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Old 04-01-2009, 09:27 AM
 
1,354 posts, read 4,075,758 times
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haggardhouseelf The Good Earth!! I absolutely agree. thanks for reminding me about this wonderful book. I read it as a kid and loved it. It was one of those books that made reading a lifelong habit.
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Old 04-03-2009, 01:13 PM
 
Location: Wisconsin
520 posts, read 893,134 times
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1.The Name of the Wind : Patrick Rothfuss
2.House of Leaves : Mark Z. Danielewski
3.Awakend Mage : Karen Miller
4.Wizard's First Rule : Terry Goodkind
5.The Lord of the Rings : J.R.R. Tolkien
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Old 04-04-2009, 06:34 PM
 
3,943 posts, read 6,351,741 times
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forkpower, was House of Leaves difficult to follow? Not that I would mind if it was, it just seems like it would be. I've read so many reviews at different times on this book. I guess I'm going to have to read it.
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Old 04-04-2009, 06:56 PM
 
3,943 posts, read 6,351,741 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rakhi View Post
Yes, Memories of a Geisha is another very thought provoking book by Golden Novel. You know, sometimes I complain that I have to get up at 5 in the morning to go to work, long commute etc etc etc...but these are the kinds of books which humble me saying that I am far more fortunate than many women.

Another book which moved me to tears was, "Dirty Picture" by Anuradha Marwah Roy. Its a book about 2 beautiful sisters whose beauty becomes their enemy.
Dirty Picture seemed interesting to me, but I'm having trouble finding it. They don't have it on Amazon. Did you find it at a bookstore? Thanks.
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Old 04-07-2009, 09:55 AM
 
Location: Wisconsin
520 posts, read 893,134 times
Reputation: 176
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jess5 View Post
forkpower, was House of Leaves difficult to follow? Not that I would mind if it was, it just seems like it would be. I've read so many reviews at different times on this book. I guess I'm going to have to read it.


I've read it a total of 3 times, and im still not quite sure about everything that goes on in that book. The most difficult part about reading it, is if you read it as the author intended you don’t read cover to cover.

You read a chapter, find a foot note that directs you to the appendices, then the appendices direct you to a different chapter in the book, with a foot note directing you to a manuscript of an audio log, which directs you to a different appendices, which direct you to letters written between the characters, which direct you poems.... so on and so forth.

While following the book does get a little challenging at times (It’s not always that bad, btw), its definitely worth the read.
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Old 04-07-2009, 12:55 PM
 
1,036 posts, read 1,816,612 times
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"Crime and Punishment" by Fedor Dostoevsky.

A great pleasure to read. Not very famous book in the US though it affected some people much. Take for example Woody Allen. He always was a great fan of Dostoevsky. The plot of Woody's 'Match Point' movie was influenced alot by 'Crime and Punishment' novel.
I could have added some other books but they are hardly well-known all over the US.
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Old 04-07-2009, 05:28 PM
 
26,126 posts, read 48,742,730 times
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There are so many great books I haven't read, and so many great books I've read but can't recall reading. But I'll try.

1. Mencken: The American Iconoclast, by Marion Elizabeth Rodgers. Simply amazing to read what happened 80-90 years ago with war, rumors of war, war hysteria, religion, and so on, and how it almost totally parallels what we have been through these past 7+ years. H.L.Mencken was one of our nation's best newspapermen and critics. I sincerely urge you to try this one. Fascinating.

2. Babbitt, by Sinclair Lewis. A story about conformity and boosterism while wearing blinders to all about him, as he goes about selling real estate to people who can barely afford it, in the 1920's as America became a corporate world.

3. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. A story by one of the old muckrakers of American journalism, detailing the endless abuses of people by the meat packing industry (indeed, all industry) at the dawn of the 20th century. A key book in the effort of President Teddy Roosevelt (R) for the Fair Deal where we got our first child labor, food purity, banking and other regulatory structures. Like Mencken, Upton Sinclair was from Baltimore.

4. The Bush Tragedy, by Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate Magazine. Mr. Weisberg frames the Bush administration as a Shakespearean tragedy, deftly analyzing the various influences on G.W.Bush, his family-driven personality issues and how those around his administration abetted Bush's flight from reality.

5. The Whole Truth, by David Baldacci. Fictional tale of how the business of perception management (PM) steers, in fact, creates public opinion out of thin air. The story of a mega-rich arms maker uses a PM firm to steer the world the edge of armageddon so he can sell arms to both sides. Amazingly close to just the sort of thing we see today, with PM being a new form of yellow journalism. To some extent, I think Baldacci had Rupert Murdoch in mind when he wrote this thriller.
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Old 04-11-2009, 04:19 PM
 
Location: .
440 posts, read 1,686,917 times
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A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry... What a GREAT BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 04-12-2009, 09:52 PM
 
Location: Maryland
266 posts, read 908,459 times
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1. I remember reading "Gone With the Wind" many years ago--I don't really "remember" it, but I do remember thinking "that was one of the best books I ever read." I'm glad to see it is on many other people's favorite lists too.

2. Another book I read a long time ago but had a similar reaction was Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood."

3. "Founding of Christendom" by Warren H. Carroll looks like one of the most boring books on earth, but it's absolutely fascinating for learning the history behind the Bible.

4. "The Long Walk"--another little-known book; incredible true story

5. "Personal History" by Katharine Graham

It's really so hard to choose. "Life of Pi" could easily be on the list; read "Little Women" a long time ago, but I think that could be list-worthy too. Anything by Agatha Christie is brilliant. I'm glad to see that there are some Bill Bryson fans on here. "The World Without Us" is a wonderful book I read recently that I could see adding to my list.
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Old 04-13-2009, 04:24 AM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
1,287 posts, read 3,324,973 times
Reputation: 661
The Long Walk is incredible! I bought that book for everyone after I read it! LOL

I can only name my top 3 at 4:30 in the AM

1. The Poisonwood Bible
2. Angela's Ashes - I argue about this book with a lot of people, but I loved it. I could appreciate the humourous side of their life.
3. Gone With the Wind - first time I read it, I was in 5th grade and I've read it many times since. It's interesting how one's perception of the characters changes over time. I thought the "sequel" was wretched, however. Yikes, that was bad.

Thought of one more. Again, not a literary giant, but this book changed my life a little bit.
4. The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis.

Last edited by Tunky; 04-13-2009 at 04:27 AM.. Reason: thought of another.
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