Your Most Memorable Books/Series/Authors

[Farseer]

I would like to know your twenty most memorable books.

DON"T THINK, just type...the first twenty that pop into your head...GO!

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Now you've completed the list, feel free to go back and add comments eg when you read it, why you read it, what you thought etc but DON"T CHANGE your initial listing !

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Twenty? You're asking for quite a lot here. They don't have to be fiction, right? (Although I do read more fiction than non-fiction...).

Well, it's quite an eclectic list. Let me try to explain what each book on the list means to me...

1. The Bible - I swear, this is not me being pious, this was honestly the first book I thought of. It has always been a part of my life, even now when I'm not so sure what to think anymore.

2. The Neverending Story (Michael Ende) - First off, please don't judge it by the movies. It is way better and deeper, especially the second half. I have read this book over and over again and still keep finding new layers. I would need a whole book to describe what makes this book so special to me.

3. Neuropath (Scott Bakker) - Not for the faint of heart, this book balances detailed information about neurosience and gruesome events. It makes one ask uncomfortable questions about free will. I couldn't shut up about it after I finished it, which is always a good sign.

4. A Game of Thrones (George R. R. Martin - The problem with fantasy is, does one list seeies or single books?

5. Will the Center Hold? (Donald Palmer - This book got me into philosophy. Well written, clear and peppered with amusing cartoons.

6. Assassin's Quest (Robin Hobb) - This book's ending stayed with me for a long time. AA got me into Hobb and RA got me hooked, but AQ really cemented Hobb's reputation for me.

7. Firewing (Kenneth Oppel) - A children's book that I read years ago, third in the Silverwing series. Like AQ, its ending stayed with me for a long time.

8. Redwall (Brian Jacques) - Another childhood favorite. I used to love the Redwall series, but they're getting worse, there are simply too many of 'em. (22 and counting! Yikes!)

9. The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins) - A recent read. While I do not agree with everything, this book does have me re-examining how I think about religion.

10. The Power That Preserves (Stephen Donaldson) - Third book of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Its ending stayed with me for a long time - I have the feeling there's someting deeper there that I just don't grasp yet.

11. The New Testament (Bart D. Ehrman) - No, not the new testament itself, a book about the new testament. It made me view it in a different light.

12. Lila (Robert M. Pirsig) - Much better than Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Proposes an intriuging new metaphysical system, although I don't think it's true.

13. Sabriel (Garth Nix) - This was very enjoyable. I can't think of more to say at the moment.

14. Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling) - Which one? Ah, there's the series problem again...

15. Sophie's World (Jostein Gaarder) - Slightly overrated, but still interesting.

16. The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (Arthur Japin) - One of the very few Dutch authors that I enjoy, a reason no doubt that it was so memorable.

17. The Four Loves (C. S. Lewis) - One of the best examinations of the subjects of love and friendship that I have ever read.

18. The Elements of Moral Philosophy (James Rachels) - The best introducyion to ethics I ever could have wanted.

19. Out of the Silent Planet (C. S. Lewis) Hey look, it's C. S. Lewis again!

20. Fevre Dream (George R. R. Martin) - I don't know. I'm tired.

[joost]

Sorted on alphabetical order on the last name of the writer. I've decided to choose only one book (or trilogy in case the books can't be separated) from every author, otherwise the list would probably be 20 books by Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. I find it very difficult to express why I like a book, so my descriptions will be very short.
1. Clive Barker - Weaveworld Difficult choice whether to pick Weaveworld or Imajica. In the end I decided to choose Weaveworld.
2. Thea Beckman - Kruistocht in spijkerbroek (English title: Crusade in jeans). The book that made me realise that history isn't boring.
3. Cecelia Dart-Thornton - The bitterbynde trilogy Lots of Celtic mythology in a story that gripped me from the first page
4. Stephen Donaldson - Mordants need Better than the TC books, IMO.
5. Umberto Eco - Foucault's pendulum Templars, rosicrucians, philosophy, bibliophilia, this book has everything.
6. David Eddings - The redemption of Althalus Clichéd? Yes. But I loved reading it
7. Michael Ende - The neverending story Very good book. I agree that the second half, where Bastian is travelling through Fantastia, is the best part of the book.
8. Neil Gaiman - The sandman The books that got me into graphic novels. This is, for me, one continuous story, so I don't want to choose one individual volume.
9. Mary Gentle - Ash: a secret history I bought this because I liked Orthe. And this is, for me, the perfect blend between fantasy, fiction and history.
10. Ursula le Guin - The farthest shore The best book of the Earthsea series.
11. Robin Hobb - The liveship traders Do I really need to explain this?
12. Marjorie B. Kellogg - The dragon quartet Environmental fantasy. Sounds boring? Perhaps, but it's not written like that.
13. Anne McCaffrey - Dragonflight Because this is the book that started my love for Pern.
14. Alan Moore - V for vendetta One of the best graphic novels that I've ever read.
15. Grant Morrison - The invisibles Again, the complete series. Think 'The matrix', but then more intelligent.
16. Terry Pratchett - The colour of magic And this one started my love for Discworld
17. JRR Tolkien - Lord of the rings Do I need to explain this?
18. Jules Verne - Journey to the center of the earth I still need to find a good collection of Jules Verne's books. Difficult choice between his works, but I decided to pick this one because it's, as far as I can remember, the first Verne book that I read.
19. Margaret Weis/Tracy Hickman - Dragonlance legends I just like my fantasy like this.
20. Marion Zimmer Bradley - The mists of Avalon The best telling of the Arthur saga that I've read.

[Manephelien]

In a more or less random order...

