Favorite Authors and Books?

[l'appel du vide]

No favorites by traditional definition - since I envision books as stackable knowledge. As I read, I learn. Narrowing literature down to one or two specific authors/novels is like narrowing science down to only biology and earth science. Where's the sense in that?

I will say who I read MOST FREQUENTLY - the books that have taught me innumerable lessons about myself and life in general.
This list will grow over time since I'm obviously in no position to write paragraph-lengthy reviews in response to each one. Sois patiente.

• The Princess Bride by William Golding
  I wonder when my book will be past its prime. The answer to this rhetorical statement is obviously never. I keep coming back to the heart throbbing fast-paced tone of Golding's prose. It's a thriller enough without being too neurotic; however, cerebral enough to evoke intellectual and emotional stimulation throughout the entire plot line.
• Strange Nervous Laughter by Bridget McCulty
  A peculiar guttural displeasure issues from my gut from when I comprehend this novel (I use this term lightly) as being one of a high commendation. It is not that it is a despicably poorly-written book, it is just so flatlined in comparison with my typical standards that in my own pretentious opinion, it falls flat. My instinct tells me a huge 'no, no, no' to ever even uttering the words "I love the novel 'Strange Nervous Laughter' by Bridget McCulty!" but alas, I am a sucker for this, er, mediocre prose. The weaving of the completely different yet so intrinsically harmonic characters pulls me into a cage that I possess no earthly desire to escape. The characters in themselves are infuriating in their unawareness of their mental and social issues, completely oblivious to the observations made by their coworkers, friends, and peers, yet they continue to live in stunted webs of shattered self-worth and pit fallen self-esteem. They are so human it's tedious.

[Sonia]

Crash by JG Ballard
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
1984 by George Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is probably my all time favorite author.

Lol. Funny - those books were the exact most-upvoted comments on the Reddit 'all-time favorite books' thread.
Quel interesting.

Tu n'as pas besoin de faire ton intéressante.

[l'appel du vide]

Crash by JG Ballard
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
1984 by George Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is probably my all time favorite author.

Lol. Funny - those books were the exact most-upvoted comments on the Reddit 'all-time favorite books' thread.
Quel interesting.

Tu n'as pas besoin de faire ton intéressante.

Calisse.. Ta papa aimes l'amour avec les moutons xoxoxo.

[Sonia]

Lol. Funny - those books were the exact most-upvoted comments on the Reddit 'all-time favorite books' thread.
Quel interesting.

Tu n'as pas besoin de faire ton intéressante.

Calisse.. Ta papa aimes l'amour avec les moutons xoxoxo.

Please stop trying to speak French, Canadian or otherwise.

[l'appel du vide]

Please stop trying to speak French, Canadian or otherwise.

And you please stop using Google Translate for all of your French, poseur con.

[Sonia]

Please stop trying to speak French, Canadian or otherwise.

And you please stop using Google Translate for all of your French, poseur con.

I'm not. And your French is grammatically and syntactically incorrect, which is rather sad when you're trying to insult other members of the forum.

[azealiabanks]

Crash by JG Ballard
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
1984 by George Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is probably my all time favorite author.

Lol. Funny - those books were the exact most-upvoted comments on the Reddit 'all-time favorite books' thread.
Quel interesting.

Haha, I didn't do it on purpose, I swear.

[Laina]

Oh man. That girl reminds me of Hayleyistcb with all the wannabe french-talk in here.

[Forever Eccentric]

She was an annoying prick on the last site.

[BrunetteBarbie]

NIcholas Sparks! all his books are amazing except message in a bottle.

Aw why didn't you like message in a bottle? I thought it was pretty good, not one of his best though.

[hustle rose~]

Bummer! Hope you can eventually find it. That book makes Flowers in the Attic look totally normal, haha.

I found it!! :O and this is what I found on the wikipedia, hahaha. "It was the only standalone novel without incest published during Andrews' lifetime."

Yay! I wish I still had my copy, I want to read it again haha

[geisha89]

My favourite author and favourite book are completely different, which is weird to me.

My favourite book is Jane Eyre. It has been since High School. I don't know why I love it so much, but I read it every once in a while and I get this ridiculous smile on my face.

My favourite author, though, is Richard Laymon. He's a great author to just pick up when I don't want to think about what I am reading. I read a lot of classics that make you think about the themes and connotations, and it's nice to just pick up a Laymon for some trashy horror-comedy.

[kittykat]

I really loved Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult because I am fascinated by the Amish. Umm...there's a collection of short stories called Speaking with the Angel edited by Nick Hornby that I really love. Memoirs of a Geisha is really great too. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did! And anything by Chuck Palahniuk.

[Suspiria]

No favorites by traditional definition - since I envision books as stackable knowledge. As I read, I learn. Narrowing literature down to one or two specific authors/novels is like narrowing science down to only biology and earth science. Where's the sense in that?

I will say who I read MOST FREQUENTLY - the books that have taught me innumerable lessons about myself and life in general.
This list will grow over time since I'm obviously in no position to write paragraph-lengthy reviews in response to each one. Sois patiente.

