# Your favorite novel of all-time?



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

You know , the book that you compare all the others against. The BEST book you ever read. (okay, it is hard to pick just ONE).

For me it is: 
A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving.

What about you?


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## Labrat407 (Aug 24, 2007)

The Source by James Michener


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2008)

The Lord of the Rings.

.....Alan.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

That's a hard one. There are a couple that I will reread regularly. Random Walk, by Lawrence Block, and Ubik by Philip K. Dick are 2 that come to mind.


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## Rondah (Apr 1, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> You know , the book that you compare all the others against. The BEST book you ever read. (okay, it is hard to pick just ONE).
> 
> For me it is:
> A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving.
> ...


IMO this is a great thread! A Prayer for Owen Meany is an AWESOME choice. My personal all time favorite is probably 'Blindness' by Saramago, but I also love 'East of Eden', '1984', and a few others. 
It's so hard to choose just one book. We readers tend to fall in love with different books at different times for different reasons.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Wow.. what a hard question..
I would have to throw the Ken Follet's in there..Pillars of the Earth and End of the World.
William Hoffman's Tidewater Blood is one I read about every year, but I don't know why...
And for fantasy.. which I don't read all that often because nothing ever compares to Tolkien.. I would have to say Eragon! Extremely well written book. DS is old enough now and we are doing it in the car.
And Geraldine Brooks.. The Book People is fantastic too..
I hate this question.. Impossible to answer.


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## featherbottoms (May 28, 2005)

ONE of my favorites (I really refuse pick just one  ) is _The Grapes of Wrath_ by John Steinbeck. I read it for the first time just a few years ago and was really taken by the vivid imagery of the story. Talked and thought about that book for months after. Still do really.

Deb.


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## Janis Sauncy (Apr 11, 2006)

"To Kill a Mockingbird." Favorite book, favorite movie.

Although "A Prayer for Owen Meany" wouldn't be my _all time_ favorite book, it is probably my favorite by John Irving.

Janis


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## ELOCN (Jun 13, 2004)

It's so hard to pick just one, as someone already said.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
Of Human Bondage, by Somerset Maugham
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee


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## Lawbag (May 10, 2005)

If I really have to pick just one, without a doubt it is The Lord of the Rings.

But The Count of Monte Cristo is not far behind.


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## Cookie Monster (Apr 5, 2008)

OK, I'll give a short list (though there are many more beloved books!)

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

Those would be the ones I would grab off the sinking ship for the desert island!


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## timelord921 (Apr 5, 2008)

I have a few series that I love!

Pendragon- D. J. MacHale
Warriors- Erin Hunter
The Clique- Lisi Harrison

AND I so love Quantum Leap: A to Z!


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## Sujae (May 14, 2008)

Of Mice and Men and Where the Red Fern Grows. I read them both when I was young and love to read them over and over. 

~Sujae


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Like everyone else, it is hard to pick just one.
Gone With The Wind
To Kill a Mockingbird
Grapes of Wrath
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Oh Gosh! I could go on and on. If I had to really pick just one, it would be Grapes Of Wrath


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## ELOCN (Jun 13, 2004)

I forgot one! Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.


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## Seagrape (Aug 4, 2008)

Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series; six books altogether. I'm listening to the audio version now.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

Children of First Man by James Alexander Thom


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## Wanderer0101 (Jul 18, 2007)

Winds of War by Wouk.


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## debbiebofjc (Jun 11, 2006)

I agree with ELOCN, 
Pride and Prejudice.
I also like "Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman", by Pamel Aidan.
It is P&P from Mr. Darcy's point of view. Lots of typos but a good read.
Just about anything by Jane Austen.
Jane Eyre.
I'd have a long list too.


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## Seeker (Sep 29, 2004)

The one book I compare all others to?

To Kill a Mockingbird

My brother and I are both writers and feel the same way. I tend to find a lot of books to aspire to - he's probably a better writer (or more arrogant), but only Harper Lee and a couple by Mark Twain are "better than his own" - which from him is very high praise.


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## Kari (Mar 24, 2008)

My most favorite book of all time is "The Lords of Discipline" by Pat Conroy.

It is story of a young mans' coming of age while enrolled in a fictional southern military school during the late 1960's and against the backdrop of the Vietnam war.

One of the characters in the book, "The Bear" (Lt. Col. Thomas Nugent Courvoisie) is based on one of Conroy's real life influences who befriended him during and after Conroy's years at the Citadel Military College

I first read this book when it was first published in 1985 and re-read the very same copy of the book every year.

In the Amazon review section, there are 171 reviews listed of which 167 are four stars or higher. This to me says a lot about the quality of the writing in the book and though it is fiction, there some very important lessons to be learned from it.


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## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

Whoa, that's a tough one. I like so many, but the one that comes to mind first is _Olive Ann Burns' *Cold Sassy Tree*._

Then I'd also have to mention... 
_*Ahab's Wife* by Sena Jeter Naslund
*Pillars of the Earth* by Ken Follett
*The Outlander* series by Diana Gabaldon
*To Kill a Mockingbird* by Harper Lee
*East of Eden* by John Steinbeck_

It's hard to stop there.

