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Band of Brothers, and Blood Red Snow. BoB deals with the 101 (again), but is really well done in my opinion; and Blood Red Snow is a great look into the Ostfront. Note: If you're reading Blood Red Snow, pick up "Hitler's War on Russia," which provides a fact-based view of the Ostfront. The reason I suggest this is because Blood Red Snow is skewed because it is the memoirs of a German Solider, so he never mentions the horrors the Germans committed to Russian Civilians.
I need more time to read. -
I recently read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. Its a really good read, and fairly short. I also recommend The Road by Cormac McCarthy, they are making it into a film with Viggo "Pectorals" Mortensen, which I am very excited for.
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Posted By: Not MandatoryI recently read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. Its a really good read, and fairly short.
I started on this book a couple summers ago, but due to very odd circumstances which would take a long time to explain, I never finished it. I should find it and finish it. Thanks for reminding me.
@Locke I'll most def look into those titles. I just read a book about the Polish Revolts in 1830, and it amazed me how very little I knew of eastern European history. WWII isn't my favorite time in history, but a personal look from a German soldier sounds interesting. -
I'm currently reading the The Foundation Series by Issac Asimov.
Also good is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Both are pretty common sci-fi books so I wouldn't be surprised if you've already read them, but hopefully someone else hasn't!
Another good read in the fantasy realm is Watership Down. Again, this is probably a common read, but who knows?
"This is the earth. And this is Pinky. You can tell the difference quite easily. One is a lump of inert matter hurtling blindly through the void. The other... is the earth." -The Brain -
Posted By: ArcysI'm currently reading theThe Foundation Seriesby Issac Asimov.
Also good isEnder's Gameby Orson Scott Card. Both are pretty common sci-fi books so I wouldn't be surprised if you've already read them, but hopefully someone else hasn't!
Another good read in the fantasy realm isWatership Down. Again, this is probably a common read, but who knows?
I always meant to read Watership Down, is it that good? -
Agreed with Arcys, Aasimov is essential sci fi and a lot of them are easy to pick up and read. Ender's Game is also truly a great classic and one of my favorite sci fi books .
Oh you are going to be SORRY you asked this question, as I am a huge book geek.
My tastes run the gamut of classical lit to historical fiction to sci fi to fantasy. Here are my favorites (also, a lot of these are massive books):
Wuthering Heights = sorry, I'm a girl
Gone with the Wind = (see above) incredible book, almost makes you wish the South had won. Wait... no, not really.
A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin = the first three are FANTASTIC but be forewarned that he's not done writing the series yet, damn his soul
Aztec = by Gary Jennings, very violent and disturbing but absolutely fascinating
Harry Potter series= I like magic, what can I say?
Shogun and Taipan = by James Clavell, he wrote a whole "Asian saga" but these are my favorites
Discworld books = by Terry Pratchett, usually very funny and fun to read. I personally like the Nightwatch arcs and avoid the Rincewind ones (god he's annoying)
Those are just a few of my favorites... -
@Denise=I also love the Song of Ice and Fire books.
Another series that is pretty good (so far) is Sergei Lukyanenko's tetralogy that starts with Night Watch. I've only read the first 2 books (Night Watch and Day Watch), but they were good enough to make me want to read the last 2 when I get a chance. -
Posted By: Not Mandatory
I always meant to read Watership Down, is it that good?
I tried to read Watership Down, and I could tell it was good, but it definitely wasn't my thing so I put it down.
Everything ever by Kurt Vonnegut, as I would assume you already, know is fantastic.
Beyond that, I would recommend the Belgariad and the Mallorean by David Eddings: it's a ten or so book series divided into two sequential sub-series. It's fantasy that deals a lot with immortality and a very Roman like personification of the gods. The first book can be a little off-putting, because it's purposefully very obvious in its secrets; it's more about the effect of those secrets on the characters. -
Anything by Douglas Adams. Additionally, the Ender/Shadow series by Orson Scott Card.
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@Dram-That David Eddings series sounds awesome.
