1. Dune - Frank Herbert
Dune remains amoung my favourite book I've read and the only one I've read multiple times. While I was disappointed by the rest of the series, the first book is a tremendous read and very enjoyable.

2. Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson (Book 2 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series)
The Malazan Empire series by Steven Erikson is one of the hardest to read fantasy books I've ever encountered. The author has a complex web of relations and events going on while writing with a fairly high level of english. The second book stands out for its section call "The Chain of Dogs" which details a group of refugees fleeing to safety under the guidance of a powerful leader.

3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
A great blend of comedy and science fiction. I still remember the first time I read the passage about the two missles screaming toward the Heart of Gold. I burst out laughing as the petunias came into being.

4. The Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett
The fantasy version of Douglas Adams. Equally enjoyable and both love to use footnotes* for off the wall observations.

5. Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
While probably not the best written book and it is clearly Tolkien inspired, it is in my top 5 simply because it was the first real book I ever read. Previously I only read a few kids books, this one was a beefy amount of pages that took my 12 year old mind nearly a year to get through.

*Attaching notes to one foot does seem an odd, and potentially painful way (if you use a tac) to do things.

This is more of a 'top five of the books I can actually see on the shelves over there'.

The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien - Most authors tell a story, Tolkien built a world.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy, Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson - Guaranteed to impact your life. This book is packed so full of ideas, you can't read it without finding a new perspective on something, whoever you are.

Men at Arms, Terry Pratchett - or just the Discworld series generally, of which I have read the first 31 books.

Various rulebooks, sourcebooks, novels and short stories of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Rick Priestley, Andy Chambers, et al. - For its sheer scope, and provided you disavow everything after about 1998, this is the greatest fantasy setting since Tolkien.

Orgy of the Blood Parasites, Jack Yeovil - If you don't want to read this just on the strength of that title then I can't help you.

I can never, ever remember the best ones when quizzed like this. Same goes for best movies etc.

Ones I have liked of late are (in no order):
The Dark Tower series: Stephen King
The Book Thief: Marcus Zusak
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Dave Eggers (Currently reading another of his books actually)
The Mars Trilogy: Kim Stanley Robinson
LOTR: Tolkien
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Douglas Adams
Many Discworld novels: Terry Pratchett
Dune: Frank Herbert
The Dressmaker: Rosalie Ham (An Australian gothic novel, just brilliant, I'd love to see this made into a film)
2010: Arthur C Clarke (Yeah, I like it better than 2001, sue me)


But inevitably someone will mention some book and I'll go 'AAAH, yeah, LOVED that one'!... so yeah, there are many others that I'm sure should be here, and probably in place of others here... (I just scrolled up and added some that others had put, because I'd forgotten them)...

Catch 22 : I just wanted to say that for all the praise that this book gets, I couldn't get through it. He made his points, set up his things, and then seemed to repeat the same damn jokes/observations over and over and over again to the point where I just stopped reading it... sorry, but it bored me. Good start, lost me soon after.

Kurt Vonnegut jr. is indeed the master. It's hard to pick just five, so this list might be a little random, but here are five books I have enjoyed immensely:

1. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut jr.
2. 1984 by George Orwell
3. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
4. Mengele Zoo by Gert Nygårdshaug
5. The Brothers Karamasov by Fjodor Dostojevskij

I especially like the religious themes in Cat's Cradle; that's why I picked it out to be on the list. But I have yet to read a Vonnegut book I didn't like, so many others could be there as well.

I really recommend Mengele Zoo to anyone who hasn't heard of it. It paints a horrible picture of the exploitation of South America, and has a main character you instantly fall in love with.

What the heck, I'll throw in a few more:
Everything by Tolkien, the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, The Eyes of the Dragon and the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, The Knights Templar series by Jan Guillou.

Tolkien

Hunter S. Thompson

Kurt Vonnegut

Franz Kafka

Favorite dystopianfuture: The Stand (although it had a typical shitty Stephen King ending)

I need to read more fiction.

I don't know if you meant to confine this to novels or not, but I'm going wider:

Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
Dune (whole series) - Frank Herbert
Live from Golgotha - Gore Vidal
Macbeth - William Shakespeare
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson

I'm actually in the middle of Cryptonomicon right now, but I'm already confident it belongs in that list. 5 is too short, anyway:

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
Galápagos - Kurt Vonnegut
The Hobbit & LotR - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

There's probably a couple dozen I've forgotten at the moment, and there's a lot of other fantasy novels I really enjoyed, like Roger Zelazny's "Chronicles of Amber". But that's a good start.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'movie, jackson, tolkien, fellowship' to 'movie, intro, jackson, tolkien, fellowship' - edited by EDD

Though at times brilliant, I entered the theatre for the film, an avid reader of Tolkien, but leaving was in part disappointed for the ways Peter Jackson's interpretation diverged (increasingly for each of part of the trilogy) from the original work. I reconciled this in myself by accepting that these movies were not The Lord of The Rings but someone's homage to them.

