Good Books?

Myzozoa

to find better ways to say what nobody says
is a Top Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Past WCoP Champion
Ok books. I will just stick to american lit because its better than most other shit:

The Crying of Lot 49- This an amazing novel, every chapter is a frame story. Pynchon has an amazing way of lengthening sentences. The book isn't too long less than 200 pages iirc.

Breakfast of Champions- No not wheaties lol. Kurt Vonnegut is a genius, his ideas are really amazing and his writing is excellent. This book the development of insanity in a prosperous business owner.

also: Dan Brown is a pile of shit, don't recommend anymore crap by that stupid hack.


Edit: V for vendetta is a good if you consider that a book. And everything by Rushdie.
 
I'm going to start reading Dope Sick. It's about a druggie who just completes a drug deal, and the whole thing goes south. He stumbles into a warehouse where he wants to re-do the last 24 hours of his life, and that somehow happens.
 

Fabbles

LN_Slayer
is a Contributor Alumnus
The Picture of Dorian Gray*

I have not read much recently, but the following two works have gotten me back into it:

Winston Churchill by Roy Jenkins - Just an amazing biography that portrays the true spirit of Britain. Easily the best orator (most quotable) of anyone I have heard of.

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky - The best novel I have ever read. The philosophical, moral, and religious discussions are extremely thought provoking while the Karamazov family is highly entertaining.

Other Works I have enjoyed:
The Craft of Intelligence - Dulles
A Passage to India - Forster
Wuthering Heights - Bronte
Tempest - Shakespeare
The Hot Zone - Preston
Invisible Man - Ellison
Artemis Fowl - Colfer
Redwall Series - Jacques
The Crucible - Miller
Oedipus Rex Trilogy - Sophocles

Works I did not enjoy:
The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
Great Expectations - Dickens
Ender's Game - Card
Heart of Darkness - Conrad

I will most likely be reading Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky and a biography of Sigmund Freud next.
 
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

One of the only books I've enjoyed reading. It's aimed towards teenagers (like me!).
 
Fabbles,

Crime and Punishment was one of the better novels that I have read and I hope you enjoy it!
Was The Brothers Karamazov really that good of a book? I know it was earlier in the thread I asked and people said it was but the more opinions the better, as my English Teacher told me it was one of Dostoyevsky's worse novels.
 

Fabbles

LN_Slayer
is a Contributor Alumnus
Well I can't really comment on it being the worst of his novels as it is the only one I have read so far, but on its own it is a great read and I would recommend it. I guess a lot of people would be put off by the dense debates that can last over 50 pages at points about things such as free will and our conscience. However if you are into that stuff it is a very fulfilling read and you can get a lot out of the book, more than most things you read. The actual story itself I found to be even better than the discussions. The three Karamazov Brothers coupled with their father make for both an entertaining and exciting read... in all the story takes many surprising turns. Not to mention the fact that many such as Sigmund Feud have considered it one of the best novels ever written.

Also, does anyone recommend any other Russian authors? I was thinking about Tolstoy (War and Peace, Anna Karenina) and Nabokov (Lolita) but I am not sure.
 
I'm not sure how many people would share my tastes, as I routinely go to the library and check out books that haven't been checked out since before I was born for entertaining reads, but

The Amber Series by Roger Zelany - two 5 book sets, great read.
Also by Zelany, A Night in Lonesome October, a Cthulhu mythos story, that I plan on trying to make a game out of sometime. The Lord of Light, in addition to being a good sci fi/fantasy read, serves as an introduction to the Hindu pantheon which has served me well in religion class. Bring me the Head of Prince Charming, If at Faust You Don't Succeed, and A Farce to be Reckoned With. In fact, I've enjoyed everything I've read by him.

On the note of the Star Wars books, Timothy Zahn writes some great non-Star Wars books, in the detective sci-fi theme.

Aside from that I read a whole bunch of space opera and alternate history, David Weber, Eric Flint, Harry Turtledove, Louis McMasters Bujold and David Freer, just to name a few. And I tend to read all of the books that the publisher Baen puts out. I read lots.
 
The Brothers Karamazov is one of the greatest novels ever written, and Dan Brown is terrible.

I'm now reading a collection of essays by David Foster Wallace (A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again) and Rabbit, Run by John Updike. Updike is a brilliant writer but a bad novelist (not to mention a misogynist). He also writes the worst sex scenes I have ever encountered.

I will be starting Infinite Jest whenever I feel up to the task.

Ok books. I will just stick to american lit because its better than most other shit:
Which is why you recommend Rushdie, no?
 
About Zahn's books: Didn't he write Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and a few others (Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn's Hand duology, and Outbound duology?) Those were some of the actually entertaining Star Wars Books (and the only reason I read many Star Wars Books!)
 

UncleSam

Leading this village
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. By far the best book I have ever read for school, better than most books I read for fun. I would also recommend Hamlet by Shakespeare(obviously), which is a book not commonly read for fun outside of English class, but if you just sit down with it it is a remarkably witty read. It seemed to fit in this thread because it does not have a large fanbase outside of English teachers. As for books to NEVER EVER READ I would say Moby Dick by Melville is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read, although The Old Man and the Sea is arguably as bad.
 
Hmm this school year, I've read:
Dubliners - James Joyce
Oleanna - David Mamet (play)
Hamlet - Shakespeare (play)
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
Fiela's Child - Dalene Mathee

I really, really enjoyed Heart of Darkness, as well as Fiela's Child. Dubliners wasn't really too memorable in my opinion. Hamlet is probably my second-favorite Shakespeare play of the few that I've read: Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Tempest, Romeo and Juliet.

Now reading: Ceremony - Leslie Silko
 
Of Shakespeare's plays, the only one I actually liked was Macbeth.

Right now, the only things I read in print are Game Informer and Maxim, so I can't really recommend much.
 
Anything by Haruki Murakami is great. Norwegian Wood is where a lot of people start, and you get the feel of his writing, yet it doesn't fully represent the rest of his works because it lacks the intrusion of the supernatural or unexplainable. Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World are two of my favorites of his. Honestly any of his novels, so pick one up. :pimp:

Besides Murakami, I'd suggest:
Richard Brautigan - The Abortion and Willard and His Bowling Trophies
Kurt Vonnegut - Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, and Slaughterhouse 5
Kenzaburo Oe - Nip the Buds Shoot the Kids and A Personal Matter
 
About Zahn's books: Didn't he write Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and a few others (Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn's Hand duology, and Outbound duology?) Those were some of the actually entertaining Star Wars Books (and the only reason I read many Star Wars Books!)
Yeah, his books and Aaron Allston (who I like at least in part because he's a local author for me) were my favorite books of the star wars books. I also liked his books out side of the Star Wars books, particularly Icarus Hunt.

A fourth book of Bartimaeus? It's been a while since I read them, but didn't the story actually wrap up entirely?
Wow, that's news to me, too. Maybe it's from the surviving human (Kitty) and Bartimaeus?
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartimaeus_Trilogy#Continuing_the_Series said:
Continuing the Series
Jonathan Stroud has recently stated that he is beginning work on a new book about Bartimaeus and hopes for it to be published by the end of 2010.[1] Amazon.com has an audiobook for the fourth title listed as "The Ring of Solomon," to be released September 14, 2010.
Hmm. It could be one of the missions in between The Golem's Eye and Ptolemy's Gate. It could also be before Nathaniel. Who knows?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartimaeus_Trilogy
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top