NationStates Jolt Archive

In recent times, I have found myself in somewhat of a dilemna. I love reading, but I don't know any good books to read. As with all the problems, the solution to this one lies within NSG, so I ask you: know any good books?

To give you an idea of what I like in books, these are some of my favorite authors. First group is my favorite, and so on.

Group 1.
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Joseph Heller (Catch-22)

Group 2
Max Barry
Kurt Vonnegut
Robert Heinlien
Joseph Heller (all his other books)

Group 3
George Orwell
Garth Nix
plenty of others I can't remember

Anyone have any reccomendations?

I read mostly books about the history/politics of Africa, but if that's not your cup of tea, I probably can't help you.

The three book ideas I have swimming around in my head, whenever I get around to writing them and have them published. :p

Sorry, but that's all I got. Wish I could be of more help.

Judging by the authors's youve named, Id recommend Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America

In recent times, I have found myself in somewhat of a dilemna. I love reading, but I don't know any good books to read. As with all the problems, the solution to this one lies within NSG, so I ask you: know any good books?

Lawrence Watt-Evans - Legends of Ethshar Series

I rarely read fiction anymore, at the moment I am rereading the Collected Works of Lenin and also some Antonio Gramsci.

Since you seem to like creative and amusing fantasy, how about Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell or Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog? Those are both favorites of mine.

I rarely read fiction anymore, at the moment I am rereading the Collected Works of Lenin and also some Antonio Gramsci.




Good call. He's my guy.

Perhaps Clive Barker?

I write some bizarre short stories you might like.

Eric Flint's 1632. It's about a West Verginia town that somehow ends up in Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War, and how they cope.

I rarely read fiction anymore, at the moment I am rereading the Collected Works of Lenin and also some Antonio Gramsci.

Why is it completely unsurprising that you only read stuff written by communists? :rolleyes:

I'd go with Terry Pratchett, because he has a good consistancy with the books he writes to make it interesting.
I'm not saying he's perfect but at least he admits to being fallible.

In recent times, I have found myself in somewhat of a dilemna. I love reading, but I don't know any good books to read. As with all the problems, the solution to this one lies within NSG, so I ask you: know any good books?

To give you an idea of what I like in books, these are some of my favorite authors. First group is my favorite, and so on.

Group 1.
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Joseph Heller (Catch-22)

Group 2
Max Barry
Kurt Vonnegut
Robert Heinlien
Joseph Heller (all his other books)

Group 3
George Orwell
Garth Nix
plenty of others I can't remember

Anyone have any reccomendations?

The Source by James A Michener

Eric Flint's 1632. It's about a West Verginia town that somehow ends up in Germany in the middle of the Thirty Years War, and how they cope.

YES! I love this book. Some of the sequels get a litte bit too political, but 1632 rocks.

I also like pretty much anything by Mercedes Lackey. Or if you like gaiman, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series has the same dry British humour and sense of the absurd.

I fall back on the classics whenever I hit a roadblock of disinterest like that- don't let your old highschool reading list sour you on the classics. :)

I really like Patricia Cornwell for recreational/zone out reading, her Scarpetta novels specifically, you should read them in order.

Also, if you're fond of mysteries, Father Andrew M Greeley's Bishop Blackie books are great. I'm fond of The Bishop in the White House, The bishop at Sea, and Happy are Those Who Mourn. White Smoke is also an excellent analysis of the current trends within the Catholic Church.

In recent times, I have found myself in somewhat of a dilemna. I love reading, but I don't know any good books to read. As with all the problems, the solution to this one lies within NSG, so I ask you: know any good books?
Douglas Adams is definitely worth a go if you haven't already. The Hitchhikers' Guide is pretty epic (I preferred the radio series, personally) but Dirk Gently is great as an off-hand read.

Also, you could try Haruki Murakami. His stuff is gold if you don't mind the odd Japanese cultural oddities.

In recent times, I have found myself in somewhat of a dilemna. I love reading, but I don't know any good books to read. As with all the problems, the solution to this one lies within NSG, so I ask you: know any good books?

To give you an idea of what I like in books, these are some of my favorite authors. First group is my favorite, and so on.

Group 1.
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Joseph Heller (Catch-22)

Group 2
Max Barry
Kurt Vonnegut
Robert Heinlien
Joseph Heller (all his other books)

Group 3
George Orwell
Garth Nix
plenty of others I can't remember

Anyone have any reccomendations?

