Best book you've ever read?

[november--rain]

Doesn't have to be Stephen King, but then again, his are generally better than anything else :D I think by far (well out of the ones of his I've already read) The Stand is the best. It's just fantastic, my entire family etc are sick of me ranting on about it haha :P One of my favourite non-Stephen King books is Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard. If you haven't read it you should give it a try it's gripping, moving stuff. What's your favourite book ever? Or at the moment? :D

[Thalia the Muse]

It's hard to narrow down a favorite, but right now it's probably Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy" -- a huge, sprawling, funny, sad novel set in India after the partition. Apparently, I'm drawn to writers who tend to run on a bit. :wink2: You just get to know these characters so well, and I love Seth's style.

Favorite King -- I have to go with The Shining because I do love a ghost story, but The Stand is terrific also and it's a toss-up between those two.

[REDRUM617]

My favorite Stephen King book would be The Stand.

My favorite non-Stephen King book would be Angels and Demons.

[Cowboy]

Violence, sex, war, love, romance, plots and twists. The Holy Bible.

[Cowboy]

Wolves of the Calla may be my favorite Sai King book though.

[541pimp]

well im only 17 so i havnt read alot of other authors (i am stuck on SK) i cant seem to want to give up time to read some1 else lol but my fav SK book would have to be PET SEMATARY, although i have not read THE STAND yet evry one seems to love that book

[Kim L.]

It's hard to narrow down a favorite, but right now it's probably Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy" -- a huge, sprawling, funny, sad novel set in India after the partition. Apparently, I'm drawn to writers who tend to run on a bit. :wink2: You just get to know these characters so well, and I love Seth's style.

Favorite King -- I have to go with The Shining because I do love a ghost story, but The Stand is terrific also and it's a toss-up between those two.

I like Vikram Seth, too--have you read "The Golden Gate"? It's in verse and very good, IMO.

[LadyPain]

The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Learned a lot from that book.

Favourite King book? Do I have to pick? Probably IT because I ended up with that creepy crawly feeling around any kind of clown afterwards.

[Srbo]

Crime & Punishment
The Karamasov Brothers - both written by F. M. Dostoyevski.

[IfSoGirl]

favorite non-king, the winter king series by cornwell. i was so dumb to get those from the library and not buy them, but i'll do that soon.
as for king-the stand or bag of bones

[jooba]

Doesn't have to be Stephen King, but then again, his are generally better than anything else :D I think by far (well out of the ones of his I've already read) The Stand is the best. It's just fantastic, my entire family etc are sick of me ranting on about it haha :P One of my favourite non-Stephen King books is Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard. If you haven't read it you should give it a try it's gripping, moving stuff. What's your favourite book ever? Or at the moment? :D

Lol I'm reading The Stand right now... and so far it's the best.

[turtlesong]

non-sk = 100 years of solitude by gabriel garcia marquez

sk = the dark tower (i'm counting all seven as one long magnum opus but if i can't do that it's a tie between wizard and glass and the dark tower)

[november--rain]

well im only 17 so i havnt read alot of other authors (i am stuck on SK) i cant seem to want to give up time to read some1 else lol but my fav SK book would have to be PET SEMATARY, although i have not read THE STAND yet evry one seems to love that book
The Stand is amazing, took me about 2 weeks to read but it was well worth it. It's really hard to put down and I think every member of my family hates me for going on and on about it hehe. The film's good too. And I hear what you're saying about being stuck on SK, most women have a shoe obsession, I have a SK obsession my room is full of his books.

[emjay999]

Non-King: The Chronicles of Narnia, especially Voyage of the Dawn Treader (I love that SK references Narnia from time to time)

King: DT cycle, or the Stand

I guess I have escapism issues. ;)

[Sam Catoe]

Aside from King, I am a science fiction reader. Robert Heinlein, Connie Willis, and Joe Haldeman are some of my favorite authors. I also read Japanese historical books too.

Favorite non-King: (Tie) Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Stranger in A Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Favorite King - The Stand

[The Gooch]

Favourite Non-King is To Kill A Mockingbird
Favourit King is The Stand

[mungojerrie]

my favorite sk is the dark tower.

non sk would have to be watership down, by richard adams

[Thalia the Muse]

Kim, I absolutely loved The Golden Gate! It's so nice to find someone else who's read it!

He won me over completely by putting the author bio and acknowledgements in sonnet form.

[Phantomking]

My favorite book ever is IT.

[Lilies13]

Greatest SK; The Stand
Greatest None Sk; The Lord Of The Rings
Greatest Classic (imo); Tales Of Two Cities

[rjt65]

For Me it is whatever King Book I am currently reading (re-reading). Just read Different season and I love all the short story books.

