20 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
Cymruambyth
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I'm a voracious reader, so choosing five best/worst is tough. I'm going to fudge a little and list some series that I have enjoyed reading. Best: The Bible - a source of truth and spiritual direction for me; 'Anne of Green Gables' series by L.M. Montgomery. I re-read the entire series at least once every two years; Most of Charles Dickens' works. I re-read my favourites often (Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, The Old Curiosity Shop, and others); Mystery novels by Ruth Rendell, P.D. James and Deborah Crombie; All of Jane Austen's books, which also get read over and over again. My favourite is 'Sense and Sensibility'. Worst: Anything by Danielle Steel; Anything by Sidney Sheldon; Anything by Debbie McComber; Anything by any writer in the Harlequin fold; Technical manuals, because they're always badly-written (either by someone for whom English is not the first language, or by someone who has a string of degrees in computer science or electrical engineering but who skipped all the English classes on the way to those degrees!) Reply #1. May 20 11, 5:01 PM |
squidgybop
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My mom loves anything written by Stephen King,Dean Koontz,Tami Hoag. She likes them. Reply #2. May 30 11, 7:12 PM |
Mariamir
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Best: Any of John Buchan's books. Any of G.A.Henty's books. War Horse by I-forget-his-name. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Taylor or-something-like-that. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Tons others. Worst: Any of Charles Dicken's (except A Tale of Two Cities). Any of Jane Austen's (except Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility). Any of Tamora Pierce's books. Harry Potter Twilight Sorry about my "worst" list, fans, but I found them yawn-inducing. Reply #3. Jan 10 12, 2:28 AM |
mikejamillon 
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Best: 1. The LOTR trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien 2. Any Neil Gaiman books. ( I love his Stardust and the American Gods books) 3. Any Michael Crichton books. (Jurassic Park, The Lost World, the Rising Sun, Congo etc.) 4. Anything written by Stephen King and Tom Clancy 5. Donna Tart's "A Secret History" Worst: 1. The Twilight series 2. Any books by Michael Connely and Jonathan Kellerman 3. Self-help books 4. Danielle Steele's, Sidney Sheldon's 5. romance and any books that borders on the pornographic Reply #4. Jan 10 12, 5:38 AM |
paulmallon
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IMO Michael Connelly (with two l's) is one of the top 5 mystery authors I've ever read and I've read 1,500-2,000 books in the last 30 years. Harry Bosch,his protagonist is also one of crime fiction's best characters. Again this is in my opinion not yours with which I disagre with but I respect your opinion as well. Reply #5. Jan 10 12, 2:43 PM |
LadyCaitriona
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Hmmm... Best "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon "Harry Potter" series by JK Rowling "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute Anything by John Wyndham And I need to put a sixth Anything by Herman Wouk Worst Anything by Stephen King "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by JRR Tolkien Anything by Terry Goodkind "Sylvia" by Bryce Courtenay ...I'm sure there are others, but these are the only ones that come to mind that I would rather go blind in one eye then ever have to read them again. But I don't like to give a "worst" list without qualifying my opinions (and they are just opinions, mind). Stephen King: I find King's books seem to be more appealing to people who don't really read a lot. His style of writing doesn't appeal to me, and of the books of his I've read they all seem to have been given very silly endings that don't suit the progression of the plot. "Lord of the Rings": I know a lot of people disagree with me on this one, and I would not be surprised to see this appear frequently on other readers' "best" list. I have tried to read this series several times, and each time I make it until partway through "Return of the King" and lose interest. I did manage to slog it all the way through once. I think the story is brilliant (I love the films) but the books have too many asides that don't really further anything and I get bored. Terry Goodkind: This author I find has a great imagination and an agreeable writing style, but the characters which populate his realm are so flat that it really subtracts from the overall effect. They lack depth and it's hard to get involved in a story where the characters are so pointless and one-dimensional. "Sylvia": LOL Bryce Courtenay is on both of my lists! "The Power of One" (and to a lesser extent its sequel "Tandia") are excellent novels with a lot to say about racism and apartheid in South Africa. I picked up "Sylvia" thinking it would be just as good, but it was drivel. I'm not really sure what Courtenay was going for with this, but whatever it was, it didn't work. Reply #6. Jan 10 12, 9:12 PM |
| tezza1551
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Lady Catriona, I'm fascinated that Nevile Shute's "On the Beach" features on your "best" list - it's the only one of his I found hard to deal with - maybe I was too young when I read it first ... Best: Anything other than "On the Beach" by Nevile Shute Anything by Liz Byrski Anything by John Wyndham "My Place" by Sally Morgan Anything by Jane Duncan Worst: The Twilight series Anything by Sidney Sheldon Anything set in Africa or India The Lord of the Flies - William Golding Anything by Joan Collins or Barbara Carthorse (do I mean Cartland ?) Reply #7. Jan 10 12, 9:48 PM |
Aussiedrongo
