What book have you read in the past or currently, that was so good you still find yourself thinking about it from time to time?
What book have you read in the past or currently, that was so good you still find yourself thinking about it from time to time?
The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner.
I read it forcibly bcz it was part of our course
@Suad yes!!!!!!! My favorite writer of them all. Benji inside the shadowy mind of this character who walked among those perhaps more troubled than he.
The Grapes of Wrath
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
Zorba the Greek. Any of the classics tbh.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North. I can’t find anything that compares to it. I just finished Lonesome Dove and Leaving Cheyenne and I loved Lonesome Dove but The Narrow Road is still number one in my heart.
American Tragedy by Dreiser
Religio Medici by Sir Thomas Browne.
War and Peace. Resonates forever.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
My cousin Rachel
Grapes of Wrath too,
Listen little man by Reich. This is the one that for some reason strikes to my mind once in a while.
The Book Thief
The Count of Monte Cristo and Don Quixote.
A Man Called Ove
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by E.G. Speare
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield!! Beautifully written. Two authors involved. A bit spooky in parts. In re the ending: it’s a mystery to me still, after three readings! I highly recommend.
@Harriet I read that 12 years ago and loved it! I even bought my own copy I enjoyed it so much. I think I’m overdue for a re-read.
I’m currently reading I Am Ozzy. It’s a fabulous book!
Wuthering Heights and The Grapes of Wrath
The Kite Runner
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Bible, beautifully written and To Kill a Mockingbird.
@Patricia, oh yes, the drowning of Roberta by Clyde….haunting, how someone can be so caught up in loneliness and greed. One of the best books.
@Evelyn You’re my people!
@Patricia agree!!! Great minds…read great books ?
Tolstoy a genius.
@Sean, read all of Daphne DuMaurier, very good book.
Du Maurier is excellent, read most of her work now. Several great reads.
@Sean wonderful command of characters and atmosphere…you can feel that lonely breeze off the moors.
@Evelyn very true , I think Rebecca is an excellent example of both.
Ahhhh the wonderful opening lines to Rebecca, “Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again!!!!!!!” Perfection!!!!!
@Evelyn she’s an amazing writer ?
These is my words. Loved
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
I’m really considering reading this as so many have given it rave reviews. Thanks for the recommendation.
A Little Life.
One of my favorite books, rather obscure, written in 1961 by J.R. Salamanca. I have read this book several times and find the psychology of the characters intriguing. Has anyone else read it, if so your thoughts. Thank you
*** Spoiler Alert *** I have read this book and find the characters haunting. The book is about a Korean War Veteran (Vincent Bruce) who begins work in a mental health hospital. He meets Lilith Arthur, a young woman who experiences schizophrenia. In this book Lilith is portrayed as the archetype “female demon” who seduces Arthur and causes havoc in the mental health hospital. I think of Lilith is a victim of both Arthur and the mental health system of the 1940’s-1950’s. It is a wonderful portrayal of innocence vs. evil…..
@Rebecca thank you soooooo much! At least I have “met” someone who not only has read this wonderful novel but actually “gets” it. The key word you used is haunting. Thank you!!! This book haunted me for years, the book was found in a box of books given to me and I read it in my early twenties, the book was misplaced in a move and I spent some time trying to locate another copy. I finely bought a first edition because Lilith was out of print…finally back in paperback so I bought that also. I have read it several times. Rebecca Bosek have a wondrous weekend! You made my book loving day!!!.?
Thanks! I see that we have both studied psychology. I am a retired psychologist and am very interested in the representations of “madness” of women in the classics. Reading this “genre” has been my hobby since I retired (both literature and poetry). I hope that you also have a fantastic weekend!
@Rebecca just finished reading, this morning Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, what a psychological study! That is why Southern Gothic, William Faulkner is so wonderful….
Little big man.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. I HIGHLY recommend it!
@Lynne I feel the same about Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It’s one of my favorite books of all time now. I HIGHLY recommend it!
Once and Future King.
It isn’t a classic, though in my opinion, it should become one. I don’t know if anyone here is interested in Canadian history, but The Orenda by Joseph Boyden left me speechless. The way he intertwines the three opposing perspectives of the same story- a Jesuit, a young Haundesaune girl, and a Wendat chief- is just so fabulous. It’s historically accurate and shows the true emotions of each of the three sides. Beautifully written, I read it in the span of a week and the only reason it took so long is because I had to take lengthy pauses and really soak up the artful language that I had been reading. Definitely worth the read, and one of the few books that I have ever given the full 5/5 stars.
