Friday Fun: which is your favourite book or the best book you have read till now?

[Deepanshu Natani]

I love "The Fountainhead" By AYN RAND.

It is a story of an impoverished architecture school dropout, Howard Roark, and how he navigates—or fails to navigate—the New York architecture industry.

[Adam Rypel _MoroSystems_]

To be honest, I do not really read many books, but one of the latest I have read is "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio" by Mike Senior, since I am into making music - it is rather educational.

Definitely helped me and some really cool stuff is in there, I recommend that to anyone who is interested in music engineering and has only his "home" studio available :)

[Deepanshu Natani]

Nice to know that you are into making music :-)

[Emily Koch]

Ooh, I studied music engineering in college! It's fun stuff, and I still make podcasts. I'll have to check that out!

[Esme Crutchley]

I don't think I have a single favourite book!

Anything and everything by Sir Terry Pratchett (STP) is always a win. I own all of them and read them over and over again. I can't pick a favourite, I love all of them, the characters, the plot, the suspense, the one-liners, everything about all of them!

I loved 'The Long Earth' series by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter, which was wonderfully different.

I love 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, I read them multiple times before the TV series came out, and have re-read them all since.

You might notice a theme - everything is Sci-Fi or fantasy. Because I'm an academic, having just finished my MSc and now preparing for my PhD I read a LOT of heavy journals and books (both in their academic stance and sometimes weight as well!), so I like to read books for pure escapism, and STP has never let me down!

[Shawn Kessler]

Gotta love Discworld! ;)

[Jason H]

I'm relatively new to STP, but the few of his books that I have read are fantastic!

[Deepanshu Natani]

I enjoyed reading the His Dark Materials trilogy :-)

[Shawn Kessler]

Isn't His Dark Materials a Netflix show now?

[DPKJ]

There are so many can't name just one,

• Epic
  • Ramayana - Epic of Raja Ram Chandra (Indian History)
  • Game of Thrones
• Story
  • Ruskin Bond

  • Munshi Premchand

  • Leo Tolstoy
• Technology
  • The Art of Computer Programming by Donald Knuth (I read it year on year)
• Motivation
  • Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink
  • Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

This is never ending list, I don't know what makes a best book.

Tribute mention to Clayton Christensen author of Innovator's Dilemma and Innovator's Solution, two of greatest books for innovators, who we lost on 23rd of this month.

[Sri Kumar]

Wow this list looks good 👌

[Deepanshu Natani]

This is a compilation of some of the best books to read!

[DPKJ]

Forgot to mention,

• Brief history of time
• The Fifth Discipline
• Flatland
• Animal Farm
• Arabian Nights

[Helen Griffiths {Capgemini}]

A favourite book, like most have said above is very hard. My favourite genre is true crime.

Fave books i've read recently are:

• I'll be gone in the dark by Michelle McNamara
• Unnatural causes by Dr. Richard Shepherd
• The stranger beside me by Ann Rule

I'd love any recommendations if people have them :)

[Deepanshu Natani]

@Helen Griffiths {Capgemini}Have you read "The Devil in the White City"? You will probably like it :-)

[Emily Koch]

I read that one in high school, but don't remember much about it :( It's probably worth revisiting, now that there are no assignments involved. That makes reading much more fun. 

[Mo Beigi]

I'd have to say How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

It really changed the way I talk to people and its made me a much better listener in conversations. Most real world value a book has ever given me to be honest, can't recommend it enough!

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

Great book!

[Deepanshu Natani]

I read this book about 7-8 years back and it really helped me in improving my communication skills. This is a must read.

[Shawn Kessler]

Also read this many years ago. A must read for sure. Will have my son read this soon before he begins college internships.

[Dharma Ramos]

My top fave is Good Omens (Neil Gaiman, Terri Pratchett), followed by American Gods (Neil Gaiman). The only two books that I have re-read multiple times.