@Eddie-Oh Snap! How did I forget American Gods!? I enjoyed Anansi Boys as well, but not as much. I also dug Gaiman's Neverwhere.
ETA-@larnsturt-You should definitely pick it back up. I loved it. It resonated particularly strongly for me because of the perspective of the main character (my youngest son is also autistic, and it gave me a bit of insight into how he might think about things). -
I've been mocked before by fellow geeks for my love of all things Crichton, but I can't help it. The Andromeda Strain was the first book of his that I read, and continues to be my all-time favorite. And ignore the new A&E movie.
My other favorite is God's Debris, by Scott Adams (the Dilbert guy). It's not a comic collection, or even humorous. He describes it as a "thought experiment" and it makes your brain uncomfortable, but in a good way that makes you want to read it again. The basic premise is this - what if you met somebody who understood literally everything about the universe and reality? It's a lot easier to read than it sounds. -
My favorite book of all time has to be Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury...I have 2 copies
if you like star wars I suggest the X-wing series and the New Jedi Order stuff.
I also am drawn to reading Clive Cussler a lot...they're incredibly low brow but still fun to read -
Posted By: dougThe Princess Bride--an excellent movie--is an even more excellent book.
Loved the book, but found the sequel lacking.
@Not Mandatory - I think I shall. I remember enjoying it.
@FrackTruck & Sean- Never be ashamed in what you read. My ex-roomie and I still trade torrid romance novels, the cheesier, the better. I liken them to B movies and slasher films. You know it's gonna be bad and that's part of its goodness. -
Posted By: Not Mandatory@Eddie-Oh Snap! How did I forget American Gods!? I enjoyed Anansi Boys as well, but not as much. I also dug Gaiman's Neverwhere.
Now it is time for me to Oh Snap, as I forgot Neverwhere (I thought 'twas awesome). And I agree with you about Anansi Boys, but I thought it was as good as it could be. -
Alright, got some good stuff here no one has mentioned yet, oddly.
Anything by Chuck Palahniuk: My favorites would be Choke, Lullaby, and Survivor.
The Serge Storms series, as I call it, by Tim Dorsey
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (the layout of this book is refreshingly complicated)
JPod by Douglas Coupland (or anything else by Mr. Coupland)
The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman (a book on economics, if you can dig it.)
Can't quite figure out how to use the italics yet, so, sorry if this list isn't the easiest to read. -
Posted By: The VomiteerAlright, got some good stuff here no one has mentioned yet, oddly.
Anything by Chuck Palahniuk: My favorites would be Choke, Lullaby, and Survivor.
The Serge Storms series, as I call it, by Tim Dorsey
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (the layout of this book is refreshingly complicated)
JPod by Douglas Coupland (or anything else by Mr. Coupland)
The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman (a book on economics, if you can dig it.)
Can't quite figure out how to use the italics yet, so, sorry if this list isn't the easiest to read.
Just highlight text you want to italicize and click on the italics button. -
Posted By: The VomiteerAlright, got some good stuff here no one has mentioned yet, oddly.
Anything by Chuck Palahniuk: My favorites would be Choke, Lullaby, and Survivor.
The Serge Storms series, as I call it, by Tim Dorsey
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (the layout of this book is refreshingly complicated)
JPod by Douglas Coupland (or anything else by Mr. Coupland)
The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman (a book on economics, if you can dig it.)
Can't quite figure out how to use the italics yet, so, sorry if this list isn't the easiest to read.
I forgot about Palahniuk! I read Choke, and enjoyed it quite a bit, and I own Survivor, but haven't started it yet. I tried to read House of Leaves, but it was too frustrating for me so I gave up on it. /fail. -
His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novi. It's Napoleonic War, with dragons! Not done with it quite yet, but I've liked it so far. There are more in the series though.
Republic Commando Hard Contact, Triple Zero, and True Colors - Karen Traviss. Star Wars, without all the whiny farm boys. Basically the Clone Wars through the clone's eyes, specifically the commandos. Does have the commandos from the game in the second and third book, but they aren't the main squad. A fourth one, Order 66 comes out in September.
Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones. Yes, a 'kiddie' book. But, darnit, it was a good kiddie book. Better then the movie in it's own way (more detail, more interesting characters, and Howl's an even more pompous jerk. Think Tony Stark with magic.).
And while we're on kiddie books, the The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix is pretty good. Liked Sabriel more then the other two.
Will second/third American Gods. Mr. Wednesday is my hero. As well as 'anything by Douglas Adams'. Though the movie was decent, it coulda been better.
...and I'll stop 'cause I could ramble for days about books. -
Posted By: ArcysI'm currently reading theThe Foundation Seriesby Issac Asimov.
Also good isEnder's Gameby Orson Scott Card. Both are pretty common sci-fi books so I wouldn't be surprised if you've already read them, but hopefully someone else hasn't!
Another good read in the fantasy realm isWatership Down. Again, this is probably a common read, but who knows?Warning: The FBF is a known carcinogen to the State of California. Contact with the FBF may cause cancer, necrophilia, an urge to run in a tiny wheel, and/or lawn gnomes barbecuing your pets.
Ender's Game is incredible, as is Ender's Shadow (same story as Ender's Game shown through the perspective of the character Bean). -
Posted By: Greg2point0Ender's Game is incredible, as is Ender's Shadow (same story as Ender's Game shown through the perspective of the character Bean).
Yes, Ender's Game is incredible, but I could only get halfway through Speaker for the Dead. The Shadow series stayed true the the style of Ender's Game so it was actually enjoyable to read them verses the pain it was to just get halfway through SftD."This is the earth. And this is Pinky. You can tell the difference quite easily. One is a lump of inert matter hurtling blindly through the void. The other... is the earth." -The Brain -
Posted By: SeanPosted By: The VomiteerJPod by Douglas Coupland (or anything else by Mr. Coupland)
I absolutely LOVED JPod! Other Coupland books can be a bit too "busy" to follow, depending on your mood, but that one was incredibly entertaining. It had a slightly Douglas Adams quality to it.I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
Totally feel you on the Douglas Adams esqueness (is that even a word) In Jpod, I absolutely loved the sections of the book that were comprised of prime numbers and the many digits of Pi.
Edit: I'm hoping the quoted material looks right. On my end, all I see is script/html/blah. Fingers crossed. -
Posted By: The VomiteerPosted By: SeanPosted By: The VomiteerJPod by Douglas Coupland (or anything else by Mr. Coupland)
I absolutely LOVED JPod! Other Coupland books can be a bit too "busy" to follow, depending on your mood, but that one was incredibly entertaining. It had a slightly Douglas Adams quality to it.I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
Totally feel you on the Douglas Adams esqueness (is that even a word) In Jpod, I absolutely loved the sections of the book that were comprised of prime numbers and the many digits of Pi.
Edit: I'm hoping the quoted material looks right. On my end, all I see is script/html/blah. Fingers crossed.
Just make sure you tick the button for Format comments as HTML instead of text. -
Thank you very much, Not Mandatory. New to the whole forum thing.
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Posted By: The VomiteerThank you very much, Not Mandatory. New to the whole forum thing.
No problem, I actually had to ask someone else when I first posted here too. -
Oh shit, man, you need to try again. Seriously. You can't read it expecting the same book as Ender because it isn't. But it's every bit as good in a completely different way. Maybe better.Posted By: ArcysYes,Ender's Gameis incredible, but I could only get halfway throughSpeaker for the Dead.
Also, a few people have mentioned Vonnegut which I totally agree with. In particular I would suggest Hocus Pocus. I'm currently reading through his short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House which has been really good so far.
I also highly recommend The Perks of Being a Wallflower by I-forget-who-and-am-too-lazy-to-look-up. -
Posted By: doug
Sequel??????Posted By: larnsturtThe Princess Bride--an excellent movie--is an even more excellent book.
Loved the book, but found the sequel lacking.
Buttercup's Baby is a long running joke that will probably never happen. William Goldman was supposedly fighting Stephen King for the right to "abridge" it. In light of the recent "revisitings" happening around Hollywood...I'm sorta glad there isn't a second book to mess with. -
A book reco thread, yay!
