View Full Version : BCUK's 'Big Read'!
So, whats everyones favourite book, favourite series of books or favourite author of all time ? Mine has to be either Katherine Kerr's (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books-uk&field-author=Kerr%2C%20Katherine/026-7663714-4036442)Deverry series or David Gemmell's (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books-uk&field-keywords=david%20gemmell&bq=1/ref=sr_aps_all/026-7663714-4036442)Legend and Waylander series.
Another superb book (for kids really) is Gerald Durrell's The Talking Parcel which is the first book I ever read as a nipper and got me hooked on reading.
My tastes vary a lot, but one book that has particularly struck a chord with me lately is "Human Instrinct" by Robert Winston. This book looks at how we are basically living in a modern world with modern ideas but trying to cope with all this with a primitive brain.
tenbears10
20-02-2004, 12:13
Favorite book of all time is a bit difficult.
Favorite style is travel and adventure. From Chris Stewart's Driving over lemons (makes me want to move to Spain tommorow) to ninety degrees north by Fergus Fleming (great arctic tales) to The Kon Tiki Expedition, Thor Heyerdahl (a raft! accross the Pacific! madness). Those are mainly recently read ones.
Sorry if none are classics.
Bill
primitive brain sounds ideal for me Adi!
MartiniDave
20-02-2004, 12:15
Good Question!
For me its:-
Lord of the rings trilogy.
Tom Clancy novels, but not the op-centre and other ghost written stuff.
Wilbur Smith.
Stephen Coontz
Most cheap westerns.
Travel books - exploration, memoires etc.
Dave
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books!!
They keep me amused and there are so many hidden references to "our" world that you realise new things each time you read them.
Ook!
jamesdevine
20-02-2004, 12:57
My Favourite book series would the Sharpe Series. I have not read them all yet but I the ones I have read have been reread many times.
I have a few favourite books one of the is an Unsung Hero the story of Tom Crean Irish artic explorer (sorry I am not sure of the writer) and at present Roger Tooks Walking with raindeer. Both cool books :wink:
James
gurushaun
20-02-2004, 12:59
I'm a big Terry Pratchett fan, but I like lots of other authors, Neil Stephenson, that sort of stuff :-D
Cheers
Shaun
Bernard Cornwall also did a good series of Arthurian Books - Very readable. I'm also a great David Gemmel fan, especially his latest "Rigante" series. I was also very impressed with Terry Pratchets latest "Monstorous Regiment"
I also like the Harry Potter books... :wink:
for non-fiction I love folklore and myth/legend books; but my all time favourite non-fiction read is the Byzantium trilogy by John Julius (Lord) Norwich - fabulously readable history!
larry the spark
20-02-2004, 13:45
I'm a huge LOTR fan... must have read it 4 or 5 times since I was 14 so it gets my vote. Not very original but there you go. I love modern fiction and rock biogs, the best of which I have read is Dear Boy: The life of Kieth Moon (drummer for The Who). It's hard to believe that mans lunacy! Go on Moon The Loon!
Stephen lawhead is a great Brit writer who basis his books on aurthurian legend and celtic myth. All of his series are fantastic reads.
I recently bought Joe Simpson's harrowing account of his own near-death in the Peruvian Andes, 'Touching the Void' which is about to be released as a movie. Sounds like a great survival story, can't wait to get stuck in!
I recently bought Joe Simpson's harrowing account of his own near-death in the Peruvian Andes, 'Touching the Void' which is about to be released as a movie. Sounds like a great survival story, can't wait to get stuck in!
It's a hard book to read, I think. Joe doesn't have a style of writing that sits well with me. The story itself is amazing though!
The film came out a couple of months ago now, but only at selected cinemas. I wasn't able to get to one but my local one is having it on director's chair in the middle of March.
ditchfield
21-02-2004, 18:30
My favourite is Robinson Crusoe. I don't know why really, but I can read it over and over and never get board. Inspiring.
I've got most of Kerrs and Gemmells, one of my all time favourites are is David & Leigh Eddings (until their latest book anyway). Reading Chris Bunch at the moment who isn't too bad.
All time favorite book: "Blackberry Wine" by Joanne Harris - love all her books, full of powerful scents and flavours.
Also love everything by Terry Pratchett, Carl Hiaasen, Nicholas Evans.
(My favourite outdoor survival story is Stephen King's "The Girl who loved Tom Gordon" about a child lost in the woods.)
cold mountain by charles frazier, exellent book, you can smell the landscape, dont know about the film,i wont watch it incase its had the hollywood treatment and been ruined ,cheers al
Anything by Primo Levi - beautifully written and sharply observed
"If this is a man", written about his wartime experiences including his time in the concentration camps, is profoundly moving yet extremely accessible. You owe it to yourself to read this book.