So ALL SK books (Different seasons may be my favorite)
Learning - S Covey 7 Habits
Spiritual - Awareness Anthony DeMello

Others: Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter

cheers

[KLo]

It is absolutely my favorite King book. There is nothing as beautiful as friendship.

[Joan]

I think "The Stand" is probably also my favorite SK book, although I just finished reading "The Talisman" and really enjoyed it. My other favorite author is Ken Follett and my favorite book by him is "Pillars of the Earth". Excellent reading!

[Wylde06]

My Favorite Non SK book would have to Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon. I think ive read the book 7 or 8 times by now.

Favorite SK book...hard to choose..of the books ive read, they have all be great....i cant choose just 1!

[skimom]

King-The Stand
Other-A Prayer for Owen Meaney (John Irving)
Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)

[black_kn]

Favourite King is IT and the Dark Tower series xD

[killyerdarlings]

Favorite Book of all: Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Favorite King novel: Insomnia

[Sam Catoe]

Some good choices killyerdarlings.

[PsyNerd]

Hands down, The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. I first read it high school but didn't really appreciate it. Upon re-reading it, I find it to be the greatest story ever. The movie was a terrible adaptation; I was disappointed.

[racerspr1]

Best SK -- The Talisman, The Stand
Best other - Watchers, Charlotte's Web, The Once and Future King

[Shinji Mimura]

My favourite book is most likely Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale closely followed by Salem’s Lot. From what I’ve read The Stand seems to be the most popular king book but its length always put me off. I recently picked up an old copy from the charity store and might give it a go in summer break.

[FaithsJock]

Non-King would be Ruffian: Burning from the Start by Jane Schwartz. This is such a beautiful book about the great racehorse, Ruffian.

[Muchacha]

Liseys Story by a country mile!
It doesn't seem to be very popular here, but that book just blew my mind.

Non-SK would pobably be Wuthering Heights.

[bartolo25]

Not an easy question because there are many books I like for different reasons...

Best Stephen King Book: Bag of bones - It shook me for many reasons, mainly because what I fear most is fall in love and lose that person in a traumatic way. All characters are amazing and It made me feel so many and deep emotions... :biggrin2:


Best no-Stephen King Book: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (Paulo Coelho) - It just about what love really is... magic and dreams...

[godgott]

I like Dean Koontz...He's good writer.I like Agatha Christie too.And more more more...

[trashcanman78]

off the top of me head - the scarlet letter, brave new world, rabbit run, etc....but, my favorite SK so far is night shift....

[sinfiniti]

Beach Music by Pat Conroy

[TheHardcase]

Best SK book -- The Stand (Big surprise! It's an all-time favorite 'round these parts.)

Best Non-SK book -- Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester. Manchester's personal memoir of his service in the Marine Corps in the Pacific in WWII rivals anything written by Siegfried Sassoon concerning WWI.

[jflore2]

I love Rose Red, The Shining, and i also love all his books. I am not sure what do to on this site ir even know how to post can someone teach me maybe. Thank you jflore2

[Brian's Twinner]

Frank Peretti's The Visitation rules. :cool2: The Stand likewise.

[saw]

depending on my mood it would be bag of bones or the drawing of the three

best non sk is swan song

[dogdoc]

Best book? No way can I answer that...I read >100 books/year. I will break it down in categories:

Best SK non DT books (in no particular order):
The Stand (nothing new there, huh)
The Talisman
Dreamcatcher-I'm a little suprised noone else has mentioned this.
Insomnia
The Green Mile

DT books:
The gunslinger-best first line EVER
The Drawing of the 3
Wolves of the Calla

Non SK books....where to begin
The Lord of the Rings.....read the whole trilogy in 4 days one summer as a tweener, read again as an adult (took me a lot longer than 4 days)
Cormack McCarthy-Sutree and No Country for Old Men
For humorous novels I turn to Tim Dorsey, Carl Hiassen and Christopher Moore.
Chuck Palahniuk (sp?)-the fight club, Survivor, among others.
Robert Ludlum-the Bourne series.

Classics:
I'm a big fan of Steinbeck-Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday
I LOVE Mark Twain-anything by him.
I loved William Golding-Lord of the Flies
Stephen Crain and The Red Badge of Courage
Jack London and The Call of the Wild.


I guess I didn't do a very good job of narrowing it down, but that is the best I can do-if I could sit down and think about it, I would come up with 250, easily. Suffice it to say that BAM and my local library know me well.

