The FBG Top 300 Books of All Time (fiction edition) | #2 The Stand by Stephen King | #1 The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien ... it's a wrap (6 Viewers)

[Don Quixote]

BTW, the Top 70 Books Google sheet is available. If you'd like to have access, shoot me a PM (cc: shuke) and I'll send you the link.

If, for some reason, you'd like your individual tab to be hidden from the masses, let me know. However, if you do opt to hide your rankings, in the interest of fairness, you will not be provided access to the sheet.

Did anyone get a link to the Google sheet? I sent @kupcho1 a pm but didn't hear back, and it looks like he hasn't posted for a couple of weeks now.

Did he get a ban for something?

I do not have it. It looks like he was posting in the Israel-Iran thread around the time disappeared — so, maybe? I just checked the alt Discord, but I don’t see him on the member list there.

 

[Don Quixote]

BTW, the Top 70 Books Google sheet is available. If you'd like to have access, shoot me a PM (cc: shuke) and I'll send you the link.

If, for some reason, you'd like your individual tab to be hidden from the masses, let me know. However, if you do opt to hide your rankings, in the interest of fairness, you will not be provided access to the sheet.

Did anyone get a link to the Google sheet? I sent @kupcho1 a pm but didn't hear back, and it looks like he hasn't posted for a couple of weeks now.

Did he get a ban for something?

Dr. O posted in the MAD thread that Kupcho indicated he was taking a social media break, including FBGs. So, sounding like no ban and just a planned break.

 

[Don Quixote]

Behind a paywall for me, but NYT apparently has an article about men not reading novels anymore. Need to send the authors this thread.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/style/fiction-books-men-reading.html

 

[Chaz McNulty]

If anyone wants to read some historical fiction I can't recommend The Warlord Chronicles (King Arthur) by Bernard Cornwell, the Conqueror Series (Genghis Khan) by Conn Iggulden, and the Emperor Series (Julius Caesar) by Conn Iggulden high enough

These are all just amazing and were on my list.

Along the same vein, The Song of Achilles and Circe were good reads.

 

[Don Quixote]

If anyone wants to read some historical fiction I can't recommend The Warlord Chronicles (King Arthur) by Bernard Cornwell, the Conqueror Series (Genghis Khan) by Conn Iggulden, and the Emperor Series (Julius Caesar) by Conn Iggulden high enough

These are all just amazing and were on my list.

Along the same vein, The Song of Achilles and Circe were good reads.

Both are great and made my list. Had Circe at #8 and Song of Achilles at #48.

 

[Psychopav]

@Village Idiot

BTW, the Top 70 Books Google sheet is available. If you'd like to have access, shoot me a PM (cc: shuke) and I'll send you the link.

If, for some reason, you'd like your individual tab to be hidden from the masses, let me know. However, if you do opt to hide your rankings, in the interest of fairness, you will not be provided access to the sheet.

Did anyone get a link to the Google sheet? I sent @kupcho1 a pm but didn't hear back, and it looks like he hasn't posted for a couple of weeks now.

Did he get a ban for something?

Dr. O posted in the MAD thread that Kupcho indicated he was taking a social media break, including FBGs. So, sounding like no ban and just a planned break.

Did he share the google sheet with anyone before taking off?

 

[rockaction]

Behind a paywall for me, but NYT apparently has an article about men not reading novels anymore. Need to send the authors this thread.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/style/fiction-books-men-reading.html

I archived it and read it (I'm sorry, NYT). I think the answer to the question "Why did men stop reading fiction?" is a complex one, one that the article rightly points out is a question of time and competition from other pursuits that seek to take up that time (video games, internet, gambling) in either activity or research. The author also briefly touches upon two things that I think are huge ones for those of us that read: the suspicion and problems with which someone like David Foster Wallace readers get associated with, and that most contemporary novels are written either by or for women.

I think those three things are a very big start. Like, away you go and there's no need for me to espouse any identity arguments or gripes any further. I was going to go further with an observation that I used to make about novels that women are going to dominate the form someday and that the very form lends itself to a sex-differentiated response, but I have no really good penetrating insights that one should prove that with other than, "I just have a feeling based on behavior, temperament, and what I believe to be sex differences," so I won't go any further. The article does a bunch of paragraphs that deal with socialization and how popular novels were once dominated by women in the mid-19th century, but there is nothing about innate sex differences (smart author!) to report.

