What is your "That Book"?

[Hagi]

The Kushiel series. I pretty much never re-read books, but these ones, awh yea. Must be the smut.

Okay I really have to ask as I've read several reviews that also called it smut. And I really really don't understand.

But how is it smut? I know there's some sadomasochism themes and sex scenes, but they're not that many of them and even then they're not all that explicit. Not to mention that there's so much more going on then just sex, I'd call it political intrigue any day.

Is there some sort of censored version I'm reading?
Do the later books, which I haven't read get a lot smuttier?
Are my perceptions completely skewed coming from a country where this [http://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Delight-Jan-Wolkers/dp/0714510556] is not considered smut but literature?

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

The Master and Margaret, by a Russian writer Bulgacov, it's told to be a cult classic.It was banned in the Soviet union BTW.

Basically the writer was a Satan worshiper and a drug addict, also he was a professional doctor and had to work with some mentally insane people. Basically the book is the bible from the Satan's eyes. He even made Satan a positive character, honestly, best Satan I've ever seen.

The book consists of 3 story lines:

Satire of USSR in the 30's.

A story of a Cristian sidekick in 20 B.C (Basically Jesus the first)

Love of the Master and Margaret, that the death itself can not stop.

The book was wright in the 1930's, but was released to the mass public only in the 1980's.
I always found the novel strange in a certain way, like it's cursed or something.

I highly recommend reading it, it's a novel like no other.

 

[Koroviev]

1984 by George Orwell.
It isn't just a dystopia for me. It's the worst imaginable dystopia I could think of, and it scares the shit out of me. And it's incredible.

Agreed. I was really surprised when some of my friends from high school dismissed it as "boring." I find it enthralling.

 

[Koroviev]

The Master and Margaret, by a Russian writer Bulgacov, it's told to be a cult classic.It was banned in the Soviet union BTW.

Basically the writer was a Satan worshiper and a drug addict, also he was a professional doctor and had to work with some mentally insane people. Basically the book is the bible from the Satan's eyes. He even made Satan a positive character, honestly, best Satan I've ever seen.

The book consists of 3 story lines:

Satire of USSR in the 30's.

A story of a Cristian sidekick in 20 B.C (Basically Jesus the first)

Love of the Master and Margaret, that the death itself can not stop.

The book was wright in the 1930's, but was released to the mass public only in the 1980's.
I always found the novel strange in a certain way, like it's cursed or something.

I highly recommend reading it, it's a novel like no other.

Have you read the annotated version?

Also, I'd like to point out that the translation is a significant detail. The Ginsburg translation is pretty clunky.

 

[hurfdurp]

The Kushiel series. I pretty much never re-read books, but these ones, awh yea. Must be the smut.

Okay I really have to ask as I've read several reviews that also called it smut. And I really really don't understand.

But how is it smut? I know there's some sadomasochism themes and sex scenes, but they're not that many of them and even then they're not all that explicit. Not to mention that there's so much more going on then just sex, I'd call it political intrigue any day.

Is there some sort of censored version I'm reading?
Do the later books, which I haven't read get a lot smuttier?
Are my perceptions completely skewed coming from a country where this [http://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Delight-Jan-Wolkers/dp/0714510556] is not considered smut but literature?

Of course it's much more than that. A lot of things I post on here can't really be taken at face value as generally I tend to be an oaf. I'd say the more recent books have actually become even weaker in that department if anything. I wouldn't wait years on these books if it was just for a simple sprinkling of the word phallus .

 

[Codeman90]

Gotta get my Sci-fi Fix with Orson Scott Card's Enders Game and the Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett

 

[khantron]

Catch-22, because it taught me the evils of candy bars.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

The Master and Margaret, by a Russian writer Bulgacov, it's told to be a cult classic.It was banned in the Soviet union BTW.

Basically the writer was a Satan worshiper and a drug addict, also he was a professional doctor and had to work with some mentally insane people. Basically the book is the bible from the Satan's eyes. He even made Satan a positive character, honestly, best Satan I've ever seen.

The book consists of 3 story lines:

Satire of USSR in the 30's.

A story of a Cristian sidekick in 20 B.C (Basically Jesus the first)

Love of the Master and Margaret, that the death itself can not stop.

The book was wright in the 1930's, but was released to the mass public only in the 1980's.
I always found the novel strange in a certain way, like it's cursed or something.