[idak88]

My favourite book by Stephen King is Cell (Signal in Swedish)

My favourite non-Stephen King is Mannen under trappan by Marie Hermanson (the book haven't come out in english but the title are "The man beneath the stairs")

[Quantum Joker]

I generally read novels from the science fiction genre, although I am always partial to scientific publications by Stephen Jay Gould or Richard Dawkins, for instance. My favourite novels would be, at this point, The Gnole (Alan Aldridge); Stories of Your Life and Others (Ted Chiang), Manifold: Space, The Time Ships (both by Stephen Baxter), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury), King Lear and Hedda Gabler (play by Henrik Ibsen).

As of yet I have only read two of King's novels: Cell and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
I found Cell to be an indisputably excellent novel, providing a compelling new interpretation of both post-apocalyptic scenarios and zombie horror. The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon was, as you would expect from King, a skillfully written novel, particularly due to the fact that I seriously cared about Trisha's fate as she struggled through the woods.
I am currently reading Bag of Bones: I'm only about 40 pages into it so far, but I am already very impressed. I look forward to finishing it, and releasing my opinions of it.

[counselor10]

Favorite non-King book would be The Grapes of Wrath. I could not put it down. Steinbeck writes about common people much like the King does. Favorite sai King book is a tossup between the Talisman and Dreamcatcher.

[CorbinKale]

If I had to pick a single best book, it would be 'Starship Troopers' by Heinlein.

Best story is 'The Black Company' chronicles by Glen Cook. It is a series of ten books that spans one continuous tale.

Best SK books are 'The Stand' and 'It'.

[GarratyVStebbins]

I'd say The Long Walk by Stephen King

But other than King.....

Digital Fortress and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara

[Sundrop]

Favorite SK book: The Stand or The Green Mile
Favorite non-SK book: The Tin Can Tree
Favorite Children's Book: Where The Wild Things Are

[cindianajones]

I love so many.

I can't choose one!

I should say definitively " The Holy Bible!"-- but it's mind alteringly slow in the beget begats. I will tell you that it pisses me off mightily when the King James version is altered. I recently attended a funeral that featured a small handout/program. On the back page was the 23rd Psalm. I read it and was sickened. Someone had changed it! Not just the wording but the very meaning of it! I suppose my visceral reaction to the alterations would indicate that the King James Bible is my favorite book-- but I am ashamed to say...my favorite book is probably 'Salem 's Lot.

I don't know what that says about me as a Lutheran.
:eyebrow:
Cindy

[swiftdog01]

Best book i've ever read would probably have to be........

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

[kingofkilling1]

the shining mates.

[arista]

I think it's hard to select one favorite book. I loved The stand, It and Green Mile.

[Shasta]

I have four, each for a different reason:

The Gunslinger
1984
The Great Gatsby
Cathcher in the Rye

[waterlilyjaguar]

Favorite SK book- Duma Key
Favorite non-SK book- mainly the classics:
Madame Bovary- Flaubert
Anna Karanina-Tolstoy
Dickens, Mark Twain, Hardy, William Trevor (short stories)

[racheypen80]

My favorite book is "The Great Divorce" by CS Lewis- it is painfully beautiful.

[ihavepromisestokeep]

King - The Talisman

Non-King - Watership Down

[changeling]

try to get a copy of the talisman and it's sequel - the black house. nothing could be better than these two. by stephen king and peter straub.

[Speedygi81]

Best SK Book: Cujo and The Green Mile share a tie.

Best book overall: American Gods.

[Mistressoftheundead]

FAVORITE SK BOOKS-THE STAND DEF IN A WHOLE WORLD OF ITS OWN. Followed by Night Shift and Skeleton Crew and Everythings Eventual.

non sk books-The Neverending story,Dracula,Wizard of Oz.

[slingshot]

the stand or the chronicles of narnia series by cs lewis (i love all the allegorical referances in them)

[smooth operator]

By SK - The Stand.

Others: The whole Harry Potter series; the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey; Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein; The White Plague (and others) by Frank Herbert.

[Cody44]

Favorite King: the Stand, Duma Key, and the Shining.

Favorite Others: Fahrenheit 451, Odd Thomas, and the Hobbit.

[dkwhite]

Doesn't have to be Stephen King, but then again, his are generally better than anything else :D I think by far (well out of the ones of his I've already read) The Stand is the best. It's just fantastic, my entire family etc are sick of me ranting on about it haha :P One of my favourite non-Stephen King books is Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard. If you haven't read it you should give it a try it's gripping, moving stuff. What's your favourite book ever? Or at the moment? :D

The Dark Tower series, Misery, and some old David Edding's "Sparhawk" adventures.

[RUspongeworthy]

My favorites list is actually varies every few decades. Currently, my two fav non-SK are Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand and The Lovely Bones-Alice Seybold.