We have some taste in common, so I'll copy an old list with a few of my favorites (hopefully the links are still good):

Jeremy Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375724834/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance)

Colson Whitehead, The Intuitionist (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385493002/qid=1118473483/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385333781/qid=1118473516/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-0345811-1703011)

Sherman Alexie, Reservation Blues (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0446672351/qid=1118473546/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684853159/qid=1118473573/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060740450/qid=1118473600/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671746723/qid=1118473640/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age : Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553380966/qid=1118473672/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) (anything else by Stephenson is recommended as well, especially the System of the World series)

Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus : And Other Essays (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679733736/qid=1118473724/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-0345811-1703011?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

I'm afraid I could go on and on and on. Books are my greatest passion.

But I'll spare you all. ;)

I will add a recommendation for F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack (http://www.repairmanjack.com/works.htm#rjseries) series, anything by Neil Gaiman, any of the "Newford" Novels by Charles De Lint (http://www.sfsite.com/charlesdelint/newbook.htm), Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files (http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/), and any of the Burke novels (http://vachss.com/av_novels/burke_novels.html) by Andrew Vachss (download free samples here! (http://vachss.com/av_books/samples.html)).

For urban/dark fantasy, I like the Nightside books by Simon R green, and The Man With the Golden Torc has been pretty damned good so far. And someone mentioned Harry Dresden, i second that wholeheartedly.

Dammit, the ones I was going to recommed have already been suggested (Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adam, Neal Stephenson, etc)! :mad:

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
White Noise - Don Delilo
Mao II - Don Delilo
San Remo Drive - Leslie Epstien
Lamb - Christopher Moore
Ordinary People - Judith Guest
McTeague - Frank Norris
Getting Mother's Body - Suzan-Lori Parks
You Must Remember This - Joyce Carol Oates

Read If On A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino.

You'll either love it or hate it.

The Armchair Economist

by Steven Landsburg.

Its probably the most influential book I've ever read. It changed my life, if a book can do that.

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
White Noise - Don Delilo
Mao II - Don Delilo
San Remo Drive - Leslie Epstien
Lamb - Christopher Moore
Ordinary People - Judith Guest
McTeague - Frank Norris
Getting Mother's Body - Suzan-Lori Parks
You Must Remember This - Joyce Carol Oates

I didn't care for those two very much. The Things had one excellent chapter but I thought it was too depressing and I didn't like the writing style.

Aargh, I wrote down these book reccomendations, then forget to take the piece of paper with me to the bookstore. Anyway, thanks everyone, and I'll definitley look these guys up on my next trip there.

YES! I love this book. Some of the sequels get a litte bit too political, but 1632 rocks.

I also like pretty much anything by Mercedes Lackey. Or if you like gaiman, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series has the same dry British humour and sense of the absurd.

What... -what- is so appealing about Lackey? I've read several of her books, and have found them boring, two dimensional and borderline plagiarism in some cases.

On another note, Steven Brust. Good Author.

If you like Vonnegut and Orwell you should try Arthur C. Clark. He's got some interesting ideas about what the future could be like, and unlike many science fiction authors he's actually a good writer. I can't think of anyone else because a lot of good recommendations have been made already. Ray Bradbury also fits into that category. Flatland is another great social commentary/science fiction book, but you might not like things from the Victorian era. Don't buy flatland because it's free on the internet.

Sometimes when I get tired of novels (I don't know if that has happened to you, buy it can happen) I like to read a few non-fiction books. Jared Diamond is a great writer, and his best books are Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel. One is about how civilizations rise to power, another is how great civilizations can destroy themselves from within.

Girls Gone Wild

The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher. The SciFi TV series, while featuring an impressive Paul Blackthorne appearance, could not do the books justice. They really are a fantastic blend of almost detective fiction and sci-fi fantasy.

Also, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, if you have yet to read it. It truly is the greatest treatise on economics.

If you haven't read it already, I can recommend "Ender's game". One of the best books I've read so far; I quite literally had trouble putting it down (whereas usually I only read when time's going to waste anyway).

Douglas Adams is definitely worth a go if you haven't already. The Hitchhikers' Guide is pretty epic (I preferred the radio series, personally) but Dirk Gently is great as an off-hand read.

I support both the recommendation for the radio series and for Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and would like to add with double emphasis Last Chance to See, his IIRC only more or less non-fiction work, which is awesome.

Judging by your list, you might also want to catch up on Good Omens, a co-op effort by Pratchett and Neil Gailman.

