Best of 2007 Options

[Rhiannon]

So, what are the best books that you read in 2007? It doesn't have to be a book that came out in that year, it just has to be a book that you read that year.

I'm trying to remember when I read a certain book, so I'll post mine later.

OH AND IT'S ALWAYS COOL IF YOU TELL US WHY YOU THINK IT'S GOOD THOUGH I DON'T MIND IF YOU DON'T

[Irysa]

Game of Thrones - Generally all round fucking epic once it gets going. I love Martin's writing style and the setting, and the characters.

The Kite Runner - As I've said before, its one of the saddest books I've ever read. Its really brilliantly unfolded.

Wintersmith - Funny as fuck.

I read others, but, these were the main highlights.

This post has been edited by Irysa: Jan 11 2008, 07:10 PM

[Lloyd Seegymont the Rasier]

Eragon and Eldest: I've read both of these at least 3 times each. I love this series. I love Christopher Paolini writing style. The fact that he is only 19 is even more amazing. I'm waiting for the 3rd and finally book to be released. I'd suggest this book to anyone.

[sandpenguin]

Sophie's World: Heavy book for everyone who loves to think. Laden with philosophical thoughts of famous people. I've borrowed this book from my friend..... It was a story lined with philosophies at each corresponding chapter.

Like Dawn of the world, blablabla, Baroque, blablabla, Darwin, blablabla, Marx to the end of the world.....

Love this book....

[sandpenguin]

Sophie's World: Heavy book for everyone who loves to think. Laden with philosophical thoughts of famous people. I've borrowed this book from my friend..... It was a story lined with philosophies at each corresponding chapter.

Like Dawn of the world, blablabla, Baroque, blablabla, Darwin, blablabla, Marx to the end of the world.....

Love this book....

Edited: Sorry for accidently double post this, problem with connection.

This post has been edited by sandpenguin: Jan 12 2008, 05:14 PM

[DustyHaru]

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - It's required reading for EngRish so I read it. My favorite quote is:

Then pretty soon Shepburn sort of laughed; not the pleasant kind, but the kind that makes you feel like when you are eating bread that's got sand in it

Not sure why I think it's funny but I like it

A Swiftly Tilting Planet - I've read a lot of Madeleine L'Engle's books and this one is my favorite, with its mix of sci-fi and fantasy. This is most likely the 7th time I've read it...ha, tesseract

Illium (by Dan Simmons)- Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Main character is a Genetically Reconstructed human (who was once a History Teacher on the "Illiad") and in the service of the Olympian 'Gods' to make sure that History is going as planned (It is an exact reconstruction by the quantum-distorting gods). He messes with the events of the Illiad and ends up turning the Trojans and invading Greeks against the 'Gods.' At the end of the novel he discovers that events taking palce are on a terra-formed Mars. (The heroes of the "illiad" are genetically-enhanced humans, due to the Intercession between humans and 'gods'; Zeus alsmot nukes everyone and Ares gets his intestines ripped out by Achilles). Meanwhile on Earth, 'post-humans' are relatively inept people (as they do not read or write, anymore), and live until they are exactly 100. Each time they reach a year that is a multiple of 20, (ie. 20, 40, 60, 80) they are sent up to the "rings" and retruned as their 20-year old self; at 100 they do not return. When a small group of them try and discover why, their robotic servants turn on them and try to kill them. Meanwhile (again) small androids/robots from the outer planets of the solar system try to discoverwhy there are so many quantum anomalies in the last couple centuries, (due to the activity on Mars and Earth; Mars mostly as the Gods make use of Quantum Teleportation etc.)

Olympos (by Dan Simmons) - Sequel to the Above. Main character continues his fight against the 'Gods.' Meanwhile, the gods fight amongst themselves and about half of them are killed in the unsuing fight. (Hera is blasted into smithereens by Zeus, her scorched body parts literally fall out of the sky; Thetis is shot through the heart; Posieden is thrown into Tartarus by Zeus; Apollo gets a lobotomy via spearhit). All three points of the previous stories come together (androids, post humans and humans of Mars). Zeus gets killed by Achilles; (Since Achilles can only die to exact circumstances, he is invicible otherwise) Achilles Impales Zeus on Odysseus' Bed- post, decapitates him, and feeds his still-living intestines to Odysseus' Dog. Great stuff eh?

-Dusty

EDIT: I highly discourage people from reading those last two books as they contain explicit material...Hell, go read it if you want, what am i saying?

EDIT2: yes I meant to type "EngRish" as it is one of the most boring classes I have.

This post has been edited by DustyHaru: Jan 12 2008, 08:30 PM

[Rhiannon]

• A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
  The characterization is just so great, and I like the portrayal of humanity. It's so... real. And by real I mean, everyone has sensical flaws, they're affected greatly by the events around them, there are no "Good" or "Evil" characters, and bad things happen to all kinds of people, even if they do not deserve it.
  
  I love the writing style, and I apparently also like political intrigue. Also, it is Fantasy, but the cool thing is that magic is not everywhere you look. It makes magic seem more powerful when it takes a back seat to everything else, and whenever it comes up it's a really big thing.
  
  
• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
  This book confused me a lot, really. What gets it on this list is how unique the story is. It brings up so many interesting concepts that I've never heard about before, and in addition to that, the format of the text on pages is not always so linear as in most other books. This allows it alter the position of the text to help you "feel" the events of the story more. It was really a great experience, though the book was boring at times and ultimately I didn't understand the story as a whole.
  
  
• Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
  The writing's not bad at all, and the universe is really fleshed out. I love this for the world and political intrigue, and of course the plots. Most of the characters aren't very fleshed out, but Paul makes up for everyone who's not.
  
  And it's oh so sad at the end. I love sad.

Funny how most of the books I read last year ended up being among my favorites. It was kind of a "Get back into reading" year for me, I guess.

[Walrus]

Because I can only remember the last two months, I say The Silence of the Lambs.

I'm not telling you why.

[Frisk]

The End- Lemony Snicket. I read the whole series, even if it is a kid series, and this is the best book.

Christine- My favorite Stephen King book ever, almost solely because of the twist ending.

The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton, I think it was? Memorable characters. Had to read it for English.

AND NOW I HATE ONE OF THESE BOOKS.

This post has been edited by Vahn: Sep 13 2010, 02:33 AM