Book Recommendations

[dynamicd]

Are there any books that you've read recently (past few years) that you just loved and couldn't stop reading? Is there anything that really makes you think when you stop reading it and absorb what the book has to offer? I just started reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and it's already great. I can already see why the movie was widely loved.

[Mr. Anderson]

Its a best seller right now, The DaVinci Code. Really makes you think - especially since a lot of it is based on real stuff.....;)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385504209/qid=1067006884/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4246445-1328101?v=glance&s=books

D

[iGav]

Not the conventional.... but I suggest you go and purchase...

Tycho's Nova: A Tomato Project ,

A very beautiful, mysterious and awe inspiring book. ;)

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Its a best seller right now, The DaVinci Code. Really makes you think - especially since a lot of it is based on real stuff.....;)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385504209/qid=1067006884/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4246445-1328101?v=glance&s=books

D

I was going to recommend this. This was a great book. Although it may be offensive to any die-hard Catholics...

Very interesting read though...

[robbieduncan]

Cryptonomican: Neal Stephenson

Totally mind blowing book. Set in various real locations and times (with some characters being historical figures) it blends reality and fiction so well you are not quite sure what is real and what is not.

[shadowfax]

Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is arguably the best american novel. it's certainly my favorite book. i read it maybe 2 years ago for the first time, though it's been around since the 1960s...

[rhpenguin]

Porno by Irvine Welsh. Its a great book.

Before reading this book read Trainspoting (or watch the movie).

[alset]

Relevant to current events:

1984 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451524934/qid=1067155407/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-7555097-2430440?v=glance&n=507846)
This should be required reading for anyone who either hasn't read it, or who read it more than five years ago.

The War on the Bill of Rights (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1583226214/qid=1067155459/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-7555097-2430440?v=glance&n=507846)
Really eye opening. Scary, too.

Dan

[janey]

mona simpson's a regular guy.
written by IIRC steve jobs' biological sister about his life, its a wonderful book but it is out of print. so borrow it from someone, look for it on ebay, or just cross your fingers and ask your local bookstore for a copy.
as usual i like all ayn rand books.
if you have time, read the second coming of steve jobs, its pretty good :)
Currently in english class we're reading Sophie's World, a dry book, but a great introduction to philosophy.

[Stelliform]

If you like Sci-fi, Orson Scott Card is my favorite author. (his sci-fi stuff. I have never been too much on fatasy.) "Ender's Game" is an awesome book. Start there.. :D

Also Author Clark is another one of my favorites. Don't let the movie for 2001 turn you off. Or actually watch the movie first and then read the book. The book explains the movie.

[FightTheFuture]

i just started listening to my bosses audio book: Life of Pi (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156027321/qid=1067224490/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-0464701-1106465?v=glance&n=507846) by Yann Martel. the author states that "it will reestablish your belief in god". right now it makes me want to reestablish my belief in books. audio books make me sleepy when i'm driving :o

[tpjunkie]

Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich

It's the true story of how a bunch of MIT students figured out a system and took the vegas casinos for millions, using a legal (but frowned upon) strategy. The casinos caught on and they were not happy.

Also I just read Dan Simmons's Worlds Enough and Time, a collection of 5 sci-fi stories of novella length. I'd recomend it to any Simmons fans or sci-fi enthusiasts.

[howard]

orson scott card's Ender's Game

and ayn rand's Atlas Shrugged

[Kwyjibo]

Originally posted by tpjunkie
Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich

It's the true story of how a bunch of MIT students figured out a system and took the vegas casinos for millions, using a legal (but frowned upon) strategy. The casinos caught on and they were not happy.

I agree this was a guilty pleasure story of sorts. I really enjoyed how he depicted the actually events but his own interpretations and feelings were a bit put on.

[Thanatoast]

Any of the Honor Harrington books by David Weber. First one is "On Basilisk Station". A truly excellent, well thought out, highly detailed series.