[Andy - PTC Redundant]

SUCH a great book!!! Hope the film does it justice!

[Emily Koch]

Have you seen the Good Omens series on Amazon Prime? I'd be curious to hear how the book compares.

[Jason H]

Seeing the ads on TV for the Good Omens series (I don't have Amazon Prime) made me re-read the book. The book is great!

[Deepanshu Natani]

I watched the series Good Omens on Amazon Prime. Seems like I need to read the book now :-)

[Dara]

Love Good Omens! Have read that book at least 5 times now I think

[Dharma Ramos]

I enjoyed the Amazon series. Though I need to re-watch it because I was traveling when it came out and feel like I missed some scenes.

[Thomas Schlegel]

The book which touched my heart the most is definitely "A little life" by Hanya Yanagihara.

It's so intense, it's so sad but on the other hand it's also so heartwarming. There were times I had to make a break, and couldn't read on, it's sometimes hard to bear all these things you'll read in this book. It's disturbing, it's dark but also full of love, empathy and friendship.

This book will always stay on my mind. I don't know, if I will read it again, but it will stay. Definitely.

[Deepanshu Natani]

Adding this to my to read list!

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

I love reading, and it's quite hard to pick one or two. But in the past years, there are some titles that I feel much closer than another.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, a book by professor Jordan Peterson.

The Running Man, by the one and only Stephen King. This guy blows my mind every time, and I'm grateful for that.

[Kat Warner]

The Running Man is fantastic. It is interesting that it is one of the stories Stephen King released initially under the pen name Richard Bachman. 

[Deepanshu Natani]

There was a movie with the same name made on The Running Man, but the movie was no where near the novel.

[Shawn Kessler]

My favorite book of all time is Watership Down. Read it as a kid, read it as an adult. And love that it has been made into several movies. Not to mention, my bunny, Silver, is named after one of the characters.

[Emily Koch]

Silver is so cute!

[Deepanshu Natani]

@Shawn KesslerThere was a mini series based on this book on Netflix. Did you watch that?

[Shawn Kessler]

@Deepanshu Natani I did--the 3-part series. Loved it. Voice acting was wonderful!

[Andy - PTC Redundant]

FREY and MCGREY !! 📚 🤓

I've mentioned this before on community and I'll mention it again!! (I am literally copying the below from here... hah hah!)

When it comes to R-E-A-D-I-N-G, it's all about my favourite 19th century high-brow Englishman and uncouth Scotsman detective duo!!

Oscar de Muriel is a bloody BRILLIANT writer! 

http://www.oscardemuriel.com/

I haven't binged on his books as a series, because I read each one the moment they come out.... but when I do read them, each one gets binged in a matter of days! Amazaballz!

His fifth book The Darker Arts just takes the whole series to a completely new level...! 🤯😲

[Emily Koch]

I'm a big fan of a well-developed dystopian society. George Orwell is probably my favourite author, so I'd probably say 1984 is my top book. It's just interesting to see how our world has developed towards or away from those dystopian worlds, and I love thinking about the dynamics of what it'd be like to live at all levels of those sorts of settings.

[Tim Keyes]

My wife is reading 1984 right now.  I enjoyed watching the Hunger Games and Divergent movies, but have never read the books.

[Jason H]

I loved 1984. And also Animal Farm.

@Tim Keyes the Hunger Games books are excellent, even if you've already seen the films.

[Deepanshu Natani]

I really like the "Animal Farm".

[Ivan Lima]

I've read the Hunger Games after watching the movies but I should've done the other way around. This is because I was expecting to find parts from the movies that the books ended up describing a bit differently. 

Now I'm curious about Animal Farm. I'll check it out 😉

[Emily Koch]

Animal Farm's really good, too! That was my first delve into Orwellian fiction :)

[Shawn Kessler]

My kids are reading Animal Farm for school right now--required reading.

