Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Greatest book ever. Takes a bit of reading to get into, but when you finish it, you will never think the same way ever again.
A lot of people would say, maybe, the Bible…
my favorite book of all time would have to be pet cemetery by stephen king or anything by beatrice sparks or black pearl publishing
How We are Hungry by Dave Eggers
or else Lord of the Rings
For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison it’s the 5th book in The Hollows series.
For some reason I am tempted to name a textbook I had for a class in college right now. But I won’t.
The Bible.
lord of the rings!
The Bible…and probably Lord of the Rings.
Um…well… aside from the Bible I liked Catch 22 A LOT but don’t read it cause of all the sex. I also like Pride & Prejudice. And other girly books. Whats yours?
In our house it is Goodnight Moon by a long shot. Ask me in a few years when I actually have time to read something that is not a children’s book. Click Clack Mooo. Clickety Clack MOO.
LOTR.
American Psycho.
Other than the bible…Anne of Green Gables Series. *dont laugh at me*
To Kill a Mockingbird.
best written- on the road by jack kerouac
There are far too many great books to call one the best written. My personal favorite though is the unabridged version of The Count Of Monte Cristo.
It depends on how you define “best.”
@Xcholo4u - ooohhh i love the count of monte cristo too!!!!
The unbearable lightness of being – Milan Kundera
the elegant universe – brian greene
The Bible but other than that Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. You have to read the first three though to get it.
The
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica
(Latin: “mathematical principles of natural philosophy” often
After the bible, Orson Scott Card’sEnder’s Game. The whole Ender series is quite good actually, and easy reading at that!
Lord of the rings
Dream of the Red Chamber
For influence? Probably “Fun with Dick and Jane”. My own favourite? “The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett.
“The small boys came early to the hanging…” Brilliant opening line.
I’ve always had a soft spot for “A Tale Of Two Cities”
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Suzanne Somers biography
The Cat in the Hat
I havent read all the books ever written, but of all the books I have read (which is A LOT) I would say its a tie between Clockwork Orange and To kill a mockingbird. Tale of two cities was good. I walked away with something new from all of those books.
Well the bible has grossed the most profits- I think the idea is too broad i can’t choose just one.
@yourmybattery - nice point- to choose properly you would have to read every book and that would take a long time if it’s at all possible. nice book selections too.
The Old Man and the Sea
By E. Hemingway
Catcher in the Rye.
Sidhartha by Herman Hess
I’m sure there are plenty of books that if I read them they would replace this one but I still have not read one that has topped this book in my eyes.
@wolvenchic - After the bible, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. The whole Ender series is quite good actually, and easy reading at that!
Well, Bean’s series was pretty cool. The series that led off with Speakers of the Dead got a bit weird?
Damn, what the hell. I change my mind: Atonement by Ian McEwan.
content or artistic writing ability?
i woud never be able to pick one… the kite runner. lord of the rings. catcher in the rye. i love agatha christie… i read a lot of obscure books that i can never remember but i think they’re good.
Atlas Shrugged By: Ayn Rand
changed my life, but i still haven’t finished it
Green Eggs and Ham; or Ulysses.
Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut and East of Eden by John Steinbeck are two of my personal favorites.
@UnrevealedTruth_xo - I know a lot of people will say the book is boring, but I found the book to be spectacular.
@Shooting_Star20 - I really liked the third book, every which way but dead. I’m going to start a fistful of charms soon. good books. love the characters.
Tell the Children by Dora Apsan Sorell…a book from a holocaust survivor that is the best of any i’ve read.
@LilSweetJew - that was a really good book. i could only read a few chapters at a time before breaking out into tears.
Everybody Poops
The Bible isn’t very well written, but it’s very well redacted, or compiled or whatever you believe. Quit saying the Bible, peeps.
Honestly I think that Moby Dick is the best “written” book. I also felt like The Old Man and The Sea was really powerfully “written”, but apparently I’m just a sucker for fish stories I guess.
@caliangel88006 - The book was better than the movie too. I loved it.
Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael first came to mind, so I have to agree with psybels.
@freezepopxx - God you picked my favorite book- slaugther house five- and Vonnegut’s my favorite author
Certainly the Bible is the best ever.
I’m a big fan of Catcher in the Rye… I’m not sure if I can really answer your question though, it’s definitely one that needs to be thought through more thoroughly
Not many people say this in discussions I have, but Crime and Punishment. I don’t recall ever feeling as full of suspense as I did during the killing/getaway scene.
And the numerous introspective accounts of what is going on in his head.. it’s all amazing.
Sex for Dummies
Atlas Shrugged.
I’ll go with Proverbs…but the others have impact too. And beyond that we’re gonna have to turn to shampoo bottles and grocery store labels. Oh, but I did enjoy “Purpose Driven Life”…and actually read the whole thing!
Unless I take you back to childhood, then hands down, “Monster at the end of the book”. That Grover got me every single time.
Other than the Bible . . .
I’m not sure about best-written, but the best story line and my personal favorite books are the Ghost Rider Series, by Sigmund Brouwer. And they don’t have anything to do with Ghosts; it’s a western series. Historical fiction, I suppose. The main character, Samuel Keaton, is the most amazing character ever.
I’d have to say Frank Peretti books are the best-written. I’ve only read a few of his adult books, so I guess Monster wins.
The diary of Anne Frank, when you imagine that she was only a child.
Moby Dick, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, The Tombs of Atuan (2nd book in the Wizard of Earthsea trilogy) are all books that I read again and again, but LotR ftw.
HMM………..I do believe I have to say the Bible…..
Have a great week ahead
Little Women =] I love that book.
The Lord of the Rings
Hands down.
=]]
NOT TWILIGHT PEOPLE!
Dracula PWNZ Twilight ANY DAY.
