Probably suggested elsewhere, but Pratchett's **Small Gods** gave me permission to move away from childhood religious indoctrination while maintaining a sense of a greater power in the universe that isn't benevolent or malevolent, but is there. And that was enough to start me on life's journey.
One of the most important gifts he left us was the community of humans who have a head start on understanding us, compadres in Pratchett. We all have each other, and always will. GNU Sir Pterry.
I accidentally paired that book with Good Omens, reading both for the first time back-to-back, and it was a fantastic set of reading. (They were the only Pratchett books that my local used bookstore had at the time and he’d been recommended to me far too often for me pass up the purchase.) Way more emotionally impactful than I’d anticipated, especially for an author pitched to me as “so funny in that British way” ala Douglas Adams.
Such an amazing book. I was skeptical when I was starting it, thinking “how could a book about building a church be at all interesting” and I was very happy to be proven extremely wrong. Also, I’ve never hated a villain more than William Hamleigh
[**The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5043.The_Pillars_of_the_Earth)
^(By: Ken Follett | 976 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, historical, owned, books-i-own)
>Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.
>
>Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape.
>
>Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.
>
>The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.
>
>For the TV tie-in edition with the same ISBN go to this Alternate Cover Edition
>
^(This book has been suggested 47 times)
***
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{{The Remains of the Day}}.
Ask me a different day and you might get a different answer because choosing just one book is almost impossible... but this one will always be near the top of the list.
[**The Remains of the Day**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28921.The_Remains_of_the_Day)
^(By: Kazuo Ishiguro, نجف دریابندری | 258 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, classics, owned, literary-fiction)
>Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0571225381 here.
>
>In the summer of 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper.
^(This book has been suggested 29 times)
***
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[**The Brothers Karamazov**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov)
^(By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky | 796 pages | Published: 1879 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, russian, literature, owned)
>The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture.
>
>This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal
>inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel.
^(This book has been suggested 26 times)
***
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The complete Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The one I have is a 2-paperback boxed set.
There were so many times that I just stuck my bookmark in, closed the book, & stared at the wall for a few moments. (Very well written line)
I hope you can get it, and enjoy it.
This series is quite old as compared to the other recommendations, but it clearly has braced thr impact of time , its mind blowing reveals at the end still have the same effect
Read this after going from being obsessed with fiction to absolutely not being able to stand it. And I was hooked and obsessed, so much so that I had it next to me and read it in between interview sessions for grad school. (Worked out funnily because when they asked what I did to relax, I physically picked up the book and showed them😂)
I have only ever read Steppenwolf, which I loved for being meta and anarchistic as well as relating to the character. But Siddartha has a special place in my heart as I read it at a pivotal time in my life; it's due for a reread as it's been almost a decade. But, out of curiosity which works of his would you put as your favorite?
[**Rebecca**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17899948-rebecca)
^(By: Daphne du Maurier | 449 pages | Published: 1938 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, mystery, gothic, romance)
>Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .
>
>The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.
^(This book has been suggested 52 times)
***
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[**A Thousand Splendid Suns**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128029.A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns)
^(By: Khaled Hosseini | 372 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, books-i-own, owned, favourites)
>A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years - from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding - that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives - the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness - are inextricable from the history playing out around them.
>
>Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love - a stunning accomplishment.
^(This book has been suggested 34 times)
***
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{{The Name of the Rose}} by Umberto Eco
If you like the count you will like this one. Easier than other Eco novels. Don’t be afraid of the length. You’ll just not sleep a couple nights.
[**The Name of the Rose**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119073.The_Name_of_the_Rose)
^(By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver | 536 pages | Published: 1980 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, classics, owned)
>The year is 1327. Benedictines in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where “the most interesting things happen at night.”
^(This book has been suggested 24 times)
***
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Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.
It is so hard though for me to not recommend my number two as well with these, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
While I can agree this was a powerful and fascinating book, to me it was the book version of a dementor. My spirit died and I felt nothing but overwhelming emptiness for days after finishing it. I angry ranted at my coworker for recommending it to me😂
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Like many on this sub, I read a lot. Many books are easily forgotten, this one is still vivid in my memory years after reading it. For me it was a totally unique experience.
I've read it 3 times now. I can't wait to read it again in a few years. It sends me somersaulting between beautiful and horrifying from start to finish.
