NationStates Jolt Archive

I think Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" series are about the best books I ever read. Especially the middle two with Cugel are superb: "The Eyes of the Overworld" and "Cugel's Saga." They take place in the far future when the sun is going out, and people prefer magic to science. Your turn.

Robert Jordan's "The Wheel Of Time" series I find fantastic. Also Tad William's "Otherland".

Otherland is also set in the future, but only 100-200 years maybe. Great read.

The Dark Elf Trilogy. The Start To The Greatest Saga Ever. Yes, R.A. Salvatore Is One Of The Many Gods I Worship.

Neil Gaiman's "American Gods".
I've read it for the third time now and still uncovered new details. Brillantly written and highly suspenseful.

For German readers: Herr Lehman by Sven Regener

George RR Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire. Starts with A Game Of Thrones. Awesome, gritty high fantasy, but it's relatively light on magic (especially compared to, say, The Wheel Of Time, which I would also recommend)

I think Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" series are about the best books I ever read. Especially the middle two with Cugel are superb: "The Eyes of the Overworld" and "Cugel's Saga." They take place in the far future when the sun is going out, and people prefer magic to science. Your turn.
The Broken Sword and The Merman's Children by Poul Anderson are two of the best fantasy novels ever written. Michael Moorcock's stuff is worth checking out as well, as are Fritz Leiber's sword and sorcery books. Then there's A Storm of Wings by M John Harrison and Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wagner...

'The Wolves of Time' William Horwood

Thrre Men on a Bummel - Jerome K Jerome

Now I think about it, have you read Vance's other fantasy series, the Lyonesse trilogy? If you enjoyed the Dying Earth, you may well enjoy that one.

I would recommend to everybody the touching tale known as Hop on Pop. :)

Hmmm, well, it depends what you like really. Heres a few:

Must read:

1984, George Orwell. Simply stunning, must be read

Animal Farm, Orwell. Again, a brilliant novel, a satire on politics and class

Science Fiction:

The Two Georges, Harry Turtledove. The pinnacle of Alternate History abd a brilliant read.

Jingo, Terry Pratchett. A great read, hilariously funny, with a subtext that makes you think.

I could go on....it all depends on what you like really. If you can post any favourite genres, I'll try and pick out a few more

"Catch-22" if you want to laugh or are feeling political, some H.P Lovecraft if you want to be afraid, and "Bel Canto" if you're looking for something more realistic and emotional. All good stuff.

Ah! Almost forgot. Read "Brave New World" if you're into that whole anti-utopian thing. Better than 1984 in my opinion.

'For whom the bell tolls' by Hemingway is pretty good

EDIT: but if you're into stuff like 1984 and Brave new world, I can recommend 'Globalia' by Rufin, it paints a very realistic picture of the future.
It is really scary, because most of the things he describes are already set in motion as we speak. (I'm talking about separtion between the rich and the poor world, the increasing control of the government over citizens as a reaction to terrorism and the increasing, mindless consumption)
Also, it's very easyly readable (or was it -ible?)

Ah! Almost forgot. Read "Brave New World" if you're into that whole anti-utopian thing. Better than 1984 in my opinion.
That gets my vote as well.
Have you read We by Zamiatin?

strainge doings and or 900 grandmothers
both anthologies of r.a. lafferty's short stories
(from whence my nation's name of cameroi!)

look for in sciffy section of one of those stores that sell and buyback used paperbacks

lafferty left this world in 2002.
there's also a fanshrine site but i forget the url

=^^=
.../\...

I think Jack Vance's "Dying Earth" series are about the best books I ever read. Especially the middle two with Cugel are superb: "The Eyes of the Overworld" and "Cugel's Saga." They take place in the far future when the sun is going out, and people prefer magic to science. Your turn.

I'd recommend a book on English grammar, then you'd know that you should have phrased your question, "Recommend a book to me." Usually, a "please" can be used before or after that phrase as well.

Come On, Doesn't Anyone Read Forgotten Realms? I Started About A Year And A Half Ago. I've Read All Of The Drizzt Sagas Up To The Lone Drow (Which I Am Reading Now) I've Also Read The Crystal Shard (Some People Don't Consider This Part Of The Drizzt Saga, And It Really Isn't) I'm Planning To Read The Cleric Quintet As Soon As I Finish Hunter Blades. I've Also Read The Year Of The Rouge Dragons Book One. Planning To Finish It Up After I Read Cleric. And God Damn, Can Someone Remind Me Who The Original Four People Were In The Main Characters Dragon Hunting Group (Class/Race Wise, Not Name Wise) I Remeber The "Pretty Boy" Priest Of Lathander, The Artic Dwarf And The Main Character. Can't Remeber Who That God Damned Fourth Person Is.

