18. The Once and Future King by TH White
I'm a total sucker for epic fantasy and, even without spanning itself across several books to fully develop its impressive sense of enormity, this is probably the best fantasy-fantasy book I've ever read.
18. The Once and Future King by TH White
I'm a total sucker for epic fantasy and, even without spanning itself across several books to fully develop its impressive sense of enormity, this is probably the best fantasy-fantasy book I've ever read.
17. Kaleidoscope by Ray Bradbury
From one of my favorite sci-fi authors comes one of my favorite sci-fi stories about a group of astronauts that are hurling about space as the result of their malfunctioning vessel. The final moments of this story have stuck with me vividly for years and years.
16. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Witty, alive, educational, exciting. Confession: I still have not read the final two, but most definitely will before I die. These have everything that I want in a book, let alone a kids book(s). Pictured is The Vile Village, which is my favorite entry in the series.
15. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Totally great science-fiction, filled with many great scenes. Great for a nerdy adolescent.
14. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
This is horror. The grotesque imagery compliments this weird twist on coming-of-age tremendously. The insect's final scene is moving beyond belief.
13. The Regulators by Richard Bachman
Totally off-the-wall crazy and maybe nonsensical unless you read it with King's Desperation, but this is the most morbidly colorful fiction I've ever read.
12. Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx
The best biography, auto- or otherwise, I've ever read. Harpo's humanity radiates throughout, his humor as strong with words as it is in pantomime. So many awesome stories about the times, travels, and work of the Marx brothers.
11. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
Sure Slaughterhouse Five may be more ambitious and Cat's Cradle more fantastical, but this is the book where I realized that Vonnegut was more than a high concept artist: the man is after what makes us tick.
10. The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert Heinlein
Talk about horrific conceptual fantasy. The way that Heinlein captures the horror of the inexplicable through such a mundane procedural is a testament not just to his remarkable talent, but to the malleability of narrative form. The last chapter is a Lynch-worthy doozy.
9. The Woody Allen Trilogy Without Feathers, Getting Even, Side Effects
Some of the funniest stuff in print I've ever read, right here, most of it very absurd. I've probably picked these books up more than any other on my shelf. I've read his most recent one as well, but like his films, it's nowhere near as good as his prime work.
8. Hyperion & The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Using the space opera format, set in a far, far future, this pair of novels addresses politics, sexuality, time, religion, war, cognitive evolution, literature, conservationism, and philosophy, just for starters. Does so vividly, with sometimes violently evocative prose. Exciting, conceptually brilliant mindbenders... by God, I love them.
7. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I really wonder how this must read to a child. I read it as an adult and was moved profoundly.
6. Herzog on Herzog
Of the all the filmmaker-specific books I have, this is the one from which I have gleaned the most. It is full of wit and dry humor in the only way Herzog knows how to deliver. Wonderful stories abound.
5. From Hell by Alan Moore
The reason this isn't higher is because of Moore's proclivity towards pontification: time, culture, sex and all that. I love it: it is well-written. But I can't help but be slightly annoyed that he used Jack the Ripper as a post-modern stepping stone to comment on historical contextualization (unlike the aforementioned Simmons diptych, which shows, where Moore frequently tells). Still, this may be best blending of narrative, process, and commentary that I've come across to date.
4. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
My favorite King novel, if only for the uncanny way he is able to explicate varied perspectives. His success as a storyteller and drawer of character here is as expert as any artist's work.
3. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The colors are bright, the narrative finely woven, Rushdie's voice knowing and intelligent and florid. Recently held the position of my favorite book, as I am partial to epic fantasies grounded in reality, as well as stories in which characters operate as proxies for global meaning.
2. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Immense. Immersive. Immaculate. Immeasurable.
1. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Probably my favorite book of all-time. It is full of poignant passages and vibrant tableaux's. Mr. Toad's adventures should serve as an inspiration to us all. Mr. Mole's curiosity, Mr. Rat's friendliness, and Mr. Badger's resourcefulness instruct us with a lightness of touch and lively wit all but gone from children's literature today.
THERE YOU GO EVERYONE! THX FOR READING!
I'll be reading this this year.Quoting Sven (view post)
I don't think I've ever read this one - I'll see if I have it somewhere.
i like the first book, and really enjoy the movie. i translated some chapters of daniel handler's autobiography, and he seems like a really cool guy.
i said it somewhere before, regulators > desperation.
awesome. always looking for another heinlein's to read.
"Over analysis is like the oil of the Match-Cut machine." KK2.0
Jen knew of a professor at her university who had to leave because of a nervous breakdown due to teaching a full course on "Moby Dick".
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
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