Book Recommendations? You know the things with words...

[chaosyoshimage]

So, I'm getting a Kindle Fire tomorrow so I can read books/comics and do tablet stuff. I already know a bunch of comics I want to read (I think I'm going to start with Sandman and some of DC's New 52 stuff). But, I'm way out of the loop when it comes to books. I haven't read much in the last couple of years, mostly Star Wars novels and some H.P. Lovecraft.

My favorite book from when I was a kid (Well, younger kid) was The Hobbit, and I mostly read young adult stuff like Harry Potter. Although, I'm looking for books for both adults and "kids", as long as they're good. I mostly stick to sci-fi and fantasy, so stuff in those genres would be ideal. Oh, and, I'm asking for the Song of Ice and Fire boxset for Christmas from mom, so I'll probably read those once I get them (If she doesn't get it, I'll probably buy the digital versions).

Sorry, that I'm not all too specific with my tastes, kind of hard to articulate what I like when I haven't read all that much...

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

Neil Gaimen is almost always a good bet. I would also recommend Dennis L McKiernan. While his first trilogy was a direct Tolkein rip-off, his later books really are very good.

 

[JoesshittyOs]

Dresden Files (Nods to my avatar). Probably one of the best series I've ever read, and I'm sure a lot of Escapists will agree with me.

Imagine if Harry Potter grew up to be a private Investigator with an actual personality.

 

[Lilani]

If you don't mind female heroines, I recommend the Study series by Maria V Snyder and the Truth series by Dawn Cook. They're both a good mix of fantasy with female leads actually done right. The Truth series is a bit heavier on the romance, but the Study series has a good balance of main plot and romance subplot. And the spin-off series is good as well.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

Neil Gaimen is almost always a good bet. I would also recommend Dennis L McKiernan. While his first trilogy was a direct Tolkein rip-off, his later books really are very good.

I've been meaning to check out Gaiman (See Sandman being the first comic I plan on checking out), so I might read some of his stuff. American Gods seems pretty cool so I might start there. As for the latter, I've never heard of him, but like I said, I'm not an expert.

Dresden Files (Nods to my avatar). Probably one of the best series I've ever read, and I'm sure a lot of Escapists will agree with me.

Imagine if Harry Potter grew up to be a private Investigator with an actual personality.

That seems pretty cool, I'll need to investigate further.

If you don't mind female heroines, I recommend the Study series by Maria V Snyder and the Truth series by Dawn Cook. They're both a good mix of fantasy with female leads actually done right. The Truth series is a bit heavier on the romance, but the Study series has a good balance of main plot and romance subplot. And the spin-off series is good as well.

Why would anyone have a problem with female heroines? Aren't they the only kind?

 

[the spud]

Not sure it really fits your tastes, but I am really loving "Brave New World". You may not like it, but it is an easy enough read. Check it out.

 

[DustyDrB]

You should check out the Kingkiller series from Patrick Rothfuss. Some people compare it to Harry Potter (they say its a bit more grown up. I don't know since I've somehow never read/seen a Harry Potter book/movie. I should probably do something about that).

There are two books out now. I thoroughly enjoyed them, especially when the main character is being a lute pro.

The first book is called The Name of the Wind. The second is called The Wise Man's Fear.

 

[Lilani]

Why would anyone have a problem with female heroines? Aren't they the only kind?

I've known one or two readers who tend to avoid female heroines because a lot of times stories with female leads (especially in fantasy books, for some reason) end up being "feminist" stories, where the female is inevitably in a male-dominated world and has to prove herself to be equal, fighting naysayers and emotional struggles along the way. Nobody likes master plots.

But those books aren't at all like that. The Study series especially does a good bit of exploration in sexuality and even sexual identity. The Truth series not so much, but it's a fun read and definitely stays away from the "you're a girl so society hates you" angle.

 

[A BigCup of Tea]

if you like fantasy check out eragon series, it's actually quite good (and alot better than the film!)

 

[chaosyoshimage]

There are two books out now. I thoroughly enjoyed them, especially when the main character is being a lute pro.

Does he sing of Ragnar the red?

Why would anyone have a problem with female heroines? Aren't they the only kind?

I've known one or two readers who tend to avoid female heroines because a lot of times stories with female leads (especially in fantasy books, for some reason) end up being "feminist" stories, where the female is inevitably in a male-dominated world and has to prove herself to be equal, fighting naysayers and emotional struggles along the way. Nobody likes master plots.

But those books aren't at all like that. The Study series especially does a good bit of exploration in sexuality and even sexual identity. The Truth series not so much, but it's a fun read and definitely stays away from the "you're a girl so society hates you" angle.

Lol, I was mostly making a joke about the redundancy of a "female heroine", but I did wonder why anyone would have a problem with a series with a heroine. I have zero problem with them, and would probably be more likely to seek out stories with women as the leads as opposed to men.

*shrugs* Atlas Shrugged?

Hahahaha....see what I did there.

I'll just play BioShock...

if you like fantasy check out eragon series, it's actually quite good (and alot better than the film!)

I read the first one back when the movie came out (Never watched it though), and came out of it with the opinion, "This is Star Wars with dragons!" On one hand, that's heavily derivative, on the other, Star Wars with dragons...

Also, anybody know anywhere that I can go to for book reviews and the like? It's difficult to make informed decisions when all you have to go on is a huge list of books, lol.