I just finished 'Destined to witness', the autobiography of the son of a Liberian diplomat and a German nurse, living in Nazi-Germany.
Quite touching.
Among the authors I enjoyed are Terry Pratchett, Rafik Schami, James Clavell, Fritz Nietzsche, Nick Hornby, Frank McCourt, Robert Harris, Tad Williams, Heinrich Heine, and my personal god of absurd novels, Matt Ruff.

1984, George Orwell. Simply stunning, must be read
GAH!!!! One of the worst I've ever read! It made me question my happy little rose coloured world. *sob*
Really, it was a great book but i didn't like b/c 1. It was required so of course I would hate it. 2. I like happy endings. If I remember it right that isn't a happy ending.
It was really well writen and I was rivited but if I don't like the ending it isn't worth reading for me personally.

GAH!!!! One of the worst I've ever read! It made me question my happy little rose coloured world. *sob*
Really, it was a great book but i didn't like b/c 1. It was required so of course I would hate it. 2. I like happy endings. If I remember it right that isn't a happy ending.
It was really well writen and I was rivited but if I don't like the ending it isn't worth reading for me personally.

The ending's happy......for the commies

Come On, Doesn't Anyone Read Forgotten Realms? I Started About A Year And A Half Ago. I've Read All Of The Drizzt Sagas Up To The Lone Drow (Which I Am Reading Now) I've Also Read The Crystal Shard (Some People Don't Consider This Part Of The Drizzt Saga, And It Really Isn't) I'm Planning To Read The Cleric Quintet As Soon As I Finish Hunter Blades. I've Also Read The Year Of The Rouge Dragons Book One. Planning To Finish It Up After I Read Cleric. And God Damn, Can Someone Remind Me Who The Original Four People Were In The Main Characters Dragon Hunting Group (Class/Race Wise, Not Name Wise) I Remeber The "Pretty Boy" Priest Of Lathander, The Artic Dwarf And The Main Character. Can't Remeber Who That God Damned Fourth Person Is.
No.
I'd sooner read something where the author actually owns the intellectual property. I'm funny like that.

I'd recommend a book on English grammar, then you'd know that you should have phrased your question, "Recommend a book to me." Usually, a "please" can be used before or after that phrase as well.
:rolleyes:
We aren't writing our disertation. This isn't english class.
*shuffles inability-to-use-commas behind her*

Try Elizabeth Bear's trilogy. The books are Hammered, Scardown, and Worldwired. The world is in an environmental mess, China and Canada are at each other's throats, aliens are watching, and the only things that can save the world are an AI with a warped sense of humor, nanobots and starship pilots who are wired into the AI. It's much better than my description makes it sound.

Ooo, How Could I've Forgotten? The Dune Series! Those Books Are Awesome. The Author Died In The Middle Of Writing The 7th One, And His Son Is Too Lazy To Pick Up Where He Left Off, Even Though The Son Has Written About Six Prequel Books.

Shame on you all!

Company by Max Barry!

:p

Shame on you all!

Company by Max Barry!

:p

Agh! Damnit! How Could I Have Possibly Betrayed Max Barry! I Love His Books, Even Though I'm More Of A Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fella.

Ooo, How Could I've Forgotten? The Dune Series! Those Books Are Awesome. The Author Died In The Middle Of Writing The 7th One, And His Son Is Too Lazy To Pick Up Where He Left Off, Even Though The Son Has Written About Six Prequel Books.
Come off it: Dune, Dune Messiah and Chapterhouse Dune are pretty good, the rest stink. Herbert did much better work elsewhere.

Agh! Damnit! How Could I Have Possibly Betrayed Max Barry! I Love His Books, Even Though I'm More Of A Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fella.

I only mention it because I saw him last night and picked up a copy. ;)

The ending's happy......for the commies

OK here we go....
1984 Wasn't criticism on communist regimes, it was criticism on ALL totalitarian regimes (mind you I'm not a commie) by writing it, he also tried to warn 'western' countries from becoming like that.

Well, You Could Read The Blackbird Trilogy. You Probably Won't Find It, Concerning The Fact That I'm The One Who Wrote It, And I Have The Only Copy In My Closet....