Halo

_edited to add_... I forgot _Caleb Carr's *The Alienist*_ - that's a goood book!


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## bluesky (Mar 22, 2008)

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
"Finding Caruso" by Kim Barnes
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte
"Rebecca" by Daphen DuMaurier
"In this House of Brede" by Rumer Godden

I could name a lot more, but these are books that I've read many times over the years and will continue to read.


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## fellini123 (Feb 2, 2003)

Anything by Pat Conroy. I just love his books, and his style of writing. He inspires me everytime I read one of his books. 

Alice in Virginia

P.S. Just finished one of Stephan Kings books, Lisey's Story it is quite good and not really typically King.


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## nduetime (Dec 15, 2005)

Oh! I just remembered one that I read over and over and over!
"My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George - this book had a lot to do with the my relationship with nature and doing things for myself.


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## catdance62 (Dec 7, 2008)

_1984_ by George Orwell
_The Jungle_ by Upton Sinclair
_The Wizard of OZ_ by L. Frank Baum
_The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling_


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

The Pirate Lord's Savage Passion
:rotfl:

(just kidding) I don't even think it's a real book.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> The Pirate Lord's Savage Passion
> :rotfl:


Have you read the sequel? I think it's titled, "Her Buxom Bosom." 

Pix


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> The Pirate Lord's Savage Passion
> :rotfl:
> 
> (just kidding) I don't even think it's a real book.



I went to amazon to see if there actually was a book with that title, and there wasn't. I was disappointed. It would be hilarious if there was!


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip Dick and the Complete Works of Jane Austin.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

Irish Pixie said:


> Have you read the sequel? I think it's titled, "Her Buxom Bosom."
> 
> Pix


And the next: 
"The Pirate Lord's Buxom Wench's Heaving Bosom Bursts Her Bodice"
It's bawdy!


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## simplepeace (Oct 29, 2005)

Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 
I like to drag out re-reading because the descriptions are so amazing.

Anything by Isabel Allende 

Just finished Blindness by Jose Saramago - it rates up there with my very favorites (I love the way it is written more than anything).


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

simplepeace, I also love Marquez! Allende too.


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## jer (Sep 2, 2003)

Gone with the Wind
Roots
The Shack (I think it will hold a place even though I just finished it)


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## Dwayne Barry (Jan 9, 2009)

nduetime said:


> Oh! I just remembered one that I read over and over and over!
> "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George - this book had a lot to do with the my relationship with nature and doing things for myself.


I can't even remember any of the details of that book, but remember reading it as a kid and really liking it. I'm pretty sure it planted the first seeds of self-sufficiency in my mind.

I'm almost afraid to read it now because it might not live up to the impression it created on me.


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## shellbug (Jul 3, 2005)

Stranger in a Strange Land 
#2 - To Kill a Mockingbird


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

Grapes of Wrath
Atlas Shrugged


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

My favorite for as long as I can remember is Watership Down. I don't even hesitate when someone asks me what my favorite is.


I bought the Grapes of Wrath once at a garage sale for 10 cents. I bought it because I had remembered hearing somewhere that it was good. I actually never read it. It's downstairs in the library somewhere......Judging from the answers so far I should REALLY go and find it.


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## arkansastwist (Nov 18, 2008)

The Eye of the World series by Robert Jodan


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## Guest (Mar 9, 2009)

Jane Eyre..it's been my favorite since I was a little girl..but then there's also The Pillars of The Earth..and Shogun (IMHO one of the best ever..it has romance, intrigue, action, politics, etc. etc. etc.)


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## Shushy (Jan 5, 2009)

Definantly the Outlander series!! It is by far and away the best series i've had the pleasure to read since I was a child and would read the little house books over and over and you get my point...lol


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## n2gardening (Mar 1, 2009)

Impossible to post just one...

Rebecca
The Thirteenth Tale
Lonesome Dove
Pride & Prejudice


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## Thales (Jan 24, 2009)

Hour of the Dragon - Robert E. Howard
1984 - George Orwell
My Side of the Mountain - Jean Craighead George
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Anyone who enjoys sci-fi or fantasy should read anything written by Robert E. Howard. His writing is amazing.

-Thales


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

A Death in the Family, James Agee

Blood Meridian, Cormack mcCarthy

Holder of the World, Bharati Mukherjee

Tess of the D'Ubervilles, Thomas Hardy

His Dark Materials trilogy, Philip Pullman

Jane Eyre

Wuthering Heights

Rebecca

The Chronicles of Narnia

This Earth of Mankind, and the rest of the Buru quartet, Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Lamb, Christopher Moore


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## rkintn (Dec 12, 2002)

Gone With The Wind
Scarlett
The Stand
Lonesome Dove

I read these four at least once a year LOL They never get old.


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## timelord921 (Apr 5, 2008)

Cookie Monster said:


> OK, I'll give a short list (though there are many more beloved books!)
> 
> A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
> 
> ...


