Here are some books I've liked/disliked....Recommend me some new ones

[Paluka]

On a related note, I think I've realized why I don't like reading books like Dan Brown or John Grisham. I thik it is because so many more movies get made that give me the same sort of experience as these books. Consequently, I choose to read fantasy/sci-fi when I need a fast paced story type of book because there aren't that many fantasy and sci-fi movies I'm really satisfied with.

[voltron.]

i just finished fortune's formula and gave it a 10/10. any recommendations for similar stuff?

[dalston]

Based on the OP's likes, I'd recommend Let's Put The Future Behind Us by Jack Womack - a fast-paced book set in post-Soviet Russia with lots of action and good jokes. It also has the advantage that it was published in the 1990s and so can be bought for next to nothing on the Amazon Marketplace or similar.

[GoblinMason (Craig)]

[ QUOTE ]
I like most things by Mark Twain, I think itd be up your alley, as far as not being convoluted. Other books Im reading/re-reading, that are good
Bookie
Freakonomics
The way of the wiseguy

[/ QUOTE ]

I really enjoyed Freakonomics, are the other two similar? Any other rec's based on me liking Freak?

[Mrs. Utah]

Stiff:The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach,
its quite amusing.

[El Ishmael]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I like most things by Mark Twain, I think itd be up your alley, as far as not being convoluted. Other books Im reading/re-reading, that are good
Bookie
Freakonomics
The way of the wiseguy

[/ QUOTE ]

I really enjoyed Freakonomics, are the other two similar? Any other rec's based on me liking Freak?

[/ QUOTE ]

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

[CallMeIshmael]

Are you banned, again?

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I like most things by Mark Twain, I think itd be up your alley, as far as not being convoluted. Other books Im reading/re-reading, that are good
Bookie
Freakonomics
The way of the wiseguy

[/ QUOTE ]

I really enjoyed Freakonomics, are the other two similar? Any other rec's based on me liking Freak?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, the other two are not similar, in a way you would think. Way of the Wiseguy, is similar in the fact that its a bunch of small stories, divided by chapters, that is a case study by Joe Pistone (Donnie Brasco), on day to day mob life, its somewhat interesting. Bookie is just a fluff read about how a kid (Al Talcum), gets involved in making book during the 60/70s. Bookie isnt what you would think, it shows the tamer side of what a bookie really does, its a much truer picture than a leg breaking, loansharking, neanderthal.

[ElSapo]

I think the Elmore Leondard suggestion was really good. He's written some stuff that is a lot of fun, and good quality.

Also, try Arturo Perez Reverte (earlier works), a book called "The 8" and older stuff like books by Walter Tevis and Gregory McDonald.

Anyone who enjoys reading is good in my book, so while I probably feel a bit of snobbishness based on the whole "anything but required reading" comment, these are serious suggestions. In my opinion, you can find a sort of middle ground, looking for books that are a bit heavier but still a lot of fun.

Of those, Perez-Reverte is a lot of fun (check out The Club Dumas, later made into the awful movie with Johnny Depp, "The Ninth Gate." It's very much in the same vein as Dan Brown). Also, "The 8" is a fast-paced adventure as well.

ElSapo

[spsurfin_Michael]

There are many great writers out there. It terms of classics, my favorite is Mutiny on the Bounty. Other great authors are:

Tess Gerritsen, Nelson DeMille, Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Richard North Patterson, & Patricia Cromwell.