How about something to bore you to death?

Let's see on my plate are

The manuals for the Mirapoint mail server
Teach yourself Perl in 21 days(a friend want's my opinion of it)
Company
Mountain Gorillas : Three Decades of Research at Karisoke
Windows 2000 and 2003 resource kits.

HEY wake up! :D

Ah! Almost forgot. Read "Brave New World" if you're into that whole anti-utopian thing. Better than 1984 in my opinion.
Not a chance.

Well, You Could Read The Blackbird Trilogy. You Probably Won't Find It, Concerning The Fact That I'm The One Who Wrote It, And I Have The Only Copy In My Closet....
Did you capitalize every word in it? If not, I might even ask you to share some of it.

(Manufacturing consent, necessary illusions and the world is flat)

And than the killer angels- Michael sharra

and then the jeff sharra books

Did you capitalize every word in it? If not, I might even ask you to share some of it.
No, I Only Capitalize Every Word In Non-Formal Communication. I Started Writing It Two Years Ago. Made An Infinite Amount Of Edits On It As My Book Styles Changed (As In, Started In When I Was 11, Now I'm 13). Each Book Is About 300 Pages Long. For Someone Who's Never Written Books Before, And Is 13 Years Old, My Friends Say I'm A Good Author. But Then Again, They're My Friends.

Ah! Almost forgot. Read "Brave New World" if you're into that whole anti-utopian thing. Better than 1984 in my opinion.
Correct! But don't read Island.

No, I Only Capitalize Every Word In Non-Formal Communication. I Started Writing It Two Years Ago. Made An Infinite Amount Of Edits On It As My Book Styles Changed (As In, Started In When I Was 11, Now I'm 13). Each Book Is About 300 Pages Long. For Someone Who's Never Written Books Before, And Is 13 Years Old, My Friends Say I'm A Good Author. But Then Again, They're My Friends.
Kudos to you for writing at that early an age- I hope you keep it up, I unfortunately dropped it later.

Anyhow, would you mind sharing just why you do the capitalization thing? I have had my own phases of, umm, irregular spelling, but you should realize that this makes it rather hard for people to read your posts, especially when they get longer.

Correct! But don't read Island.
After Many A Summer is wonderful, and Chrome Yellow.
You're not wrong about Island, though...
:(

Kudos to you for writing at that early an age- I hope you keep it up, I unfortunately dropped it later.

Anyhow, would you mind sharing just why you do the capitalization thing? I have had my own phases of, umm, irregular spelling, but you should realize that this makes it rather hard for people to read your posts, especially when they get longer.

1. Makes Me Feel Happy

2. Sometimes I Have No Idea Why

3. Just Be Happy I Don't Capitalize Your Quotes

4. Possible Compulsive Disorder, Who Knows?

After Many A Summer is wonderful, and Chrome Yellow.
You're not wrong about Island, though...
:(

Agree about Chrome Yellow. Started Point Counter Point 4 times, IIRC, and finished it only by applying all strength of will I possessed at that time. I don't want to overly judge a book I don't think I understood, but..that was one hell of a read, not in a good sense.

Has anyone every read "I, Lucifer." ? I think thats the title. I remember seeing someone on here saying it was a book written from Satan's point of view. Thought I might read it but wanted to see if the person who mentioned it before might be in this thread and could give me the down low on it.

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

Sci-fi about a child-warrior who saves the world.

Don't have much time to read fiction but "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a good 'think' book

nonfiction

"The New Middle East" Shimon Peres Ideas on Mid-East Peace and post-war development.
"1491" Charles Mann A view of American Indian culture before Culumbus.
"Our Endangered Values" Jimmy Carter Ideas on values beyond the abortion debate.

Has anyone every read "I, Lucifer." ? I think thats the title. I remember seeing someone on here saying it was a book written from Satan's point of view. Thought I might read it but wanted to see if the person who mentioned it before might be in this thread and could give me the down low on it.
I've not read that one. The closest that springs to mind is The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis.

Neil Gaiman's "American Gods".
I've read it for the third time now and still uncovered new details. Brillantly written and highly suspenseful.

