What is your "That Book"?

[wench]

The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison - it's fun, smart, and just... suave. I love those books.

 

[chrono16]

I absolutely love HARPO SPEAKS. Its Harpo Marx's autobiography. Its amazing how many places he had been,what he learned, and how he and his brothers became one of the BEST comedy groups of all time!

 

[qeinar]

You know that book you just keep guming back. That book that just hits the spot for you.
It dosent have to be just one book, it can be a series if you want.
For me its the Artemys Faoul series (yes thats not how you write it) from Ouen Kolfer! Its just something about elfs with jetpacks and laser guns that just does it for me

why would you write it like that if it's not spelled like that? :s anyways hae read them and they're pretty good books. ^^ used to read a shit ton of harry potter when I was younger, but now I don't really like reading the same book twice since there are so manny books I haven't read. I probably wouldn't mind reading fight club again tho.

 

[AbstractStream]

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusack. I've read it so much, I've memorized the first 3 chapters.

Oh, a Markus Zusack fan. I loved that book. Not to mention The Book Thief, but apparently I am the Messenger is less loved. Glad to see you like it.

My "THAT" book is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

You have great taste, my friend.

As well as the two listed above, I'll say Bram Stoker's Dracula- I read this so much in high school that the cover fell off. And The Complete Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, because I adore any and all of Poe's writings (I've got three different copies of his complete works, so one is bound to be with me no matter where I am). And quite a few more, of course. Shakespeare's Hamlet. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. And, last but not least, Plato's Symposium.

...And a lot of others that I'm forgetting at the moment. Thus are the dangers of asking such a question of an English major.

I love Poe, I read him religiously in Junior High, and occasionally still do. I have a really nice leather bound Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe as a graduation present, but I'm afraid to touch it since it's really nice and I don't want to ruin it.

And you are the first person that has read Plato's Symposium I've encountered.

I have the same problem, actually- my really nice leather bound Edgar Allan Poe collection sits on my shelf, looking pretty and shiny and collecting dust, while my two slightly-less-nice versions get travel-worn. I adore books, but I'm always scared to touch the really nice looking ones.

The first person, though? Really? Huh. I really enjoy all of Plato's dialogues. Symposium is just the first one I read, and the one I've reread the most times, so it's the one most applicable to this thread.

Yeah, mine sits right next to the Shakespeare collection, a perfect haven for dust bunnies. Meanwhile, my other Poe and Shakespeare books look like a dog tried to eat them. Sad really.

That you are, no one I personally know reads the same things I do and I get blank looks when I mention what I'm reading.

You have a Shakespeare collection? I'm jealous. I've got most all of his individual works, but I'm severely lacking in the "pretty collected works" version.

Oh, I know the "blank look" reaction quite well. Example of a typical conversation: "Oh, what are you reading?" "A collection of Aristophanes's comedies." "-blank stare-"

Those are the only two collections I have at the moment. The only reason I have the Shakespeare collection is my mom took pity on the condition of my other books and got it for me, and I'm too scared to touch it without ruining it. Funny you should mention Aristophanes, I saw a collection of his a few days ago and I plan on getting it.

It's either that or I have to try to explain who the author is, and I'd much rather have the blank stare. My luck would be after I explain who Aristophanes is I would get some pot shot at my social life and how I should read something light hearted, like, no joke, Eat. Pray. Love..

Aristophanes is amazing. The only bad part of his works is that he is the only surviving comic playwright of Greece, and not all his plays have been found. Alas.

You've been told to read... Eat Pray Love? Really? Ugh, I'm so sorry. I've only glanced at that book and then shuddered in horror. What's worse is that everyone seems to be under the impression that all females should automatically like stuff like that.

 

[runnernda]

I reread lots of things. I think some of my big ones are The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, The Outsiders, and any of the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce.

 

[GeneWard]

One flew over the cuckoos nest. Read it 6 times now.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

It's just a common complaint I hear when people read it. Yeah it's slow, but it's completely worth it.

That's the best I can explain that movie. Borderline kinda and not really. They shoe-horned in a love plot, took out characters and a side story that deals heavily with the ending, and which the movie has a completely different ending. The ending in the book is much better and Akasha's death is way more brutal in the book. Book is much better and much more strange than the movie, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Ooooh an author not scared of killing off characters, now I'm sold. At the moment I'm reading Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Thought, and I'm about half way through it.