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth.: A new twist on incest and homosexuality.?
It’s impossible time name just one
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, I don’t know why or how I was drawn to it but it was worth reading.
Lonesome Dove. I miss the characters!
@Missy LOVE Lonesome Dove.
@Evelyn It’s probably my all time favorite.
@Missy a great book, I have read it several times, just doesn’t get old. True test of a great book, missing the characters and wanting to know what they are doing after the book is closed!!!
@Lynne I loved it 10/10
One of my favourite books. The second one to appear in this thread! 10/10. Gus McCrae is one of my favourite male characters.
Lonesome Dove
The books I love are little parts of me I think about them all. 1984 comes to mind a lot lately. My husbands love of nature reminds me of Dicken in a Secret Garden, when I think about being noble in the face of adversity Oliver Twist, when I want freedom and adventure Huck Finn, oh I could go on and on and on. The books I love are pieces of me. I need to go read! Lol
To kill a mockingbird
Weathering heights
Have’t heard of that one.
Anything by Charles Dickens.
Little women always gives me the warm fuzzy feels ?❤
Grapes of wrath- I felt like it literally changed me as a person. Amazing read.
My Cousin Rachel because of its ambiguous ending.
@Crystal I agree about your Grapes of Wrath comments.
David Copperfield. I wish I can find my Agnes…
@Rashiid avoid your Steerforth, give my love to your McCawber.
Shakespeare’s plays, especially Hamlet; Moby-Dick, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (I once woke up after a vivid dream where I had been discussing a bit of dialogue from Huckleberry Finn. It happened to be one that i’d missed on a test on my junior English class–8 or 10 years earlier).
Moby-Dick took a couple days to sink in how awesome it was. By then I’d already passed my copy on! NO!
@Tammy I think it helps to come to it with no preconceptions. I read it for the first time in 6th grade (age 11) after discovering it in my school library. I knew nothing about it whatsoever and was just Ttracted by the cover art.
I had read Treasure Island and Captains Courageous previously, so I was into sea stories at the time.
My mom says she read the Horatio Hornblower series around the same age. I haven’t read them, but I guess they’re also historical naval adventure stories.
Moby-Dick works best for me if I forget about the symbolism and just concentrate on the story and characters. The deeper meaning will percolate in later. That’s why I’ve reread it 6 times.
@Lynne I read it with the desire to read something my mother could never finish. When I did finish it I thought it was well written, but not for me so I gave the copy away.
Two days after I gave it away, I was replaying in my head how awesome Queequeg was and I wanted to re-read the scene with the whale head… and I wanted to re-read that bit where Ishmael’s going on about chowder… and…
It just kept going and I was in no position to get a new copy! ???
A Little Life
A Fine Balance left a lasting impression on me, as did To Kill a Mockingbird, The Road and many others.
Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
Crime and Punishment
I know this much is true, Wally Lamb
This is on my list of top ten favorites.
@Joan, mine too.
A J Finn: The Woman in the Window.
Wise blood by Flannery O Connor
Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.
The Bible as It Was
By Prof James Kugel, PhD
So many….but loved The House of Seven Gables. I live near Salem and visit this historic area often.
Oh so many! Brothers Karamazov, War and Peace, Lord of the Rings, Gone with the Wind, Lonesome Dove. That’s something of s motley crew
I havent read Brothers Karamazov yet. I’ve loooved every other Dostoevsky book I’ve ready though
Les Miserable, Victor Hugo
I love The Brothers Karamazov. The conversations between the brothers is amazing. One is a Monk and one is atheist. Dostoevsky is a genius.
The atheist is an atheist in his mind but not in his soul. This may be my most loved book
@Audrey Author?
@Lynne Dostoevsky
BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown.
Books by Alexandra Stoddard, they stick in my soul over the years, can’t wait to read them again (plus others of hers)
Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents
@Kris
The Grapes of Wrath
Snowfly, by Joesph Heywood
Snowfly has the theme of Moby Dick, the pacing and grace of A River Runs Through It, and the setting of Apocalypse Now.
@Thomas
I agree wholeheartedly, or we can start our own book guild.