anyone have any suggestions of good books/authors to read? ive never been a reader but when i do read i am picky. can someone suggest a book for a college student like myself. id prefer something that is in modern english, i dont really like books that are the shakespeare style or stuff like tale of two cities. i am not too picky when it comes to genres i am open to read about anything interesting. please no comics or anime
Tower of Secrets. It's an ex KGB agent's autobiography on him living in the Soviet Union and his attempt to defect to the US.
Andromeda Strain is the greatest book on the planet. Other than that, the typical Game of Thrones and Harry Potter will do the trick.
silverwing
sunwing
firewing
oh i just found out he wrote a fourth book called darkwing
time to read
sunwing
firewing
oh i just found out he wrote a fourth book called darkwing
time to read
roger zelazny, specifically the chronicles of amber (10-book series) and donnerjack
they're wonderful schizo-fantasy stories, the first being and epic and the second being a classical hero tale with some "hard" fantasy (in the same terms as hard scifi) spicing
they're wonderful schizo-fantasy stories, the first being and epic and the second being a classical hero tale with some "hard" fantasy (in the same terms as hard scifi) spicing
CATCH-22 MOTHERFUCKER
read ittttttttttttttttttttttttttt So good, I'd say it's probably one of my favorite books of all time.
read ittttttttttttttttttttttttttt So good, I'd say it's probably one of my favorite books of all time.
non-fiction is where it's at. Learn important history while also being entertained!
http://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-World-Terrifying-Circumnavigation/dp/B002DMJTUU/
The most recent one I really liked was this book on Magellan...also 6 bucks apparently.
Other topics of interest: civil war, our dicking of native american's, WWII, WWI, history of the catholic church...um a lot more. Really it's whatever pique's your interest.
Ambrose has some really good WWII books.
http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Soldiers-Normandy-Beaches-Surrender/dp/0684848015/
http://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-World-Terrifying-Circumnavigation/dp/B002DMJTUU/?tag=teamfortresst-20
The most recent one I really liked was this book on Magellan...also 6 bucks apparently.
Other topics of interest: civil war, our dicking of native american's, WWII, WWI, history of the catholic church...um a lot more. Really it's whatever pique's your interest.
Ambrose has some really good WWII books.
http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Soldiers-Normandy-Beaches-Surrender/dp/0684848015/?tag=teamfortresst-20
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is near the top of books ever read for myself.
There's a few books that I think everyone should read, and this is near the top of that list. You won't be able to put it down I assure you sir.
There's a few books that I think everyone should read, and this is near the top of that list. You won't be able to put it down I assure you sir.
BUICKThe Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is near the top of books ever read for myself.
There's a few books that I think everyone should read, and this is near the top of that list. You won't be able to put it down I assure you sir.
don't read hitchhikers guide to the galaxy without at least also reading the restaurant at the end of the universe and life the universe and everything, and possibly the last two as well
There's a few books that I think everyone should read, and this is near the top of that list. You won't be able to put it down I assure you sir.[/quote]
don't read hitchhikers guide to the galaxy without at least also reading the restaurant at the end of the universe and life the universe and everything, and possibly the last two as well
One series I've let people borrow (about 10 times now) is Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Everyone reads the first one and always reads the second and third books. Its pretty intense. http://www.amazon.com/The-Final-Empire-Mistborn-Book/dp/076531178X?tag=teamfortresst-20
Its set in a world where Ash falls, and certain people can "burn" metals they swallow to give them certain powers (pushing metal, pulling metal, effecting emotions, etc). Sanderson is said to be the Kung-Fu of Sci Fi because all his fighting scenes are incredibly well done. You can see it in your minds eye and it all plays out perfectly. His characters are all well rounded and you will care for each of them. Unlike other books (game of thrones) where you are happy when some die (basically everyone except *SPOILER LLOLO jk*). Its a solid series.
Some other really good series:
Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (finished off by Brandon Sanderson)
The Hobbit (classic, but a great read) followed by LOTR
Its set in a world where Ash falls, and certain people can "burn" metals they swallow to give them certain powers (pushing metal, pulling metal, effecting emotions, etc). Sanderson is said to be the Kung-Fu of Sci Fi because all his fighting scenes are incredibly well done. You can see it in your minds eye and it all plays out perfectly. His characters are all well rounded and you will care for each of them. Unlike other books (game of thrones) where you are happy when some die (basically everyone except *SPOILER LLOLO jk*). Its a solid series.
Some other really good series:
Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan (finished off by Brandon Sanderson)
The Hobbit (classic, but a great read) followed by LOTR
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
It has an insane cult following and without question is the most unique book you'll ever read.
It has an insane cult following and without question is the most unique book you'll ever read.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (RIP) and Brandon Sanderson
Pretty much anything be Philip K. Dick.
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
A scanner darkly
The man in the high castle
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
A scanner darkly
The man in the high castle
i only read tucker max books because i have no taste in literature
vanilla Ender's Game, anything by Ray Bradbury.
I recently read Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy, and now it's one of my favorite books.
LucasI recently read Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy, and now it's one of my favorite books.
I read a ton of Tom Clancy as a child, took me a decade to get over my paranoia of terrorists. And then 9/11 happened.
What do you mean you "don't like stuff like Tale of Two Cities"? What about Tale of Two Cities turned you off? If it was the language, I'd highly suggest you try suffering through it until you acquire the taste for it. You're losing out on hundreds of years of popular knowledge and novels that have been regarded as somehow "eternal" for centuries due to personal taste. I understand it can be difficult, but reading Western Canon is highly rewarding.
