I'm a sucker for historic novels and ancient non-fiction such as Plutarch, Ammianus, etc. In general I have a hard time getting through modern novels.

My two favorites that I can think of at the moment are War and Peace and The Sorry Tale. The Sorry Tale was written by Patience Worth, who was supposedly a spirit who communicated that and other works through a Ouija board to a woman in St. Louis around the time of WWI. I can't vouch for the identity of the writer, but the book sure is good and was clearly written by someone who knew what they were doing. In terms of scope and detail I would compare it to War and Peace, which took Tolstoy 12 years to write.

I'll probably post more titles as I think of them.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

A ClockWork Orange .. nuff said

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

My sister told me that was a really good one. Didn't the author kill himself before the book was published?

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

Fiction: Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler

Non-Fiction: The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman

I like that one too.

I am such an F. Scott and Hemmingway fan, my knee jerk answer is usually anything by either one. Truthfully, my favorites change each year. BTW, if you are looking for a good reading list, search the prior best book posts--it is always a good thread, and I have picked up a few suggestions from posters here that were outstanding.

Yes he did. After his suicide his mother found the manuscript among his things. She took it to several publishers who turned her down. She finally found somebody to publish it and it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981.

Easily the funniest book I've ever read. Parts of it had me laughing out loud.

Like John Doe said, more or less. There are some authors and books I'll reread, but not many.

Fiction: Anything by Walker Percy.
I read all of Louis Lamour's books when I was in the Navy and enjoyed them all. I may reread them someday.

Nonfiction: Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John Barry
The Common Stream: Two Thousand Years of the English Village by Rowland Parke

1. The Bible (multiple versions)
2. Jonathon Livingston Seagull
3. The 17th Green
4. The Man in the Tree
5. Flight OF Passage
6. Falling Forward, Tales of an Endurance Saga

etc...

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RM Smith
1988 560SL

"Where is it again that we are going, and why are we in this handbasket"?

A prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

I see no one mentioned "Why I Left the Stage" by John Wilkes Booth; "Revenge of the Tiger" by Claude Baughls; "The Yalu River" by I. P. Phreely;

..sorry, couldn't resist.. now back to our regular programming..

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Nello Tare

1982 300D (266,001 mi.) looking and running great

Previously owned:
1976 450 SLC
1983 300D
1976 300D
also
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (loved, but gone)

Generally speaking, anything by Ernest Hemingway. He is such a beautiful writer.

If I had to choose just one novel, I'd have to say A Farewell to Arms. I've probably read it at least 4 times.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

i have most of hemmingways writing. most i have read at least three times. steinbeck is a close second.

the only recent novel i have read multiple times is primary colors which i think i have read three times.

recent things: killer angels, a great historic novel of the civil war.

david mccollough who wrote 'truman', also has written major books about the building of the panama canal (path between the seas, i think) the building of the brooklin bridge (the great bridge, i think) teddy roosevlelt (in morning on horseback, i think) and john adams. excellent, excellent author.

recent book about ernie pyle. the time between the wars, he traveled around the country and wrote a column about every day for years and years. then did so in ww2 as a correspondant.
great writer, kindof a combination of hemmingway and peter egan.

mostly historic books.

usually have one going or two.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Masters of Chaos.

I'll have to look him up. Peter Egan is my favorite automotive writer. I have a signed copy of his hardcover book Side Glances Vol. 1.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".