favorite book of all time

[Kahuna Burger]

I'm a voracious reader; I'm always reading something.

I've read a lot of great books, but if pressed to name an all-time favorite, I'd probably have to say "Watership Down" by Richard Adams. The (animated) movie is amazing as well; I always get a big lump in my throat and a tear in my eye at the end.

Funny, that was my immidiate response on seeing the thread title. What is it about the bunnies?

"There's a large dog loose in the woods..."

 

[Wombat]

I am a bibliovore.

I read at least a book a week and have done so for years. As such, it would be hard to choose any single book as "best".

The book I have read the most often would be Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the first "real" book I read as a kid and the book I go to ground with when all else screws up. The world may fall apart, but Alice will still be there, sitting by the bank of the river, trying to understand her sister's reading habits and waiting for a rabbit.

Then there is Siddartha, which has the distinction of being the book I have given away the most often in my life. I think I have given that book to something like 15, maybe 18 different people. It is a needful book.

The Lord of the Rings is great, but there were so many other fantasy books before it in my life that paved the way. Ultimately, I think I would have to start with either a collection of Poe short stories or 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea on the sci-fi/fantasy/horror count, then The Three Musketeers and a whole rack full of Arthurian works, especially the works of Chretien de Troyes.

Ah, so many books, such large opthomologist bills...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Lonesome Dove. If you gave Gus and Call swords instead of six guns, it'd be one of the most popular fantasy novels ever. Those who "don't read Westerns" need to make an exception for this one.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Dune.

Either that, or 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Those two books I can still read after already going through them a few hundred times and love every moment of it.

 

[DMH]

You asked book, not novel, so my answer includes three:

Ironically my most favorite novel of all time is by an author whose other work does not impress me much- Earth by David Brin.

My most favorite non-fiction book is the Diversity of Life by Dr. Edward O. Wilson. A look at the problems and some solutions to the environmental disaster that we are causing currently.

My most favorite textbook (yes, I do read some for fun) is Invertebrates by Richard C. Brusca and Gary J. Brusca. Ignoring the game potential (tons of critters), it shows the amazing diversity of animals that most people ignore.

I read the first two 2-3 times a year and the textbook every few weeks.

 

[Richards]

I don't think I could possibly choose one single book out of all of the thousands I have read by now as my all-time, absolute favorite.

I can give you the name of the one author whose entire collected works I would want with me if I ever ended up stranded on a deserted island, though: Jack Vance.

Johnathan

 

[sniffles]

I read a lot, and I re-read a lot, but hands down it's got to be LOTR.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Mmmmm, that's a toughie. The Silmarillion is what pops to mind. Dune's one of my all-time favorites, too.

 

[Dragonblade]

The Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell. There are a couple of sequels but the first book is completely self-contained.

The Sword in the Storm is bar none my single favorite fantasy novel ever.

 

[Silver Moon]

The original Dragonriders of Pern Trilogy by Anne MacAffrey.

For non sci-fi/fantasy it would Illusions by Richard Bach.