Books!!

[Aurora Firestorm]

If you're a fantasy fan, you should read...

Jhereg -- about a human assassin and his dragonoid (Jhereg, to be precise) familiar living in a world where humans are second-class citizens
Dresden Files -- urban fantasy, a down-to-earth wizard in Chicago solves supernatural crimes and gets in way over his head
Kingkiller Chronicles -- an amazing book despite its obviously Gary Stu main character who is good at everything and still manages to get into trouble.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld.

Awww, and here I thought I'd be the first person to suggest this.
Also very much seconded. Ever wondered what World War 1 might look like in a steampunk setting? Look no further. Trilogy is comprised of the novels (in order) Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath.

Also, the romance plot is the single most touching thing in a book ever.

 

[StBishop]

Conn Iggulden (Of The Dangerous Book for Boys fame) wrote a great series about both Gengis Kahn and Julius Ceasar.

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials is awesome. I've not seen the film based on them so I can't comment how how it compares but the series was amazing so I imagine the film doesn't even come close.

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is quite popular, my girlfriend (who has amazing taste) loves them.

David Eddings' Belgariad was awesome. I hear good things about his Mallorean too.

David Gemmell's Drenai Series are really fucking awesome of what I've read.

R. A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizzt consisting of a number of series:
(Chronological order not release order)
The Dark Elf Trilogy
The Icewind Dale Trilogy
Legacy of the Drow (4 books)
Path of Darkness (4 books)
Followed after a gap by
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy
Followed after another gap by
Transitions (3 books)
Is my second favourite series of books preceded only by the Harry Potter Series, if only because I grew up with them, with the first coming out when I wasn't yet 10 and the last being released in my final year of High School.

EDIT: Oh yeah, The Hobbit is fucking awesome, read it. The Lord of the Rings is awesome read it.

 

[Fatboy_41]

I prefer the Sharpe series, I think that's a must read. Though I guess I'm a little bias cause I watched the T.V series(Well, its more like a series of T.V movies but still...) before reading the books and I loved the series.

Also recommend the T.V series, you'd be amazed how many current English actors had small early career roles in that series.

I dunno, I never really got into the Sharpe series. To be honest, I haven't really tried all that hard either. I guess I'm just more intrigued by the Medieval era than the Civil War.

I did hear the rumour once that Sean Bean makes a reference to his portrayal as Sharpe in every other role he plays. For example, the "Still sharp" line in Lord Of The Rings.

OT. Other author I read every new book from is Matthew Reilly. He's an Australia author, and the stories he comes up with are simply non-stop. His first book, Contest, is about a battle royale between a number of alien races, and follows a doctor chosen to represent the human race. And it's all set in New York Library. That one is a stand alone book, but he has written a few series as well. The Scarecrow series is very military orientated, where as the Jack West Jr series is close to an Indiana Jones style adventure.

 

[Cpu46]

Harry Turtledove is a good author, he writes adult fiction and fantasy (Adult meaning that there are tasteful sexual scenes). The darkness series is probably one of my favorite series.

However if I had to restrict myself to young adult series.

Pendragon was really popular when I was in high school and are pretty damn good, finished everything but the last book.

The first few Maximum Ride books are interesting but horribly cliched and predictable for anyone who reads science fiction/fantasy regularly. The concept and characters are good on their own but together they are meh. My sister loves them but I don't, they aren't bad but not great.
Also a manga series for some reason. I checked it out at a book store, art was good and for some reason everything I hated about the book lends itself great to the visual format.

Vampirates is good too. It is exactly what it sounds like, Vampire Pirates. Not as bad as one would think. Again major plot points are predictable if you do much fantasy reading but makes up for it.

If you can find it I highly recommend finding a book called The Transall Saga though it goes by the name Blue Light if you are in the UK. Standalone book, 240 pages, written by Gary Paulsen (Hatchet, Soldiers Heart, many other novels) in 1998. Damn fine book and one of the few books I plan on keeping with me for a long time. Might be hard to come by since it never was all that popular.

 

[keideki]

Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks

Chronicles of the Necromancer by Gail Z. Martin

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

That list should keep anyone occupied for a bit

 

[Quaidis]

If you liked Eragon, then you would get a kick out of the DragonBack series by Timothy Zahn (starting with Dragon and Thief). It's a 6 book series, easy to read, and written so much better.

Also, the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik (starting with His Majesty's Dragon). Once again, better written, though the writing style takes a little bit to get into.

 

[kortin]

Dantes Divine Comedy

While this does come in book form, its more like an extremely long poem than a traditional story.

They needa make it into a normal style book. I'd imagine it would facilitate some interest in the poem.

Oh god, its been so long since I've read an actual book series. Uh. Calvin and Hobbes?

 

[Zen Toombs]

-snip-

Probably already said, but the Song of Ice and Fire series. You can buy a bundle of the first four books at your local bookstore for ~$20.

 

[Joccaren]

Anything by Terry Pratchett or David/and Leigh Eddings.
Two great fantasy authors. Eddings is more old style, Pratchett tends to be more light hearted and incorporate more humour. You can get light and heavy reading books from both (I think).