A conversation in a different thread sparked this topic and I wanted to continue it here. This is the place to list your favorite books of the 20th century (or after). It would be great if you would give a sentence or two about each book to explain why you like it or think it should be considered among the best!
Have fun!
Bless Me, Ultima - Rudolfo Anaya.
Classic coming-of-age story explores growing up between two worlds. Main character learns to balance a number of discordant aspects of his multicultural heritage. Well written and well told, also very funny.
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza - Gloria Anzaldúa.
Collection of essays about her life and journey. She describes many of the same challenges addressed in Bless Me, Ultima, but comes to very different conclusions. Imagery is absolutely amazing and intense. Coatlicue is the coolest god by far, and makes several appearances.
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Story about the British colonization of Nigeria told from a native perspective. An amazing study about the nature of self and what informs that for each of us. Very strong and very dark imagery.
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Story about becoming undomesticated and transcending into something different. Very Nietzschean, but also something very American.
Heart of Darkness - Joesph Conrad
Joesph Conrad's 3rd language was English. Wow! 100% of the meaning of this story has been debated for the last century.
Obligatory *AND BEYOND* choice!
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Story follows a boy from Afghanistan to Pakistan during the Soviet incursion. Difficult read because the subject material is fairly intense, but I liked it very much because I knew so little about the culture and history of the region.
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!
Imperial Earth -- Arthur C. Clarke
At the Earth's Core -- Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Stand -- Steven King
AD&D 1e Player's Handbook -- Gary Gygax
AD&D 1e Dungeonmaster's Guide -- Gary Gygax
War of the Worlds -- H.G. Wells
The Time Machine -- H. G. Wells
There are more, but they escape my mind at the moment.
Imperial Earth -- Arthur C. Clarke
At the Earth's Core -- Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Stand -- Steven King
AD&D 1e Player's Handbook -- Gary Gygax
AD&D 1e Dungeonmaster's Guide -- Gary Gygax
War of the Worlds -- H.G. Wells
The Time Machine -- H. G. Wells
There are more, but they escape my mind at the moment.
I've not read Imperial Earth, was that one where he teamed up with Gentry Lee? I just finished reading the Rama series and I enjoyed the sequels (where he paired up with Lee) more than the first novel (where he wrote alone.) From what I gather, my preference is a minority view. :)
No, he was writing solo. It came out around America's Bicentennial and was set in the 23 century, just as America was celebrating 500 years of existence. I read it in the 6th grade and really enjoyed it.
Concept of the thread is really weird to me since pre 20th century books are not exactly the kind I read for pleasure in my free time.
So to me this is just a "favorite book" thread, and honestly, its way to hard to pick. So many good ones. Such an embarrassment of riches.
Maybe it isn't everyone's thing, but I find a bunch of 19th century stuff to still make a good showing. Poe, in particular, is still very popular for pleasure reading, as is Dickens.
The classics are also making somewhat of a comeback. The Robert Fagels translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey are very approachable.
The real reason for the time frame choice was because of the conversation in the other thread.
Hopefully you will tell us a few of your favorites. I am particularly interested to know about everyone's lesser known favorites!
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Oh, I can't remember the exact title, but Poul Anderson once wrote a novelized prose version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. It really got me interested in Mesopotamian archaeology as a kid.
Well, that was the title and I probably have the wrong author. Still, it was a great book!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson, one of my favorite books of all time
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (and all that came after), Douglas Adams, see above
The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, R.A. Salvatore, nobody makes dwarves as bad ass! Bruenor makes these books!
Where's Waldo in Hollywood, Martin Hanford, Waldo at his best!
The Illustrated History of Dinosaurs, sheer awesomeness, the picture of the T-Rex eating is priceless
Real American Food, Burt Wolf, dude knows how to include regional history into his cook books, this one is a classic:-)
edit: as far as Stephen King, It, The Stand, Tommyknockers, and Christine
I, Strahd by P.N. Elrod
Azure Bonds and The Wyvern's Spur, by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, Olive Ruskettle is one of my all time favorite literary characters ever! (shame on me for forgetting this earlier)
OMG...how could I leave Hitchhiker's Guide off the list?
Well, that was the title and I probably have the wrong author. Still, it was a great book!Sure was. I couldn't remember the author, either, so ...
Just found it on Amazon.com in Kindle Version, but Amazon doesn't take Paypal so I can't get it. Dang...cuz now I really wanna read it again.
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Oh, boy! Time to post what I lovingly call my summer reading list! =p (And yes, I realize a couple of these are from the 19th Century and not the 20th. Oh well.)
When Gravity Fails - George Alec Effinger
Middle Eastern-inspired cyberpunk.
Neuromancer - William Gibson
THE definitive classic cyberpunk novel.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream - Hunter S. Thompson
Based on a true story...ish. The movie's not bad, either.
The Aeneid - Virgil
The Odyssey - Homer
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Lloyd Frank Baum
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon - Naoko Takeuchi
...Don't judge me!
Casino Royale - Ian Fleming
♪I've seen diamonds cut through harder men/Than you yourself, but if you must preEEEEEEEteeeennnnd, you may meet your eeeeeeeend~
Brain Droppings - George Carlin
Napalm and Silly Putty - George Carlin
When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? - George Carlin
I Hated Hated HATED This Movie - Roger Ebert
Title taken from his review of the movie "North." A compilation of his "finest" zero to one-star reviews.
Your Movie Sucks - Roger Ebert
Title taken from his review of "Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo," which the book starts with. More reviews of movies that never should have been greenlit.
A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length - Roger Ebert
Title taken from his review of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Yet even more reviews of godawful movies.
The Silmarillion - J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare
The Guide - R. K. Narayan
I read this in college.
The English Patient - Michael Ondante
I read this in college, too. Better than the movie because it doesn't shove the love story in your face.
The Ridiculous Race - Steve Hely and Vali Chandrasekaran
Dungeons & Dragons: Oriental Adventures - James Wyatt et al
The supplement for Third Edition, not the one from the 80s.
Dungeons & Dragons: Player's Handbook (Fifth Edition) - Wizards D&D Design Team
...That's what it said on my receipt, anyway.
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Shouldn't this be one of those threads that would get more hits in the Books forum?
ok
1. the stand ..stephen king
2. moorcock all of them...showed me what could be beyond the hobbit
3. everything by howard and lovecraft..two broken people.read there letters in the books "a means to freedom"
4. world war z..max brooks the book that all zombie books will be measured by
5. wool by hugh howey....nothing closer to heinlein
6. starship troopers and a moon is a harsh mistress ..master at the top of his form
7. icewind dale trilogy....made me remember how i felt when i was a teenager reading my first fantasy novels
8. ask james jacobs thread...if we could only get him make pazio do unspeakable futures without him leaving the company
9. dying inside by robert silverberg...just read it
10. the original forgotten realms box set..it set my imagination on fire and made me want to create and publish my own world..
maybe a little shallow..but the deep stuffs not alway the fun stuff
I loved Moorcock's original "Elric" series. Read it at least three times in college.
Terry Pratchett Discworld series. Without a doubt.
Moorcock's Elric
HP Lovecraft stuff.
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns (excellent book!)
Being french, I'll add:
Les Rois Maudits, Maurice Druon