Flip-A-Thread: Best book you've ever read?

[Capetan Mihali]

Seriously, I think L-F Céline's "Journey to the End of the Night" has got to be my favorite, at least as far as fiction is concerned.

[Josephus]

Foucault's Pendulum

the thinking man's Dan Brown.

[Norgy]

I can see why you made your first pick to begin with: [You're] Not very original. 

Do you know how much an original Kafka would cost?
It's a classic and its theme remains fresh even today.
I've read more entertaining books, but from the impressions it left, it's still the best along with these:

http://www.bokkilden.no/SamboWeb/produkt.do?produktId=131160

Since Bjørneboe isn't well known outside of Norway, I went with Kafka.

[Capetan Mihali]

Probably Kafka's "The Process".

Ah, I think that is more commonly translated at least in the US as "The Trial."  I was kind of bewildered that there was a whole Kafka book I'd never even heard, considering how little he published.  One of my favorites also.

[Malthus]

Some of my favorites:

- Short stories: Ficciones by Borges - surely the greatest short stories ever written

- Invisible Cities by Calvino - dunno who to classify it: fable, series of short stories, poetry? Certainly not for all tastes, but I find it awe-inspiring

- The Master and Margarita by Bugalikov - Satan comes to Stalinist Moscow and finds himself right at home. Hilarious and sad at the same time. 

- The Man Who Was Thursday by Chesterton - dectective novel as religious allegory. Every page is more bizzare than the one before.

- Cloud Atlas by Mitchell. Profound, brilliant.

[The Brain]

Atlas Shrugged. Opened my eyes it did. I carry a copy with me at all times.

[Malthus]

Probably Kafka's "The Process".

Ah, I think that is more commonly translated at least in the US as "The Trial."  I was kind of bewildered that there was a whole Kafka book I'd never even heard, considering how little he published.  One of my favorites also.

My favorite Kafka remains In The Penal Colony. "Be Just ..."

[Drakken]

I've thought about it & It's either LOTR or Les Rois Maudits.

I go with Les Rois Maudits.

The original six volumes, though. The seventh and last was a bore, mostly because all main characters were dead.

It barely has anything to do with the First Six. Shouldn't have been included in the series. Damn Marketing.

You know, think of it, I might add When a Lion Loses France among the worst books ever read.

To me, Les Rois Maudits ends when Robert d'Artois dies of his wounds and the real Jean Ier dies mad and alone in his Siena jail.

[mongers]

If we're restricting this to works of fiction, then I'd have to go with my CV. 

[Norgy]

 

[Slargos]

I can see why you made your first pick to begin with: [You're] Not very original. 

Do you know how much an original Kafka would cost?
It's a classic and its theme remains fresh even today.
I've read more entertaining books, but from the impressions it left, it's still the best along with these:

http://www.bokkilden.no/SamboWeb/produkt.do?produktId=131160

Since Bjørneboe isn't well known outside of Norway, I went with Kafka.

My point, of course, is that it's not a very original choice, just as it's not very original to death-of-a-salesman me. 

[crazy canuck]

If we're restricting this to works of fiction, then I'd have to go with my CV. 

[Admiral Yi]

If we're restricting this to works of fiction, then I'd have to go with my CV. 

My pick is the Aubrey/Maturin series.

[Barrister]

If we're restricting this to works of fiction, then I'd have to go with my CV. 

My pick is the Aubrey/Maturin series.

I dunno - I loved those books, but best ever?

Maturin was a definite Mary Sue character for O'Brien.

[Admiral Yi]

I dunno - I loved those books, but best ever?

Maturin was a definite Mary Sue character for O'Brien.

Best in the sense of what I enjoyed the most, yes.

What's a Mary Sue character?