Oh and how about anything by Tschiffely - I just about wore out my mum's copy of "Tschiffely's ride" when I was a youngster!
terry brooks shannara series any one?
ooooo al...thats a good 'un! Although I have to say that the first three were the best and it went a tad downhill from there for my money!
"Yeah, the Lord of the Rings films were OK... but I wish Peter Jackson had shown some originality rather than just copying Terry Brooks' Shannara books. I mean that Gandalf was just sooooo Allanon..."
Brooks is great got all but the last one of his Shannara series (Book 3 of the Jerle of Shannara). Knight of the Word series wasn't too bad either, wasn't too sure about Magic Kingdom for sale though (still bough the series though :wink: ).
Anyone read much by Mercedes Lackey?
"Yeah, the Lord of the Rings films were OK... but I wish Peter Jackson had shown some originality rather than just copying Terry Brooks' Shannara books. I mean that Gandalf was just sooooo Allanon..."
:rolmao:
I can't claim the credit for the line. I once read an enitre fake review of LoTR (books) based on the premise that John Tolkien was just a Terry Brooks Plagurist. Apperantly the Tolkien society took it seriously and were NOT impressed!
paul thomas
08-05-2004, 18:29
has anybody read LAST OF THE BREED by LOUIS Lamour,it is about an American pilot on the run in the depths of Siberia.Noticed that Chris Brunch has been mentioned ,he is good read so is Gemmel
last of the breed is a great book. Even my wife enjoyed it.
Legend By Gemmel is still my all time fave book.
I like Gemmels - the ghost king best of all his work, which I have to say have has been a bit limp of late.
I also like tHE WAR OF THE WORLDS - A good classic. And poetry by Robert Service
But if I had to take one book to a desert island it would be -
Either,
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Or
Lord of the Rings.
Yes, War of the Worlds ... brilliant!
Day of the Triffids was an influential book for me in my youth.
The Sherlock Holmes collection would keep me happy on a desert island ... now to find the island! :-D
falling rain
11-05-2004, 14:18
The long Walk - Slavomir Rawicz
First published in 1956, an account of a young Polish cavalry officer who was arrested by the Russians, tortured and sentenced to 25 years forced labour. Describes his 3 month journey from Moscow to the prison camp in Siberia, his escape with 6 companions and their journey across the Gobi desert to Tibet and freedom.
Literally couldn't put it down
NickBristol
11-05-2004, 15:22
have got too many favourite books to list here...sure I'll remember loads more as soon as a i press 'submit' but some are:
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier, must've read it a dozen times and always find a new way of looking at it. Totally agree with Al about it.
Empire of the Sun - JG Ballard, small boy lost in a big world that he doesn't understand. Which is a lot like all of us in the end isnt it? Was a good film too.
Forgotten Voices of the Great War - Max Arthur, moving, inspiring, disturbing first-hand accounts of the madness of being on the frontline in the First World War. Ideal for dipping into to get some perspective when I think I'm having a bad day...
The Eyre Affair / The Well of Lost Plots / Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde, fantastically funny, totally off the wall, and far more interesting than the original novels. Still cant drive past Leigh Delamere services on the M4 without p***ing myself with laughter... www.thursdaynext.com for more info :-D
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow - Peter Hoeg, everything you wanted to know about snow and ice in a fantastic story about one woman's quest to find why a small boy died.
Bill Bryson books are always good too. As is anything by Ray Mears, (especially the Real Heroes of Telemark), Amy Tan or Peter Hoeg.
Had better stop now...could go on for hours :oops:
Justin Time
11-05-2004, 19:06
Captain Corelli's Mandolin was a cracking read for me, as was Cold Mountain, which is about due a re-read.
Fave author has got to be Ian Banks (with or without the M), one of the few writers that get's me buying the hardbacks when they come out. Terry Pratchett, obviously :roll:
On the non-fiction side, Chris Townsend's books are great and Chris Ferris' books about "her" badgers are real eye openers.
Have to agree about the Long Walk. There is a man with a serious will to survive.
If You haven't read it then do.
Another Ian (M) Banks fan here- both his "normal" and SF stories.
Possibly my all time favorite author is Mary Gentle - SF come swords and sorcery settings but really all about people and politics. Her recent novel "Ash" is one of the best, and at the other extreme "Grunts" does a fine job of taking the mickey out of the LOTR books and may appeal to Terry Pratchet fans.
Jakunen and I both know Mary quite well, and I might be seeing her in 2 weekends time.
Strangely enough before her neck injury both her and her partner (Dean "Pass me another elf - this one's split" Wayland) were keenly into minimalist camping/bushcraft. I've/we've sort of been trying to rekindle that spark in them, although her neck makes things difficult in this respect.
The also keep kunikuni (dwarf) pigs on a rare breeds Farm; and have let their friends adopt (ie pay) for them. Mine's Called Midnight and she's gorgeous...
