Book Recommendation Thread

[Terrabon98]

I haven't seen one of these threads in a while. I have been very bad in keeping up with leisurely reading for the past few months, and I have a gift certificate to Amazon.com. Throw out your recommendations for good books/authors you have read recently, as well as bad ones if you like.

[KilgoreTrout]

This has been done many times, but I'll offer these favorites:

Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut

Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom - Haskett

Just a Couple of Days - Tony Vigorito

Fool on a Hill - Matt Ruff (2p2er)

Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates - Tom Robbins

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

Anything by Philip K. Dick

[The Dude]

I recently got into Orson Scot Card's Ender's Game, and all its follow-up books (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, etc.). They were fantastic, and very easy reads. If you like science fiction you'll love these.

If you liked Lord of the Rings at all, or think you might enjoy fantasy novels, Terry Brook's The Sword of Shannara is great, and there are several series(es?) that follow that are also great.

Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, starting with [/i]Interview with the Vampire[/i] is great. It's a bit of a slower paced read, but the characters are fantastic and as you get into the third book and beyond some very interesting philosophical ideas are discussed.

I'm currently re-reading Jurassic Park, and it's very good. (Does it count as re-reading if you were in 4th grade when you originally read it, and remember mostly just the movie?) I like Crichton more than the average joe, though.

Harry Potter, if you haven't read it yet, is tremendous. If you've seen and understand the movies, you might want to start out with the 4th book, The Goblet of Fire. It's the first book that will seem new at all to you if you know the movies. (It gets really good starting in book five.)

That's all fiction I've been reading recently. (I just realized that it's all science fiction, huh.) I've been reading more at night recently, instead of falling asleep to movies, and I like it a lot. I love reading, though.

Cheers

[szw]

Apathy and other small victories by Paul Neilan - very funny book with the type of humor I suspect OOT would love

[onnel]

A Wild Sheep Chase - Murakami
Infinite Jest - David foster Wallace
The Illiad and the Odessey (followed by the Aeneid)
The Thomas Covenant series - Stephen R. Donaldson
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Amazing Adventures of cavalier and Clay (seconded from above)
The Prestige - Christopher Priest (esp. for anyone who liked The Amazing Adventures..)
Anything by Nobokov

Lots and lots more...

Onnel

[The Dude]

[ QUOTE ]
The Illiad and the Odessey (followed by the Aeneid)

[/ QUOTE ]
Really? I bought these last year and started to read The Iliad, but couldn't get 20 pages into it.

A lot of really old books are that way for me: I love the story, but just can't read the book. I actually made it through Les Miserables, but don't think I would have had I not known and loved the story so much. The Count of Monte Cristo and The Iliad I couldn't get into at all, even though I'm familiar enough with the storylines to know that I really like them.

[NT!]

Right now I am reading Love in the Time of Cholera, it's one of the best books I've ever read.

NT

[Perplexity]

[ QUOTE ]
Infinite Jest - David foster Wallace

[/ QUOTE ]

This is my favorite novel ever.

[MediaPA]

Green Grace Grace. To lazy to look up the writer. It's good for some light reading. Very entertaining story about a kid growing up in a Philadelphia neighborhood.

[dsmith19711]

Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Most definitely the funniest thing you will ever read.