Your Fave Novel of All Time

[LadySky]

I am looking for novels I have never read before so how better than to get a poll going!

List 5 books you would take with you to a deserted island~

To get us started~

1. The Wedding by Julie Garwood
2. Megan's Island by Willo Davis Roberts
3. A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
4. Charelston by John Jakes
5. Blue Skies by Catherine Anderson

[lexxusbabe]

No real order:

Jurassic Park
The Godfather
Essential Hemingway
Imajica
Enid Blyton, Complete Works (guilty pleasure)

Oh, and
How to Live on a Desert Island for Dummies :)

[Doktor Sleepless]

Enid Blyton, Complete Works (guilty pleasure)

I loved those when I was a kid. But are we allowed to take complete works, or just single books? Here's my list, not in order:

1) Dune, by Frank Herbert.
2) Job: A Comedy Of Justice, by Robert A. Heinlein.
3) Ringworld, by Larry Niven.
4) A Hugo Award short story collection.
5) A hardcover volume of Paul Levitz Legion Of Super-Heroes archives.

[saturnschild]

And then there where none- Agatha Christie
Ai No Kusabi (1-4)- Rieko Yoshihara

yeah i don't read a lot of novels short attention span.

[Diabolus Lupus]

*goes to bookshelf and tries to figure out her favorites and gives up after five minutes*
Sorry, I read way too much to have only five favs, or to actually narrow it down to five.

1. Dark-Hunter/Dream-Hunter/Were-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
2. Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning
3. Age of Fire series by E.E. Knight
4. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
5. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

[MHaji]

If we have to stick to novels, and I'm going to be stuck on that island a while, I want something that can be read, reread, and re-read again.

5. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky

* Every time I open this book up, I find a new head-game. Not necessarily good for a deserted islander's sanity, but hey, still great.

4. Paradise Lost, John Milton

* Not really a novel, but close enough to count, I hope. This would be for reading aloud to the birds and the dolphins and my girlfriend, Ms. Made-Entirely-of-Coconuts.

3. David Copperfield or The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens

* Because I don't want everything to be gloom and damnation and epicness.

2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

* Not only is it great, it stands re-reading well.

1. Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe

* Sometimes, you want some escapist entertainment to distract you from your struggle for survival.

----

My favorite novel of all time is tough to pin down, but it's either David Copperfield, The Master and Margarita, or Terry Pratchett's Mort - the last being one that I wouldn't re-read, for fear of destroying the nostalgia value.

[Satnslillgrl]

5. Ella Enchanted~Gail Carson Levine (A little childish, but I still love it)
4. Interview With The Vampire~Anne Rice
3. Midnight Predator~Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
2. Dreamcatcher~Stephan King
1. A lick of Frost~Laurell K. Hamilton

[Hippie]

Postemortem

-Patricia Cornwell


It's a murder mystery.. Itsapart of an entire series.. But this one is the best

[Inkidu]

5. Angels and Demons- D. Brown
4. Moby Dick
3. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea J. Vern
2. The Clone Republic- S.L. Kent
1. Clan Cave Bear- M. Crichton

[saberblue]

I'm in a classical mood...so, even though these aren't quite novels, here goes:

Homer's Odyssey - Epic.  In a single word, epic.  The story of a man trying to go home, and undergoing unimaginable toils and trials for the sake of finding his family again.  Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope are three of my staple favorite literary characters.

Hamlet - Hamlet is Hamlet is Hamlet.  One of the finest works ever written on a number of levels.

Macbeth - absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Frankenstein - a wonderful exposition of the adage that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle - the absolute best pieces of Arthurian legend that I've ever read, with the latter also being one of the finest romances, despite its simplicity, that I have ever read.  Classic "fairy tale" material.

[Saku]

Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey
Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey

All the books having to do with the Heralds of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey :)
All books by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
The Incarnations of Immortality Series by Piers Anthony
Xanth Series by Piers Anthony

[Lolli]

Anything by Edgar Allen Poe-- Quite possibly my favorite author of all time. I've read most of his things over and over again, and each time I find myself bringing something new away from it. Even if just a simple emotion from one line, or if I discover a new meaning behind his wording entirely. Love, love, love 'The Raven.'

Southern Vampire Series-- Actually, there's eight of these already, so this is much more then five in and of itself! But I couldn't pick just one out of the series. Charlaine Harris has become a favorite of mine, too.