BTW: She's had 2 more books published since ASH:
1610 - a Sundial in a Grave (novel), and
Cartomancy (anthology of short stories, including Orks Drift, a Grunts short)
And strangley enough there happens to be a review of Cartomancy on Amazon. Nothing to do with me of course...
If you do read, and if not, WHY NOT???, look out for some very clever, if not rather corny, jokes...
Probably my all time favorite book is "A River Runs Through It" Norman Maclean. This book is in my read pile at least every couple of years. All the 3 stories are just wonderful early Montana historical fiction.
My favorite outdoor author is Calvin Rutstrum and really all 15+ of his books are worth a read at least once, and his wilderness essays are worth reading over and over.
Another great book that makes my read pile over and over is "Desert Solitare" Edward Abbey. This one always makes me want to head to Utah.
"Cache Lake Country", John Rowlands is a super night stand book. Each chapter is a treasure. I keep one copy at work and sneek off for a few minutes read whenever I can.
RM Patterson's "Dangerous River" is just a super wilderness canoe trip story (by an exBrit in Canada) and his other books are also very good.
I also really like the whole Sherlock Holmes series, my favorite edition is William S. Baring-Gould's Annotated 2 volume version....a bit much for the pack though :roll:
I tend to do reviews on my favorites and have posted them at JM's Magazine in the Library. If anyone is interested in my favorites in more detail you can find reviews on Maclean's, Rowlands, Patterson's and Calvin's works here:
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_topic.php?id_rubrique=15
I am working on a Sigurd Olson review now, and he is another excellent wilderness author...wonderful essays that are almost poetry.
I like funny or factual books generally
One of my all time faves is Tony Hawkes "Around Ireland with a fridge" About how Tony bets a mate that he can hitch hike round the circumference of Ireland with a fridge in one calendar month.
I also like anything by Terry Pratchett, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey or Raymond E Feist :super:
So your ultimate book would involve Garion and Rincewind meeting a dragonrider called F'cof (F'lars other half brother) somewhere in Midkemia?
RAPPLEBY2000
15-07-2004, 23:38
over the last year i have read 8 John wyndham books.
if you like science fiction, horror, drama, suspence, fantasy?
you should try John wyndham
here are the books i have read:
The day of the Triffids (has spawned 2 films)
The Chrysalids
The Kraken wakes
The seeds of Time(book of 10 short stories)
Chocky (has been dramatised for ChildrensTV)
Trouble with Lichen(for all you Botanists!)
The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as: "The village of the dammed")
Web (spiders!)
i have thouroughly enjoyed reading each one, i am still looking for a couple of rare ones!
i have never been the reading type, they are easy to read, i heartily reccomend them to anyone!
oh, and i picked them all up secound hand for not more than £2 each!!!
face it who hasn't heard of a Triffid? :super:
Another fan of David Gemmel (Waylander, Legend and A Wolf In Shadow being the main ones).
Also a fan of Terry Pratchett (you have to read The Wee Free Men and Good Omens (with Neil Gaiman)) and Robert Rankin (The Brentford Triangle and The Grapes Of Wrath). :o):
Read a fair amount of factual literature, but don't follow specific people or authors. :wave:
Jakunen and I both know Mary quite well, and I might be seeing her in 2 weekends time...
!!! What was that 6 degrees of freedom thing again ? That's an amazing connection !
Next time you see Mary, maybe you'd do me the favour of passing on best wishes from a long time fan :notworthy
Cheers
Good question Jamie. I am pretty surprised by how many folks like fantasy based books and not factual reads..........hope this isn’t a reflection of peoples life’s.
I don’t think I have ever read a book of fiction, well I used to have my Mum read me Thomas the Tank and in her words ‘about fifty times a night’ and I ‘knew when she had skipped a page’ – well she shouldn’t try and pull fast one a 4 year old!
I have always tried to read books that will leave some sort of mark within me, to perhaps change my life in some way. The problem with that line of thought is that you never know that it will until you have read it. After saying that, I do seem to pick books that fulfil me in one way or another.
Most of my readings and study are history in one form or another. Of course I study woodlands deeply but also I study just as deep, natural history, which of course woodlands are a part of. Studying the landscape has to be one of the most rewarding pastime’s for me, for you don’t have to be an expert to see how your own local environment evolved ( that’s if you believe in evolution, but that’s for another time) and you can put it in to practice the next time you are out and about.
To me, history is important because the way I see it, is that to truly know and understand your environment, you have to know it’s history, other wise, everything is out of context and nothing fits. I also take a book with me to the woods so I can read it at lunch time ( that’s if I haven’t fallen to sleep) and I always read when I am tucked up in bed. I admire authors who write with passion and with attitude. Authors have the ability to inspire people, and to me, this is a wonderful gift and shouldn’t be over looked as inspiration has an addictive effect.
