What are your favorite all time books?

[Physics_wiz]

What is your favorite? You can have more than one favorite .

My favorites are :

"Fooled by Randomness" By Nassim Taleb
"Atlas Shrugged" By Ayn Rand

(I didn't read too many books so those might not be that good since it was a small sample)

 

[arildno]

I guess it must be "Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R Tolkien
Another favourite re-read is "Maurice" by E.M. Forster.

 

[wolram]

Noddy goes to toy town, any thing beyond that is a strech for the imagination

 

[neutrino]

Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh. It may not be the best book ever written, but it has played a very special role in my life.

 

[arildno]

Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh. It may not be the best book ever written, but it has played a very special role in my life.

First book you read?
Wrote love poems in it??

What role??
I'm piqued..positively sizzled by curiosity.

 

[neutrino]

Well, I had absolutely no idea of what mathematics was all about before reading it. It doesn't mean that I'm really good at it now, but I'm way better than what I would've been if I hadn't read that book.

 

[Mattara]

"The Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan

I'm actually re-reading the Knife of Dreams book as we speak.

 

[chroot]

My favorite books... great question. Let me think for a bit...

The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Feynman
Applied Cryptography by Schneier
Snow Crash by Stephenson
Heart of Darkness by Conrad
The Cave Divers by Burgess

and surely many more.. I'll have to go through my bookshelves at home and recall my old favorites.

- Warren

 

[daveb]

Watership Down by Richard Adams, followed closely by Master and Margarita by Bulgakov

 

[Hootenanny]

"The First Casualty", Ben Elton. Witty beyond belief

 

[Physics_wiz]

Applied Cryptography by Schneier

What kind of background do I need to understand this?

 

[Astronuc]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I've got my towel ready and my electronic thumb is always on.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

How to Profit from the Coming Boom in Nuclear Technology, by Effasin Frank.

 

[franznietzsche]

The Trial - Kafka
Crime and Punishment - Dostoevsky
Thus Spoke Zarathustra - Nietzsche
The Stranger - Camus
The Convenant - James Michener


The list would be longer, but I restricted myself to my favorite of each author. First and third should be no surprise I imagine .

@Physics_wiz -- Ayn Rand? To each his own i suppose.

 

[Cyrus]

I'm not all that big on reading books. That's not to say I don't like them, but I don't love them either.

 

[chroot]

I'm not all that big on reading books. That's not to say I don't like them, but I don't love them either.

It shows.

- Warren

 

[Cyrus]

Thanks, I try. Does Dr. Seuss count as a literary masterpiece?

 

[Mattara]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I've got my towel ready and my electronic thumb is always on.

I never got that book. At all

 

[selfAdjoint]

I never got that book. At all

Me neither. Is it something with us?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Me neither. Is it something with us?

In part, comedy is the art of surprising people. HHGTTG is an exercise in witty surprises.

My all time favorites:
I would include Hitchhikers Guide
Childhood's End
Ringworld
Aztec
One of my favorite short stories is Shottle Bop

IMO, one should be careful about spending too much time with one's nose in fiction. And much of the classical literature will leave you isolated and needing Prozac. Of course, most people here are probably already relatively isolated by their love of science.

 

[Astronuc]

If one gets the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I'd recommend

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide

It has five books of the trilogy and a short story.

One will also find tips on "How to Leave the Planet" - which are:

1. Phone NASA - Adams gives the number - and tells the reader to explain to NASA that it is very important to get away as soon as possible
2. If NASA does not cooperate, phone the Whitehouse - number given
3. If they don't cooperate, phone the Kremlin - number given (but may have changed since the book was released)
4. If that fails, call the Pope - number given, but may also have changed.
5. If all the above fail, flag down a passing flying saucer and explain that it's very important to get away as before your phone bill arrives.

Of course, all this was written before the internet, so likely one only needs to send an email these days.

Of course, there is Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire series, and those were all mostly good.

