This might come as a surprise, but I believe that the most beautifully written book I have ever read was Eye of the Dragon, by Steven King. It isn't a bloated monster like his other books. He wrote it as a fairey tale for his kids, and it's perfect jewel of a morality tale.
At the risk of sounding cliche, the book that really set me on the path of loving reading was The Hobbit by Tolkien. I can still imagine my four-year-old self lying on my parents' bed and my mother reading the first passages to me for the first time. Before long, I was reading it to her. I learned so many words and expressions from that book and The Rings Trilogy that it launched my literacy and imagination to the point that it was sometimes hard to relate to my peers who had no such interests. In my mind, they are still the most important books to fantasy literature and stand amongst the best books of the ages.
Name: Jules
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Comments: Lemony Snicket's series of Unfortunate Events is not really one book but I love every book in the series starting with "The Bad Beginning". It is very engaging and feel something for each energetic character involved.
It's difficult to choose just one best book I've ever read. There are obviously series like Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit, but I also really like novels such as the Artemis Fowl series and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. And then there is the prevalence of other media such as comic books and movies, it makes it difficult to choose a favourite from among the many that exist and will continue to exist. One of my favourite series is the His Dark Materials series, which explains the concept of parallel universes through the realm of not - quite fantasy or science fiction, but somewhere in between. Reading books has shaped too much of what I am today, as a recreational writer, with the hopes of getting published one day, having a wide reading library is an asset, as it has shaped my imagination into what it is today.
Edited: rossaldinho on 21st Jul, 2016 - 9:40am
This is so difficult! I have to name several because I can't choose only one. Everyone knows we females can have a hard time choosing. Wuthering Heights. I just love the story of Heathcliff and Catherine. The Vampire Lestat. I love reading about Lestat's younger days. Twilight is good but Anne Rice is such a good writer. My last choice .... Hmm. The wheel of time series. Don't ask me to pick just one. I love them all!
Edited: Kyrroeth on 15th Aug, 2016 - 4:27pm
I liked the wheel of time series just wonder what differences would have appeared if Robert Jordan was able to finish it. The ending was nice and completed the series but still left a bit of a cliff hanger. I think Robert Jordan thought to extend with more novels to come after the ending.
I have to agree that there are a lot of books out there and a lot of different authors that follow a path that makes them hard to choose from some of the other great writers. That being said is probably why I have such a larger array of books in my library.