Book recommendation thread

[Zoidberg]

Another vote for George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series.

Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series is my favorite of all time.

And for some reason I seem to re-read Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth" about once a year. I just really like that book.

[coronamad]

I've been reading WoT (Jordan) since day 1, and it's really pissing me off how long it takes for him to finish book. I mean, 2++ years? However, on a side note, the latest book, Knife of Dreams, actually had some things happen in it. After wondering if anybody actually did anything in the last 4-5 books, it was a nice change.

[Sanoske]

I've been reading WoT (Jordan) since day 1, and it's really pissing me off how long it takes for him to finish book. I mean, 2++ years? However, on a side note, the latest book, Knife of Dreams, actually had some things happen in it. After wondering if anybody actually did anything in the last 4-5 books, it was a nice change.

For those books, I dont mind waiting. Destroyed 1-5, slowly working on 6 since Ive been busy lately. 12 is gonna be insane.. 2K pages I hear.

Personal recommendation: Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

[Cesaria]

Waiting for the new Harry Potter eagerly.

My boyfriend introduced me to Terry Pratchett's Discworld books recently and I'm working my way through them... anything with Death in is instant win, and if it includes Death of Rats as well = even better.

Memoirs of a Geisha is probably my all-time favourite book, and someone else already mentioned Cell by Stephen King which I think is one of his stronger offerings for a while. I would post more but I'd have to go check out the bookcase which is a disorganized mess - while my boyfriend has all his books carefully organized by author and series, I just chuck them on wherever there's room.

[Meilyn]

Ayn Rand's books are terrific, both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are great.

Thor's Hammer is a good pre/post-apocalyptic type book if you're into those (can't remember the author, its an older book).

Dostoevsky is another great author, I saw Crime and Punishment mentioned already, but The Brothers Karamazov is another good one.

For the lighter, quicker side, The Old Man and the Sea is a great summer read.

[Doombear]

Another series i read a looooong time ago that i quite enjoyed was the Chung Kuo series by David Wingrove.

[Fryte]

I read Cell by Stephen King while waiting in line for my Nintendo Wii. The first half was great, but once it became less about surviving and turned into a shitty X-Files episode I couldn't finish it.

[Nuketwig]

Also, this one is pretty old, but I really liked it. The Talisman by Stephen King.

The sequel Black House is pretty good as well, and briefly ties into some of the Dark Tower stuff.

Doesn't everything by King tie into the Dark Tower in some way or another? I remember seeing a website about it that has all the tie ins. Kinda interesting if you like king.

But yes, I would also highly recommend The Talisman. Really different than anything I've ever read. Good stuff.

Also, if you enjoy king I still think 'It' is an amazing book. It's freaken huge, but worth it.

Also, while I haven't read it, I hear The Stand is amazing (much better than the crappy movie) as well.

You can probably link everything he's ever written to the Tower in some way, but Black House is a little more overt with its references to Breakers and the King. Stand = excellent, probably my favorite book of his.

Also, I read A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro for a class and really enjoyed it. It's much shorter than any of the King listed, if you're looking for something you can get through a little quicker.

[Intense]

Ok, so I visited amazon.com the other night and I ordered:

- The novelization of Casino Royale by Ian Fleming based on the reviews on the site.
- Prey by Michael Crichton based on the recommendation here.
- The Firm by John Grisham also based on the recommendation here.

If anyone has feedback on Casino Royale, the novel, let me know!

Also, please dont just mention books and leave it at that. Say why. ;3

[Intense]

Books are boring, i read forums onry

Maybe too much, lol.

[zoobernut]

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

His other book "Collapse" is also very good. And to the OP if you like Chuck you should read his new book "Haunted" it is also very good.

I saw a couple of these mentioned but:
anything by Orson Scott Card (Enders Game, Enders Shadow, Seventh Son)

"The Things they Carried" I forget the author but I think it was mentioned somewhere in here.

Christopher Moore writes some very funny books I just read "Blood Sucking Fiends" and thought it was great.

Frank Herbert "Dune"

Anything Ray Bradbury wrote.

Dante's Inferno

The complete works of Edgar Allen Poe

Robert A. Heinlein is a great author as well. "Farnhams Freehold" "Stranger in a Strange land" "Starship Troopers"

That is all I can think of right now. All my books are in storage at the moment but these are some of my favorite.