 

[siddharth]

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

 

[fourier jr]

The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field by Jacques Hadamard
i'm about halfway through it now & it has articulated & 'demystified' many things that i suspected about discoveries (or inventions, creations etc) of any kind, not just mathematical ones. one thing that really stood out for me was a sentence or two about classmates of galois who said that galois was repulsed by his algebra texts because they didnt give any insight into how mathematical discoveries were made. i guess they just said 'this is how its done, do it this way' etc etc without explaining why it was interesting or important to learn or where it came from. after reading that i had a better understanding of why my favourite textbooks are my favourites and not other ones.

The Revolt of the Masses by Jose Ortega y Gasset
one of the most exciting & inspirational books I've ever read. I'm going to read it again when I'm done the hadamard book above. see the quotes thread for many tidbits from the book.

The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian
a list of 300 maxims (basically rules to live by) such as these ones:
Maxim #57: Be slow & sure. Things are done quickly enough if done well. If just quickly done they can be quickly undone. To last an eternity requires an eternity of preparation. Only excellence counts, only achievement endures. Profound intelligence is the only foundation for immortality. What is worth much costs much. The precious metals are the heaviest.
Maxim #204: Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult and difficult tasks as if they were easy. In the one case so that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other so that it may not be dismayed. For a thing to remain undone nothing more is needed than to think it done. On the other hand, patient industry overcomes impossibilities. Great undertakings are not to be brooded over, lest their difficulty when seen causes despair.

the hobbit & lord of the rings of course (NOT harry potter )

all the shakespeare i did was in high school; i kind of wish i'd done some in university now. i always liked hamlet even though it's kind of sad. i guess if I'm ever in the mood for a happy version of hamlet i could always watch the lion king.

 

[fourier jr]

I'm not all that big on reading books. That's not to say I don't like them, but I don't love them either.

There are four way to know much: live for many years; travel through many lands; read many good books (which is easiest); and converse with wise friends (which is most enjoyable).
Baltasar Gracian

 

[arildno]

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

It can't be. The third book haven't come yet..

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Fiction is better than fact, if I want fact I'll go to school, oh yeah I did, LotR or anything by David Gemmel but Legend and Waylander and John Shannow Novels in particular. Gemmel is a master story teller, unparalleled in fantasy at the moment, IMO.

There are a few classics I've read too that rate highly but I won't bore you with the details, one involved a whale, the other a windmill and the third a murderer.

 

[arildno]

Gemmel..that's the guy writing about Thunk, the Death Hammer, or someone like that?

 

[siddharth]

It can't be. The third book haven't come yet..

It has, atleast where I live.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786818611/?tag=pfamazon01-20

The third book was the best.

 

[J77]

Most books by Ian MacEwan - probably Atonement, Comfort of Strangers, A Child in Time, and Enduring Love stand out for me.

The Story of Lucy Gault by Willaim Trevor is also excellent.

 

[3trQN]

Some of the memorable books I've read:

Fermats Last - Singh

The Silmarillion - Tolkien (and also any of the ME books)

Alice in Wonderland

The TAO of Meditation

I guess i don't read many non-technical books

Other books i recently read, some book on Non-local universe and the fabric of the cosmos ( and a whole host of feynman pop physics books ).

Recently read:
The Non-local Universe
The fabric of the cosmos
The Collapse of Chaos: Discovering Simplicity in a Complex WorldEDIT: Feel free to suggest something for my reading list

 

[Physics_wiz]

@Physics_wiz -- Ayn Rand? To each his own i suppose.

I didn't notice that comment until now . "Atlas Shrugged" was the first real English book I read iirc (I say "real" because some things don't count like forced readings in history class) ...maybe that's why I liked it.

 

[Cyrus]

There are four way to know much: live for many years; travel through many lands; read many good books (which is easiest); and converse with wise friends (which is most enjoyable).
Baltasar Gracian

Right now I have read for Lit class: Running 1000 miles for freedom, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass an American slave, Incidents in the life of a slave girl.

For Art, I am reading Plato's Republic.

They are good books. We still have more books to go though.

See, I do read,...sometimes.

I prefer to watch the news.

 

[Evo]

My favorite books... great question. Let me think for a bit...

The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Feynman
Applied Cryptography by Schneier
Snow Crash by Stephenson
Heart of Darkness by Conrad
The Cave Divers by Burgess

and surely many more.. I'll have to go through my bookshelves at home and recall my old favorites.

