# What is your Go To Book?



## Libby13 (Jul 31, 2011)

Do you have one book you recommend more than any other?  Does one book have a special place on the bookshelf of your heart?  Is there one book you read over and over again?

Mine is "The Driver's Seat" by Muriel Spark.  It's extremely brief, less than 150 pages, and is insanely good.  Any time I'm asked for a good book, a fun book, an intriguing book, or a blow your mind book, I recommend The Driver's Seat.  The only time I don't recommend this book is when the person is under 16 and/or is squeamish about darker material.

Here's the blurb:

"Lise leaves her home in northern Europe for a holiday, but it is not rest and relaxation that she is looking for...
Driven to distraction by an office job, she leaves everything and flies south on holiday—in search of passionate adventure, the obsessional experience and sex. Infinity and eternity attend Lise's last terrible day in the unnamed southern city that is her final destination."

Anyone else have that one book that is there go to recommendation?


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## Robena (Jan 19, 2013)

Libby13 said:


> Do you have one book you recommend more than any other? Does one book have a special place on the bookshelf of your heart? Is there one book you read over and over again?


Mine is Jennifer Crusie's Welcome to Temptation. Well, scratch that. Anything by Jenny Crusie. Especially if I'm feeling sort of adrift, or lonely. A Crusie novel fixes me right up. : )


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Has to be Roger Zelazny's original 5-book "Amber" series, which I've re-read so many times now after discovering it in the late '70s, that I have no idea how many times I've read it. (A bit of extrapolation and simple arithmetic would have me conservatively guesstimate around 30 times, if not more.) Unfortunately, it is not enKindled (along with the vast majority of his work), but you can get both Amber series (10 novels total) in one omnibus paper edition:


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I'd have to admit to having several.  I don't think I can pick just one, but two strong candidates for it would be The Hound of the Baskervilles (probably my favorite part of the Sherlock Holmes Canon) and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel (one of Robert Heinlein's "young adult" books, but it has always strongly appealed to me).


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

To Kill a Mockingbird... 

Betsy


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Fantasy: Bradbury's _Something Wicked This Way Comes_.

Mainstream: Hemingway's _The Old Man and the Sea_.


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## SandraMiller (May 10, 2011)

The Eight, Katherine Neville. Seriously, I can't count the times I've read this book...and now I'm thinking I'd like to read it again. The day it comes out for Kindle is the day I'll own a digital copy...I've had three copies of the paperback, one was loaned and never came home, the other I wore out 



SO. MUCH. AWESOME. Globe-trotting adventure, intrigue, chess, parallel storylines spanning centuries...

Hmm. I think I'm going to go find it right now. Lunch-break, right?  But my favorite cover is still the original...


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

Mine is _And Ladies of the Club_ by Helen Hooven Santmyer. It's a wonderful picture of Ohio life and politics post-Civil War to early-mid 20th century.

I faithfully click the "I would like to read this on Kindle" button at least once a week for this one.


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## Tshoe (Jan 31, 2013)

Mine is Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)... or Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)... or Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)... or The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)... or Eight Cousins (Louisa May Alcott).  I've tried to gain a diverse collection of books to read - the classics are my fall-back-to books when I'm tired or bored or don't want to stress because I don't know how a book will turn out.


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## RosanneRivers (Jan 21, 2013)

_The Lord of the Flies _- amazing!


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## Libby13 (Jul 31, 2011)

Some of these I've read and loved - Lord of the Flies, Anne of Green Gables, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.  And some of these I'm going to add to my reading list.  Especially the Amber series.  30 times?!  That's insane!


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## KTaylor-Green (Aug 24, 2011)

The Stand by Steven King. I have lost count of how many times I have read it. I now have it on my kindle as I have lost so many paperback copies!


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

For Fantasy it's The Lord of the Rings just for the beauty of the prose. For novels it's Gone With the Wind if you want a good book on the analysis of human nature as Scarlett proceeds to mess up everything good in her life, only after it's too late and she's lost everyone that matters to her and driven her friends away from her.


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

East of Eden

It is difficult to put into words what this novel has meant to me over the years. From the first time I read it in high school (one reading assignment I actually liked) to the last time I read it a few years ago, the underlying theme of forgiveness and redemption and the ability to choose have stayed with me.

I can't say I have read this book "over and over again" having read it maybe 3-4 times. I have recommended this book over the years to others. Some people have not thought as highly of it as I do but I still recommend it.

Deckard


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## Jenni Norris (Oct 10, 2012)

Lord of the Rings, every time...


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## Libby13 (Jul 31, 2011)

deckard said:


> East of Eden
> 
> It is difficult to put into words what this novel has meant to me over the years. From the first time I read it in high school (one reading assignment I actually liked) to the last time I read it a few years ago, the underlying theme of forgiveness and redemption and the ability to choose have stayed with me.
> 
> ...


And East of Eden is on the TBR. LOTR was already on the TBR.


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## Wingpeople (Oct 7, 2011)

It depends on my mood...

Certainly, _To Kill a Mockingbird_ for all-around greatness.
_Touching the Void_ for something that'll knock your socks off.
_Desert Solitaire_ to lose myself in the great outdoors.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Libby13 said:


> ... Especially the Amber series. 30 times?! That's insane!


For me I think it's a combination of Zelazny's lyrical prose and something about the story and the main character (and narrator) that just resonates with me. *sigh* Now I'm starting to think I'm going to have to get my buddy at work to return my 2-volume hardback copy, so I can start yet again.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

These days I cannot stop recommending Blake Crouch's books RUN and PINES to my fellow horror/thriller fans.


