The Books Thread (Fiction)

navan49 · 21st July 2010, 04:48

My favorite books are a very few. One among them are the great expectation which I read at one stretch from 10 am of the previous day to 2 am of the next day in 1987. The other ones are all the collection of Sydney Sheldon.

neoonwheels · 21st July 2010, 11:13

Well, I recently started reading novels. Following are my favorite books:

1. The Lord of the Rings (All 3)
2. Harry Potter (Specially 3,5,6 and 7)
3. Tuesdays with Morry
4. The Bourne identity

theexperthand · 21st July 2010, 11:40

My all time fav 5 will be:

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
Lord of the Rings / John Clark -Jack Ryan seris / HHGG / and a lot more - ah, there are lot of books for that no.5 position. Choices, choices...

ampere · 21st July 2010, 12:44

Love all the Thomas Hardy's works. Just love them for the English.
Saki and O Henry are the other favourites. PG Wodehouse is another one.
Like to hear his works rather than read.

The Lost world by Conan Doyle is another amazing work with great humor.

speedsatya · 21st July 2010, 12:56

I am reading Simply Fly by Capt.Gopinath .

joslicx · 21st July 2010, 13:08

Among fav 5 are (in no particular order) 'The tale of two cities' (Dickens), 'The Lord of the Rings collection' (Tolkein), 'Fountainhead' (Ayn Rand), 'Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance' (Robert Persig) & last but not the least 'Love Story' (Eric Segal)

Presently munching on GEB (Godel, Escher, Bach: An eternal Golden Braid)

pachchu · 21st July 2010, 13:35

I liked

The life of Pi

Michael Crichton's - Prey, The great train robbery (I've read almost all of MC's but recommend these two the most and probably andromeda strain)

Chetan Bhagat's - 5.someone, 2states (I've read the 3mistakes and 1night@Callcenter, but don't recommend them as much as these two)

Kurt Vonnegut's - Slaughterhouse Five and The Sirens of Titan

Catch-22

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

P1tBull · 21st July 2010, 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai

I recently read Wilbur Smith's Monsoon. Now that's a swashbuckler adventure. A fantastic read.

I 've read most of Wilbur Smith's work. If you liked Monsoon, read Birds of Prey, its the prequel to it.

My top lists would consist of
1. Jeffery Archer - Every book of his is different and has a great ending. His short stories are awesome.
2. Wilbur Smith - Amazing adventures in each book. All epic sagas in a way.
3. Clive Cussler - A lot of adventures like Wilbur Smith but more action packed and faster. Kind of like Hardy Boys for grown ups.
4. Frederick Forsythe - Day of the Jackal - Enough said.
5. John Grisham - Nothing that great recently but his older stuff is class.

I'll start another list now because Tolkien cannot be at No 6.
Fantasy books

1. Tolkien - Nothing needs to be said here.
2. Trudy Canavan - Found her books quite recently and read the Age of the Five Trilogy. Planning to start the Black Magician Trilogy now.
3. Jean M Auel - Still reading the series.
4. Christopher Paolini - Good stuff - Mix of Star Wars and LOTR.
5. The Harry Potter series - Been reading these since the first one came out. Good reads.

I am right now reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series but not really getting it.

Newpunter · 21st July 2010, 15:01

My favourite books are the Hitchhiker series by Douglas Adams. The first 2 books , namely, "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant at the end of the Universe" are hilarious and a must read.

theexperthand · 21st July 2010, 15:24

When I added my list, I totally forgot about one of my favourit author - PG Wodehouse - I have lot count how many times I have re-read his books, especially those starring Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.

@P1tBull: thanks for the fantasy list - I have not read Trudy Canavan yet, and will try to start soon.

Did any one here read 'The Immortals of Meluha' ?

anku94 · 21st July 2010, 15:29

I'm more of a mystery books guy. Have read about 150 Hardy Boys', a handful of Nancy Drews, and all but one from the Famous Five series.

