Title self-explanatory. What are your favourite books? Why? Also note I'm running low on my list of books to read. For me, it's:

1- The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance). It's the epitome of the awesome fantasy. Elves and dragons and all kinds of awesome. Also, complicated plot. Read when you have lots of time, it's lengthy. Don't judge them by the one film. The film was the worst book/film adaption ever.
2- The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay). Besides the triangle, it's all pretty awesomesauce. Really looking forward to the rest of the films, too.
3- Harry Potter (You know them all). If you have to ask what they are, I pity the life you've wasted.
4- Animal Farm (George Orwell). Good lord, for light reading, it was very enjoyable, and dark, I should add. I'm by no means a professor of Communism, but this would be essential reading.
5- The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster). Not sure how many of you have read it, but it's basically the strangest book I've read for a long time. Feelsy, and good feelsy. Read it if you haven't yet.
6- Caledor (Gav Thorpe). Strangely enjoyable read, but I'm basing this off memory (I read it long ago). Same reason for the Inheritance Cycle, but this was less so.

And in a place beyond reckoning,
(Basically least favourite, in case the numbers confuse)967,237,59- Jane Eyre. Could someone remove this book from existence, please? The only good bits were Sue me for being evil.

Feel free to relentlessly criticise my reading tastes, if you feel the uncharacteristic need to.

Hm well my favourite series are;

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy: Absolutely love this series. It's witty, hilariously funny nearly all the time, the action is superbly written, and the plot of each book is top-notch and the overall plot has shaped up to be excellent, it will end next year with Book 9 and i'm dying to know how it all will end. Plus again, it's just so freaking funny. I never laugh as hard as when I read a Skulduggery Pleasant novel, everything is just so funny. The characters, magic, setting, plot twists, jokes, one-liners, even just conversation ends up being funny.

Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi: One of the best sci-fi series out there, yet tragically under-read due to being Japanese in origin and the books being more novella-length than actual novels. But it's a great series with some of the strangest magic and technology you'll see, a fine protagonist whose presence is a harbinger of destiny and with plenty of great books with endings that range from bittersweet to pure tragedy with a tiny silver lining. Beautiful artwork by Yoshitana Amano, the guy who does all the Final Fantasy artwork, to boot.

The Flashman Papers by George MacDonald Fraser: The best historical fiction series out there, and it's all based in real history too so you learn while you read. Very much a series with a hero in the broadest possible sense, but very funny and action-packed and exciting as well. Truly a shame that Fraser passed away five years ago and we'll never see anymore of the Flashman books, but the 12 books of the series are all brilliant.

The Demon Cycle - Peter V. Brett: A gripping and exciting series that many claim is the new Lord of the Rings, but better. Brett is a master world-builder and his characters are all flawed, interesting and likeable/hateable people who you just want to read more of, even if you don't like them. Plus an engaging and tense plot that makes every cliffhangar nail-bitingly frustrating, it's a series that I think really hooks you from the start and makes you hungry for more.


Those are my four favourite series. I would encourage everyone to try them, they are definitely worth giving them a shot.


LotN

Read the first two, and loved them. The third one is next on my list.

The Rift War series by Raymond Feist is excellent.

All 6 of Joe Abercrombie's books. The first three are a series in the conventional sense, and the last three, while not quite a series, do have some cross over of characters. One of the best new fantasy writers in years.

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Tough going, but worth it in the end.

Ender's Game. For all those looking forward to the film whilst not having read the book, go and get it now. I garantee you'll thank me for it later. One of the best novels in any genre, ever.

The Belgariad by David Eddings.

More to follow...

Necroscope series - Brian Lumley. These are what got me into reading back when I was 8,loved the pseudo science and his take on Vampires. Then ended up devouring every book he published.

Dune Sequence - Frank Herbert. Nuff said.

Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Stephen Donaldson. This is fantasy at its best I'm.

Barry Trotter Trilogy - Michael Gerber. If you detest Harry Potter like I do and think it's hugely over rated this series is for you.

I've just listed a few series since I'd be here for ever listing individual books, and to be honest I haven't even started the rest of the series' I like, those 3 were the first that I thought of.

Proably got two really

Terry prachets diskworld series; a fantasy story set in a world on the back of I gigantic spacefareing turtle the great atuin. Of the 40 something books in the series I've read all of them twice and going for a a third once I finish prospero burns.


And I think it was made by johnethan Stroud and his bartimaeus trilogy. An excelled story about a whitty daemon enslaved by a young boy nathanial. And their exploits.