Well I guess I'm just feeling patient. It's weird, if a film is three hours and I think they could have told the story as well in one and a half, I'll get bored and reduce the film to a quarter of the screen and do other stuff. But if a books a couple of hundred pages over I'm quite happy to read through them. Though generally not more than once - I've read the Lord of the Rings three times since I was 9, and only the first time did I read the initial 200 pages about the shire and whatnot. I just don't care about hobbits that much.

More strange than a 200 year old vampire rising up again to become a rock God? Sounds like it might be fun

Yes, things become more interesting when you realise that characters can be in actual jeopardy at times. And that sounds hella heavy. Are you a philosophy student or just interested? Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is probably as close to philosophy as I've gotten, unless you count The Prince or Beyond Good and Evil (the latter mainly made me realise that Nietzsche was a dick.).

Edit - forgot Voltaire's Candide, which was actually just kinda sad. Though I'm amazed anyone actually thought that this was the best of all possible worlds...

Oh no, I'm the same way, so I guess we can be weird together. LoTR is an awesome series, but I will say the first book was a painful read. However, I can confidently say I can picture the Shire perfectly in my mind because of that.

If you can believe that, yes it can. It's all in first person too, Lestat narrates book two and three and is very entertaining.

No, just very interested. I've been mistaken as either that or an English major, funnily enough I've considered both. I've read the Prince twice, only because it went over my head and I didn't realize it was satire. I like Machiavelli as a writer, he's very interesting, if not messed up depending on what he's writing. Nietzsche is a massive dick, but I've also read that his sister took over his writings and that she and her husband changed some of his writings to make it more appealing to German nationalists. I don't know how true that is, but he's still a dick. We killed God? How arrogant is that.

Candide was an interesting read. Yeah I agree, I thought it was very jaded of him to think that. But considering everything that happened to Candide I'm surprised he was still an optimist, but then again, Voltaire was know for his sarcasm so I wonder how much of that statement was sarcastic and not an honest observation.

 

[Gitty101]

Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan. Great books, definitely worth the time to read them.

This. The third one in the saga, "Tunnels of Blood" is also very re-readable for me.

 

[reiem531]

The Halo books.

Fuckin' love 'em, even if they aren't the most well written things on the planet.

Holy hell I've probably read Fall of Reach about 50 times. Awesome shit.

 

[tanithwolf]

Magic the Gathering: Moons of Mirrodin trilogy. I can't even remember how many times I've read it. I remember one time on holidays I only brought that trilogy and I read them in the first three days, immediately after finishing the last one I started reading the trilogy again.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

You have great taste, my friend.

As well as the two listed above, I'll say Bram Stoker's Dracula- I read this so much in high school that the cover fell off. And The Complete Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, because I adore any and all of Poe's writings (I've got three different copies of his complete works, so one is bound to be with me no matter where I am). And quite a few more, of course. Shakespeare's Hamlet. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. And, last but not least, Plato's Symposium.

...And a lot of others that I'm forgetting at the moment. Thus are the dangers of asking such a question of an English major.

I love Poe, I read him religiously in Junior High, and occasionally still do. I have a really nice leather bound Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe as a graduation present, but I'm afraid to touch it since it's really nice and I don't want to ruin it.

And you are the first person that has read Plato's Symposium I've encountered.

I have the same problem, actually- my really nice leather bound Edgar Allan Poe collection sits on my shelf, looking pretty and shiny and collecting dust, while my two slightly-less-nice versions get travel-worn. I adore books, but I'm always scared to touch the really nice looking ones.

The first person, though? Really? Huh. I really enjoy all of Plato's dialogues. Symposium is just the first one I read, and the one I've reread the most times, so it's the one most applicable to this thread.

Yeah, mine sits right next to the Shakespeare collection, a perfect haven for dust bunnies. Meanwhile, my other Poe and Shakespeare books look like a dog tried to eat them. Sad really.

That you are, no one I personally know reads the same things I do and I get blank looks when I mention what I'm reading.

You have a Shakespeare collection? I'm jealous. I've got most all of his individual works, but I'm severely lacking in the "pretty collected works" version.