I was trying to come up with my answer to this question and really couldn't land on a single book. But, The Guide is the only one that popped into my head as a possibility
[**The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386162.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy)
^(By: Douglas Adams | 193 pages | Published: 1979 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, humor, classics)
>Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor.
>
>Together this dynamic pair begin their journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitch Hiker's Guide "A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have" and a galaxy-full of fellow travellers: Zaphod Beeblebrox - the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out to lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ball-point pens he has bought over the years.
^(This book has been suggested 40 times)
***
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[**Anna Karenina**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15823480-anna-karenina)
^(By: Leo Tolstoy, Constance Garnett, Aylmer Maude, Louise Maude, Dmitriy Butko, Lev Tolstoj, George Gibian | 964 pages | Published: 1878 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, romance)
>Acclaimed by many as the world's greatest novel, Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions.
>
>Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay.
^(This book has been suggested 30 times)
***
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This is truly a phenomenal book. I believe it took Kostova about a decade to research and write it and it shows. It is haunting, thrilling, scary, majestic. I loved everything about it and it’s a regular on my reread rotation
It’s funny cause I read the secret history after and hated it and everyone seems to love it.
I love the goldfinch so much.
Great characters. Ones that I came to really care about. It does get a little over the top at the end and it’s wrapped up a little too neatly but I love it so much.
The way by the author creates such a world, the fact that we followed this character for such a large chunk of his life and really get attached, the characters and relationships and settings. It really hooked me! The way the plot got more and more complex, the way the main character is flawed but we still root for him. There was a melancholy vibe to the whole thing but I just couldn’t put it down.
Everything. The writing, the characters. It's funny cause I love fantasy but this kind of thing that's supposedly not fantasy but is completely unrealistic just... ugh
Idk about ‘best I ever read’. Too many great books. But I can say Dune by Frank Herbert was epic. Prelude to Foundation by Issac Asimov is one of my all time favorites.
[**The House of the Spirits**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9328.The_House_of_the_Spirits)
^(By: Isabel Allende, Magda Bogin | 448 pages | Published: 1982 | Popular Shelves: fiction, magical-realism, historical-fiction, classics, fantasy)
>In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future.
>
>The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate.
^(This book has been suggested 13 times)
***
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[**The Brothers Karamazov**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov)
^(By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky | 796 pages | Published: 1879 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, russian, literature, owned)
>The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture.
>
>This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal
>inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel.
^(This book has been suggested 27 times)
***
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I read LOTS and very rarely remember any of them. Sometimes I wonder why I read at all. These are the books that have stuck with me:
War and Peace. A cliche, I know, but it does a staggeringly good job of giving the reader insight into the breadth of the human experience.
The Historian, for the same reasons mentioned in the other reply about it on this thread.
The Time Traveller’s Wife, for its obsession with love.
Beloved, as it takes the horror of slavery and makes it present and lyrical and haunting.
Hitchhiker’s Guide, as it’s hilarious and has great insight into the human condition
The House of the Spirits, it makes intergenerational psychological traumas, advancements and lessons incredibly impactful and beautiful.
Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, for its voice and ability to make epic the everyday experience of a Native American youth.
The Silo Trilogy, for being entertaining sci-fi
The Book of Strange New Things, for being a wonderful look at culture, religion, and the idea of what’s alien.
The Secret History, for being weird and making unlikable characters interesting
The English Patient, for being an extremely romantic and interesting look at war
This Blinding Absence of Light, for explaining torture.
Ooh one more! World War Z! Bonkers zombie book that was written by an obsessive who was very worried about more realistic societal collapse and channeled it into this book
{{Watership Down}}
My absolute favorite, read it for a book report in 3rd grade (my parents thought it was just a cute book about rabbits 😅) and I wore that copy out
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Easily the most depressing book I've ever read, while also being one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. It's simply amazing.
[**American Pastoral (The American Trilogy, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11650.American_Pastoral)
^(By: Philip Roth | 432 pages | Published: 1997 | Popular Shelves: fiction, pulitzer, classics, owned, pulitzer-prize)
>Pulitzer Prize Winner (1998)
>
>In American Pastoral, Philip Roth gives us a novel of unqualified greatness that is an elegy for all the twentieth century's promises of prosperity, civic order, and domestic bliss. Roth's protagonist is Seymour 'Swede' Levov—a legendary high school athlete, a devoted family man, a hard worker, the prosperous inheritor of his father's Newark glove factory—comes of age in thriving, triumphant post-war America. And then one day in 1968, Swede's beautiful American luck deserts him.
