Since it’s very, very winter, and the forum is a bit slow, ahem, I thought I’d steal and morph Taku’s idea. 
If you had to select THE one book to nominate as the BEST BOOK you have ever read, excluding the bible, what would it be?
Mine is: Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, in French of course. If you love language and powerfully descriptive scenes, Flaubert’s your man. Second place goes to Edith Wharton for Age of Innocence.
-Robert
The Book of Mormon is the best, but that goes with the Bible so I’d have to say the Lord of the Rings series.
5 CD’s and a book that you’d want for ever on a Desert Island.
Moby Play, Dave Matthews Live at Folsom Field, 40 Licks, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Dylans 2 CD Discology.
Book: Tom Jones, Henry Fielding, long enough that I could probably read it over and over, funny and dramatic, a little of everything, it would be that or a compendium of Asterix
i’ll groove with andrew’s cd picks - i want a nice asphalt 10 mi loop on that isalnd tho, at least.
i read for entertainment. the two most fun i can think of right off are neal stephenson’s “cryptimicron” (sp?), and the overblown four book space opera “hyperion” and sequels. …maybe not even literature by mosts standards, but there you go.
Non Fiction:
“Annals of the Former World” by John McPhee. I’m a science nut, and this is the best science book for a lay audience I’ve ever read. A journey through the history of the Earth, set in a 20-year series of drives across the continent on US 80. Remarkable book.
Fiction:
“All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy (actually the whole “border trilogy”). My firstborn is named Cole after the hero of this book, John Grady Cole. This book is written in English, but it seems like another language in McCarthy’s hands.
Julian:
Yes, I’ve read McPhee’s book as well. Wonderful read.
Another great science “tome” (literally!) is Ernst Mayr’s The Growth of Biological Thought. He is the Agassiz Professor of Zoology (Emeritus) at Harvard. The book traces the development of the research and theories in evolutionary biology from about the 16th century forward. Great book!
-Robert
CD: Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
Book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig
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“Flight of the Wild Gander” by Joseph Campbell.
Cd’s: Bob Dylans Greatest, Tom Petty Wildlfowers, Dave Matthews Red Rocks, Neil Young Decade (both albums).
CD: Radiohead “OK Computer”
Book: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Most interesting and weird book I’ve ever read with something like 150 pages of just footnotes.
Blackhawk Down.
If Shakespeare’s Collected Works is a cheat, then I"ll take Joyce’s Ulysses.
A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander - completely changed the way I viewed architecture and building
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn - completely changed my view of the world
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I just this minute finished “Hawaii” by James Michner. It is awesome. It really is one of the best things I’ve ever read.
Francois: Well, you wouldn’t like Age of Innocence either I suppose. I took a lot of French in school and had a French speaking father so, by college, yes, we were reading such classics as Le Rouge et Noir and Madame Bovery in French. I believe I read Sisyphus in French as well, but not sure. I have all but lost most of my proficiency in French, though I’m getting some back these days because my 15 year old daughter loves French class. We’ve taken to watching a few French movies as well.
As for Gustave, well, high school kids wouldn’t find him that interesting I suppose. The ideas in the book are really more, well, adult. Flaubert’s use of language is probably the single biggest reason why he’s read in high school. Remember, what you read in high school, I was reading in college.
I’ve only read Montaigne in translation and don’t remember a word.
Voltaire (Aroute) I’ve read in the original, and I’m glad to hear you enjoy him. Of course, Voltaire’s ideas had a profound influence on the French Revolution and the American Revolution so he is a staple in many college French literature classes.
I’ve never heard of the Integral of Asterix, but will take a peek at the headnotes.
-Robert
Ulysses is an impossible book of course. But really one of my favorites as well. It might be a good desert island book, except for the collected works of Wil S.
-Robert
The Neal Stephenson book is “Cryptonomicon”. Fantastic book. Literature by anyone’s standards I’d think.
Robert-
I was stoked to see that your 2nd pick was “The Age of Innocence”! When I saw the thread topic, Wharton’s 1921 Pulitzer Prize winning novel was the first to come to mind.
I figured most folks had never heard of it and, specifically, guys would think it a ‘chick book’. I guess I am a sexist.
Pat Conroy also blows me away. After reading one of his (especially later) works, I feel unworthy to even pen a Christmas card.
sg
Best sports book: Seabiscuit.
Best nonfiction: Killer Angels.
Best fiction (most enjoyed): Razor’s Edge.
Francois: So much for my failing memory (Arouet, with a CAPITAL A, you Gallic Pig! ) Ugh, I’m sure I’ve forgotten much more than I remember. I hope when you are 60 you still remember middle school. I THINK I went…
-Robert
SurferGirl: I’ve read ALL of Edith Wharton’s books. Hudson River Bracketed is also pretty good, though not of the same high quality as AOI. Ethan Fromme is a very hard read for me-it’s so dark-but is probably her best work. Edith Wharton is WAY under-appreciated by the general public. She is the only writer I know who can string 10 subordinate clauses together and still not lose the point but gain steam! If you are a fan of simple prose, a la, say Hemingway, then Edith Wharton is not for you. But, if you like a rich explication of emotional nuance and a depth of portraiture almost unmatched in literature, then you really needn’t look much further. I suspect John Fowles must have read a lot of Edith Wharton. The French Lieutenant’s Woman is very reminscent of AOI.
I have a degree in English Lit so I’ve read quite a bit of this stuff. Since this is way off topic, I’ll restrain myself…
-Robert