[Alison]

Stand outs for me: 

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This is WWII fiction that tells the story of a blind French girl and German boy whose stories twist and turn and eventually they cross paths. I found myself staying up late devouring the pages, eager to find out what unraveled.
• Surprised Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist is not on here yet. I recently reread it and appreciate the timeless life reminders- trust yourself, follow the signs, and dare to dream.
  • "It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting"

Up next, I want to read Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. It's written by a therapist, her therapist, and the stories they encounter from their offices. A friend recommended this as it was her favorite book of the 22 she read last year!

Also, while I'm here talking about books, I'd like to give a plug for the public library where I get all my books from 🤓The public library offers a ton of material- physical books, eBooks, audiobooks, and more. I don't want to buy a book that I might not want to keep so borrowing is a great solution.

[BiancaE]

Oh! Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb is on my list, too!

[Juan Ramón Alonso]

100% agree about Paulo Coelho's comment

[Deepanshu Natani]

One of my friend was going through this thread and before you commented and she had the same words "Surprised Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist is not on here yet" :-)

[Dara]

I can second 'All the Light We Cannot See'. Amazing book!

[Shawn Kessler]

Another vote here for The Alchemist!

[BiancaE]

A few years ago I read "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and it was one of the most powerful books I'd read. It was heartbreaking and insightful and lovely at the same time. I stayed up until 3AM on a weeknight to finish it! (and I'm usually in bed around 10PM.)

[Dara]

Great book indeed! I also enjoyed 'Zami: A new spelling of my name' by Audre Lorde. It has some overlap, but a different time setting and different perspective, it's really great too!

[Deepanshu Natani]

Adding this to my To read list :-)

[Davin Studer]

Man, I don't think I have just one favorite book. I certainly have favorite authors and series. I guess I would have to say ...

• The Bible
• Anything by Brandon Sanderson, epsecially ...
  • Stormlight Archive
  • Mistborn series
  • Skyward series
• Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
• The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
• Harry Potter
• Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson

[Dara]

Currently in the last book of the Mistborn trilogy, it is definitely awesome! Same for Kingkiller Chronicles, though I have to say the second is somewhat subpar to the first one. Obviously still waiting on the third XD. And who doesn't like Harry Potter! 
As for most of the rest of your list: Guess I have some interesting things to add to my t-read list :)

[Kevin Bui]

Mistborn absolutely blew my mind when I read it. I always loved Harry Potter as a kid, and as an adult I still think it's a wonderful story; but I've always found the magic a little lacking. Wizards wave their wands around, and magic happens - it just feels a bit "meh".

But Mistborn? WOW. I love that Sanderson managed to create an entire magic system that makes sense and feels consistent, and makes the characters powerful without making them feel invincible. And then of course, you start to realize that he's created an entire universe in his writings, and things really start to get crazy.

Anyway, TLDR - I'm a big Sanderson fan, and I think anyone who enjoys fantasy should check out his work.

[Deepanshu Natani]

I have read the Mistborn series and waiting for it to be adapted in form of a movie series :-)

[Davin Studer]

@Kevin Bui That is what I love about Sanderson's books. All his magic systems are so different but all very compelling and much thought has been put in to make them coherent and consistent. The day Sanderson puts a magic wand in one of his books is the day I will have to find a new favorite author ... ok, maybe that's a little over-dramatic.

[John Funk]

Probably the biggest impact was Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. A life-changing book that is led to being debt free and having financial peace! :-)

Lord of the Ring books for pure enjoyment, along with Narnia series. 

[Deepanshu Natani]

Adding Total Money Makeover to my reading list :-)

[Jeff Thomas]

Hard to pick a favorite, but going with recency bias. I just reread The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams just has an amazing way with comedy and words.

[Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy]

One of my friends has a pin that says "I know where my towel is" and it makes me extremely happy every time I see it. :)

[Juan Ramón Alonso]

What a book!!

[Jason H]

If you haven't already, I highly recommend Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (also by Douglas Adams).