As for the last century or so, I'd suggest authors like Camus, Steinbeck, Orwell, etc.
For Orwell I suggest Homage to Catalonia, a first hand account of his time serving with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. It's a war most people know nothing about, and the book will truly open your eyes if you allow it. I also suggest Keep the Aspidistra Flying, a novel about the emptiness and travails of lower middle class life in Britain. While Orwell's most famous for 1984 and Animal Farm, those are two of his worst works (in my humble opinion). His short stories, essays, and articles are all worth the read.
Now I'm going to quote myself from natf2 because I'm lazy:
Alexandre Dumas- The Three Musketeers has aged incredibly well, and it's commonly used in popular culture, albeit quite distorted.
Jane Austen- I love her prose, but the content is tremendous as well. This might not be your taste, particularly if you don't like the romantic plots of her stories, but there is so much going on in her works that they're hard for me to put down.
Ernest Hemingway- Everything he wrote. Really.
John Steinbeck- Anything he wrote after Tortilla Flat and before East of Eden. The heart of his work is contained in Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, East of Eden, Tortilla Flat (or Cannery Row, they're remarkably similar), and Of Mice and Men. That may seem a long list, but most of those are relatively short and fast reads.
Albert Camus- Everything in his (tragically short) oeuvre deserves a reading. The Fall, The Stranger, The Plague, and his collection of short stories are all easy enough reads that pay enormous dividends. Top that off with The Rebel, his non-fiction philosophical piece, and you're golden. Do keep in mind that Camus was called "an author who tried to write philosophy." (and Sartre was called "a philosopher who tried to write novels.")
Oscar Wilde- Picture of Dorian Grey, The Importance of Being Earnest, maybe some of his nonfiction.
Once you're confident enough, Russian literature is some of the most beautiful and deeply moving on the planet. The Brothers Karamazov, some of Dostoevsky's shorter works, and Tolstoy's works as well have stood the tests of time. The problem with them is reader comprehension and the constant flood of Russian names.
I read a ton of Tom Clancy as a child, took me a decade to get over my paranoia of terrorists. And then 9/11 happened.
What do you mean you "don't like stuff like Tale of Two Cities"? What about Tale of Two Cities turned you off? If it was the language, I'd highly suggest you try suffering through it until you acquire the taste for it. You're losing out on hundreds of years of popular knowledge and novels that have been regarded as somehow "eternal" for centuries due to personal taste. I understand it can be difficult, but reading Western Canon is highly rewarding.
As for the last century or so, I'd suggest authors like Camus, Steinbeck, Orwell, etc.
For Orwell I suggest Homage to Catalonia, a first hand account of his time serving with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. It's a war most people know nothing about, and the book will truly open your eyes if you allow it. I also suggest Keep the Aspidistra Flying, a novel about the emptiness and travails of lower middle class life in Britain. While Orwell's most famous for 1984 and Animal Farm, those are two of his worst works (in my humble opinion). His short stories, essays, and articles are all worth the read.
Now I'm going to quote myself from natf2 because I'm lazy:
Alexandre Dumas- The Three Musketeers has aged incredibly well, and it's commonly used in popular culture, albeit quite distorted.
Jane Austen- I love her prose, but the content is tremendous as well. This might not be your taste, particularly if you don't like the romantic plots of her stories, but there is so much going on in her works that they're hard for me to put down.
Ernest Hemingway- Everything he wrote. Really.
John Steinbeck- Anything he wrote after Tortilla Flat and before East of Eden. The heart of his work is contained in Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, East of Eden, Tortilla Flat (or Cannery Row, they're remarkably similar), and Of Mice and Men. That may seem a long list, but most of those are relatively short and fast reads.
Albert Camus- Everything in his (tragically short) oeuvre deserves a reading. The Fall, The Stranger, The Plague, and his collection of short stories are all easy enough reads that pay enormous dividends. Top that off with The Rebel, his non-fiction philosophical piece, and you're golden. Do keep in mind that Camus was called "an author who tried to write philosophy." (and Sartre was called "a philosopher who tried to write novels.")
Oscar Wilde- Picture of Dorian Grey, The Importance of Being Earnest, maybe some of his nonfiction.
Once you're confident enough, Russian literature is some of the most beautiful and deeply moving on the planet. The Brothers Karamazov, some of Dostoevsky's shorter works, and Tolstoy's works as well have stood the tests of time. The problem with them is reader comprehension and the constant flood of Russian names.
i've always been a chuck p fan, i read fight club, survivor, pygmy, choke etc. american psycho is an awesome book too. can anyone suggest similar styles to those books? or were any of these mentioned here similar?
anyways, some great authors not mentioned in here:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Jorge Luis Borges
Nikolai Gogol
Franz Kafka
Saul Bellow
Flannery O'Connor
John Updike
Phillip Roth
Jonathan Franzen
Arthur C. Clark
James Baldwin
Ralph Ellison
Tim O'Brien
Junot Diaz
Erich Maria Remarque
Jean-Paul Sartre
etc.
Non-fiction:
Malcolm Gladwell
Manning Marable (read his biography of Malcolm X, it was great)
W.E.B. Dubois
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Jorge Luis Borges
Nikolai Gogol
Franz Kafka
Saul Bellow
Flannery O'Connor
John Updike
Phillip Roth
Jonathan Franzen
Arthur C. Clark
James Baldwin
Ralph Ellison
Tim O'Brien
Junot Diaz
Erich Maria Remarque
Jean-Paul Sartre
etc.
Non-fiction:
Malcolm Gladwell
Manning Marable (read his biography of Malcolm X, it was great)
W.E.B. Dubois