Top 5
Treasure Island
Hound of the Baskervilles
Money...Martin Amiss
The DiceMan...Luke R
The Fatal Shore...

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

I've just finished this and I have to say it is the best thing I have read in years. Absolutely brilliant.

"Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic...."

I read that a month or two ago. Very good and highly recommended but not quite 'the best thing I've read in ages'. 8/10

I've mentioned Harlan Coben so many times on this forum I've got bored with it....

The Egyptian -- Mika Waltari

Complicity --- Banks

Crime and Punishment --- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dracular -- Bram Stoker

Brave New World ---- Aldous Huxley ---I though was better than 1984 considering the time of writing and of the man himself.

These as far as I can remeber at the moment.

Last 4 great shout finsimbo
still think the best dystopian novel has to be "Lord of the Flies" Goldings brilliant reworking negative of "Swallows and Amazons", though at the time I enjoyed Ransom's jolly enormously

It's actually quite hard to think of best books.... cant really even remember books I've read.

I enjoyed both Brave New World and 1984.
Catcher in (of) the Rye? Absolute dross (IMO).... I read it after reading Mark Chapmans biography. Nothing happened.

Wasp Factory is up there for me too (although I like most of Banks' work inc Complicity and Crow Road).

Life of Pi, Diceman (as mentioned) were good reads.

In terms of light reading, Dave Gorman's 2 novels (he has another one due at the start of November) and his pal Danny Wallace's "Join Me" was also an easy and humorous read.

Anyone read any Carl Hiaasen? Quite an amusing author. With strong undertones of being a "green and righteous dude"! Strip Tease (the film with Demi Moore) was actually one of his books - as a book it was an excellent read. There is a continuation of charactors in his books but each can be read in its own right.

Just remembered a "classic" that I read recently: High Rise.
Quite good, but cant help feeling let down. Bit like watching Lost - you keep going, and it does enough to hook you in, but at the end you're disappointed.

What happens in Catch 22? Sure I've read it, but cant remember. Who's it by?

Edited: Sorry just noticed that there is a general "Books" thread opposed to this "Best 5 books" thread. Perhaps my ramble would have been better suited in that one

Catch 22 is by Joseph Heller.

"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. "

You might recognise some of the characters:

Major Major Major Major
Major __________ De Coverley
Orr
Nately
Yossarian
Nately's Whore
Nately's whore's kid sister
Milo Minderbinder (will do anything for a profit - even bomb his own airfield. Also got paid to tip off enemy Ack Ack gunners about bombing raids).

Great book - one you can keep coming back to over and over

Nope not read that (i'm familiar with the front cover though).... I may even have it on my book shelf. I have loads of books that I have bought that havent actually got round to reading.

Interesting that the phrase did not exist until his book came out - thats some claim to fame isnt it?! To coin a phrase that enters the English language. (Did "Big Brother" exist before 1984)?

A lot of what we think of as modern phrases actually go back to Shakespeare's day - for example Aldous Huxley nicked the title of his Brave New World from Shakespeare; Hemingway nicked For Whom the Bell Tolls from John Donne, a 17th century poet. But I think Catch 22 and Big Brother were originals.

PS The full quote is "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee", which means, loosely translated, every time someone dies, a little piece of humanity dies too. I just Googled the poem and came across this gem post on a forum:

I was reading the Raymond Chandler book "The Little Sister" on the plane the other day, and Philip Marlowe (one of Chandler's nods to English literature) says that he hears a bell tolling while talking to Flack, a corrupt and stupid hotel detective. He is obviously telling Flack how meaningless his life is, but Flack does not catch the reference at all. He says that he can't hear the bell. Philip Marlowe is one of the great characters in modern American literature. He is a dissipated intellectual, just like Chandler himself.

Whoever wrote that is one sharp dude.

I love the critic who said "Chandler wrote a slumming angel."
Some more Shakespeare examples Billy - Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury, and (Cry havoc and let loose) The Dogs of War.

Love that Chandler post.

