Looking for a good read.
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This would probably take you more than a week, but...
"Watership Down" by Richard Adams if you want something quite different.
Contains unique cultural beliefs, studies of various types of society and government, dangerous epic journeys, undercover infiltration, and bloody battles. And it's about rabbits.
(It also has a follow-up/sequel called "Tales from Watership Down", but that's nowhere near as meaningful, mostly one-shot short-stories, though I enjoyed some of them. But be sure to read the original first)
"Watership Down" by Richard Adams if you want something quite different.
Contains unique cultural beliefs, studies of various types of society and government, dangerous epic journeys, undercover infiltration, and bloody battles. And it's about rabbits.
(It also has a follow-up/sequel called "Tales from Watership Down", but that's nowhere near as meaningful, mostly one-shot short-stories, though I enjoyed some of them. But be sure to read the original first)
Might I recommend Aldous Huxley's superb Brave New World? An engaging, paradigm-altering read.
Also try Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Oscar Wilde's absolutely sublime A Picture of Dorian Gray or Joseph Heller's scathing satire Catch-22.
And then there's the great playwrights. William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Oliver Goldsmith, Noel Coward, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter. The list goes on, but these are my personal favourites.
If you're still not satisfied, why not try poetry? I've always enjoyed 19th Century Romantic poets such as John Keats and Lord Byron, but there's also great contemporary poets such as Simon Armitage or Kingsley Amis.
And that's my two cents.
Also try Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Oscar Wilde's absolutely sublime A Picture of Dorian Gray or Joseph Heller's scathing satire Catch-22.
And then there's the great playwrights. William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Oliver Goldsmith, Noel Coward, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter. The list goes on, but these are my personal favourites.
If you're still not satisfied, why not try poetry? I've always enjoyed 19th Century Romantic poets such as John Keats and Lord Byron, but there's also great contemporary poets such as Simon Armitage or Kingsley Amis.
And that's my two cents.
World War Z was friken awesome. Kinda unnerving, but so fun.
I suggest anything by Brandon Sanderson- the Mistborn Series are my favorite books of all time. Or anything by Garth Nix, the Abhorsen Series is really good. (Both series only run to 3 books). Both are more fantasy oriented, though- so yeah.
I suggest anything by Brandon Sanderson- the Mistborn Series are my favorite books of all time. Or anything by Garth Nix, the Abhorsen Series is really good. (Both series only run to 3 books). Both are more fantasy oriented, though- so yeah.
Dresden Files series, Garrett PI series. Greywalker series. Sword of Truth series is good so far too. (just finished 3rd book)
If you're into fantasy and need something that will last you quite a while, try out the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan.
These are my top 15 books. Yes, I'm aware of how many times Phillip K. Dick and Neil Gaiman come up, but they are my favourite authors. I go insane if I don't consume at least 2 books a month, so I had a longer list but these are the ones I would narrow down.
1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This thing is my bible. If you are even remotely interested in mythology and anthropology regarding religion, pick this book up post haste.
2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick. The best sci-fi novel EVARR.
3. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. I recommend this one with a bit of trepidation. If you are into Beat poetry and aren't easily offended, snatch this one up. If you are easily offended, don't touch this book with an 80,000,000 foot pole.
4. Of Mice & Men by Jonathan Steinbeck. You've probably already read this book, but this is one of those books that gets put in the "Classic" category that I actually agree belongs there.
5. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
6. A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
7. The Stand by Stephen King
8. The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy (And its sequels) by Douglas Adams
9. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas: A savage journey into the heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson.
10. The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick.
11. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. This is an underrated classic, IMO. When I mention it, people think of the campy movie, which is a fun ride but nothing like the book. The book has a great mix of fantasy and sci-fi, with some clever references to various bed time stories that you won't notice on the surface but fit surprisingly well.
12. A study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman. To be fair, this is a short story (About 27 pages) but its ingenious and a very surreal mind fuck. You can find it public domain on the net, I think Harper Collins has a post of it for free. If not its collected in "Fragile Things," a collection of his short stories and poems.
13. Masters of Doom by David Kushner. Good if you like ID Software, its well written and is funny whilst being informative about ID softwares history and whatnot.
14. Shogun by James Clavell. This would be higher on the list, but its a bit windy and there are passages that are completely irrelevant and uncomfortable, like the 40 page chapter about the old man with strange sexual urges and who gets off watching foreigners be boiled alive, but when it stays on focus of the main plot its a great mish-mash of culture and history and is especially a good read if you are interested in Japanese history (The proper kind, anyway. Not that Anime stuff, I find it distressing so many people think they can properly extract history and culture from Anime :|)
15. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Like Shogun, I want to put this up higher because it is a beautifully written and very haunting story, but the only reason I put it lower on this list is because I've never been able to deal with stories that deal heavily with rape and it was a bit depressing and upsetting. Regardless, it is beautifully written and sticks with you, and has a unique method of story telling.