 

[Drunkbot]

I read Anathem by Neal Stephenson recently, it was an excellent "hard" sci-fi novel. Not the usual fare one would expect when thinking of the genre.

Actually, I recommend anything by Neal Stephenson if you can follow some of his more eccentric characters, such as Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse in the Cryptonomicon.

 

[Tanis]

Neil Gaimen fan?
Lucifer - better than Sandman

Book:
Star Wars: I, Jedi

Peter F. Hamilton: The Night's Dawn Trilogy
-Brilliant sci-fi/fantasy with a focus on characters-

Garth Nix: The Seventh Tower
-Great 'young adult' series of books-

K. A. Applegate: Animorphs
-Seriously gotta ask? It's freaking ANIMORHPS!-

 

[chaosyoshimage]

Neil Gaimen fan?
Lucifer - better than Sandman

Book:
Star Wars: I, Jedi

Peter F. Hamilton: The Night's Dawn Trilogy
-Brilliant sci-fi/fantasy with a focus on characters-

Garth Nix: The Seventh Tower
-Great 'young adult' series of books-

K. A. Applegate: Animorphs
-Seriously gotta ask? It's freaking ANIMORHPS!-

I want to read Sandman first! Plus, I'm not sure if Lucifer is in Amazon's Kindle bookstore, but I know all of Sandman is.

I already have way too many Star Wars novels, but this one is always recommended and I did already suffer through the godawful Jedi Academy trilogy, so that might make the pain easier to deal with.

Another brilliant series I've never heard of, yay!

I always ignored Animorphs as a kid, but oh my god, Seventh Tower! I read the first couple of those (It was all my library had)! I would love to revisit that. If I recall, didn't the characters in that have like these cool shadow things that they bonded with or something?

 

[Tanis]

I want to read Sandman first! Plus, I'm not sure if Lucifer is in Amazon's Kindle bookstore, but I know all of Sandman is.
I already have way too many Star Wars novels, but this one is always recommended and I did already suffer through the godawful Jedi Academy trilogy, so that might make the pain easier to deal with.
Another brilliant series I've never heard of, yay!
I always ignored Animorphs as a kid, but oh my god, Seventh Tower! I read the first couple of those (It was all my library had)! I would love to revisit that. If I recall, didn't the characters in that have like these cool shadow things that they bonded with or something?

-Fair enough, Lucifer is a damn fine read...never mind the amazing art.

-There's a LOT of shitty Star Wars books/series, but I, Jedi is a GREAT standalone book (though it MIGHT get you interested in the Rouge Squadron series).

-Yep yep, and it's a 'heavy' read as well. Hamilton LOVES doing 3 or more stories at once that actually intertwine.
Besides, any book series that has a 'resurrected' Al Capone...IN SPACE...has gotta be worth a look, no?

-It used to be my favorite book series, I used to have ALL the books.
Not sure where they went.

-Yep! Shadows that bond with people, stones that can make light constructs, ect.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

The Dream Hunters - It's a short story with pictures by Yoshitaka Amano - A fox falls in love with a Monk that been cursed to die in his sleep.

I'm just getting into Gaiman, I haven't read any of his stuff yet (Well, I saw his episode of Doctor Who), but a lot of it sounds really interesting and now I found out he did a story with Amano? Awesome!

 

[chaosyoshimage]

The Dream Hunters - It's a short story with pictures by Yoshitaka Amano - A fox falls in love with a Monk that been cursed to die in his sleep.

I'm just getting into Gaiman, I haven't read any of his stuff yet (Well, I saw his episode of Doctor Who), but a lot of it sounds really interesting and now I found out he did a story with Amano? Awesome!

Yeah. Don't get it on a Kindle. I think the latest edition has a different Illustrator. The 1999 edition or 1998 edition has Amano. Amazon has it for $40 new of $3 used.

Yeah, I was wondering what was up with that, I was going to ask if there was anything different about it. I'll probably check it out sometime in the future as that sounds like something I'd really enjoy, but I'm wanting to focus on the Kindle right now Probably going to wait for some stuff to go on sale before I check it out though, as e-books are way overpriced (Digital comic pricing doesn't really bother me though...).

 

[willis888]

I've read several hundred fantasy novels, and The Name of the Wind is my favorite.

You should check out the Kingkiller series from Patrick Rothfuss. Some people compare it to Harry Potter (they say its a bit more grown up. I don't know since I've somehow never read/seen a Harry Potter book/movie. I should probably do something about that).

There are two books out now. I thoroughly enjoyed them, especially when the main character is being a lute pro.

The first book is called The Name of the Wind. The second is called The Wise Man's Fear.

2nd'ed

 

[Keepeas]

Two words:

Ender's Game
-If you like Sci-Fi you will like this. It's a series too, so when you finish you can keep on going with the series =).
One of my favorite books of all time, if not my favorite.

Also:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-Sci-Fi, interesting, funny, and an amazingly fun read

 

[Kyrian007]

Check out books by Brandon Sanderson. He's the author who took over "Wheel of Time" after Rigney Jr. died. His 2 books are better than 90% of the Rigney ones and his other works are even better. I'd suggest starting with "Elantris" or getting into his "Mistborn" series. He's started something called "The Stormlight Archive" which he's only one book into." If you want a series to stay current on.