I highly recommend reading it, it's a novel like no other.

Have you read the annotated version?

Also, I'd like to point out that the translation is a significant detail. The Ginsburg translation is pretty clunky.

Well, it's a good thing I'm Russian. Anyway, there is actually a few movies made by that novel. It's best to try to find a good translation of the movie, I don't know about the English translation, but the original is quite hard to read. Try watching the movie if you want to save yourself some time.

 

[Aerduin]

Memories of Ice - Steven Erikson .. All the Malazan books are great but this is just that little bit extra special.

Failing that Good Omens Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman...

 

[spookydom]

Bump for the The Dark Tower cycle. Took Stephen King pretty much my whole life to write. At times I doubted if it would ever be finnished. I am guessing George R.R Martin fans now know how fans of these books must have felt.

Also, anything by the sadly missed David Gemmell.
Also World War Z by Max Brooks. Can't get enough of it. Owned it for something like 3 or 4 years. Probably on my 12th read through. If you don't own it go and get it now. You will love it. Audio version is very cool also.

 

[Hagi]

Of course it's much more than that. A lot of things I post on here can't really be taken at face value as generally I tend to be an oaf. I'd say the more recent books have actually become even weaker in that department if anything. I wouldn't wait years on these books if it was just for a simple sprinkling of the word phallus .

Wasn't really directed at you personally , so no oafishness (heh, my spell-checker says that's actually a word!) detected.

I was just wondering since I read them and later read some reviews in which even went as far as referring to it as erotica. So when I saw your comment I just had to ask whether I was missing something or not.

 

[Koroviev]

The Master and Margaret, by a Russian writer Bulgacov, it's told to be a cult classic.It was banned in the Soviet union BTW.

Basically the writer was a Satan worshiper and a drug addict, also he was a professional doctor and had to work with some mentally insane people. Basically the book is the bible from the Satan's eyes. He even made Satan a positive character, honestly, best Satan I've ever seen.

The book consists of 3 story lines:

Satire of USSR in the 30's.

A story of a Cristian sidekick in 20 B.C (Basically Jesus the first)

Love of the Master and Margaret, that the death itself can not stop.

The book was wright in the 1930's, but was released to the mass public only in the 1980's.
I always found the novel strange in a certain way, like it's cursed or something.

I highly recommend reading it, it's a novel like no other.

Have you read the annotated version?

Also, I'd like to point out that the translation is a significant detail. The Ginsburg translation is pretty clunky.

Well, it's a good thing I'm Russian. Anyway, there is actually a few movies made by that novel. It's best to try to find a good translation of the movie, I don't know about the English translation, but the original is quite hard to read. Try watching the movie if you want to save yourself some time.

It's a bit too late for that, as I've already read the book a few times.

 

[coldfrog]

The books I've read the most:
Snow Crash, which is pretty much the funniest sci-fi book I've read, which also includes some of Stephenson's most unusual and hilarious implications about ancient historical events.

Good Omens, pretty much the perfect combination of Pratchett's wit and Gaiman's dark alternative universes.

Small Gods, also Pratchett, and probably my favorite Discworld novel.

Catch-22, not just the penultimate anti-war book, but also a comedic masterpiece of insanity and violence.

What? All humorous books? (OK, Snow Crash isn't STRICTLY humor, but it's so tongue in cheek there's practically a hole in his face) Alright then, I'll go with House of Chains from Stephen Erickson's Malazan Tales series. Even knowing the outcome of the story, I simply am amazed at the development of the main character in this book. It's an epic journey that I think none could predict, even if you knew what happened to the character in the end.

 

[DannyJBeckett]

Jurassic Park.

I like a lot of books, but this one just holds a place in my mind that no other can take.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

It's got to be The Hobbit. I just love that book, I've read it countless times.

 

[mento 2425]

Generally anything by Terry Pratchett, but Men at Arms and Feet of Clay (Perfect name for this book) are my personal favorites.
Outside of story based books like novels, Stephen Colbert's I Am American (And So Can You!) is my bible.

 

[Skratt]

Empire Series by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts

 

[kikon9]

The Animorphs series. It was my favorite as a kid and it's my favorite now.

 

[T8B95]

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. One of the best assassination plots of all time, well-thought out and planned.

Or Damnation Alley by Robert Zelazny. I really don't know why for that one.