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Do memoirs count? I don't particularly like them but this one is a beautiful exception: A Fortunate Life by A. B. Facey And in no particular order: Illywhacker by Peter Carey Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck 1984 by George Orwell Worst books is hard for me to decide as I can usually tell if a book is going to hold my interest within the first fifty pages. If it doesn't, I stop reading it. I began reading a Bryce Courtney novel once and gave up because after 100 pages of the author's prattling the story had gotten nowhere. Since then I've always been suspicious of authors who release new books just before $Christma$ and are probably paid by the word. Without doubt the most overrated piece of tripe I have ever read is Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. I found it poorly written and the tone came off as being condescending to the reader. I stuck it with it though as I didn't want to be the only person in the world not to have read it but it did annoy me so much that I almost threw it across the room at one point. I agree with LadyC on the LOR trilogy. A great story but far too long (walk a bit, have a battle, walk a bit, have a battle). I got bored with it by the third book and as a result haven't bothered to watch all three films. If it had have been condensed into one large novel it would probably be near to perfect. My opinion only, please don't take offence LOR fans. Reply #8. Jan 11 12, 5:53 PM |
jabb5076
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Now, since I'm an English teacher, and read 3-4 books a week, I find it impossible to limit myself to 5 bests. However, I can say my two absolute favorites, and several more current faves. Best: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn The Grapes of Wrath Mystery series by: Michael Connelly (I agree with whomever said Harry Bosch is a wonderful character.) Robert Crais John Connolly The Hunger Games (trilogy) Harry Potter series Worst: Hard to pick individual authors, but I'm not fond of gothic literature or much in the way of romance. Oh, and I really dislike James Joyce. Worst: Reply #9. Feb 05 12, 11:17 AM |
DeepHistory
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Best: 1) The Bible 2) Everything by JRR Tolkien 3) "Absalom, Absalom" by William Faulkner 4) Everything by Edgar Allan Poe 5) "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell Worst: 1)"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown 2)"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee 3)"Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling 4)"Twilight" by Stephanie Myers 5) Everything by Stephen King DeepHistory. Reply #10. Mar 22 15, 6:37 AM |
C30
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This has to be dependent upon individual tastes but:- Best (ie ones I enjoyed the most) 1. The Cruel Sea - Nicholas Monsarrat 2. Unto this hour - Thomas Wicker 3. Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett 4. Time Wars series - Simon Hawke 5. Hornblower series - C.S. Forrester Worst (ones I either disliked or couldn't get into, or authors who don't "grab me")) 1. Any Harry Potter 2. Any Stephen King 3. Bruce Catton books 4, Any "whodunnit" - couldn't care less WHO done it!!! Lol 5. The Bible, or anything religious - cause of more conflict than a little. Reply #11. Mar 22 15, 3:23 PM |
rockinsteve
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Top 5 Best - Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, The Stand by Stephen King and Ghost Story by Peter Straub. Worst - Too many to mention! Reply #12. Mar 22 15, 4:41 PM |
Stacylove
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The best: The Bible The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe Anne of Green Gables A Christmas Carol Jane Eyre. The Worse: this part is hard because I am a voracious reader and like most books, but I really did not care for the following: Wuthering Heights The Prince Wide Sargasso Sea The pearl Harry Potter Reply #13. Mar 22 15, 5:06 PM |
| rockinsteve
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My Next Best 5 (Honorable Mention) - The Green Mile and Danse Macabre (non-fiction) by Stephen King, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. Reply #14. Mar 22 15, 5:23 PM |
| rockinsteve
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5 more Best Honorable Mentions - The Shining and The Dead Zone by Stephen King, The October Country by Ray Bradbury, The Boys From Brazil by Ira Levin and Angry Candy by Harlan Ellison. Reply #15. Mar 23 15, 3:56 PM |
| rockinsteve
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Here's 5 MORE - Deep Blues by Robert Palmer, probably the BEST book ever written about blues music, Searching For Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick, Mystery Train by Greil Marcus, probably the BEST book ever written about rock and roll, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. That last one probably took you literary snobs by a surprise! Portrait, to me, makes MUCH more sense after the alcohol kicks in, usually after three or four (or more!) beers. The book goes from nonsense to sense, in a sense! Reply #16. Mar 23 15, 9:38 PM |
jabb5076
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Hahaha, Steve, I don't like beer, so it would probably tske me a whole bottle of wine to like anything by James Joyce! Reply #17. Mar 24 15, 6:41 AM |
| rockinsteve
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Wow, I forgot Kurt Vonnegut! 5 last ones - Slaughterhouse-Five, Welcome to the Monkey House and The Sirens of Titan by Mr. Vonnegut, On Writing (non-fiction) by Stephen King and The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale. Reply #18. Mar 25 15, 11:04 PM |
Mixamatosis
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It's so difficult to choose which ones I like best from among so many. The nearest I can narrow it down to is: "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Anything by Graham Greene, "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "An Officer and a Spy" by Robert Harris. "The Barracks" by John McGahern. Reply #19. Jul 21 15, 5:05 AM |
| Mixamatosis
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I can't think of 5 worst books. I know what I don't like and usually manage to avoid reading them. They would include most modern blockbusters, violence, horror, diet books, fantasy, self-help books, biographies by modern celebrities and books by poor writers (which may include all of the previous). Reply #20. Jul 21 15, 5:17 AM |
20 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
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