Twilight is the cuddlifying of vicious vampires into a teenybopper love story. It just doesn’t work. It’s like Ozzy Osbourne on Blue’s Clues… just doesn’t work… =D
The Bible.
very interesting question and the answers,too. What would you say is your best read book?
Poison Study by Maria V Snyder
It’s a toss up between four of my fav books; Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Circle of Pearls by Rosalind Laker, Persuasion by Jane Austen or The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.
But, I think Persuasion is really, really, really good.
And Gone With The Wind is flawlessly written..the only faults lie in the characters.
Circle of Pearls is an ideal of true love.
And the Scarlet Pimpernel is my fav ever romance novel.
The Bible of course. If we’re talking about something not spiritually breathed, how about Mere Christianity or The Centaur? LOTR falls in there somewhere.
I don’t think you can nail it down to one as authors write differently from each other… so each writing style is different. If you had categories, maybe my answer would be different. But I can’t just pin it down to one book… of ALL the books ever written… that was “written the best.”
And to tell you the truth… I really don’t think the Bible is the best written book… it’s so confusing!
To be cliché…LOTR – all of the books associated with it, including ones I’ve not read. That entire world is pure genius.
For me personally, The Great Gatsby or Atonement or Old School or The Scarlet Letter or The Poisonwood Bible or…
Lots of people say Anna Karenina which is why it is next up on my reading list…
I really liked The Scarlett Letter
@lovestar_14 - i vote persuasion, Jane Austen is a legend. It’s a shame no one talks like her anymore.
The Harry Potter Series.
Probably The Illiad or The Odyssey.
“The Cider House Rules” or “October Sky”, I also love MacBeth but that’s a play, and some shorts by Oscar Wilde could be argued.
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult. I love all her books . But I see that no one mentioned Terry Pratchett. I think he is one of the best writers of all times! His Discworld books are amazing!
The Bible, of course.
parable of the sower
Redemption of Althalus is my favorite book. I think its brilliant
The Bible. Amen.
Fight Club.
or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, except only I’ve never read it
I love (of course) To Kill A Mockingbird. And lately I’m re-discovering the beauty of Steinbeck.
If anyone is interested check out http://www.goodreads.com and check out my book list or start one of your own. A good “book” social networking site. I think Dan should start a list there and then many people would flock there with him. Maybe people would read more books maybe rather than more blog entries.
Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of The Flies…….i guess
Anyone mentioned Harry Potter yet? I’ve gotta say that that’s my favorite. Although I think the Bible must be one of the best too, although I haven’t read it all so I can’t quite vouch.
@wolvenchic - Yessss, gotta love Ender! Though I preferred Ender’s Shadow myself.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Most of the books named here are shit and that makes me sad.
Bible o0f course..
Lotr.. Narnia.. OO and This Present Darkness!
I like “The Selfish Gene,” “The God Delusion,” (Richard Dawkins) and “Natural Curse THEY Don’t Want You To Know About” (Kevin Trudeau).
I can’t stick to one. I just can’t. It’s too bloody difficult.
Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein.
Well, the Bible of course with my favorite books within being Esther, Psalms, Proverbs & Hebrews.
Then I’d have to say Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – she was a literary genius.
And Hadassah: One Night With the King by Tommy Tenney. You guessed it, it’s a historical fiction about Queen Esther. =)
I would have to say the Bible as well. I mean, what’s the point of reading something if you can do nothing with it? How many times have you read a book and when you finished it you just put it down and thought nothing of it? You can’t do that with the Bible. And it has sooo many things in it that are GREAT reads. Etreme hail over a large area of land, dry bones coming to life, earthqukes and so much more. It has something for everyone.
And the author is my best friend. My Savior. My King. My God. Yahweh.
No idea. I can’t pick just one book. It’s too hard! Good question though.
Suppose how you define it really. To Kill a Mockingbird is among my favorites. Other favorites include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the rest of the series by Maya Angelou. By the same token, I also enjoyed Red Dragon but for other reasons entirely. Then one of my most favorite books has no words at all… Zoom.
Anything Francine Rivers writes I consider well written. Especially her “Mark of the Lion” series. And beings I am a Christian, of course The Bible.
Funny, but I read The DaVinci Code once and concidered it one of the most well “written” books I had ever read. Funny, coming from a Christian, I guess, since most Cs hate that book.
The Count of Monte Cristo
the beautiful and the damned – f scott fitzgerald
@TheWireChecker - Isn’t it fantastic? Vonnegut is wonderful.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein, Elder Edda and Younger Edda by my dead distant ancestors and Snorri Sturlsson, and Kalevala by Long Dead Finnish Bards and Elias Lönnrot
Gotta love those ancient pagan epics. Odin can kick the ever-loving snot out of Zeus anyday.
My favorite is Speaker For the Dead by Orson Scott Card… But then again, I’m really just now starting to get back into reading… and my aunt and uncle keep giving me crap books to read. One that they gave me last year was “Pirate Freedom”, a story of a monk in training who travels back in time and becomes a pirate…. and I’m 22. They just don’t want the baby to be grown up I guess.
Foundation by Ayn Rand The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
Really though this question is extremely subjective as people will take different things away from different books. I mean so many people have listed The Bible, and Ender series but I would disagree with both, especially Ender. I have tried to read the Bible but found nothing in it worthwhile, and as much as I like the Ender series I have many problems with it and don’t think I could ever call it the best book ever written.
I’m sorry, but this is a really stupid question.
But personally, I think the best books open our eyes to new ideas and holds a great deal of morals and truth.
So it’d be a tie between Fahrenheit 911, Anthem by Ayn Rand, and 1984. All books warning us of what society could become if we stop thinking and stop questioning.
@LilSweetJew - i didn’t realize they made it into a movie. when was it made?
