Any books I should read?

[ocean eyes]

I read a lot of books and I need some ideas on some different ones I can try. Any suggestions?

 

[Womplord]

What kind/genre of books do you like?

 

[ElvenVeil]

if you are at a real loss you can always go for the classics; they are usually worth it

 

[a detached retina]

The Stranger, Albert Camus. Short, sweet, sinks in.

 

[ocean eyes]

I like to read longer 300-400 page books. And the genres I prefer are scary/horror, or science fiction/fantasy. I read on average 200 books a year and could use a few no titles to read.

 

[Nocturne]

Most definitely, you should refer to classics. Try 'George Bernard Shaw's Plays', it is quite witty.

 

[Cavallier]

Herm. With specs like that you've probably already read most things in the Scifi genre...

Have you read:

Anything by Neal Stephenson? Anatham is interesting and certainly something you can sink your teeth into. People say this guy is too wordy (They say the same thing about Dan Simmons) but that is generally a recommendation for me.

Patrick Rothfuss's Name of the Wind (first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles). It's just plain fun.

S.M. Stirling has a few series that are also fun brain-candy. You could probably plow through those in about a month.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is interesting.

Dan Simmons has a number of books that are also toothsome. I read Hyperion recently and it was certainly engrossing.

You've got to read Lord of Light by Zelazny. In fact if you haven't read any Zelazny then you should look him up.

If you want something a little more crude and bloody I recommend Glen Cook's Black Company novels. There are a number of re-releases of his stuff so you can get a large volume collection of his works.

 

[ElvenVeil]

for the science fiction genre I would go for Frank Herbert's 'Dune' . . A piece of art .. couldn't help but read it four times in a month

 

[Cavallier]

Dune is very good. All the movie and made for tv movie adaptations are horrible. *where is the puking emoticon when I need it?*

 

[Sosekopp]

If you like satirical, surreal, paranoid and chaotic science fiction, try The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. It's a really fun read, but don't expect to understand much of it the first few times you read it.

 

[DarkGreen]

Mirai Nikki is a manga about 12 competitors who each have future diaries. They must kill the others to win and become god of the universe. There's a psycho girlfriend, beheadings, paranoia, a terrorist and a twisted romance. You can find it on mangafox.com

 

[kinetickyle]

If you're looking for something that's easy and enjoyable to read, but has substance, I'd look at Vonnegut's novels. Especially Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five.

 

[ocean eyes]

I prefer more challenging books as I read at a very high level so I like quite thick books that will challenge my vocabulary but also be invigorating. And Cavallier I will definitely keep those books in mind thanks

 

[kinetickyle]

I prefer more challenging books as I read at a very high level so I like quite thick books that will challenge my vocabulary but also be invigorating.

So, you dismiss any literature that doesn't contain excessive amounts of pretentious language? If so, you're missing out on a lot of good writing. Twain, Hemingway, and Vonnegut all used everyday language to get some very important points across. Just because the words are simple doesn't mean the message is. If that's your criteria for selecting your reading material, you are committing an egregious error.

 

[Cavallier]

I prefer more challenging books as I read at a very high level so I like quite thick books that will challenge my vocabulary but also be invigorating. And Cavallier I will definitely keep those books in mind thanks

Ah, well then Dan Simmon's Hyperion series and anything by Neal Stepheson are top of the list for my recommendations. The first few books in the Dune series are interesting sociologically and ecologically but less dense. However, I refuse to belive you'd call yourself a reader of science fiction without having read those books. The other books I recommended are fun but less brainy.

Have your read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth? It's not really science fiction or fantasy so much as it's historical fiction. It's a book a lot of people seem to own but have never finished reading. I really enjoyed it and it's great for growing your vocab as well as your knowledge of the dark ages. Oh, and if you like the sound of that then I recommend Umberto Eco as well. Similar sort of thing. Lots of beautiful language, interesting philosphy and plot development, and great historical settings. Name of the Rose is one of my favorites.

 

[ElvenVeil]

if really are searching for a challenge.. and you don't mind moving in the genre, then I would go for an epic poem ; John Miltons Paradise Lost.. it's a joy reading it in the orriginal language

 

[Taniwha]

To the OP,

Do you like Graphic Novels?

 

[a detached retina]

Ah Yes anything by kurt vonnegut or Isaac Aasimov. (all Isaacs are geniuses)

I heard Robert Shea took copious amounts of speed when he wrote the Illuminatus trilogy. excuse any of my spelling mistakes.

 

[FusionKnight]

Raymond Chandler, especially The Big Sleep, and The Long Goodbye. Chandler sure can turn a phrase:

"She opened a mouth like a fire bucket and laughed. That terminated my interest in her. I couldn't hear the laugh but the hole in her face when she unzippered her teeth was all I needed."

 

[kolebott]

I've always liked adolescent and young adult books. I enjoy...Garth Nix, I know his books may be repetetive, and his characters miraculously get out of every situation, but Shade's Children was just super. You should read it...like now.

 

[Yogi]

I recommend King For a Day. It's funny and spiritual at the same time. And it has enough meaning to last an eternity.

 

[gephura]

Blindness by Jose Saramago. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. Both excellent!

 

[fduniho]

Try Tik-Tok by John Sladek. It is the autobiography of an android with malfunctioning Asimov circuits.

 

[Artsu Tharaz]

If you read that many books, surely they can't be too good.

 

[WittyUsername]

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/

^ This is the list I'm following. These are some of the great books humankind has managed to produce.They are pretty challenging too.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/

^ This is the list I'm following. These are some of the great books humankind has managed to produce.They are pretty challenging too.

Thanks for this, I was working on my own, but I might as well just consolidate now.

 

[WittyUsername]

^ They have an Amazon list too if you want to buy any of those. You could've done that yourself but it just gets all those books at a single place.

 

[Lobstrich]

Commedia, though I am only able to refer Inferno, the first part. Since that is the only I have read. But it's an AMAZING book, one of my favourites.

 

[aaaw]

I'm sure you have already read it, but I would read it again - 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley.

I have read this book many times and I still get something from it. Essential reading if you are to understand power and control in the contemporary capitalist world. It and 1984 make great companions. They express two of the most important currents of control still running through the contemporary politics and culture.

While I'm at it, 'Island' and 'The Perennial Philosophy' (both by Aldous Huxley) are also important books.

 

[ReadCentral]

well there are many books u could search out through online i can suggest a site where u could find up ur kind of books 2 read hope u get useful books
www.readcentral.com through this site free online books could be read
hope u enjoy reading

 

[Mowgli]

If you havent picked them up yet, Neil Gaiman is a pretty good author.

 

[Hadoblado]

I'm gonna second the Dune series. Absolutely fantastic books but don't try and watch. The books written by his brother are also IMO quite good, however I'm sure many people disagree. I'll have to second Cavalier a second time and also recommend The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, though again, do not try and watch!
If you Like fantasy at all I recommend anything by R. E. Fest or R. R. Martin.

 

[ElvenVeil]

They are written by his son Brian Herbert, not his brother
But yes. Dune is wonderful.. I somehow stopped after reading God Emperor of Dune though.. The series just declined, although all the interesting knowledge of his unvierse was still there

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Warped passages.

 

[Bird]

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.


Your problems will seem minuscule in comparison.


Those chinese bitches bring a whole new
meaning to "beauty is pain".


Another book as well that I cannot remember the name of at the moment but is so so sooooo good. Will update later.

 

[Dr. Manhattan]

Pretty good when I first read it: Fooled by Randomness