A book I have just finished is called ‘ A Thousand Years of the English Parish’- Anthea Jones, and before that a book called ‘ The Hidden Landscape, A Journey into the Geological Past’ – Richard Fortey, now that book I would recommend to everyone, learnt so much from that. Another wonderful author is Graham Harvey he is seen by some ( mainly landowners) as being highly controversial. He is the author of a book called ‘Killing of the Countryside’ this book will have you in tears and he received many death threats after it was published, this is a most fascinating book and again, a book that everyone should read.
They are two authors who have been an inspiration to me, and in someway, changed me. But I going to keep that them to myself.
And as usual, what was the original question again?
just wondering, has anyone ever read "the carpet people" its by terry pratchett but its not part of the discword serise, as a result of which it is offen (and un-justly) overlooked i would defonatlly recoment it, it is up there with my favorites, LOTR the hobbit, seven years in tibet heinrich harrer, grey owl pilgrems of the wild, harry potter just to list a few!
RAPPLEBY2000
19-07-2004, 00:02
on the question of why read fiction?
i feel more relaxed when i can escape from reality, lots of people do, theres so much in this world to be depressed about.
i'm not a "Treki" or a "Treker" but i enjoy startrek, as it always looks to the future positively, and many of the stories "play" with theories, or ideas.
same as Douglas adams "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", "The long dark Teatime of the soul", and "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" all uae the same theories of time travel, and ridicolus situations, comedy, irony, and Sci-fi with a side dish of sarcasm and personal struggle, which i also like.
John wyndham "plays" with ideas like: alien disasters, telepathy, freaks of nature(and the social problems it brings), power, and actually an element of "survival" in most of the stories for one reason or another.
to sum it up, the stories i like have a main character that is ordinary, for some reason they find a skill or ability, and use the ability to help them through hard situations.
hey any amature psycologists about what does it say about me? :wink:
As an avid reader, many books are devoured every month. I do like to read the "classics", the bible is a good read always. I have read the Tolkien and Shanara series a long time ago. Tony Hillerman is not bad. I do have a soft spot for Louis L'amour's stories. There was a man that new some bushcraft. For just plain old fun, the Patrick F. McManus stories bring a sense of humour to the outdoors.
bushblade
19-07-2004, 22:32
Johnathon Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach
I probably read much more factual writing than fiction. For what it's worth, when I was a kid, I read a lot of the 'Swallow and Amazons' books.
Nowadays, I read a lot of travel/expedition writing: Joe Simpson, John Krakeur, Laurens Van der Post, Bill Bryson, et al.
A couple of recent highlights: the Scott Expedition book 'The Worst Place In The World' by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard (blimey, talk about suffering! They were hard men in those days!), 'Dark Star Safari' and 'Fresh-air Fiend' by Paul Theroux (favourite travel author), 'Bushcraft' by Graves (forgot I had it!).
I guess I read a few magazines, too: Trail, 220, Runners World, Triathlete.
If I don't bike to work, I read on the train so at least I feel I've got something out of the journey!
stuart f
21-07-2004, 22:46
I,m not one for reading fiction much,but theres one book that sticks in my mind,when i was at school(many moons ago) we read a book called KES,about a boy who finds a Kestrel chick and hand rears it only for his older brother to kill it.It was made into a film also,i can,t remember who wrote it either.I just remember that it was a powerful book and it must have been for me to take notice,all my teachers used to say i,d get on better at school if i was,nt always looking out the window :wink: must have been the bushcrafter in me even when i was a nipper,i just wanted to be outside.
Anyway it was a good book and thought i should share it.
Putting up some Carl Sagan quotes made me think of another good book I've read ... Demon Haunted World ... a look at how people prefer pseudoscience to real science. A really good read!
i have just completed 'Totem Pole' by Paul Pritchard.
It is about his recovery from a near fatal climbing accident. its well written and helps put a lot of life's irritations into perspective.
I,m not one for reading fiction much,but theres one book that sticks in my mind,when i was at school(many moons ago) we read a book called KES,about a boy who finds a Kestrel chick and hand rears it only for his older brother to kill it.It was made into a film also,i can,t remember who wrote it either.I just remember that it was a powerful book and it must have been for me to take notice,all my teachers used to say i,d get on better at school if i was,nt always looking out the window :wink: must have been the bushcrafter in me even when i was a nipper,i just wanted to be outside.
Anyway it was a good book and thought i should share it.
funny my teachers used to say that too... (i say used too but i only left school last month)
also they still use KES in the curriculem, i had to do it a few years ago!!
RAPPLEBY2000
31-07-2004, 11:18
just finished "Red Dwarf" by grant naylor.
very funny, on par with "hitch hikers guide", i only vaugely remember the series so the jokes are fresh but familiar.
from what i remember of the TV version, this is far better, more detail of dimentions and situations.
if you like sci fi humour take a look!
:super: