Have you ever become obsessed with a book?

[Blue_Sargasso]

What book has captured your imagination to the extent that you have become a complete bore about it and are always banging on about how good it is to everyone you meet?

I came across a book recommendation on Graham Hancock's Conspiracy Theory forum. I'd never heard of the book, or the author, and, as far as I know, it's no kind of success, but I liked the sound of it and bought it on the off chance.

Now I find myself always thinking about it even though I finished it months ago. If I say it's about a ten-thousand year old plot to kill God, you might see why it could be rather thought-provoking.

It's a bit like Dan Brown with all of the brakes removed, I suppose. I loved The Da Vinci Code, but I love The Armageddon Conspiracy by Mike Hockney even more.

So, can anyone else recommend any book that gave them a total buzz and which they can't shake out of their mind?

Thanks in advance. I'll probably check out any books that sound sufficiently brilliant. I'm a thriller fan.

[Marquis de Carabas]

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Theodor Geisel. My entire political and moral philosophy is based upon this book.

[RobRoy]

Tolkien nerd here. Started with the gift of The Hobbit and has never really ended.

Nothing else has ever had the same effect.

[Piscivore]

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Theodor Geisel. My entire political and moral philosophy is based upon this book.

Dude, that's my line. :p

ETA: The Crying of Lot 49

[Cainkane1]

I wish I could remember the title of a book that after many years of neglect was brought back into the limelight by someone who had bought the very old book in a sale of some sort. The man was so impressed by the book that he looked up the author and discovered that the man was in dire physical and financial straits. The book went on to become a best seller after many years of being forgotten. I wish I could remember more.

[Morrigan]

A Song of Ice and Fire is probably the closest thing I can think of. I actually translated (with the help of a similarly-obsessed friend - we split the POVs :D) A Game of Thrones into French, just for fun. Well, I also enjoy translating, so it was a fun exercsise, too.

http://www.metal-archives.com/board/images/smiles/theyareontome.gif

[Maus]

Maus

-Maus

[plumjam]

Mine was How To Avoid Obsessive Behaviours by Professor Charles T. Bonobo Jr.

[Skeptic Guy]

First Lord of the Rings / Hobbit, then the Aubrey/Maturin series of historical fiction by Patrick O'Brian.

ETA: Do you like my party hat?

[LibraryLady]

A little-known work called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You might have heard of it. :)

My obsession has now lasted over 39 years.

[Piscivore]

A little-known work called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You might have heard of it. :)

My obsession has now lasted over 39 years.

Wait, they novelised a Disney cartoon?



:p

[LibraryLady]

Wait, they novelised a Disney cartoon?



:p

*Marks Piscivore for very bad things.*

[TX50]

The Iliad of Homer (for about the last 30 years)

[liverleef]

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer

I've read it several times and I think about it often because I frequently see events in the news that prove the assertions made in the book.

[LibraryLady]

The Iliad of Homer (for about the last 30 years)

Interesting. I've always found the Odyssey to be more exciting. You like the battles?

[learner]

Grapes of wrath...Steinbeck
Best book ive ever read.

[Skeptic Guy]

*Marks Piscivore for very bad things.*

Ah oh, Pisc, you've gone and made LL mad. Expect a very angry budgey showing up at your door soon.

[Gene L]

Moby Dick. I read it several times because I liked it and to see how it worked. It's perhaps the greates American novel, and considering the novel was only about 100 years old when it was written, it's very modern in structure and style.

The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. Over-looked and erronously viewed as non-fiction, but it was absorbing, if very bleak.

[HistoryGal]

A little-known work called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. You might have heard of it. :)

My obsession has now lasted over 39 years.

My father acquired a good-sized collection of Alice in Wonderland cinderella stamps and covers. I should check to see if he still has it! The collection was gorgeous.

I looked around and found this site, which is very similar to, if not exactly the same sort of collection my father bought:

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/116275518SCYRJh

My own little obsession has always been with "Time and Again" by Jack Finney. I'm a deltiologist (postcard collector), and one of the areas I collect are places mentioned or shown in the book.

HG

[juniper_ann]

I was obsessed with Lord of the Rings from 6th to 7th grade...I read and re-read some of the book every day for a year. I tried re-reading it when the movies came out, but it was still too soon.

[Damien Evans]

THE DOWNFALL OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND THE RETURN OF THE KING

(as seen by the Little People; being the memoirs of Bilbo and Frodo of the Shire, supplemented by the accounts of their friends and the learning of the Wise.)

Together with extracts from Books of Lore translated by Bilbo in Rivendell.








What, me a nerd?

[Bee]

Rather embarrassingly in my teenage years it would be anything by Daniken. I would carry Chariots of the Gods around with me and shove it in peoples faces trying to get them to 'see' the truth. I could never understand why people would look at me as if I'd just escaped from the nearest loony bin.

[Georg]

Tolkien nerd here. Started with the gift of The Hobbit and has never really ended.

Nothing else has ever had the same effect.

Seconded.

[Furi]

Fox in socks, Dr. Seuss

[Blackadder]

Guards! Guards! -> Men at Arms -> Feet of Clay and then every other Discworld City Watch book.

I love most of Pratchett's work, but the ones based on the AM City Watch will always have a special place and in the last 10 years I am afraid I read them once a year.

[Kilted]

A Song of Ice and Fire...

I have to second that! Just wish the author would stop jetting off to every comic book convention you've never heard of, and get on with the writing! How many times has the release date been put back...?

[Chaos]

Rather embarrassingly in my teenage years it would be anything by Daniken. I would carry Chariots of the Gods around with me and shove it in peoples faces trying to get them to 'see' the truth. I could never understand why people would look at me as if I'd just escaped from the nearest loony bin.

Charles Berlitz, here, in my teens. I know exactly why this embarasses you.

[alfaniner]

The NeverEnding Story.

Read it only once as an adult, and that's after having seen the movie. The hardcover version with the black and red text is highly recommended. I have to admit that, if only for a moment, it had me actually thinking it might really happen.

[Arthur Denton]

The Garden of Rama, by A. C. Clarke. And later,The Hitchicker's Guide to the Galaxy series.

[TX50]

Interesting. I've always found the Odyssey to be more exciting. You like the battles?

I really dislike the character of Odysseus. He lies and deceives far too much
for my liking and he wouldn't have got anywhere if Athena hadn't helped him
every step of the way.

To my mind, the only true hero in the Homeric poems is Hector of Troy. The
Iliad in many respects can be viewed as the "Tragedy of Hector" (his name
"Hektoros hippodamoios" is significantly at the very end of the very last
verse. Placing a name at the end of a verse was a device in Greek poetry to
add emphasis or honour to a character)

[Almo]

HGttG for me.

[LibraryLady]

Hgttg?

I have no idea what that is. Can people please spell things out for the uninitiate?

ETA: Never mind, Hitchhiker's Guide.

Jeesh.

[TiaH]

"Quinn's Shanghai Circus" (Edward Whittemore) and "The Stars My Destination" (Alfred Bester)

[Marty]

I'm not obsessed. It's more like a compulsion. I reread it every presidential election year. It still holds up.

"Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail" by Hunter Thompson

[Alex Libman]

Ayn Rand nut here.

(As you could have guessed.)

[Morrigan]

Hahaha, could you be more caricatural?

[Alex Libman]

Of course. Stereotypical Ayn Rand fans have a lot going for them: tall, confident, healthy, born into wealthy families, etc. I'm a fat little hikikomori (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori) with no taxable income. ;)

[Kittyclaws]

The Stand by Stephen King

I reread it every other year or so and wonder if the gummint is keeping tight enough security on that base in Nevada...

[Smiledriver]

If any one takes any book here as a recomendation for personal reading read:
IN THE HILLS AND CITIES by Clive Barker in his Books of Blood Vol. 1.

It will blow your mind!

[Piscivore]

Of course. Stereotypical Ayn Rand fans have a lot going for them: tall, confident, healthy, born into wealthy families, etc.
No, those are stereotypical Ayn Rand characters. The sorts of people you describe do not tend to buy into her malarkey, in my experience. They get into Scientology.

I'm a fat little hikikomori (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori) with no taxable income. ;)
I think that explains the fandom- you don't know much more about real people than she ever did.

And, by-the-bye, a "stereotypical Ayn Rand fan" to me is an idealistic young buck with more passion than experience and much greater sense of unfulfilled entitlement than real earning power. Much like a campus-Marxist. The only difference is the Objectivist picked up a copy of "Anthem" or "2112" first.

[Kevin_Lowe]

I try to restrain my boring tendencies about Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart and Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson.

[VespaGuy]

Ayn Rand nut here.

(As you could have guessed.)

What a surprise there. I pegged you within your first few posts on this forum. My opinion hasn't changed:

There are also folks who read "Atlas Shrugged" and suddenly feel that they have all of the answers to society's ills. They usually complain about their lack of "freedoms", despite being free to do, say, or worship just about anything they please. They also complain about taxes, despite being unemployed students who aren't affected by most tax laws.

This is just a generalization. I'm sure you don't fit this mold at all, Alex.

Alex, you have been a member here for about a day, and you've already peppered these forums with your unsubstantiated nonsense. You wave your hands about when asked for evidence, or resort to insults.

The answer to your problems (taxes, "freedom") exists. I suggest you should go the way of "Alexander Supertramp" if you truly want freedom. However, if you want to live in a society, you will be required to contribute.

And to get back on topic...

House Of Leaves is just soooo bizarre. I was completely obsessed with it when I first read it, and searched online for all of the connections, clues, and micellaneous trivia associated with it.

I've also read The Long Walk by Stephen King about a dozen times. It's such a great short story. I'm still hoping to see it made into a movie one day.

[zooterkin]

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is one of the few books I've read more than once, and which I could happily read a few times more. It probably is partly explained by the fact that it is heavily influenced by the Just William books which I loved as a boy, while set against a son of Satan story, as well as being written by two of my favourite authors.

[JohnG]

Two reference books I've dipped into into literally hundreds of times:

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends by Stuart Gordon

[Wowbagger]

I'm not obsessed with any books. Really, I'm not!!

Just because I always keep a copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in my car, for use in such emergencies where I need to look up something in it, does NOT necessarily mean I am obsessed with it!

[LibraryLady]

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable



One of my favorites! Do you ever look at The Reader's Encyclopedia?

[JohnG]

One of my favorites! Do you ever look at The Reader's Encyclopedia?

No, tell me more:)

[JohnG]

I'm not obsessed with any books. Really, I'm not!!

Just because I always keep a copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in my car, for use in such emergencies where I need to look up something in it, does NOT necessarily mean I am obsessed with it!


I like the cover...




sorry, wrong thread

[LibraryLady]

No, tell me more:)

Here you are! (http://www.amazon.com/Benets-Readers-Encyclopedia-Fourth/dp/006270110X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220733815&sr=8-2)

[JohnG]

I like the sound of that. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Denver]

Tolkien nerd here. Started with the gift of The Hobbit and has never really ended.

Nothing else has ever had the same effect.

Back in High School, this got me too. Not so much talking to everyone about it: but I decided I had to find all the dwarvish and elvish script Tolkien had developed, whether in the books or in other published things, and translate it all.

Once I had done that, I was cured.

[Wowbagger]

I actually got, like, 4 or 5 different copies of the HHGG novels, in various variations.

But, I'm not obsessed!

[jenspen]

Being obsessed with books has been my life's work and in the early 70s the grandest of all my book obsessions began when I started reading the Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brian. And he kept writing them!! Read and re-re-re-read them for 30 years. Time to start again.

[lionking]

Is obsessed the number of times a book is re-read? If so, a tie, LOTR and "London Fields" by Martin Amis. His use of language is extraordinary.

[Orphia Nay]

I used to be obsessed with Catcher in the Rye. I read it when I was about 16, and thought it summed up my own existence so perfectly I read it again immediately. Then I vowed and went on to read it every year for about 15 years.

I got over it eventually, but not completely... it still holds a special place in my hardened heart.

[sally jupiter]

Another for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series! The first thing I said when I finished reading the final book was, "Wow, I think I might have just read the best thing I'll ever read in my life." I never wanted the story to end, but I couldn't have asked for a better ending. I still haven't read anything that has brought so much joy or influenced me in such a positive way.

[LibraryLady]

I like the sound of that. Thanks for the recommendation!

It's what I do.

*Swings herself into the saddle, tips her cowboy hat, rides into the sunset.*

[alfaniner]

ElfQuest.

This was right around the time of my first reading of Lord of the Rings as well. It was a comic book series that fortunately already had several issues and compilations available. I actually put LOTR on hold until I could get everything that had been produced so far. I bought every one of them that came out (one of the first "graphic novel" formats, I believe), even the individual and combined hardcover versions. I was really taken with the art, and the characters such as I'd never experienced before. It's a shame that nearly 30 years after its debut there is no animated movie out yet (although the creators have been "in development" many times.) By this time it should be fairly simple to do everything that is needed using CGI.

[hipparchia]

Moby Dick. I read it several times because I liked it and to see how it worked. It's perhaps the greates American novel, and considering the novel was only about 100 years old when it was written, it's very modern in structure and style.

Ditto. I am re-reading it now on my commute.

And I like to bore people by telling them a single page of Moby-Dick may contain more wisdom than the complete works of Paulo Coelho.