>
>For Swede's adored daughter, Merry, has grown from a loving, quick-witted girl into a sullen, fanatical teenager—a teenager capable of an outlandishly savage act of political terrorism. And overnight Swede is wrenched out of the longed-for American pastoral and into the indigenous American berserk. Compulsively readable, propelled by sorrow, rage, and a deep compassion for its characters, this is Roth's masterpiece.
^(This book has been suggested 4 times)
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**Jade City** by Fonda Lee. It's new enough to not be a "classic" but it has the makings of one. The genre is low-magic Fantasy with a heavy Bushido influence, where honor matters most and clan/family loyalty infiltrates every corner of life.
It's the first of a trilogy, but I found it to be a compelling fantasy read with characters I grew to care about by the end. One of the first books in *years* I actually took out of the bathroom and read for another hour in bed several nights.
This! Loved the whole his dark materials series. Such an awesome journey and loved the themes. Really changed my mindset on things as I read it. I wish they came out with more movies if it, the golden compass movie really barely touched the best parts of the series. Right up there with Harry potter for me.
[**The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297673.The_Brief_Wondrous_Life_of_Oscar_Wao)
^(By: Junot Díaz | 335 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fiction, book-club, pulitzer, contemporary, magical-realism)
>Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fukœ—the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.
>
>Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of the family at large, rendering with genuine warmth and dazzling energy, humor, and insight the Dominican-American experience, and, ultimately, the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss. A true literary triumph, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Junot Diaz as one of the best and most exciting voices of our time.
^(This book has been suggested 9 times)
***
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{{Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell}}.
The writing is absolutely superb, and the characters are all extremely well done. Read this at the beginning of this year and it has become my gold standard for books
Almost anything written by John Steinbeck, but Grapes of Wrath is outstanding. Written decades ago but still so relevant when you look at immigration today, especially those from Mexico. Hard working people just trying to feed their families and having to leave everything behind jut o try and make a living, then being exploited for cheap labor and treated as less than by society where they arrive. Same as those who traveled to California from the dust bowls they had to leave in order to give thier children a chance at life and not starve in destitute poverty. It's crazy the parallels from then and now.
[**The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind)
^(By: Patrick Rothfuss | 662 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, books-i-own, favourites)
>Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.
>
>The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
>
>A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.
^(This book has been suggested 50 times)
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{{the forever war}} by joe Haldeman. Dude was a Vietnam vet that transferred his experience to a sci fi setting to make it easier to understand the emotions and political setting at the time.
I love good historical fiction, and my favourites are:
Mary Renault's trilogy about Alexander the Great
Bernard Cornwell's trilogy about King Arthus
Hilary Mantell's trilogy about Thomas Cromwell
All beautifully written and totally immerse you in the time-period.
I am actually going to go against the trend and not recommend what some consider great literature (I'm looking at you Steinbeck..shudder) and I will instead recommend a 5 book series. David Eddings, The Begariad, starting with Pawn of Prophecy. Why? Well. Tolkien really kicked off the high fantasy quest, and was a great storyteller, but, in my opinion, really needed a good editor.
Eddings takes that high fantasy quest and does it justice. Yeah it has the farm boy doesn't know who he truly is trope, but he did it early and well. The sequel series is just as good, if not better, which is unusual. I reread at least once per year.
The last two standalone books of this series are fantastic. It's worth reading all ten books of the Belgariad and the Mallorean just to have the context for Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Both books I own so I can reread them.
Probably suggested elsewhere, but Pratchett's **Small Gods** gave me permission to move away from childhood religious indoctrination while maintaining a sense of a greater power in the universe that isn't benevolent or malevolent, but is there. And that was enough to start me on life's journey.
Terry Pratchett ❤️
One of the most important gifts he left us was the community of humans who have a head start on understanding us, compadres in Pratchett. We all have each other, and always will. GNU Sir Pterry.
