What is your "That Book"?

[SleepyChan]

Mine will always be "Lady of the Forest" by Jennifer Roberson. It's a sort of prequel to the Robin Hood tale, and it's main focus is on Marian. As a little girl, I was always enamored with Maid Marian and Robin Hood. As I grew up, so too did my view of them. It matured. I've reread this book so many times that the spine is thrashes and I have to either tape it up again or hold the individual pages together as I read.

In fact, I think I may be overdue for another foray into this lovely book.

 

[alouicia]

Anything by Chuck Palahniuk - Choke being my favourite..

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

The Count of Monte Cristo, best revenge story ever!

.....what? I just really like reading it.....

Neil Gaiman's Stardust too. One of my favorite Neil Gaiman stories.

the count of monte cristo is an amazing read, the one and only book i ever actually liked from the boring heaps of dry fucked up shit that was "high school required reading" list.

the book had it all, and hell i actually really liked the movie even, (the one in like '02 i believe?)

Yeah it was in 02, it was okay. But then again, I'm pretty hard on movies that are based on books.

I know what you mean, normally "high school required reading lists" suck. Unfortunately, that wasn't on the list and I had to read some real boring shit. You were lucky.

haha yeah when it comes to movies i'm generally really lenient so i did enjoy it.

and yes, i was lucky but also unlucky at the same time, that was our 2nd book in the near 40 taht i read in high school reading, and after that book i thought to myself "wow, that book was great, i wonder what the next ones are gonna be like?!" to only have my hopes crushed by the most boring overrated shit on the planet, and being forced to fuck the words with my eyeballs.

if there was one thing i could amend from high school, it was required reading...fuck it, let me read my own book choices!

No kidding, nothing like getting your hopes crushed by reading really crappy books afterwards that make you hate life.

I had nothing but Steinbeck and Hemingway, talk about your overrated authors. They were very painful reads, I don't want to read books that depress the hell out of me unless I choose to, not because I have to. Which I guess makes it all the more depressing, thanks a ton high school!

*twitch*
hemingway?
*twitch*

the old man and the sea ring a bell?

my teacher had a literal "orgasmic" addiction to that boring bullshit

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

The Count of Monte Cristo, best revenge story ever!

.....what? I just really like reading it.....

Neil Gaiman's Stardust too. One of my favorite Neil Gaiman stories.

the count of monte cristo is an amazing read, the one and only book i ever actually liked from the boring heaps of dry fucked up shit that was "high school required reading" list.

the book had it all, and hell i actually really liked the movie even, (the one in like '02 i believe?)

Yeah it was in 02, it was okay. But then again, I'm pretty hard on movies that are based on books.

I know what you mean, normally "high school required reading lists" suck. Unfortunately, that wasn't on the list and I had to read some real boring shit. You were lucky.

haha yeah when it comes to movies i'm generally really lenient so i did enjoy it.

and yes, i was lucky but also unlucky at the same time, that was our 2nd book in the near 40 taht i read in high school reading, and after that book i thought to myself "wow, that book was great, i wonder what the next ones are gonna be like?!" to only have my hopes crushed by the most boring overrated shit on the planet, and being forced to fuck the words with my eyeballs.

if there was one thing i could amend from high school, it was required reading...fuck it, let me read my own book choices!

No kidding, nothing like getting your hopes crushed by reading really crappy books afterwards that make you hate life.

I had nothing but Steinbeck and Hemingway, talk about your overrated authors. They were very painful reads, I don't want to read books that depress the hell out of me unless I choose to, not because I have to. Which I guess makes it all the more depressing, thanks a ton high school!

*twitch*
hemingway?
*twitch*

the old man and the sea ring a bell?

my teacher had a literal "orgasmic" addiction to that boring bullshit

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

Now I'm having flashbacks, GAAAAHHHHH!!!

That's what I had to go through with Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and "The Pearl", Lenny is dead and so is the baby, will you drop it already?!

 

[MatsVS]

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

This sort of rampant anti-intellectualism will be the death-rattle of the world.

"I do not see it therefore it does not exist."

Thing is, though. Authors do not pick and choose words by random, and if they chose to specify the colour of the curtains, they likely did so for a specific purpose. This is, after all, the entire fucking point of literature.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

The Count of Monte Cristo, best revenge story ever!

.....what? I just really like reading it.....

Neil Gaiman's Stardust too. One of my favorite Neil Gaiman stories.

the count of monte cristo is an amazing read, the one and only book i ever actually liked from the boring heaps of dry fucked up shit that was "high school required reading" list.

the book had it all, and hell i actually really liked the movie even, (the one in like '02 i believe?)

Yeah it was in 02, it was okay. But then again, I'm pretty hard on movies that are based on books.

I know what you mean, normally "high school required reading lists" suck. Unfortunately, that wasn't on the list and I had to read some real boring shit. You were lucky.

haha yeah when it comes to movies i'm generally really lenient so i did enjoy it.

and yes, i was lucky but also unlucky at the same time, that was our 2nd book in the near 40 taht i read in high school reading, and after that book i thought to myself "wow, that book was great, i wonder what the next ones are gonna be like?!" to only have my hopes crushed by the most boring overrated shit on the planet, and being forced to fuck the words with my eyeballs.

if there was one thing i could amend from high school, it was required reading...fuck it, let me read my own book choices!

No kidding, nothing like getting your hopes crushed by reading really crappy books afterwards that make you hate life.

I had nothing but Steinbeck and Hemingway, talk about your overrated authors. They were very painful reads, I don't want to read books that depress the hell out of me unless I choose to, not because I have to. Which I guess makes it all the more depressing, thanks a ton high school!

*twitch*
hemingway?
*twitch*

the old man and the sea ring a bell?

my teacher had a literal "orgasmic" addiction to that boring bullshit

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

Now I'm having flashbacks, GAAAAHHHHH!!!