Favorite SK - The Talisman and Black House (in that order) followed by The Stand.

[cdark]

Best SK book is Duma Key.
As a sufferer from the type of brain injury that Edgar had, I think it is great that SK can verbalize the type of frustration one gets with a head injury. Then rolling that into everything else that happens is great.
Thanks for the great read!:biggrin2:

[M.O.DENGLER]

I'd give myself a stroke if I had to pick a favourite..

The Stand..Koko (Peter Straub)..and IT do spring to mind quite quickly though..

[joshualoyds29]

I have to say that it's quite a chore to come up with a favorite book when i read over 500 of them a year. I would say that if I get past the first three chapters and am still hung on every word, then my favorite would be the one that I'm reading at the time. If I look at the ones that I have reread over and over, then it would be anything by Elizabeth Haydon, Robert Jordan, Dickens, and Ethan Cook.

Now, as for my favorite Stephen King book. I love the books that he has written since the accident. Don't get me wrong, his early writing gave me chills, bursts of giggles, and belly laughs in all the right places, but since the accident, I think that he learned a new appreciation for life that shows itself in writings like Hearts in Atlantis, A Buick Eight, and those since. My all time fave is the Stand, but the unabridged version that he re-released. Other then that, "On Writing" changed everything I knew about writing. I will always love him for his words in that autobiography. Since then, I have drunk of the waters of life, and I am full. Thanks SK, if you ever read this.

[AVFC-KING]

I could not pick a favourite. Just too hard.
None SK would be The List Of Seven by Mark Frost. Not well known but a damn fine read.

[The Darkening]

Hmm. The book I've read more times than any other book would be Stephen King's The Stand, but then I love so many authors, especially of late. I love fantasy and one of the best books I've read recently has been Keeping It Real by Justina Robson. Great book. But I love the way Doranna Durgin writes too, who is also to be found in the fantasy genre.

It'll take me a while to figure my answer to this question out...

But my favourite character without question, would have to be The Dark Tower's Oy! :)

[BobGray]

Favorite SK book like many others is the stand, the IT followed by the drawing of the three (my fav DT book)

Non SK?

"Spanky" my Christopher Fowler (awesome, awesome book not as rude as title suggests)

"Birdman" mo Hader very dark british crime novel

"Books of blood" Clive barker

"ladies night, off season" Jack Ketchem

anything by Chuck Palniuk (exscuse spelling)

starting to sound like Listmania on Amazon!!!!

[Deavlynn]

Favorite non-King book would be The Grapes of Wrath. I could not put it down. Steinbeck writes about common people much like the King does. Favorite sai King book is a tossup between the Talisman and Dreamcatcher.

You have excellent taste. :)

[Deavlynn]

Non-King: The Chronicles of Narnia, especially Voyage of the Dawn Treader (I love that SK references Narnia from time to time)

King: DT cycle, or the Stand

I guess I have escapism issues. ;)

Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my fav. of the Narnia Chronicles too. I am really really hoping they do a movie of it - I was kinda bummed that they skipped The Horse and His Boy.

[kingofkilling1]

since i'm probably the youngest here i used to read the kid scary books. not scary compared to king though.
fave king-the shining
non-king-ghost camp (lol)

[funwithgoats]

Favourite King - Dolores Claiborne or Pet Semetary
Other faves - I'm an avid fantasy reader so there are many

[Haunted]

Best SK book is Duma Key.
As a sufferer from the type of brain injury that Edgar had, I think it is great that SK can verbalize the type of frustration one gets with a head injury. Then rolling that into everything else that happens is great.
Thanks for the great read!:biggrin2:

Hope you are on the mend. I think it is hard for a reader not to feel Edgar's pain and struggle with him even though we may not have suffered such a horrendous injury. Mr. King's words hit the core in us all.

[deltadog32]

My favorite King book has to be The Stand (Uncut).

My other favorite book, not King, Is "In the Company of Heroes" That is the book written by Michael Durant, the blackhawk pilot who was captured in Somalia. It tells the story as he remembered it. I cried like a child.

[adrianmarley]

Favourite King: Misery
Favourite Other: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

[Nebulosity]

Favorite King book, like others, is The Stand
Favorite Non-king fiction is Song of Ice and Fire series

Favorite non-fiction is (anything by Richard Dawkins)

[Kim L.]

Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my fav. of the Narnia Chronicles too. I am really really hoping they do a movie of it - I was kinda bummed that they skipped The Horse and His Boy.

A movie is indeed in the works.

[Kim L.]

My favorites list is actually varies every few decades. Currently, my two fav non-SK are Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand and The Lovely Bones-Alice Seybold.

