Top three books of all time

Re: Books - Top three best reads and worst reads of all time.

Ah Jasus, Peig Sayers! Leave the poor lady out of it. On a slightly lighter note, I once read than an English wag remarked that "after 800 years of British imperialism, the Irish were getting their own back - by inflicting Peig on GCSE students". This was after Irish gaelic was awarded special status and was included on the syllabus.
 
First dip into "below the line" posting here - eeeep!

Best:
Catch 22 - deffo one of the best and funniest and saddest books of all time (and, incidentally, quite a good movie I reckon)
Cryptonomincon (no comebacks from Neal Stephenson fans here please!)
Vernon God Little

Best last line - Life of Pi

Worst
Celestine Prophesies (the mention of this tripe caused me to actually mail!)
Dan Brown generally
Filth by Irvin Welsh (again, the mention of this brought it to my mind)

I loved Lord of the Rings too. His Dark Materials also excellent!

Great thread - have taken down lists of books for the "to buy/beg/borrow/steal" list.

Sprite
 
Progress report as follows;

Just finished Scar Tissue, by Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers (and ghost writer). Certainly wouldn't make my 'all time top three' list. It was written in a very plain style, flying from one drug-fuelled incident to the next with little insight into what made the guy tick. There was a real sense of disappointment about the amount of creative work, gigs, friends and partners that he screwed up through his regular relapses into the drug world. I enjoyed the nuggets about their interactions with other musicians (Cobain, Vedder etc).

I've reserved a load of the other books in the library, though they seem to be in heavy demand (the AAM effect?). I hope they don't all come at once!
 
Madangan said:
A book by Dan Browne set in the arctic(not the code or angels or demons... this book(whose name I have confined to the dustbin) makes them look like literary classics
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Deception Point I think it was called - terrible terrible book with chronically bad IT references

jaybird said:
1) The Time Travellers Wife: Quite literally could not put this down, sat up all night reading it.
5) The Boy in the striped pyjamas. Simple but brilliant.
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I adored those two as well - I must read the others on your list. The Time Travellers Wife was a book that I felt grief for after I finished. Its years since a book made me feel that way.
 
I read a book or two a week and once read I tend to forget the title and the author and will only know if I read it or not by the sleeve. However the ones that stand out are:

Papillion - Henri Charrier - The first adult book I read when I was around 14 and it has stayed with me since.

A Boy Called It - David Pelzer - Horrific but compelling reading.

Charlie & The Glass Elevator - Roald Dahl - Who could forget the vermicious knids (sp?).

Anything by Mill Millington - Hilarious.

Worst

Don't remeber the title but a romantic fiction by an author called Nora Roberts, set in Oireland. I had read a crime novel by her previously which I enjoyed but this was utter drivel complete with Oirish stereotyping.
 
1. A prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

Too many competing for postions 2 and 3. Sorry.
 
Am currently reading

Man is Wolf to Man - Janusz Bardach. one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Just finished

The Long Walk - Slavomir Rawic - brilliant, loved it.
 
I don’t read much fiction any more but The Lord of the Rings was the first really big book I read (I think I was about 9 or 10 at the time). The best novel I read recently was Bird Song by Sebastian Falks. The best of all time? I don’t know but “The world according to Garp” and “Catch 22” are near the top of the list.

The last book I read was “The last Mughal” by William Dalrymple. (Great book; well worth the effort)

I am currently reading “Modern Ireland 1600-1972” by R.F. Foster (I’m finding it hard going and a bit “West-Brit”)
 
1. Memoir by John Mc Gahern.
I loved it. Beautiful, almost painted descriptive writing
2.The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. Unputdownable mystery tale
3. I'm a Lord of the Rings fan as well
 
Top 3 books..(so far..)

1.A Prayer for Owen Meaney
2.Vernon God Little
3.Lord of the Rings

Worst 3
Chick-lit in general though I love the idea of Celia getting Bertie to write a kids book

Dan Brown and Jeffery Archer books in general-trite,formulaic pap.

daithi
 
Caveat said:
Really? I mean I really liked it, but I'm surprised you didn't prefer The world according to Garp or The Hotel New Hampshire?
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I liked both of them but I have read A Prayer for Owen Meaney several times and have loved it every time. In fact, I would put the Cider House Rules ahead of both The world according to Garp or The Hotel New Hampshire.
 
casiopea said:
Middlesex - Jeffrey Euginedes
Pride and Prejudice - jane austen
the handmaids tale - margaret atwood
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While I loved Middlesex, I just finished the Handmaids Tale, and it certainly wouldn't make my top 3. It was a somewhat intriguing premise, but I wonder if perhaps it is more interesting for female readers?
 
while i'm far from a bookworm my 3 favourite books are
The Citadel by AJ Cronin
The Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

of course give me a PG Woodhouse and a roaring fire and i'll be happy!
 
Complainer said:
Me too, though not quite as big a fine as you. Most libraries will allow you to renew books online or by phone now too.
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you can renew online too.....

i remember reading veronica decides to die years ago wonder uf i'd enjoy it still?

I loved the his dark materials trilogy too but that was before they made it into a stinking film.

I enjoyed reading how to kill your husband and other helpful household hints but more because of the look on his face when he saw it on my locker!
 
Complainer said:
While I loved Middlesex, I just finished the Handmaids Tale, and it certainly wouldn't make my top 3. It was a somewhat intriguing premise, but I wonder if perhaps it is more interesting for female readers?
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Maybe - I found it very unput-downable (not really a word) and somewhat disturbing, far more so than 1984 (which it could be compared to). It stayed with me for ages.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
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Wheeler has a point - its very hard to place 2 and 3!
 
sandrat said:
I enjoyed reading how to kill your husband and other helpful household hints but more because of the look on his face when he saw it on my locker!
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I'm just glad Mrs. SLF hasn't seen that book yet.
 
Glad to see Flowers For Algernon get a mention, although I always considered it a short story/novella.

Anyway, my list is based on re-readability (so current favourites) rather than necessarily 'best' (in best I would put The Wasp Factory or The Song of Stone (still wake up sweating about the two of them) or The Great Gatsby (studied it to death), but I have no desire to re-read them!):
1. Excession by Iain M. Banks (sf)
2. Anything by Patrick O'Connor (Napoleonic naval yarns)
3. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (economic theory) - just finished it and want to read it again!

For worst:
Anything by Salman Rushdie (I find them totally unreadable - can't understand what all the fuss was about the Satanic Verses - obviously no-one ever read it!).
Any of those Indian writers writing about the wonders of poverty.
 
yoganmahew said:
The Wasp Factory
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Yes, excellent IMO. Rare to see such a great blend of horror and (black) humour - attempts are usually sadly lacking in one of the two.

Also, I should have added, I think almost anything by Ian McEwan too will be at the very least enjoyable, often brilliant.

Recently read The Family on Paradise Pier by Dermot Bolger - multigenerational epic, very well written and based on a true story too. Anything of his I've read has been very good by the way - The Journey Home in particular - very different type of book though.

The South by Colm Toibín was another great one I thought.
 
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