For German readers: Herr Lehman by Sven Regener

Agreed with American Gods. I've got the 3 different versions that I know exist (bar the hideously expensive 1000 print limited edition copy) and each one has little details that add to each other. It's a magnificent book and so compelling. Just wish I was half as good at some of the coin tricks...:D

Also, Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton (Epic yet very personal sci-fi). That said any of his books would be a good read, but the Nights Dawn trilogy and Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are all excellent.

snip Also, Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton (Epic yet very personal sci-fi). That said any of his books would be a good read, but the Nights Dawn trilogy and Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are all excellent.
I was going to suggest these, thankyou for doing so. Am nearly done with Pandora's Star, but the Nights Dawn Trilogy would have be my favourite books by far.
Stephen Donaldson's "The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever" is also very good in my opinion.
Lastly, Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy is a rather fascinating read. Mind you, for some stupid stupid reason, the last time I read it, I read the third volume second by mistake. Think I had a very long blonde moment during those 2 weeks:(

_Steel Beach_ by John Varley. :)

Thrre Men on a Bummel - Jerome K JeromeErm, at the risk of sounding silly, isn't it "Three Men In a Boat"? I love that one as well. I highly reccoment the book "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis as a follow-up to Jerome K. Jerome. Great.


snippedIs the there a point in asking you why you Capitalize Every Fucking Word You Type, and if you could maybe stop?

Also: I just started reading the original Dracula by Bram Soker - it is good.

A Max Barry book. Sorry.

Seriously, I recommend Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I liked it because it offered a style of writing different from the ones that I usually encounter and the main character seemed to be scarily close to describing me.

Earthsea Quartet if you're into good fantasy. The Hobbit, the Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings are absolute must's even if you're not into it. The Republic by Plato. Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche. Nice to get started with :p

- Wheel of Time series - Robert Jordan
- Dune series - Frank Herbert
- The Coldfire Trilogy - C.S. Friedman
- Anything by Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space trilogy, Century Rain, Pushing Ice)
- Sword of Truth series - Terry Goodkind
- The Wayfarer Redemption series (only the first three - the new three are stupid) - Sara Douglass
- The Abhorsen Trilogy - Garth Nix
- Otherland series - Tad Williams
- Charles Stross' Accelerando, Singularity Sky, and Iron Sunrise
- Any and all short stories by H.P. Lovecraft; the best are The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, Dreams in the Witch House, The Rats in the Walls, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, The Shadow Out of Time, and The Thing on the Doorstep.
- Dan Brown's anything
- Brian Greene - The Elegant Universe, The Fabric fo the Cosmos, and A First Course in String Theory (if you happen to like math - heavy heavy math)
- A Song of Ice and Fire series - George R.R. Martin

Is the there a point in asking you why you Capitalize Every Fucking Word You Type, and if you could maybe stop?


I Now Officialy Hate You. People Say Stuff Like "Dude, Why DO You Capitalize Every Word?" Or "Can You Please Stop Capitalizing Every Word?" But Frankly, Your Comment Is The Rudest I Will Most Probably I Ever. So, Screw You.

So....why DO you capitalize every word?

So....why DO you capitalize every word?

No Idea. I Just Like To. It Makes Me Happy. Maybe A Compusilve Disorder. I Don't Know.

Damn annoying and hard to read to be honest. I tend to skip posts written like that.

Why do you do it again?:confused:

Damn annoying and hard to read to be honest. I tend to skip posts written like that.

Why do you do it again?:confused:
I guess, to be different and unique? :rolleyes: There are better ways of accomplishing that though.

I'd suggest Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs.

Robert Jordan's "The Wheel Of Time" series I find fantastic. Also Tad William's "Otherland".

Otherland is also set in the future, but only 100-200 years maybe. Great read.

I can't believe you'd recommend something as profound and beautiful as Otherland and such a hack job as the Wheel of Time in the same sentence. HE'S JUST DOING IT TO PAY HIS MORTGAGE KIDS, DON'T SUPPORT HIM.

Neil Gaiman's "American Gods".
I've read it for the third time now and still uncovered new details. Brillantly written and highly suspenseful.

For German readers: Herr Lehman by Sven Regener

Brilliant book. Also Neverwhere, and Smoke and Mirrors and Anansi Boys, all genius.

George RR Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire. Starts with A Game Of Thrones. Awesome, gritty high fantasy, but it's relatively light on magic (especially compared to, say, The Wheel Of Time, which I would also recommend)

A Game of Thrones is the only fantasy series to engage my interest past my teens. To say that i adore George RR is to say i breathe oxygen...

One off fantasies, on the other hand, you can't get better than Guy Gavriel Kay - i'm a hardbitten cynical soul, but "Tigana" and "The Lions of Al Rassan" make my eyes moist every time.