- Warren

I want to re-read Snow Crash, great book.

 

[Andy]

State of Fear - Michael Crichton
Debt of Honour - Tom Clancy
Fist of God - Frederick Forsyth

and Bravo Two Zero by Andy Mcnab what an amazing story.

 

[Reshma]

Brief Histroy of Time - Stephen Hawking
Time Travel in Einstein's Universe - Richard Goth
Sphere, Andromeda Strain, Predprey, Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
Prophet, Sand and Foam - Khalil Gibran
Road less traveled - Scott M. Peck
Twist in the Tale - Jeffery Archer

...are some which I enjoyed very much and can recall at the moment.

 

[GregA]

1984 / Animal Farm: George Orwell
Catch 22: Joseph Heller
Lord Of the Rings / The Hobbit: J.R. Tolkein
How To Solve It : G Polya

 

[Cyrus]

I've read Animal farm and Catch 22, Yosarian!

F-451 was a good book too. Come Montag!

 

[Cyrus]

Here is a great little story you will enjoy. It's quite funny

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/GriImpe.html

I am reading it for my Lit course.

 

[fourier jr]

Sphere - Michael Crichton

that was my favourite book for a long time around when the first jurassic park movie came out. i always thought it would make a cool movie but it got severely butchered when someone actually did make a movie out of it.

 

[Mickey]

The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field by Jacques Hadamard
i'm about halfway through it now & it has articulated & 'demystified' many things that i suspected about discoveries (or inventions, creations etc) of any kind, not just mathematical ones. one thing that really stood out for me was a sentence or two about classmates of galois who said that galois was repulsed by his algebra texts because they didnt give any insight into how mathematical discoveries were made. i guess they just said 'this is how its done, do it this way' etc etc without explaining why it was interesting or important to learn or where it came from. after reading that i had a better understanding of why my favourite textbooks are my favourites and not other ones.

Hell yeah! Isn't that why everyone hates their math books?

I mean, here you are, being forced to recognize the work of other famous mathematicians, and despite that force, you're not told why they or their work are famous in the first place. Did they get famous because of similar education? Hard to imagine that.

From reading the Amazon reviews, I hear the author claims that famous mathematicians make a distinction between thought and language, contrary to the ideas of many linguists and philosophers. If this is true, then it seems that mathematicians who argue that mathematics is a language are going down the wrong path.

Clearly, the same thinking on the distinction between thought and language can apply to other subjects, and may help us to see what makes a famous person in those fields as well.My favorite all time book(s)? I don't know. I'm reading Penrose's "Road to Reality" right now to help decide whether or not I should commit to a physics program. This may sound silly, but I really think that my favorite all time book is the first book I ever learned to read.

It wasn't even a real book. It was a thin stack of 8x11 pieces of paper, photocopies of pages of a book, stapled in a corner. I could take it anywhere. It was "my book." People would ask, do you have "your book?" Learning to read it was an unforgettable kind of joy, like a nexus of the joys of learning, exploration, self-motivation, accomplishment, imagination, and people sharing their joy of the whole thing with you too. I wish I could have more moments like that.

 

[JasonRox]

One of the books that stands out a lot for me is...

The Ice Master by Jennifer Nivel

It's about the Canadian Arctic Expedition and its tragedy in 1912-1914.

I can't really think of any other great books right now. This has to be certainly one of the greatest books of all time.

I liked a lot of books, but sometimes I feel like the book can be easily duplicated by another author or already has been duplicated. For example, Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking has been duplicated very easily by other authors and not only that but also by the author himself. Very repetitive.

 

[pace]

So far Lord of the Rings, White Fang by J. London, 1984 by Orwell, and Crime and Punishment by Dostojevskij. D. writes really really obsessivly.

 

[BobG]

No particular order. Just some good ones that have always stuck in my head.

