Good Books?

[TheAmazingFlygon]

I quite like Le Colonel Chabert, Le Père Goriot, L'Adieu & Divina Commedia. The first three are in French and they are all written by Honoré de Balzac and the last one is in Italian, although I read it in French, by Dante Alighieri (they are in no particular order). The ones by Balzac, in my opinion, are not only magnificent story-wise, but they are also extremely well-written. Divina Commedia, despite the fact that I did not read it in it's original language, is a wonderful work of art; Dante's portrayal of the Christian afterlife is absurdly marvelous.

For this thread's sake, I will also state some English works of literature that I like. Probably my favorite English books are 1984 by Georges Orwell mainly for its view of certain politics, and The Fall of the House of Usher & The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe for their horrific beauty.

Overall, being a lover of classic literature, I would say that my favorite book of all times is probably Le Père Goriot which I mentioned above; it is simply the best book of La Comédia Humaine, a multi-volume collection by Honoré de Balzac, which depicts human behavior & life in general as well as his society through interlinked novels.

 

[Fatecrashers]

Not sure if this has been mentioned here but for non-fiction I would absolutely recommend Freakonomics and its sequel Superfreakonomics to everyone. These books exemplify what economics is really about, not dry numbers or statistics but the behaviour of people. They are chockful of interesting facts and startling truths, you will undoubtedly start watching the news in a different light.

 

[DarthChake]

The best book I have ever read (second best series) is "Darth Bane Path of Destruction".
It is one of the few StarWars novels that isn't ruined because there are so many of them. The storyline is intense and fast. The other books in the series are "Darth Bane Rule of Two" and, "Darth Bane Dynasty of Evil". If you like anti-hero stories there is none better, this tells quite the tale.


This book series is probably more well known but, the "Maximum Ride" books were fairly good. The first two were at least... (once I start a series it's obligatory for me to finish...)

 

[spies]

Just finished Kafka on the Shore, it was quite a ride

I will read Norwegian Wood next when I get to borrow it from my friend ;x

 

[eastamazonantidote]

Just finished Logicomix. Amazing. Best graphic novel ever and maybe the most rereadable book ever. My view on life is actually very different now. I don't know how much it costs though (gift)...think about the library- it looks pricy

 

[bombiron]

logicomix is $12.00

a kick in the seat of the pants and a slap upside the head are two great books

 

[ahnqiwal]

Deep Storm by Lincoln Child is an excellent sci-fi read, great surprises in it.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel was also good, nice plot. :D

 

[Gamma Vector]

Two words: Guns Up

More words: Holy Mother of God, Guns Up.

It's a true story about Jonnie Clarke, a Marine Gunner who served in Vietnam. Specifically, it's the story of a young kid who joins a war without really knowing what he's gotten into, who then not only becomes one of the toughest old salts in the bush, but also manages something that very few other M60 gunners could claim: He makes it home.

The thing that really gets me about this book is the way it's written. It's all in first-person, and that's a hard POV to pull off, but bloody hell does Clarke ever do it. You feel like you're right there with him. Sometimes you feel like you're sitting on the couch across from him, listening to his story, and other times you can just about hear the bullets whizzing by your ears.

I couldn't put it down, and would recommend it to anyone. Not only is it a very entertaining read, but the message it sends is a very good one. That was a hellish, half-pointless war if there ever was one. Clarke doesn't sugarcoat anything. IMO, this thing should be required reading in school. Tell it like it was, indeed.

 

[Tobes]

The Book Thief is exceptional. It's Death's account of a little German girl who lived during the Holocaust. I love the book mostly because of Death's character; highly recommended.

Also, the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is great. Modern day England run my magicians who control demons? Yes please. Again, the novels are character-driven for me, as Bartimaeus, particularly in his footnotes, is absolutely hilarious.

 

[Charmander#4]

The DUNE books by Frank Herbert are definitely worth a read. They are considered by many to be to the science fiction genre what Lord of the Rings is to fantasy, yet few people have actually read them. This always perplexes me. They follow the lives of Paul Atreides and his children on the planet Dune, a place which is the only source of the most valuable Macguffin in the galaxy, Melange. I won't spoil here, but just say that it's awesome.

Anything by H.P. Lovecraft. Seriously. He is probably the best horror writer of the 20th century. The sheer scale of his works and the chilling fear that they can inspire in you are just marvelous. In Lovecraft's universe, we are all guests in an uncaring, sometimes even hostile reality in which Elder Gods can destroy us whenever they want to.

I have a lot of other stuff on my shelves, but those were the first two things that came to mind.

I would like to add that, yes, these book have a huge following. But those are mostly people who have read them a long time ago. We need more young people to read this. Otherwise, knowledge of these books will probably slip into obscurity sooner or later.

 

[Hetze]

The Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz is quite the read. It's basically about a guy who can see ghosts (yeah, yeah, yeah...I can hear you screaming "UNORIGINAL" through your monitor). He can see them, but he can not hear them and can only discern their attempts at communication through their gestures. There is one type of spirit that he sees that are omens of bad things to come. It is a series that contains suspense but also a lot of humor. There's much more to it than that, but that is a brief rundown.

I am also quite fond of The Stand by Stephen King. This was actually the first and only work of Stephen King I have read, but I found it very enjoyable. It is about a super flu that wipes out most of the population, and the survivors form two different communities. It switches between the perspectives of various characters of both sides and tells you of their life before the flu outbreak.