Favorite SK - The Talisman and Black House (in that order) followed by The Stand.

I'm impressed you could even finish Atlas Shrugged; I gave up after 2 tries.

[DRusk]

Favorite King would be Duma Key.

Favorite non-King would be 1984 by George Orwell.

[IfSoGirl]

Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my fav. of the Narnia Chronicles too. I am really really hoping they do a movie of it - I was kinda bummed that they skipped The Horse and His Boy.

they haven't skipped it. they're doing it in publishing order not chronilogical, so it may still come up.

[collisionist]

King: Green Mile, Misery, or The Stand

Non-King: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

[Leslie168]

The Lovely Bones-Alice Seybold.
-------

Oh wow! I had forgotten about that one. That book absolutely had me sobbing.

[OhmyGod!]

Stephen King: Dolores Claiborne (I love the story...but also the writing..I cant get enough of the book) Ive got 3 different copies of the book...(the only book I have more than 2 copies of...I have the dutch version, suburb translation btw. the hardcover english and softcover english)

Non Stephen King: The Book Of Violet & Death (het boek van violet en de dood) - Gerard Reve (he was holland's best and most important after-secondworldwar author, in my eyes on of the world's best). Well...it's a piece of art. It makes my laugh..cry and feel worldstrange.

[bopropadop]

King - The Stand

Tolstoy's War and Peace.

[JohnK]

This is a hard question. Every time someone reads a book, it has potential to be the best book they ever read. I can give a top 10, how about that? Here goes:

Steinbeck, "The Grapes of Wrath" "Cannery Row" "East of Eden"
Hemingway, "The Old Man and the Sea"
Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby
Anton Myrer, "Once an Eagle"
Wouk, "The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, War and Rememberance"
Stephen King: "It" "The Dark Tower" series
Edward L. Beach, "Run Silent, Run Deep"
Nordoff, Hall, "Mutiny on the Bounty"
Patrick Obrien, Aubrey, Maturin Novels
Clavell, "Shogun"

I know that they are heavy on the male adventure, but hey, I like them. They only scratch the surface of the thousands of books that I have read. One really good non fiction that comes from my youth is "Dove" by Robin Lee Graham

[hjm]

I have enjoyed books from many authors; Mary Higgins Clark, Clive Cussler, Robert Jordan, Elizabeth Hayden, Anne McCaffrey, Kate Dicamillo, Ian McEwan to name a few but my favorite was Arthur & George by Julian Barnes. This was the first book I ever read by a British author and it was a challenge to read. So I loved it. There were words I had never heard before so a few sticky note pages went into the front cover so I could write words down I did not know. I would then get their definitions later. I also found some of the sentence structures to be different and that made the book even more enjoyable. I know this was a long answer to the question and for all who just like a good story without all the technical stuff, this book has a great story too.

[Theregulator]

The hobbit right through to the return of the king as I was weened on it.
The Dark tower series. I like my stories never to end.

[peppecharmed]

My favorite books include:Tolkien's trilogy (Lord of the Ring) I am legend, Hannibal Lecter, and 99 % of the Stephen King's book :biggrin2:

[gravityultralord]

Just finished World War Z, by Max Brooks.
Two thumbs up!
Can't wait for the movie!

[Christina_Mladenova]

Favourite Stephen King's book - The Dark Tower - all the books, "IT", "The stand"
Non Stephen King's book - Thonrbirds :blush:

[WaysWithWords]

Gotta go with some classics. My favorites are To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men. I also like Great Expectations a lot.

[busy91]

To narrow it down to one or two would be tough.
My fav King book, and fav book is "On Writing"

Aside from that...

Yes I'm going to say it
"Harry Potter"

Yes that's right. LOL!

[bev rage]

A TALE OF TWO CITIES hands (and knitting needles) down!

Favorite King book? HMMMM. I like his short story collections best, but for full length I would go with Misery.

[rmadder1]

My favorite book would Probably be whatever is currently holding my interest, which right now is Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door
My favorite S.K. would be a toss up between Dolores Claiborne and Rose Madder. (loved the depth in his characters felt like i actually knew them)

[Prince of Darkness]

Right now I am about 200 pages into The Stand, and it is so far my favorite and has shot to the top of my list. It is now tied with my other favorite.

Duma Key still remains the best, but I have to give The Stand it's due. :smile2:

[mooschelle]

salems lot. growing up as a kid, loved all those vampire books and movies. this was my favorite

[Sheila Carlyle]

Probably The Stand and Carrie by Stephen King

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel

S.

[LadyHitchhiker]

The Stand is probably in my top ten of books if not number one.