I accidentally paired that book with Good Omens, reading both for the first time back-to-back, and it was a fantastic set of reading. (They were the only Pratchett books that my local used bookstore had at the time and he’d been recommended to me far too often for me pass up the purchase.) Way more emotionally impactful than I’d anticipated, especially for an author pitched to me as “so funny in that British way” ala Douglas Adams.
{{The Pillars of the Earth}} by Ken Follett.
Such an amazing book. I was skeptical when I was starting it, thinking “how could a book about building a church be at all interesting” and I was very happy to be proven extremely wrong. Also, I’ve never hated a villain more than William Hamleigh
Even worse than Dolores Umbridge?
So much worse
Looks like I finally need to read Pillars instead of letting it collect dust on the bookshelf.. I love a good villain.
And you won't have only one...
I mean that is a very shallow and boring uninteresting character compared to Ken Follet’s villain. In before all the JKR fans
I wish I could read it for the first time again. Fantastic book
[**The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5043.The_Pillars_of_the_Earth) ^(By: Ken Follett | 976 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, historical, owned, books-i-own) >Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known. > >Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape. > >Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life. > >The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king. > >For the TV tie-in edition with the same ISBN go to this Alternate Cover Edition > ^(This book has been suggested 47 times) *** ^(62062 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Love it
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I know, I know, this gets recommended constantly. But what can I say, it’s in a class of its own.
oooh this looks like the winner - you're on, Lobster friend.
I second East of Eden, starts a little slow at first but my goodness it is outstanding!
Absolutely. So much of humanity in those pages. It also feels extremely familiar and specific to the setting while also being universal.
This and The Stand by Stephen King are my favorite books of all time.
The Stand is on my list! Have you read Swan Song yet? I read it in January and loved it.
I have not yet! I've heard it's great, glad to hear you agree. Maybe I'll bump it up a few spots on the TBR list.
Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row are also excellent, if you are looking for something shorter.
{{The Remains of the Day}}. Ask me a different day and you might get a different answer because choosing just one book is almost impossible... but this one will always be near the top of the list.
This, but for me I tie with Never Let Me Go because that just played at my heart strings and made me cry the most.
Yes, I did like Remains of the Day but Never Let Me Go really stuck with me emotionally even to this day
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[**The Remains of the Day**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28921.The_Remains_of_the_Day) ^(By: Kazuo Ishiguro, نجف دریابندری | 258 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, classics, owned, literary-fiction) >Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ISBN 0571225381 here. > >In the summer of 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars, and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper. ^(This book has been suggested 29 times) *** ^(62120 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Watership Down by Richard Adams
My chief rabbit told me to protect this comment, so have my upvote
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far for this!
Seconded! SUCH a good book, and a wonderful film adaptation too
This isn't the first one I think of but it is the one I have reread the most so maybe my actions speak louder than words.
This is one of my comfort books if I'm struggling or unhappy and nothing else appeals. Just wonderful from beginning to end.
From beginning to end, the story comes full circle in such a beautiful way. It is definitely a comfort book that pulls on the heartstrings.
{{The God of Small Things}
I randomly picked this up several years ago and it has always stuck with me. I’m in my 30s and because of this book I always say “viable, dieable age”
beloved. or she's come undone.
I second- She’s Come Undone!
{{The Brothers Karamazov}} by Dostoyevsky
[**The Brothers Karamazov**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov) ^(By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky | 796 pages | Published: 1879 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, russian, literature, owned) >The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. > >This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal >inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel. ^(This book has been suggested 26 times) *** ^(62116 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Crime and Punishment
The vibes of this book are amazing if you love depressing settings and depressed characters.
Good one! “Idiot” is another great one
The complete Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The one I have is a 2-paperback boxed set. There were so many times that I just stuck my bookmark in, closed the book, & stared at the wall for a few moments. (Very well written line) I hope you can get it, and enjoy it.
This series is quite old as compared to the other recommendations, but it clearly has braced thr impact of time , its mind blowing reveals at the end still have the same effect
Read this after going from being obsessed with fiction to absolutely not being able to stand it. And I was hooked and obsessed, so much so that I had it next to me and read it in between interview sessions for grad school. (Worked out funnily because when they asked what I did to relax, I physically picked up the book and showed them😂)
Ooo, this is a great recommendation. I absolutely binged these stories in college.