The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a book I highly recommend… “and in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” favorite line from a book ever
however, I was an English major, so it is impossible to decide. I too love Jane Austen and She’s Come Undone as some other people have stated. Antigone, Prep, A Fine Balance, I could go on and on and on…
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.
atlas shrugged by ayn rand.
adora by bertrice small.
Alice in Wonderland with Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Also, Freshman by Mike Gerber.
I’m so happy to see so many Lord of the Rings fans. This made my day.
@Sirius_Fan_Girl - I LOVED bean’s character! Amazing book, I love the whole enders series <3
@huginn - Well bean’s story is still apart of the ender series, and Ender’s shadow did get kind of weird, but it definately kept me reading! It was really weird reading a book parellel to another!
of mice and men
@Starshine_Faerie - Not a big Twilight fan myself. Read one of the books and couldn’t for the life of me get through the second one. I don’t see what all the hype is about.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
@caliangel88006 - I think 1998. It has been on Lifetime Movie Network every once in a while. I think you can buy it on DVD.
The Bible, of course, but leaving that out of the running, I’m tempted to say Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Maybe I just like big books.
The Bible of course, but also to kill a mockingbird.
Moby Dick.
Other than that, The Lord of the Rings.
Lolita was well written, but just so creepy.
Pilgrim’s Progress, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, World Without End…oh, this could go on and on.
I noticed a lot of people said The Bible, but that’s so far above ordinary books, I didn’t think to count it.
Ditto on “To Kill A Mockingbird”… every one in the free world should read the book, or see the movie, even though it’s very old and in black and white.
Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut.
Personally I think one of the best is ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter :]
the holy bible…
the coldest winter ever
things fall apart
@Xcholo4u – I’m 521 pages into the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo, with the inro by Lorenzo Carcaterra. (The book doesn’t say who the translator is; I assume it is Lorenzo.) It’s been slow going.
I’ve read too many books to say which is the best in the whole world. I like a lot of different books for a lot of different reasons.
I know it’s not a book, but the single best piece of fiction in the English language, Hamlet by Shakespeare.
The Great Gatsby – I love stuff with symbolism.
@psybels - OH MY GOD. As soon as I read the blog that was the first answer that came into my head. That book changed my life. I might be in love with you now.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the best-written book, in my opinion.
I can’t believe only one other person said the Narnia books. I love them and reread them every once in awhile. Maybe I’m in my 2nd childhood?
fantastic question! any Saul Bellow will do for me. no more comparisons between the bible and potter or narnia please…
@choyshinglin - Shortening it to Principia Mathematica is sort of deceiving…considering the title of Russell and Whitehead’s book, don’t you think? Never actually read either though.
Some of my favorites Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and everything I’ve read by Ray Bradbury thus far.
I think I’d have to say The Historian, or The Awakening.
Honorable mention would have to include Persuasion, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
A classic – Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
More recent – Everything Is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
Augusten Burroughs novels are up their as well.
The best book of all time is a difficult question to answer judging as how most of my favorites change the more I read. I’ll try and keep it short, these are the ones that never change.
Gone with the Wind – Margret Mitchell Xenocide – Orson Scott Card Iliad – Homer Antony and Cleopatra – Shakespeare The Wizard of Earthsea – Ursala Le Guin
The enquiry concerning human understanding by David Hume.
@anaraug - That is their opinion.. Just like you have yours.
@Starshine_Faerie - Have you read Twilight? It’s amazing. I know 40 and 50 year old women that LOVE Twilight.
My favorite book is Twilight. I read the book for the first time back in 05 when it first came out, so no I’m not one of those crazed fans that are like “OMGZ TWILIGHT LET’S ROLEPLAY”
But I also love every book by Nicholas Sparks. I even had the pleasure of meeting him. I even got his autograph My favorites by him are A Bend in the Road, The Rescue, and Nights in Rodanthe
Can’t really choose just one, but I’m going to say The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
The People of Paper by Salvador P.
-dude makes El Monte, Ca seem like Narnia. totally magical.
Paradise Lost by John Milton
and for more recent times, The Great Gatsby. such a good book.
@daneger_zone - that’s another excellent book. I never saw the movie though, I wonder if it was any good or not…
it’s the good book, one that few people have read cover-to-cover
Vampire Chronicles
When i First saw the headline i thought of harry potter and the deathly hallows and was extremely surprised to find that everyone else picked either the bible or lord of the rings
@wolvenchic - Totally agree on Ender’s Game. Card has a way of writing where it’s extremely easy to picture the world he creates, especially hard to find in a science-fiction book.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
It’s pretty long, but SO worth it. =]
@bandopoet - I haven’t read Newton’s book either though I know how important the book has once been.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
@LaLaLici0us - Nope. Calling an anthology “well written” is objectively idiotic, as “well written” is not an attribute that anthologies are capable of having. That’s like saying that you like the plot of the dictionary.
It would be different if Dan asked us what our favorite book was, or any other “most” kind of book question, but apparently no one knows the difference.
Not to mention that saying “The Bible” is boring. Tons of people are going to say it no matter what the question is. Shouldn’t one try to think up a more unique answer?
@anaraug - Maybe some people do truly love to read the Bible and love it’s content. I know my boyfriend reads the Bible for fun alot.
@Dare2BDiferentt - Definitely not Twilight! Far out, this world is gonna end with all the Twilight hype happening.
@saiducky - Freshman was a genius book. I lost my copy and I really, really need to read it again. It’s like bloody awesome.
@LaLaLici0us - Wait, exactly how does “truly loving” an anthology change it into a more contiguous format again? I’m very confused.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
The Bible. By God.
@daneger_zone - Ah! A Freshman lover! I lost my copy too, but I found another copy at the public library, and it made my day :]
@anaraug - Why must you be so rude to peoples beliefs? If their favorite book is the Bible, let it be that and leave it alone.
The Bible, of course.
A moveable feast by Ernest Hemingway
@OurUnspokenTrust - he really finds that vulnerable spot too, Im glad to see so many liked the book =)
The Bible
Then Gone with the Wind and Scarlett.