Jackson's adaptation is not without flaw, but all in all, he did as well as anyone could.

Hi, my name is Arvid, and I live in Oslo, Norway. I have just finished a degree in physics from the University of Oslo, but I can't seem to let go of the student life just yet. I enjoy sifts that mess with my head, such as these.

I discovered VideoSift because Fedquip kept referring to it on his old AOL blog. I lurked here for over a year before finally signing up this autumn. For a norwegian, I have an almost unhealthy interest in american politics, and I deeply regret the decline and death of http://newsbloggers.aol.com.

On my freetime I am a musician. I have played the Euphonium since I was eight, but have in recent years switched mostly to Trombone. I mostly play and listen to jazz, first and foremost in a Big Band. I was a member of a now dead 30's swing band, and I am soon starting a new band to play some more modern jazz. I sing in a choir as well. My muscial heroes are among others Bach and Bartok, Carla Bley and Steve Swallow, Pink Floyd and Steely Dan.

I read both fantasy and classics, and my favourite authors are Kurt Vonnegut jr., George R. R. Martin, Tolkien, Dostoyevski and Gert Nygårdshaug. My username is a witness to my geeky past, as it is the Sindarin translation of my real name.

I catch onto minor hobbies sporadically as well. I used to game a lot, but this has cooled off lately. I was an avid Guitar Hero player, and got to be pretty good. I have been into sailing. I have been into fencing. I enjoy walking and skiing in the majestic norwegian mountainscape. In the summer I play with the Diabolo. My latest fad is Origami, which I used to do when I was a teenager and have just now picked up again. I have also been an extra in some norwegian music videos and minor film productions. I am the emo-looking guy playing accordion in this video.

I follow both norwegian and international politics with interest, and I have a blog in norwegian about politics and science which I update very sporadically.

Oh, and I am the older brother of Haldaug, who has a higher integrity as a sifter than me. That is why I have higher ranking than him, even though he has been a member longer than me. So go to his pqueue if you want to find some musical/thoughtful/absurd gems.

edit: Forgot to mention my favourite beverage, Brakspear Oxford Gold organic ale. Try it out.

A tree? A tree? I am an Ent
You see that here now 'cause I'm not bent
A retreat might be preferable
But we are inseparable
And that makes me fairly content.

(Oh God, I quoted Tolkien.. I'm such a nerd)

He even knew he compromised himself at this point and still didn't give in

Defeat, destroyed by what the lady says
I'll recall this to the end of days
I kneel before thee
But refuse to flee
'Cause I've seen the error of my ways

In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
You nerd, what a geek, that's pure lame
Quoting Tolkien takes you out of the game
Your poetry nearly had me going
Now there is no way of knowing
If the lady would have fallen for the Dane


In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
A tree? A tree? I am an Ent
You see that here now 'cause I'm not bent
A retreat might be preferable
But we are inseparable
And that makes me fairly content.

(Oh God, I quoted Tolkien.. I'm such a nerd)

In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
What dangers could possibly be?
Tis the net, I can't even see thee
Gwizzy can't take the heat
Best he beats a retreat
Before his wood turns into a tree

In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
Something bad you say, not for certain
There are dangers to all of this flirtin'
It may be naughty or nice
Whichever's your spice
Hopefully no one will soon be hurtin

In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
A toy? said the tease to the lad
Oh I bet you mean something quite bad
Stripping down to the waist
Kicks her shoes off with haste
Oh what fun for the pair to be had

In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
Oh snap, said the young boy
He just tried to spread some joy
His advances were poor
And perhaps immature
So the tease used him as a toy


In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
There was a young fella named Gwiz
Who kept getting himself in a tiz,
He couldn't get sex,
This caused him much vex,
Always solo while doing his "biz"



In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
There was a young tease from Mount Chesser
Who'd smile as the men would assess her
So flirtatious was she
Inviting them home to tea
Then allowing not one to undress her

You nerd, what a geek, that's pure lame
Quoting Tolkien takes you out of the game
Your poetry nearly had me going
Now there is no way of knowing
If the lady would have fallen for the Dane


In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
A tree? A tree? I am an Ent
You see that here now 'cause I'm not bent
A retreat might be preferable
But we are inseparable
And that makes me fairly content.