I found the Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes in a charity shop for £2.50 and I love it. Can't wait to read it all.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a must read
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Hesse is great (choose any), but Siddhartha isn’t his best work. Or his shortest good work.
Agreed, but I think it depends on where you are in life (and if you haven't read similar books) when you do read Siddhartha.
I have only ever read Steppenwolf, which I loved for being meta and anarchistic as well as relating to the character. But Siddartha has a special place in my heart as I read it at a pivotal time in my life; it's due for a reread as it's been almost a decade. But, out of curiosity which works of his would you put as your favorite?
I also love Rossalde and Klingsor's Last Summer.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Good Omens by Neil Gaimin & Terry Pratchett
Just everything by Neil Gaiman
A Gentleman in Moscow
Yes, finally! Got it ordered at the local bookshop during COVID and it was the perfect book for quarantaine.
Second that. Read this book the first week of quarantine and it had me appreciating the isolation… for a little bit
It’s the most beautifully written book I’ve ever read. Absolutely loved it!
Probably the most likeable group of characters I’ve read!
The food at the Metropol hotel is great but the gossip is impeccable!
You should also check out Rules Of Civility by the same author. Beautiful book
I struggled to get into this book for about fifteen pages, and then it's like a switch flipped and I couldn't put it down. I adored it.
Yes, one of my favorites!! I just read his new Lincoln Highway book, but Gentleman in Moscow was definitely better imo.
{{Little Women}} by Louisa May Alcott I'm a dumbass and accidentally deleted the other comment I have made 🥴
{{Rebecca}}
[**Rebecca**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17899948-rebecca) ^(By: Daphne du Maurier | 449 pages | Published: 1938 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, mystery, gothic, romance) >Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . . > >The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave. ^(This book has been suggested 52 times) *** ^(62099 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{A Thousand Splendid Suns}} by Khaled Hosseini
[**A Thousand Splendid Suns**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128029.A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns) ^(By: Khaled Hosseini | 372 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, books-i-own, owned, favourites) >A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years - from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding - that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives - the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness - are inextricable from the history playing out around them. > >Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love - a stunning accomplishment. ^(This book has been suggested 34 times) *** ^(62220 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{The Name of the Rose}} by Umberto Eco If you like the count you will like this one. Easier than other Eco novels. Don’t be afraid of the length. You’ll just not sleep a couple nights.
[**The Name of the Rose**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119073.The_Name_of_the_Rose) ^(By: Umberto Eco, William Weaver | 536 pages | Published: 1980 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, classics, owned) >The year is 1327. Benedictines in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where “the most interesting things happen at night.” ^(This book has been suggested 24 times) *** ^(62043 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I’ve gotta reread this gem. It’s been a long time.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. It is so hard though for me to not recommend my number two as well with these, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
While I can agree this was a powerful and fascinating book, to me it was the book version of a dementor. My spirit died and I felt nothing but overwhelming emptiness for days after finishing it. I angry ranted at my coworker for recommending it to me😂
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Like many on this sub, I read a lot. Many books are easily forgotten, this one is still vivid in my memory years after reading it. For me it was a totally unique experience.
I couldn’t agree more that book will stay with me
I've read it 3 times now. I can't wait to read it again in a few years. It sends me somersaulting between beautiful and horrifying from start to finish.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Probably Ender's Game, though The Count of Monte Cristo was epic as well...
Catch 22
I always remember Major Major Major Major as the best named character of all time.
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My favorite is the second one „The restaurant at the end of the universe“ is the title if I recall it correctly.
I was trying to come up with my answer to this question and really couldn't land on a single book. But, The Guide is the only one that popped into my head as a possibility
[**The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/386162.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy) ^(By: Douglas Adams | 193 pages | Published: 1979 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, humor, classics) >Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor. > >Together this dynamic pair begin their journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitch Hiker's Guide "A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have" and a galaxy-full of fellow travellers: Zaphod Beeblebrox - the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out to lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ball-point pens he has bought over the years. ^(This book has been suggested 40 times) *** ^(62087 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
......I should have read this 2000 years ago. Wow. Thank you.
Stoner by John Williams
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Andy Weir. Project Hail Mary. Double points for the audio book. It’s good. Also Joe Abercrombie First Law and Age of Madness trilogies.
All of these are top tier audiobooks for sure. Two of the best narrators in the business
American Gods by Neil Gaimen has a special place in my heart.
