Good Books?

[Fantasy/Nightmare]

Recommend some relatively unknown books that you think deserve much more credit than they have.
By "relatively unknown" I mean books that might not have movies or a dedicated fanbase (i.e. Twilight series, Harry Potter series, The Da Vinci Code and Angels&Demons). There are PLENTY of good books out there. I'll name a few:
Gamer Girl
The Center of the World
Spanking Shakespeare

Authors do not have to be included. If you see a book listed that you (dis)liked, discuss why or why not.

 

[ferron]

novels:
black sun rising-maybe not an incredibly well written novel, it still is one of the most interesting concepts i have ever seen. c.s. friedman, if you would only learn to write, you could be great.

worthing saga-orson scott card's oft ignored novel, but in my oppinion is much better, and more complex, than the ender saga, bean saga or alvin maker series.

silmarillion-yes i know you said nothing with a following, but it is definitely worth reading, if only to read of the creation of middle-earth.

the stranger/the outsider-title will vary based on the translator, but it is an amazing novel by Camus.

plays:
angels in america-depressing, but well written. (also had a miniseries made of it, if you aren't in the mood to read it)

 

[Xia]

A Planet Called Treason was a good sci-fi read, as was House of the Scorpon.

 

[Fuzznip]

I liked the book The Divide and The Divide 2 when I was a little younger. It was about a boy who had heart problems, but he went to this mythical world (I forgot how) and saw all of these mythical creatures like the phoenix. He made a couple of friends there and they helped him solve his heart problem in the second book.

It was pretty cool. It was my first "big" book I read. xD

 

[kd24]

I thought the Darren Shan's Demonata series was really good a while ago, although I do have to go read it again. It may be nostalgia, but at the time, it had suspense, action, plot twists, and it was a pretty easy/fun read.

I did not like Cirque Du Freak at all though, that series started out somewhat strong but went downhill fast, especially the final "Sons of Destiny" book.

 

[Revolution.Z]

I thought the cherub series was pretty neat a few years back when I read them. Apparently there is a new novel out I believe it's called The General. Pretty Funny series, exciting and a relaxing read with some mature content.

 

[akuchi]

Umberto Eco, Herman Hesse, Dylan Thomas.

 

[Brawley]

I liked white fang

 

[ferron]

also, if you don't mind translated works, i would recommend Giovanni Verga and Italo Calvino. i would especially recommend the Our Ancestors triligy by Calvino, due to his amazing approach at making fables for adults.

 

[Nerdling]

Anything by Alstair Reynolds. His best book I think is Pushing Ice. The rest of them are sort of interconnected, and you have to read all of them to understand everything that happens in just one. He's a spectacular author though.

Btw, it's all sci-fi space opera style.

 

[Altmer]

John Fowles - The Collector.

 

[Flamewheeler]

I read a book called, Locked in Time. It was actually pretty good. This is coming from a person who despises reading lol. It is by Louis Duncan. I also heard that Lovely Bones was a really good book.

 

[Rook]

I agree with Xia, I thought House of the Scorpion was amazing.

 

[b0b3rt]

Name of the Wind is the absolute best book I have read this year, possibly one of the greatest Fantasy books of all time.

 

[Pyromanic]

A Tale of Two Cities
It doesn't have a dedicated fanbase, even if isn't exactly relatively unknown.

 

[Lord Jesseus]

I thought the Darren Shan's Demonata series was really good a while ago, although I do have to go read it again. It may be nostalgia, but at the time, it had suspense, action, plot twists, and it was a pretty easy/fun read.

I love those books.
I'd recommend anything by Matthew Reilly, he's a great authour.

 

[tape]

The Neverending Story (my first big book, read it twice, second time being not over a year ago), Misery, The Pilgrimage, The Alchemist, Veronika Decides to Die, The Witch of Portobello.

I know I have more, I'll edit later I guess.

Also, although Paulo Coelho's book are spiritual on their most, I actually liked them. I read Brida, but I don't think it was worth a mention around here :(

Reading The Good Terrorist, at the moment... Feels weird.

edit: I really, really liked Matilda, have read it about 3 or 4 times through my life. Also want to read The Catcher in the Rye.

I want to read more of Stephen King, but I can't really afford that. I also want to read The Catcher in the Rye.

 

[Vine Whip]

The Long Walk - Stephen King, pretty spooky stuff, its just a psycho thriller.


Mice and Men is also my favorite school-required book

 

[Nerdling]

The Long Walk - Stephen King, pretty spooky stuff, its just a psycho thriller.


Mice and Men is also my favorite school-required book

I hated mice and men so much. You musy be a very patient person to be able to enjoy it.

I personally enjoyed Lord of the Flies immensely.

 

[Bologo]

Call of the Wild by Jack London is one of my favourite novels out there. I particularly like that it's told from the perspective of a dog, but the animals don't talk as in a fable. It's incredibly short, the version I had was only about 101 pages, but it was a very good read. Even though it was so short, my grade 12 English teacher allowed me to do my ISU on it since it's not the easiest read out there.

Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry is a great book, and isn't exactly well-known (though it was made into a movie). The character development in this book is incredible, to the point where you actually feel for the characters when something good or bad happens. I had to read it as a novel study for school, but it was by far the best novel study I did in high school.

The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy is very good as well. It's quite interesting since it's really 3 stories in one. It's a story about 3 children growing up in Vancouver's Chinatown in the 1940s (IIRC), each with their own story from their own perpsective.

There's also Battle Royale by Koushun Takami which is a great book if you like a fuckload of violence in your stories. It's really long, but it actually doesn't take long to read since it at least keeps you reading.

 

[claes]

The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski

Anything by charles bukowski
anything by chuck palahnuik.

Heres a relevant thread: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56913

 

[Makeshift Patriot]

When I was in 8th grade my English teacher had us read a lot of Robert Cormier's books, which were actually pretty good if you want a quick read, although some were pretty disturbing (Fade, in particular) for an eighth grader, and some were just plain weird, namely I Am the Cheese (god my teacher was in love with this book).

So really any of his stuff, but Fade, I am the Cheese, the Chocolate War, and the Bumblebee Flies Anyway are all amazing.

Also mentioning A Child Called It because I read it fairly recently and it was ridiculously good.

 

[Polis4rule]

The Twilight Saga.

But seriously, All is Quiet on the Western Front is excellent. Just had to read it and it was great. Of course, you should read 1984, but that's pretty big. You probably had already had to read To Kill a Mockingbird; if not, then go read it. Also read the Great Gatsby, but most likely you've had to read that. For some good books that are lesser know, try The Awakening and The Poisonwood Bible (just ignore theheavy political message in the last one, as it's based off of fiction). For translated works, try Kitchen

 

[Fantasy/Nightmare]

@Xia: House of the Scorpion was amazing. Saw it at the library yesterday and thought about rereading it.

I guess I should have said "refrain from mentioning well-known books." I just despise it when I ask someone for a suggestion and they say "I hear Twilight/Harry Potter/Da Vinci Code/[insert obvious book title here] was good."

 

[Metal Gods]

I read a book called Code Orange it's a pretty cool book I read as an excuse to not do some work in advisement but I ended up enjoying it a lot.