1. JRR Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings. The book that got me reading fantasy again after a break of more than 10 years.
2. Jules Verne: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (20,000 leagues under the sea). First unabridged book I ever read in French.
3. Anne McCaffrey: Moreta - Dragonlady of Pern. My first Pern book, and still my favorite.
4. Anne McCaffrey: The Rowan. Made me realize that there's so much more to AMC than just Pern.
5. Dick Francis: Proof. Wonderful detective story set in the racing world. I could have mentioned any of his almost 40 books, love them all.
6. Terry Pratchett: The Colour of Magic. Where can I get my ticket to Discworld?
7. Isaac Asimov: Foundation. Got me reading hard SF.
8. Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's End. The ending stayed with me for years.
9. Robin Hobb: Ship of Magic. The book that turned me into a Hobb fan. I enjoyed the Farseer trilogy, but I couldn't get enough of the liveships.
10. Jean M. Auel: The Valley of Horses. Got me interested in paleontology.
11. JK Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I wish I wasn't a Muggle!

More to come later...

[Albertosaurus Rex]

7. Michael Ende - The neverending story Very good book. I agree that the second half, where Bastian is travelling through Fantastia, is the best part of the book.

Glad to see that we think alike. I think it's no wonder that the first movie worked better than the second. Not that the first half of the book is bad, far from it, but it's much more straightforward. And the second half gets awfully dark near the end. With chapter "V" at the pinnacle - I haven't seen any of the adaptations try to capture that part of the story!

[FoolMoon]

This is my list, as can be seen i'm really into children classic literature (Michael Ende, Erich Kästner etc.), maybe because at the times i used to read those books i had the time to read them over and over again. a luxury i no longer possess.

1. The Farseers (Robin Hobb)-jusy my favorite series of books, read it like 5 time, in two different languages. also, it's the book that introduced me to epic fantasy.

2. A Song of Ice and Fire (George R.R. Martin)-my second favorite series. what can i say. i really like complicated plots and weird inner politics.

3. The Neverending Story (Michael Ende)-i guess this is my defining book. and defined a lot of my outlook on life, a really really good book which i love and will probably cherish forever.

4. Momo (Michael Ende)-another one of those childhood books that really gets to you.

5. The 35th of May (Erich Kästner)-just the cutest book i've ever read, it's one of my favorite childhood books.

6. The Moonchild (Eloise Jarvis McGraw)-another childhood book, really spoke to me and made me relate to the main character, so i love it for it.

7. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)-just a great book, really. and i'm not usually a Sci-Fi person, but this one was just SO good.

8. The Divine Comedy (Dante)-a heavy read, but i took it as a challenge, really makes you think, even though is hard to comprehend.

9. Matilda (Roald Dahl)-another childhood book XD guess i just love these. really cute and an easy read for a boring afternoon.

10.The Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)-instant classic. a must book, also i have a very beautiful volume that i just had to have.

11. Les Bienveillantes (Jonathan Littell)-different from my usual reads, very heavy and grotesque. still, i think i could really relate to the main character even though he is a Nazi, the is hust something so human about him and i love these kind of characters.

12. Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)-BEST NONESENSE EVER. classic, fun to read and really filled with memorable quotes. i'm a Cheshire Cat's person. also a bit of a Mad Hatter one. i quoted a line from the book in my art project: "we're all mad here, i'm mad, you're mad" "how do you know i'm mad?" said alice, "you must be" said the cat, "or you wouldn't have come here".

13. The Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)-another bid book, but i really liked it. also, i guess i have an attraction to forbidden books (not forbidden to me, but in Muslim countries), also i really enjoy theology and fantasy when combined.

14. Badulina (Gabi Nitzan)-an Israeli book with a wonderful message that says: once you stop being a victim and think yourself as a king-you are a king.

15.The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)-another classic childhood book. not much to tell about it. it's cute and i read it as a small child and loved it.

16. Kenler's Camp (Edgar Kereth)-another Israeli author, writes absurd and short stories. this one tells of a world where people who committed suicide go to, kind of bitter-funny, dark humor story. i like those.

17. The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen)-no child of no more than 8 should ever read this. i did. my whole childhood smashed into pieces. and i thought the prince and the mermaid lived happily ever after like in Disney. i was not prepared for her to become wind.

18. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)-another cute classic, just one of the books i read over and over again
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19. The Witches (Roal Dahl)-he is so messed up. for years i was really afraid of woman who scratched their heads to often. also, i like books with a bitter-sweet endings. i don't like when everything just fixes itself.

20. Kajtuś czarodziej (Janusz Korczak) -cuz a book that just deletes a whole chapter in the climax just can't get out of you head

[Albertosaurus Rex]

20. Kajtuś czarodziej (Janusz Korczak) -cuz a book that just deletes a whole chapter in the climax just can't get out of you head

What.

By the way, I'm glad to see such love for The Neverending Story here.

[FoolMoon]

20. Kajtuś czarodziej (Janusz Korczak) -cuz a book that just deletes a whole chapter in the climax just can't get out of you head

What.

hmm, in one of the last chapters, just as the story reaches its climax, the author decided to erase parts of the story because it caused the children who read his draft nightmares. in those part instead of words the are lines like this: --------. so basically there's a paragraph, followed by a few ------ lines and one time he erases three whole pages.
it's really annoying and i'll forever wonder what's that part of the story. sadly the author is long dead.

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Surely the complete chapter must still be lying around somewhere? Ah well, I was expecting something involving timetraveling and fourth wallbreaking.

But to just erase lines... sheesh, couldn't he just have rewritten it?

[Farseer]

Could have released both an adult & youth version, like Bryce Courtney did for 'The Power of One' (which will be on my list when my son gives me back my keyboard...using on-screen one at the moment !!).