A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter Thompson, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip Dick, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, 1984 by George Orwell, Twilight of the Idols by Friedrich Nietzsche, etc.
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Good Books?
- Thread starter Fantasy/Nightmare
- Start date
The Rangers Apprintice By John Flanagon it is so awsome also The Bark of a Bog owl
hi there. well i don't know if someone has already mentioned this book but i'll mention it.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
i think it also may go by the name of ten little indians but im 100% it goes by the first title i mentioned
It is a mystery type book. sort of like detective-ish.
ok this book is just really good. First of all, i hate reading! my friend thought he could change my mind and introduced me to that book. It wasn't long until i got addicted to it. i was reading the book during my classes and even on the bus that i took to go back home.
just go out and get it from the library or buy it. everybody else too haha. it really is worth the read.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
i think it also may go by the name of ten little indians but im 100% it goes by the first title i mentioned
It is a mystery type book. sort of like detective-ish.
ok this book is just really good. First of all, i hate reading! my friend thought he could change my mind and introduced me to that book. It wasn't long until i got addicted to it. i was reading the book during my classes and even on the bus that i took to go back home.
just go out and get it from the library or buy it. everybody else too haha. it really is worth the read.
Jonathan Safran Foer
I was actually scanning this thread to see if anyone else had mentioned Safran Foer, he is my favorite modern author! Recently bought this book and am loving the first third.
To every lover of literature I would like to recommend his other two novels, Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. These are two moving stories in and of themselves, but the reason Ive read both multiple times is his writing. Sometimes when I read, I come across phrases or quotes where the language is just so beautiful you know it must've been an "ah-ha" moment for the author. When I read Foer, I feel like I find these moments on every page. I have no future writing in book jackets, so rather than give any more reviewing Ill just post two passages Im fond of:
Everything Is Illuminated
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Lots of great books posted in this thread, glad to know Smogon is full of readers :)
I was actually scanning this thread to see if anyone else had mentioned Safran Foer, he is my favorite modern author! Recently bought this book and am loving the first third.
To every lover of literature I would like to recommend his other two novels, Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. These are two moving stories in and of themselves, but the reason Ive read both multiple times is his writing. Sometimes when I read, I come across phrases or quotes where the language is just so beautiful you know it must've been an "ah-ha" moment for the author. When I read Foer, I feel like I find these moments on every page. I have no future writing in book jackets, so rather than give any more reviewing Ill just post two passages Im fond of:
Everything Is Illuminated
"Brod's life was a slow realization that the world was not for her, and that for whatever reason, she would never be happy and honest at the same time. She felt as if she were brimming, always producing and hoarding more love inside of her. But there was no release. Table, ivory, elephant charm, rainbow, onion, hairdo, mollusk, Shabbos, violence, cuticle, melodrama, ditch, honey, doily...None of it moved her. She addressed her world honestly, searching for something deserving of the volumes of love she knew she had within her, but to each she would have to say, I don't love you. Bark-brown fence post: I don't love you. Poem too long: I don't love you. Lunch in a bowl: I don't love you. Physics, the idea of you, the laws of you: I don't love you. Nothing felt like anything more than what it actually was. Everything was just a thing, mired completely in its thingnes
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
"When I was a girl, my life was music that was always getting louder. Everything moved me. A dog following a stranger. That made me feel so much. A calendar that showed the wrong month. I could have cried over it. I did. When smoke from a chimney ended. How an overturned bottle rested at the edge of a table."
Lots of great books posted in this thread, glad to know Smogon is full of readers :)
Eragon series, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguru wasn't a half-bad read, even though it lacks a gripping plot (for me at least).
If you're interested in seeing how (uneventful) everyday life goes for a pariah-esque group of individuals, it's a good read. Same goes for those of you who can find symbolism in every nook and cranny of a novel.
If you're interested in seeing how (uneventful) everyday life goes for a pariah-esque group of individuals, it's a good read. Same goes for those of you who can find symbolism in every nook and cranny of a novel.
Ishiguro's other books (than remains of the day) are pretty silly.. At least the ones I have read (never let me go, one with a japanese mother who's daughter commits suicide, I had thought I had read another but I cant remember what it was). Like, they all have this arbitrary weirdness that just detracts from the whole thing. In rotd he got rid of all of that and what remained was just incredible..
Have a nice day.
Have a nice day.
Recently read The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski. Also another book in the series (Blood of Elves). Both great books.
Also seconding Heir to the Empire (Thrawn rules!), Ender's Game (though Ender's Shadow is better), and Animal Farm (if you like dystopias) as qualifying as great books.