Fareheit 451 - I would hand out this book on street corners, if I had the money.

Stranger From A Strange Land by Heinlen. You grok?

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - Al Franken

Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

More, but I'll spare you.

[parrothead]

Lord of the rings
The Stand
Mutiny on the Bounty
A Pirate Looks at 50
Science and Health


All great books!

[scem0]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Its a best seller right now, The DaVinci Code. Really makes you think - especially since a lot of it is based on real stuff.....;)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385504209/qid=1067006884/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4246445-1328101?v=glance&s=books

D


I am really interested in reading this book....

But right now I'm reading a book by Melanie Rawn who I recommend.

My favorite author though is Terry Brooks. His Shannara series is perfection.

Terry Goodkind is also a superb author.

But those are both fantasy books and many people don't like fantasy.

scem0

[Phil Of Mac]

Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy five-part trilogy, available in one volume as The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide.

Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

Jim Carlton's Apple.

The best Star Trek novel ever: The Return by William Shatner.

1984.

[Macco]

Originally posted by scem0

Terry Goodkind is also a superb author.


I was just about to recommend his books when I saw your posts. He has written 8 huge books in the Sword of Truth series. Definitely some of the best books I have ever read. The books are each 800 or so pages long, but if you really like fantasy-type books, you won't even notice the pages turning by. Although the past few books have started to get a little repetetive...

[cb911]

Originally posted by shadowfax
Joseph Heller's Catch-22 is arguably the best american novel. it's certainly my favorite book. i read it maybe 2 years ago for the first time, though it's been around since the 1960s...

yeah, i was going to say that as well. i loved reading that book. some funny stuff in there, kind of dark humor. :D

people also say that Lord of the Rings is an awesome series, but i tried to read it and couldn't really get into it. probably because i knew i had so many pages to get to the end. :p

[scem0]

Originally posted by Macco
I was just about to recommend his books when I saw your posts. He has written 8 huge books in the Sword of Truth series. Definitely some of the best books I have ever read. The books are each 800 or so pages long, but if you really like fantasy-type books, you won't even notice the pages turning by. Although the past few books have started to get a little repetetive...

I agree, although the last one (naked empire) was better then The Pillars of Creation. They are really long, but it doesnt seem like it when you read them.

A great book that I am very glad I read was 'Wraeththu' by Storm Constantine. It is a LOOOOOOOONG book, but every page is filled with something interesting. It is a GREAT book. If you are homophobic don't read it though, because sometimes it comes off as if the relationships within the book are gay relationships when in fact the wraeththu race is a manifestation of homo sapiens and includes both male and female characteristics - even if the individuals of this race seem a bit masculine. You have to be open minded to read this book, but it is a heart wrenching love story with action, politics, and neat plot development.

I don't recommend this to immature people (not really immature in the way of not being responsible or being irrational, but in respect to being young or prepubescent). It has a lot of sexual content, but there's reasons behind the sexual encounters. Its not some porn film book where everyone has sex with everyone for next to no reason ;).

So I recommend 'Wraeththu' by Storm Constantine and The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

scem0

[Thanatoast]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
The best Star Trek novel ever: The Return by William Shatner.
I must respectfully disagree on this point. The best Star Trek book ever written is Masks, by John Vornholt. (Next Generation #7) He put a level of thought into the culture and character development of that book that is sadly lacking in most Star Trek books.

Vendetta by Peter David comes a close second.


Are Ayn Rand's books good? I've heard both positive and negative things about her books. They seem to be highly politically charged. What's up?

[mactastic]

This came up in a recent thread, and I thought I would put it here as well.

Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World is an excellent read for anyone interested in critical thinking and in looking closely at many of the popular myths in our culture. It is a series of essays, mostly by Sagan. A few are collaborations with his wife as well. Great book.

[Phil Of Mac]

Read Ayn Rand. Buy into the whole thing for awhile. After a few months, sit back and realize that they're great books, but not divine truth or anything, and go about your life, hopefully enlightened.

