What's the best book...

[JonTheBaller]

of the last century?

of the last decade?

(That is, if you could only pick one book to recommend to someone to read/could only take one book with you to a desert isle/etc, in your opinion of course, which one would it be?)

 

[Wallydraigle]

The one book that I would recommend to someone else would be a cookbook. That way they could cook the things in the cookbook and I could eat them. The one book I would want on a desert island would be How to Escape From a Desert Island: 12 Easy Ways to Get Back to Civilization, *and* Live to Tell the Tale.

 

[JonTheBaller]

LOL, but that's not exactly what I meant.

 

[conjur]

Of the last century? Hmm...

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
On The Road - Jack Kerouac
The Stand - Stephen King


The last decade? hmm...haven't much newer stuff but Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer with a follow up read of The Climb - Anatoli Boukreev is a great combo!

 

The two best books I've read from the 20th century are:

The Catcher in the Rye
The Natural

It's a tossup between the two.

 

[Wuffsunie]

Originally posted by: jumpr
The two best books I've read from the 20th century are:

The Catcher in the Rye

Oh, ick. I was waiting for this book to come up. I have never, ever been able to see the appeal to this book. I've read it before, and intensity disliked it. It's just some moron's weekend in NY. His ignorance and naiveity were deplorable.

For my choice, I'd have to say Lord of the Rings for last century. A vast, highly detailed world to escape into. Last decade I can't pick.

 

[Chaotic42]

The Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics.

Fiction can burn in hell.

 

[JonTheBaller]

nice

 

[Lonyo]

1984 - George Orwell

 

[JonTheBaller]

thanks

 

[Cyberian]

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

Good book, but I'm not sure if I'd want that one if I was stranded on a desert island.

Maybe something by Kipling?
I always liked his style.

 

[PatboyX]

best of the century: All Quiet on the Western Front.
best of the last decade: Drown by Junot Diaz...maybe CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders (i dont know if that last one was written in the last decade)

 

[cyberizer9]

Originally posted by: Wuffsunie

Originally posted by: jumpr
The two best books I've read from the 20th century are:

The Catcher in the Rye

Oh, ick. I was waiting for this book to come up. I have never, ever been able to see the appeal to this book. I've read it before, and intensity disliked it. It's just some moron's weekend in NY. His ignorance and naiveity were deplorable.

For my choice, I'd have to say Lord of the Rings for last century. A vast, highly detailed world to escape into. Last decade I can't pick.

I agree. Can someone explain the appeal of this book?

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: johnnytightlips
of the last century?

of the last decade?

(That is, if you could only pick one book to recommend to someone to read/could only take one book with you to a desert isle/etc, in your opinion of course, which one would it be?)

Dune by Frank Herbert.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
The Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics.

Fiction can burn in hell.

why do you hate fiction?

 

[SaltBoy]

What's the best repost, sort of...

 

[Mr N8]

I'm going to have to go with "Where's Waldo." Classic, excellent plot, very engaging.






Nobody mentioned the Lord or the Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit? I think they deserve some mention.

 

[movinslow]

Well, I know about The Catcher in the Rye is that most serial killers have a copy of it...

 

[DurocShark]

The Stand - Stephen King