What's the BEST book you've ever read?

[Mari]

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Always has been, always will be. Sneaky 1800’S shade throwing is just the best.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. Cute story about a little girl who wants to be a writer and her grandma

Demian by H.Hesse. Has my favourite quote. ”One never reaches home, but where paths that have an affinity for each other intersect, the whole world feels like home, for a time”

I wanna say The shock of the Fall, but there was some controversity around it since the author was a psychiatric nurse and there was some doubts whether the author had used IRL patiens for the mentally I’ll characters. However, it’s a really good book, the morality of the author behind it is just...

[storytimebiondi]

What else has he translated?

Also: this is the version i read. It has some typos but it was amazing!

Three Kingdoms: Luo Guanzhong, Moss Roberts: 9787119005904: Books - Amazon.ca

[phen]

I have an anthology from uni that he contributed to... mainly short stories/poetry. Not sure if it's modern lit or philosophy and lit, gotta go find the book.

And oh, thank you so, so much for the link (typos are def no bit deal in the face of a really capturing translation, brilliant!)

[moodyfd]

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Always has been, always will be. Sneaky 1800’S shade throwing is just the best

Pride and Prejudice is hands down one of my all time favorites!

[Pan]

Too many amazing books to choose from! Here's one that I absolutely loved:

https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/671589092

(dunno why the image isn't popping up for that one...)

And here's one that was just silly and fun!

Unmasking Miss Appleby by Emily Larkin is Free! - BookBub

I'm currently reading this book, it's free at the moment and so fantastic. I'd check it out if violence, gore, twisted romance, and the yakuza appeals to you!

Blood Stained Tea by Amy Tasukada - BookBub

[Katy-L-Wood]

Maggie Stiefvater's "All the Crooked Saints." Her ability to evoke emotions and describe feelings is stunning in that book.

[rmdooley]

For fiction, Bram Stoker's Dracula is top of the list

[joannekwan]

Hm, I don't think I've ever read anything where at the end I was totally blown away. I think because they're novels, I've spent enough time reading to see the little flaws or not entirely connect with a character.

But there is something to be said about a book that ensnares me enough to finish in one day, and that would be City of Thieves by David Benioff. I love historical fictions and this one is fairly up my alley: interesting characters that I don't hate (particularly the protagonist's companion, he's a charmer), humor sprinkled throughout, has bleak sobering moments, but ends on a positive note despite some real hardships and death.

Robert Hick's Widow of the South is one of my favorites as well. I paced that one out more since it was one of my leisure books in high school (had to read something for 20 minutes in homeroom, might as well be something good). Another historical fiction, I really appreciated the matter-of-factness of the protagonist and her interactions with the other characters. I could really identify with her.

[moodyfd]

Dracula remains, to this day, as one of my all-time favorites! However, I can't stand the adaptations that give Dracula and Mina a romantic subplot. I feel like it undermines their entire character. Dracula is a monster. Not a sympathetic, brokenhearted creature looking for love. His attack on Mina is as close to a sexual assault as could be written at the time. It makes me very angry when I see Hollywood romanticize that angle.

[RcMich]

My favorite novel will forever be "The Three Musketeers", it was what got me obsessed with reading and finally writing.

[laiscnogueira]

I love Diana Wynne Jones' style. I think it really flows and works well. The characters are always interesting, neither only good nor bad. Cover art is great too. And the genre of fantasy is one I enjoy. So, best book ever: Howl's Moving Castle.
(Narnia is great too, but since I have to pick only one...)

[charliesackett]

John Dies at the End by David Wong. I read it in a few days, I scared people around me by suddenly bursting out laughing several times, it was great.

[Wumbl]

Everyone should read The Roaches Have No King. I haven't been able to finish it yet because my partner accidentally knocked my bookmark out and I have to start again...

Can't tell you what it's about of it'll spoil a lot. It's told from the perspective of highly educated cockroaches who are living in a man's bookshelf and they are plotting to alter his love life for their own survival. It's a bit violent and creepy sometimes but more than anything it's absolutely hilarious.

[moodyfd]

The Three Musketeers is a good book. A bit meandering at times if I recall correctly but packed full of action elsewhere!

[moodyfd]

Howl’s Moving Castle is fun. Definitely a good read in my opinion!

Also, don’t feel like you have to pick just one favorite book lol. That’s too hard!

[Teowi]

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is one of my favorite works, so I'm happy to see it already mentioned a few times here. The work is jam packed with culture and context from things like the Bible, Jewish tradition and beliefs and Kafka's experience as a segregated German-Jew, and what I liked even more was the unbridled parallel between the Samsa family and Kafka's own. The novella was so rich with details that I was able to write an entire paper talking about food as an indicator of spirituality.

[RcMich]

"The Three Musketeers" was my bible for a while until I discovered "Gone with the Wind". But even then I still liked the previous books better. Especially since I read and re-read all the volumes several times.

[Mari]

Oh right, how did I forgot to add Tom Spanbauer's The Man Who Fell in Love With the Moon

it's awful, graphic, and unhinged. One of those books you read once and just go "wtf" for a week after.

[Merle]

Pretty much everything Terry Pratchet has ever written, even though his "Warrior"-Series are my favorite. I was really fascinated by the writing style of "the perfume"; and I actually really enjoyed the ending. So bitter - sweet - macabre. Like some have pointed out before, Pride and Prejudice is a really enjoyable book to read (as well as most of it´s media adaption)

[YaoiParadise]

I love Neal Shusterman. His writing isn't always top notch best in my opinion, but he has a way of pulling up all of these wonderful moral questions and pointing fingers at the faults of society.

His 'Unwind' series was one of my favorites when I was younger, but I recently discovered the 'Scythe' books and it's the first time I've actually read a book in a loooong time.

For fun, light reads I love anything Kim Harrison and Jim Butcher is really great, too. I tend to gravitate toward fluffy, quick reads most of the time.