Oh, boy, my favorite book. I have a collection that rivals some small libraries. I enjoy fantasy books the most. I enjoyed Piers Anthony's "Incarnations of Immortality" a seven book series in which normal people become the human incarnation of various forces such as death, time war and nature.
I also enjoy C. S. Lewis, who was a Christian philosopher, he wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia" the most famous in the series is "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
I would have to say that I am a very harsh critic on literature. A book has to fulfill a few obligations to become a book worthy of any praise. A few books that were mentioned such as by the author Robin Hobb I find incredibly annoying. Incredibly. I own the first one I do believe, "Assasins Apprentice" and I can't get past the first chapter. Which is strange for me. It could very well be because I cannot stand books written in first person.
Frank Peretti, the only book I've enjoyed by him would be Monster, his newest book. The others have many flaws and don't line up theologically.
C.S. Lewis has my complete respect, and Paulo Coelho... that's an entirely different story.
I love Paulo Coelho's books! My favourite book of all time, besides the Bible, would have to be "he Alchemist." Which was written by him. It was one of those books that you pick up by fluke but it turns out to be exactly what you need to hear.
Another good book would have to be "A Brief History of Time," by Stephen Hawking. That man is a genius and the book is an excellent read. It takes a lot of thought as there is a new thought on every page. It is a book on astro and theoretical physics which are my favourite things in the world! And this man really knows what he's talking about. I would refer this book to anyone who likes to challenge their thinking. It's purpose, unfortunately is to disprove God, but as I've discussed with a friend he does everything but. If you can think logically and analytically this is a very good book.
I'm a voracious reader, and as many of you, I'm not sure I could pick just one favorite book. I've read through the last thirteen pages (mostly) and have seen repeated many of the books I would initially have thought of. So instead, I'm going to say that I mostly read fantasy and sci-fi, and have read almost all the books in those genre I have seen listed. Some I haven't seen though, and remain my favorites, are George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, one of the absolute best fantasy series I've read. Another which isn't quite as good, though still a very enjoyable read through all six books is The Witches of Eileanan series, by Kate Forsyth. For those of you that enjoy funny books, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and Nuklear Age, by Brian Clevenger are both extremely good. I book I just finished and enjoyed immensely was Starfish by Peter Watts (very very believable science, it immediatly touched the marine biologist in me). I could go on and on, but I won't. The only other book I want to bring up is the one I read in fourth grade, at a time when I had no interest in reading. If it weren't for that book I would probably be nothing like I am today, it opened my mind and my eyes to an entire world I hadn't ever imagined. It may not be the best book around, or the most advanced or thought provoking, but Watership Down, by Richard Adams, will always, always be one of my favorite books ever.
I think one of the greatest books that I have ever read is "The Chrysalids" it was introduced to me as a literature study during secondary school but the message was powerful. It deals with earth after a Haulocost in which there are mutations and each group of people belive themselves to be in the true image that god intended. The reference for the true image came from a survivor's version of the Bible.
"48 Days to the Career You Love" Helped me out in so many ways. Thats my favorite self-help book so far, I am on this kick of reading those sorts of books. But in the area of fiction my favorite would have to be Dragons of an Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. Its my favorite soley because it introduced me to fantasy worlds.
In my opinion the best book I have ever read is either The Legend or Waylander both by David Gemmell. I have a particular belief that if you are going to enjoy a book then it should be able to enthral your senses and as with the Waylander almost make me miss my coursework deadline. I love the realism in fantasy I get from David Gemmell and have read most of his works and admit that there are probably better writers however I still believe these to be the best two books I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
I don't believe that I could ever pick a favorite book there is just so much good in difference that I hate to look down my nose and say that this book dosen't matc up to this book. I read books as they are meant to be read not as I want to read them if you get my meaning. However, I rarely deviat from the realm of fantasy/sci-fi books. I find that if I'm going to read it is to get away to something that I will never see or do or even hear about in this world. A few of the best I have ever read have been George R.R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire, Laurel K. Hamiltons Anita Blake Sereies, Watership Down, The Faded Sun Trilogy, and a few of Dennis L. McKiernans books (if your even mildly sensitve and want a good cry try reading Dragondoom by him. I'm usually a pretty tough cookie to crack but WOW). Thats just a couple off a long list. Get to me if they're are any your more interested in and I can give you a synopsis. Or even better... READ IT!