Author Topic: Recommend-A-Book (Read 77305 times)

Weltal · « **Reply #300 on:** January 13, 2011, 05:27:49 AM »

Here are some my favorite books

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

The Oracle by James Rollins

The Children of Hurin by J.R.R Tolkien

World War Z by Max Brooks

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

hyogaprout · « **Reply #301 on:** January 21, 2011, 05:53:13 PM »

La horde du contrevent - Alain Damasio
Most exciting book I have read in my life. It's fantasy. The title in english is supposed th be "the windward horde", but I haven't found much (was it even translated in english? I dunno).
The story takes place in an imaginary world where wind flows always in the same way. For generations the people of that world have tried to go against the wind to get to the origin of it. For that purpose, every generation they send out a horde of around 15 people, to each their specialty. They confront the fury of the wind, its multiple aspects, cross the whole world... until where? Until when? Complications arise when they begin to truly understand the very substance of the wind.
A beautiful novel.

Shogun - James clavell
Takes you on a journey in medieval Japan, through the eyes of an englishman arrived there by chance. The story is awesome and you discover a lot of the aspects of life in medieval Japan, including samurai spirit and politics. The period is a classic in japanese history: Tokugawa Ieyasu's quest for power (name has been changed in the novel)

Pillars of the earth - Ken Follett
Maybe I'm into historical fiction, I don't know.. but this one takes place in england, 14th century if I remember correctly. The story spans some 80 years or something and is thrilling.

Ixarku · « **Reply #302 on:** January 21, 2011, 07:59:39 PM »

Quote from: hyogaprout on January 21, 2011, 05:53:13 PM

Shogun - James clavell
Takes you on a journey in medieval Japan, through the eyes of an englishman arrived there by chance. The story is awesome and you discover a lot of the aspects of life in medieval Japan, including samurai spirit and politics. The period is a classic in japanese history: Tokugawa Ieyasu's quest for power (name has been changed in the novel)

+1 for Shogun. I've been meaning to read Clavell's other books, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

borghellit · « **Reply #303 on:** January 22, 2011, 05:45:41 AM »

A Confederacy of Dunces
It's a Comedy written by John Kennedy Toole. It's a great book, I've really ejoyed it.

Weltal · « **Reply #304 on:** January 22, 2011, 06:22:05 AM »

Quote from: hyogaprout on January 21, 2011, 05:53:13 PM

Shogun - James clavell
Takes you on a journey in medieval Japan, through the eyes of an englishman arrived there by chance. The story is awesome and you discover a lot of the aspects of life in medieval Japan, including samurai spirit and politics. The period is a classic in japanese history: Tokugawa Ieyasu's quest for power (name has been changed in the novel)

That's a great book. I read it when I was in high school. Good lord, that was seven years ago. I absolutely loved it! Another good book is Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka. Like Clavell's Shogun it tells the story through the eyes of an American missionary woman. It's definitely a good read.If you liked Shogun you'll like Cloud of Sparrows as well. I hear rumors that they're making a movie out of it. It's about damn time.

Also, anything by R.A. Salvatore. I love his creativity. The Legend of Drizzt sagas are simply amazing.

Misaki · « **Reply #305 on:** January 28, 2011, 07:06:46 AM »

The Stand by Stephen King, the uncut version of course.

Such a long book, but every ounce of it is fantastic.

borghellit · « **Reply #306 on:** January 30, 2011, 05:07:34 AM »

Quote from: Misaki on January 28, 2011, 07:06:46 AM

The Stand by Stephen King, the uncut version of course.

Such a long book, but every ounce of it is fantastic.

I can't stand non-classic writers. I don't know why but I can't read anything that isn't classic litterature (and mangas).

Anglerfish · « **Reply #307 on:** March 29, 2011, 08:54:13 PM »

Fiction: Ringworld by Larry Niven

Non-fiction: Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein

Renton7 · « **Reply #308 on:** March 30, 2011, 06:53:32 PM »

The last one I read was His Majesty's Dragon, the first in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Pretty cool alternative world/history, where sentient dragons are [relatively] commonplace and are used in the Napoleonic Wars, crewed like ships/planes and everything.

bigemugamer · « **Reply #309 on:** March 30, 2011, 11:48:03 PM »

Well, unless someone has already mentioned it...

Robert Jordan's
-~-~-The Wheel of Time-~-~-

If you like Lord of the rings, then you may love this 13 long novel series,
each novel is about 1000 pages, and this series is so rich and detailed
and immersevly beautiful its hard to stop once you've started reading it.
In 2008 Universal studios bought the rights to adapt the first novel,
---"The Eye of the World"---
into a movie, this may mean there will be 12 more after, im stooked!
-~-~-~-~-
This link below is the 3.31 minute intro to the 1999 game The Wheel of
Time, the intro describes perfectly the main idea to the novels, i urge
you to at least watch this, and tell me your NOT interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw1s3yXZLYc

...What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Burkingam · « **Reply #310 on:** April 02, 2011, 11:04:13 PM »

The black company.

The dark fantastic story of a mercenary company.

Best series ever!

Nikkoru · « **Reply #311 on:** April 04, 2011, 09:01:01 AM »

Quote from: Burkingam on April 02, 2011, 11:04:13 PM

The black company.