Now I think about it, have you read Vance's other fantasy series, the Lyonesse trilogy? If you enjoyed the Dying Earth, you may well enjoy that one.

Lyonesse i read what seems like aeons ago (but was probably only the late 80s) and i enjoyed largely. But why has no one mentioned the Nine Princes in Amber series?

Hmmm, well, it depends what you like really. Heres a few:

Must read:

1984, George Orwell. Simply stunning, must be read

Animal Farm, Orwell. Again, a brilliant novel, a satire on politics and class

Science Fiction:

The Two Georges, Harry Turtledove. The pinnacle of Alternate History abd a brilliant read.

Jingo, Terry Pratchett. A great read, hilariously funny, with a subtext that makes you think.

I could go on....it all depends on what you like really. If you can post any favourite genres, I'll try and pick out a few more


The Two Georges wasn't only Harry Turtledove, also wassisface, new york actor. Always makes me think he's Jewish but might not be. You know the fella. Richard Dreyfuss, thats the man. Not Turtledove's best, and nowhere near the best alternative history (for that is "the man in the high castle" by Phillip K Dick)

All Pratchett is godlike. I especially like the City Watch novels because...well, because every single one of the buggers has a moment (usually involving Sam Vimes) where i want to punch the air and say "YES!"

"Catch-22" if you want to laugh or are feeling political, some H.P Lovecraft if you want to be afraid, and "Bel Canto" if you're looking for something more realistic and emotional. All good stuff.

Lovecraft is dire, badly written pap. King shits on Lovecraft from a great height.

Agreed with Catch-22 though.

Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth

Lovecraft is dire, badly written pap. King shits on Lovecraft from a great height.

Agreed with Catch-22 though.

:confused:

No, no it isn't. Stephen King is the king of commercial horror, or a horror coporate whore, but Lovecraft works on man's deepest fears, never falling into the blood and gore trap that so many horror writers do.

As for Gaiman... his teaming up with Pratchett to make Good Omens was sheer genius.

I have been reading a lot of history and historical fiction lately, Cornwell's Sharpe series, Hornblower and some others

A few books i've read recently that I like:

Looking Backword by Edward Bellemy- If you like socialist utopias.

The Long Walk by Steven King

Ruled Brittania by Harry Turtledove- Or any of his books, for that matter

Two really good ones reccommended that I'll second: Ender's Game and Pillars of the Earth - both books you can read more than once.

As for recent readings... The Kite Runner- beautiful and disturbing

and

The Last Voyage of Christopher Columbus - actually inticing historical read

Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth

Outstanding book! One of Follet's best.

I Now Officialy Hate You. ... So, Screw You.Ouch, that's harsh. sorry?

But, not to be off topic, for any CanLit buffs (or anyone at all), and excellent one is Elizabeth Hay's Garbo Laughs. Its a great story about movie freaks.

That gets my vote as well.
Have you read We by Zamiatin?

I think you are the first person that I have known that has read We (Мы). It was a good book indeed.

I suppose it depends on the genre one is interested in that would guide my recommendation for reading:

Childrens books: The Little Prince by Antoine de St.Exupery
Nonfiction: The Tao of Physics by Frijtov Capra
Science Fiction: This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman
Fantasy: The "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind
Action/adventure: anything by Tom Clancy

Can't say there's anything I can recommend in the way of horror, western, romance or mystery though. Just not my things.

- Anything by Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space trilogy, Century Rain, Pushing Ice)
- Sword of Truth series - Terry Goodkind
- The Abhorsen Trilogy - Garth Nix Seconded! I especially like Sabriel by Nix. :)

Damn annoying and hard to read to be honest. I tend to skip posts written like that.

Why do you do it again?:confused:

Just Look At The Many Posts I Have Posted About Why I Type Like This. Jeez People, Can't You Accept Something Different Than You?!?!?! TYPING RACISTS!

Any thing by Tom Clancy or Jack Higgins.

The Phantom Tollbooth
Yes, it's a kids book. However, it will always be my favorite. Everyong should read it at least once.

Charles Stross' Accelerando, The Atrocity Archive, and Singularity Sky.
John C. Wright's Golden Age Trilogy.
Tony Daniels' Metaplanetary and Superluminal.

