my favorite books of all time
I have a rating system for books that I read for fun. A five star scale of one star being the worst and five stars being the best.
- 5 out of 5 stars means I would recommend this book to anyone. It is so excellent I think you'd enjoy it no matter what your own preferences on books are.
- 4/5 means that I really like it, and others might like it. I would recommend it to them if they enjoy books that are vaguely similar (same genre, similar topic, etc.)
- 3/5 stars is okay. Not bad. I wouldn't read it again but might suggest it to a friend if they have a specific want for this kind of book.
- 2/5 is readable but leaning towards bad. I would tell people not to read it based on the content but the writing might still be okay.
- 1/5: don't read this. Not readable. Writing is bad, content is boring flawed or cliche. My few DNFs1 are all 1's or 2's.
I rate all of these books as 5/5 stars meaning I would recommend anyone to read them. They have stayed with me since I first read them. I'm reminded of them occasionally and every time I do think of how it was so good and want to read them again.
So in no particular order,
South - Ernest Shackleton
A heroic first person account of their crew's failed attempt to reach the southern pole in Antarctica. Their ship is trapped in the ice and they must overwinter. A series of very unfortunate events later and they must sail 500+ miles across the open southern ocean in effectively a rowboat to the nearest island that is not Antarctica. No lives lost.
Neuromancer, William Gibson
The starter of the cyberpunk genre. Its about a heist. Kind of. Its good, just read it I dont want to spoil it.
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
The ultimate revenge story that starts off with a wrongful incarceration and a jailbreak. Read up on the French nobility structure or you'll get your Counts Earls and Barons all mixed up. Also dont look up a character map, especially the wikipedia one, draw your own or you'll spoil whole swathes of the book.
"The Count of Mount Crisco, by Alexander Dumbass" Whats this?
Its about a jailbreak.
Well put that over in non-fiction.
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War - Ben Macintyre
This is how MI6 works in real life. Just as exciting as 007 but reads like a true crime novel.
Dune - Frank Herbert
It's Dune.
The latest movies are the best book to film adaptations I've ever seen. But, the book is still better. There's more detail on Paul's training as a witch by his mother and more about the Fremen and the worm cycle.
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
True crime novel about a brutal murder of a family. Truman spent several years interviewing everyone in the small town and so his final product is incredibly detailed. The imagery stays with you as the tension builds towards the actual murder and the fallout in the small community.
Runners up for all time faves
The Time Machine - HG Wells
Scientist relates his travels of heading to the far future where humanity's evolution has made them unrecognizable. He tries to communicate and learn about their world but finds ominous signs that the post-humans are being cared for like livestock.
Leviathan Wakes - James S.A. Corey
If you like Dune you'll also love the Expanse series. Another master piece in the cringely named genre of space opera. I'd rather it be called something like big-sci-fi or sci-fi-drama. Long series of books to dig into, theyre all great, all action but you dont get the superman effect where you know their plot armor is going to save them somehow. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.
Pyschotherapy East and West - Alan Watts2
A judo master uses their opponent's weight and momentum against them and deflects attacks with the grace of a dance.
In the same way, a therapist or a zen master reflects a mental posit back onto the client or student in a different kind of dance.
This book explores the parallels between eastern philosophy and western psychiatry with the entertaining story telling of Alan Watts.
Humans - Noah Harari
A few points I (and a lot of other people) disagree with but is a fascinating 'history of civilization' and how we came to behave as the humans we know today.
A list of did not finishes or worst books Ive ever read might also be a fun post.↩
A lot of "his books" are not his books. They are collections of talks that his son and estate have put together in what I pessimistically think is a money grab. This one was actually intended to be consumed as a book and was published while he was alive.↩