Oh, I know the "blank look" reaction quite well. Example of a typical conversation: "Oh, what are you reading?" "A collection of Aristophanes's comedies." "-blank stare-"

Those are the only two collections I have at the moment. The only reason I have the Shakespeare collection is my mom took pity on the condition of my other books and got it for me, and I'm too scared to touch it without ruining it. Funny you should mention Aristophanes, I saw a collection of his a few days ago and I plan on getting it.

It's either that or I have to try to explain who the author is, and I'd much rather have the blank stare. My luck would be after I explain who Aristophanes is I would get some pot shot at my social life and how I should read something light hearted, like, no joke, Eat. Pray. Love..

Aristophanes is amazing. The only bad part of his works is that he is the only surviving comic playwright of Greece, and not all his plays have been found. Alas.

You've been told to read... Eat Pray Love? Really? Ugh, I'm so sorry. I've only glanced at that book and then shuddered in horror. What's worse is that everyone seems to be under the impression that all females should automatically like stuff like that.

I've only read two of his plays and I loved them. That's what makes me sad about most Greek writers and thinkers, most of their stuff is lost to time.

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. I didn't even know it was a book until that person mentioned it, I just thought it was some stupid movie with Julia Roberts. Boy did I ever think wrong. That's what kills me, I should be reading Twilight and hanging out in the romance novel section by those standards. I wouldn't darken that section if life depended on it.

 

[Koroviev]

Crime and Punishment, Confession's of a Mask and Requiem for a Dream. The characters, imagery and atmosphere draw me in every time.

 

[Willinium]

The Night Angel trilogy, the Elenium, The Tamuli, and The Belgariad and The Malloreon, and the Green Rider series

 

[Dimitriov]

More than anything else I would have to say The Lord of the Rings. I read it every year starting on September 22nd.

As much as I love other books and authors that is my comfort-read.


... I have read it around twenty times now.

 

[Move127]

The only books I've ever read more than once are philosophy books and I don't think I would say that the Critique of Pure Reason is my go to book, more of a curse I can't get rid of. But I've been feeling compelled to reread Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus lately. It is definitely in the running for my favorite book.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

The Count of Monte Cristo for me, as well. I first read it four years ago when I was traveling in China, and I ended up re-reading three times in as many weeks. I have since read it in three different translations and am considering studying French as a fourth language so I can read it in the original.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

You have great taste, my friend.

As well as the two listed above, I'll say Bram Stoker's Dracula- I read this so much in high school that the cover fell off. And The Complete Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, because I adore any and all of Poe's writings (I've got three different copies of his complete works, so one is bound to be with me no matter where I am). And quite a few more, of course. Shakespeare's Hamlet. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. And, last but not least, Plato's Symposium.

...And a lot of others that I'm forgetting at the moment. Thus are the dangers of asking such a question of an English major.

I love Poe, I read him religiously in Junior High, and occasionally still do. I have a really nice leather bound Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe as a graduation present, but I'm afraid to touch it since it's really nice and I don't want to ruin it.

And you are the first person that has read Plato's Symposium I've encountered.

I have the same problem, actually- my really nice leather bound Edgar Allan Poe collection sits on my shelf, looking pretty and shiny and collecting dust, while my two slightly-less-nice versions get travel-worn. I adore books, but I'm always scared to touch the really nice looking ones.

The first person, though? Really? Huh. I really enjoy all of Plato's dialogues. Symposium is just the first one I read, and the one I've reread the most times, so it's the one most applicable to this thread.

Yeah, mine sits right next to the Shakespeare collection, a perfect haven for dust bunnies. Meanwhile, my other Poe and Shakespeare books look like a dog tried to eat them. Sad really.

That you are, no one I personally know reads the same things I do and I get blank looks when I mention what I'm reading.

You have a Shakespeare collection? I'm jealous. I've got most all of his individual works, but I'm severely lacking in the "pretty collected works" version.

Oh, I know the "blank look" reaction quite well. Example of a typical conversation: "Oh, what are you reading?" "A collection of Aristophanes's comedies." "-blank stare-"

Those are the only two collections I have at the moment. The only reason I have the Shakespeare collection is my mom took pity on the condition of my other books and got it for me, and I'm too scared to touch it without ruining it. Funny you should mention Aristophanes, I saw a collection of his a few days ago and I plan on getting it.