The dark fantastic story of a mercenary company.

Best series ever!

You might like Chris Evan's Iron Elves books, I found them to be somewhat similar in style. Evans goes slightly more towards Robert Jordan in his style though. Evan's uses a Tolkien themed world, if it were dipped into reality during the historic height of the British Empire. The protagonist is one of my favourite characters, and is really reason enough to enjoy the book.

I'll also make a recommendation for The Magicians, Lev Grossman. It uses a number of popular fantasy tropes (namely C.S. Lewis and J.K Rowling) in what turns out to be a rather non-miraculous college-based, coming of age experience, despite all the trappings. You won't have an experience like Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia with it, but rather something with more depth and greyness with part of the familiarity of those two literary worlds.

It had a resonance with me, it reflexively uses fantasy as a means of exploring the life of someone obsessed with fantasy when that fantasy world comes true, and is forced to deal with it as reality. If that makes any sense.

Gangster301 · « **Reply #312 on:** April 04, 2011, 01:39:08 PM »

Quote from: cursedpunk on December 18, 2008, 10:58:50 AM

2.animal farm by george orwell funny and intelligent

Gotta agree with cursedpunk, Animal Farm is an great, short book, which has a political history behind it.
Just like most of George Orwell's books it's a very politically inspired book, made to show the negative sides of commmunism. Which is funny, since George Orwell was a socialist.
On the mere story side, it's about a farm where the animals take over and try to run the farm without the humans.

Ixarku · « **Reply #313 on:** April 05, 2011, 09:44:31 AM »

Quote from: Burkingam on April 02, 2011, 11:04:13 PM

The black company.

The dark fantastic story of a mercenary company.

Best series ever!

I'm probably going to read The Black Company next, after I finish book 10 of the Malazan. I picked up all of the BC omnibuses (omnibi??) on Amazon a month ago or so.

sspayne · « **Reply #314 on:** April 06, 2011, 02:57:36 AM »

Robert Jordan -~-~-The Wheel of Time-~-~- is the most boring drawn out book series I've ever tried to read. And I love the Lord of the rings books.

Try reading

Cell Stephen King

Man With the Golden Torc Simon R Green

The Strain DelTorro

lucariofan11 · « **Reply #315 on:** April 10, 2011, 08:29:59 AM »

Divine Comedy By Dante, I think its a really, really good. I like his inturpitation and journey threw hell.

The time machine By H.G. Wells, I enjoy all his books, but he really gave us a great look at what time travel is in the sci fi genre.

Tales of the Mos eisly cantina By various, If you like Star Wars then this one is really good. The tales books are really good at tieing in the stories the authors use, so you get a view point of the same events in different eyes.

Crysalim · « **Reply #316 on:** April 21, 2011, 11:30:56 AM »

I recently finished The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

It is a marvelous book, and I would recommend it to anyone that loves fantasy stories. It evokes Harry Potter to me, and some Lord of the Rings, but for a bit older of an audience.

Nikkoru · « **Reply #317 on:** April 22, 2011, 07:46:35 AM »

It's way too difficult to filter out the ones that have already been suggested, so anyways.

The Company series, by Kage Baker

A good mix of wit, humour, fictional historiography, and science fiction. With a unscrupulous 24th century corporate giant travelling to the distant past to transform the locals into biologically and technically enhanced immortals in order to skirt through history and ensure certain items of value can be "found" for their wealthy clientele. The story follows the lives of a few of these immortals, who are odd to say the least.

I liked it largely because it provides an interesting first hand account of historical periods from a post-modern, and usually sardonic, and often funny perspective.

Amaya3 · « **Reply #318 on:** May 01, 2011, 07:59:03 PM »

Quote from: hyogaprout on January 21, 2011, 05:53:13 PM

Shogun - James clavell
Takes you on a journey in medieval Japan, through the eyes of an englishman arrived there by chance. The story is awesome and you discover a lot of the aspects of life in medieval Japan, including samurai spirit and politics. The period is a classic in japanese history: Tokugawa Ieyasu's quest for power (name has been changed in the novel)

I borrowed Shogun in High School and was thoroughly enjoying it but did not have the chance to finish before I had to give it back. I must find another copy and retry.

For an easy read, I would recommend Sabriel by Garth Nix
It is a bit young, but it's not one of those horrible soap opera tween fantasies. It's about a world where magic flows and necromancy is used in warfare. It was about a girl from a normal world like ours, who found the magical world and learned that she was to inherit necromancing skills. It's part of a trilogy, so that makes up for the short length of the books.

Vuguzez · « **Reply #319 on:** May 19, 2011, 12:50:40 PM »

Not sure if these two have been mentioned but meh, I'll mention them.

First, my favourite book, is Ulysses by James Joyce. This is not your "ordinary" fiction so if you are just a casual reader or w/e this might not be the book for you. However if you enjoy reading, and like a tricky book that is hard to grasp, this is the book for you. There are so many things to discover while reading this, that even if you read it 100 times you wouldn't get them all.

Secondly, I would like to recommend The Trial by Franz Kafka. Again, this might not be your ordinary kind of book, so before you read it make sure you do your homework and get a little information about it first; it's a tough book to read, but a very rewarding experience.