• The Princess Bride by William Golding
  I wonder when my book will be past its prime. The answer to this rhetorical statement is obviously never. I keep coming back to the heart throbbing fast-paced tone of Golding's prose. It's a thriller enough without being too neurotic; however, cerebral enough to evoke intellectual and emotional stimulation throughout the entire plot line.
• Strange Nervous Laughter by Bridget McCulty
  A peculiar guttural displeasure issues from my gut from when I comprehend this novel (I use this term lightly) as being one of a high commendation. It is not that it is a despicably poorly-written book, it is just so flatlined in comparison with my typical standards that in my own pretentious opinion, it falls flat. My instinct tells me a huge 'no, no, no' to ever even uttering the words "I love the novel 'Strange Nervous Laughter' by Bridget McCulty!" but alas, I am a sucker for this, er, mediocre prose. The weaving of the completely different yet so intrinsically harmonic characters pulls me into a cage that I possess no earthly desire to escape. The characters in themselves are infuriating in their unawareness of their mental and social issues, completely oblivious to the observations made by their coworkers, friends, and peers, yet they continue to live in stunted webs of shattered self-worth and pit fallen self-esteem. They are so human it's tedious.

Really? Really? The further I read this ridiculous post, the more hilarious it became. I promise you, no one will make fun of you if you act like a normal person and not some caricature of a super duper cultured french snob.

Though I will admit. It is très entertaining.

Sincerely,
Suspiria and the rest of gurugossip xox

[Psyche]

I'm glad I found this thread, I haven't been reading much lately so hopefully this will inspire me to do so again!

As for my favourite books, I am definitely not one to re-read books (if I already know what's going to happen, it's hard for me to be excited), but there are some books I can totally see myself reading a second time in a few years, or have stayed in my head for a long time. I usually like to read fantasy novels, and long series at that...I like it when I don't have to part with characters after a single novel. I should probably try to branch out a bit.

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin - seriously, I love the TV show too but it'll never beat the books!
The Kingkiller Chronicle - main character is a bit of a Mary Sue at times, but the world and the mystery is too much for me to pass on.
The Stormlight Archive - I don't know why I like this book/series so much, but something about the world that was created is so fascinating to me, and I am SO IMPATIENT for the next book!
The Diamond Age - probably my favourite book of all time, it's so different from anything I've ever encountered, and when I read it a few years ago I found it so confusing and bizarre, but it was such a powerful and intriguing read! Definitely will re-read eventually.

[missslucyma]

Any book from the Drake Chronicles series By: Alyxandra Harvey
The fallen series By: Lauren Kate
The Gallagher Series By: Meg Cabot
Harry Potter Series By; JK Rowling
Any Sarah Dessen Book
Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen
Great Expectations By Charles Dickens and a couple other dickens books

[Ruki]

I wouldn't normally say that I have a favorite book, it's kind of hard to totally relate to only one book while there are so many different subjects, stories, styles, genres & co. But I will say that I have one favorite book. The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. This is the book I can relate to the most; this is what impressed me with the story, the style, the characters. I actually see myself in Dorian and congratulate myself for staying humanly stable despite my inner self.

As for other books and writers that I like...Meh.
I enjoy Stephen King's books along Henryk Sienkiewicz's.
I can read something by Thomas Hardy and then jump to some ordinary chic-lit.
Yes, I admit, I enjoy chic-lit so much. >.>

At one point I was reading Mircea Eliade and Jeffrey Deaver at the same time.
So I can't really rank them or something.
What's for sure? I despise SF books. Totally hate them.

[cherry_blossom]

Nicholas Sparks
Jodi Picoult
Jane Austen

[Nostalgia]

No favorites by traditional definition - since I envision books as stackable knowledge. As I read, I learn. Narrowing literature down to one or two specific authors/novels is like narrowing science down to only biology and earth science. Where's the sense in that?

I will say who I read MOST FREQUENTLY - the books that have taught me innumerable lessons about myself and life in general.
This list will grow over time since I'm obviously in no position to write paragraph-lengthy reviews in response to each one. Sois patiente.

• The Princess Bride by William Golding
  I wonder when my book will be past its prime. The answer to this rhetorical statement is obviously never. I keep coming back to the heart throbbing fast-paced tone of Golding's prose. It's a thriller enough without being too neurotic; however, cerebral enough to evoke intellectual and emotional stimulation throughout the entire plot line.
• Strange Nervous Laughter by Bridget McCulty
  A peculiar guttural displeasure issues from my gut from when I comprehend this novel (I use this term lightly) as being one of a high commendation. It is not that it is a despicably poorly-written book, it is just so flatlined in comparison with my typical standards that in my own pretentious opinion, it falls flat. My instinct tells me a huge 'no, no, no' to ever even uttering the words "I love the novel 'Strange Nervous Laughter' by Bridget McCulty!" but alas, I am a sucker for this, er, mediocre prose. The weaving of the completely different yet so intrinsically harmonic characters pulls me into a cage that I possess no earthly desire to escape. The characters in themselves are infuriating in their unawareness of their mental and social issues, completely oblivious to the observations made by their coworkers, friends, and peers, yet they continue to live in stunted webs of shattered self-worth and pit fallen self-esteem. They are so human it's tedious.

Really? Really? The further I read this ridiculous post, the more hilarious it became. I promise you, no one will make fun of you if you act like a normal person and not some caricature of a super duper cultured french snob.

Though I will admit. It is très entertaining.

Sincerely,
Suspiria and the rest of gurugossip xox

Oh, I just saw this.
I'm glad you think I'm funny! I like brightening everyone's life with a good dose of comedy

[oxprincessxo]

There could be a topic still on this (I know there's a "currently reading" thread) so if there is, I suppose it should be merged!

I guess I'll start with books:

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is my FAVORITE
1984 by George Orwell
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (mainly the first)
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Along for the Ride and Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

I don't really have any favorite authors, to be honest.