In the last couple of years, two television series' of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency were made. While not directly from the books, I think they did a pretty good job. Sadly there won't be a third series.

[Shawn Kessler]

Don't Panic!

[Deepanshu Natani]

I am one of those few people who have still not read this book :-D

[Fernando Bordallo]

Awww this book! :D Made my youth a better one, not my favourite though 😋

[Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy]

One of my favorite books is "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. It's about his semi-impulsive decision to hike the Appalachian Trail, and he does an amazing job describing it all with humor while also mixing in lots of wonderful facts about conservation, the history of the trail, and nature.

I literally can't think about this description without smiling and distinctly remember laughing aloud the first time I read it:

"Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. Nonsense. A moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old. That’s all there is to it. Without doubt, the moose is the most improbable, endearingly hopeless creature ever to live in the wilds. Every bit of it—its spindly legs, its chronically puzzled expression, its comical oven-mitt antlers—looks like some droll evolutionary joke.

It is wondrously ungainly: it runs as if its legs have never been introduced to each other. Above all, what distinguishes the moose is its almost boundless lack of intelligence. If you are driving down a highway and a moose steps from the woods ahead of you, he will stare at you for a long minute (moose are notoriously shortsighted), then abruptly try to run away from you, legs flailing in eight directions at once."

[Juan Ramón Alonso]

Oh my God, this is also one of my favourites!

And what about a brief history of nearly everything? 

[Jason H]

I love 'A Brief History'. Should be required reading at schools to give students an overview of scientific history.

[Deepanshu Natani]

I watched the movie "A Walk in the Woods" on Prime Video (Amazon). I felt the movie was no where close to the book. Anyone having same thoughts?

[Samie Kaufman - Your Gal at Gliffy]

I haven't watched it yet, Deepanshu, but I'm having a hard time thinking through how I'd make a good screenplay from the book! A huge part of what I love in the book is all the facts and background material, rather than how he and Katz handle the trail.

[Matt Doar]

Too many to list. But I often find I enjoy

- Historical mystery novels - Rome, Egypt, Olde England, all of them

- Literature of the late Victorian era British colonies. Henry Lawson, H. C. Bosman and even Kipling. Not very correct, but often earthy.

- hard science fiction, technological future stuff, cyberpunk

- dictionaries and encyclopedias

An average-sized novel only takes me a few hours to read, so I get through a lot of books!

[Deepanshu Natani]

You read pretty fast. I normally take a week sometimes 2 to read normal sized book!

[Juan Ramón Alonso]

What a difficult question! I think I have no favourite book just right now. I enjoy reading a lot, and I can read many different things depending on my mood. Some books I read many years ago and they left me a very deep impression were

- History of Time by Stephen Hawking

- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

- The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien

- The pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

- Start-up nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

And I have read these two in the last weeks and I really enjoyed them

- Chernobyl 01 23 40 by Andrew Leatherbarrow

- Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightmann

I also really enjoy reading Graphic Novels...and manga.

I tend to read things not related to my working environment so reading becomes a way spending a pleasant and relaxing time on my own.

[Deepanshu Natani]

What's next on your reading list?

[Jodi LeBlanc]

My favourite book is Essentialism, by Greg McKeown. The premise of the book is “doing less, but better.” Determining what is essential and then eliminating the rest. I realized I was living my life the exact opposite of the concepts in the book, so I decided to be open to it and see where it led me.  In 2014, I wrote an article about my top takeaways "Doing less, but better"

[Deepanshu Natani]

Any link to your article?

[david_hibler]

I don't know that I have a favorite book, and I don't read books much anymore.  It's all come down to whitepapers, data sheets, etc.

With that said, in an effort to keep my son interested in reading, I will usually read what he's reading so we can discuss it.  The last series we just finished was "The Gamenight999 Box Set: Six Unofficial Minecraft Adventures" by Mark Cheverton.