To Kill A Mocking Bird-- To put it simply; magnificent. Another one that I've read over and over.

Romeo and Juliet-- A timeless classic that always gives me chills when I read it.

Last but certainly not least, my best friend in the entire world writes stories and I couldn't go too long without reading something of hers, even if it's something I've read a thousand times. She thinks it's ridiculous that I mentioned her along with Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, but Shelly's writing is amazing to me and I had to. ;p

[MzNurse]

The Stand-Stephen King
anything written by Sherrilyn Kenyon
anything written by Patricia Cornwell
The Narnia series
anything written by Charles Dickens

[Lolli]

The Stand-Stephen King
anything written by Sherrilyn Kenyon
anything written by Patricia Cornwell
The Narnia series
anything written by Charles Dickens

I saw this and just had to add my random imput- I adore the Dark Hunter novels!
Acheron. -sighs- Need I say more?

[Tatterdemalion]

Just novels and not, say, plays or collections of short stories? Hmm...

Imajica by Clive Barker
Little, Big by John Crowley
The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic

Ask me again on another night, though, and the list might be different. I don't care all that much for ranking, well, anything.

[Rider of Wind]

Rereadable books and my favorites:

1) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (the movie should be burned by how it tarnished this book)
2) Polgara the Sorceress by David Eddings
3) Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques
4) Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind (seriously recommend the entire Sword of Truth series to anyone and everyone, it's that good. Really long though.)
5) Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce

[Mnemaxa]

1: Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
2: The Flinx and Pip series (yes, all of it) by Alan Dean Foster
3: The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, and Friday, by Robert Heinlein
4: Death's Master, Night's Master, Madness' Master (series) by Tanith Lee (Kinkier than anything written nowadays!  Outside of E, of course.)
5: Tales of Known Space, by Larry Niven. 

Yes, there are series, but they make excellent stand alones. ^_^

[Doktor Sleepless]

5: Tales of Known Space, by Larry Niven.

Much love.

[hanyou]

Night by Elie Weisel
beautiful, poetic and powerful biography of a child's experience in internment camps in Nazi Germany.

Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
a haunting novel that inspires and lingers with the reader.

The Stand by Stephen King
i just really do love the way that King plays with religious topics and secular ideas.  The interplay between the two meld seamlessly in this novel.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
King tries his hand at epic writing here, interweaving his worlds and characters through the lands of the gunslinger Roland and his ka-tet.  All of those words King's made up over the decades are finally explained in this series.  However, if I had to choose just one, The Gunslinger, the first novel.

The Oath by Elie Weisel
a beautiful and powerful novel about the importance of trust and desperation among a small, isolated village.

[Rhapsody]

Dealing With Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede.

[tesseractive]

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Fannie Flagg
The Chronicles of Amber series, Roger Zelazny
The Devil's Cub, Georgette Heyer
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon
Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson

[Shiri]

No particular order:

-Blood and Gold by Anne Rice
-Dragon Champion by E. E. Knight
-Taggerung by Brian Jacques
-Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker
-A Matter of Taste by Fred Saberhagen

[Emmaline]

1. Going to second Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule (and the rest of the series)
2. Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
3. Chocolat by Joanne Harris
4. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
5. Kushiel's Darrt by Jacqueline Carey

[Oniya]

Anything by Charles DeLint, but especially Yarrow.
Anything by Andre Norton, but especially the Witch World books.
Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars series.
Anything by Janny Wurtz.
The Ghatti's Tale trilogy by Gayle Greeno.

(No, I don't read many stand-alone books, and I actively stayed away from books that others have already mentioned, many of which are also very good.)

[krisalyx]

ok in no order (1) world war Z (2) the domination of draka) (3) haruhi light novel series (4) code geass light novel series  (5) but unreleased in the us (yet) maria sama ga matera light novel series

[ShamshielDF]

Anything by David Weber (Honor Harrington series, Mutineers Moon series, Bahzell saga and several others) If I had to narrow it down I'd say Storm From the Shadows (it has a CD with most of his other work)
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Complete Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny
The Hollows series by Kim Harrison
The Dune series by Frank Herbert

(for bonus points: Foundation series by Aasimov, Snow Crash/Diamond Age/most of Neal Stephenson's work)

[Corinthi]

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I loathe Orson's politics, but Ender's Game is a fabulous story. Almost painful to read at times.

2. Legend by David Gemmell. The first few chapters are setup, but once those are out of the way, it's pure, gritty fantasy awesome, and when Gemmell kills his characters, you feel it.