Bell tolling theme also used in Capra's 'Its a Wonderful life' - every time a churchbell rings, another angel gets its wings (Also in a Carter song).

The Donne poem is the same one from which 'No man is an island' came from. First came across Donne from reading '84 Charing Cross road'.

How about 'Far from the Madding Crowd', from Greys Elegy in a country churchyard.

Or Nymphet, coined by Nabakov in Lolita

How about Generation X - from the Coupland novel?

1984 also coined the phrase Newspeak, still used today for PC word changing.

Oh, and 'Chortled' and 'Galumph' both came from Jabberwocky, so when you next Chortle at someone Galumphing along the pavement, you're tipping your hat to Lewis Carroll

The Jabberwocky, a fantastic bit of nonsense! The first poem I could recite as a child. It is also amazing how often Brillig is the answer to crossword clues. I.e. who did gyre and gimble in the wabe?

It is a fantastic poem. Incredibly difficult to make up nonsense words that really convey the meaning of what you're trying to say (i.e. Slithy Toves, Vorpal Swords and Uffish thoughts).

If you or I tried it, it would just sound rubbish, but in the hands of Lewis Carroll it all just sounds right. Wonder how long it took him to write it though?

I have to agree unc - this forum, for example, is full of nonsense words that don't convey any meaning

All CKs - avoid like the plague.

Edward Lear my fav of that type of thing, loved them as a kid, probably why also love the Goons, for me Milligan only one in relative modern times to come close, his book Pukoon (sp) is a classic not so much nonsence words but situations its one of my fav books

But Vorpal Swords was Brillig in La Liga 10 years ago so he's bound to do well at Bolton.

Am i the first to mention Charles Dickens??? favourite of his would be Bleak House, with a wealth of well-rounded characters and inter-woven plot-lines. David Copperfield also worthy of a mention.

Thomas Hardy is another favourite of mine, hard pressed to choose between Jude the Obscure and Mayor of Casterbridge, both excellent.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is a story everyone will be familiar with from films or even from that rubbish Dogtanian cartoon! nevertheless, it is a romping good read, a book of friendship, courage and duty.

Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski - excellent novel about - well, crime and punishment! possibly not one to be read if you're feeling a little low, however.

also-

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - excellent novel about growing up amid racial hatred in the American Deep South

Catch 22 - Loads of others have mentioned this one, great anti-war epic.

Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy - read the first 4 of this trilogy ( ) in order, but don't bother with the final book, Mostly Harmless, when Douglas Adams had clearly had enough of his own characters and hated them with a passion.

Stephen Fry is an author of wit and panashe, although liking his on-screen persona is probably a requirement. Personal favourite from him is The Hippopotamous, which features one particular scene with a horse that you won't forget in a hurry!!

Finally, one written very recently is The Secret Purposes by David Baddiel. I know that many people think David Baddiel is a total kn*b, and an incredibly unfunny comedian, but this is an accomplished piece of writing about the internment of jewish refugees on the isle of man. this may surprise you - don't dismiss this just because baddiel and skinner get on your t*ts!!

Please tell me you are joking (either that or your an english teacher).

David Copperfield was a ghastly part of my education.
Put me off reading altogether (I'd never read for pleasure anyway... it was a chore associated with school). But David Copperfield (along with Pride and Prejudice) did enough damage to make sure I never dared pick up a book until I was about 20.

You should try Little Dorrit

ha-ha!! no, neither of these things - i'd never survive as an english teacher!!

i do know where you're coming from as regards set education books though. I had to read Oliver Twist for school, which i found pretty dreadful, and it did put me off Dickens for many, many years. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells too, i found increadibly boring. would never try to read that again.

I think if it's "educational", you're always going to be pre-disposed to disliking it.

I suppose...

Having said that, we did Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, both of which were 'enjoyable'.

I recently re-read To Kill a Mocking Bird - another book we did at school.
Originally I hadnt liked that (or overly disliked it either). But it was ok. Read it in about a day on holiday though (took us about 6 weeks at school.

Maybe one day I'll get brave and try DC again.