 

[Eephus]

Dr. O posted in the MAD thread that Kupcho indicated he was taking a social media break, including FBGs. So, sounding like no ban and just a planned break.

He'll return with forty or fifty book reports

 

[kupcho1]

Did he share the google sheet with anyone before taking off?

I did not since I hadn't received any requests at that point. I've sent the link to those that have asked for it.

Back for Doc's album countdown.

 

[kupcho1]

The Caine Mutiny
The Winds of War/War and Remembrance

Herman Wouk

So so good. For my money, historical novels, World War II fiction, legal thriller (in the first instance), military novels, family dramas, novels about the Holocaust….these are the top of the list for ALL of those categories, it doesn’t get any better. Wouk is an epic storyteller at the top of his game. Michener was great but can’t quite compare. Uris was great but can’t quite compare. Clavell comes close and one of his books (Shogun) rises above but overall he can’t quite compare. Wouk is at the top of this genre, clearly, the 20th century epic historical fiction novelist. Mainly for these three works.

I just finished The Winds of War this evening. I thought it was good, if a little "soap opera-ish" at times. I did like the inserts of the German General's viewpoint (through V. Henry's translation) as it added some, let's just say, interesting viewpoints.

I'll eventually read the second part, War and Remembrance at some point.
I'm on to the @guru_007 #1 pick, Siddhartha.

 

[kupcho1]

Did he get a ban for something?

Nope, just a little social media holiday (and I include FFA in that). If you haven't done one, I highly recommend it. I needed a break after countless consecutive days doing this countdown.

 

[kupcho1]

Thanks for doing this kupcho I looked forward to it every morning. You get a 9.5/10, a slight deduction for the Catcher in the Rye dig. If the font viewing snafu was on purpose so you could have a laugh, than 10/10.

I'll take the 9.5 as the formatting was not intentional.

 

[kupcho1]

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

When I started making my list, my top 3 were the easiest picks ever as they were no doubters. We haven't seen either my #2 or #3 pop up yet, but I'm fairly sure they will later on. But Siddhartha was my without a doubt #1. The first time I read it, it was magic. Perfection. It's a simple story of a young man searching, and the search doesn't always yield what is expected. It talks about friendship, love, spirituality and more I suppose. Hesse just is my muse and all of his books I find fantastic, but Siddhartha is leaps and bounds above the rest. I don't really have much more to say about it other than I suppose everyone will get something different out of it, but as it's a short read, I do think everyone would do well to take a few hours and read this one day. If you don't like it, hell, it's just a few hours wasted. But I think it's a quick and meaningful ride and always recommend this book.
~fin

I forgot to mention I finished Siddhartha earlier this week. I'm not one for the "spiritual" but I enjoyed this book. I did a little research after completing the book and discovered that Hesse was into the material was (per Wiki):

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his "sickness with life" (Lebenskrankheit) by immersing himself in Indian philosophy such as that expounded in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The reason the second half of the book took so long to write was that Hesse "had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires. In an attempt to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures.

Now that's dedication to one's craft.

I'll be picking up An American Tragedy, The Mosquito Coast and The Master and Margarita today (if the library is open) and look forward to getting back to @Dr. Octopus , @scoobus and @Ilov80s respectively as I finish them off.

 

[Don Quixote]

Currently reading Dead Souls by Gogol while relaxing in Punta Cana, for a @Oliver Humanzee selection that was written up by @krista4 as part of a cooking with OH selection. Enjoying it so far.

 

[scoobus]

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

When I started making my list, my top 3 were the easiest picks ever as they were no doubters. We haven't seen either my #2 or #3 pop up yet, but I'm fairly sure they will later on. But Siddhartha was my without a doubt #1. The first time I read it, it was magic. Perfection. It's a simple story of a young man searching, and the search doesn't always yield what is expected. It talks about friendship, love, spirituality and more I suppose. Hesse just is my muse and all of his books I find fantastic, but Siddhartha is leaps and bounds above the rest. I don't really have much more to say about it other than I suppose everyone will get something different out of it, but as it's a short read, I do think everyone would do well to take a few hours and read this one day. If you don't like it, hell, it's just a few hours wasted. But I think it's a quick and meaningful ride and always recommend this book.
~fin

I forgot to mention I finished Siddhartha earlier this week. I'm not one for the "spiritual" but I enjoyed this book. I did a little research after completing the book and discovered that Hesse was into the material was (per Wiki):

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his "sickness with life" (Lebenskrankheit) by immersing himself in Indian philosophy such as that expounded in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The reason the second half of the book took so long to write was that Hesse "had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires. In an attempt to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures.