[worddance]

The best King: Hard to choose between Lisey's Story, On Writing and Wizard and Glass. But, of course, I haven't read all of them yet.

Best non-King: That changes over the years, but I guess To Kill a Mockingbird would have to be at the top of the list. Or I could say Pride and Prejudice. Or the Count of Monte Cristo. Or The Great Gatsby. Or Huckleberry Finn. Or...I could go on and on...

Mary

[interplanetjanet]

Usually whatever I'm reading at the moment.

[verses]

tolstoy and dostoevsky for sure.

reading the stand right now and i love it.

maybe pynchon. and of course faulkner. snopes trilogy.

[ihavepromisestokeep]

Mr King - Talisman, closely followed by DTIV.

Non King - Watership Down(Love those rabbits)

Non Fiction - The Bang Bang Club(Look it up, you won't be disappointed)

[blindside]

King: Dark Half
non-King: Monster, by Cody 'monster' Scott or Tatum Brown by Mick Foley..

[bnorman47]

I love all SK books, but my absolute favorite of all-time is Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. Incredible.

[LadyHitchhiker]

Probably The Stand by Sk or Momo by Michael Ende.

[chopsaw]

Loads of good books listed here. My all time favorite book is Underworld by Don Delillo, then Ulysses by Joyce.

Favorite King book?????? The Body. It's a novella, sure, but that book reminded me of my younger self.

[nunuchis_]

HARRY POTTER 7.
And my favorite King`s books are PET CEMETERY and BAG OF BONES

[S_S_D_D]

favorite King book to date: Christine
favorite book by different author: the Sleeping Beauty triology by Ann Rice.

[jalexbrown]

Well, typically whatever I'm reading or just finished reading is somewhere pretty high on the list.

Favorite King book: Duma Key (just finished it; I'd probably pick The Shining though as soon as I get around to finishing it)

Favorite non-King book: Anything by H.P. Lovecraft (I love the style of the writing; I should mention any of the Sherlock Holmes stories/books as close seconds, though)

Favorite literature (as in something you'd likely see in a high school or college English class): Romeo and Juliet or To Kill a Mockingbird (a tie)

[ShadowtheDragon]

Favorite SK: Wizard and Glass or 'Salem's Lot
Favorite Non-SK: The Count of Monte Cristo

[SixPins]

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean Auel
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
IT - Stephen King
The Green Mile - Stephen King

[Damaris]

Favorite Non-King: Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

Favorite King: Pet Sematary (novel), The Shawshank Redemption (novella)

[kingpersnake]

King book : Night Shift
Non-King book : Thomas Harris - The Silence Of The Lambs

[laVeritas]

Well, typically whatever I'm reading or just finished reading is somewhere pretty high on the list.
I agree :)

Favorite King book so far: Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands

Favorite non-King book so far: Cien Años de Soledad (Garcia Marquez)
(100 years of solitude)

Other personal favorites: anything by genious E.A.Poe, anything by Julio Cortazar and Borges, anything Tolkien.

[BlueCeleste]

Favorite non King: The Road (Cormac McCarthy), Imajica (Clive Barker), To Kill A Mockingbird, The Fountain (Ayn Rand), Lord Of The Rings...I'm listing books that I feel has somehow transformed my way of thinking...

Favorite King: The Stand and The Dark Tower Series.

[Laymonking]

For me it is The Stand by the man named Stephen King.
I have read a lot and I mean a lot of books but nothing comes close to The Stand.
In a single word it is a masterpiece.

[Cody44]

Non-King: Fahrenheit 451
King: The Stand or Wizard & Glass

[Speedygi81]

favorite King: Cujo (I don't know why you guys hated it...the characters are so engaging in this one).

favorite non-King: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

[cfin5256]

Very good topic; so many to choose from it's hard to pick an absolute favorite. Some that would defenitely make my top 10 though:

SK: It, The Stand, Pet Semetary
Non Sk: Wheel of Time series(Robert Jordan), Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy(Tad Williams), Fionavar Tapestry trilogy(Guy Gavriel Kay), The Vampire Lestat & Queen of the Damned(Rice), LotR(Tolkien), Harry Potter 5,6, & 7(Rowling)... and already way past a top 10, hard to choose :umm:

[aullori]

king: no question - The Shining

non-king: East of Eden

[Perse Jr.]

So very hard to say. I have no idea what SK book I would declare my "favorite," but I know the "ultimate favorite" would be a SK book either way. I did just finish Lisey's Story, so that is my fav at the moment.

Non-SK books that are favorites are Way of The Peaceful Warrior (Millman), Little Women (Alcott), Dracula (Stoker), The Pickwick Papers (Dickens), Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Dillard)...