EDIT thought it add in also quite into manga at the moment reading the Naruto, bleach and one piece series

I really like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Oh. That as well as Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy (You may better know them as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)

Might as well post a list. I've got quite a few. Many are obviously skewed a particular way.

Historical Insight

Officer and a Gentlewoman; Heloise Goodley; an insight into what goes through the mind of a woman who throws away her city life to become an army officer. While not exactly having a hard time, the culture shock and insights into what puts the cult in culture in respects to the British Armed Forces is a brilliant insight into what military life is like. A must read for anyone who has any interest in what people go through military training, and how it creates the people it does; regardless of wish to sign up or not. Any how have asked me whether to join I recommend this book to them, male or female, regardless of branch or service.
A Beautiful Little Operation; Paddy Ashdown; An insight into the Cockleshell Heroes; one of the finest films ever made, and written by a man who has been there and done that, and is now potentially able to make something of a future for the country. A True mover and shakers whose only problem in life is being a Lib Dem.
Target Basra; Mike Rossiter; This is what happened from Blair and Bushes warmongering. Comparing the intercontinental camaraderie of what a further 8 years of war fighting in the same conflicts has done compared to the sectarian attitudes of pre-Iraq and post-Tora Bora command chain with legacy in regards to peace time daisy chain back scratching and ambition, and what fuck ups that causes with the boys at the sharp end. Not many books are able to make a discreet commentary on Political and Hierarchical maneuvering without affecting the boys on the ground.
Black Hearts; Jim L Frederick; In the process of reading at the moment. This is when it goes to shit. When people aren't left supported, and when things go wrong. What is shaping up to be an in depth look at the Psyche of "broken man".
Tombstone; Yang Jisheng; Again, a current reader; currently detailing the pain and suffering of Mao's big plan for China. A lesson in what not to do, the same mistakes oddly reminiscent of what mistakes are being made in the middle east so far; whether it's Syria unable to control itself, or Afghanistan with its "Government in a Box".
No Worse Enemy; Ben Anderson; A heavily biased account, one clearly pro-brit and anti-american, sadly, from an embed. It does not due the Americans justice in the roles they take and the attitude they have to take within their environment. However, if you can look passed the journalistic bias, an interesting story to take.
The Economist; Modern Warfare, Intelligence and Deterrence; This is how wars will look in 10-15 years time. Also, a sneak peak at next years Call of Duty.
Damn Few; Rorke Denver; An account of one of the SEAL's who "acted" in last years "Act of Valor". While the acting was a bit shaky, it's understandable; but I've met a couple of the guys who was in that when I went around America, and seeing that some of the stuff within the movie were motivated by his own experiences, happenings within the SEAL community, and how the future of the unit is now motivated by his well-read history. I've now got the poem by Tecumseh up in the bedroom at the house, it hits hard. "Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours."
The Operators; Michael Hastings; This guy fucked over a 4 star. General Stan McCrystal with this book; something even the Pat Tillman (RIP) and Abu Ghraib failed to do. A Snake-Eater-Eater. Stan McCrystal had insights into how US Policy is passed down overseas, and assumedly, how the inner-workings and inter-party rows and "insults" create a perpetually fucked country. If this is how any "civilised" country's government and military brass operate, be afraid. Be very fucking afraid. And also be glad that "Betray-us" is no longer in any sort of power.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms; Luo Kuan Chung; A historical chinese epic. One of the big 4. This book should be read by everyone some time in their life. It is a culture in itself. Don't expect roiling battles (It is literally "There was a battle, it was won by the blue corner"), or epic descriptions; some are downright funky. But the entire story itself is just one big ability to see into how the decisions of some will ruin one or another. This is what Game of Thrones Tries to Be.
Shogun; James Clavell; This is another book I consider a life time "must read". For similar reasons, an insight into the East; this time China. A business-man friend of mine who deals with the Japanese suggested understanding some of the behaviours of the Samurai class allows an understanding (but not a mastery) of how the Japanese view their business, as it's built on a similar idea.

Gun Porn- Non-Fiction

Born Fearless; Big Phil Campion
Main Battle Tank; Niall Edworthy
Apache Dawn; Damien Lewis
Hellfire; Ed Macy
Danger Close; Col. Stuart Tootal
Sweating The Metal; Alex Duncan
Bravo Two Zero; Andy McNab
Sea Harrier Over The Falklands; Commander Sharkey Ward
Low Level Hell; Hugh L. Mills Jnr
The Yompers; Jim Gardiner
Pathfinder; David Blakeley
No Easy Day; Mark Owen
Special Forces Pilot; Richard Hutchings
Seal Team Six; Howard E. Wasdin
Fire Strike 7/9; Bommer Grahame
Commando; Chris Terrill

These all speak for themselves. Nothing much insightful, just the hack and slash of what "modern" military life is like, of all sorts; infantry, armour, fair air, gunship, etc.