The Caine Mutiny

Das Boot

what i mentioned before, the lafferty short story compilations, weren't anything overly profound nor intended to be, just good enjoyable fun.

for what i consider to be 'the great american novel', that would have to be robert hienline's strainger in a strainge land.

another good one, in an entirely different vein, would be ursula k leguine's always comming home.

my favorite of her's though would have to be, oddly enough, left hand of darkness. fallowed by word for world is forrest, the above mentioned always comming home, then lath of heavin, and so one.

while many have praised her earthsea series, only the first book of it was realy all that entertaining to me, but then the 'romantic' elements of traditional fantasy don't do all that much for me. leguines strong points are her believable anthropological speculations, well grounded as they are in among other things her actual childhood experiences.

she must have been a wonderful english teacher too. i wish i could have had her as mine when i was in high school, although the one i had was pretty good.

as for hienline, i think he was at his best when he stepped outside himself as he did to write strainger in a strange land and not in his blood and glory mode as in starship troopers or glory road.

leguine, at any rate, is still with us and still doing wonderful things.

hienline, like anderson, asamov, lafferty and so many others, of their, and really my, era, no longer is.

=^^=
.../\...

:confused:

No, no it isn't. Stephen King is the king of commercial horror, or a horror coporate whore, but Lovecraft works on man's deepest fears, never falling into the blood and gore trap that so many horror writers do.

As for Gaiman... his teaming up with Pratchett to make Good Omens was sheer genius.

I have been reading a lot of history and historical fiction lately, Cornwell's Sharpe series, Hornblower and some others

I have never in my life found any Lovecraft even vaguely scary. King, on the other hand, has scared the bejesus out of me quite a few times. Perhaps thats because King actually writes well rounded characters, not stock yokels. Perhaps it's because King is the master of the inner voice whereas Lovecrafts characters don't seem to have them. Personally, i think it's because Lovecraft is by far the inferior writer - his prose is turgid, his mythos *should* only appeal to 15 year old Slayer fans and his characterisation stretches as far as wooden.

Good Omens was excellent. One of the most interesting things about it was you couldn't really tell which bits were Pratchett and which bits were Gaiman.

Sharpe is passable to good although it did go on a bit too far (i think i prefer his later, more blood and guts stuff set in the medieval/Dark Ages era).

I just realised no-one on here has mentioned Tim Powers, so i will....

Tim Powers.

Job done.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephensen

By far the best single book I've ever read.

And of course, read Max's stuff.

Prime Obsession by John Derbyshire

Little Black Sambo
Book oF bunny Suicides I & II

If you're going to read some of Max's stuff why not read some of Chuck Paluhnuik work? I'd recommend Choke..

I Now Officialy Hate You. People Say Stuff Like "Dude, Why DO You Capitalize Every Word?" Or "Can You Please Stop Capitalizing Every Word?" But Frankly, Your Comment Is The Rudest I Will Most Probably I Ever. So, Screw You.
I enjoy your creativity. Damon Runyon always writes in present tense. I love his work. If you wrote as much as you say you wrote then "here, here!" You're an inspiration to me, because I like writing. I hope you get your book published some day, I might just read it...even if it is capitalized. It defines your writing style, and adds a spark of individuality to your work.

Huis Clos, a play by Jean-Paul Sartre
La Condition Humaine, by André Malraux
Hamlet
Ten Little Niggers, by Agatha Christie (renamed as And Then There Were None)
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim, ibid
The Two Koreas, by Don Oberdorfer
China: a History, by Arthur Cotterel

Just a few suggestions of books I've read and really enjoyed, in no particular order and of various categories... The latter two are non-fiction.

I personally enjoyed The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb my favourite books id have to say.. but it all depends on what you like

Snow Crash by Neal Stephensen

By far the best single book I've ever read.

And of course, read Max's stuff.

The Stephenson "System of the world" trilogy is fantastic.

Huis Clos, a play by Jean-Paul Sartre
La Condition Humaine, by André Malraux
Hamlet
Ten Little Niggers, by Agatha Christie (renamed as And Then There Were None)
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim, ibid
The Two Koreas, by Don Oberdorfer
China: a History, by Arthur Cotterel

Just a few suggestions of books I've read and really enjoyed, in no particular order and of various categories... The latter two are non-fiction.

No offense to you, but heart of darkness wasn't such a good book. I guess the storyline was good, and the style in which it was written was good in a way, and also the imagery and ideas behind it were interesting. But seriously, the way it was written was to complicated to call it a good book to read, unless you studyed literature and even then, i know a literature teacher who had similar ideas to mine.

I'd recommend: Master and Margarita by Bulgakov, The Handmaid's tale by margret Atwood. I thought 1984 by George Orwell was a very good book too.

