Books: What are you reading and what would you recommend?

[Silviya]

Finally, my favorite books, by my favorite author:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and all the books that follow it.

I can't believe there are people who still haven't read this masterpiece of genius. It's actually become required reading in my school system (long after I've graduated, of course)... I really don't think masterpiece of genius even does it justice. Just go read, go read, you'll thank me later!

Absolutely agree that this book should be required reading. It is that good. Comparing book to book (as opposed to series to series) I would rate Ender's Game as my favorite book out of everything I have read. Series-wise Song of Ice and Fire is probably my favorite.

[Alina]

Anything by Stephen King is win, but everyone should read the Dark Tower series. I don't want anyone to ruin it, but the last line in the last book gave me chills like nothing before.

Like the OP said, A Song of Ice and Fire is also extremely good. I really want the next book to come out to see what happened to the other 'half' of the characters...but it's gonna be even longer before we see what happened to the characters in A Feast for Crows!

The Sword of Truth (Terry Goodkind) series is worth your time as well.

[Kurp]

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (Fiction)

Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line by Ben Hamper (Memoir)

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

Vince Flynn

[Starr]

The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini

[Max™]

The Encyclopedia for the most recent year you can find.

I loved those as a kid, used to grab em at random and flip around reading em before I fell asleep.

The Trouble with Physics, by Lee Smolin.
You're never too old to read a book just for the sake of knowledge.

[Nystul]

The more exposure I get to classic authors (Ie, Dostoyevski, Twain, Wells, Melville, etc) the less tolerance I have for guys I used to like that were more pop authors (like Flynn, King, etc). If you think Stephen King is fun to read, well, so do I. If you think he's a great author then you need to start expanding your library.

I went through a big "spy fiction" phase. Littell's "The Company" (there was a TBS miniseries this summer) is great, so are his other books. My favorite though is Alan Furst. These aren't "Bourne" or "Bond" spy books. No one does some crazy karate chops and jumps off buldings. Furst's novels are historical fiction set around WWII focusing on the real-life challenges that spies and the people of that time encountered. Slower paced but they are really good.

If you haven't read 1984, then stop now and go get it. Now. Go.

If you haven't read Huck Finn, then stop now and go get it.

I also went through a bit of an existentialist phase. I thought Dostoyevski's Crime and Punishment would be boring but I really liked it. However, I then tried to read "The Idiot" and I couldn't get through it. Kafka's "The Trial" is eerie and surreal and if you read it you'll understand what people mean when they say "thats so Kafka-esque!" I also recommend Camus' The Plague.

I just read Neil Gaiman's American Gods. IT's basically about how all the gods we believe in or have believed in (Odin, goblins, Shiva, Ifrits, kobolds, Anubis and even folklore like Johnny Appleseed) are walking among us but they are tired and sick and old because they have little or no belief left. And the new gods of america (electricity, technology, TV, media) are the young guns running them out of town. The story follows a man named Shadow as he is hired by the old gods and tried to help them win the war against the new gods. If you know your mythology cold you'll get a lot out of this. If you don't know any mythology then don't pick it up, you'll be lost.

[Foras]

I swear to god I'm going to be up to date in The Wheel of Time series before the final book comes out. RIP Robert Jordan

For some reason I could not get through this series. But, now that I think about it I think I started reading GRRM's ASOIF around the same time, and I've heard it stated that GRRM perfected what Jordan started.

I'll try and keep this thread semi-updated, but I'm not sure if I can keep up with you guys! Ton of great books, I think my list is filled for the next year!

[Mote]

Pournelle- Mote in the Eye of God

I named my FFXI character after the title this book :D

[Brill Weave]

GAAAAAAAAAALKA!

[Octavious]

Well, this past summer I had little time to read between my new internship & class (working and doing a full class load is much harder than I thought it'd be). The last few books I read in the winter/spring were The Republic and Nicomachean Ethics for a series of philosophy/logic classes. I don't know why but they seem to hold my interest for long periods of time. Maybe it's the fact that I don't quite understand it the first time through, but I like books that get you thinking. >_>;

[Brill Weave]

Jennifer Government.

[Deftscythe]

I highly recommend the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. It's not terribly deep but it's got good characters and the books are genuinely fun reads.

[Foras]

I read a lot of young teen fantasy books. >.> If you don't like them, don't read!

I'll admit to dabbling into the children and young adult books quite frequently, but I usually read them alongside something that has a bit more substance. Those types of books are not trying to hit a literary precedence or change the world; they are simply there to entertain.

[Shalyn]

Nice Sci-Fi collection there, I love Dune and Ender's Game <3

Off the top of my head: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood... fucking awesome book, and I love her so I'll add A Handmaid's Tale and The Edible Woman.

I've read too many books in university, it's hard to think of them when you want a reference but I'll try for some more:

Adam Bede by George Eliot..not for a light reader, her writing is packed.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk.. not for those with weak stomachs.
One Hand Clapping by Anthony Burgess

That's it for now. I haven't picked up a book to make myself read since I just recently finished school. It'll probably be a while before I regain my love of reading

[Lbelle]

I just finished reading the His Dark Materials trilogy like five minutes ago. It was pretty good, but now I need a new book/series.

[Elesirdur]

I also went through a bit of an existentialist phase. I thought Dostoyevski's Crime and Punishment would be boring but I really liked it. However, I then tried to read "The Idiot" and I couldn't get through it. Kafka's "The Trial" is eerie and surreal and if you read it you'll understand what people mean when they say "thats so Kafka-esque!" I also recommend Camus' The Plague.

Did you ever read 'Gravity's Rainbow'? I picked that up this spring and have been slowly pecking my way through it, but I just can not commit to reading it full-time. It's an amazing piece of work, but I often find Pynchon's prose to be like wading through knee-high mud.

Freakonomics

I really liked Freakonomics as well too. If you like that kind of book you might want to find some of James Burke's books on science history; 'The Knowledge Web' and 'Circles' are probably his most well-published. I loved his shows 'Connections' based on his work and I kind of think that my interest in history was developed as a child from watching his shows and seeing all the interrelated activities in science and society.

[Nyima]

I've never been able to get into Catch-22 I always get about 40-50 pages in before I just give up in confusion trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

As for a book I would recommend I would have to say 'Time Travelers Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger. I absolutely love that book.

[Fuja]

Suprised no one has mentioned Peter F. Hamilton yet. His Night's Dawn trilogy is a pretty damn good read. The Commonwealth Saga and his newest series The Void Trilogy are also great.

I'd recommend everything by Alastair Reynolds if you like space opera. The Gap series that someone mentioned earlier is a good series. It shows how dark human beings can be just to ensure their own survivial.

I have a ton more books to recommend. If anyone is interested just PM me since my pt is gonna kill me if I'm not healing them XD

[Fistandantilus]

I just finished reading the His Dark Materials trilogy like five minutes ago. It was pretty good, but now I need a new book/series.

I really loved this series, I've avoided the movie though because I heard it sucked and don't want the books ruined for me.

The third installment of the Eragon series came out today, yeah it's like a teen book and the writer isn't all that but I find the books thoroughly entertaining, super excited to read it.

The suggestions for Ender's Game its subsequent series' is perfect, I have read a ton of fiction and I haven't found a book that I loved more than Ender's Game, the rest of the books are absolutely amazing as well but I think the original is the best overall.