 

[MrIndigo]

The DUNE books by Frank Herbert are definitely worth a read. They are considered by many to be to the science fiction genre what Lord of the Rings is to fantasy, yet few people have actually read them. This always perplexes me. They follow the lives of Paul Atreides and his children on the planet Dune, a place which is the only source of the most valuable Macguffin in the galaxy, Melange. I won't spoil here, but just say that it's awesome.

Anything by H.P. Lovecraft. Seriously. He is probably the best horror writer of the 20th century. The sheer scale of his works and the chilling fear that they can inspire in you are just marvelous. In Lovecraft's universe, we are all guests in an uncaring, sometimes even hostile reality in which Elder Gods can destroy us whenever they want to.

I have a lot of other stuff on my shelves, but those were the first two things that came to mind.

I would like to add that, yes, these book have a huge following. But those are mostly people who have read them a long time ago. We need more young people to read this. Otherwise, knowledge of these books will probably slip into obscurity sooner or later.

I liked the first Dune book, but I couldn't bring myself to finish or read any more of them. There's just so much backdrop detail that I find them really a chore to get through, not because they're boring but because the narrative itself is really slow.

It's the same reason I went off Wheel of Time after book 5; I know a lot of people like that level of epicness, but I find it difficult to keep going with.

 

[Charmander#4]

I liked the first Dune book, but I couldn't bring myself to finish or read any more of them. There's just so much backdrop detail that I find them really a chore to get through, not because they're boring but because the narrative itself is really slow.

That's true, they do require a lot of work. Still, you have the chance to really immerse yourself into the world. The snippets from in-universe books that appear at the beginning of each chapter are actually quite interesting most of the time.

But hey, you should try God-Emperor of Dune at least. It's my favourite, because frankly, the main character is made of awesome. And spice. Mostly spice.

 

[Blln]

This might be a slightly obvious suggestion, but I just finished reading 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and if you haven't read it you absolutely absolutely absolutlely should. It's one of the most incredible books I've ever read. It tells the entire history of a tiny fictional town in Colombia through like 4 generations and 100 years of the same family in the most flowing beautiful prose ever. It's a tiny bit tough to read because there are like 50 characters and half of them have the same name, but its so so worth it. It's a little hard to describe but if you at all like literature you have to read it.

I also read Love in the Time of Cholera by the same writer, which was pretty good but nearly as good as 100 years. I would still recommend it if you like the other one though, they're pretty similar.

Also for all those people who like Murakami, try reading Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata if you haven't already. It's basically the most revered novel to come out of Japan this century as far as I know and it won Kawabata a Nobel prize. It's really subtle and sparse cause its sort of based on the haiku tradition, but I found it really readable and enjoyable. It's sort of sad though.

 

[ColdRAIN]

I absolutely loved the Furnace series written by Alexander Gordon Smith about a boy who is framed and sent to an underground prison filled with gore, violence and genetic mutations. It includes alot of thought from the main character and contains great description.

 

[BuddyBlueBomber]

Anything by Michael Crichton is good for anyone who's a fan of sci-fi books. The book I would recommend the most would have to be Jurassic Park; it's my favorite of his, personally. It's both interesting and engaging, and is so much better than the movie (Like most book to movie adaptations). Since most people have seen the movie, one thing I suggest doing is a sort of "spot the difference" with it in the back of your head, and you really get to see how much story and character you miss out on in comparison.

Another good book I would recommend is Timeline. I've noticed with some of his books he concentrates a little less on the scientific terminology, and more so on the story itself, like in this book. This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone, especially those who don't really care so much about the science involved. But in any either case, it's easy enough to read around it anyways, so I doubt it would be a real problem to anyone.

 

[Starbuck]

Anyone who liked No Country For Old Men should read the book; it has some extra lines that clarify the themes of the story and why some parts were included (e.g. the car crash). It's 300 pages and double-spaced, so you could easily read it inside of a week. McCarthy also has a unique writing style that I think is far more effective than that of most authors.

As far as Stephen King goes, It (yes, that's the book's name) is my favorite of his. Very textured characters and it works on so many levels, although there are some very over-the-top parts, even for King.

 

[SOMALIA]

The saga of 'Darren shan' is probably the best series of book I've read in a long time. I mean you would never anticipate what's gonna happen next, not even towards the ending and if your a fan of vampires then this is the book for you definitely. Storyline of it is simply amazing.

 

[ginganinja]

MockingJay.

Final of the Hunger Games trilogy and its a damn good read. Obviously I cannot say too much about plot since I bet some people have not read it yet but the trilogy itself really shows a lot about revolution and warfare. It also delves deep into Psychological trauma and such like. Great read!

 

[chimpact]

Kite runner is easily the best book i have ever read.

 

[WhiteQueen]

The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. So wicked good. "Vampires came out of the coffin after the Japanese invented synthetic blood (Tru Blood) that they could live on without the need to feed on human..." The series isn't just about vampires though. There are werewolves, humans with special abilities, mystical creatures, witches, and almost anything you could possibly imagine.

 

[chocolate-kipp]

For the female middle-schoolers/high-schoolers of the site, Lucky by Rachel Vail was a dainty little school novel.

I'm one of those rabid fangirls of the Warriors series myself, which I recommend to fantasy/animal fans.

For a humorous book (not a novel), 501 Things to do if You Dare is pretty clever, and cheap too ($4.99 at Barnes & Noble over here).

Something to Sing About is also a cute and quick read.