Dan Brown is another awesome writer, provided you take everything he says as pure fiction. Have read all of his works - Deception Point, Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Digital Fortress. And there's Chetan Bhagat [Esp. FPS and 2 States].

And of course, how could I forget, the Harry Potter series. Trust me when I say this, that I've read every book 13 times, and am now on my 14th spree.

And then there's the Inheritance Cycle [Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, unknown fourth book]. I'm waiting for the fourth book to be released for the last two years.

Haven't read many new books for the last two years. Will start again in the next year, hopefully.

Wolfheart · 22nd July 2010, 14:03

Just started reading Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson. Irreverently funny, just the way I like it!

aa_asif · 9th August 2010, 20:22

Reading:
You Can Sell - Shiv Khera
2 States - Chetan Bhagat

tifosikrishna · 19th October 2010, 18:02

Read the following books recently

Codebook

A fantastic and gripping read. Hats off to Simon Singh for writing such a interesting tale on a subject like Cryptography. I stumbled upon this book while browsing through the book shelfs of members here (Welcome to Shelfari! Read, Share, Explore!) and got interested in the topic. Initially I was a bit hesitant in picking up the book on such an esoteric topic, but my doubts were cleared after reading reviews which said that the subject was explained in a very simple manner. Though I didn't understand all the complex logic explained, I was still able to appreciate the hard work that many geniuses have put in to cipher and decipher. I was amused to know how powerful human intellect is and can be.

Fermat's last theorem

After pleasant experience with Codebook, I decided to read the most famous work of the same author. It is a chronological account of different mathematicians trying to solve an equation for more than 300 years. Another very interesting book.

Life of Pi - Good book. Liked the narrative style and humor.

India After Gandhi - Still reading it. Discovered that I didn't know so many things about India.

Difficulty of being Good - Liked it very much. My first exposure to Mahabharata. Book poses more questions than answers.

What the Dog Saw - good in parts.

TaureanBull · 19th October 2010, 20:32

Some recently finished books..

1. The Monk who Sold his Ferrari - Robin S Sharma

2. 2 States : Chetan Bhagat

3. Raag Darbari : Shrilal Shulka (a gem for Hindi readers)

View Poll Results: I read most my books in...
Paper book format	265	62.35%
Amazon Kindle	103	24.24%
Apple iPad	9	2.12%
Android Tablet	13	3.06%
B&B Nook	5	1.18%
Sony eBook Reader	0	0%
Smartphone	19	4.47%
Others (mention in post)	6	1.41%
Kobo eReader	5	1.18%
Voters: 425. You may not vote on this poll

21st July 2010, 04:48	#391
navan49 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CHENNAI Posts: 1,001 Thanked: 73 Times View My Garage	My favorite books are a very few. One among them are the great expectation which I read at one stretch from 10 am of the previous day to 2 am of the next day in 1987. The other ones are all the collection of Sydney Sheldon.
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 11:13	#392
neoonwheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 2,066 Thanked: 1,879 Times View My Garage	Well, I recently started reading novels. Following are my favorite books: 1. The Lord of the Rings (All 3) 2. Harry Potter (Specially 3,5,6 and 7) 3. Tuesdays with Morry 4. The Bourne identity
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 11:40	#393
theexperthand Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,634 Thanked: 2,452 Times View My Garage	My all time fav 5 will be: Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth Lord of the Rings / John Clark -Jack Ryan seris / HHGG / and a lot more - ah, there are lot of books for that no.5 position. Choices, choices...
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 12:44	#394
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 18,073 Thanked: 13,183 Times View My Garage	Love all the Thomas Hardy's works. Just love them for the English. Saki and O Henry are the other favourites. PG Wodehouse is another one. Like to hear his works rather than read. The Lost world by Conan Doyle is another amazing work with great humor.
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 12:56	#395
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	I am reading Simply Fly by Capt.Gopinath .
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 13:08	#396
joslicx Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,287 Thanked: 1,012 Times	Among fav 5 are (in no particular order) 'The tale of two cities' (Dickens), 'The Lord of the Rings collection' (Tolkein), 'Fountainhead' (Ayn Rand), 'Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance' (Robert Persig) & last but not the least 'Love Story' (Eric Segal) Presently munching on GEB (Godel, Escher, Bach: An eternal Golden Braid)
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 13:35	#397
pachchu BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 140 Thanked: 49 Times View My Garage	I liked The life of Pi Michael Crichton's - Prey, The great train robbery (I've read almost all of MC's but recommend these two the most and probably andromeda strain) Chetan Bhagat's - 5.someone, 2states (I've read the 3mistakes and 1night@Callcenter, but don't recommend them as much as these two) Kurt Vonnegut's - Slaughterhouse Five and The Sirens of Titan Catch-22 Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 15:01	#399
Newpunter BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 747 Thanked: 336 Times	My favourite books are the Hitchhiker series by Douglas Adams. The first 2 books , namely, "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant at the end of the Universe" are hilarious and a must read.
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 15:24	#400
theexperthand Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,634 Thanked: 2,452 Times View My Garage	When I added my list, I totally forgot about one of my favourit author - PG Wodehouse - I have lot count how many times I have re-read his books, especially those starring Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. @P1tBull: thanks for the fantasy list - I have not read Trudy Canavan yet, and will try to start soon. Did any one here read 'The Immortals of Meluha' ?
	() Thanks