Now that's dedication to one's craft.

I'll be picking up An American Tragedy, The Mosquito Coast and The Master and Margarita today (if the library is open) and look forward to getting back to @Dr. Octopus , @scoobus and @Ilov80s respectively as I finish them off.

Glad you're picking The Mosquito Coast, interested to see what you think of it.

 

[TheBaylorKid]

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

I think it is quite clear by now that Stephen King is a very popular author with this group. I'm a big fan of King and I hate it when some people **** all over his work as if he's just some pulp peddler.
He's a smart dude. So what does he think about Infinite Jest?

To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past 50 years. Catch-22 is one; this is the other. For pop culture vultures like me, the central plot is fascinating. The late James O. Incandenza has created an "entertainment" - Infinite Jest - that is so irresistible you can't stop watching it?

I think even King's harshest critics would agree that the one think King can do is plot a novel. So for those of you that have read King, but not yet read Infinite Jest, maybe this will convince you.

So who is James O. Incandenza? He's the father of Hal Incandenza, who one might argue is the main character of the novel. James, or "Himself" or "the Mad stork" and sometimes "the Sad stork" as he's known by his children (their mother is referred to as "the Moms"; yes, there are issues here), started out as an optics expert helping to create annual fusion with resulted in the great concavity, an irradiated wasteland stretching from NY through NE that the U.S. "gave" to Canada. The Organization of North American Nations (or O.N.A.N. ) is comprised of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Later in life James got very into avante garde filmmaking, initially just leveraging his expertise in lenses but them becoming famous (at least in the very small world of experimental filmmaking). There's a comprehensive list describing all of his films in the endnotes. (Oh yes, Infinite Jest has endnotes. Lots of them. The edition I have (10th anniversary paperback) has 96 pages of Notes and Errata, some of which have footnotes of their own.) His last film is the Entertainment, Infinite Jest, which ends up incapacitating a whole host of people. The film is so compelling that its viewers lose all interest in anything other than repeatedly viewing it, and thus eventually die.

The U.S. Office of Unspecified Services is trying to obtain the master copy to prevent those within O.N.A.N. who want to destabilize the union (as you can imagine, Canada is none too happy about the giant fans blowing the airborne waste their way or the trebuchets launching solid waste into the land of the maple leaf). Meanwhile, Canadian separatists such as Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents (i.e., 'The Wheelchair Assassins') would love to get it. They are a badass group. Fear the squeak.

But that's just a small part of the plot. I think King references 30 or so great characters. He's not wrong. His favorite is Joelle Van Dyne aka P.G.O.A.T. (prettiest girl of all time). I fluctuate between these two:

• Don Gately: a former thief and Demerol addict, and current counselor in residence at Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House. One of the novel's primary characters, Gately is physically enormous and a reluctant but dedicated Alcoholics Anonymous member.
• Mike Pemulis: a working-class teenager from an Allston, Massachusetts family, and Hal's best friend. A prankster and the school's resident drug dealer, Pemulis is also very proficient in mathematics. This, combined with his limited but ultraprecise lobbing, made him the school's first master of Eschaton, a computer-aided turn-based nuclear wargame that requires players to be adept at both game theory and lobbing tennis balls at targets.

FYI, I've deliberately not included a link to the descriptions I used above and I encourage you not to investigate further if you do want to read the book as the site is spoilerific.

But what about the pop culture impact?, I hear you ask. I'll give you two:

The Decemberists - Calamity Song The actual disastrous Eschaton game was played in winter, but they get most of it right, even down to Colin Meloy sporting the signature Pemulis yachting cap. You may also note the lyric "In the year of the Chewable Ambien tab." That's a reference to subsidized time. After formation of O.N.A.N. years are no longer numbers. The naming rights are sold (e.g., Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment (Y.D.A.U.)).