[WinterMute]

Iain M Banks: Use of Weapons, Against a Dark Background and Look to Windward specifically, but any of his M. Banks stuff (as opposed to the Iain Banks stuff which is good, but the sci-fi is better).

Ken McLeod: The Star Fraction, The Stone Canal and the Cassini Division

Neal Stephenson: The Diamond Age, Snow Crash (a real cyber-beauty) and the aforementioned Cryptonomicon

William Gibson: The Bridge Trilogy, The Count Zero Trilogy and Pattern Recognition.

JRR Tolkein: LOTR (you know you want to), The Silmarillion

John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany, The World According to Garp and Widow for a Year.

Peter Straub: The Throat, Koko, Mystery, Floating Dragon, Mr.X, The Hellfire Club.

Bruce Sterling: Heavy Weather and Distraction.

I've got a stack of other stuff waiting to be read, but these are novels I come back to.

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by dynamicd
Are there any books that you've read recently (past few years) that you just loved and couldn't stop reading? Is there anything that really makes you think when you stop reading it and absorb what the book has to offer? I just started reading High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and it's already great. I can already see why the movie was widely loved.

i enjoyed the book "absolute power" but the movie was not that faithful to the book but was somewhat decent with gene hackman in it...i think the movie could have been better though

but i did like the book and movie for "christine"

classics like the bible, shakespeare, and writings from the ancient greeks are always current to human nature and that makes them live in the hearts of many forever

i liked the book "mistral's daughter" from judith krantz, but the mini series was a letdown even though it was an ambitious attempt at getting it right

sidney sheldon's "master of the game" was the same way with the book being better than the mini series

as for the durable western, "how the west was won" was brilliant and somehow i missed the tv series

nancy friday's "rubyfruit jungle" was very well written and i wished they made a movie for that

i loved the movie "shawshank redemption" and i would like to read king's book

[zach]

I know it has already been mentioned, but the Da Vinci Code is one of the best books I've ever read (and that's quite a few...)

I know a few people will disagree with me here, but I would recommend [u]Prey[/i] by Michael Crichton. In my opinion, it's the best science fiction novel I've ever read (with the exception of Speaker for The Dead by Orson Scott Card)

Well, I hope you can find something useful in here..

[000111one111000]

Hmmmm......my fav. books:

Diary Of A Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley

Anything by Nietzsche

Other than that, I mainly read non-fiction, besides comic books and Star Trek books. :)

And as far as I'm concerned, the best Star Trek books are the ones in "The Eugenics Wars" series. Traces the path Kahn took during and before the Eugenics Wars. Also, the main stars of the books, besides Kahn, are the two characters from the classic TOS episode, "Assignment: Earth."

A cool thing about those books is that all the events in the book are actual real life events, since it takes place in our time. :)

enoch

[Phil Of Mac]

Does it explain how Khan happened to pose as Ricardo Montelban in Fantasy Island and in a couple of Planet of the Apes movies? ;)

[000111one111000]

Yes. Good Ol' Pavel put a worm in his ear, causing him to do what ever he said. Pavel, being the jokester that he is, sent him off to Risa (the real location of Fantasy Island) for a few years, and then to the Earth of a different dimension. Khan finally made it back and was pissed, got in a fight with Kirk, was stranded on the planet, Pavel showed up, and then Khan put a worm in HIS ear. It ties it all up rather well. :)

enoch

[tazo]

want a gory whodunit that will seriously keep ya guessing til the last page?

Wild Justice, by Phillip Margolin.

[wrc fan]

I just read The Stranger by Albert Camus. It aparently is read in high schools but mine didn't, and so my girlfriend told me to read it. It's fairly short and I finished it in a couple hours. I thought it was pretty good.

[kiwi_the_iwik]

I used to be mad on Tom Clancy for a while - but then suddenly fact caught up with fiction, and it all became too spooky (The Sum Of All Fears).