[[b]b] [i]Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy[/i][/b] - read the first 4 of this trilogy ( :shock: ) in order, but don't bother with the final book, [b]Mostly Harmless[/b], when Douglas Adams had clearly had enough of his own characters and hated them with a passion.[/b]
[

Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is, indeed, awesome.

However, while most would agree that 1-3 are far superior to 4-5, I don't think that the final book is worse than 4. Mostly Harmless sees the return of more of the main characters, as well as actually being situated away from the Earth! Number 4 stands completely outside of the series, both chronologically, and conceptually. This is not to say any are not worth reading; Douglas Adam's 'worse' writing stands way beyond most authors best!

English Lit teachers have a lot to answer for in introducing great works of literature to kids when they're just not old enough to appreciate them. I remember having to read Far From The Madding Crowd when I was 14 - it was so boring it put me off literature for years, and I still can't read Thomas Hardy (amazed that some people have mentioned his books in this thread).

Give Dickens another go, Zimmerman, you won't regret it - try starting with something short and light like A Christmas Carol (it's coming up to the right time). The prose is just masterful.

Anyway, top 5 books, in a completely random, off-the-top-of-my-head order:

- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth

That last one is probably the only one that hasn't been mentioned already, and it's from an American author (god, are they all?) who's little known over here, but I read it a few years ago, and it's jsut amazing - the story of a would-be poet who travels to Maryland in the early days of colonialism and gets caught up in all sorts of shenanigans over there. It's essentally a right rollicking read, where anything could happen next, and frequently does. If you ever see a copy second-hand, snap it up - you won't regret it.

Im enjoying Christopher Mayers book, Washington Confidential.

I've long loved John Dunne's poems - to the extent that I've commited some to heart. This is the first verse of one of my favourites:

'TIS true, 'tis day; what though it be?
O, wilt thou therefore rise from me?
Why should we rise because 'tis light?
Did we lie down because 'twas night?
Love, which in spite of darkness brought us hither,
Should in despite of light keep us together.

He came up with another good'un when he divorced his wife:

John Dunne,
Anne Dunne,
Undone.

On to the books .....

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: A fantastic Christmas present if you need something for kids who think a bit outside the box. Or for adults who haven't completely forgotten the wonder and magic of childhood.

Going Fishing by Negley Farson: Rather a specialist subject, perhaps, but fishing is a sport with a healthy tradition of fine writing behind it. Farson's travelogue with rod is crisply written, characters are drawn deftly and vividly and there are fantastic illustrations by Tunnicliffe as well!

Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger: Included as it was so influential as I grew up - though it never occured to me to shoot John Lennon.

Othello - William Shakespeare: I probably would have hated it if I'd met it at school, but I worked on a production as an adult and came, in time, to adore it. I'll give any Shakespeare time, now. I loved the fact that two or three lines could mean four or five things depending on the level it was taken or nuance it was given. It can be hard work, but when you grasp just a fraction of the multiplicity of meanings the man crafts throughout this and all his works you begin to realise just why he is considered a genius. I didn't have a clue before I read this.
The production was absolute crap, by the way.

Finally, I'm going to shy away from naming the 5th right now. On the one hand it is 'A Spell For Green Corn' by George McKay Brown, a magical tale from Orkney based on fact, but out of print, so who who reads this will ever know how great it is? If you have access to a good library, get it. It isn't long or demanding, just awe inspiring.
On the other hand it's 'Tess' and Hardy's phenomenal usage of Fate to twist his plots and my emotions. Or it's the Icelandic/Norse Sagas; Kidnapped; Jack London's 'The Iron Heel' (London gives Orwell a run for his money any day!), Camus' 'The Outsider' - "My mother died today, or was it yesterday? I can't remember.'' (good topic for a new thread - 'Great First Lines'! ); Conrad's 'The Heart of Darkness', "the Horror, the Horror", , aye, that's a good read .... No, the list cannot be limited, so I'd best just stop.

I am reading "Life on Air" at the moment which is David Attenborough's life story. If anyone is into these type of books, then I would recommend it . I am about 1/3rd through it and it is great!