Not signed in (Sign In)

Categories

Vanilla 1.1.8 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome Guest!
Want to take part in these discussions? If you have an account, sign in now.
If you don't have an account, apply for one now.

General Reading: Book Recommendations

Bottom of Page

1 to 39 of 39

  1.  
    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    I haven’t been reading a lot lately, mostly been spending my time in this site, or reading slowly through War and Peace.

    I can’t live without books, usually all I do is read, 7-8 hours a day, I pretty much can’t live without books. :P

    Any recommendations?

  2.  

    Neverwhere, American Gods, Anansi Boys, all by Neil Gaiman.

    The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Stephen Erikson. Long series.

    A Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin.

    •  
      CommentAuthorVirgil
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009 edited
     

    The Earthsea Cycle.. reading the third now

    Golden Compass is good, just be sure to withstand shots against our beloved religious organizations.

    Snow Crash is great for computer geeks, but very long. Cryptonomicon is a good one by Neil Stephenson.

    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

  4.  

    I second the Neil Gaiman and H2G2 recommendations.

    I also suggest Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Ah, yes, I should point out that I’ve read Golden Compass and Song of Ice and Fire.

  6.  
    The Gemma Doyle Trilogy is decent, if you like historical fantasy (it's set in the victorian era). Kinda cheesy at parts (the dialogue with the villain sometimes turns into cliched b-movie lines), but it's a fun read nonetheless.
    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Darn, my library has all of the Earthsea books except for the 5th. :(

    •  
      CommentAuthorDiamonte
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Jonathon Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy is a really good read, if you haven’t gotten through those books already. I think the first one is The Amulet of Samarkand.

    •  
      CommentAuthorVirgil
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Jonathon Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy is a really good read

    What’s it about?

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Jonathon Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy is a really good read, if you haven’t gotten through those books already. I think the first one is The Amulet of Samarkand.

    Just requested them. :)

    •  
      CommentAuthorNorthmark
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Anything by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. (except the Wheel of Darkness. ew.)

    Bartimaeus Trilogy is about a young magician who traps an ancient djinni named Bartimaeus. I can’t really tell you that much because I read the series a long time ago. D:

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Don’t spoil anything. :P

    •  
      CommentAuthorSMARTALIENQT
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009 edited
     

    What’s it about?

    •  
      CommentAuthorDiamonte
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Ahh, the footnotes. I love the footnotes. XD

    •  
      CommentAuthorVirgil
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Hm.. i might have to look into it.

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    What type of books are you looking for? Sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, adventure? Comedy, serious, or a mix? Would you take non-fiction?

    Because I’m obsessed with this time period, anyone with interest in Israel’s history should read O Jerusalem!. It’s about Israel when it became a nation (again) in 1948.

    I read a lot of Christian fiction, and even if you don’t like preachy books, read Ted Dekker’s stuff. It will scare you silly. I just got House the other day, but I’m terrified to start reading it… it was co-authored by Frank Peretti, the other most terrifying Christian author of all time!

    If you haven’t already, read Lord of the Rings. If that’s too daunting, at least try the Hobbit. It’s like LotR Lite.

    Do you like manga? Read Deathnote. It’s epic.

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Frank Peretti I just returned his Monster book today, didn’t read it. :P

    Do you like manga? Read Deathnote. It’s epic.

    Yeah, I read 1, I got 3 but I still haven’t gotten 2. :(

    What type of books are you looking for? Sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, adventure? Comedy, serious, or a mix? Would you take non-fiction?

    Anything really. :P

    • CommentAuthorCodeWizard
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Read your father’s entire shelf and you’ll be one of the wisest men on the planet.

    •  
      CommentAuthorCGilga
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    http://www.onemanga.com/Death_Note/

    and

    http://www.onemanga.com/Monster/

    I’m never going to stop advertising Monster until someone else reads it. It’s killing me.

    • CommentAuthorLord Snow
    • CommentTimeJun 24th 2009
     

    Puppet, I have the Earthsea Trilogy if you want to come and get it.

  21.  

    The Book Thief and I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak. Great books.

  22.  