@anaraug - Saying the Bible might be boring, but some would argue that it is actually the best book written. Much of it spans centuries and applies to life now as it did back when it was written. (The pieces of wisdom and parables). Just saying….
TWILIGHT (serious face)
I kid.
I don’t think I’ve read enough books to say, but I understand why people would pick LotR and the Bible. Funny thing about the Bible that my theology prof. pointed out is that it wasn’t actually a book at first, just a library of scrolls.
My favorite book for a while has been the Alchemist. I don’t know if I would go so far as to call it the best written book of all time though.
Crosstown Crush By Jim Nelson
How Green was my valley By Richard Llewyn.
It tells the story of the Morgan family who are working class, respectable mining family of the South Wales valleys, through the eyes of the youngest son, Huw Morgan.
The book reads more like a poem of some ones life to me-
@LaLaLici0us - The question wasn’t asking what your favorite book was. Did you/they read the question? The mind: it boggles.
@SunnyMitsu - Right right, it is a quite amazing book. I guess I typically read all the comments first and try to put something no one else has yet, but that’s just me.
How about a poll: Do “best written book” and “best book written” mean the same thing? Or something different?
One of these:
Metaphysics by Aristotle
The Republic by Plato
Nichomachean Ethics, by Aristotle
Or Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.
@anaraug - It’s pretty much the same thing. It’s everyone’s OPINION…… Do you know what opinion means?
Dear Dan: Fiction or non-fiction? In terms of organization, literary expressiveness or information? As the best all around book, I’ll go with everyone’s favorite: The Bible.
Lord of the Rings.
fuck the bible. it’s more like a guide if you ask me.
alice in wonderland!
@LaLaLici0us – I am utterly confounded. Honestly am I really going to have to do this?
“best written book” means: of all books, the one that is written the best.
“best book written” means: of all books, the one that is the best.
In the second, “written” refers to the fact that all books have to be written onto something. But in the first, which is what Dan actually asked, “written” refers to the way that the book is written. Reading comprehension skills: get them.
The Bible is not capable of being the “best written book” because of its genre. The Bible is an anthology containing within it many other discrete genres. It is in the same category as something like this. Anthologies, by definition, are not “written” at all. They are collected. Even if one believes that God “wrote” The Bible, one still typically believes that God wrote it via the hands of multiple humans — and then God had to inspire the various theologians, church officials, and so on who collected these works into the modern christian canon.
Geddit? The Bible was not written, at all, as a whole. It cannot be the best written book ever; even if it is the best book written. It may very well be the best collected anthology, however. That would be a matter of opinion.
If it is your opinion that The United States of America is the best singer, then your opinion is wrong.
And I’m tired of you assuming things about me: “Maybe some people do truly love to read the Bible and love it’s content.” Do you know what irony is?
My favorite would probably be either The Count of Monte Cristo or The Princess Bride.
@Teradactal_Girl - Whaaat? I’ve read the whole series and I think that Breaking Dawn is by far the absolute worst of them. I feel like the 100 pages after the end of the honeymoon could just totally be cut out and it would’ve made the book vastly better…
This is a tough one to answer, but A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens is pretty hard to top.
@MiladyMasked - I guess I’m just a bad person. I know a lot of people said they didn’t like that one, but to me I kinda like the whole switching of point of view and it was just really intense and crazy. I think I just thought the talking about feathers and broken headboards was funny.
The worst one of the series to me was New Moon. I cried the whole time I read it -_-
How can anyone say the Bible is the greatest book ever written? The story has way too many plot holes, and it is in fact multiple books. A few even have conflicting stories. The most popular, yes. The best? No.
Of Mice and Men
or
Dracula
or
The Killer Angels
NO SUCH THING. : )
I like the Lord of the Rings, To Kill a Mockingbird, and of course… the Bible, but I personally find the book Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) by Thomas Mann to be the single most affecting piece of literature I have ever read. Too bad so many people in this country have never heard of it.
You are a cruel theologian. This question is like a directive telling an American woman (like moi) she may only own/wear one pair of shoes. Just one?!?!?!??!
Of course we are obliged to say the Bible. Are you a trickster?
Now, that that’s out of the way… The Canterbury Tales? A folio of Shakepeare’s plays, perhaps? Possession? Et Tu, Babe? Antigone? Beloved? The poems of the Exeter Book are TIGHT! War and Peace. So many EXCELLENT books, so little time. One’s head swims, of course.
Oh, Most Cru-el Theologian…
Bible of course..
@anaraug - LOL! How do you suppose the Bible came about if no one wrote it? Wow you’re smart!
The Bible To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
@LaLaLici0us - There you go with that putting words in my mouth thing again! Fortunately the original is still there, right above us. You should try reading it a few more times until you’re able to comprehend it without having to make things up.
@anaraug - haha.. Well it was nice arguing with you.. But I’m tired of trying to get through to someone with a hard head..
Comments (227)
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Greatest book ever.
Takes a bit of reading to get into, but when you finish it, you will never think the same way ever again.
A lot of people would say, maybe, the Bible…
my favorite book of all time would have to be pet cemetery by stephen king or anything by beatrice sparks or black pearl publishing
How We are Hungry by Dave Eggers
or else Lord of the Rings
For A Few Demons More by Kim Harrison it’s the 5th book in The Hollows series.
For some reason I am tempted to name a textbook I had for a class in college right now. But I won’t.
The Bible.
lord of the rings!
The Bible…and probably Lord of the Rings.
Um…well… aside from the Bible I liked Catch 22 A LOT but don’t read it cause of all the sex. I also like Pride & Prejudice. And other girly books. Whats yours?
In our house it is Goodnight Moon by a long shot.
Ask me in a few years when I actually have time to read something that is not a children’s book. Click Clack Mooo.