1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This thing is my bible. If you are even remotely interested in mythology and anthropology regarding religion, pick this book up post haste.
2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick. The best sci-fi novel EVARR.
3. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. I recommend this one with a bit of trepidation. If you are into Beat poetry and aren't easily offended, snatch this one up. If you are easily offended, don't touch this book with an 80,000,000 foot pole.
4. Of Mice & Men by Jonathan Steinbeck. You've probably already read this book, but this is one of those books that gets put in the "Classic" category that I actually agree belongs there.
5. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
6. A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
7. The Stand by Stephen King
8. The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy (And its sequels) by Douglas Adams
9. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas: A savage journey into the heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson.
10. The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick.
11. Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. This is an underrated classic, IMO. When I mention it, people think of the campy movie, which is a fun ride but nothing like the book. The book has a great mix of fantasy and sci-fi, with some clever references to various bed time stories that you won't notice on the surface but fit surprisingly well.
12. A study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman. To be fair, this is a short story (About 27 pages) but its ingenious and a very surreal mind fuck. You can find it public domain on the net, I think Harper Collins has a post of it for free. If not its collected in "Fragile Things," a collection of his short stories and poems.
13. Masters of Doom by David Kushner. Good if you like ID Software, its well written and is funny whilst being informative about ID softwares history and whatnot.
14. Shogun by James Clavell. This would be higher on the list, but its a bit windy and there are passages that are completely irrelevant and uncomfortable, like the 40 page chapter about the old man with strange sexual urges and who gets off watching foreigners be boiled alive, but when it stays on focus of the main plot its a great mish-mash of culture and history and is especially a good read if you are interested in Japanese history (The proper kind, anyway. Not that Anime stuff, I find it distressing so many people think they can properly extract history and culture from Anime :|)
15. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Like Shogun, I want to put this up higher because it is a beautifully written and very haunting story, but the only reason I put it lower on this list is because I've never been able to deal with stories that deal heavily with rape and it was a bit depressing and upsetting. Regardless, it is beautifully written and sticks with you, and has a unique method of story telling.
If you want something a little more obscure and which is a long kind of introspective read I'd recommend The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Japanese, very strange, good to read in intervals. Perfect for your situation, altough I'm not sure if it's everyone's cup of tea.
Phillip Pullman's dark materials trilogy - epic!!!
the four Eragon books, think they're called the Varden Quadrilogy. - also very good
Jonathan Stroud's The Bartimaeus trilogy.
i've read tons of epic books so didnt think i wanted to list them all up right now.
have a good read mate
the four Eragon books, think they're called the Varden Quadrilogy. - also very good
Jonathan Stroud's The Bartimaeus trilogy.
i've read tons of epic books so didnt think i wanted to list them all up right now.
have a good read mate
Song of Kali by Dan Simmons, slightly disturbing but it's short so you can read it easily on work.
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, throwing out this series in contrast to the first book - it's composed of 4 books, rather long, and you'd probably have to read them more then once to truly get it all storytelling is just that complex. plus Wolfe is terrific writer so you won't regret it IF you're into that sorta thing (it's Sci Fi).
The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, ofcourse, if you haven't read it already.
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, throwing out this series in contrast to the first book - it's composed of 4 books, rather long, and you'd probably have to read them more then once to truly get it all storytelling is just that complex. plus Wolfe is terrific writer so you won't regret it IF you're into that sorta thing (it's Sci Fi).
The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, ofcourse, if you haven't read it already.
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
A beautiful dark and gothic love story that will leave you breathless.
A beautiful dark and gothic love story that will leave you breathless.
Online book suggestion:
The Salvation wars series starting with Armageddon!?!? just google them and their great for a good read. 85 chapters long.
The Salvation wars series starting with Armageddon!?!? just google them and their great for a good read. 85 chapters long.
Pratchett must be something special to have gotten that many mentions. O.O
Might have to look into it.
Might have to look into it.
You best be joking.Level99 said:
Um
House of leaves (mind fuck in book form)
1984 (Classic disestablishmentarianism)
catch 22 (Funny and sad at once. Extremely good)
catcher in the rye (classic)
Brave New world (Disturbingly accurate)
Parasite Rex (Non-fiction but extremely interesting and eye opening.)
Any lovecraft (He's the grandfather of horror after all)
Slaughter house 5 (Or anything by vonnegut)
The Amok journal (articles on the edge of reality)
There are others, but I think thats a good starting place
Pratchett is great.Joe Deadman said:
I have been really into Glen Cook. The Black Company series is a great read. Its fantasy/military if you into that. He also writes the Garett Files. A series of book that read a bit like a detective novel but they are set in a fantasy world.
