Talk of The Villages Florida - What is the best book from the past 125 years?

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- - What is the best book from the past 125 years? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/talk-books-126/what-best-book-past-125-years-327319/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by thevillager1988 (Post 2040456)

Thanks for posting this. A Prayer for Owen Meany is my favorite book of all time; happy to see it made the list. John Irving is a master. Would add either or both Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to my list of great reads. And anything by Jon Krakauer for you non-fiction readers.

Am enjoying all the recommendations that are being shared. Making my 2022 reading list now.

I agree, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is a fabulous book and if you have read any of John Irving’s books he is a master. I saw him say when he writes he writes the first sentence and last sentence of the book first and sometimes it has taken him up to a year to develop those two sentences. Second on that list for me is The Catcher in the Rye.

“Love Wins” by Rob Bell . . . . . short read, transforming message.

From that list, Catch 22. No doubt about it.

No comparison and appears to have been written for what's going on today.

Atlas Shrugged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andyb (Post 2040502)

Still the Bible, #1

Oh, was that written in the last 125 years?:boom:

Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

I've read and loved many of the books on that list. But my favorite, especially at the time that I read it, would have to be Gone with the Wind followed by Catcher in the Rye.

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2040308)

An impossible task. How do you define a good book? Most people don't read any books, and those that do, probably wouldn't read any of those books.

I would think that many people in the villages have read many of these books ,I loved Confederacy Of Dunces it still rings true. Books are still popular even among the young they just don’t read as many hard covers , but sales are up for books on tape , tablets and other forms , I had the first reaction to the Harry Potter reaction as the op until I realized that the book had a wonderful impact on younger people causing so many to take up reading and realizing the excitement that books can bring, for me it was Treasure Island maybe not a literary giant , but took this young boy on his first adventure , I can still hear the squeaky gate at the Admiral Ben Bow Inn banging in the breeze

nothing by Ayn Rand ???

My husband and I gave our boys classic literature to read throughout their elementary and middle school years. We had fun discussing the books with them and, yes, they did actually read them. By the time our sons reached HS they had quite a few books under their belt and their reading levels reflected that.

Most of the parents that I know started reading to their kids as babies and encourage their children to read the classics even if their schools do not.

A lot of great books on that list. I would have added "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel Brown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rainger99 (Post 2040303)

The New York Times is attempting to determine the best book from the past 125 years. What is your vote?

The 25 finalists selected by the Times are

THE TOP 25 BOOKS, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:
1984 By GEORGE ORWELL
All the Light We Cannot See By ANTHONY DOERR
Beloved By TONI MORRISON
Catch-22 By JOSEPH HELLER
The Catcher in the Rye By J.D. SALINGER
Charlotte’s Web By E.B. WHITE
A Confederacy of Dunces By JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE
The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. TOLKIEN
A Fine Balance By ROHINTON MISTRY
A Gentleman in Moscow By AMOR TOWLES
Gone With the Wind By MARGARET MITCHELL
The Grapes of Wrath By JOHN STEINBECK
The Great Gatsby By F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
The Handmaid’s Tale By MARGARET ATWOOD
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone By J.K. ROWLING
Infinite Jest By DAVID FOSTER WALLACE
To Kill a Mockingbird By HARPER LEE
A Little Life By HANYA YANAGIHARA
Lolita By VLADIMIR NABOKOV
Lonesome Dove By LARRY MCMURTRY
One Hundred Years of Solitude By GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ
The Overstory By RICHARD POWERS
A Prayer for Owen Meany By JOHN IRVING
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn By BETTY SMITH
Ulysses By JAMES JOYCE

Kristen Labransdatter by Sigred Undset. It won the Pulitzer for literature in 1929. Best book I ever read!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindaelane (Post 2040474)

Once I saw Harry Potter and the (Sorcerer's/Philosopher's) Stone on the list of the supposed 25 best books of the past 125 years, I knew this had to be a joke. What is wrong with these people? - - I doubt any recommendation on the list (though yes, I've read more than half) - a list with input from know-nothings - because of the lunacy of that entry.

This is my first "gripe-post" out of many I have made here- I usually do not like to be negative, but my goodness.

Some time ago I saw an autographed picture of the "Sapranos" for sale ,at the same time one of the original prints taken on the Hornet of the Doolittle raid,, the Saprano print sold for about twice the Doolittle print,, go figure