it and not been blown away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZCUBAN Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Hi All To pick your favourite book would be like a parent picking thier favourite child ,lucky i don't have that problem Mine based on pure enjoyment and escapism would be The LOTR trilogy The Hobbit ,The Dune series by Frank Herbert and the later books by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson,and any thing by Clive Cussler Oh and SHOGUN ,MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA THE KITE RUNNER.. Cheers OZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZCUBAN Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Having said all that there are some excellent books listed here ,that must be on the must read list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigcars Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 My goodness, what a topic for us rabid readers! I love Stephen King. I love John Steinbeck. Just about any autobiography by actors/celebraties, I'll buy and read: Hume Cronyn's "A Terrible Liar," "Before I Forget" by James Mason, and the other 2 bios about him by Sheridan Morley and his own sister-in-law's book, David Carradine's "Endless Highway"...600+ pages! Also, "Siddhartha", "The Autobiography of Malcolm X", "Flowers For Algernon" (remember 'Charly' with Cliff Robertson?), also Nikolai Cherkasov's "Notes of a Soviet Actor". In case one isn't familiar, he's the one who played Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible in director Sergei Eisenstein's films of the same name. *WHEW* Tired, already, gotta get ready for sleep. There's plenty more, but right now for a rugged, cigar-smokin', hard as nails outbacker - how about "The Rubiyat of Omar Kayyam"!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 There's plenty more, but right now for a rugged, cigar-smokin', hard as nails outbacker ...... Sounds good, but how about something for Rob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Gargett Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I want to do a little more quality reading this year which reminds me - next time you are over, i have a book for you (rob is one of my few friends who actually returns books). 'the lost city of Z' by david gramm - true story of a new york times reporter who tried to solve the mystery of the famous english explorer fawcett, who disappeared in 1925 searching the amazon for eldorado. many othjers have looked for him as well, including movie stars and squillionaires. fascinating stuff, especially on the actual amazon, which should be of interest after last year's trip. i really enjoyed it (but have no intention of heading off into the depths of the amazon because of it, so may not qualify for this thread). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aes8 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Kitchen Confidential Medium Raw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trimble Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Art of War - influential, can be used in life strategy and situations. Have you heard of The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield? Its a creative non-fictional read. I don't read many fictional books, however I found The Shack by William P. Young to be quite thought provoking. Then there's always the book of Proverbs, its proven to be a consistently insightful read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saleja66 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The Bible was life changing.... but i managed to change my life back om track again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rob Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons The Sandman (the whole 75 issue series) by Neil Gaiman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshMP Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The Game by Neil Strauss and The Wolf of Wall St are both great books for a fun way to kill some time. I've re-read the game once a year for 4 or 5 now. The starbucks experience is a good read too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalebread Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Klaus JansenWatchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons The Sandman (the whole 75 issue series) by Neil Gaiman Yes. Neil Gaiman. Really like his stuff. Good Omens. American Gods. Anansi Boys. The Graveyard Book. All good. And, of course, Neverwhere, which came after the television series. All are good reads. Good Omens is a hoot. But I'm not sure, at least for myself, any of them "had some significant impact on the person you are today." I've never tried the Sandman series. Since they are graphic novels, do you think you have to approach them with some kind of different mind set? Do they read differently than a "regular" novel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryleech Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 There are too many to mention - it would be like trying to select my three favourite cigars. Even if I came up with a selection that I was happy with for a split second, it would change every time I read a book/smoke a cigar! That said, three off the top of my head: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller - read it when I was fifteen and was a profound read. Plan to re-read it soon. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People by Toby Young - a very well written and very funny book. I identify a little too much with the author for my own liking Scoop by Evelyn Waugh - Hilarious book and especially interesting to me as a working hack, one of the funniest books ever written about journalism. Many a true word is said in jest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 2 books by Primo Levi. "If This is a Man" and "The Periodic Table" "Einstein's Dreams" by Alan Lightman. Finally, not a novel but a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver "Where I'm calling from" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samb Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Having just reread (as an adult) Jack Londons the Call of the Wild, I now have a much greater appreciation for the companionship of us and our pets.... As for influential, or really thought-provoking, I normally read mass market paperback horror novels, so I gravitate toward reading solely for entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torontonian Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I forgot to mention Marcel Proust's six-volume novel À la recherche du temps perdu (usually translated In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past). In my view, one of the finest and most memorable modern novels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CigarmanTim Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 THE KITE RUNNER..Cheers OZ The Kite Runner stuck with me for a long while.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjellfrick Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 The Bible...read it as a kid and it kept me out of religion for life! Zen, and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Got me thinking in new ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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