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

[Max™]

I briefly got into the Anne Rice books, but it just started to feel creepy after a while.
2001, 2010, 2061, great series.

Black Holes and Warped Spacetime is the book that got me into science when I was 6, and lots of encyclopedias.

[sb]

Mort by Terry Pratchett. He is the second best selling author in England for a reason (after J.K.R.'s Potter). And it's sad to say he's recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers, so it's a rather good time to begin to appreciate some of his work. Mort is an excellent introduction to his work. (as is "good omens", as someone above mentioned).

Little Brother is an interesting YA novel by Cory Doctorow. The writing style isn't that deep and the story is a bit young (it is after all a YA), but the content it gets into is really fascinating. It's goes rather deeply into the anti terrorism techniques of our country as well as other things, like internet systems and cryptography. It's also a free download:
http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/

If your looking for classics, I've been a Dostoyevsky fan. Or maybe The Leopard.
"The Leopard (Italian: Il Gattopardo) is a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the Risorgimento. Published posthumously in 1958, it became the top-selling novel in Italian history and is considered one of the most important novels in modern literature."(wiki info)
It was the only novel written by the author and it was originally refused by publishers. It was finally published after his death.

Portrait of a Man Drowning was written by Charles Perry, and like The Leopard, was his only published novel. A rather dark and messy tale of poverty, gangs and sexual confusion.

I forgot to mention, I'm a big fan of Issac Asimov.

[guartz]

I gotta agree, Catch-22 is a must read.

[Kiro]

Vince Flynn's "Executive Power"

This guy's books are probably my favorites next to the Bourne books. I only tend to read Spy-related books. :>

[Artemas]

The Malazan series is quite excellent by Erikson.

I recommend:

48 Laws of Power, by Greene.
Shogun, Clavell.

Very interesting stuff.

And I'm so relieved that Goodkind isn't on your list.

[Bweigelt]

Is greatness defined in an author by the world’s esteemed literary reviewers, by the challenging usage of language, or by the volume of sales? I think greatness is very subjective; in terms of sales, cultural change and influence, captivating millions both in form of the written word and visual entertainment, by many definitions Stephen King is a great writer. Will any of his books ever grace the “classic” section? Probably not, but who’s to predict what standards our culture will be using 100 years from now. Many of our fiction writers today could be considered prophets tomorrow.

Do you have a favorite out of the few series you named off? I'm heading to the library shortly

Probably the Lies of Locke Lamora + Red Seas under Red Skies. Just so many awesome moments in both books. And the third should be out in early 2009.

The Malazan series is quite excellent by Erikson.

I recommend:

48 Laws of Power, by Greene.
Shogun, Clavell.

Very interesting stuff.

And I'm so relieved that Goodkind isn't on your list.

Amen.

[Neoburai]

Rant - Chuck Palahniuk. Awesome novel. Author of Fight Club.
Longing for the Harmonies - Frank Wilczek. Great intro into quantum mechanics. Noble Prize winner for Science.

[Foras]

Probably the Lies of Locke Lamora + Red Seas under Red Skies. Just so many awesome moments in both books. And the third should be out in early 2009.


Amen.

Thanks, I'll have to pick that up. I've actually tried reading Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule, but I couldn't endure the monotonous monologues.

[Elesirdur]

And let's not forget about Kurt Vonnegut. Breakfast of Champions is perhaps one of the most subversively hilariously books I've ever read. I know some old-school literati have panned some of Vonnegut's books, like Breakfast of Champions as being simplistic, sarcastic, and juvenile but I think his often simple prose brings some very important truths to the fore in a way that is bot accessible and sophisticated. Slaughterhouse Five and Cat's Cradle are his two most acclaimed works, and are fantastic reads. I actually read Slaughterhouse Five in high school and hated it, but picked it up second-hand for $1.50 and just devoured the book in delight. It's a dark tale, but it's also Vonnegut at his best.

[Keria]

I recently read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and it's one of the best new fantasy books I've read. It's the first of a trilogy, I believe, can't wait for the next one.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is a particularly enthralling thriller, and a bestseller for a reason, sadly the author is dead and only now are his books making it into an English translation.

If you like something a bit different try one of Roddy Doyle's novels. They are funny in places but also dark. A lot of the prose is in Irish dialect though which can annoy some people.

[ertyu]

As other's have already said, Good Omens is my favorite book, with Battle Royale a close second.

[Foras]

I'll update the thread hopefully, within the next day or two.

I finished Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb over the weekend. Has anyone continued on with this series? And for my quick review:

Spoiler: show

Above average coming of age story that has some minor twists and a few gray characters to mix things up. I thought the ending was rushed and didn't do the book justice whatsoever. Overall for a young adult fantasy: 7/10

[pohibaba]

The series is very worth finishing; it definitely gets better as it goes along.

[Sigi]

If you enjoy punning, look up Spyder Robinson's Lady Sally and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series- the puns are eye-watering horrid. Same for Robert Lynn Asprin's Myth series.

[Brien]

Catcher in the Rye

[TacoTaru]

The Contortionist Handbook - Craig Clevenger (Chuck Palahniuk's favorite book, for any of you Chuck fans.)

[Tradition]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned leguin's earthsea series

[Cesaria]

Mort by Terry Pratchett. He is the second best selling author in England for a reason (after J.K.R.'s Potter). And it's sad to say he's recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers, so it's a rather good time to begin to appreciate some of his work. Mort is an excellent introduction to his work. (as is "good omens", as someone above mentioned).

Good Omens is brilliant - it's one of the things that got me into Terry Pratchett in the first place, and I'm gradually working through all the Discworld books - they are fricken hilarious, I just love Pratchett's phrasing of certain things and the ideas he comes up with are nuts... I mean... who could come up with the Death of Rats? Any with Death in as a major character are the best - he cracks me the fuck up.

[ninjafox]

The Vampire Huntress series by L.A. Banks is a very good series (demon fighting, apocalypse coming type stuff). 12 books in all:

1. Minion
2. The Awakening
3. The Hunted
4. The Bitten
5. The Forbidden
6. The Damned
7. The Cursed
8. The Forsaken
9. The Wicked
10 The Darkness
11. The Shadows
12. One more book that hasn't come out yet.

[Einherjar]

For philosophy you could try A Brief History of Everything, by Ken Wilber.