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Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read?

#21

Post by jborden13 »

latch wrote: post #18

Dune 1984 Would greatly help if you told us what type (or examples) of books you like.

I purposely left it open-ended. I probably haven't read a fiction book in 15 years. I've been so heavy on business/marketing/tech/startup/biography books that I'm not even sure what fiction I would enjoy anymore.

Books I've enjoyed recently are Titan, Outliers, Blue Ocean Strategy. I think a portion of my burnout is losing my sense of fun - hence my general attitude towards fiction over the last decade+ has been it's fake and thus a waste of time. While I know that's not true (the waste of time part), it just hasn't been 'productive' to read a fiction book.

So I was just curious which fiction books everyone else enjoyed, and I was going to pick a couple from the list that was created.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read?

#23

Post by meerita »

I seriously recommend the Riverworld series, written by the excellent Philip José Farmer. I think after The Foundation from Asimov I cannot find anything good or exciting for fiction.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer

PD: I've read a lot, guys. Those were my favs :D

Re: Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read?

#24

Post by mast »

It's so hard to recommend something without a frame of reference. Personally, I've found myself re-reading The Lord of the Rings lately.

But, if I had to pick one book that was my favourite, I might say Moby Dick. (I'll admit that I actually read it first after seeing the Wrath of Khan as a kid)

Re: Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read?

#27

Post by jtbigwoo »

jborden13 wrote: post #21
latch wrote: post #18

Dune 1984 Would greatly help if you told us what type (or examples) of books you like.

I purposely left it open-ended. I probably haven't read a fiction book in 15 years. I've been so heavy on business/marketing/tech/startup/biography books that I'm not even sure what fiction I would enjoy anymore. Books I've enjoyed recently are Titan, Outliers, Blue Ocean Strategy. I think a portion of my burnout is losing my sense of fun - hence my general attitude towards fiction over the last decade+ has been it's…

Look for page-turners rather than literature as you're getting back into fiction. Business and popular non-fiction books these days are written in a very elementary style. I take nothing away from Malcolm Gladwell, but his writing style is very easy to read compared to many of the books we're suggesting.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best fiction book you've ever read?

#28

Post by jtbigwoo »

stevekemp wrote: post #25
david927 wrote: post #4

Crime and Punishment, Les Miserables, War and Peace

Since you're going with "classics" I'd add: * Les Liaisons dangereuses * The Count of Monte Cristo Plus my personal picks; Taltos the assassin, Chronicles of Amber, Dune & LoTR.

All the nerds I know (which is basically everybody I know) like the Vlad Taltos books. As long as you're OK with dragons, sarcasm, and crime you should like them, too.
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