h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Mmmm....
"Raising the Stones" by Sheri Tepper
"Guards!Guards" by Terry Pratchett
"The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco
"Down the Line" by Robert Silverberg
to name just a few

Mr God This is Anna.
Best book ever although the maths often took me ages to work out. really go and read it. It's fantastic and not a bible book, more anna than Mr God. Please read it.

Hmm.

"Neuromancer", because most of the sf I'd read up to then wore either sensible tweeds with leather patches on the elbows or a tacky silver suit with shoulder pads. "Neuromancer" wears a leather jacket and a pair of mirrored sunglasses and was a seismic shift in what an sf novel could sound like.

"Mostly Harmless", because the ending startled me so much I put the book down and never picked it up again. I've read the first two books so often I could practically recite them, and I know the next two pretty well, but "Mostly Harmless" was like a slap round the chops. No other book has ever made me feel quite like that.

"Watchmen", by Alan Moore, and "Mort", by Terry Pratchett, for the same reason. They both articulate something I believe strongly... that there is no such thing as fate, destiny, guardian angels, or the triumph of good over evil. There's just people, doing people stuff, some of it not very nice, and not all of making sense.

Alan Moore explains it in what I think is the best sequence in "Watchmen", where Rorshach explains to his prison psychiatrist how he became what he is (i.e. a completely uncompromising vigilante). It's an incredibly powerful scene, which I won't spoil for those who haven't read it.

Pratchett, with admirably economy of expression, sums it up in six words: Death's apprentice (accompanying him on duty) complains that they are taking a life which they shouldn't, that it isn't right. Death's response is a devastating summary: "There's no justice. There's just us."

"Snow Crash", by Neal Stephenson. As big a kick in the eyes as Neuromancer. If you intend reading it, it's probably wise to have at least a skim through "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Julian Jaynes, also a great book.

"Sandman", by Neil Gaiman. There's nothing like it.

"1066 and All That". Read it after first reading "Hitchhikers", and couldn't believe that it was written in 1930.

"Three Men in a Boat", Jerome K Jerome. Still funny.

"Weaveworld", by Clive Barker. Quite simply the easiest book I've ever read. It's difficult to describe the experience. There's something about the prose style which makes reading it seems effortless.

I'd contrast it with, say, Neuromancer, where the narrative style is intentionally obscure - many slang words are used, e.g. "deck", "jack", "matrix", "joeboy", etc., without explanation or glossary, and the reader has to infer the meaning from the context. Of course this is easier in 2002 than it was in 1985, since quite a lot of the concepts from that novel are now everyday words - e.g. "cyberspace".

In "Weaveworld", the narrative style is so transparent you don't notice it. You don't so much read this book as point your eyes at it and let it pour itself into your mind. It's most odd.

"Metamagical Themas", by Douglas R. Hofstadter. A real desert island book, as is "Godel, Escher, Bach", for that matter.

"Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynmann?", makes you wish you'd met the guy.

I could go on... The subject asked for ONE book.

I'd have to go for the complete Hitchhikers Trilogy (sorry to be predictable, and I WOULD say this even if this wasn't the site it is) simply because I keep going back to it, it's still funny, the sheer density of ideas in it is amazing, and I don't think I'll ever get tired of re-reading it.

H.

"The lord of the rings" by Tolkien

Freefall, by William Golding.

The opening paragraph referred to the impossibility of describing the taste of potatoes, which was a sentiment I'd struggled to describe all my life.

Tom Robbins is a genius

Just finished "age of innocence" Fantastic book.

Great work!

Although I'm usually a SF buff, one of my all time favourite books is "Sometimes a great notion" by Ken Kesey. I liked it much better than Cuckoo's nest (which is also good). It's quite long, but if you can get a hold of it, a very good read.

By the way, I can help you out with the authors on the "Books Without Authors Mentioned" list if you like.

H,

I've come accross you twice in as many days! (You responded to me in the Star Trek invention discussion).
Have to agree with your choice of authors. Stephenson is brilliant. (better than Gibson I think, but that's just me.) I loved 'Cryptonomicon'.
Have you read Wilhelmina Baird?

c.

Lord of the rings -JRR Tolkien

Northan Lights trilogy (not really one book) -Phillip pullman

Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy series -The great DNA himself

Any discworld book -Terry Pratchett

I have to agree about Imzadi, it was a great book. I wonder if you've got around to Imzadi 2 with the Worf love interest? I haven't but I'm always on the look out for others opinions.

Neuromancer by William Gibson. Hard to believe the godfather of cyberpunk hasn't had a mention yet!

Possibly you missed post number 203...

H.

D'oh!
Although I didn't get to see the whole thread until I had posted, and Gibson doesn't appear anywhere on the main page yet.

Cetianly one that springs to mind right at the moment is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. The characters and their development is great. Jean ValJean who goes from being a petty thief, hard bitten and self-centred, through a number of stages, into a man who finally risks his life for a complete stranger. From his conversion he has a single minded mission to make up for his past crimes and show himself truly "bought by God".

The simple fight of 'good against evil' is twisted somewhat when the 'good' is a criminal and the 'bad' a policeman only doing his duty. Javert sometimes comes across as cruel is television and movie productions of the story, but here is the book, you can sympathise with a boy raised in the prison system who's only role models were the prison wardens and the church.

In the end, Valjean realises he has no fight with Javert, they are both trying to do the right thing, living in a world that cruel, hard and twisted.

I find the story inspiring, that Valjean coming from poverty and illiteracy, becomes the mayor of a town. It's more than that too, it's about people and how we interelate to make each other lives. What simple remarks or unthinking actions we do today, can affect a persons whole life.

the best book i've read to date has to be the magic cottage by james herbert it has a great twist right in the middle which you just don't expect, my all time favorite author would have to clive barker.

I'd recommend any Simon R. green book - he's great at writing the "tough guy" characters,but his stories are always spot on

I have hated Charles Dickens ever since I was 8 and my school MADE me read Great Expectations. I gave him another chance when I was 10 and read Little Dorritt (I defy anyone to find a book more boring than that one. I never finished it - after reading 150 pages and still not finding plot I gave up). Tried again withOliver Twist. Not too bad. Hard Times... bearable.

I am now half way though David Copperfield and absolutley adoring it. Best book ever. I went from laughing to crying in an instant last night and was so angry with Mr Murdstone that I had to go for a walk to calm down. As ever Dicken's characters tend to be steriotypes but Copperfield is an incredibly beliveable narrator and the characters that he introduces, while often typecast, are very sympathetic. One wants to shake Mr Dick's hand and congatulate him when he proudly presents Miss Betsey with the money he has so painstakingly earned and the Micawbers are fantastic! It is a fantasticly emotive book, give it a try even if you hate Dickens!

Emmi

I think out of all the Dickens, Copperfield has the story, warmth and humor that sometimes can be lacking in some of his other stuff.

Glad someone else liked it!!! I think it also helps that Dickens is much less critical about his own characers in Copperfield than he is in some of his other books and so they get more of a chance to "act".