A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court is awesome!!!! It's like that show on ABC or whatever, Life On Mars. With the unbeknownst time travel.


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## Wanderer0101 (Jul 18, 2007)

Winds of War by Herman Wouk.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

Captain Underpants


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

pheasantplucker, Captain Underpants is a SERIES. Which book did you like the best?

I rather enjoyed Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants. (the 4th Epic Novel). The author is Dav Pilkey for anyone who is interested. This is mandatory reading for any little boy of any age.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

Perhaps a series but any or all could be read as a stand alone. Marvelous writing, such poignant prose, makes "The Kite Runner" look amateurish.


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## malea103 (May 22, 2009)

WOW!!! I just can't believe that out of all the posts that I had the pleasure of reading just now that not a single entry mentioned the "Clan of the Cave Bear" series written by Jean M. Auel, kind of the start of the homesteading concept, LOL, even if it had taken place during the ice age. I read it every couple of years, very moving story and yet to be finished. If nothing else please check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_Children it will entice you into the story of Earth's Children.

However "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan was mentioned and is also a wonderful read.


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

As others have said, it's impossible to pick just one. 

But the best would have to be;
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
The cave girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Porter Rockwell; A Biography by Richard Lloyd Dewey
A Rose in Winter; by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte


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## wildwanderer (Mar 2, 2004)

The Losers by David Eddings


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## Elsbet (Apr 2, 2009)

gone-a-milkin said:


> This is mandatory reading for any little boy of any age.



or girl! i love Captain Underpants.


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## MacaReenie (Mar 1, 2008)

I absolutely adore the James Herriot series of books....All Creatures Great and Small, etc. Also a fan of the Mitford series by Jan Karon. I go through phases of what types of books I read..biography, scary, chick lit, serious, non-fiction, etc..but these 2 sets of books I always seem to find time for between the genre splits.


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## ELOCN (Jun 13, 2004)

MacaReenie, I loved all the James Herriott books, too! I was even inspired to read a couple of biographies of him. One was written by his son, Jim Wight. (James Herriott's real name was Alf Wight). I would like to read all the novels again!


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## Elsbet (Apr 2, 2009)

Discworld. That counts as just one, right? 

I LOVE anything by PG Wodehouse, too, but my favorites are the Jeeves and Wooster stories.


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## ELOCN (Jun 13, 2004)

I love everything by P.G. Wodehouse. His short stories "The Smile That Wins," "Strycchine in the Soup" and "Mulliner's Buck-U-Uppo" are hilarious!!!


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## brody (Feb 19, 2009)

oh great picks ... the Clan books, Roots, Pat Conroy (Tho the Water is Wide is my personal fav) Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, James Herriot, Chronicles of Narnia, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Pillars of the Earth

I would have to add Handmaiden's Tale in terms of provoking thought and The Stone Angel - a book I both love and hate at once ..
I enjoy Dick Francis too - he's my "comfort read" I return to his books when I'm stressed


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I would also choose "The Lord of the Rings". Possibly follower by "The Dark Tower" series.
Sorry to say, but I hated the Grapes of Wrath...yes it was awesome writing but I hated the story and esp. hated the ending.


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## NorCalChicks (Dec 7, 2007)

The Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
The Burning Time - Robin Morgan
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Earth Children Series - Jean Auel
:sing:


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

It's hard to pick just one, but I'd have to say "Dalva," by Jim Harrison.


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## chestnut (Sep 9, 2008)

Walden by Thoreau


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
World Without End by Ken Follett
Panther in the Sky by James A. Thom
The Red Heart by James A. Thom
Children of First Man by James A. Thom
The Kite Runner by Hosseini???
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Hosseini???
Old Yeller by Gipson
Rascal by Sterling North
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee


there's my top ten


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## Woodpecker (Mar 8, 2007)

Follow The River by James A. Thom and The Earth Children Series by Jean Auel.


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

Lot of good books mentioned! I'm not sure it's really possible to narrow it down to just one book, maybe narrow it down to one book in a category?

I believe The Scarlet Letter is one of the best books ever written. Maybe it's just a chick book, but I've read it several times in my life at different ages and each time, I get a different perspective. Just shows how your perceptions of life change as you age.

Pride and Prejudice - the best of Austen and you never grow tired of it.
Alas, Babylon and The Stand. 

Someone mentioned Clan of the Cave Bear and it is an excellent book. IMO, there's no reason to read any of the sequels. Once she started introducing other humans to the story, it drifted into silliness.

I enjoy "housewife" mysteries like the Faith Fairchild series by Katherine Hall Page. She also puts in some good recipes! 

Read anything by Sharyn McCrumb. She is Great!! Got to her website to get an idea of what she writes, then go down the list from the beginning and get them at the library, the used book store or wherever you can. Well worth the read. (No, I'm not related to her and have never met her.  ) 

http://www.sharynmccrumb.com/


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

An Amercian Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

Anya by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer

Both very powerful books.


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