The Parks and Recreation episode "Partridge" contains various references to the novel. For example, Ann and Chris take the "Incandenza-Pemulis Parenting Compatibility Quiz", and Ann's fertility counselor, Dr. Van Dyne (P.G.O.A.T.!), works at the C.T. Tavis (another character) Medical Center.

Much like War and Peace, Infinite Jest is considered a very difficult read. I disagree. I think it's very entertaining. Don't be put off by the length or the endnotes. It's got a lot to say about consumerism, drugs and drug addiction, competitive sports and the environment, and it does so in a very clever way.

I could say more (and probably will later; you've been warned), but I'll leave it at that for now.

Starting Infinite Jest.

 

[rockaction]

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

I think it is quite clear by now that Stephen King is a very popular author with this group. I'm a big fan of King and I hate it when some people **** all over his work as if he's just some pulp peddler.
He's a smart dude. So what does he think about Infinite Jest?

To my mind, there have been two great American novels in the past 50 years. Catch-22 is one; this is the other. For pop culture vultures like me, the central plot is fascinating. The late James O. Incandenza has created an "entertainment" - Infinite Jest - that is so irresistible you can't stop watching it?

I think even King's harshest critics would agree that the one think King can do is plot a novel. So for those of you that have read King, but not yet read Infinite Jest, maybe this will convince you.

So who is James O. Incandenza? He's the father of Hal Incandenza, who one might argue is the main character of the novel. James, or "Himself" or "the Mad stork" and sometimes "the Sad stork" as he's known by his children (their mother is referred to as "the Moms"; yes, there are issues here), started out as an optics expert helping to create annual fusion with resulted in the great concavity, an irradiated wasteland stretching from NY through NE that the U.S. "gave" to Canada. The Organization of North American Nations (or O.N.A.N. ) is comprised of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Later in life James got very into avante garde filmmaking, initially just leveraging his expertise in lenses but them becoming famous (at least in the very small world of experimental filmmaking). There's a comprehensive list describing all of his films in the endnotes. (Oh yes, Infinite Jest has endnotes. Lots of them. The edition I have (10th anniversary paperback) has 96 pages of Notes and Errata, some of which have footnotes of their own.) His last film is the Entertainment, Infinite Jest, which ends up incapacitating a whole host of people. The film is so compelling that its viewers lose all interest in anything other than repeatedly viewing it, and thus eventually die.

The U.S. Office of Unspecified Services is trying to obtain the master copy to prevent those within O.N.A.N. who want to destabilize the union (as you can imagine, Canada is none too happy about the giant fans blowing the airborne waste their way or the trebuchets launching solid waste into the land of the maple leaf). Meanwhile, Canadian separatists such as Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents (i.e., 'The Wheelchair Assassins') would love to get it. They are a badass group. Fear the squeak.

But that's just a small part of the plot. I think King references 30 or so great characters. He's not wrong. His favorite is Joelle Van Dyne aka P.G.O.A.T. (prettiest girl of all time). I fluctuate between these two:

• Don Gately: a former thief and Demerol addict, and current counselor in residence at Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House. One of the novel's primary characters, Gately is physically enormous and a reluctant but dedicated Alcoholics Anonymous member.
• Mike Pemulis: a working-class teenager from an Allston, Massachusetts family, and Hal's best friend. A prankster and the school's resident drug dealer, Pemulis is also very proficient in mathematics. This, combined with his limited but ultraprecise lobbing, made him the school's first master of Eschaton, a computer-aided turn-based nuclear wargame that requires players to be adept at both game theory and lobbing tennis balls at targets.

FYI, I've deliberately not included a link to the descriptions I used above and I encourage you not to investigate further if you do want to read the book as the site is spoilerific.

But what about the pop culture impact?, I hear you ask. I'll give you two:

The Decemberists - Calamity Song The actual disastrous Eschaton game was played in winter, but they get most of it right, even down to Colin Meloy sporting the signature Pemulis yachting cap. You may also note the lyric "In the year of the Chewable Ambien tab." That's a reference to subsidized time. After formation of O.N.A.N. years are no longer numbers. The naming rights are sold (e.g., Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment (Y.D.A.U.)).

The Parks and Recreation episode "Partridge" contains various references to the novel. For example, Ann and Chris take the "Incandenza-Pemulis Parenting Compatibility Quiz", and Ann's fertility counselor, Dr. Van Dyne (P.G.O.A.T.!), works at the C.T. Tavis (another character) Medical Center.