1984- Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Gray- Wilde
Tokyo- Mo Hayder
Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
The Great Gatsby- Fitzgerald
Shadows of the Wind- Jose Maria Olazobal
Il Principe- Machiavelli

Book oF bunny Suicides I & II
oooooohh. Every time I go to (any) bookstore I just have to go and check few Bunny Suicides. Can you get much darker (and more hilarious) than that.

I'd recommend: Master and Margarita by Bulgakov
Probably the number one on my fiction list.

Daniil Harms (short stories, don't know the name in English) for absurdity

Herman Hesse: Steppenwolf for every teenager out there (and older ones if someone hasn't read it yet)

Easy, entertaining, funny and makes you think (hopefully): Vonnegut, Erlend Loe

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: just beautiful


I finished Strugatskis' Stalker yesterday. It was ok. Now I have to see that movie again. IMO the movie is better but then again, the one you see/read first is usually better and that's no surprise.

snipStephen Donaldson's "The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever" is also very good in my opinion.
:(
Indeed, indeed, sadly my county stopped carrying the books in any library except central. I have no car so I can't get over there. Thus the story is paused at the Great Tree... :(

The Stephenson "System of the world" trilogy is fantastic.

Seconded. Basically, anything Neal Stephenson is worth reading, if you're willing to spend the time and effort of plowing through several hundred pages, and keeping track of several storylines at the same time. (Note - the trilogy is called the Baroque Cycle, The System of the World is the third book - the first two are Quicksilver and The Confusion.)

If you have the time try Ulysses by James Joyce.

I enjoy your creativity. Damon Runyon always writes in present tense. I love his work. If you wrote as much as you say you wrote then "here, here!" You're an inspiration to me, because I like writing. I hope you get your book published some day, I might just read it...even if it is capitalized. It defines your writing style, and adds a spark of individuality to your work.

Umm... Wow... Ok... Thanks. But Most Of The Time I'm Editing Like Hell (Since I Don't Exactly Have My Own Editor) And Each Books Is About 300 Pages Long, Using Size 8 Text And Times New Romans Font. So Far I've Written 3, Currently Writing My 4th (Which Is The First Book Of The Prequel Series Of My First Series). Well, A Book I Would Recommend For Children To Age 13 Would Be The Redwall Series. Good Little Animals Killing Bad Little Animals! What Could Be More Fun?

Seconded. Basically, anything Neal Stephenson is worth reading, if you're willing to spend the time and effort of plowing through several hundred pages, and keeping track of several storylines at the same time. (Note - the trilogy is called the Baroque Cycle, The System of the World is the third book - the first two are Quicksilver and The Confusion.)

Yeah, sorry, hungover today, mind was a blank and i just remembered the last one i read.

I personally enjoyed The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb my favourite books id have to say.. but it all depends on what you like

I've only been able to find the first one.

GAH!!!! One of the worst I've ever read! It made me question my happy little rose coloured world. *sob*
Really, it was a great book but i didn't like b/c 1. It was required so of course I would hate it. 2. I like happy endings. If I remember it right that isn't a happy ending.
It was really well writen and I was rivited but if I don't like the ending it isn't worth reading for me personally.

(On 1984)
Ah. You obviously didn't read past the 'end' of the book (without giving too much away to people who haven't read it): there is a section after the end of the narrative which implies things may not be so bleak.
Also someone else commented that 'it was a happy ending - for the commies!' Y'see, Orwell was a democratic socialist, and unlike many people at the time he saw that the USSR under Stalin was frickin' evil. He was anti-totalitarian in both the form of Nazism and Soviet-style communism, this is why the story does have a depiction of a totalitarian society which has elements of both the Third Reich and USSR under Stalin.

ANYWAY, I'd recommend 1984, also pretty much any of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Mort is a good one to get a feeling for the style of humour. As a brief guide for the series, it is best to work your way through from the start (The Colour of Magic) as some of it is related, but loosely so: you can pick up wherever and work your way back if you like. The first few books in the series tend to be more Pratchett consciously satirising the fantasy genre, but after that he makes many wonderful comments on human nature, the nature of religion and belief(Small Gods is superb for this, and great generally), racism/intolerance (Jingo especially), politics; pretty much anything and everything at some point. The politics stuff is great: Pratchett can poke fun at whichever belief you might have, whether authoritarian, socialist, liberal. THE GUY MAKES YOU THINK, is what i'm trying to say! The series is now in its 30th novel and still going strong!
(phew... anyway, enough Pratchett hagiography...)
Oh yeah, also the Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson if you want some serious, admirably detailed sci-fi on colonising Mars. A couple of centuries covered, with many of the main central characters all the way through. Great stuff, if getting sadly less plausible by the day...

