What are your favorite books?

27 comments

1. I’ve been more into audiobooks lately since I have a tiny person to take care of. I’m mostly into non-fiction, I have trouble getting into a story if it’s too fantastical. My recent favorites are The Martian, Kitchen Confidential and I haven’t finished it yet but The Coddling of the American Mind.

2. I’ll read anything. I lean into historical fiction and non-fiction more than anything.

   I love some fantasy, some sci-fi. Its not my favorite so I tend to stick with whats popular.

   I have 6 or 7 books going simultaneously at any given time. Right now is no different. 3 on audio and 4 hard copies with one other audiobook that the whole family listens to in the car.

   I try to average a minimum of 52 books (one per week) per year.

   My favorite author depends on genre. Overall favorite is probably Hemingway, but I also really like old Clancy stuff before it got all formulaic. David McCullough is stupendous. So is Seymour Hersh.

   AAA’s favorite author is James D. Hornfischer and I could rave about his stuff all day.

3. All of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books

   The Chasing the Lantern trilogy

4. >How often do you read books?

   Several hours almost every day.

   >What kind of books do you prefer paper, electronic or audio books?

   Prefer paper, but mostly read ebooks these days due to convenience of getting them. Never use audiobooks.

   >Are audiobooks popular?

   They are, but I’ll never use them.

   >What genre of books do you prefer?

   Little bit of everything, but have read a lot more sci-fi/fantasy than other genres the least few years.

   >What is your favorite author?

   I’ve easily read more Stephen King than anyone else. I’d have to add some people like Stuart Turton, Amor Towles, Blake Crouch, Robert Harris, and Guy Gavriel Kay to my list of favorites.

   Finished reading The Good Lord Bird before lunch and am about to start The Handmaid’s Tale in a few minutes. Bought Six Wakes and The Blade Itself from the Kindle store this morning ($2.99 each in the daily deals).

5. How often do you read books? – Almost never these days.

   What is your favorite author? – Kurt Vonnegut. Favorite book by said author is Slaughterhouse-Five.

   Favorite book overall? – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

6. “The First Man of Rome” series by Colleen McCullough.

   The “Dragonlance” series.

   Les Miserables.

7. I read every day.

   Best all-time nonfiction: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

   Last good nonfiction: The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto (Peruvian economist, not the explorer)

   In fiction, I like humor, sci-fi, fantasy, and mysteries. Wodehouse, Pratchett, Austen, Asprin, Thurber being among my favorites.

8. This is a hard question. I think my all time favorites book series is The Lord of the Rings.

   My favorite author is Michael Crichton and I’ve read (and own) everything he’s ever published. My favorite book by him is Jurassic Park; which make no mistake is about 100X better (or more) than that Spielberg movie.

9. I really liked A Series Of Unfortunate Events 1-13

   The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly

   Emily Dickinsons’ Poems

   The House At Pooh’s Corner (when I was a kid)

   Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik (That book was my childhood, which I still have til this day)

   I was obsessed with The Secret Garden by Frances Eliza Hodgson

   A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

   Any Hans Christian Andersen story

   If I can read a paperback book, I will

   I don’t have a favorite author, each author brings something different and unique to the table that other authors may specialize differently in. I really like Stephen King though.

   Favorite genre is definitely adventure.

10. Everyday. Paper and audiobooks. For some reason I just can’t read books off of screens. Two of my favorite books that I will read at least once a year if not more are Song of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller. I also will reread all of the stormlight archives, Mistborn era 1&2, Kingkiller Chronicles and A Song of Ice and Fire each year. This month I started Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom books and I got to book 10.

11. I used to read all the time. 2 books a week normally. But now I care for my elderly mother and it’s just not practical.

    I loved horror novels best. Collections of poetry by the greats for brief breaks. I also love books about real science theory and discovery.

12. I read daily. I love my kindle, but I still prefer reading from an actual book. I used to listen to audiobooks a lot in my last car that played CDs, but my current car does not have a CD player so I don’t really do audiobooks anymore. I read all kinds of books, not just fiction.

    I am a deliberately slow reader. I read no faster than it takes to read out loud. I like to really absorb what I read, and reading fast does not allow me to do that.

    Usually if I’m reading something heavy I’m also reading something light at the same time, and I alternate what I choose to read on any particular day depending on how I feel. The problem with that is I tend to have a lot of books that I start but take a long time to finish.

    Regarding Stephen King, I think I’ve read about 90% of his books. He sets up his stories nicely, but has a hard time with good endings. His short stories are excellent.

13. Fiction fantasy or sci-fi is usually what I want to read. Been into manga way more recently then past years.

    Favorite book is The Liberal Redneck Manifesto. It is a comedy. I don’t agree with everything in it but it does touch a number of things that I can relate to.

14. I listen to lots of audiobooks. I read less than I used to or would like to but I’m gonna try and get back into it.

    I mostly like magical realism and I’m also big on historical fiction. I’m also kind of into rich people’s problems and my guilty pleasure is legal fiction.

15. I read daily. Prefer hardcopy books but listen to a lot of audiobooks at work or while commuting or cooking/doing chores, etc… seems harder and harder to find time to actually sit down and flip pages. I have a hard time with e-books for some reason.

