Everytime someone wants me to reccomend a book I always say: "1984" and "Animal Farm", both by George Orwell. But if you're more into modern Sci-Fi I kinda liked the Halo Book Saga. If you're into Medieval Fantasy you HAVE to read "The Hobbit" from J.R.R Tolkien
Reccomend some books
- Thread starter crimsonshrouds
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Samurai Detective series. They're really good. While they're not really the mysteries they're marketed as, they're great.
Well, it depends what you're after:
Short, light and enjoyable reads: Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Short, apocalyptic sci-fi that will get you thinking: John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids
A more cerebral sci-fi that muses on the nature of war and what makes us human:
Joe Haldeman's The Forever War
The Lord of the Rings is, of course, one of the greatest fantasy works in history.
I notice by your badges that you like ZP, perhaps you could also try Yahtzee Croshaw's Mogworld
It also depends how old you are, what your reading ability's like and where your interests lie.
Frankly, I recommend just going into your local library, having a browse through the sections that are either appropriate to your age or that cover topics that interest you and, above all, have a chat with the librarian - they always seem to know a couple of hidden gems.
Short, light and enjoyable reads: Terry Pratchett's Discworld series
Short, apocalyptic sci-fi that will get you thinking: John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids
A more cerebral sci-fi that muses on the nature of war and what makes us human:
Joe Haldeman's The Forever War
The Lord of the Rings is, of course, one of the greatest fantasy works in history.
I notice by your badges that you like ZP, perhaps you could also try Yahtzee Croshaw's Mogworld
It also depends how old you are, what your reading ability's like and where your interests lie.
Frankly, I recommend just going into your local library, having a browse through the sections that are either appropriate to your age or that cover topics that interest you and, above all, have a chat with the librarian - they always seem to know a couple of hidden gems.
My top book recommendations are:crimsonshrouds said:
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (my favorite book series)
Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
In total, there's about 20 books between those 3 series(es).
Dresden Files is the story of one guy, Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, who works as a PI in Chicago, who can do magic. He's basically a combination of Phillip Marlowe and Gandalf, and for a bit of perspective on the series, one of the Crowning Moments of Awesome is when he rides into battle against a horde of zombies to stop the magical equivalent of a nuclear bomb... on the back of a zombie Tyrannosaurus Rex. There's 12 (soon to be thirteen) books in the series thus far, and all of them are awesome.
Codex Alera is a much different type of book. The basic premise is that in some fantasy world, there is a race of humans descended from a single Roman legion (specifically, the lost 9th legion). These people developed a system of magic using what's called "furies", which are essentially Pokemon (animalistic spirits capable of manipulating the elements). The books follow the stories of 3 primary and a couple of secondary characters through several years. There's everything from in-your-face Romanic wars to spy thrillers to political moves/intrigue easily on the scale of a Xanatos Gambit. If you like sword & sorcery fantasy and can get into the politics, the series is amazing.
The Kingkiller Chronicles is a bit of a different beast. It tells the story (literally) of someone who became remarkably famous (or infamous) at a young age. This guy ended up killing the King of the realm (hence the name), and disappeared from public knowledge. The first book picks up with a wandering scribe who managed to hunt down the man and get him to tell his story. There's all sorts of crazy stuff in it, and I highly recommend it.
Bolo! by David Weber. A series of stories about AI controlled super-tanks who are often called upon to fight in the face of overwhelming odds, and the human operators who fight (and very often die) alongside of them.
"Grimmer Than Hell" and "The Butcher's Bill" by David Drake. Military SciFi stories.
"Howling Mad" and "Sir Apropos Of Nothing" by Peter David. The former asks "What happens when a werewolf bites a WOLF?" The latter is a VERY cynical fantasy novel (example: the protagonist berates his friend for attempting to rescue a witch from an angry mob, and points out that the witch wouldn't have lifted a finger to help either of THEM if they were the ones about to be burned at the stake. The witch is standing right next to them. Bonus: she agrees sides with the guy who was happy to let her burn to death and thinks that his heroic friend is an idiot).
If you're a Star Trek fan, Peter David wrote a number of ST novels: Q-Squared, Strike Zone, The New Frontier Series, A Rock And a Hard Place, and quite a few others.
The Rogue Warrior series by Richard Marcinko. A series of novels (the debut book, "Rogue Warrior", is allegedly true) about Navy SEALs being badasses. Not great literature, but fun.
"Stranger in a Strange Land", "Starship Troopers" and "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein. Yes, the "Starship Troopers" movie sucked. About the only thing the movie shared with the novel was the title.
"Grunts" by Mary Gentle. A Tolkienesque fantasy setting with a Final Battle looming. Told from the orks perspective, who are pretty much resigned to the fact that the good guys are going to somehow win despite being vastly outnumbered.
"First Flight" by Chris Claremont. Sci Fi.
The first six or so books in the Anita Blake series and the first couple books of the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Both series deal with supernatural creatures living openly in the modern world. The Anita Blake series is about a licensed vampire executioner (vampires have rights in the series and can only be killed legally with a proper warrant). The Merry Gentry series deals with the Fey in a modern setting. She has a tendency for her protagonists to grow into God's stronger, smarter, prettier sister when a series runs for too long. Also, her debut novel "Nightseer" was a good fantasy story.
"The Great Book of Amber" by Roger Zelazny. I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre, for the most part, but I loved this series.
"Armor" and "Vampire$" by John Steakley. If you ever watch a vampire movie and wonder "Instead of sneaking into the vampire lair at night, why don't heroes just wait until daytime and blow the damn place up?", I recommend "Vampire$".
"Grimmer Than Hell" and "The Butcher's Bill" by David Drake. Military SciFi stories.