Much like War and Peace, Infinite Jest is considered a very difficult read. I disagree. I think it's very entertaining. Don't be put off by the length or the endnotes. It's got a lot to say about consumerism, drugs and drug addiction, competitive sports and the environment, and it does so in a very clever way.

I could say more (and probably will later; you've been warned), but I'll leave it at that for now.

Starting Infinite Jest.

Year of Glad.

 

[Eephus]

I'm reading A Confederacy of Dunces

 

[Fruitbat]

Fine, I'm gonna try The Stand. 1000+ pages? Holy cow....

Probably a little different than the book I just finished.....Project Hail Mary.

Complete

Spoiler: Spoiler

Wow, a real page turner. Hard for me to put down.

Really different from anything I've read. Multiple main characters. Many passages of side plots / backgrounds.

In the end I felt it was a bit bloated, could have been shorter ...yet I enjoyed pretty much 100% of the book.

The ending was...interesting....so crazy trash dude just blows everything up? Ok..

Did really enjoy the prologue-ish ending with stu and Tom making their way home

All in all, an excellent enjoyable read that I found myself reading whenever I had a spare moment..

 

[kupcho1]

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
This is a difficult novel to explain. It’s a supernatural satire of the Soviet Union. Satan and his crew, which includes Behemoth, a hog sized cat that walks on two legs and enjoys guns, cards and a female vampire among others. Meanwhile there’s also a plot covering the trial of Jesus by Pontius Pilate. It’s one of those books you just have to read, a description can’t do it justice. Also interesting note on its history, Bulgakov wrote it over the 30s but died soon after finishing it in 1940. He was only 48. His peers whom he had allowed to read it said it could never be published for fear of what the Soviet government would do their literary circle as retribution for its satire of the atheist nation. Finally in the late 60s his wife was able to get a censored version published and then finally a complete version came out in 1969 and since then it’s become widely hailed as a masterpiece.

Dostoevsky is immortal!

Well, there's an understatment for you!

I've read a lot of off beat books, but this one takes the cake. Hands down the craziest thing I've ever read. I don't know much about Soviet Russia in the 30s, but I do get the atheistic piece. I guess I can see why this couldn't be published then and there. I'm sure there is a lot of vitriol aimed at contemporary critics (Margarita's visit to the critic's apartment ) and fellow writers of the era as well.

The zany antics of Satan and crew were both hilarious and horrific.

Great book, this one will stick with me for a while.

 

[Ilov80s]

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
This is a difficult novel to explain. It’s a supernatural satire of the Soviet Union. Satan and his crew, which includes Behemoth, a hog sized cat that walks on two legs and enjoys guns, cards and a female vampire among others. Meanwhile there’s also a plot covering the trial of Jesus by Pontius Pilate. It’s one of those books you just have to read, a description can’t do it justice. Also interesting note on its history, Bulgakov wrote it over the 30s but died soon after finishing it in 1940. He was only 48. His peers whom he had allowed to read it said it could never be published for fear of what the Soviet government would do their literary circle as retribution for its satire of the atheist nation. Finally in the late 60s his wife was able to get a censored version published and then finally a complete version came out in 1969 and since then it’s become widely hailed as a masterpiece.

Dostoevsky is immortal!

Well, there's an understatment for you!

I've read a lot of off beat books, but this one takes the cake. Hands down the craziest thing I've ever read. I don't know much about Soviet Russia in the 30s, but I do get the atheistic piece. I guess I can see why this couldn't be published then and there. I'm sure there is a lot of vitriol aimed at contemporary critics (Margarita's visit to the critic's apartment ) and fellow writers of the era as well.

The zany antics of Satan and crew were both hilarious and horrific.

Great book, this one will stick with me for a while.

Awesome, I am glad you enjoyed it and also found it so crazy. That makes my whole draft ranking effort more than worth it!

 

[Long Ball Larry]

In the middle of Kafka on The Shore and Slaughterhouse V. Also read Pinball by Murakami and started Hear the Wind Sing. Will comment further at a later date

 

[Dr_Zaius]

Just reread Lord of the Flies. Now rereading To Kill a Mockingbird and reading The Shining for the first time. Next up will be A Confederacy of Dunces for the first time.