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[–] Razor_Teverek 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

All Quiet On the Western Front. It is a work of fiction featuring a German soldier during World War 1.

Make no mistake, this book does not romanticize war or play it up. Although fiction, this is the story of the pain, the love, and the loss of a German soldier.

Erich Marie Remarque, who was himself a WW1 German soldier accurately portrays the level of horror he and his comrades experienced on the western front.

I find the work quite capable of evoking emotion, and for that I love it.

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[–] 546076? 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Horus Rising by Dan Abnett.

For a Scifi book in the Warhammer 40K series it is written like literature, the descriptions, concepts and themes are mind blowing, the story is layered, there are a ton of philosophical arguments and ethical concerns raised and discussed by characters in the book e.g. what is the purpose of a weapon in times of peace or sindermanns "I am right and you are wrong" speech

Edit:

my runner up is the book of the new sun by Gene wolfe often it is known as "the Ulysses of Scifi" it is extremely complex but pays off.

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[–] haveallthebananas [S] 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Horus Rising is what got me into the table top w40k game. Sadly i got out of it. I should get back into it...

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[–] KThief 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Dan Abnett is a fantastic writer, and looking forward to his books is what kept me chugging thru 'the slow books' of The Horus Heresy. If I had some way to prove it I would claim that he launched the series single-handedly. Although I haven't read it in awhile, I remember Legion being my favorite from the series. The Eisenhorn/Ravenor stuff is probably my favorite work of his overall.

If I might make a return suggestion, Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks is a fantastic high-tech / futuristic / philosophical-introspection-type-space-opera. If that's a thing. (Unless 'Player of Games' sounds more like your thing.... I consider it to be a better intro book to the series... but I'll try not to dissolve into that discussion O.o)

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[–] 547058? ago 

Seriously all of his books in the HH serious are stand outs, Legion and Prospero burns are both very different but individually brilliant.

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[–] NapalmDiarrhea 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

Absolute mastery of the novel. American verse very sympathetic to the progressive movement & the proletariat. Simply amazing. 5/5 stars.

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[–] neuron 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago  (edited ago)

It's not my favorite book of all time, but Invitation to Sociology by Peter L. Berger thoroughly blew my mind.

edit: Oh right, forgot the "why do you like it" part: It's a simple introduction of sociology that gives a great bird's eye view of society.

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[–] mwg 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. As a writer you can tell he doesn't prescribe to any expectations. Plot, writing style, punctuation, it's all different from anything I'd read before. He uses this in combination with an incredibly real and emotional story to make you feel for the poor bastards left alive in the world. Seriously incredible read that I've done at least a dozen times.

PS All his other books are similar in quality

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[–] CONGLOM-O ago 

I started this book but I couldn't get past the first chapter. I think the writing style annoyed me.

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[–] SpaceRosa ago 

That's your favourite? If I'm thinking of the right thing, I only saw the flim based on it and it still completely ruined my day. Why would you willingly put yourself through it in book form? It was depressing.

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[–] star_phantom 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

Not exactly a literary masterpiece, but my favorite is probably "Changes" by Jim Butcher. It's the twelfth book in a series called "The Dresden Files" which follows an actual wizard/detective in modern day Chicago.

The books do a great job of giving me what I care most about in a series, which is interesting characters and character development. "Changes" brings a bunch of plot lines that were started from the beginning of the series to a final point. Like the rest of the series there's action, mystery, and hints of potential futures that leave you wanting more. Plus, cool ass magic and other supernatural displays. The character shifts in this book particularly are huge, and Butcher does a great job of making you sympathetic to their individual reasons and mindsets.

If you haven't given this series a try and it sounds at all interesting to you, please give it a shot. I love every book in the series personally, but I willingly admit the first few are a little sloppy. Many people are apparently turned off by this, but the payoff of fighting through them is worth it.

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[–] piovertau 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Any of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster series. An absolutely brilliant writing style and non stop hilarity. If you ever need a smile, Wodehouse never fails to delight.

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[–] evmister ago 

The T.V series is brilliant also!

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[–] piovertau 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

My goodness. I watched and rewatched that countless times. Just amazing.

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[–] SLUMLORD_MILLIONAIRE 0 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago 

I'm a huge Ayn Rand fan. Both my daughters are named after her. I personally love 'Anthem' and if I had to pick a favorite that would be it.

I have a special place in my heart for Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

Anthem was the first book I chose to read, outside of school. I didn't have to read it for an assignment or for anything else. I picked it up off the shelf in the library and started reading it and started a lifelong love of Ayn Rand. It's really simplistic and written for a 6th-7th grade reading level. It's super short too. Only 108 pages if I remember correctly. I've sat down and read it in a single session many times.

I didn't know anything about Ayn's philosophy or any of her politics or anything. The book to me was just a post apocalyptic love story. I didn't even realize the significance of what I was reading until much later. Her books have that affect on you though.

I really initially just liked the sci-fi utopian (dystopia) aspect of it all. How all of life was regulated and there's one man who is disgusted by it and doesn't know why (holy shit does that appeal to teenagers!) Ayn's vision was different than some of these other YA dystopian fiction books that are popular like the giver, divergent, the hunger games, etc. Those books really appeal to teenagers trying to find their place in the world and their feelings of being different and special and not wanting to really conform to society .... in Anthem the man wasn't really different or special. He was just an average dude that simply found out a truth that others didn't know. In those other books these people are usually born different, they're given this special knowledge by birthright - they've been different (or divergent if you will) their entire lives and then they're thrust into circumstances and become heroes. In Ayn's work you can feel the suffering of the entire society, not through outright oppression but by them taking their nature away. You have the guy that screams through the night, etc. There's an undercurrent of going against nature making individuals miserable. That's so true and even more true today with what society is becoming. When you try to socially engineer people against their biology you end up with a lot of mental illness and pathological behavior and the breakdown of the family unit.

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