Your favourite book of all timeTo coincide with the launch of our new Bookworms forum, babyworld members share their favourite fiction and non-fiction books of all time. You never know - it might give you some great ideas for books to read! Gardens of the MoonMy favourite fiction - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson. Why? It's a genuinely awe-inspiring epic fantasy - truly to be lost in, and makes real life seem a very dull place. My fave non-fiction is Wasted by Marya Hornbacher. Why? Her memoirs of her battle with anorexia are painfully detailed in all their 'glory' and if you've ever suffered with self-destructive tendencies there's a lot to be recognised. brokendolly Wow - no one I speak to has ever heard of Wasted so I am glad it's not just me who loves that book! In the same style of self-destruction, Bloodletting is a very good account of self-harm. I love all the Jodi Picoult books and Hannah's Gift (I sobbed from start to end). Tracie My favourite fiction book of all time is Mine by Robert R McCamon. But I read it around 10 years ago so I don't remember too much about it, other than it's stuck in my mind as the best book I've ever read. Non-fiction: I have two books: One Child and Tiger's Child, both by Torey Hayden. Torey is a special needs educator and is given the 'dregs of society' (the book's words) to teach, including Sheila, a six-year-old who tried to burn a toddler to death. Sheila has been so badly abused that she's a complete head case, but she has an IQ that's off the record. The abuse that this girl suffered will move you to tears. This is a TRUE story. One child is mainly about Sheila's year in Torey's class and Tiger's Child is a continuation into adulthood of the girl. I had to read both books in one sitting, they're just so compelling. whingealot My favourite book of all time is Wuthering Heights. I just find it so moving and romantic and sums up how love is really. I can read it a thousand times and never get bored of it. It's such a shame that it was Emily Bronte's only book. RachelJane I have so many faves but the ones that first sprung to mind are In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote (for fiction) and The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, for non-fiction. This is about Gary Gilmore and what happened before he was sentenced to death and then his story on death row. It really affected me and made me think about capital punishment. Anne Memoirs of a Geisha for fiction - it was a book that I couldn't stop reading but didn't want to end... I am wondering if the new film could possibly live up to it? Non-fiction is more tricky. Perhaps Duende by Jason Webster. It's about a guy who goes to live in Spain to play the guitar and learn all about duende... a funny and also serious read. Sam Fiction - I often find books I can't put down. I'm not sure what my fave would be. Probably the St Claire's series by Enid Blyton, I still re-read all of these from time to time! Non Fiction: Emma and I by Sheila Hocken. It's about a woman who lost her sight very early in life, about her first ever guide dog Emma, meeting her husband, having her child, working for a living etc. Very moving and totally fascinating. There are follow-up books and she eventually got an operation that restored her sight. I recently wrote to her and she wrote back. I first read the books at about age 8 or 9 and I've re-read them many times. Lhotchkiss Beloved, by Toni Morrison...stunning, shocking book. The Blind Assassin/The Handmaid's Tale (both Margaret Atwood), Wuthering Heights ... I find it incredibly disturbing and provocative for its time. To Kill a Mockingbird...did this at school and I still love it now. Very powerful. Kelly Lord of the Rings. Other favourites include Magician, by Raymond E Feist, and Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel. Tass I LOVE the St Claire's series! I have all the Magic Faraway Tree ones too - for my daughter, of course. Anyway, my fave book of all time has to be Along Came A Spider by James Patterson. Stace My favourite book is called Sarem. It's a story about the changing face of Salisbury and starts way back with cavemen and everything living on Sarem plains, right up to modern day. It's amazingly educational too! I also really like Noah Gordon's trilogy about the Physician. It starts with the tale of a young barber surgeon who travels abroad to train as a physician and the following books are about the next generations of his family - all with this amazing gift of healing. Another very educational book too. Sandra The Never-ending Story - so magical, the film didn't do the book justice at all. I find films seldom do. Linda My favourite has got to be The Thorn Birds, I have read it countless times and I never get bored of reading it. Andrea I have enjoyed too many fiction books to choose just one. Chocolat was good, I didn't think that I would like it and I was very pleasantly surprised. I think that's why I remember it as being one of my faves. Acid House by Irvine Welsh is also one of my favourite books, it's unbelievably funny and I read it in less than a day! My fave non-fiction book is probably the Betty Schimmel story (about a young Jewish girl's experiences in World War Two) - very moving and really tells the horrors of what went on. Sandie Fiction: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. (Not a book to read on your way home from work on the tube, unless you are relaxed about laughing and crying in front of strangers!). For light reading I think it's hard to beat Ian Rankin. Non-fiction: I have two favourites that I go back to again and again: The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, and Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Alison C Arcadia by Jim Crace is an amazing book. Every time I reread it I'm struck by new things. I don't tend to read non-fiction since finishing university, but I'll have a think about it. I do remember reading a book called The Forms and Orders of Western Liturgy 800 - 1500 which, despite its title, was fascinating! Jenny I don't think I could name my favourite fiction book of all time; there are so many I've loved. My favourite non-fiction book is The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton - the criminal psychologist who worked on crimes such as Fred and Rosemary West, The Wimbledon Common murder and lots of other horrific crimes. It's a simply fascinating book and I would recommend it to anyone. Ellie Fiction - Gone with the Wind is my all-time favourite but also loved Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and Jane Eyre. Non-fiction - Margot Fonteyn (biography) - she was the greatest ballerina ever and had a really eventful life. Children's fiction - The Secret Garden and Tom's Midnight Garden. I LOVE reading but don't get much chance to read these days - by the time the children have gone to bed I'm too tired! Maria Where to next
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