Best. Book. Ever.

[archguyscifi]

Anything at all by Kurt Vonnegut. Ubik runs a close second to those.

Actually just started reading Slaughterhouse Five last night (don't know why I waited this long). I'm only a few pages in, and I can already tell the narrative style of it will be infecting my own style in some way or other in the near future.

My biggest sci-fi influence is anything written by Asimov, specifically the Foundation series.

[emmarosloff]

My biggest sci-fi influence is anything written by Asimov, specifically the Foundation series.

I read that series when I was 12. My dad half read it to me. REALLY had an impact on me, for it's sheer sense of scope, it's breadth of characters.

But for my 'Best book ever' bid, I'd personally have to go with: Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (It's a tetralogy, four books in total). I was blown away. It's a tough series to follow because his writing is so dense and lyrical that I'd often read passages several times to fully absorb them. The sheer beauty of his prose though... it kind of boggles the mind. Couple that with a colossal vocabulary, and rich, rigorous world building, and he creates an alien place that feels instantly familiar -- it's spooky.

Not to mention it's a memoir and the main character is writing it, and you spend the entire read through trying to piece together who he is now, as you learn about who he was, then. It's like two stories in one. And another thing -- he's a torturer, a man whose day job is to perform executions. He was born and bred to be one, it's all he's ever known. He has such a unique perspective as he moves through the world.

Not for the faint of heart, though... it's not linear story telling by any means, and he's fond of referencing things without giving you any context for them (like types of currency, for example). There's a lot to remember, too, minor plot points that don't seem important when you read them, and become important waaay later when you've basically forgotten them. Still, though... one of the most incredible things I've ever read.

[Dannarchy]

The book that had the largest impact on me was Alan Dean Foster's "For Love of Mother-Not". I was 12 and got grounded for fighting in school for the umpteenth time. A friend came over and gave me this book because I had a week to spend in my room. I didn't read much, but being bored I picked it up. I don't think I put it down until I read it 3 times. I was hooked and have not stopped reading since. That book and then the Flinx Series took an angry teenager and showed him a completely new world. That is a pretty big impact.

Ny favorite series is the Wheel of Time Series. Books 6 through 10 go on about story lines that could have been condensed and in my opinion are not necessary. The last 2 are great reads, and cant wait for the final book to be released in Dec.

[Dengar]

Lord of the Rings hands down was the best in my opinion. So well written and put together. The story is just amazing. I did however, get into a new medium of fiction that I am slowly falling in love with. I was at a comic con this past weekend and heard a bunch of folks talking about "emotobooks" I was like... what? So I did some research, found their site on Google and got involved. Picked up a copy of one of their titles called "Lingering in the Woods" It is pretty decent thus far. I was very impressed. They have 4 titles out right now and I'm sure I will snag em all. I love seeing new things brought into the World.

[scatisu]

to me it's journey to ixtlan by carlos castaneda

[kinglerer]

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams is the best book ever for me. It is still the only book that upon finishing, I turned back to page one and read again.

[MaryKay]

Probably my long-time favorite is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. My best current read has been Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. It made me deeply and quietly full of joy. As if some deep need I didn't even know I had, had been filled. I hate having to wait a year between the books though. Seriously this is the best book I've read in some time, and I read a LOT of books.

MKK

[DaveAK]

Best book ever? Talk about an impossible task - how about just a list of my top 10 in alphabetical order because I can't pick just one:

Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams
Dune - Frank Herbert
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
Helliconia Trilogy - Brian W. Aldiss
The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings Trilogy - J. R. R. Tolkien
Little, Big - John Crowley
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Slapstick - Kurt Vonnegut

[RobMRobM]

Dune is mine, but a number of my second tier are mentioned above - Zelazny was my favorite genre author as a kid, but I'd pick This Immortal over Lord of Light and Amber series by a hair; Ender's Game was a gateway drug for my recent return back to reading genre; Memory is my favorite Vorkosigan book as well; and both Wheel of Time and ASOIF rate very highly with me.

Out of genre - for nonfiction, tie between The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe and House by Tracy Kidder. I'll need to give more thought to literary novels.

[Abyss]

Single bestest book ever? DEADHOUSE GATES, Steven Erikson, bk 2 in the Malazan series. Pure fantasy genius in text form.

Most impact? THE HOBBIT, read when i could barely read.