favorite books

a list of books that i like...when i rate books, i consider four criteria

1. plot/story - is the story interesting?...probably the most important to me
2. writing - is it written well?...i'm no literary critic, but i can tell good writing when i see it
3. meaning/message - does the book delve into something beyond just a good story?...do you gain anything by reading it?
4. longevity - has the book passed the test of time?...is the book relevant regardless of when it was written?...if the book is relatively new, how likely is it that the book will still be readable 50 years from now...100 years

the first six books i would rate as 5 out of 5...then next four, i would rate 4 or 4.5...i won't provide any real background on the story or critique it, since there is plenty of literary criticism available on these books by much more qualified people...just wanted to share my favorite books

1.the brothers karamazov

considered one of the greatest books of all time and one of the greatest writers of all time...this is my favorite book, and have yet to read something that i like more...not as daunting as some people make it out to be, although dostoevsky's writing is a bit convoluted at times...i can't really say that dostoevsky wrote that way since i have never read it in russian...getting a good translation is important...the consensus seems to be the one by the husband and wife team of Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear (this seems to be true of all russian novels)

great interview on the millions website...

http://www.themillions.com/2009/12/the-millions-interview-richard-pevear-and-larissa-volokhonsky.html

2.les miserables

epic has lost its meaning since everything is considered to be "epic" nowadays, but it applies to this book...more people have probably seen the musical than read the book, and even people who have read it, probably only read the abridged version...so much more to the unabridged version and well worth the effort to read...incredible how such a complex story with so many memorable characters can be written so coherently...charles dickens is probably the only other writer i can think of who is comparable and is 3rd on the list

3.david copperfield

charles dickens' books are hit or miss for me...hated tale of two cities, so much so, that i consider it one of the worst books i have read...liked great expectations but did not like oliver twist...however, david copperfield is, in my opinion, his best book...also, most autobiographical...(i still have many more dickens books that i need to read, but so far nothing has even come close)...if i had to recommend a book that i thought embodied what fiction novels should be like, this would be it

4.atlas shrugged

this book along with the fountainhead spawned a new philosophy called objectivism...unfortunately, i think most people misinterpret the ideas behind it and think it is only about capitalism and greed...dumb republicans tend refer to this book because of that, and it irks me...i think the idea behind objectivism is relying solely on reason for your actions, and by such reasoning, one should be "selfish" and work to achieve one's full potential...ayn rand tries to explain it to a clueless mike wallace in the video below

ayn rand ain't much to look at, but if beauty was judge by intellect, then i think she would look more like this (might want to scroll down really fast if you're reading this at work)

another favorite of mine but for a different list

5.anna karenina

a love story from the other russian literary giant, tolstoy...this is probably as close to chick-lit as i will get...obviously, this isn't really chick lit other than it focuses on a woman and her affair...i consider this better than war and peace

6.gulliver's travels

many might dismiss this is a kid's book, but behind the funny stories is a dark satire on the politics of the time and human nature...the political satire is no longer relevant, but the morals are...this book can be enjoyed purely for the stories or for the deeper meaning behind them...by young and old...

7.island

a brave new world is huxley's most popular work, but i like island better...it was written 30 years after a brave new world, and i think it is a more complete evolution of his ideas...one of the best passages of the book that stuck with me is below (i guess it wasn't just me since it was available on wikipedia)...

Faith is something very different from belief. Belief is the systematic taking of unanalysed words much too seriously. Paul's words, Mohammed's words, Marx's words, Hitler's words - people take them too seriously, and what happens?

What happens is the senseless ambivalence of history - sadism versus duty, or (incomparably worse) sadism as duty; devotion counterbalanced by organized paranoia; sisters of charity selflessly tending to the victims of their own church's inquisitors and crusaders. Faith, on the contrary, can never be taken too seriously. For faith is the empirically justified confidence in our capacity to know who in fact we are, to forget the belief-intoxicated Manichee in Good Being. Give us this day our daily Faith, but deliver us, dear God, from Belief

8.infinite jest

infinite jest is not for everyone...i would guess that the majority of the people who pick up this book do not finish it...everything about this book polarizes...fans love this book rabidly and haters hate it just as rabidly...it's either the greatest book or the worst book...it's overrated or not rated highly enough...i do think it is a bit overrated and his writing can get pretentious...and all those damn footnotes/endnotes...but you can't doubt his skill as a writer...his ability to put his thoughts on to paper in such a clear, precise, and accurate manner...his next and last book is The Pale King(unfinished), which is set to come out later this year...his last because he took his own life in 2008

9.the amazing adventures of kavalier & clay

i started this just thinking it was some book about comic book writers...it turned out to be much more and worthy of the pulitzer that it won...a great story about friendship

10.the wind up bird chronicle

some consider murakami a hack...fluff filled cultural references or misguided paranormal, bordering science fiction...or just plain confusing and weird...in general, i like his books...although after dark was garbage...good thing i didn't buy it, but read it in the bookstore instead...wind up bird chronicle is his most complex book book (however, with the release of IQ84, it may not be anymore)...it's hard to describe this book...like many of this books, it has cats and disappearing women...it's strange, funny, and sad, like his other books, but there is a quality about it that makes me like this one more...one issue with the book might be that there is supposed to be major differences between the original japanese versus the english translation along with two chapters that were omitted...maybe this book could have been better

this list will probably change as i read more...at least i hope it will...would be a sad thought if i already read all the best books