    SWQ & OLD, yes, I agree.

    The Gemma Doyle Trilogy is decent,

    WHAT?! BLASPHEMY. Sorry, that was mean. Anyhow, I found it historically inaccurate, and dull. And found all the girls to be really and truly annoying. Ugh, hated it. Oh, and her hot steamy dreams were… I think disturbing’s a good word. And Puppet, unless you feel like bleaching your brain, don’t read it.

    The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
    The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

    Both are enjoyable, and are rather light reads. Enjoy!

  23.  

    Arthur & George, Julian Barnes.

    Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a very stunning play to read.

    •  
      CommentAuthorDiamonte
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    I’m reading The Book Thief right now, and it’s very good. I wasn’t prepared for the odd style, but once I got into it some more, I really like it.

    Anyways, gotta agree with RVL on the Gemma Doyle books. I read the first one, and really didn’t understand why I had heard them so hyped up. I thought the girls were very annoying, and I couldn’t stand any of them.

  25.  

    Seconding The Chronicles of Prydain. Also:

    The Foundation trilogy and The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

    Dune by Frank Herbert

    The Hungry City Chronicles by Phillip Reeve

    The Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix

    The Time Quartet by Madeleine L’Engle (only the first two; the others are awful)

    The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart (the first one’s meh, but the rest are pretty good)

    The Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

    The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett

    More to come

  26.  

    Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a very stunning play to read.

    That story makes me sad, ever since I saw it the second time. All the signs are there D_:

    •  
      CommentAuthorCGilga
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    And still we all missed them. I really like Arthur Miller. I’m working on The Crucible right now. So far, so good.

    As for playwrights I suggest Edward Albee. Zoo Story and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are my suggestions for getting your feet damp, or at least the closest you can get to that with Albee.

  28.  

    And still we all missed them. I really like Arthur Miller. I’m working on The Crucible right now. So far, so good.

    I’m rereading that right now. Haven’t picked it up in two years.

    I think Death of a Salesman may have contributed to the extreme depression I entered a while after reading it. XD

    This is worth a watch for anyone who’s read/watched the play.

  29.  

    City of Thieves by David Benioff

  30.  
    @RVL - Hey, I said they were okay. I never said they were perfect. =P
    •  
      CommentAuthorElanor
    • CommentTimeJun 25th 2009
     

    Try Tamora Pierce, too, even if they are mostly girl books. :P (Well, most of my recs will be girl books.) Clare B. Dunkle’s Hollow Kingdom books are also excellent. And so is Barbar Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible—it’s not a girl book, it’s a look at the the time of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence chaos, I think.

  32.  

    Luin, sorry, I’m surrounded by too many fangirls at school; I tend to take things (when it comes to books) a bit overboard. ;)

  33.  

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (get a good translation)

    The War of the Worlds and The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I’ve read, I was going to read War of the Worlds, but never got around to reading it, thanks for reminding me. :P

    Note: I’ve also read Huckleberry fin, Oliver Twist and Tom Sawyer, but not anything else by Dickens.

  35.  

    @Puppet

    >Note: I’ve also read Huckleberry fin, Oliver Twist and Tom Sawyer, but not anything else by Dickens.

    Those were written by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain.

  36.  
    @RVL - Ah, no worries. :3
    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     

    Oliver Twist was by Dickens, but Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were by Mark Twain. Read everything by Mark Twain. And I mean everything! Especially his essay lambasting the Last of the Mohicans. He was great.

    Jules Verne is excellent, too. I loved 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and it was fascinating to see how close he came to predicting modern technology.

    I also like Arthur C. Clarke for the sci-fi crowd. He also predicted a lot of modern technology, like the Internet.

    •  
      CommentAuthorPuppet
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2009
     

    @Puppet

    >Note: I’ve also read Huckleberry fin, Oliver Twist and Tom Sawyer, but not anything else by Dickens.

    Those were written by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain.

    Oh, wow, I hate mornings. :P

  39.  

    I have a collection of novels by Twain and Dickens. (One for each). I should really dig those up and read them.

1 to 39 of 39

  1.