I'm going to make a couple suggestions, with some caveats.
The HARD books (as in, these can be hard to read, but can also be well worth it):
The Quicksilver trilogy by Neal Stephenson, preceded or followed by Cryptonomicon. Actually, I'd start with Cryptonomicon first, since it's a standalone novel, and will give you an idea if you can get into Neal's particular brand of geek before hitting the hard 17th century fiction in the trilogy. I had to slog through the first book, but once I got about 3/4 of the way through it picked up and I couldn't stop reading them.
The Bas-Lag books by China Mieville, starting with Perdido Street Station, or really any of his books, even Un Lun Don which was surprisingly good for a young adult novel. I started Perdido several times in the bookstore and put it back down before finally biting the bullet and giving it a go and I am extremely happy I did. He's got such a vivid, vital, gritty world with some fantastic creations. The third book, The Iron Council was again a real hard book to get into for the first 1/3rd or so, but true to form has some of the most memorable moments in it.
The Quirky Books and Out-of-Print Books
So, these might be harder to locate. But since I decided to spend the bulk of this year re-reading gems from my past, these were amoung the first books on my pile.
Signal to Noise and A Signal Shattered by Eric Nylund. Yes, he also did several of the books in the Halo novelizations, as well as some of the plotting for Halo 3, but don't hold that against him. These are fun, tight sci-fi novels with some of the better little plot twists and ties I've read in some time. See if you can get them from the library. Bonus points for having each chapter title including the main character's name, ie "Jumping Jack", "One Eyed Jack", etc.
On the magical realism realm, I've been just now re-reading a couple of books by James P. Blaylock. Again, probably harder to find, but if you can, The Last Coin is pretty fun, if you can get over the goofball buy well intentioned main characters he usually writes. Neat premise about the 30 pieces of silver that Judas was paid for betraying Jesus weren't just ordinary coins, and goes from there.
Ah, I could go on and on, but that's enough left field recommendations for now. -
Wow, everyone's already mentioned most of my favorites! Time to add my 2 pennies....
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore I recommend to everyone I meet (or anything by him... Practical Demonkeeping is also good)
I second (third? fourth?) the Neil Gaiman nominations. Loved Neverwhere!
If you like straight adventure stories, Clive Cussler is worth checking out. Sahara is the best (ignore the movie... trust me on this)
Water for Elephants was a fantastic book... not sci-fi at all, but just really good.
I also recommend the Phillip Pullman series that starts with The Golden Compass. Not just a kids book, and has some really interesting theories about reality and good vs evil.
I could go on, but those are some of my favorites. -
@Kristi-I have heard great things about that Phillip Pullman series. Someday I'll get around to reading it.
I picked up a copy of The Host, by Stephanie Meyers on the recommendation of a friend. Has anyone read it? -
Posted By: melkorI highly suggest Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
I found this book on an off-campus semester and my professor flipped when he saw me reading it at lunch. He was like, "Who told you about this book? Where did you get it? HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS BOOK!!?!??!" I shrugged and told him I found it in the back of the English section of the library. He was all mysterious about why he freaked out. So I eagerly read the book, expecting the secrets of the world to open up to me.
Instead, I got a very strange look at what the internet could be or something. It was an ok book, but I never did figure out why he went nutters on me for it. So it kinda got ruined for me. -
Posted By: larnsturtI found this book on an off-campus semester and my professor flipped when he saw me reading it at lunch. He was like, "Who told you about this book? Where did you get it? HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS BOOK!!?!??!" I shrugged and told him I found it in the back of the English section of the library. He was all mysterious about why he freaked out. So I eagerly read the book, expecting the secrets of the world to open up to me.
Instead, I got a very strange look at what the internet could be or something. It was an ok book, but I never did figure out why he went nutters on me for it. So it kinda got ruined for me.
I hope you find out one day.
I loved it, as did my screwed up sense of humor -
Posted By: larnsturtI never did figure out why he went nutters on me for it.