(Oh God, I quoted Tolkien.. I'm such a nerd)

In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
What dangers could possibly be?
Tis the net, I can't even see thee
Gwizzy can't take the heat
Best he beats a retreat
Before his wood turns into a tree

In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
Something bad you say, not for certain
There are dangers to all of this flirtin'
It may be naughty or nice
Whichever's your spice
Hopefully no one will soon be hurtin

In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
A toy? said the tease to the lad
Oh I bet you mean something quite bad
Stripping down to the waist
Kicks her shoes off with haste
Oh what fun for the pair to be had

In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
Oh snap, said the young boy
He just tried to spread some joy
His advances were poor
And perhaps immature
So the tease used him as a toy


In reply to this comment by alien_concept:
There was a young fella named Gwiz
Who kept getting himself in a tiz,
He couldn't get sex,
This caused him much vex,
Always solo while doing his "biz"



In reply to this comment by gwiz665:
There was a young tease from Mount Chesser
Who'd smile as the men would assess her
So flirtatious was she
Inviting them home to tea
Then allowing not one to undress her

I could go for some light peer bonding activity. Going to post before I read.

Favourites

1) Season - Autumn.
2) Place in the world - My home. I don't really see the point of anywhere else.
3) Children's book - I'm going to count the whole silver age X-Men as one book and make that my answer.
4) TV Series - The Crystal Maze
5) Word - Appendices.
6) Film - The Fifth Element
7) Curse - Making something up on the spot is always the most satisfying.
Creature - Man.
9) Past time - Past time or pastime? The Victorian era, when people knew how to dress / playing board games.
10)Person - Myself. Everyone should be just like me.

Which one?

11) Dog or cat - Cat, if they didn't have those brain parasites.
12) Sweet or savoury - Savoury unless I run out of sweet. Everything, and as much as possible.
13) Cereal or Toast - Toast.
14) Tan or pale - Pale.
15) Shoes or barefoot - Barefoot.
16) Desktop or laptop - Desktop.
17) Drive or walk - I'd rather have whatever it is I'm driving or walking to delivered.
18) Drama or comedy - Comedy.
19) Sex or food - Food. I made that choice a long time ago.
20) Futurama or Simpsons - Simpsons.

The Sift

21) Your fave personal submission - ...didn't get any votes.
22) A great comment on one of your vids - * promote
23) Most off the wall member - Obviously choggie.
24) Favourite user name - I would have to check every name to answer this question.
25) Your most used channel - eia
26) Personal dumbass moment - I've never made a mistake in my life.
27) Best avatar - dotdude's examples of his own artwork, and anything from that star wars thread.
28) Partner in crime - Don't have one.
29) Do people offline know of your sift problem - To some extent.
30) Idea for the site - Bring back the new member queue.

About you

31) Where do you live - SE Britain.
32) Smoker/non-smoker - Occasional cigar/pipe smoker.
33) Left or right handed - Right.
34) Hair colour - Brown.
35) Relationship status - Leper.
36) How tall - Don't know, 6' 4"-ish.
37) Children - are too expensive.
38) Ever had an operation - Nope.
39) Best feature - Glorious human mind.
40) Use four words to describe yourself - Better person than you.

If you could...what, who, when etc

41) Bring a famous person back from the dead - Tolkien. I'd like to see what he made of those films.
42) Give 50 grand to any charity - Amnesty International.
43) Send someone on a one way ticket to the moon - Sarah Palin.
44) Relive a moment in your life - Any time when I was hitting somebody.
45) Have a superpower - Wolverine's healing factor, in continuities where it makes him immortal.
46) Find out one thing you've always wanted to know - The future of the human race.
47) Have the opposite gender deal with something you have to - Scarcity of awesome sex toys.
48) Be president for one hour - Have the last president executed.
49) Delete a period in history - Anything people are proud of today without having actually participated in the accomplishment.
50) Achieve one thing - Bomb something.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'folk, celtic, metal, Irish, Dublin' to 'folk, celtic, metal, Irish, Dublin, ireland, fiddle, middle, earth, tolkien, inspired' - edited by Zonbie

He addresses Powerpoint specifically - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ5dbUCu2Ug

In reply to this comment by Doc_M:
It's an ad, but it's dang freakin right. There is nothing more valuable than an image when trying to teach a concept or express an idea.
The saying goes:
A picture is worth a thousand words... unless you're Tolkien, then it's worth ten thousand.
Freaking true.

I've given many hour-long talks to many groups of people (in fact I'm working on one right now which terrifies me in that I will be presenting it in front of the gods of our field at an international meeting...) and pictures work a million times better than text... a billion times better. In my whole PowerPoint presentation, I have three slides of text and 30+ slides of images and diagrams, and the text slides are just PR and citing previous work by other people.

PICTURES COMMUNICATE.
TEXT DOES NOT.