[Quaddy]

rosemunde pilcher - coming home
vladimir nabokov - lolita
niccolò machiavelli - the prince
roald dahl - charlie and the chocolate factory / the witches
john o'brien - leaving las vegas
jane austen - pride & prejudice

 

[rogue]

William Golding - Lord of the Flies
William Gibson - Neuromancer
Frank Herbert - Dune
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
George Orwell - Animal Farm

 

[Ttvetjanu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_h /img/forum/go_quote.gif George Orwell - 1984 Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness

1984 has set the stage for many movies/games/tv-series/novels/comics, it just cannot be denied (it is also a great book).

I would personally add:

Jan Guillou - Ondskan (Evil - "Ondskan", in the context of the title of the novel, could be translated as "The quintessence of evil", "The objectified evil", "Evil incarnate" or "The deepest foundation of the concept of evil")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondskan_(book)

I've read this book now 4 times, and every time I find something new. It is such a strong story that it feels fresh every time I read it. Strongly recommended!

A Brief History of time - Stephen Hawkins (can it be concidered a novel?)

and although not being in any way a "good" novel, I must say I really enjoyed reading the Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons (however airport-novelish it was).

 

[sachu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogue /img/forum/go_quote.gif William Golding - Lord of the Flies

Such a good book...after reading this book, i found out that Harvard uses it as a textbook in their Psychology class..rightly so.

 

[earwicker7]

James Joyce--Ulysses
JRR Tolkien--Lord of the Rings
Fyodor Dostoevsky--Crime and Punishment
Thomas Pynchon--Gravity's Rainbow

I can't think of a good #5 off the top of my head.

 

[smrtby123]

Sci-fi/Fantasy is a totally different beast, so I seperated them
Quote:

Originally Posted by Townyj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Terry Brooks - Shannara Series.

Yessir every book he has written is awesome.

#2:Adams - Hitchhikers series
#3:Frank Herbert: Dune series

For standard lit:

Aldous Huxley - Point/Counterpoint is my favorite by him, not sci-fi at all.

William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying

Jack Keroauc - Dharma Bums (On The Road should be a pre-req to get used to his writing style)

Ernest Hemingway - Farewell To Arms

James Clavell - Shogun

 

[foo_me]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcaudon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mmmm glad to see another sci-fi fan here . I must agree with the last four, and add two more Lois McMaster Bujold - The Warrior's Apprentice Dan Simmons - The Hyperion Cantos

Yes, definitely agree with the above in terms of Sci-Fi.
The Hyperion novels from Dan Simmons are mind-boggling in how he created such a vivid universe.

Lois McMaster Bujold - Cordelia's Honor is my favorite.

Mark Helprin - Memoir from Antproof Case, Winter's Tale

Tom Clancy - Sum of All Fears

Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird

 

[rogue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Such a good book...after reading this book, i found out that Harvard uses it as a textbook in their Psychology class..rightly so.

Indeed. It's a book with a lot of depth, but one that is also very approachable. I first read it in 6th grade, but didn't really appreciate its symbolism and commentary on human nature until I re-read it much later.

 

[obobskivich]

Thomas O'Brien - The Things We Carried
William Gibson - Neuromancer (tough to pick a favoruite Gibson book)
Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles
Orson Scott Card - The Memory of Earth (and the following 4 books, ironically didn't like Ender's Game all that much)
Isaac Asimov - I, Robot

and an honorable mention or two:
Mary Shelly - Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
Oscar Wilde - The Imprtance of Being Earnest

and I'm sure I'll look at this in 2-3 hours and decide I don't like any of my choices

 

[gevorg]

#1. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
#2. Alexander Pushkin
#3. Leo Tolstoy
#4. Vladimir Nabokov
#5. Ernest Hemingway

 

[limpidglitch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ray Bradbury - The Martian Chronicles

I think I'll have to check out this. Fahrenheit 451 was awesome.

 

[earwicker7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smrtby123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying

Awesome, awesome book! If you like this, you should check out the movie "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada." Both are about people carrying the rotting corpses of someone close to them across great distances.

 

[Samgotit]

The usual:

Falkner - The Sound and the Fury
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird (this is the best novel every written)
Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged (no need to join the cult to love the book)
Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse-Five
Herman Hesse - Sidartha (the closest thing in book form to pot)

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by limpidglitch /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think I'll have to check out this. Fahrenheit 451 was awesome.

see I didn't really like Fahrenheit 451, and didn't really like Bradbury that much as a result, then I read The Martian Chronicles, and positively fell in love with it


I should warn you: I have weird tastes for things

Samgotit:
Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse-Five, what an amazing book (told you I'd hate my choices within a few hours!)

but Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged, ehhhhhhhhhhh (I think I've just seen the book too disected and Rand too worshipped to appreciate the book as a book, this same thing ruined Shakespeare and almost ruined Wilde for me, also makes Harper Lee and James Joyce hard to read for enjoyment)

oh, and another extension of "I'd hate my choices":

Ernest Hemmingway - The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
Ernest Hemmingway - The Old Man and The Sea (I don't care if its suggested reading for 90% of highschool freshman, its still a good book)

yeah, I'm indecisive

 

[limpidglitch]

Oh my, how could I forget the Alice books by Lewis Carroll.
Filmmakers have tried to ruin these stories for a long time, and partially succeeded (Disney).
Jan Svankmajers 'Alice' on the other hand, that's more like it.