(On 1984)
Ah. You obviously didn't read past the 'end' of the book (without giving too much away to people who haven't read it): there is a section after the end of the narrative which implies things may not be so bleak.
Also someone else commented that 'it was a happy ending - for the commies!' Y'see, Orwell was a democratic socialist, and unlike many people at the time he saw that the USSR under Stalin was frickin' evil. He was anti-totalitarian in both the form of Nazism and Soviet-style communism, this is why the story does have a depiction of a totalitarian society which has elements of both the Third Reich and USSR under Stalin.

ANYWAY, I'd recommend 1984, also pretty much any of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Mort is a good one to get a feeling for the style of humour. As a brief guide for the series, it is best to work your way through from the start (The Colour of Magic) as some of it is related, but loosely so: you can pick up wherever and work your way back if you like. The first few books in the series tend to be more Pratchett consciously satirising the fantasy genre, but after that he makes many wonderful comments on human nature, the nature of religion and belief(Small Gods is superb for this, and great generally), racism/intolerance (Jingo especially), politics; pretty much anything and everything at some point. The politics stuff is great: Pratchett can poke fun at whichever belief you might have, whether authoritarian, socialist, liberal. THE GUY MAKES YOU THINK, is what i'm trying to say! The series is now in its 30th novel and still going strong!
(phew... anyway, enough Pratchett hagiography...)
Oh yeah, also the Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson if you want some serious, admirably detailed sci-fi on colonising Mars. A couple of centuries covered, with many of the main central characters all the way through. Great stuff, if getting sadly less plausible by the day...


could never get on with the Mars books, but "Days of Rice and Salt" by KSR is a magnificent book.

Letters from the Earth, by Mark Twain

...it will make you think.

The Dark Tower series by Steven King, Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini is a good Fantasy series (not complete yet though)

"The Snow Leopard" Peter Matthiessen
"The Good Earth" Pearl S. Buck
"Catch-22" Joseph Heller
"Stranger in a Strange Land" Robert Heinlein
"The Teachings of Don Juan" Carlos Castaneda
"On the Road" Jack Kerouac
"Illusions" Richard Bach
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Ken Kesey
"An Introduction to Zen Buddhism" D.T. Suzuki
"Tao Te Ching" Lao Tzu
"The Quiet American" Graham Greene
"Flatland" Edwin A. Abbott
"Heart of Darkness" Joseph Conrad
"Burmese Days" George Orwell
"Bartleby the Scrivener" Herman Melville
"Nightmare Abbey" Thomas Love Peacock
"Right Ho, Jeeves" P.G. Wodehouse
"Put Out More Flags" Evelyn Waugh
"Mutant Message Down Under" Marlo Morgan

"Illusions" Richard Bach

One of my favorite books, t'is. :p

I recommend The Keys to the Kingdom (series) by Garth Nix. Each book is short, sweet and leaves you wanting for more. Some of my favorite books:

* Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
* Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
* Montmorency (juvenile fiction) - Eleanor Updale
* The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
* The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
* Out - Natsuo Kirino

If you want a laugh and a book that is just filled with optimism look no further than Danny Walace- either 'join me!' or 'yes man' it doesn't matter as they both are hillarious

David Eddings is a classic fanasty author, been writing for over a generation *he started when my dad was a kid* and is still releasing books. Start with "Pawn of Prophecy" and go from there! Belgarath rules! Also, if you like your fanasty a little dark try the Cold Fire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman, starts with "Black Sun Rising" and has a bit of sci-fi base to it, very good.

If you're looking for non-fiction, I would recommend the book The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. It's a very interesting take on how economics has shaped the last decade.

'The Ragged Trousered Philantropists' by Robert Tressell.

David Eddings is a classic fanasty author, been writing for over a generation *he started when my dad was a kid* and is still releasing books. Start with "Pawn of Prophecy" and go from there! Belgarath rules! Also, if you like your fanasty a little dark try the Cold Fire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman, starts with "Black Sun Rising" and has a bit of sci-fi base to it, very good.
If you want pastiches of Tolkein, surely Terry Brooks and Tanith Lee both do them a lot better, though?