However, I do think that Red Storm Rising (a ficticious look at a conventional WWIII) was pretty well done - albeit a bit of an anti-climax towards the end, as his books tend to drop off to nothing in the last few pages...

Umberto Eco's "The Name Of The Rose" was always a favourite - a great medieval murder mystery.

I got caught in the whole "Harry Potter" thing too - don't hold it against me, but they were truly entertaining books - even for us adults...

"Rabbit Proof Fence" (Doris Pilkington) was a decent read - a true story based on the Australian Aborigines' "Lost Generation" - where Aboriginal children taken from their parents during the War, and put into the households of white families..

If you want to really understand immature men, try "High Fidelity" (Nick Hornby) - about a low-life character that everyone would love to hate.

Another good (but long) read is "A Suitable Boy" (Vikram Seth) - a story about a mother and daughter searching for an arranged marriage in post-independent India.

Finally, try "The Joy Luck Club" (Amy Tan) - how generations of chinese women interact within their family circles - through immigration from their homeland to San Francisco, and how it affects their culture, and their relationships with each other.

[tpjunkie]

High Fidelity was a pretty entertaining movie as well.

I think the best sci-fi series I have read is Dan Simmons' epic Hyperion series.

[InAppleHeaven]

Read the book "A Walk Across America". I can't remember the author, but it's a GREAT book. Wont take long to read.

[el greenerino]

I'll second on The Stranger by Albert Camus. I'm pretty sure only senior Honors/AP/IB classes are reading it because others might confuse the simple language with it being a simple novel.

[trebblekicked]

i recommend "et tu babe" by mark leyner. curious, hyperactive, big vocabulary. entertaining.

also, "Cut to the Chase", an autobiography on buster keaton, and harpo marx's autobiography, "harpo speaks" were both pretty entertaining.

finally, "the last laugh" by s.j. perelman. wordsmith and humorist extrodinaire.

[Thanatoast]

speaking of autobiographies, i can't believe i forgot to mention the autobigraphy of malcom x. it's the most engaging non-fiction book i've ever read, and it totally destroys the one-dimensional stereotype of malcom x as a black supremecist. there was so much more to his life than the clips on tv.

[RugoseCone]

I can't pass up an opportunity to talk books!


Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Historical fiction about the Sword-Saint of Japan, Miyomoto Musashi.

Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge. This has to be the most intelligent piece of Sci-Fi I have ever read. I'd suggest reading this first and then Fire Upon the Deep by VV as well. Both are awesome.

Anything by William Gibson is a good bet (assuming you can get over his quirky writing style).

I'd say anything by Clive Barker, but the best is probably Imajica.

And of course John Irving. Especially if you like strange sex! Seems like all of his books have some kind of deviant sexual behavior. Probably one of the best American authors of recent time. If you like him check out his "mentor" Gunter Gras.


I recently tried reading Wraethu by Constnatine and had high hopes for it. Although I'm by no means homophobic (I am a HUGE Barker fan) I found the writing to be exceptionally cheesy. Far too flowery and what not. The word gossamer was used just a few too many times and I started to feel like I was reading a Robert Jordan novel.

[Sayhey]

Novels

non-fiction - anything by either Stephen Jay Gould or Carl Sagan (mactastic already listed The Demon-Haunted World a great book.) Darwin's The Origin of Species (one of the most important books ever written) and Cultural Materialism by Marvin Harris for those interested in Anthropology.

Fiction - Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is a great novel (shadowfax already listed it, so just adding my vote.) I'm also a sucker for old adventure type novels like Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and his D'artagnan Romances. And add Melville's Moby Dick and Little Big Man by Thomas Berger to that list.

SciFi/Fantasy - The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien is simply the best of this genre ever written. Issac Asimov's Foundation series is a must read for Sci/Fi addicts. If you haven't read the Earthsea series by Ursula LeGuin, you haven't read one of the great masters (misstress?) of fantasy. I could go on forever here.