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee?)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Skipping Christmas (John Grisham - maybe not a classic, but Grisham's best book, anyway)
War of the Rats (can't remember the author, but it was a duel between a Soviet sniper and a German sniper - much better than the stupid movie)
The Lamb's War (I wish I could remember that author's name, too - very bizarre story)
The End of Eternity (Asimov - could have chosen the Foundation Series, as well)
White Fang - Jack London (not sure why I liked this one more than Call of the Wild)

 

[GeoMike]

A couple that come to mind:

A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson
Touching the Void - Joe Simpson

-GeoMike-

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Gemmel..that's the guy writing about Thunk, the Death Hammer, or someone like that?

No that's Thrudd the Barbarian, or maybe your thinking of Conan, this guys a bit better than Robert E Howard(God bless his sacred jock strap though) And the comic strip in White Dwarf Magazine although that is easily the funniest send up of fantasy I've ever seen, I mean anyone who can include Daleks and nukes in fantasy get's my vote

Shannow was a biblical character, in that he followed the old testament in a post apocalyptic world of brigand and lawless savages, Gemmel is about character, and realistic character not big man slay everyone, and get mislead by princess, who uses and abuses him ,but senselessly violent man realizes the error of his thinking through the trials of his existence, it's not your common or garden fantasy, just as PK Dick or Asimov or AC Clarke aren't your common or garden fantasy. Do androids really dream of electric sheep

OK I'll bite and go for classics that really inspired me:-

Crime and Punishment: the murderer who justifies his misdeads

Don Quioxote: the windmill slayer.( as funny as you like and positively inspiring, we're all itinerant knights at heart yes? Although usually not so delusional )

Moby Dick: a whale of a tale(have to say the pacing was sublime, a wave crashing on a shore after it rolls across the seas is the way I'd describe the text in it's pacing)

Of Mice and Men: simple men with complicated motivations.

The Lord of the Flies: Lost the series in the form of Children I guess, "kill the pig smash him in"

The Trial: bemusing and frightening Kafkaesque derision of fascist adherence to rules.

Animal Farm: metaphore at it's finest.

Brave New World: one of those dystopian fantasies that reflects the world as it could be and thankfully isn't

The Day of the Triffids: a great expose of what would happen should the world meet a potential cataclysm

The Illiad: a fascinating read and better than the film Troy, obviously, who the hell believes Hollywood, brave attempt though given the restrictions of a modern worlds views

The Oddysey: cmon, can we get anything more fantastic and yet absorbing from the ancient world.

The Devils: perplexing array of Characters that although confusing lead to a great assumption about the way people behaved, although slightly biased against communism

OK off the top of my head, but I can't write them all. And besides fantasy was my first love, and it will be my last I mean LotR, just the quintessential power corrupts absolute power corrupts absolutely tale.

 

[mathwonk]

i .iked les miserables, and the count of monte cristo, and moby dick, especially the classic comics versions.

also courants calculus, spivaks calculus, and van der waerdens modern algebra, and shafarevichs basic algebraic geometry, and mike artins algebra, and milnors topology from the diffble viewpoint, and don quixote but not the classic comic which did not capture the profound humor.

also feynman on physics, and de broglie on quanta, as well as nan yar by a yogi whose name i forget.

 

[Physics_wiz]

"The Road to Reality" by Penrose. Even though I haven't finished this book, the small part I read can only be described by one word: "Beautiful"

Just thinking about it makes me happy

 

[Cyrus]

Now in Lit we are reading: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man [James Weldon Johnson]

Book: http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/jwj/auto.htm

 

[Astronuc]

I enjoyed "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375826688/?tag=pfamazon01-20" and "https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037582670X/?tag=pfamazon01-20" by Christopher Paolini. There will be third book out sometime in the near future. It's along the lines of LOTR, i.e. similar themes, but it is quite enjoyable.

 

[star.torturer]

"The Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan

realy, that's a suprised, not many like it. i love it and is waiting for 11 to come out in paperback.
hitchikers guide is brill
space odesys are good
LOTR is good

I enjoyed "Eragon" and "Eldest" by Christopher Paolini. There will be third book out sometime in the near future. It's along the lines of LOTR, i.e. similar themes, but it is quite enjoyable.

#
i read these, just doesent seem the right type

any hard scifi opera's and long winded total fantasy