[–] Jack_on_Fire 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
It's a book called The Adventures of Blue Avenger. It's a book aimed at teens I think. I got it free for reading 10 books or something as part of a school program that incentivized reading. I walked into Barnes and Noble and there was this little rack of books and they said pick one. This was actually my second book from the program, I guess I just picked it because the little ceramic guy on the cover was cool.
Anyway that book completely changed my way of thinking as a kid. No exaggeration, it was one of the single biggest influences on my life. The themes that propel the book are really heavy. Fate, how much someone can really be held accountable for their own actions, general crazy cosmic ideas. I had no idea what I was in for.
[–] True-Saber 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago (edited ago)
Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter.
It puts into perspective what little we, as a species, have accomplished and how far we might go.
[–] donkeyqong 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
I don't know if I have a hard favorite, but I have a book I like to talk about when other people tell me they read it.
Clive Barker's Weaveworld
[–] Rottcodd 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Last time I posted on one of these threads, I tried to play it coy and get a response from someone who recognized my username, but that didn't work.
So - my favorite book is Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake. It's actually only my favorite by a very slim margin, closely followed by its sequel, Gormenghast. I actually count the two as a single story though, so it's maybe more accurate to say that they're my two favorite books.
Oh, and, Rottcodd is a character in the books.
[–] redheadslove 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I absolutely love Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts. It's really just a story about a girl who lives life to the fullest. Even after tragedy happens, she just keeps going. It's a good "slice of life" type book. It's an excellent book for when you're looking for some light reading, and is probably the one that I've read the most specifically for that reason.
[–] hungrylemur 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Cancer Ward by Solzhenitsyn
My first 'grown up' book and it took me 4 or 5 readings to get even half the allusions, demanding but truly insightful.
On one hand it is a description of cancer treatment in a horrible squalid hospital combined with the main protagonist allowing himself to care once more, on the other hand a description of the incurable damage done to Russia by Stalin.
Its not a happy book, its not an uplifting book, it is a book I never regret reading and go to time after time
[–] Agitprop 0 points 7 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago
Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. I love the ridiculous religion Bokonism, the deadpan irony, and the sheer absurdity of it all.