Mystery - the classics - The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.

Plays

Macbeth by Shakespere
the Oresteia by Aeschylus
Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Epic Poetry
The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer (trans. by Fagles, Lattimore, or if your looking for true poetry - Pope)

Poetry
too many to mention, but Dylan Thomas is one of my favorites.

That's enough.

[trebblekicked]

so long as we're suggesting plays:

"waiting for godot" by samuel becket
"marat/sade" by peter weiss
"importance of being ernest" by oscar wilde
"anton in show business" by jane martin
and
"in the shape of a woman" by tammy ryan


thanks, seyhey. i almost forgot what i majored in for a minute.

[RobVanDam]

The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick - More of an educational book. Teaches the art of social engineering. Some of the topics covered, how to find unlisted numbers, how to gain access to a "secure" network, and how to steal ten million dollars. Oh, Mitnick also spent over 5 years in federal prison and is said to be the world's most celebrated hacker.

Ball Four by Jim Bouton - Diary of a baseball player over a season trying to find his spot. Best sports book ever. By far.

[Iconocat]

Some books I can think of offhand I'd recommend are -

Stupid White Men - Michael Moore

Dune - Frank Herbert

I'll second votes on 1984 (George Orwell) and Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) These are a MUST read! If you want to add to dystopia, throw in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

Sexing the Cherry - Jeanette Winterson

Factotum - Charles Bukowski

Moon Palace - Paul Auster

2001 - Arthur C. Clarke

Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
(I've only read the first three so far)

[kaosfere]

I've long avoided reading much fantasy, especially that of the door-stopper variety, after burning out on it as a kid. However, in recent months I'd found an increasing number of people who told me that I really should read George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, no matter how much I hated most epic fantasy.

I finally gave in and bought the three books that are presently out... and have been completely hooked. While they might not be lasting literature, in the Shakespearean sense, they're definitely a cut above most of the schlock that's filling the shelves these days. The story is intricately constructed, absorbing, and truly epic in scope. The prose is admittedly a bit purple and clumsy in the first book, but it rapidly improves as you proceed through the series. And most of all, just about every single one of the characters is completely believable; there is no one who seems to be completely good or completely evil. Even the more dispicable characters have believable motivations and moments when they seem truly sympathetic. It's very well done.

It's also very long -- only three of a planned six books are out, and they already tally about 2700 pages. And it's definitely not a story for tender minds. There is alot of violence, some potentially disturbing sex scenes, and alot of general tragedy. Perhaps not a cheering read, but a very good one, imo.

[krimson]

Brave New World, Fountainhead, 1984, Musashi (clark translation), The Art of War (sun Tzu)

[Les Kern]

"The Clinton Wars", which I'm in the middle of now, has PROFOUNDLY changed my life and how I look at the right. I ask everyone to just check it out of the library and read the first 50 pages. I'll bet you get PISSED off. I'm not one to believe much of what I read, but this is not tripe; it's not a hate-filled, slime-covered novel like "Treason" by that Ann Coulter.... this is a meticulously researched and clearly written historical novel that will blow your mind. I used to be in the GOP, but have always considered myself a moderate. The GOP is not evil in itself, but the so-called neo-cons should be placed in small, overcrowded and leaky boats made out of styrofoam ice chests and driven from our shores because of what they are doing to our country and our people.
I hate them more than I hate Wal-mart.

[csubear]

The Wheel of Crack..err Time series. Sci/Fi. There is a reason we call it the Wheel of Crack

[csubear]

i would have to second the recomendation for 1984

[Mr. Anderson]

Half way through 'Over the Edge of the World' by Laurence Bergreen.

Its a historical account of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe. Its amazing and it would make a great movie. Intrigue, mutiny, torture, adventure, naked women, orgies......nuts what they went through. Great book all around and a fast read for this type of book, nothing dull :D

D

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0066211735/qid=1068002863//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl14/104-3781655-0074365?v=glance&s=books&n=507846