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## Libby13 (Jul 31, 2011)

Wingpeople said:


> It depends on my mood...
> 
> Certainly, _To Kill a Mockingbird_ for all-around greatness.
> _Touching the Void_ for something that'll knock your socks off.
> _Desert Solitaire_ to lose myself in the great outdoors.


Touching the Void is certainly on my TBR!


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

LOTR, Imajica, any Discworld novel, SK's It and The Stand, Dracula, Peter Straub's Shadowland... (Are we only supposed to pick _one_?)


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## Sean Patrick Reardon (Sep 30, 2010)

Libby13 said:


> Some of these I've read and loved - Lord of the Flies, Anne of Green Gables, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc. And some of these I'm going to add to my reading list. Especially the Amber series. 30 times?! That's insane!


I'm with you on Lord of the Flies! One of my all-time fav's.


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## Katie Jennings (May 7, 2012)

Anything by Nora Roberts is a go-to for me...though my favorite of hers, a book I've read more times than I can count, is called _Irish Rose_. It's the second book in the Irish Hearts series and follows an Irish woman who comes to America and falls for a rough and tumble gambling man who owns a thoroughbred horse ranch. It's such an amazing story and the two characters in it are by far two of the best characters Nora has ever created!


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## Red Dove (Jun 11, 2012)

Sorry, but I can't decide between these three (books I've read several times)

John Steinbeck - Of Mice and Men

Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse 5

Graham Greene - The Quiet American


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

Depends on who's asking and what they're looking for. I think it's important to find that out if you're recommending books. Then, based on what genre they're interested in reading, I'll go with my faves for that particular genre. To Kill a Mockingbird for drama, LOTR for epic fantasy, The Foundation Trillogy for sci-fi, etc..


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Libby13 said:


> Touching the Void is certainly on my TBR!


Touching the Void was amazing...

Betsy


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

Yeah, absolutely riveting, right from the get-go. He's a hell of a writer.


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## rjspears (Sep 25, 2011)

Wow, this is a hard one.

There are a few Stephen King books that I re-read every few years.  I loved the Dune series as a teen and have re-read them a few times.  Like a few others, I found the discovery of Zelazny's Amber series.  There a few books in the middle of Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder series I return to often.  

One single book that I still love each time I read it and it's Bob Greene's "Be True to Your School."  I don't think it's all that notable, but it's such a nice slice of life from the early sixties and of being a teenager.

--
R.J. Spears


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## Thundermatts (Feb 4, 2013)

I have re-read Jurassic Park and The Lost World back to back every year since I can remember (well since The Lost World came out at least lol.)

I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and read the stories constantly.

Harry Potter is one of my favorite things ever, so I've read each of those books a good number of times lol.


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## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

Like so many others, I think _To Kill a Mockingbird_ is pretty much perfect.

Still, I constantly find myself going back to the John R. Powers trilogy about growing up Catholic in Chicago in the 50s and 60s:

_The Last Catholic in America_

_Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up_

_The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice Cream God_

I'm not Catholic and wasn't raised in the Midwest, but these books speak to me about coming of age and capture a version of America that no longer exists.


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## Leanne King (Oct 2, 2012)

It changes all the time. For longevity, probably Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide (any of the series). Right now though, probably Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell), better value, six genres in one book!


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## Kaye Wilkinson Barley (Feb 8, 2013)

My go to book for many many years is a book written in 1966.  It's been out of print, back in print, several times.

It's Ann Fairbairn's FIVE SMOOTH STONES.  

i LOVE this book.


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## SandraMiller (May 10, 2011)

HarryDayle said:


> probably Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide


Oooh, I second that one! I have the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, and I've read it so many times I've lost count. I can't even count the number of times I've tried to get my husband to read it, but he insists on watching the movie 

Susan Kay, too--I've read and re-read her Legacy and Phantom until they're about worn through. And Taylor Caldwell's Tender Victory...

Wow, I re-read things a lot. I never paid attention...


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## Libby13 (Jul 31, 2011)

Sam Kates said:


> LOTR, Imajica, any Discworld novel, SK's It and The Stand, Dracula, Peter Straub's Shadowland... (Are we only supposed to pick _one_?)


I'm slowly making my way through Discworld. I use them as a treat after difficult or depressing reads.


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## Libby13 (Jul 31, 2011)

HarryDayle said:


> It changes all the time. For longevity, probably Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide (any of the series). Right now though, probably Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell), better value, six genres in one book!


I just bought Cloud Atlas from Audible.

I agree with everyone about To Kill A Mockingbird. I often refer to my pale skin as that "Boo Radley" look.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Libby13 said:


> I'm slowly making my way through Discworld. I use them as a treat after difficult or depressing reads.


Know what you mean. I return to them time after time.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Libby13 said:


> I'm slowly making my way through Discworld. I use them as a treat after difficult or depressing reads.


Not just difficult/depressing reads: they had a significant role in my coping with the loss of my mother, dog, and father in a one year period. Since I've read them all, there were quite a few re-reads in the past couple of years.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

The Stand  by Stephen King

At last count, I’ve read it complete 16 times but at odd times I will pick it up and read a few chapters of my favourite parts.  I have in hardcover, paperback, new extended version and Kindle.


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## Sam Durrani (Feb 13, 2013)

Well, aside from the Bible, the book that has haunted me for years is The Road by Cormac McCarthy.


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