3. A Knight of the Word by Terry Brooks. The best novel in the Demons trilogy, the book's almost more about the cost of fighting the good fight than actually fighting. So grim and personal. Modern horror fantasy.

4. Mallory's Oracle by Carrol O'Connor. Kathy Mallory is a sociopath who's entire moral framework is built around considering whether or not the action would have made her deceased adoptive mother cry. She's also the finest detective the NYPD has, so long as you judge by results and not how they're achieved. I /love/ this character.

5. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. My absolute favorite book that's commonly taught in high school lit classes. The Satire is so biting and beautiful.

[Oreo]

I prefer fantasy, scifi, historically correct novels and biographies. I've read almost all of James Michener's works. I loved Sacajawea by Anna L. Waldo. James Alexander Thomas'~ Follow the River had me riveted to my chair. Other authors in my top ten picks, Tolkien, MCcAffrey, Stephen R Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series, Asimov's Foundation, Zelazny~Amber Chronicles, Frank Herbert's Dune, Piers Anthony (for fun). If it's scifi I've probably read it and loved it.

[Darius]

The Terry Goodkind Sword of Truth Series ... especially Faith of the Fallen"

And the Jim Butcher Dresden Files Books.   Best one is Proven Guilty or White Knight

World War Z

The Stand

The Burke Series, by Andrew Vacchs

[Neferus Andolini]

If I was going to a desert island, and bringing 5 books with me, I'd probably bring 5 books I'd never read before. They would also take a long time to read and be rereadable, obviously. So, with those things in mind..

One Thousand and One Nights
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Journey to the West
Winter Margin
Dream of the Red Chamber

I would also prefer to bring along a collection of Rumi, a collection of Hafez, and probably the religious texts of the Jewish, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. But I guess that's cheating. lol

[tesseractive]

Neferus,

Nice choices and rationale.

If you haven't yet had occasion to read it yet, another nice big book that's fun to read is Boccaccio's Decameron, though I suppose it technically isn't a novel.

[somethingblue]

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert
Sex, Drugs, and CoCoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Naked by David Sedaris
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Okay, so only two of those are "novels", but they're the books I'd want!

[grdell]

The Shining by Stephen King
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist (really cool book, and very appropriate for this audience)
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
Anything by Terry Pratchett, but The Fifth Elephant for preference (Everybody loves Vimes, but my fave is Angua)

[Milanthe]

All of Jean Johnson's books
All of Christen Feehan's books
Ok...  This is silly, I'll just list authors:

Jean Johnson
L K Hamilton
Dan Brown
John Grogan (Only one book here, Marley & Me, but if there's a collection of his columns out there I'd love to see them)
Tolkien - Just to see if I can finish any book other than The Hobbit.  ((How many times have I tried to read the LotR series and couldn't read past Legolas going "Balrog, a Balrog has come!"???

If I had to choose just a few books...

The Flame -&
The Mage by Jean Johnson
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown
Marley & Me by John Grogan
My paperback of the whole LotR series just to see if I can get past seeing Legolas as a little iddy bitty hobbit during that scene.  It was meant to be all one whole book anyways.  JR Tolkien. 

If we're going for spiritual enlightenment...

Bible for Dummies
Wicca for Dummies
Koran for Dummies
Buddhism for Dummies
Invisible Pink Unicorn-ism for Dummies (Or Giant Spaghetti Monster-ism for Dummies)

*Looks through book titles listed*  Hm...  I think I have my reading list for the summer.  Some of these look good!

[Inkidu]

Cervantes's Don Quixote. The hands-down funniest novel in existence.

[MzNurse]

The Stand by Stephen King
i just really do love the way that King plays with religious topics and secular ideas.  The interplay between the two meld seamlessly in this novel.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
King tries his hand at epic writing here, interweaving his worlds and characters through the lands of the gunslinger Roland and his ka-tet.  All of those words King's made up over the decades are finally explained in this series.  However, if I had to choose just one, The Gunslinger, the first novel.

Stephen King is my favorite author of all times, mainly because he has the ability to put you right there in the minds of both the good and the bad characters.  Cujo was awesome because you knew exactly what that poor insane dog was thinking, and I absolutely hated the way the movie screwed up the ending. The Stand is my alltime favorite book, and I think I've read the unedited version so often I nearly have it memorized. I also loved the Gunslinger series and would like to be able to affored those so that I could reread them over and over again.