Comments on: The Best Three Books in Existence

By: Professor Beej

Professor Beej — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:42:44 +0000

The only reason I haven’t read it yet is because of its size. It’s so daunting. One of my groomsmen gave me his copy of the audiobook, and it’s over 40 hours long. 40! I have heard it’s amazing, though, and the sequel is supposed to be equally stunning.

I’ve avoided it for the same reason I typically avoid long series: it’s so much of an investment that I fear I’d never finish, much like the New Jedi Order (17 of 19 books read) or the Wheel of Time (I couldn’t even finish Eye of the World because I was so intimidated).

By: Drewbie

Drewbie — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:36:21 +0000

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Best. Book. Ever.

I went out and found a first edition just to have after reading the trade paperback and unfortunately haven’t seen it since as I’ve insisted that everyone I know read it. I love that book because it feels like it was written just for me. It combines historical fiction, the middle ages, and architecture so flawlessly and once I started the book, I didn’t want to sleep again til I was done.

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:50:28 +0000

Hmm… my top three would probably be:

1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (OK, technically they’re two books but I’m counting them as one!)

2. The October Country by Ray Bradbury. Best short story collection ever!

3. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Two of my favorite authors in one book!
.-= Stefanie´s last blog ..This week in writing =-.

By: Syp

Syp — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:21:24 +0000

I’ll take devil’s advocate on Wheel of Time — it’s a series that’s ultimately not worth your time. It’s not just that it’s wordy and long and takes far too long for anything to happen, but that Jordan doesn’t seem to know how people work. Women are portrayed as scheming, man-hating shrews, men are dense as all get out. Plots are recycled endlessly, as well as phrases that could make this series into a dull drinking game (take a drink every time a woman tugs on her braid).

I struggled through six of those books until I threw them away for good. You know the series is bad when even diehard fans have disowned one of the more recent books (Crossroads, I think).

By: Professor Beej

Professor Beej — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:13:45 +0000

I didn’t actually like Moby Dick. I was younger when I read it, true, but there was something about the writing that never hit me. But of course, I’m not a huge Melville fan, either. Probably my favorite of his is Bartleby the Scribner.

I just downloaded Blood Meridian yesterday. I’ve been hankering for some more McCarthy to read, and I keep having Blood Meridian recommended. Once I get out of my SF mood, I’m definitely going to be picking it as my “literature” choice.

I don’t know anything about True Grit, but I’ll certainly check it out. I hated Confederacy of Dunces, though. I had heard so much about it and how witty it was, but it was in dire need of editing if you ask me and could have used a lot more tightening up for the humor to be really my style. It tried too hard, I think.

By: JT

JT — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:53:36 +0000

Don’t mean to be over-posting, but I get excited talking about books.

1. Moby Dick
I never knew fiction could kick me in the neck-meat quite like this one did until I read it for the first time at age 19.

2. Blood Meridian

I keep rereading it, trying to get some type of message, and not able to put it down because of the carnage.

3. True Grit, by Clinton Portis.

I don’t know if there was a time I ever laughed so hard at something that wasn’t a Three Stooges short. I’ve just purchased Confederacy of Dunces, as well.
.-= JT´s last blog ..To the rest of the nba, Kobe and Tim Duncan are still better than you =-.

By: Professor Beej

Professor Beej — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:09:12 +0000

I’ve always heard that WoT had some of the best battle/magic scenes of any literature ever written. That if you’re into just huge, large-scale battles that make your mind boggle, there is no better place than Robert Jordan’s series to find it.

I’m incredibly interested in the plot and the intrigue, but when a series is over 10k pages, it’s a little intimidating, especially after being so…boring?…to begin with.

How long does it take for the series to really hit its stride?

By: Psynister

Psynister — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:32:45 +0000

If you’re going to pick out a single book from the Wheel of Time it would need to be somewhere between books 5-8. For me, book 6 is the best in the series with the possible exception of The Gathering Storm which just came out. It’s hard to point to a specific book in a series though as all of them feed into and off of one another.

WoT is definitely one of my favorite series of all time though.

By: Play It Again, Samwise « Tish Tosh Tesh

Play It Again, Samwise « Tish Tosh Tesh — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:28:27 +0000

[...] Why do we read books more than once? What is it about them that we want to revisit? Why are they so great? [...]

By: Professor Beej

Professor Beej — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:04:41 +0000

I just think he didn’t exactly know the right backstory and was contractually obligated to write it. But you could be right. I kind of hope not, though, since they’re planning a live-action TV series based on the time between Sith and A New Hope. If it’s the hybridizing generations, then we’re in trouble.