What is your favourite book and why?

I have always been an avid reader, and because of that fact I have collected a very long list of favorite books. However, only one book stands out in my mind, because reading it had changed my life. ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank. I grew up in USSR, where Jews have been mistreated and discriminated against for centuries. So much so, that their heroic participation in Soviet wars was completely forgotten, their losses were laughed at and their suffering was called insincere. That is why Jewish Holocaust was never even mentioned in Soviet history books. So, when I found a copy of ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ at my friend's house, I had to read it. It was the hardest thing I ever read, BTW. It also opened my eyes to the reality; where national identity of the huge group of people had to be taken away in order to keep them in slave-like compliance to the government. It clearly illustrated to me how very similar all totalitarian states were, be it Nazism or Socialism. It also showed me that no matter how well your government is doing for its own nation, there must be someone making sure that its not planning to overtake the world at large by simple extermination of smaller nations. It opened my eyes to the total indifference of the world at large, while Nazi methodically murdered millions of innocent people. And I still can not understand how we can call ourselves human after letting a thing like that happen to these people for years. I was so disturbed by what I read in this book, that I dedicated my life to learning how people could be that beastly cold blooded. So, in my own small way I could make this world a better place for my daughter to live in.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I love the book for many reasons, among them being the intensity of the anguish throughout. I'm also very struck by the fact that the book is one of the most commonly adapted books-to-film in history, yet has still never been faithfully adapted to film. EVERYONE knows the story, yet unless one closely reads the book, they don't know the real story.

Another one that falls into similar circumstances is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mister Hyde. NEVER been filmed faithfully, and impossible to appreciate, because everyone knows the SURPRISE ending, where it's revealed that Jekyll & Hyde are the same person!

That's two, both prime examples of how the book is always better than the movie.

If I had to pick a fictional piece that had the greatest effect upon me when I read it around the time of my early teens, it would have to be Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. This is because it dealt with what I felt were real human qualities and real human frailty which few books I had read prior to it address so poignantly. I could go on and on, but it's a classic piece of literature for good reason. After that, I am a great fan of F. Dostoevsky, and many others. Frankly, the more I think, the more trouble I have answering which is the *favorite* book, but I'll stick with my first answer because it had the most profound effect on me as a youth.

I Have No Single Favourite

I Am Reading

On Equilibrium

By John Ralston Saul

It Is Not Light Reading

But It Gives One To Think

And I Like The Cover

I just read The Hunger Games series and it was AWESOME!!! I liked the first book the best because the story moved quickly, the characters were relatable, there was always action, you couldn't guess what was going to happen next, the female lead was strong and self-sufficient and she wasn't a damsel in distress, the premise of the story was good. Basically, it takes place in the future on land that used to be America, now its called Panem. 13 districts and a capitol make up the country. Every year, a boy and girl tribute from each district has their name chosen randomly out of a hat and they get thrown into an arena to fight to the death as the capitol's entertainment.

You might think this is stupid of me to say this, but I really have to say my favourite books are the whole harry potter series, because I started reading them when i was 7, and i've never stopped reading since. So really, it was harry potter that made me love reading books in general!

I also recently finished reading 'house rules' by jodi picoult, which I loved - it's about a boy with aspergers who is accused of murder.

Also, thanks for asking this question, because reading through the answers reminded me that I wanted to read the hunger games series! =D

Hard to choose, but I"d have to say Clan of the Cave Bear is a series that I was addicted to. It's a story about a strong woman living during a time when neanderthals and evolved humans existed. It was well-researched (she researched all about herbs, medicines, geography, etc. at the time) and had a great story.

Hi Deidre, what a great question! That question is very easy for me. It is the 2000 autobiography called "Stolen Lives" by Malika Oufkir. It is the compelling and tragic, but ultimately victorious memoir of a Moroccan woman and her family who were imprisoned in desert jails for over 20 years for a crime her father committed. This was a woman who lost her youth, years of happiness, and was forced to watch her young siblings grow up in starvation and terror all for a crime they had nothing to do with. I think I've read the book over three times, and each time, I am as absorbed with it as I was the first time around. I HIGHLY recommend it, because not only is it one very powerful story about a woman's experience, her struggle and triumph is to me, the epitome of the resiliency of the human spirit.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved...

Metro 2033 is my favourite book it has a huge fan following even if its russian art related to it a spectacular video game and hopefully a movie...

If only the majority of the art and other books were not in russian...

http://www.m2034.ru/

First Among Equals, for giving me a great understanding of the British political system.