[Bweigelt]

I've been reading WoT (Jordan) since day 1, and it's really pissing me off how long it takes for him to finish book. I mean, 2++ years? However, on a side note, the latest book, Knife of Dreams, actually had some things happen in it. After wondering if anybody actually did anything in the last 4-5 books, it was a nice change

1-2 years is nothing compared to some, but I guess with Wheel of Time it feels worse because even when you get the next book nothing happens.

A Song of Ice and Fire is probably the best series of books I have ever read. The only problem is how long it takes for GRRM to write them. There was a 5(6?) year gap between the third and fourth book which he ended up splitting into two different books, the second of which still hasn't come out.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

The Fairtax Book.

[Nuketwig]

"The Things they Carried" I forget the author but I think it was mentioned somewhere in here.

Tim O'Brien. Going After Cacciato is a good one by him as well, if it hasn't been mentioned already.

[Lbelle]

Pillars of the Earth

[Kaelan]

My boyfriend introduced me to Terry Pratchett's Discworld books recently and I'm working my way through them... anything with Death in is instant win, and if it includes Death of Rats as well = even better.

QFT

Death is always awesome. The ones about the Night Watch and The Gods are also automatic win

Reading Going Postal right now :D

[Vobent]

I know you said no sci fi but: ALL the Ender's Game/Bean books are excellent. I read all those books a few years ago, they were excellent imo.

Sums it up.

[Stilgar]

Personal recommendation, although it is sci-fi: Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.

I just finished Ender's Game, and was surprised at how non-Sci-Fi it really is, despite the generic spaceship cover. Most of the book takes place on a space-station of sorts, but the themes are entirely humanistic. I'd recommended it highly. Card is a very good writer of dialogue, as well.

My favs:

Clancy's own books (NOT the other shit with his name on it)
George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire
Robert Jordan
King's Dark Tower and The Stand (fucking amazing book)
Anything at all by James Clavell (Shogun, Tai-Pan, Noble House, etc.)
Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles


lots more... I love fiction. I almost never read nonfiction books, lol.

[Kametatsu]

Despite the clearly religious overtones, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis made for a very interesting read, as well as his Chronicles of Narnia series (which, imo, everyone should read at least once in their lifetime).

I loved Hamlet by good ole Willy Shakespeare, if you can handle the old english.

Brave New World, while already mentioned, was nothing short of excellent, and definitely worth a read.

Currently re-reading Christine by Stephen King, <3 that book. Too bad King has this annoying tendency to end books terribly (like IT, didn't much care for Cell's ending either, left me with way too many questions).

[Vistani]

adult fantasy as in porn with kinky costumes?

aka WoW Role play...

George RR Martin for adult fantasy. Not like that you pervs. Really dark, violent "realistic" and complex characters. Characters can die in a flash (or slow and painfully), you have a genuine fear of peopel dying in his books. Complete 180 from authors such as R.A. Salvatore.

Drizzt vs an army of orcs? Drizzt's wins. Another character dies? Nope, just kidding, he'll be back in about 3 books so we can milk more money. I used to love Salvatore, but now I want him to die in a fire... take out Jordan too.

FUCK YOU WHEEL OF NOTHING HAPPENS BETWEEN BOOKS 4-9.

However there is that one scene where one of the main female characters has a bicurious encounter with some woman who's in love with her. That just came out of left field for me cuz there's really nothing as sexually graphic as that was anywhere else in the series.

And yeah I gave up on Wheel of Time. I finished 1-10 before 11 came out, and just didn't feel like rereading all of them so I would remember what was going on for 11. Maybe when 12 comes out and I'm bored I'll reread the whole thing just to find out what happens at Tarmon Gaidon.

I really enjoyed reading Wheel of Time, though more and more it became incredibly tedious dealing with the fact that the pace of the story rapidly slows down over the course of the series. I honestly only finished book 10 because I enjoyed the rest of the series, I havn't even picked up book 11 which is still staring at me from my bookshelf, other than a precursory look at another ridiculously long, ridiculously irrelevant prologue.

On the topic of non sci-fi stuff, I really like Ben Elton's books, mostly whodunnit stuff addressing pop culture, very easy to read.