Clickety Clack MOO.
LOTR.
American Psycho.
Other than the bible…Anne of Green Gables Series. *dont laugh at me*
To Kill a Mockingbird.
best written- on the road by jack kerouac
There are far too many great books to call one the best written. My personal favorite though is the unabridged version of The Count Of Monte Cristo.
It depends on how you define “best.”
@Xcholo4u - ooohhh i love the count of monte cristo too!!!!
The unbearable lightness of being – Milan Kundera
the elegant universe – brian greene
The Bible but other than that Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. You have to read the first three though to get it.
The
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica
(Latin: “mathematical principles of natural philosophy” often
Principia
or
Principia Mathematica
for short) is a three-volume work by Isaac Newton published on July 5, 1687.
[
After the bible, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. The whole Ender series is quite good actually, and easy reading at that!
Lord of the rings
Dream of the Red Chamber
For influence? Probably “Fun with Dick and Jane”. My own favourite? “The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett.
“The small boys came early to the hanging…” Brilliant opening line.
I’ve always had a soft spot for “A Tale Of Two Cities”
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Suzanne Somers biography
The Cat in the Hat
I havent read all the books ever written, but of all the books I have read (which is A LOT) I would say its a tie between Clockwork Orange and To kill a mockingbird. Tale of two cities was good. I walked away with something new from all of those books.
Well the bible has grossed the most profits- I think the idea is too broad i can’t choose just one.
@choyshinglin - ”Principia Mathematica “
Bravo. Excellent choice.
@yourmybattery - nice point- to choose properly you would have to read every book and that would take a long time if it’s at all possible. nice book selections too.
The Old Man and the Sea
By E. Hemingway
Catcher in the Rye.
Sidhartha by Herman Hess
I’m sure there are plenty of books that if I read them they would replace this one but I still have not read one that has topped this book in my eyes.
@huginn - That’s one of my favorites.
The Pact by Jodi Picoult!
LORD OF THE RINGS and Harry Potter
@wolvenchic - After the bible, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. The whole Ender series is quite good actually, and easy reading at that!
Well, Bean’s series was pretty cool. The series that led off with Speakers of the Dead got a bit weird?
Damn, what the hell. I change my mind: Atonement by Ian McEwan.
content or artistic writing ability?
i woud never be able to pick one… the kite runner. lord of the rings. catcher in the rye. i love agatha christie… i read a lot of obscure books that i can never remember but i think they’re good.
Atlas Shrugged
By: Ayn Rand
changed my life, but i still haven’t finished it
Green Eggs and Ham; or Ulysses.
Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut and East of Eden by John Steinbeck are two of my personal favorites.
@UnrevealedTruth_xo - I know a lot of people will say the book is boring, but I found the book to be spectacular.
@YourOuterCritic - hah! Good combo.
@Shooting_Star20 - I really liked the third book, every which way but dead. I’m going to start a fistful of charms soon. good books. love the characters.
Tell the Children by Dora Apsan Sorell…a book from a holocaust survivor that is the best of any i’ve read.
@LilSweetJew - that was a really good book. i could only read a few chapters at a time before breaking out into tears.
Everybody Poops
The Bible isn’t very well written, but it’s very well redacted, or compiled or whatever you believe. Quit saying the Bible, peeps.
Honestly I think that Moby Dick is the best “written” book. I also felt like The Old Man and The Sea was really powerfully “written”, but apparently I’m just a sucker for fish stories I guess.
@caliangel88006 - The book was better than the movie too. I loved it.
Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael first came to mind, so I have to agree with psybels.
@freezepopxx - God you picked my favorite book- slaugther house five- and Vonnegut’s my favorite author
Certainly the Bible is the best ever.
I’m a big fan of Catcher in the Rye… I’m not sure if I can really answer your question though, it’s definitely one that needs to be thought through more thoroughly
Not many people say this in discussions I have, but Crime and Punishment. I don’t recall ever feeling as full of suspense as I did during the killing/getaway scene.
And the numerous introspective accounts of what is going on in his head.. it’s all amazing.
Sex for Dummies
Atlas Shrugged.
I’ll go with Proverbs…but the others have impact too. And beyond that we’re gonna have to turn to shampoo bottles and grocery store labels. Oh, but I did enjoy “Purpose Driven Life”…and actually read the whole thing!
Unless I take you back to childhood, then hands down, “Monster at the end of the book”. That Grover got me every single time.
Other than the Bible . . .
I’m not sure about best-written, but the best story line and my personal favorite books are the Ghost Rider Series, by Sigmund Brouwer. And they don’t have anything to do with Ghosts; it’s a western series. Historical fiction, I suppose. The main character, Samuel Keaton, is the most amazing character ever.
I’d have to say Frank Peretti books are the best-written. I’ve only read a few of his adult books, so I guess Monster wins.
The diary of Anne Frank, when you imagine that she was only a child.
The Bible.
Not Twilight.
@anaraug -
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
@wolvenchic - OMG!! I completely agree with you.
Ender’s Game is definitely the best book ever.
Moby Dick, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, The Tombs of Atuan (2nd book in the Wizard of Earthsea trilogy) are all books that I read again and again, but LotR ftw.
HMM………..I do believe I have to say the Bible…..
Have a great week ahead
Little Women =]
I love that book.
The Lord of the Rings
Hands down.
=]]
NOT TWILIGHT PEOPLE!
Dracula PWNZ Twilight ANY DAY.
Twilight is the cuddlifying of vicious vampires into a teenybopper love story. It just doesn’t work. It’s like Ozzy Osbourne on Blue’s Clues… just doesn’t work…
=D
The Bible.
very interesting question and the answers,too. What would you say is your best read book?
Poison Study by Maria V Snyder
It’s a toss up between four of my fav books; Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Circle of Pearls by Rosalind Laker, Persuasion by Jane Austen or The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy.