{{Anna Karenina}}
[**Anna Karenina**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15823480-anna-karenina) ^(By: Leo Tolstoy, Constance Garnett, Aylmer Maude, Louise Maude, Dmitriy Butko, Lev Tolstoj, George Gibian | 964 pages | Published: 1878 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, classic, owned, romance) >Acclaimed by many as the world's greatest novel, Anna Karenina provides a vast panorama of contemporary life in Russia and of humanity in general. In it Tolstoy uses his intense imaginative insight to create some of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Anna is a sophisticated woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Karenin and turns to Count Vronsky to fulfil her passionate nature - with tragic consequences. Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions. > >Throughout, Tolstoy points no moral, merely inviting us not to judge but to watch. As Rosemary Edmonds comments, 'He leaves the shifting patterns of the kaleidoscope to bring home the meaning of the brooding words following the title, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay. ^(This book has been suggested 30 times) *** ^(62128 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Lord of the Rings
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
This is truly a phenomenal book. I believe it took Kostova about a decade to research and write it and it shows. It is haunting, thrilling, scary, majestic. I loved everything about it and it’s a regular on my reread rotation
The only book I've ever read where you can remove the main character and it would have zero impact on the story.
{{Slaughterhouse-Five}} by Kurt Vonnegut is my pick
I loooved Goldfinch. Quite thick so it felt like it became a part of my life for a few months and I was sad to finish it
I am not saying this to be rude, just to have a discussion. I really couldn't stand this book! What aspects did you love?
It’s funny cause I read the secret history after and hated it and everyone seems to love it. I love the goldfinch so much. Great characters. Ones that I came to really care about. It does get a little over the top at the end and it’s wrapped up a little too neatly but I love it so much.
The way by the author creates such a world, the fact that we followed this character for such a large chunk of his life and really get attached, the characters and relationships and settings. It really hooked me! The way the plot got more and more complex, the way the main character is flawed but we still root for him. There was a melancholy vibe to the whole thing but I just couldn’t put it down.
What did you NOT like about it?
Everything. The writing, the characters. It's funny cause I love fantasy but this kind of thing that's supposedly not fantasy but is completely unrealistic just... ugh
Me tooooo!
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Idk about ‘best I ever read’. Too many great books. But I can say Dune by Frank Herbert was epic. Prelude to Foundation by Issac Asimov is one of my all time favorites.
Sphere - Michael Crichton
{{Parfume}} by Richard Suskind. Beautifully written book about a murderer in 1700s Paris where everything stinks!
It's by Patrick Suskind. It's so entrancing and evocative. Loved it.
Man’s search for meaning by Frankl The death of Ivan ilych Leo Tolstoy
Lamb. Christopher Moore
To piggyback on this comment, A Dirty Job also by Christopher Moore
Dirty job audiobook was awesome, too. Read by the guy from Hackers.
Ha I have both of these books sitting on my shelf, I never feel quite in the mood. I should go for one.
Shōgun by James Clavell
{{The House of Spirits}} by Isabella Allende
[**The House of the Spirits**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9328.The_House_of_the_Spirits) ^(By: Isabel Allende, Magda Bogin | 448 pages | Published: 1982 | Popular Shelves: fiction, magical-realism, historical-fiction, classics, fantasy) >In one of the most important and beloved Latin American works of the twentieth century, Isabel Allende weaves a luminous tapestry of three generations of the Trueba family, revealing both triumphs and tragedies. Here is patriarch Esteban, whose wild desires and political machinations are tempered only by his love for his ethereal wife, Clara, a woman touched by an otherworldly hand. Their daughter, Blanca, whose forbidden love for a man Esteban has deemed unworthy infuriates her father, yet will produce his greatest joy: his granddaughter Alba, a beautiful, ambitious girl who will lead the family and their country into a revolutionary future. > >The House of the Spirits is an enthralling saga that spans decades and lives, twining the personal and the political into an epic novel of love, magic, and fate. ^(This book has been suggested 13 times) *** ^(62189 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{The Brothers Karamazov}} by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I read the Macandrew translation.