Gun Porn- Fiction

Rainbow Six; Tom Clancy
Oregon Files Series; Clive Cussler
Bourne Series; Robert Ludlum

Again, the same. All brilliant fun. Juan Cabrillo in the Oregon files is quite possibly one of my favourite characters ever. John Clark shortly after (Leiv Schreiber! Willem Dafoe? Fuck yes), and Bourne is so well written; far more so than Bond (who is quite possibly one of the few characters who does the films better than the books; if you discount Moore and Lazenby anyway.

Fantasy/History

A Song of Ice and Fire; GRRM.; The definitive decade of the series, even if it's coming up on 20 years old. Byzantine politics, brilliantly diverse characters (Varys, Littlefinger, Thoros (although that might well be because Paul Kaye is the actor), Sansa (Yes, so much yes, one of the best in the books), and Jaime). I can't praise it enough. Don't waste your time with the TV show, read the books instead. Or watch the show, but don't bother waiting for the show to catch up. It's still about 3 books behind Book 3.
Abarat; Clive Barker; KING OF WEIRD. Clive Barker is nothing compared to this guy. A setting utterly unique, as far as I can tell. Although written for younguns, it's very "Brothers Grimm", and quite dark (but safe enough to read for them; my neice, 7, loves it when I read to her), and with enough subtexts and comments for the slightly bigger kids such as ourselves to enjoy it.
Damnation Game; Clive Barker; The best horror novel, bar none. This is the real dark shit. Other faustian pacts don't come close to this; hits hard, and always hits where it hurts. A vile and disgusting ideal. Something that puts Poe and Lovecraft right into the heart of "tame"; as good as they are, they were inherently tame. This is the modern dark shit.
The Demon Cycle; Peter V. Brett; A well represented, and very easy to follow typical storyline. Didn't like the stereotypical characters, or the fucking annoying switch of attitudes in the second book, but its an easy uncomplicated read, that boils down to being a DnD storyline on paper/ebook, or the literary version of what Dragon Age is/was.

Humour

I'll Go Home Then ,It's Warm and Has Chairs; David Thorne; This is utterly hilarious. I won't explain why; I'll link to it instead. Here, and Here. Also "The Internet is a Playground"; same author.
1000 Years of Annoying the French; Steven Clarke; Fuck the French. Like Napoleon selling everything west of the Mississippi, for around 20 cents a mile.

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While not nearly as exhaustive a list as Vaz I have a couple of books that I would say have a had a lasting effect on my life:

The Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogys by Robin Hobb: I read these when I was in my early teens and perhaps because the main character is about the same age (a little older) in the first book and grew up with a dysfunctional relationship with his father figures I related a lot to his situation. These are the books that taught me about honor, loyality and keeping your word even if it hurts you. I've read the first book (Assassin's Apprentice) about 6 times and later this year I'll go back and re-read them again, I promised myself I wouldn't for several years and now its coming time. I bumped into John Howe in a book shop last year, he did the illustrations for the cover (the cover that caused me to pick up the books in the first place) and I had to go up to him and thank him for it. He was a little skittish at first until I said I was also working on the Hobbit and then he loosened up and we got to talking. Very nice guy and I'm so thankful for his art work.

The Rigante series by David Gemmel: The history of the Celtic people really transplanted to another world. A great set of four books. I think his strongest in terms of overarching story.

Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman: Later turned into the film "Third Man on the Mountain" a classic mountaineering story.

Another vote for the necroscope series, I also love sir Terry prattchett so all of his.
There's also the alternative history books by harry turtledove. Oh and the skullman gotta love him (skullduggery pleasant).On the horror front I like James Herbert and Stephen king though there newer stuff is not to my tastes.

Lord of the Night
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy: Absolutely love this series. It's witty, hilariously funny nearly all the time, the action is superbly written, and the plot of each book is top-notch and the overall plot has shaped up to be excellent, it will end next year with Book 9 and i'm dying to know how it all will end. Plus again, it's just so freaking funny. I never laugh as hard as when I read a Skulduggery Pleasant novel, everything is just so funny. The characters, magic, setting, plot twists, jokes, one-liners, even just conversation ends up being funny.


My favourite book series is also Skulduggry Pleasant for all the Same reasons lord of night said .I'm on book 7 at the moment


I also enjoy reading the Horus heresy books as they show what started the space marines and choas marines