But, I think Persuasion is really, really, really good.
And Gone With The Wind is flawlessly written..the only faults lie in the characters.
Circle of Pearls is an ideal of true love.
And the Scarlet Pimpernel is my fav ever romance novel.
The Bible of course.
If we’re talking about something not spiritually breathed, how about Mere Christianity or The Centaur? LOTR falls in there somewhere.
I don’t think you can nail it down to one as authors write differently from each other… so each writing style is different. If you had categories, maybe my answer would be different. But I can’t just pin it down to one book… of ALL the books ever written… that was “written the best.”
And to tell you the truth… I really don’t think the Bible is the best written book… it’s so confusing!
To be cliché…LOTR – all of the books associated with it, including ones I’ve not read. That entire world is pure genius.
For me personally, The Great Gatsby or Atonement or Old School or The Scarlet Letter or The Poisonwood Bible or…
Lots of people say Anna Karenina which is why it is next up on my reading list…
I really liked The Scarlett Letter
@lovestar_14 - i vote persuasion, Jane Austen is a legend. It’s a shame no one talks like her anymore.
The Harry Potter Series.
Probably The Illiad or The Odyssey.
“The Cider House Rules” or “October Sky”, I also love MacBeth but that’s a play, and some shorts by Oscar Wilde could be argued.
@captain_jaq - Oh yes, that are good choices!
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult. I love all her books . But I see that no one mentioned Terry Pratchett. I think he is one of the best writers of all times! His Discworld books are amazing!
The Bible, of course.
parable of the sower
Redemption of Althalus is my favorite book. I think its brilliant
The Bible. Amen.
Fight Club.
or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, except only I’ve never read it
I love (of course) To Kill A Mockingbird. And lately I’m re-discovering the beauty of Steinbeck.
Ender’s Game.
@TakingxOverxMe - yay! American Psycho is really good!
the Bible
The Bible and after that Dostoevsky’s The Idiot.
If anyone is interested check out http://www.goodreads.com and check out my book list or start one of your own. A good “book” social networking site.
I think Dan should start a list there and then many people would flock there with him. Maybe people would read more books maybe rather than more blog entries.
Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of The Flies…….i guess
Anyone mentioned Harry Potter yet? I’ve gotta say that that’s my favorite.
Although I think the Bible must be one of the best too, although I haven’t read it all so I can’t quite vouch.
@wolvenchic - Yessss, gotta love Ender! Though I preferred Ender’s Shadow myself.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Most of the books named here are shit and that makes me sad.
Bible o0f course..
Lotr.. Narnia.. OO and This Present Darkness!
I like “The Selfish Gene,” “The God Delusion,” (Richard Dawkins) and “Natural Curse THEY Don’t Want You To Know About” (Kevin Trudeau).
I can’t stick to one. I just can’t. It’s too bloody difficult.
Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein.
Well, the Bible of course with my favorite books within being Esther, Psalms, Proverbs & Hebrews.
Then I’d have to say Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – she was a literary genius.
And Hadassah: One Night With the King by Tommy Tenney. You guessed it, it’s a historical fiction about Queen Esther. =)
I would have to say the Bible as well. I mean, what’s the point of reading something if you can do nothing with it? How many times have you read a book and when you finished it you just put it down and thought nothing of it? You can’t do that with the Bible. And it has sooo many things in it that are GREAT reads. Etreme hail over a large area of land, dry bones coming to life, earthqukes and so much more. It has something for everyone.
And the author is my best friend. My Savior. My King. My God. Yahweh.
No idea. I can’t pick just one book. It’s too hard! Good question though.
Suppose how you define it really. To Kill a Mockingbird is among my favorites. Other favorites include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the rest of the series by Maya Angelou. By the same token, I also enjoyed Red Dragon but for other reasons entirely. Then one of my most favorite books has no words at all… Zoom.
Anything Francine Rivers writes I consider well written. Especially her “Mark of the Lion” series. And beings I am a Christian, of course The Bible.
Funny, but I read The DaVinci Code once and concidered it one of the most well “written” books I had ever read. Funny, coming from a Christian, I guess, since most Cs hate that book.
The Count of Monte Cristo
the beautiful and the damned – f scott fitzgerald
@TheWireChecker - Isn’t it fantastic? Vonnegut is wonderful.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn,
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein,
Elder Edda and Younger Edda by my dead distant ancestors and Snorri Sturlsson,
and
Kalevala by Long Dead Finnish Bards and Elias Lönnrot
Gotta love those ancient pagan epics. Odin can kick the ever-loving snot out of Zeus anyday.
My favorite is Speaker For the Dead by Orson Scott Card… But then again, I’m really just now starting to get back into reading… and my aunt and uncle keep giving me crap books to read. One that they gave me last year was “Pirate Freedom”, a story of a monk in training who travels back in time and becomes a pirate…. and I’m 22. They just don’t want the baby to be grown up I guess.
Foundation by Ayn Rand
The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
Really though this question is extremely subjective as people will take different things away from different books. I mean so many people have listed The Bible, and Ender series but I would disagree with both, especially Ender. I have tried to read the Bible but found nothing in it worthwhile, and as much as I like the Ender series I have many problems with it and don’t think I could ever call it the best book ever written.
I’m sorry, but this is a really stupid question.
But personally, I think the best books open our eyes to new ideas and holds a great deal of morals and truth.
So it’d be a tie between Fahrenheit 911, Anthem by Ayn Rand, and 1984. All books warning us of what society could become if we stop thinking and stop questioning.
@LilSweetJew - i didn’t realize they made it into a movie. when was it made?
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
@freezepopxx - yes he was.
The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a book I highly recommend… “and in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” favorite line from a book ever
however, I was an English major, so it is impossible to decide. I too love Jane Austen and She’s Come Undone as some other people have stated. Antigone, Prep, A Fine Balance, I could go on and on and on…
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.
atlas shrugged by ayn rand.
adora by bertrice small.