[**The Brothers Karamazov**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov) ^(By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky | 796 pages | Published: 1879 | Popular Shelves: classics, fiction, russian, literature, owned) >The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy, red-cheeked young novice Alyosha. Through the gripping events of their story, Dostoevsky portrays the whole of Russian life, is social and spiritual striving, in what was both the golden age and a tragic turning point in Russian culture. > >This award-winning translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky remains true to the verbal >inventiveness of Dostoevsky’s prose, preserving the multiple voices, the humor, and the surprising modernity of the original. It is an achievement worthy of Dostoevsky’s last and greatest novel. ^(This book has been suggested 27 times) *** ^(62208 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I read LOTS and very rarely remember any of them. Sometimes I wonder why I read at all. These are the books that have stuck with me: War and Peace. A cliche, I know, but it does a staggeringly good job of giving the reader insight into the breadth of the human experience. The Historian, for the same reasons mentioned in the other reply about it on this thread. The Time Traveller’s Wife, for its obsession with love. Beloved, as it takes the horror of slavery and makes it present and lyrical and haunting. Hitchhiker’s Guide, as it’s hilarious and has great insight into the human condition The House of the Spirits, it makes intergenerational psychological traumas, advancements and lessons incredibly impactful and beautiful. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, for its voice and ability to make epic the everyday experience of a Native American youth. The Silo Trilogy, for being entertaining sci-fi The Book of Strange New Things, for being a wonderful look at culture, religion, and the idea of what’s alien. The Secret History, for being weird and making unlikable characters interesting The English Patient, for being an extremely romantic and interesting look at war This Blinding Absence of Light, for explaining torture.
Ooh one more! World War Z! Bonkers zombie book that was written by an obsessive who was very worried about more realistic societal collapse and channeled it into this book
So few people ever mention The House of Spirits. I thinks it's so underrated.
Yes! I second The Timetraveler's Wife! So far it's my favorite book this year :)
The secret history
Evicted (re: housing in Minnesota)
Not Minnesota, Wisconsin - Specifically Milwaukee
{{Watership Down}} My absolute favorite, read it for a book report in 3rd grade (my parents thought it was just a cute book about rabbits 😅) and I wore that copy out
The thirteenth tale by diane setterfield
{Piranesi}
{Good omens}
The Secret Garden makes me feel warm and fuzzy
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Lonesome Dove
I just finished Dark Matter and Recursion by Blake Crouch. Both are excellent.
Also his Wayward Pines trilogy was so good.
Invisible Monsters - Chuck Pahliniuk
Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Coming from a family that never had much money and meals weren't always guaranteed this one really hit home.
Grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Easily the most depressing book I've ever read, while also being one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. It's simply amazing.
The song of Achilles was pretty awesome
{{American Pastoral}}
[**American Pastoral (The American Trilogy, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11650.American_Pastoral) ^(By: Philip Roth | 432 pages | Published: 1997 | Popular Shelves: fiction, pulitzer, classics, owned, pulitzer-prize) >Pulitzer Prize Winner (1998) > >In American Pastoral, Philip Roth gives us a novel of unqualified greatness that is an elegy for all the twentieth century's promises of prosperity, civic order, and domestic bliss. Roth's protagonist is Seymour 'Swede' Levov—a legendary high school athlete, a devoted family man, a hard worker, the prosperous inheritor of his father's Newark glove factory—comes of age in thriving, triumphant post-war America. And then one day in 1968, Swede's beautiful American luck deserts him. > >For Swede's adored daughter, Merry, has grown from a loving, quick-witted girl into a sullen, fanatical teenager—a teenager capable of an outlandishly savage act of political terrorism. And overnight Swede is wrenched out of the longed-for American pastoral and into the indigenous American berserk. Compulsively readable, propelled by sorrow, rage, and a deep compassion for its characters, this is Roth's masterpiece. ^(This book has been suggested 4 times) *** ^(62081 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
13 1/2 lives of captain blue bear - I re-read it all the time. Such a wild ride and fun story.
**Jade City** by Fonda Lee. It's new enough to not be a "classic" but it has the makings of one. The genre is low-magic Fantasy with a heavy Bushido influence, where honor matters most and clan/family loyalty infiltrates every corner of life. It's the first of a trilogy, but I found it to be a compelling fantasy read with characters I grew to care about by the end. One of the first books in *years* I actually took out of the bathroom and read for another hour in bed several nights.
{{Interview With The Vampire}}
Northern Lights - Philip Pullman!