That's what I had to go through with Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and "The Pearl", Lenny is dead and so is the baby, will you drop it already?!

torture books are torture. I swear these things were used in WWII in interrogation rooms.

*thinks of hitler being interrogated by the works of hemingway*

I don't even wish that upon my enemies..

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

This sort of rampant anti-intellectualism will be the death-rattle of the world.

"I do not see it therefore it does not exist."

Thing is, though. Authors do not pick and choose words by random, and if they chose to specify the colour of the curtains, they likely did so for a specific purpose. This is, after all, the entire fucking point of literature.

true, if they did pick things by random..then hell, we have some very very lucky authors amongst us.

and while i'm not disagreeing, i do enjoy a good book/script/article, that can play on words and say something, but have a much deeper meaning within the structure of the wording/sentences to get across other points than what the words are actually depicting in a literal sense, i'm just saying it is the most annoying thing on the fucking planet when people read into things too hard, and then force it upon yourself/others to see/care about something so trivial that the only thing it will ever effect in history is the annoyance it is to me at that moment.

and death-rattle of the world? isn't that a bit extreme? while i couldn't care less for such dry reads such as these, i do read many many articles weekly, and i excel highly in science/maths/technology, which i personally believe is the way to advance the world, not through writing, but to each their own, i'm not going to stop you from thinking as such, nor would i try to push my views upon you for it.

 

[CrematedCube]

To list mine:

Future Shock:
For a 40-yr-old book, it's underlying ideas about the future still seem to apply astonishingly well.

The Books of Atrus and Ti'ana:
I've followed the Myst series from when I was 6, and reading the lore rings with familiarity and nostalgia.

Lovecraft collection:
Read them primarily online, deeply enjoyed them, favorites are Colour Out of Space and At The Mountains Of Madness.

The Fountainhead:
While I haven't made it entirely though the book yet, I find Rand's writing style and general themes undeniably compelling.

 

[Sandernista]

A Storm of Swords. Until about halfway through, then I put it down for a week and start up again.

People who have read it will know what I'm talking about.

Spoiler

NO! I'M NOT TELLING YOU!

 

[Sandernista]

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

I loved The Old Man and the Sea...

:'(

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

I loved The Old Man and the Sea...

:'(

i am sorry for my overall expression there, i'm sure it isn't a "horrid" read...but thanks to my fucking english teachers from hell, that book isn't worthy to have my shit land on it from all the annoyances it caused me in the past.

so i'm glad someone can enjoy it, but that still doesn't change how i rage against it.

 

[Peter Storer]

"Drinking Saphire Wine (incorporating "Don't Bite the Sun")" By Tanith Lee.
The "World of Tiers" series by Philip Jose Farmer
The "Bio of a Space Tyrant" series by Piers Anthony.

 

[Rodrigo Girao]

Atlas Shrugged.

 

[justnotcricket]

Pretty much anything from the Terry Pratchett series, but especially around the Feet of Clay/Jingo/Hogafther vintage.

Essentially anything by Agatha Christie, but particularly the Poirots...

The Belgariad/Malloreon series of David Eddings. Couldn't really get into his other stuff so much, but those two series were awesome =).

 

[Sandernista]

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

I loved The Old Man and the Sea...

:'(

i am sorry for my overall expression there, i'm sure it isn't a "horrid" read...but thanks to my fucking english teachers from hell, that book isn't worthy to have my shit land on it from all the annoyances it caused me in the past.

so i'm glad someone can enjoy it, but that still doesn't change how i rage against it.

I totally understand, my english class ruined many books that I loved.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

that image couldn't be more fucking true. seriously fuck that old man and fuck his fishing rod of symbolism and fuck that fucking fish he was trying to catch throughout that dry ass read. We had to discuss for 2 whole class periods the symbolism behind his fishing rod with relations to the boat and the sea.....

I loved The Old Man and the Sea...

:'(

i am sorry for my overall expression there, i'm sure it isn't a "horrid" read...but thanks to my fucking english teachers from hell, that book isn't worthy to have my shit land on it from all the annoyances it caused me in the past.

so i'm glad someone can enjoy it, but that still doesn't change how i rage against it.

I totally understand, my english class ruined many books that I loved.

haha thank you for understanding my hulk like rage on certain literature pieces..

but then again, just like history, literature does evolve/change, so what i hated then i might love now, and vice versa, so i'm sure at some point i "liked" or will like it, just takes time and cultural influences is all ;]

 

[Dr. Danger]

Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby is my "that book." I re-read it often and lend it out all the time. It's always my first recommendation.

 

[Brainpalm]

"John Dies At The End" by David Wong. and "The Machine of Death" which is a collection of awesome short stories set in a world in which everyone knows how they will die, due to a machine that is never wrong. Irony, hilarity and beautiful gripping stories ensue. They can both be found on amazon, and they both have their own sites.

 

[6_Qubed]

World War Z.

And assuming you aren't just limiting this to novels, Show Me How.

And assuming you have a sense of humor, The Phone Book.

 

[HusaneFatal]

The Dresden Files. I could read them all day, every day. ALL DAY, EVERY DAY.

This. It's a shame that the TV show wasn't very good, but the books are fantastic!

I think the show should be reimagined and put on like Showtime or HBO, like the treatment Game of Thrones is getting. It should do quite well if they could keep the feel from the books (though I didn't see the version on SyFy channel but I'm assuming it couldn't be as adult themed or as violent as the books can be at times)... and a few sex scenes with White Court vampires every now and then for good measure, I'm sure that'd draw more people in. (I know this cuz I mentioned the White Court vampires to several friends who had never heard of the series and they immediately became interested *they are 24+ years of age so don't say that's because they are teenagers*)