Also seconding Heir to the Empire (Thrawn rules!), Ender's Game (though Ender's Shadow is better), and Animal Farm (if you like dystopias) as qualifying as great books.
my standard plug for kafka on the shore, and i re-read wind-up bird on the plane and i forgot how fucking fantastic it is.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.
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but Victor Hugo's Les Miserables contains the most beautiful prose I've ever read.
Love this story. I am just about finished with a book called Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. I expected it to be one of those generic action solve the problem books. However I was surprised at what a good story it was. Original idea and fantastic execution. I would highly recommend it.
The book "How to Read Literature like a Professor" by Thomas C. Foster is a neat non-fiction read that does exactly what it sounds like: teach you things to look for while reading novels.
I didn't go threw the whole topic so some of these may already have been mentioned, but here's some fantasy novels you may not have heard of.
The Runelords - fantastic and original fantasy series, especially the first four. Definitely worth a read if you're looking for a departure from the old "elves, dwarfs, wizards and dragons" staple.
Terry Brook's books - the Shannara series by Terry Brooks is pretty standard (though very good) fantasy affair, but his "Word & Void" trillogy is terrific modern fantasy, and his "Genesis of Shannara" trilogy is downright amazing post-apocalyptic goodness, though it requires reading the the rest of his books to fully appreciate. His "Landover" series is a totally different style than the others, and is great if you want a much lighter and modern read.
The Sword of Truth - Not as good as the aforementioned series, but it has its moments.
The Wheel of Time - Ok, this might be breaching the whole "dedicated fanbase" clause, but this series is pretty much king of Fantasy. Original, complex, and incredibly deep and engrossing, this series is only for the most dedicated fantasy lovers. The only problem is that Robert Jordan, the author of this incredible series, died before he could finish his epic. Thankfully, the author they got to finish it for him (using Jordan's thankfully detailed notes) is so far doing an admirable job of it.
The Runelords - fantastic and original fantasy series, especially the first four. Definitely worth a read if you're looking for a departure from the old "elves, dwarfs, wizards and dragons" staple.
Terry Brook's books - the Shannara series by Terry Brooks is pretty standard (though very good) fantasy affair, but his "Word & Void" trillogy is terrific modern fantasy, and his "Genesis of Shannara" trilogy is downright amazing post-apocalyptic goodness, though it requires reading the the rest of his books to fully appreciate. His "Landover" series is a totally different style than the others, and is great if you want a much lighter and modern read.
The Sword of Truth - Not as good as the aforementioned series, but it has its moments.
The Wheel of Time - Ok, this might be breaching the whole "dedicated fanbase" clause, but this series is pretty much king of Fantasy. Original, complex, and incredibly deep and engrossing, this series is only for the most dedicated fantasy lovers. The only problem is that Robert Jordan, the author of this incredible series, died before he could finish his epic. Thankfully, the author they got to finish it for him (using Jordan's thankfully detailed notes) is so far doing an admirable job of it.
Unfortunately since I'm out of school I haven't been reading many books, been more into music. I used to read plenty of books I didn't have to read while in school, but now it seems I only read on airplanes. I don't really know why I don't either lol, but I'd love to start getting into it again.
Anyways, the book that I'm finishing up now is Money by Martin Amis.
I'd recommend it, because it's hilarious, and well, there isn't much else to say, but really, go look it up because every other page is something any random person would smile at. Anybody else read it?
Anyways, the book that I'm finishing up now is Money by Martin Amis.
I'd recommend it, because it's hilarious, and well, there isn't much else to say, but really, go look it up because every other page is something any random person would smile at. Anybody else read it?
I got a few favs.
Obviously stuff like Ptolemys Gate and Maximum Ride (I was crying at the end of FANG and yes I am a guy (I thinks thats a little sad but w/e)), the Inheritance Cycle (Hurry up CP)
But I really like the Hunger Games Novels and pretty much anything by Matthew Reilly. He might be the best action writer ever in my oppinion. Also I hear that Maximum Ride is being made into a movie hopefully released 2013. Its got that Twilight Directer though and I really hope (the movie) does not get stuffed full of Twilight actors
Obviously stuff like Ptolemys Gate and Maximum Ride (I was crying at the end of FANG and yes I am a guy (I thinks thats a little sad but w/e)), the Inheritance Cycle (Hurry up CP)
But I really like the Hunger Games Novels and pretty much anything by Matthew Reilly. He might be the best action writer ever in my oppinion. Also I hear that Maximum Ride is being made into a movie hopefully released 2013. Its got that Twilight Directer though and I really hope (the movie) does not get stuffed full of Twilight actors