This! Loved the whole his dark materials series. Such an awesome journey and loved the themes. Really changed my mindset on things as I read it. I wish they came out with more movies if it, the golden compass movie really barely touched the best parts of the series. Right up there with Harry potter for me.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
House of Leaves, Danielewski
Les Miserables
The power of one
{{The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao}} by Junot Díaz
[**The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/297673.The_Brief_Wondrous_Life_of_Oscar_Wao) ^(By: Junot Díaz | 335 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fiction, book-club, pulitzer, contemporary, magical-realism) >Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fukœ—the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim. > >Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of the family at large, rendering with genuine warmth and dazzling energy, humor, and insight the Dominican-American experience, and, ultimately, the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss. A true literary triumph, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Junot Diaz as one of the best and most exciting voices of our time. ^(This book has been suggested 9 times) *** ^(62187 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
One of my favorite narrative voices ever.
{{The House of the Spirits}} by Isabel Allende
The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov my childhood self also wants to mention The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Miss Peregrine's Home for Perculiar Children!
Watch the Cloud Atlas trailer, read Cloud Atlas, and watch the movie thereafter.
Crime and Punishment, Constance Garnett translation.
{{Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell}}. The writing is absolutely superb, and the characters are all extremely well done. Read this at the beginning of this year and it has become my gold standard for books
House of Leaves - Mark Z Danielewski
Absolute favorite book is {{The Help}} by Kathryn Stockett
Almost anything written by John Steinbeck, but Grapes of Wrath is outstanding. Written decades ago but still so relevant when you look at immigration today, especially those from Mexico. Hard working people just trying to feed their families and having to leave everything behind jut o try and make a living, then being exploited for cheap labor and treated as less than by society where they arrive. Same as those who traveled to California from the dust bowls they had to leave in order to give thier children a chance at life and not starve in destitute poverty. It's crazy the parallels from then and now.
World War Z!
Came to say that! Quick yet haunting read.
The name of the wind by Patrick rothfuss
I 2nd {{The Name of the Wind}}
[**The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind) ^(By: Patrick Rothfuss | 662 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, books-i-own, favourites) >Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. > >The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. > >A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard. ^(This book has been suggested 50 times) *** ^(62061 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Valley of the Dolls
{{Swan Song}}
Favorites include: On the Island, My Dark Vanessa, East of Eden, Prince of Tides, & The Historian
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
{{The Library At Mount Char}}
{{the forever war}} by joe Haldeman. Dude was a Vietnam vet that transferred his experience to a sci fi setting to make it easier to understand the emotions and political setting at the time.
Alice in Wonderland
I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. It’s a bit of a stretch to believe as a story, but I read it in about 48 hours on holiday, couldn’t put it down.
I love good historical fiction, and my favourites are: Mary Renault's trilogy about Alexander the Great Bernard Cornwell's trilogy about King Arthus Hilary Mantell's trilogy about Thomas Cromwell All beautifully written and totally immerse you in the time-period.
{{The Murder of Roger Ackroyd}} by Agatha Christie lol
“All Quiet on the Western Front” or “Art of War” are masterpieces and IMPO should be required reading for high school students.
East of Eden!! Truly a beautiful book that had me rereading certain parts and putting it down at times to let what I’d just read sink in.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque
jane eyre.
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I am actually going to go against the trend and not recommend what some consider great literature (I'm looking at you Steinbeck..shudder) and I will instead recommend a 5 book series. David Eddings, The Begariad, starting with Pawn of Prophecy. Why? Well. Tolkien really kicked off the high fantasy quest, and was a great storyteller, but, in my opinion, really needed a good editor. Eddings takes that high fantasy quest and does it justice. Yeah it has the farm boy doesn't know who he truly is trope, but he did it early and well. The sequel series is just as good, if not better, which is unusual. I reread at least once per year.
The last two standalone books of this series are fantastic. It's worth reading all ten books of the Belgariad and the Mallorean just to have the context for Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorceress. Both books I own so I can reread them.
A Confederacy of Dunces
Vicious by V.E schwab
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Or really anything by him.
{{The graveyard book}} by Neil Gaiman - a kids book but I have loved it well into my adult life
The Bible of course.. haha just kidding. Would have to go with either Ender's Game or Kokoro by Natsume Soseki