    Favorite genres are historical fiction, mysteries, adventure, memoirs/biographical, history. Really anything that interests me though.

    Favorite book is probably Fools Die by Mario Puzo. My Friend the Mercenary by James Brabazon (memoir) is also a favorite. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson was great

    Favorite author is tough. Puzo as mentioned above, Neil Gaiman is certainly interesting. Bernard Cornwell is absolutely stellar in historical fiction. John Grisham always a great read. Graham Hancock is intriguing. Clive Cussler is a guilty pleasure favorite for an adventure/mystery read if I’m looking for a somewhat predictable and formulaic yet satisfying novel.

16. I don’t read much anymore but I used to love Terry Pratchett’s discworld novels

17. Of Human Bondage

    How Green was my Valley

    The Killer Angels

    Grapes of Wrath

    The Shadow of the Wind

    Mutiny on the Bounty

    To Kill a Mockingbird

18. I’m a mid-30s mom and I read every day. I prefer paperback, but due to convenience, mostly use digital versions – I’m about 80% audiobook listener at this point. I get everything from my local library. My genres are mostly a lot of chick-lit and light romance. I also like historical non-fiction and relationship/parenting books, some biographies and graphic novels, but anything relatively positive will do.

    I’m not sure I have a favorite author – maybe Tamora Pierce?

19. >How often do you read books?

    Regularly. I always have a book I’m reading.

    >What kind of books do you prefer paper, electronic or audio books?

    Electronic. The ability to read a book on my phone or my tablet while my beloved is snoozing next to me is wonderful.

    >Are audiobooks popular?

    Some people seem to like them. I’ve heard friends say they like to play audio books on their commute or during long drives. I never got in to audio books, personally.

    >What genre of books do you prefer?

    Non-Fiction

    >What is your favorite author?

    I don’t really have a favorite. Most folks that have favorite authors are folks who enjoy the various genres of fiction. Which is fine, it’s just not me.

20. The Game by Neil Strauss.

21. I’ve mostly transitioned to nonfiction these days, but Terry Pratchett and John Varley will likely always be my favorite authors. Andy Weir will probably join them if he keeps it up.

22. History, biographies, and politics.

23. I read books almost daily. I’m not a big fan of westerns, historical fiction, or autobiographies but I’ll read pretty much anything provided it hooks me up front. I don’t have a favorite author for that reason too.

    Paper books were my preference until I moved to NYC and realized how hard it was to turn the page while standing on a moving subway. Since then I’ve gotten used to digital books. Also, audio books are okay but I’m a fast reader and can often read faster than it takes me to get through the audio book.

    I also try to watch the movies before reading the books because I’ve found that having liyyle to no context going into a movie allows me to appreciate the movie for what it is. Then I get to read the book and can further imagine all of the details, subplots, characters that weren’t included in the movie. So it’s more of “Oh that would’ve been cool to see in the movie” rather than “WTH they cut out all the good parts the book is so much better.” But that’s just my preference.

24. Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan will always be closest to my heart. Just a big meaty fantasy series with lots of world building and all sorts of details to chew on during rereads. And one of the better portrayals of trauma that I’ve personally come across as a person with ptsd.

    I enjoy reading paper books but I also enjoy audio books for the convenience while I’m running around and doing other things.

    I’ve also really enjoyed the Otherland series by Tad Williams, which is a sci-fi despite him typically writing fantasy. I’ve been meaning to read his other works but I was introduced to him as an author by a fan of sci-fi and so read that first, haha. He’s really good at writing characters. They’re all very vivid with distinctive voices.

25. My favorite book of all time is 11/22/63. My second favorite is All Quiet on the Western Front. As you can probably guess, I enjoy historical fiction.

26. 86 and Tomozaki-Kun

    I only read light novels , physical

27. Not a complete list

    History:

    Istanbul Intrigues Barry M Rubin

    Military Experience in the Age of Reason by Christopher Duffy

    Crucible of War by Fred Anderson

    History of US Naval Operations in World War II Samuel Eliot Morrison

    The Maritime History of Massachusetts by same

    The Great Game (not a series except it is) by Peter Hopkirk

    Liberty and Freedom by David Hackett Fischer

    Fishing Fleets of New England by Mary Ellen Chase

    Lords of the Horizons by Jason Goodwin

    ————————————-

    Journalism:

    The Desert War by Alan Moorehead

    ___________________________

    Science Fiction:

    A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber

    Technic History by Poul Anderson

    _______________________________________

    Fantasy:

    Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien

    Hrolf Kraki’s Saga by Poul Anderson

    The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander

    ___________________________________________________

    Mystery:

    The Janisary Tree by Jason Goodwin

    ___________________________________

    Poetry:

    Tales of a Wayside Inn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    Ballad of the King’s Jest by Rudyard Kipling

    ___________________________________________________

    Travel:

    The Desert Road to Turkestan by Owen Lattimore

    High Tartary by Owen Lattimore

    _______________________________________________

    Food and Drink:

    Arabesque by Claudia Roden

    Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails by I Forget Who

    _____________________________________________

    Spiritual:

    Tell Me Why by Michael and Jana Novak

    _____________________________________________

    RPG:

    Gurps Sourcebooks