Best Book You Ever Read

[MrsK]

Exclusive of the Bible. What book will you never forget, always recommend, couldn't put down....

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[rufflesanddots]

The Handmaid's Tale. Reread it every few years. I can't wait for the Hulu series next month. I fell in love with it during an AP English class. I remember relating the Gilead to the Taliban on first read through (I graduated high school in 2002), but noticing more and more similarities to U.S. political rhetoric in subsequent reads. Chilling.

Time Traveler's Wife is also a favorite. I reread that one frequently, too.

East of Eden was a close third. I gasped and sighed and sobbed through that one. Such a work of art.


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[MrsC]

The Handmaid's Tale. Reread it every few years. I can't wait for the Hulu series next month. I fell in love with it during an AP English class. I remember relating the Gilead to the Taliban on first read through (I graduated high school in 2002), but noticing more and more similarities to U.S. political rhetoric in subsequent reads. Chilling.

Time Traveler's Wife is also a favorite. I reread that one frequently, too.

East of Eden was a close third. I gasped and sighed and sobbed through that one. Such a work of art.


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Does it pick up pace after a while? I started it but found it very slow moving. I must try again.

Mine is also by Margaret Atwood...The Blind Assassin. I first read it at 16 and it's one of the only books I could read over and over.

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[MrsK]

The Handmaid's Tale and East of Eden are definitely in my top 20.

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[MAPPLEBUM]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/b...rump.html?_r=0

Straight from the horse's mouth as they say

The Handmaid's Tale. Reread it every few years. I can't wait for the Hulu series next month. I fell in love with it during an AP English class. I remember relating the Gilead to the Taliban on first read through (I graduated high school in 2002), but noticing more and more similarities to U.S. political rhetoric in subsequent reads. Chilling.

Time Traveler's Wife is also a favorite. I reread that one frequently, too.

East of Eden was a close third. I gasped and sighed and sobbed through that one. Such a work of art.


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[Thirteen]

Watership Down, Beloved, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The God of Small Things, Ender's Game, James and the Giant Peach, The Stand (unabridged version), Passing, A Dog Year, The New Jim Crow (I cannot recommend this book enough, given our political climate).


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[houseelf]

No way I can pick just one....

The first book I fell in love with was Harold's Purple crayon. My mom bought it for me after I checked out at the library every single week.

My most recent favorite book is Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It is a children's book that my first grader and I read together. Completely beautiful story. You need to read this book to your kids ASAP.

My favorite children's picture story book is Mice and Beans by Pam Munoz Ryan. It is a lovely story of the universality of love, family, and tradition.

Khaled Hosseini- A thousand splendid suns AND the kite runner. These books whisper the meaning of life.

Kenn Follett- Pillars of the Earth. I love both Kenn Follett and Jeffrey Archer for their sweeping historic sagas. Pillars is Follett's masterpiece though.

The Diary of Anne Frank. I read this in 7th grade English and it was my first "swept away" book. I remember feeling scared for the little family and relating to Anne, but it was secondary character Miep Gies who I identified with and struggled over for years to come. I truly prayed then and there that I would be courageous enough to stand up to great injustice like her.

Harry Potter, natch... I adore J.K. Rowling and want to be her when I grow up. I think what sets her apart as a memorable author is that she truly understands and inherently accepts that life is messy and people are instrinsically flawed. At the same time, she believes that each of us is capable of greatness and worthy of unmitigated love. I swear her characters are archetypes that are familiar to everyone's life. I subscribe to her world view on this topic. Even though she has received popular acclaim in her lifetime, I submit that these books are also just straightforward good literature as well. I'm more than a bit biased, though.

One of the more important books I have read is Fahrenheit 451 It is a quick read and oh-so-prescient right now.

I'm not afraid to admit I read a lot of less than critically acclaimed novels as well. As a teenager I read Sydney Sheldon, I've read all the Dan Browns, and I've read a metric ton of Regency romance novels. Sometimes I just want to be entertained and enjoy a good story.

[MAPPLEBUM]

I know this is cliche but War and Peace. I read it nearly a decade ago. Perhaps it's time for another read.

Most influential collection of poetry: Jack Gilbert, Failing and Flying

Memoir / diary : An Interrupted Life, Diaries of Etty Hillesum (Anne Frank for grownups)

[medpedspouse]

[MENTION=792]houseelf[/MENTION] - ITA re: Khaled Hosseini- A thousand splendid suns AND the kite runner. Although I did prefer A Thousand Splendid Suns

[bokelley]

The boys in the boat. It is amazing! I heard they may make it into a movie

[fluffhead]

Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was life-changing for me.

[MAPPLEBUM]

Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was life-changing for me.

YES and Holy The Firm

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[fluffhead]

YES and Holy The Firm

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ditto.

[Meenah]

Frank Herbert's "Dune".

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

The boys in the boat. It is amazing! I heard they may make it into a movie

I just couldn't get into it. I usually love that type of non-fiction story. Though in fairness, I stopped/started several times before dropping it. I should re-start it and read it all the way through.

For me:
1) To Kill a Mockingbird - it's one book that I feel like I ALWAYS, ALWAYS get more and more out of every time I read it
2) Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry - This is one of the first "taken away" books for me. I couldn't put it down. I was maybe 9 or 10?
3) I, too, loved Pillars of the Earth
4) I mostly read non-fiction and am pretty obsessed with anything from Atul Gawande. I find him logical AND compulsively readable. It appeals to the part of me that wishes every day that I went to med school. If i could be anyone when I grow up, it's him

I need to go back and read The Handmaid's Tale. That was a classic "English class ruined this book for me" kind of book. I wanted to soak it in and enjoy it and the teacher wanted to make us dissect and debate points that I wasn't mentally ready to discuss yet. Annoyed the crap out of me.