Tough call on the best. Probably “V” by Thomas Pynchon, one of those big books that sprawls and ties stories together so loosely and cleverly that you barely notice the joins. I’ve just finished reading 2666 by Bolano, it’s similar and I enjoyed it, I think. Also, The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch, very similar (and ignore the film they made of it, it’s horrible. Even with Stephen Fry as one of the leads).
Worst - The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. A “classic” of left-wing literature, apparently, with rave reviews on the cover, it’s execrable, plodding Marxism-for-dummies with stilted dialogue and clumsy internal monologues. Obviously written by someone who cares, but… ugh.
Bradbury’s written some fantastic short stories. I love The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit.
favorite book: mother night - kurt vonnegut.
worst book ever: any other book by kurt vonnegut. just kidding, the worst book ever is actually who moved my cheese…
The worst book I forced on myself. Tom Clancy let his name be put on books that were entirely written by no talent people.
I can’t even describe how corny the story was. I just remember the author would often finish the sentence with “Like that.” Never once did “LIke That” mean anything. I would stare at it and say “Like that, what?”
(A great book is one that you re-read because the themes forever affect your life. Passages play out in your mind, like a song gets stuck.)
I call it celebrity-itis, all media creations to drive ratings and sales. There is no book too dumb for the American people since certain elites and special interest groups drive sales by buying books in bulk and also own the media where “reviews” are written. The government and the CIA also exert pressure on what gets published.
LOL.
Read what I wrote about the way book sales and advertising are manipulated.
I’ve re-read Herman Hesse’s Demian a few times. That one’s always stuck with me. The first book that really hit me hard was Camus’s The Stranger. Read it when I was 14/15. I think I was mildly depressed when I read it – or after I read it – can’t remember. Brave New World, which I much preferred over 1984, has also got to be at the top of my list. East of Eden by Steinbeck was good. Recently read Ender’s Game for the first time and I think it would have been among my favorites if I had read it when I was younger. It’s like a better, science-fiction Harry Potter.
I don’t actually read much, though. And when I do, I’m pretty rigorous in choosing the next book. So much like jonquil it’s difficult for me to pick out which books were worst, because I can’t think of a book I’ve read that wasn’t worth it.
jonquil likes your list. The only ones I haven’t read are Brave New World and Harry Potter. If you’ve read Demian, then you should also read Narcissus and Goldmund and The Glass Bead Game. Hesse just gets better and better with every book.
Yes, I’m reading a book called Ringworld right now (I’ve been on a science fiction kick and I learned about Ringworld b/c it was part of the inspiration behind the Halo video game series). Next on my list is Steppenwolf. You can bet I’ll get to Narcissus and Goldmund and The Glass Bead Game eventually. Also, I noticed The Brothers Karamazov and The Grapes of Wrath on your list and it reminds me that I’ve been meaning to read them both for a while now.
Whenever you get around to reading any of those books, I would love to discuss them if you wish. That is some great literature. The Grapes of Wrath is my favorite book OF ALL TIME, and all the others are close to that. Happy reading!
For the moment I’ll say The Odyssey has been my best read so far, for no other reason other than I just remember thoroughly enjoying it all the way through
Like others, the actual bad books I’ve read were either not finished or have been banished from memory but I’ll say The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons mainly because they just left a bad taste in my mouth, like eating junk food, kinda tasty but bad.
Fuse mentioned Demian, I’ve got to say the work I’ve read so far of Hesse just simply irritates me, he’s just too…pansey-ish.
But my reading habits are terribly unimaginative, I tend to just to scour the “classics” section and pick an oldie but today I bought two fairly contemporary works by a guy called Houellebecq - Atomised and Platform, enjoying Atomised so far but I’ve also seen the film. Good shit.
Just found out this is the same book as the one I’ve just read: Atomised. I enjoyed, it’s been a while since I blasted through a book so quick, I’ll think I’ll mull it over for a couple of days, I think I’ll re-read Brave New World too because I felt this was somewhat aimed at being a prequel to it…