There are so many favs...for writing style, for content, for that personal touch...seems almost d

[morefutility]

I have read so many books, I have probably forgotten some really great ones (though I doubt it, the very definition of a good book, in my opinion, is its ability to make a lasting impact). Of note, I have recently read an English translation of The Kindly Ones. This book may aptly considered horror under the guise of historical fiction. One other very excellent book I have read is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. The Zombie Survival Guide is hilarious. Generally, I almost always enjoy a John Irving book. It is wonderful, though slightly disturbing to onlookers, to chuckle out loud when reading. As for books by this site's namesake, I would say that The Stand, Insomnia, Needful Things, Dark Tower Series, and The Talisman all make my top five.

[Countrygirl_sass]

Wizard & Glass, The Talisman, The Gunslinger, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Vittorio The Vampire by Anne Rice....Those are my most favorite books. I have read few, but I still think when many years have passed those will still be my most favorite.

[JRLauer]

I'm not sure if I could pick just one, so I'll give you two.

Rose Madder would be one of them and the other would be Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler.

[Jojo87]

Duma Key by Stephen King
Liseys Story by Stephen King
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
Heart Shape Box by Joe Hill

[Tooley]

My favorite King is The Stand

My favorite non-King is A Confederacy of Dunces

[Benita]

The Stand and Lisey's Storey

[Beaker]

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is my favorite book.

My favorite King is probably Wizards and Glass or The Stand.

[Teddy Duchamp]

Gosh I cant pick just one favourite but these are at the top of my list.

Non SK

Wuthering Heights
Harry Potter (the last four books equally!)
Gone with the Wind


SK

The Stand
The Talisman
Salems Lot

[DelvianBlue]

It's hard to choose. My favorite book varies depending on my mood and what I'm reading at the time. A few of my favorites that come to mind right now are:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Any of James White's Sector General series. I can't choose between them.
The Talisman - Stephen King
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin

[michal]

Stephen King - "Salem's Lot", "Wolves of the Calla" and "It"
None king - "Killing Time" by Dark Van Armen, "watership down" by Richard Adams, "East of Eden" by Steinbeck and My God, I could probably go on forever :smile2:

[Matthew.Degnan]

My fave book ever is On Writing, basically the best thing ever written, ever... ever, and my favorite non-SK book would have to be No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, I'll be getting his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Road, soon!

[Drawn to Ka-tet]

Favorite non King: The Road (Cormac McCarthy), Imajica (Clive Barker), To Kill A Mockingbird, The Fountain (Ayn Rand), Lord Of The Rings...I'm listing books that I feel has somehow transformed my way of thinking...

Favorite King: The Stand and The Dark Tower Series.

Hello Sai.

I'm reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road this week at your recommendation. This book is beautifully understated and unbelieveably heartwrenching.

Thanks for turning me on to it.

Long days and pleasant nights.

[Natjen26]

Misery. I've read it too many times and every time it takes me about a day and a half to finish it. Thank you Stephen for this great novel. :smile2:

[tillyn]

I think up there would have to be IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Copote, he could write, to bad he was screwed up. Also Catcher in the Rye and to Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the flies. I really love the older books, i haven't read a new one that i truly can call the best book i've read, there are a few more but these classics are worth a read.

[makutakyle]

my fave SK book would be IT
my fave non SK books would be the Demonata series by Darren Shan
all hail me!:biggrin2:

[Insomniak]

I would have to say do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Mostly because I'm a BladeRunner film fan but also because there's a manic theme running through it, another one is Running Man-I too dig this I can't remember if I read any of it but everyones seen the thing. I owned it on dvd. So for me it was like, I seen the movie now why did they make the movie from this? Running Man for me is a must read and wether the title will surpass Androids is relative only to myself for Running Man may just be as dark as it gets, the overlooked one. Richard Bachman wrote it, that could be why it's dismissed -Lol

[enbs]

I think I liked "Insomnia" best, not sure why. Loved "Lisey's Story," "Dumas Key," "Bag of Bones," and of course "The Stand."

[pagantallie]

IT or The Stand or maybe 'Salem's Lot - My fave is so hard to choose as SK is the best author i have read....I also enjoy reading Lynda La Plante (namely Widows and The Red Dahlia) and Evelyn Waugh...Vile Bodies is a great book.

[sena]

SK
The dark tower series of course

Of Mice and Men-john steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath-john steinbeck
actually i love all of the books that were written by john steinbeck i have ever read. but these are the best books acording to me.

[Kat9]

Favourite King would have to be The Stand I think, I'd like to be original and say something else (I'm always interested when people have a less well known King as their favourite) but The Stand is just such an outstanding novel in every way and a perfect example of King's ability to bring his characters to life.

