General book discussion and your recommendations.
- Thread starter jamesc
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Anything by HP Lovecraft would be my recommendation, "Call of Cthulhu and other Weird tales" if you need a start =)
The Nightwatch series is also good, they really have little to do with the films if you didn't like them.
The Nightwatch series is also good, they really have little to do with the films if you didn't like them.
this will probably make the entier forum hate me or atleast ignore me for life or until i redeem myself but Twilight not that it was my choice to read it i was bored and lack of entertainment does strange things to ones mind. Although i will say fucking good book...too many feelings for my liking but other than that great book.
E.M.Remarque's "All quiet on the Western front", "The Way Back", "Three Friends" and "A time to Live and a time to Die" are all excellent books.
Tim Butcher's "Blood river" is also one of my favorites.
Most of T.Pratchett's books are also quite good.
I found T. Findley's "Pilgrim" a most interesting read as well.
Also, as mentioned above, Douglas Adams's "Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy" and anything by J.R.R.Tolkien.
Tim Butcher's "Blood river" is also one of my favorites.
Most of T.Pratchett's books are also quite good.
I found T. Findley's "Pilgrim" a most interesting read as well.
Also, as mentioned above, Douglas Adams's "Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy" and anything by J.R.R.Tolkien.
Hmm.. seems to be filled with fiction. Must say not a fan.
Non-fiction:
The Shark Net by Robert Drewe. Excellent set of memoirs written like like a novel. Aussie author.
NO WAY SAVE VICTORY - Compiled selection of essays covering just about every aspect of World War 2.
The Great War - a book based of a classic TV series surmising all the events of World War 1.
Tge Secret life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey. Need I continue?
For mindless bedtime reading: William King and his TrollSlayer series. Totally free of any thought, just a good fun. Good book to wind down too.
Robert Ludlam and the Apocalypse Watch. Now, this is a goodie but old. It's set about the premise of the McCarthy trials, except in the modern era and instead of commies, it's Nazis! Seriously well written book, except the start... but it's done for a reason.
Non-fiction:
The Shark Net by Robert Drewe. Excellent set of memoirs written like like a novel. Aussie author.
NO WAY SAVE VICTORY - Compiled selection of essays covering just about every aspect of World War 2.
The Great War - a book based of a classic TV series surmising all the events of World War 1.
Tge Secret life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey. Need I continue?
For mindless bedtime reading: William King and his TrollSlayer series. Totally free of any thought, just a good fun. Good book to wind down too.
Robert Ludlam and the Apocalypse Watch. Now, this is a goodie but old. It's set about the premise of the McCarthy trials, except in the modern era and instead of commies, it's Nazis! Seriously well written book, except the start... but it's done for a reason.
Have you read "Last Chance to See" by Douglas Adams? He goes in search of endangered species and essentially writes his about his travels and experiences with the animals, the threats they face and the people trying to save them. Seriously good read.Cahlee said:
I've been looking for that book for ages, luckily I found a local bookshop that sells it (Okay, the only bookshop in my town) so later I'm going down there and buying it.Real Gonzo said:
Although I'm a fan of fantasy novels, I really don't like Tolkein... I ubderstand and appreciate what he did for the genre, but I just cant get into his style of writing..
I'm also surprised nobody has mentioned Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar trilogy.
And if you want a nice, easy read, I suggest "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists" by Gideon DeFoe. They're so short you could read them in an afternoon, but bugger me, it's funny.
I'm also surprised nobody has mentioned Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar trilogy.
And if you want a nice, easy read, I suggest "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists" by Gideon DeFoe. They're so short you could read them in an afternoon, but bugger me, it's funny.
Seeing as though everyone is suggesting fantasy/sci-fi/the old cliches like 1984, I'll go with something different...
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks. About a boy in an isolated part of Scotland who creates and observes his own weird religios rituals.
Cock and Bull - Will Self. A Kafka-esque two-part novella about spontaneous and inexplicable sex-changes.
Rant - Chuck Palahniuk. Pretty hard to sum up, so I'll just say its miles ahead of Fight Club.
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks. About a boy in an isolated part of Scotland who creates and observes his own weird religios rituals.
Cock and Bull - Will Self. A Kafka-esque two-part novella about spontaneous and inexplicable sex-changes.
Rant - Chuck Palahniuk. Pretty hard to sum up, so I'll just say its miles ahead of Fight Club.
'Voice of the Blood' by Jemiah Jefferson. (There are others, but the only other one I can think of is 'Wounds' by the same author)
'Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter' by Laurell K Hamilton. (This is a series. start at Guilty Pleasures and read on it's well worth it)
I know it's been mentioned, but Hitchhikers Guide by Douglas Adams of course.
Anything by Terry Pratchett, although I am attached to The Lost Continent at the moment...
Stephen Kings short story 'The Mist'. The book was so much better than the movie.
'The Gargoyle' by Andrew Davidson.
And last, Fox in Socks by Dr Suess XD
I highly recommend the Anita Blake series to anyone who likes that genre of books. It's based in a parallel world to ours where zombies are real, vampires are legal citizens and werewolves and almost any other kind of 'were' you can think of (leopards, lions, hyena, bear, dog, tiger etc) are known as lycanthropes and 'lycanthropy' (the thing that makes them change at the full moon) is classed as a blood borne disease. I'll say no more other than the main character, Anita, is awesome. 5'3'', German/Mexican descent, and an asskicker to boot.
'Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter' by Laurell K Hamilton. (This is a series. start at Guilty Pleasures and read on it's well worth it)
I know it's been mentioned, but Hitchhikers Guide by Douglas Adams of course.
Anything by Terry Pratchett, although I am attached to The Lost Continent at the moment...
Stephen Kings short story 'The Mist'. The book was so much better than the movie.
'The Gargoyle' by Andrew Davidson.
And last, Fox in Socks by Dr Suess XD
I highly recommend the Anita Blake series to anyone who likes that genre of books. It's based in a parallel world to ours where zombies are real, vampires are legal citizens and werewolves and almost any other kind of 'were' you can think of (leopards, lions, hyena, bear, dog, tiger etc) are known as lycanthropes and 'lycanthropy' (the thing that makes them change at the full moon) is classed as a blood borne disease. I'll say no more other than the main character, Anita, is awesome. 5'3'', German/Mexican descent, and an asskicker to boot.
If you're talking about the way he wrote the hobbit, he didn't do that with the rest (as far as I know...). When you read the hobbit, I think it's meant to be someone reading it to you. Like a grandfather sitting you on his knee and telling you an old story.Mr_Cynical said:
If no one said "I recommend Terry Pratchett!", I was going to go on a rant.
Thankfully some one has, sparing us all.
On Topic-
Terry Pratchett
Cyrano de Bergerac (some French guy, can't recall)
Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)
1984 (I'm blanking, damn..)
Brave New World (Huxley)
The Crow (J. O'barr)
The Watchmen (Blanking)
The Sandman (Neil Gaimen)
Hitchhiker's Guide (Adams)
Needful Things (Stephen King)
Neverwhere (Gaimen again)
And assorted horror, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy novels.
Thankfully some one has, sparing us all.
On Topic-
Terry Pratchett
Cyrano de Bergerac (some French guy, can't recall)
Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)
1984 (I'm blanking, damn..)
Brave New World (Huxley)
The Crow (J. O'barr)
The Watchmen (Blanking)
The Sandman (Neil Gaimen)
Hitchhiker's Guide (Adams)
Needful Things (Stephen King)
Neverwhere (Gaimen again)
And assorted horror, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy novels.
"A Closer Look at the art and techniques of Patrick Woodroffe", Patrick Woodroffe
-Eye candy
"The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul", Douglas Adams
-Mind Candy
[a href="http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=gLwTXT4EF3sC&dq=pressed+fairy+book&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=YsMRv_aIrd&sig=eaAEZLt4if1bPXiYybml8bpCc6g&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPP1,M1"]"Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book"[/a], Terry Jones
-Both
-Eye candy
"The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul", Douglas Adams
-Mind Candy
[a href="http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=gLwTXT4EF3sC&dq=pressed+fairy+book&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=YsMRv_aIrd&sig=eaAEZLt4if1bPXiYybml8bpCc6g&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPP1,M1"]"Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book"[/a], Terry Jones
-Both
I forgot about Chuck!AuntyEthel said:
He's a glorious thing. *mumbles to self* How'd I forget him!?
I'm currently past halfway through Stephen King's Dark Tower series, which is quite epic and a good answer to those who can't get into Tolkien. That said, I'd also recommend "The Hobbit" if you're finding Lord of the Rings far too heavy.
On the sci-fi front, I'd also add in Iain M. Banks (Iain Banks' nom de plume for his sci-fi novels) just in general... everything I've read of his has been top stuff. There's also Issac Asimov for classic, old school stuff that includes the inspiration for "I, Robot". Any Bladerunner fan will direct you at "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick, while there's also "2001: A Space Odyssey by" Arthur C. Clarke.
Other recommendations would include "A Wizard of Earthsea" and the following novels by Ursula K. Le Guin. The Belgariad, a series of 5 books by David Eddings, scores high marks but my personal favourite of his would be the standalone novel "The Redemption of Althalus". Also I'd highly recommend both "God's Debris" and "The Religion War" by Scott Adams.
On the non-fiction front, the only one that really springs to mind is "A Theory of Fun for Game Design" by Raph Koster. Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" isn't a difficult read and worthwhile. Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince" I found a lot harder going but is worth the effort.
On the sci-fi front, I'd also add in Iain M. Banks (Iain Banks' nom de plume for his sci-fi novels) just in general... everything I've read of his has been top stuff. There's also Issac Asimov for classic, old school stuff that includes the inspiration for "I, Robot". Any Bladerunner fan will direct you at "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick, while there's also "2001: A Space Odyssey by" Arthur C. Clarke.
Other recommendations would include "A Wizard of Earthsea" and the following novels by Ursula K. Le Guin. The Belgariad, a series of 5 books by David Eddings, scores high marks but my personal favourite of his would be the standalone novel "The Redemption of Althalus". Also I'd highly recommend both "God's Debris" and "The Religion War" by Scott Adams.
On the non-fiction front, the only one that really springs to mind is "A Theory of Fun for Game Design" by Raph Koster. Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" isn't a difficult read and worthwhile. Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince" I found a lot harder going but is worth the effort.