Alice in Wonderland with Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Also, Freshman by Mike Gerber.
I’m so happy to see so many Lord of the Rings fans. This made my day.
But I vote The Hobbit.
Definetly NOT the bible…
Howl by Allen Ginsberg.
All the potter books -
@catherine_constantlyblogging - =D Im glad you know good reading!
@Sirius_Fan_Girl - I LOVED bean’s character! Amazing book, I love the whole enders series <3
@huginn - Well bean’s story is still apart of the ender series, and Ender’s shadow did get kind of weird, but it definately kept me reading! It was really weird reading a book parellel to another!
of mice and men
@Starshine_Faerie - Not a big Twilight fan myself. Read one of the books and couldn’t for the life of me get through the second one. I don’t see what all the hype is about.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
@caliangel88006 - I think 1998. It has been on Lifetime Movie Network every once in a while. I think you can buy it on DVD.
The Bible, of course, but leaving that out of the running, I’m tempted to say Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Maybe I just like big books.
The Bible of course, but also to kill a mockingbird.
Moby Dick.
Other than that, The Lord of the Rings.
Lolita was well written, but just so creepy.
Pilgrim’s Progress, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, World Without End…oh, this could go on and on.
I noticed a lot of people said The Bible, but that’s so far above ordinary books, I didn’t think to count it.
Ditto on “To Kill A Mockingbird”… every one in the free world should read the book, or see the movie, even though it’s very old and in black and white.
Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut.
Personally I think one of the best is ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter :]
the holy bible…
the coldest winter ever
things fall apart
@Xcholo4u – I’m 521 pages into the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo, with the inro by Lorenzo Carcaterra. (The book doesn’t say who the translator is; I assume it is Lorenzo.) It’s been slow going.
I’ve read too many books to say which is the best in the whole world. I like a lot of different books for a lot of different reasons.
I know it’s not a book, but the single best piece of fiction in the English language, Hamlet by Shakespeare.
The Great Gatsby – I love stuff with symbolism.
@psybels - OH MY GOD. As soon as I read the blog that was the first answer that came into my head. That book changed my life. I might be in love with you now.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the best-written book, in my opinion.
I can’t believe only one other person said the Narnia books. I love them and reread them every once in awhile. Maybe I’m in my 2nd childhood?
fantastic question! any Saul Bellow will do for me. no more comparisons between the bible and potter or narnia please…
@choyshinglin - Shortening it to Principia Mathematica is sort of deceiving…considering the title of Russell and Whitehead’s book, don’t you think? Never actually read either though.
Some of my favorites Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and everything I’ve read by Ray Bradbury thus far.
I think I’d have to say The Historian, or The Awakening.
Honorable mention would have to include Persuasion, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
A classic – Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
More recent – Everything Is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
Augusten Burroughs novels are up their as well.
The best book of all time is a difficult question to answer judging as how most of my favorites change the more I read. I’ll try and keep it short, these are the ones that never change.
Gone with the Wind – Margret Mitchell
Xenocide – Orson Scott Card
Iliad – Homer
Antony and Cleopatra – Shakespeare
The Wizard of Earthsea – Ursala Le Guin
The enquiry concerning human understanding by David Hume.
@anaraug - That is their opinion.. Just like you have yours.
@Starshine_Faerie - Have you read Twilight? It’s amazing. I know 40 and 50 year old women that LOVE Twilight.
My favorite book is Twilight.
I read the book for the first time back in 05 when it first came out, so no I’m not one of those crazed fans that are like “OMGZ TWILIGHT LET’S ROLEPLAY”
But I also love every book by Nicholas Sparks. I even had the pleasure of meeting him. I even got his autograph
My favorites by him are A Bend in the Road, The Rescue, and Nights in Rodanthe
Can’t really choose just one, but I’m going to say The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.
The People of Paper by Salvador P.
-dude makes El Monte, Ca seem like Narnia. totally magical.
Paradise Lost by John Milton
and for more recent times, The Great Gatsby. such a good book.
@daneger_zone - that’s another excellent book.
I never saw the movie though, I wonder if it was any good or not…
it’s the good book, one that few people have read cover-to-cover
Vampire Chronicles
When i First saw the headline i thought of harry potter and the deathly hallows and was extremely surprised to find that everyone else picked either the bible or lord of the rings
@wolvenchic - Totally agree on Ender’s Game. Card has a way of writing where it’s extremely easy to picture the world he creates, especially hard to find in a science-fiction book.
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
It’s pretty long, but SO worth it. =]
@bandopoet - I haven’t read Newton’s book either though I know how important the book has once been.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
@LaLaLici0us - Nope. Calling an anthology “well written” is objectively idiotic, as “well written” is not an attribute that anthologies are capable of having. That’s like saying that you like the plot of the dictionary.
It would be different if Dan asked us what our favorite book was, or any other “most” kind of book question, but apparently no one knows the difference.
Not to mention that saying “The Bible” is boring. Tons of people are going to say it no matter what the question is. Shouldn’t one try to think up a more unique answer?
@anaraug - Maybe some people do truly love to read the Bible and love it’s content. I know my boyfriend reads the Bible for fun alot.
@Dare2BDiferentt - Definitely not Twilight! Far out, this world is gonna end with all the Twilight hype happening.
@saiducky - Freshman was a genius book. I lost my copy and I really, really need to read it again. It’s like bloody awesome.
@LaLaLici0us - Wait, exactly how does “truly loving” an anthology change it into a more contiguous format again? I’m very confused.
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
The Bible. By God.
@daneger_zone - Ah! A Freshman lover! I lost my copy too, but I found another copy at the public library, and it made my day :]
@anaraug - Why must you be so rude to peoples beliefs? If their favorite book is the Bible, let it be that and leave it alone.