Favourite non-King is probably Catch 22, Wuthering Heights, Jude the Obscure or Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I read a lot though so it is so hard to choose!

[bluespider]

Favorite non-King book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. By Stephen i d say The Stand....but still it s hard to decide!

[Charms7]

Call me fickle if you will, but I love the book I'm currently reading the best. Whatever that book happens to be, that's the one I'm loving the best! If you can't be with the book you love, honey, love the book your with! (Maybe that's why my marriage didn't last... hmmm)

[Ranger_Strider]

Steve himself tries really hard to steer you toward some really good books at times. "Shardik" by Richard Adams is a book that stays near the top of my list. I arrived at it after reading "Watership Down" (y'know-the one about bunnies).
'Shardik' is not as well-known but IMO is a much better book, and that is saying quite a bit, if you've read 'Watership Down'. It's one of those stories that immerses you in a well-crafted fictional place and culture, but references common human religious threads as well as politics and philosophy from a skewed angle that sheds a special light.
One might compare it to Frank Herbert's "Dune" set in antiquity instead of the far future.
I think that 'Shardik' is not so well known as it should be because it appears to suffer from a weak premise, so that many CRs would never pick it up. Indeed, when one begins-- so it does seem to be about a giant bear, and that, taken in itself, is pretty weak. But as I say the meat is between the bones in this great book; just as it was with 'Watership...'.

[Nabila]

My favourite is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I read this when I was much much younger and never read it again because it's so looong and the font in my copy is sooo small! But I pick out some favourite chapters once in a while.

My favourite Stephen King, for now, is half Lisey's Story and half Duma Key. It used to be The Tommyknockers.

[Jake Featherston]

Well, here's what I wrote on my Facebook page:

Anything by H.P. Lovecraft, The Sea Wolf, The Iron Heel (both by Jack London), The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Schroedinger's Cat Trilogy, Masks of the Illuminati, Prometheus Rising, The New Inquisition, and Coincidance (all by Dr. Robert Anton Wilson), V.A.L.I.S., The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? (all by Philip K. Dick), The Redneck Manifesto by Jim Goad, The Republic by Plato, Imperium by Francis Parker Yockey, Insomnia by Stephen King (along with most of his other books, to varying degrees), Julian by Gore Vidal

[Sugar Marie]

Like many of you on the MB, I've read a great number of books since I was first able to start making sense of all of those letters...words...sentences...paragraphs...

I've loved many of them, but my best loved book has always been Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and Illustrated by John Tenniel.

[TheHardcase]

Favorite King book is The Stand, hands down -- which is my favorite of all time. Beyond that, William Manchester's Goodbye Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War was simply outstanding.

Both qualify in the absolute masterpiece category. After that, it's an alphabet soup of various authors and books. In no particular order:


Word of Honor -- Nelson DeMille
A Time to Kill -- John Grisham
Watchers -- Dean Koontz
Freedom From Fear -- David Kennedy
Battle Cry of Freedom -- James McPherson
In Cold Blood -- Truman Capote


And that's just a short list.

[liya]

Favorite King bk: The Stand
Favorite non King bk: A Prayer For Owen Meany

[glyde69]

I first read The Stand when I was 13 years old. It blew my mind, I've read it four times since, and for 17 years it was hands down the greatest book I have ever read.

Then by pure chance, I picked up a copy of the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo a couple of months ago. I never thought I would say these words, but I believe I found a new favorite book! Absolutely brilliant.

[lostinla]

My fav book of all times, believe it or not, is Gerald's Game. I could not stop reading that book. I stayed up all night and read it in one sitting. I just had to find out what happened to her. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

[thewordisnineteen]

Fav King? Lisey's Story

Fav Non-King? Ghost Story, by Peter Straub.
Or George Orwell's 1984.

[knghtmare]

Mr King - Talisman, closely followed by DTIV.

Non King - Watership Down(Love those rabbits)

Non Fiction - The Bang Bang Club(Look it up, you won't be disappointed)

Thank You :)

I finally know what that movie was that I watched as a kid, all I could remember was it was about rabbits and they had human characteristics.

[Bryan James]

"Watership Down" really IS hotdamn good. Nice call.

[Immoli]

Favorite King novel would probably be Wizard and Glass.

As for non-King, probably be Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

[Felipe]

My favorite Stephen King book is The Talisman, really awesome, already non-Stephen King is Da Vinci Code, pretty cool too!

[Renzo]

Violence, sex, war, love, romance, plots and twists. The Holy Bible.

This.

[Trueivy]

The five people you meet in heaven, The Body, A map of the world, What Dreams May Come