What's the best thing you've read in a year?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I've said too much. Now I must summon the monkeys.

[Master Gopher]

*Master_Gopher waits in breathless anticipation for the advent of the monkeys*

[Archon]

*Archon waits with cocked pistol for monkeys.

[Tekiel]

Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard.  Very hard to read if you don't like reading about war camps and all that stuff.  But a worthy book, especially if you've seen the movie.

[JP Dogberry]

Empire of the Sun gets my vote as the worst book ever. And the movie as the worst movie ever. I had to read it in high school.

[Tekiel]

Well of course you're going to hate the book if someone - namely, teachers - force you to read it.  You hate the book before you've even finished the first chapter!

[Master Gopher]

I am freakin' out: one of my almost-favourite books is going to be force-fed to me later this year in English (The Great Gatsby). Thank goodness I have already read it many times and my first impressions won't be trampled, at least.

[JP Dogberry]

See, I loved 80% of the books I was forced to read.

[Melonade]

Now, the thing I liked most about the release of the 'I, Robot' movie was the fact the it's now easier to buy Asimov's books again.

I finished reading the second book in the Foudnation series Foundation & Empire...I never stop liking his work.  I liked this one especially because I was able to figure out who the villain was, and usually I'm not able to do that, so that made it extra special for me XD

[Master Gopher]

See, I loved 80% of the books I was forced to read.

Didn't say I didn't love any of them. I do, many. It's just what happens to them when put through the English Class Filter.

[Oseleon]

Carribian
James Mitchner

Picked it up after my Honeymoon in Cancun.  When I was down there I found myself more intrested in the Mayan Ruins and the interior of the Yucatan, than by the famous Cancun Party Scene.  
One of my favorite memories of the trip was climbing the Pyramid at Ek Balam, and wandering the ruins of Tulum.  Then I read Carribian, and part of it took me down the same path through Tulum, from the beach where I wet my feet, to the NW Gate of the City, only 800 years ago.   It was a breathtaking read in that light.  

Also, I'll never look at a bottle of Capt Morgan again.  The real Capt Morgan was a right sod-off Basturd

[cragum]

Schott's original miscellany by ben schott.
especially enjoyable as a provider of completely useless information; how else would you discover a group of priests is called a 'pontification of priests'... aside from reading that just now.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

welcome to the forums, cragum, be sure to read the FAQ and introduce yourself

[origamikaren]

I really liked The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

It was amazing how emotionally caught up in it I was.  The horrors of the reign of terror were more real than I've ever thought of them before -- I mean, you don't really get the same impression from the Scaret Pimpernel.  

And the ending -- I predicted what was going to happen from the first moment the twin characters were introduced, but when it came, even though I was expecting it, it brought tears to my eyes, and a feeling like there is some good in the world after all.

I'd highly recommend it.