The Bible, of course.
A moveable feast by Ernest Hemingway
@OurUnspokenTrust - he really finds that vulnerable spot too, Im glad to see so many liked the book =)
The Bible
Then Gone with the Wind and Scarlett.
@anaraug - Saying the Bible might be boring, but some would argue that it is actually the best book written. Much of it spans centuries and applies to life now as it did back when it was written. (The pieces of wisdom and parables). Just saying….
TWILIGHT (serious face)
I kid.
I don’t think I’ve read enough books to say, but I understand why people would pick LotR and the Bible. Funny thing about the Bible that my theology prof. pointed out is that it wasn’t actually a book at first, just a library of scrolls.
My favorite book for a while has been the Alchemist. I don’t know if I would go so far as to call it the best written book of all time though.
Crosstown Crush By Jim Nelson
How Green was my valley By Richard Llewyn.
It tells the story of the Morgan family who are working class, respectable mining family of the South Wales valleys, through the eyes of the youngest son, Huw Morgan.
The book reads more like a poem of some ones life to me-
@beautiful___nightmare - LOL
you get a high 5 and much love!
@LtSpanky - WORDD!! The movie was AWESOME!!
@anaraug - LOL@ the plot of the dictionary.. good god im going to laugh on that for days!!
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut is my personal favorite.
catcher in the rye, a thousand splendid suns, and the perks of being a wallflower.
Also water for elephants, the heart’s a lonely hunter, and atlas shrugged.
@little_greenleaf - The Alchemist is amazing.
@LaLaLici0us - The question wasn’t asking what your favorite book was. Did you/they read the question? The mind: it boggles.
@SunnyMitsu - Right right, it is a quite amazing book. I guess I typically read all the comments first and try to put something no one else has yet, but that’s just me.
How about a poll: Do “best written book” and “best book written” mean the same thing? Or something different?
One of these:
Metaphysics by Aristotle
The Republic by Plato
Nichomachean Ethics, by Aristotle
Or Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.
@anaraug - It’s pretty much the same thing. It’s everyone’s OPINION…… Do you know what opinion means?
Dear Dan: Fiction or non-fiction? In terms of organization, literary expressiveness or information? As the best all around book, I’ll go with everyone’s favorite: The Bible.
Lord of the Rings.
fuck the bible. it’s more like a guide if you ask me.
alice in wonderland!
@LaLaLici0us – I am utterly confounded. Honestly am I really going to have to do this?
“best written book” means: of all books, the one that is written the best.
“best book written” means: of all books, the one that is the best.
In the second, “written” refers to the fact that all books have to be written onto something. But in the first, which is what Dan actually asked, “written” refers to the way that the book is written. Reading comprehension skills: get them.
The Bible is not capable of being the “best written book” because of its genre. The Bible is an anthology containing within it many other discrete genres. It is in the same category as something like this. Anthologies, by definition, are not “written” at all. They are collected. Even if one believes that God “wrote” The Bible, one still typically believes that God wrote it via the hands of multiple humans — and then God had to inspire the various theologians, church officials, and so on who collected these works into the modern christian canon.
Geddit? The Bible was not written, at all, as a whole. It cannot be the best written book ever; even if it is the best book written. It may very well be the best collected anthology, however. That would be a matter of opinion.
If it is your opinion that The United States of America is the best singer, then your opinion is wrong.
And I’m tired of you assuming things about me: “Maybe some people do truly love to read the Bible and love it’s content.” Do you know what irony is?
My favorite would probably be either The Count of Monte Cristo or The Princess Bride.
@Teradactal_Girl - Whaaat? I’ve read the whole series and I think that Breaking Dawn is by far the absolute worst of them. I feel like the 100 pages after the end of the honeymoon could just totally be cut out and it would’ve made the book vastly better…
This is a tough one to answer, but A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens is pretty hard to top.
@MiladyMasked - I guess I’m just a bad person. I know a lot of people said they didn’t like that one, but to me I kinda like the whole switching of point of view and it was just really intense and crazy. I think I just thought the talking about feathers and broken headboards was funny.
The worst one of the series to me was New Moon. I cried the whole time I read it -_-
How can anyone say the Bible is the greatest book ever written?
The story has way too many plot holes, and it is in fact multiple books. A few even have conflicting stories.
The most popular, yes.
The best? No.
Of Mice and Men
or
Dracula
or
The Killer Angels
NO SUCH THING. : )
I like the Lord of the Rings, To Kill a Mockingbird, and of course… the Bible, but I personally find the book Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) by Thomas Mann to be the single most affecting piece of literature I have ever read. Too bad so many people in this country have never heard of it.
You are a cruel theologian. This question is like a directive telling an American woman (like moi) she may only own/wear one pair of shoes. Just one?!?!?!??!
Of course we are obliged to say the Bible. Are you a trickster?
Now, that that’s out of the way… The Canterbury Tales? A folio of Shakepeare’s plays, perhaps? Possession? Et Tu, Babe? Antigone? Beloved? The poems of the Exeter Book are TIGHT! War and Peace. So many EXCELLENT books, so little time. One’s head swims, of course.
Oh, Most Cru-el Theologian…
Bible of course..
@anaraug - LOL! How do you suppose the Bible came about if no one wrote it? Wow you’re smart!
The Bible
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
@LaLaLici0us - There you go with that putting words in my mouth thing again! Fortunately the original is still there, right above us. You should try reading it a few more times until you’re able to comprehend it without having to make things up.
@anaraug - haha.. Well it was nice arguing with you.. But I’m tired of trying to get through to someone with a hard head..
The Bible!
@madna - Indeed, I quite agree.
The Twilight series by far!
Of all time? I have no idea other than the bible…
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand.
The GIver
House of Leaves by
Mark Z. Danielewski
Dracula
Watchmen, by Alan Moore (and Dave Gibbons).