21st July 2010, 15:29	#401
anku94 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 249 Thanked: 351 Times	I'm more of a mystery books guy. Have read about 150 Hardy Boys', a handful of Nancy Drews, and all but one from the Famous Five series. Dan Brown is another awesome writer, provided you take everything he says as pure fiction. Have read all of his works - Deception Point, Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Digital Fortress. And there's Chetan Bhagat [Esp. FPS and 2 States]. And of course, how could I forget, the Harry Potter series. Trust me when I say this, that I've read every book 13 times, and am now on my 14th spree. And then there's the Inheritance Cycle [Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, unknown fourth book]. I'm waiting for the fourth book to be released for the last two years. Haven't read many new books for the last two years. Will start again in the next year, hopefully.
	() Thanks

22nd July 2010, 14:03	#402
Wolfheart BHPian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bombay Posts: 160 Thanked: 28 Times	Just started reading Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson. Irreverently funny, just the way I like it!
	() Thanks

9th August 2010, 20:22	#403
aa_asif BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: KL 07 > KA 03 Posts: 255 Thanked: 65 Times View My Garage	Reading: You Can Sell - Shiv Khera 2 States - Chetan Bhagat
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 18:02	#404
tifosikrishna BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: chennai Posts: 828 Thanked: 383 Times View My Garage	Read the following books recently Codebook A fantastic and gripping read. Hats off to Simon Singh for writing such a interesting tale on a subject like Cryptography. I stumbled upon this book while browsing through the book shelfs of members here (Welcome to Shelfari! Read, Share, Explore!) and got interested in the topic. Initially I was a bit hesitant in picking up the book on such an esoteric topic, but my doubts were cleared after reading reviews which said that the subject was explained in a very simple manner. Though I didn't understand all the complex logic explained, I was still able to appreciate the hard work that many geniuses have put in to cipher and decipher. I was amused to know how powerful human intellect is and can be. Fermat's last theorem After pleasant experience with Codebook, I decided to read the most famous work of the same author. It is a chronological account of different mathematicians trying to solve an equation for more than 300 years. Another very interesting book. Life of Pi - Good book. Liked the narrative style and humor. India After Gandhi - Still reading it. Discovered that I didn't know so many things about India. Difficulty of being Good - Liked it very much. My first exposure to Mahabharata. Book poses more questions than answers. What the Dog Saw - good in parts.
	() Thanks

19th October 2010, 20:32	#405
TaureanBull Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,071 Thanked: 328 Times View My Garage	Some recently finished books.. 1. The Monk who Sold his Ferrari - Robin S Sharma 2. 2 States : Chetan Bhagat 3. Raag Darbari : Shrilal Shulka (a gem for Hindi readers)
	() Thanks