Recommend books to read.

[xmortumx]

So now that I have some free time, I was thinking of getting into reading some new books but I was wondering any good books you guys recommend? What are some books you guys believe are a "must" read?

 

[Wohma]

Not sure if they're must-reads, but I've lately enjoyed these:
Salman Rushdie - Satanic Verses
Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day & Never Let Me Go
William Styron - Sophie's Choice
John Berger - G.

And if you haven't done so, read Sapkowski's Witcher. Not sure if the translation into English is any good, though.

 

[xmortumx]

Thanks... ill look into those books..

 

[TheDriller]

Mark Z. Danielewski - House Of Leaves

 

[AudioPhile777]

I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy in anticipation of the movie(s)... really great story and relatable characters (for me, anyway).

It really depends on what you're into. Hunger Games is classified as "Young Adult" and isn't a difficult read at all.

I tend to like dystopian fiction anyway just because of how ready I am for great change.

A decent short read (to get you into/use to reading) is Anthem by Ayn Rand. Short read and can be very thought provoking.

I like the Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches series by Anne Rice, if thats your thing... but then again, I read all those about a decade ago.

There are all kinds of good books out there... you just have to find what you want to read about.

 

[The Unavoidable]

"First Blood" is the most intense thing I have ever read.

 

[Morgan C]

I highly recommend The Sum of All Men by David Farland. I haven't read it in quite a few years, so I'm not really sure how the writing holds up, but its got by far the most interesting ideas in fantasy I've ever seen.

 

[John_C]

Fiction:

Catch 22 - absolute must
1984 - ditto
Animal farm
Night watch
Schindler's list
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (all 5 books)
Red Dwarf (irrelevant of your thoughts on the tv show, a brilliant read)


Non-fiction:
Guns, Germs and Steel (quite academic and very long, but about as important and interesting as history gets IMO)
The Master Handbook of Acoustics
all the Feynmann lectures


There are so many more, but just as long as you manage Catch 22, 1984 and the hitch hikers guide then you'll be sorted!

 

[Mattayus]

I don't read fiction so I won't be much help on that front, but my recent favourite non-fiction have been:

Frankie Boyle - Work! Consume! Die!
Tom Hodgkinson - How To Be Idle
Slavoj Zizek - First Tragedy, Then Farce

Slavoj is a crazy motherfucker to follow, but he will make you view the world very very differently. An absolute monster philosopher.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Martin's Song of Ice and Fire saga. Seriously, I hate fantasy fairy bullshit, but I'm almost done with the fourth book and it's just ridiculously awesome.

 

[Wohma]

all the Feynmann lectures

And all the other Feynman's stuff as well Great reading.

TheDriller: Thank you, House of Leaves seems to be a book I'll love.

 

[midget donkeys]

Pretty much anything Christopher Moore has written. His books are the only ones that actually make me snort and giggle like a little kid. Start with:

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

 

[Adari]

E.M. Forster - The Machine Stops
Without a doubt, it is the greatest piece of literature ever written.

 

[amarshism]

God is not great
The daily adventures of mixerman
The god delusion

 

[AdamG94]

The god delusion

Speaking of Dawkins, The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype are must reads if you are moderately interested in biological sciences.

On the science theme, Bad Science by Ben Goldacre and Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels are good reads too, along with Genome by Matt Ridley and Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life by Nick Lane which are also must reads.

 

[ArthurD]

"First Blood" is the most intense thing I have ever read.

The 120 Days of Sodom was the most heavy book I have ever head. Glad ended this book yesterday, as I am going to burn it, so I will be able to forget its plot.

Anyway, i like those writers:

Lee Child
Alex Kava
Tess Gerritsen
Asimov

 

[Virgil.]

Well, if you're looking for some fantasy/sci-fi type books, check out the thread I made last year... lots of amazing recommendations!
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/...6-recommend-me-some-fantasy-sci-fi-books.html

 

[Jind]

I'm just about finished with Dan Simmons first book in the Hyperion Cantos series titled "Hyperion", it's a bit older, it won the Hugo award for science fiction back in 1990, but it's a great read, one of my favorites in quite some time. The heavy metal band Manticora even did a whole concept album "Hyperion" based upon the story.

If your into epic sci-fi I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Sloan]

This Band Could Be Your Life
Tour Smart
Flatland

 

[LeSedna]

Terry Pratchett !

I recently read the book "The Road". I didn't like the way it's written in the beginning, but loved it once I dived in it.