Did you check it for secret codes by ancient and mysterious organizations? I'm just saying... -
Posted By: Not Mandatory@Kristi-I have heard great things about that Phillip Pullman series. Someday I'll get around to reading it.
I'll second Kristi's recommendation. I would consider the His Dark Materials series by Pullman to be essential reading. A counterpoint to Narnia, if you will, although I daresay Pullman is a little more overt in his allegory. -
Posted By: Mike BradyPosted By: Not Mandatory@Kristi-I have heard great things about that Phillip Pullman series. Someday I'll get around to reading it.
I'll second Kristi's recommendation. I would consider theHis Dark Materialsseries by Pullman to be essential reading. A counterpoint toNarnia, if you will, although I daresay Pullman is a little more overt in his allegory.
Pullman's His Dark Materials is a fantastic read, though you'll have to check the children's section if you want to find it! -
Posted By: melkorPosted By: Mike BradyPosted By: Not Mandatory@Kristi-I have heard great things about that Phillip Pullman series. Someday I'll get around to reading it.
I'll second Kristi's recommendation. I would consider theHis Dark Materialsseries by Pullman to be essential reading. A counterpoint toNarnia, if you will, although I daresay Pullman is a little more overt in his allegory.
Pullman's His Dark Materials is a fantastic read, though you'll have to check the children's section if you want to find it!
Or the Young Adult section.... I'm finding some pretty good books in that section, actually. Maybe it's cuz I never grew up......
Also, there's another series I really enjoy, by Jennifer Rardin... first book is Once Bitten, Twice Shy. Think vampires and CIA assassins. -
Meh. It's sort of childish, but you should also check out the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I have yet to read the third book, but the first two were actually pretty good reads while we're all waiting on mr. Martin to freaking write the next book. Jeez, jerk. Hurry it up.
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Posted By: Kristi
Or the Young Adult section.... I'm finding some pretty good books in that section, actually. Maybe it's cuz I never grew up......
Also, there's another series I really enjoy, by Jennifer Rardin... first book is Once Bitten, Twice Shy. Think vampires and CIA assassins.
There was a recent article by Cory Doctorow about Young Adult sections and how they're the best place to look because they're written off so quickly. The essence of the argument is this: you used to be able to take a lot of creative liberties in sci-fi because it was considered a pariah genre. Nobody paid much attention to it, so works got tossed there if they didn't "fit" anywhere else. Now, though, the genre gets a lot more attention and as a result the works tend more toward common themes. The Young Adult section, however, is now the "overlooked" section where you should go to find the most interesting literature.
So yeah, maybe you never grew up. I'd prefer to think of you as a literary maven, though. -
Posted By: SeanPosted By: The VomiteerJPod by Douglas Coupland (or anything else by Mr. Coupland)
I absolutely LOVED JPod! Other Coupland books can be a bit too "busy" to follow, depending on your mood, but that one was incredibly entertaining. It had a slightly Douglas Adams quality to it.I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
Jpod is amazing. If you liked that you should also read Microserfs, it's pretty much the same book if it took place 10 years earlier and instead of working for a videogame company they work for Microsoft. -
Posted By: Mike Brady
So yeah, maybe you never grew up. I'd prefer to think of you as a literary maven, though.In Soviet Russia, Hoop-Dee-Doo reviews you!
There is a lot of fantastic stuff in the young adult section. A few of my favorites are:
Scott Westerfield's 'Midnighters' and 'Uglies', 'Pretties', etc.
Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy and 'Shades Children.'
Cory Doctorow's 'Little Brother' was highly amusing
I've unfortunately been dragged onto the Twilight bandwagon as well, and I still have no idea why I enjoy the series. -
Posted By: kyleblakely42Meh. It's sort of childish, but you should also check out the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I have yet to read the third book, but the first two were actually pretty good reads while we're all waiting on mr. Martin to freaking write the next book. Jeez, jerk. Hurry it up.
I just finished her non-Twilight book "The Host". Apparently it was her first "adult" novel. It was pretty good, so I may give the Twilight series a shot.
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