"Howling Mad" and "Sir Apropos Of Nothing" by Peter David. The former asks "What happens when a werewolf bites a WOLF?" The latter is a VERY cynical fantasy novel (example: the protagonist berates his friend for attempting to rescue a witch from an angry mob, and points out that the witch wouldn't have lifted a finger to help either of THEM if they were the ones about to be burned at the stake. The witch is standing right next to them. Bonus: she agrees sides with the guy who was happy to let her burn to death and thinks that his heroic friend is an idiot).
If you're a Star Trek fan, Peter David wrote a number of ST novels: Q-Squared, Strike Zone, The New Frontier Series, A Rock And a Hard Place, and quite a few others.
The Rogue Warrior series by Richard Marcinko. A series of novels (the debut book, "Rogue Warrior", is allegedly true) about Navy SEALs being badasses. Not great literature, but fun.
"Stranger in a Strange Land", "Starship Troopers" and "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein. Yes, the "Starship Troopers" movie sucked. About the only thing the movie shared with the novel was the title.
"Grunts" by Mary Gentle. A Tolkienesque fantasy setting with a Final Battle looming. Told from the orks perspective, who are pretty much resigned to the fact that the good guys are going to somehow win despite being vastly outnumbered.
"First Flight" by Chris Claremont. Sci Fi.
The first six or so books in the Anita Blake series and the first couple books of the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Both series deal with supernatural creatures living openly in the modern world. The Anita Blake series is about a licensed vampire executioner (vampires have rights in the series and can only be killed legally with a proper warrant). The Merry Gentry series deals with the Fey in a modern setting. She has a tendency for her protagonists to grow into God's stronger, smarter, prettier sister when a series runs for too long. Also, her debut novel "Nightseer" was a good fantasy story.
"The Great Book of Amber" by Roger Zelazny. I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre, for the most part, but I loved this series.
"Armor" and "Vampire$" by John Steakley. If you ever watch a vampire movie and wonder "Instead of sneaking into the vampire lair at night, why don't heroes just wait until daytime and blow the damn place up?", I recommend "Vampire$".
Let the Right One In
-It's a novel by a Swede about a vampire stuck as a young girl living next to a disturbed little boy who dreams of being a serial killer. It is one of the best vampire novels I've ever read.
His Dark Materials trilogy
-Start with The Golden Compass. It's a fantasy series where a girl in an alternate universe where everyone's soul is outside their body in the form of an animal comes into possession of a compass which can predict the future. She goes North to Svalbard and meets witches, a kingdom of armored polar bears, and an organization trying to cut people's souls away. One guy wants to build a bridge to Heaven so he can kill God. It is awesome.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-One of the funniest series of novels ever. It's about a man from Earth waking up one day to find his planet about to be demolished to make way for a highway.
Catch-22
-An American bombardier tries to survive WW2 on a small island off Italy. The story is told multiple times from many different viewpoints. It is hilarious.
Pretty much anything by Hemingway, but among his best work is For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway can make anything interesting, and he writes using very simple language. He is the Dos Equis guy in real life.
-It's a novel by a Swede about a vampire stuck as a young girl living next to a disturbed little boy who dreams of being a serial killer. It is one of the best vampire novels I've ever read.
His Dark Materials trilogy
-Start with The Golden Compass. It's a fantasy series where a girl in an alternate universe where everyone's soul is outside their body in the form of an animal comes into possession of a compass which can predict the future. She goes North to Svalbard and meets witches, a kingdom of armored polar bears, and an organization trying to cut people's souls away. One guy wants to build a bridge to Heaven so he can kill God. It is awesome.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
-One of the funniest series of novels ever. It's about a man from Earth waking up one day to find his planet about to be demolished to make way for a highway.
Catch-22
-An American bombardier tries to survive WW2 on a small island off Italy. The story is told multiple times from many different viewpoints. It is hilarious.
Pretty much anything by Hemingway, but among his best work is For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway can make anything interesting, and he writes using very simple language. He is the Dos Equis guy in real life.
I can recommend the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series to just about anyone, it's got a nice mix of sci-fi and humor.
The House Of Night series is pretty okay despite being part of the flood of vampire romance series after Twilight came out.
Not really a book exactly, but you should check out the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books, they've got a lot of interesting facts and stories in them.
Granted, you might not like any of these suggestions. I can't really help there, you are getting this from a teen's point of view. But I think they're all worth a try.
The House Of Night series is pretty okay despite being part of the flood of vampire romance series after Twilight came out.
Not really a book exactly, but you should check out the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books, they've got a lot of interesting facts and stories in them.
Granted, you might not like any of these suggestions. I can't really help there, you are getting this from a teen's point of view. But I think they're all worth a try.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. All three books, the order is The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and finally Mockingjay.
Once you start you will not stop till you are done with them all. Each chapters ending is quite literary a cliff hanger. I mean every chapter. I highly recommend
Once you start you will not stop till you are done with them all. Each chapters ending is quite literary a cliff hanger. I mean every chapter. I highly recommend
Look up the author Peter F Hamilton, he writes space operas mostly. "The Nights Dawn Trilogy" (Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist, Naked God) is this dark, brutal horror set in a classic space opera universe, it is messed up. Then "The Commonwealth Saga" (Pandoras Star, Judas Unchained) is a more conventional humans-vs-aliens cosmic dick swinging competition. They're amazing books.
Another OK book is Gone by Michael Grant. Its a series First with: Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear and last Lights. Its about a town where its starts like a normal day in school then "POOF" everyone above the age of 15 "disappears" and everyone else is stuck inside the town and its surroundings.None of them know how to escape, and super powers are somehow given to some of the children.I cant say more but its a great book to get/rent!