[Mark]

My favourite book is usually the one I'm reading at the moment. However, at the moment I'm back into Garth Nix books - reading Goldenhand (latest Abhorsen book). I'm also onto book 4 of the Song of Fire and Ice by George RR Martin, keeping ahead of watching the TV series - just!

I stopped reading for pleasure for a while, but too much heavy postgrad reading got me into the Harry Potter books. Yup, I'm into Fantasy (mostly) and Sci-Fi, too. I'd also recommend most books by Christopher G Nuttall.

OK, I'm stopping before I just mention every book on my bookshelf and Kindle!

[Sri Kumar]

I wish I could share a list. But  to be Honest. I haven't read any books other than the once that come as a part of my school and college academics. 

For most of them this might be shocking 😅. But yes , I haven't ready any book. But I have tried to read somebooks. But was not able to finish them either 😞. 

May be in the future, I might develop this habit of ready books. If you could suggest me any good books to start off or some insights on how you started reading books. That would help me . 

- Sri

[Helen Griffiths {Capgemini}]

I had the same issue, but when I found a book I really wanted to read it made it easier. I'm easily distracted by any sort of noise too, to the point where if i'm reading and it's noisy i'm just scanning words and not taking anything in. Just reading a few pages a day before bed helped in the beginning. 

[Dharma Ramos]

A few suggestions would be to try to find something that piques your interest. Start with a smaller or easier to read book, possibly a collection of short stories, something that doesn't seem so daunting. Or maybe try an audio book. My husband listens to audio books while he does other things. For example he will listen to audio books while he paints miniatures.

[Sri Kumar]

@Dharma Ramos  and @Helen Griffiths {Capgemini} ,

Thank you for your inputs will try to start with a small book and which covers my interest too. 

-Sri

[Deepanshu Natani]

@Sri Kumara good option to start with will be  "Malgudi Days by R K Narayanan" or "The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho"

[Sri Kumar]

@Deepanshu Natani  Thanks for inputs 😁

[Brett Coster]

I could not nail down a top, or best book. It would have to be a lengthy list. I read about 60 books a year, and do book reviews on YouTube, so read some amazing books. Just finished reading both Man Booker winners from last year.

Girl Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristo was amazing and deserved the win, wholeheartedly.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (Handmaids Tale Part 2) was entertaining, but written for fans, and probably was not deserving of the award.

[DPKJ]

Woaw!!! 60 a year is big number

[Deepanshu Natani]

60 books a year!! This is epic!

[Dara]

A lot of my favourite books have already been mentioned, so I only have two to add:

- The EarthSea Quartet by Ursula LeGuin. Really an amazing founding work of the current fantasy genre, though few people know about it. If you read it, you will see how much has been drawn from it though (The Inheritance series drew it's dragon lore and magic system from this world for example).

- A Long Way To a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Wonderful Sci-Fi book that uses it's setting and the possibilities that Sci-Fi gives to put down incredibly interesting characters and very 'human' problems to struggle through together. Seriously good read.

[Shawn Kessler]

I read Earthsea in middle school back in 1981 (yes, I am old ;)) for English class, and it started my love of fantasy and sci-fi. I am grateful to my English teacher for introducing me to the genre.

[Dara]

That's some pretty awesome homework indeed! My teachers were never that inspired sadly.. But both my parents are fantasy and sci-fi fans, so I always just raided their bookcases when not doing required reading.

[Shawn Kessler]

I guess I had a really cool English teacher. He also had us read the Hobbit in class. And also introduced us to Greek and Roman mythology.

[Dara]

Great things to be introduced to indeed :). Cool that your teacher apparently had so much freedom in the curriculum as well!
For the last two I had simply Ancient Greek and Latin class :p

[Shawn Kessler]

Ha, I have 4 years of HS Latin and 3 years of college Latin myself...at one point was contemplating becoming a Latin teacher...