Greatest Book You've Ever Read

What is the hands down greatest book you've ever read that you would recommend to anyone that they should read before they die?


Mine:

'Geek Love' by Katherine Dunn


Here's a little review/synopsis I wrote.


'Geek Love' seems like an innocent enough title for a book about two geeky computers nerds who find love on the internet and talk about Star Wars all day long. I had no interest in reading it because of that. Luckily the term 'geek' here is actually referring to the person at the side show of a carnival who devours a live chicken. Meet the Binewski's!!!! Mom (the geek "Crystal Lil") and Pop (the owner Aloysius) Binewski were part of a traveling carnival complete with side-show but relying on those side-show acts to pull in crowds is risky as they can pick up and leave whenever they want. Their solution, obviously, pump Crystal Lil full of different arrangements of chemicals when she's pregnant to make their own. INTRODUCING ARTURO BINEWSKI THE AMAZING AQUA BOY, born with flippers instead of arms and legs. ELECTRA AND IPHIGENIA THE SIAMESE TWINS who have completely separate torsous but joined at the waist. OLYMPIA THE HAIRLESS ALBINO HUNCHBACKED DWARF who is our main character and narrator...and Chick...let's not talk about Chick...you don't wanna know.

Never has their been a family with such twisted children. By that I mean Arty is a Machiavellian grade sociopath and Olly does whatever he says...because she's in love with him. He's in love with Iphy though, and Elly hates him so fucking much that she does everything she can to keep them apart...which is easy since they share a body. Again, these are all siblings. Just reminding you. Also I think none of them are over the age of 18.

The story, as you find out in the first chapter, is Olly telling us about how her entire family (minus Crystal Lil and herself) died. How, why, died or murdered and other such questions will be answered over the course of the book. But there's another aspect. Olly's daughter who is a completely normal completely GORGEOUS stripper...with a prehensile tail...lives with her mother without knowing that Olly is who she is. Olly's trying to get closer to her daughter while telling us this tale of how she came to be while the rest of her family ceased to be.

It is such an amazing drama with the most morally ambiguous cast of characters and just amazing plot twists and mysteries abound. Dunn's prose is stunning and her voice as Olympia is so unique. I was completely blown away by this book. My only with is that Dunn would write another novel because this is the only novel she's ever written, and it's absolutely perfect. While you may have a love/hate relationship with some (really most...or all) of the characters (I didn't, I just loved them all, especially Arty...fuck...Arty...you insane goddamn son of a BITCH) which can make it hard to enjoy the book sometimes, it is such a complete and unforgiving narrative that draws you in and doesn't let go. I would recommend that everyone reads this book before they die.

I can't tell you about the very best character though because it's a spoiler...but oh man...best character.

WANT -grabby hands-

Hahahaha, this sounds like the absolute most ridiculous book ever (in the best way possible).

As long as they don't kill a kid's dog like in the book Doug was trying to make me read I'm all in

Shut up, you.

What book was that????

Also, why not try answering the question!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!

lol, I need more time to think. I don't have something so obviously amazing to post. And the book we were referring to was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Interesting. I thought it might have been 'The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time' which is another book I would suggest everyone reads, it's fucking incredible. But 'Geek Love' is the best, I've never ever read anything better.

I had to read Curious Incident for my AP English class in high school. At least they dont actually kill the dog in the book [if I'm remembering right, or maybe I just blocked that part out?] he just spends the book trying to figure out who did.

Right, you don't "see" the murder, it just happened and he finds the body, and thus begins the incredible autistic noir story that is set out before us, HAHAHHA!!!

My favorite books:

The Bad Place - Dean Koontz
Dragon Tears - Dean Koontz (no its not about dragons)
Ushers Passing - Robert McCammon (creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy)

Probably something from high or grade school for me. I'll never forget Where the Red Fern Grows, or Tuck Everlasting. Or even The Odyssey.

I love Beowulf, but that hardly counts. Some actual favorites:

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father
Augusten Burroughs writes (yes) another memoir, but converse to Running With Scissors, which is written from the time he spends with his mother, Wolf is written during time he spends mostly with his father. I found the book incredibly easy to relate to for one reason or another, and it's one of the very few books that I felt compelled to read a second time through immediately after finishing. I actually planned a trip out to NYC to attend a reading with Burroughs, Tegan Quin, and some other people; unfortunately, I wasn't able to go, because it would've coincided with the first day I taught a class.

The Shining & Pet Semetary
These are two of only three books I can remember that actually made me uncomfortable while reading. I distinctly remember being scared during the Shining, and while I was reading it, I was an extra shade of jumpy until I finished. Pet Semetary, in my mind, is a near perfectly crafted story. I don't remember off-hand what about it made me decide it was near-perfect as opposed to perfect, but damn, it's good, and the images it puts in your mind are haunting. On at least one occasion I had to put it down and do something else to get the story out of my head.

As I think of more, I'll continue to post.

HAHAHAHAHA, Beowulf doesn't count, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I was supposed to read Beowulf *twice* during high school and never did xD I did write an amazing paper and do a project on it, though bahahaha

Cliff notes ftw?

Yup! Also I'm pretty sure I never even cracked the book for the paper. I found all of the quotes I used online xD
I do have the book somewhere at home though. Maybe I should read it sometime lmao

I wrote an eight page paper on Hamlet but never read the book. I got an A on the paper too

Greatest Books that I have ever read is a hard question to ask but there are a few that I can think of:

All 7 Harry Potter books
The Dark Is Rising Sequence (5 Books, my favorite book series) by Susan Cooper
Don't Die My Love by Lurlene McDaniel (basically any of her books are amazing)
The Shining by Steven King
A Child Called It (and all three sequels) by Dave Pelzer

Professor MoMo wrote:

Interesting. I thought it might have been 'The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time' which is another book I would suggest everyone reads, it's fucking incredible. But 'Geek Love' is the best, I've never ever read anything better.

Curious Incident was what came to mind immediately when I read the title of this thread. I'd also add The Shining, I think it's incredible.

I actually really enjoyed Beowulf. Fantastical books are intriguing.