It's either that or I have to try to explain who the author is, and I'd much rather have the blank stare. My luck would be after I explain who Aristophanes is I would get some pot shot at my social life and how I should read something light hearted, like, no joke, Eat. Pray. Love..

Aristophanes is amazing. The only bad part of his works is that he is the only surviving comic playwright of Greece, and not all his plays have been found. Alas.

You've been told to read... Eat Pray Love? Really? Ugh, I'm so sorry. I've only glanced at that book and then shuddered in horror. What's worse is that everyone seems to be under the impression that all females should automatically like stuff like that.

I've only read two of his plays and I loved them. That's what makes me sad about most Greek writers and thinkers, most of their stuff is lost to time.

Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. I didn't even know it was a book until that person mentioned it, I just thought it was some stupid movie with Julia Roberts. Boy did I ever think wrong. That's what kills me, I should be reading Twilight and hanging out in the romance novel section by those standards. I wouldn't darken that section if life depended on it.

I hear you. I keep hoping that we'll keep discovering more- fragments of Aeschylus's plays were found in Egyptian mummies, after all- but it's sad to realize how much we've lost from such a fascinating time period. Which two plays did you read, if you don't mind me asking?

And I sympathize, believe me. I've read Twilight before, just to see what all the fuss was about- a few friends were obsessed with it. ...My reaction ended up being a dissertation on how it glorified stalking. Romance novels terrify me. I don't mind something that has romance as a side plot- it can be used to improve the story, after all, when it's written well- but when romance is the only plot, it tends to horrify me.

 

[FalloutJack]

Catch-22. And if you don't understand why, then I suggest reading Catch-22.

 

[The_Decoy]

Oh no, I'm the same way, so I guess we can be weird together. LoTR is an awesome series, but I will say the first book was a painful read. However, I can confidently say I can picture the Shire perfectly in my mind because of that.

If you can believe that, yes it can. It's all in first person too, Lestat narrates book two and three and is very entertaining.

No, just very interested. I've been mistaken as either that or an English major, funnily enough I've considered both. I've read the Prince twice, only because it went over my head and I didn't realize it was satire. I like Machiavelli as a writer, he's very interesting, if not messed up depending on what he's writing. Nietzsche is a massive dick, but I've also read that his sister took over his writings and that she and her husband changed some of his writings to make it more appealing to German nationalists. I don't know how true that is, but he's still a dick. We killed God? How arrogant is that.

Candide was an interesting read. Yeah I agree, I thought it was very jaded of him to think that. But considering everything that happened to Candide I'm surprised he was still an optimist, but then again, Voltaire was know for his sarcasm so I wonder how much of that statement was sarcastic and not an honest observation.

Well I guess allowing people to be weird together is the main point of the internet. I also found it helpful that Tolkein separated out the Frodo and Sam chapters from the others, meant I could ignore them on later read throughs. Though even they weren't as bad as the songs...

Well I've written them down on my stickynote of good things to read, they're just beneath "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", can't remember what that ones about, someone told me to read it while I was travelling.

And it's always nice to hear there are people interested in actual thought provoking stuff rather than Katie Prices new biography or whatever chicklit has been regurgitated. Seriously, walking in to Waterstones just makes me sad. Luckily Edinburgh has a lot of good quality second hand bookshops where you can find just about anything for a decent price. I was going to do english or history but my dad told me "fuck that, be an engineer", and thus I am. So I basically read whenever I get the time, which can be difficult during term :/

Machiavelli is very enjoyable to read I think, he seems almost playful to me. He thinks a bit much of himself but I guess he did get an adjective named after him, which is a damn sight more than I've ever done. Huh, I hadn't heard that one about his sister. Makes sense I guess, and he was rather big with the Nazis. But he must have had at least similar sentiments to what the books contain these days, and they're really not that delightful. Though I did see a nice plaque that read:

"Nietzsche: God is dead
God: Nietzsche is dead."

Which made me laugh

Candide was almost a tragi-comedy in just how bad life got for the poor guy. He just stumbles from horror to horror without respite. I think Candide pretty much has the optimism beaten out of him by the end, and I don't blame him.

Any philosophy books that you'd recommend as a must read?