Going by your list, I think that you might enjoy the works of Jasper Fforde (http://www.jasperfforde.com), whose first published book led Terry Pratchett to say that he would be watching out for this author's future works, and also the series of weird crime novels -- starring a PI called Louie Knight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Knight) -- that an author by the name of Malcolm Pryce set in the Welsh seaside town of Aberystwyth...

Robert Rankin and Tom Holt are similar to Pratchett in some ways.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is by far the greatest book I have ever read. Another good one is Unintended Consequences by John Ross.

Judging by the authors's youve named, Id recommend Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America

i know that is one of the best AH i have ever read, its a shame their is no sequel

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is by far the greatest book I have ever read.


What the hell?

I read mostly books about the history/politics of Africa, but if that's not your cup of tea, I probably can't help you.

If your still around I'm interested in that. I have a basic history of the Imperialistic Era down and I've read Human Rights Watch 2004 and paid extra attention to the section on Africa but maybe you could recommend me some books, please.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is by far the greatest book I have ever read. Another good one is Unintended Consequences by John Ross.

You've only read two books?

Judging by your list, you might also want to catch up on Good Omens, a co-op effort by Pratchett and Neil Gailman.

Yay for Good Omens. :D

One of the best books I ever read was called "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." The author of that book is Christopher Moore.
It's really irreverent and incredibly entertaining. Don't know if it would be your cup of tea or not, but I'll link (http://www.amazon.com/Lamb-Gospel-According-Christs-Childhood/dp/0380978407) you to a review.

In recent times, I have found myself in somewhat of a dilemna. I love reading, but I don't know any good books to read. As with all the problems, the solution to this one lies within NSG, so I ask you: know any good books?

To give you an idea of what I like in books, these are some of my favorite authors. First group is my favorite, and so on.

Group 1.
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Joseph Heller (Catch-22)

Group 2
Max Barry
Kurt Vonnegut
Robert Heinlien
Joseph Heller (all his other books)

Group 3
George Orwell
Garth Nix
plenty of others I can't remember

Anyone have any reccomendations?

The problem with picking Pratchett, is that he's pretty much top of his particular game. You can get similar 'genre' material from Douglas Adams (from whom, in all fairness, Pratchett basically stole the crown) Piers Anthony, Robert Rankin, etc... but (with the exception of Adams) most of it is just going to disappoint you.

Similarly, you're not going to find something like Gaiman, easily - but if it's his intense depth coupled with unusually attractive style that you like, there are some other people out there constructing worlds as prettily, carefully and thoughtfully: (Tolkein, obviously), Robert Jordan (perhaps), Julian May (especially her linked "Saga of Pliocene Exile" and "Galactic Milieu" series), and maybe Sheri Tepper (especially "Gate to Women's Country" and "Raising the Stones").

Read If On A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino.

You'll either love it or hate it.
Fucker, I was going to say that. Actually I was going to say Invisible Cities because I haven't read the one you mentioned...
I support both the recommendation for the radio series and for Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and would like to add with double emphasis Last Chance to See, his IIRC only more or less non-fiction work, which is awesome.

Judging by your list, you might also want to catch up on Good Omens, a co-op effort by Pratchett and Neil Gailman.
Both books have embarrassed me in public by causing laughing fits.


So, my suggestions are, based on the authors you dig-
Stanislaw Lem- If you turned the silly up on Kurt Vonnegut, you'd get Lem. There are a number of good Lem books, Futurlogical Congress, Cyberiad, or if you're for the more serious Solaris or Fiasco (though I should worn they are as dry as toast. Good, just ddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy)

If you mushed Lem and Vonnegut together, you'd get Karel Capek. He's the cat what brought us the term "robot' in his play R.U.R, but you should really read War With the Newts. Just fucking great. Satirical commentary on labor and nationalism.

Lois McMaster Bujold - the VorKosigan series
Michael Flynn (Rogue Star, Lodestar and others in this series)

I just thought I'd pop back in to second the nominations for Last Chance to See and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels, both of which are brilliant and too often overlooked.

Ayn Rand is the best G-grade erotica around, apart from that....

I didn't care for those two very much. The Things had one excellent chapter but I thought it was too depressing and I didn't like the writing style.

White noise is one of my favorite books, but is hard to get into (thanks, largely, to the white noise of the text). O'Brien can be a bit hard to get into

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels,
And his 'Jack Spratt's Casebook' (or 'Nursery Crimes') series, too... :)

(Bad news: According to his own website there won't be a new book from him this year, we'll have to wait until 2009... :()

I read mostly books about the history/politics of Africa, but if that's not your cup of tea, I probably can't help you.

You sound fun.

Letter's From the Earth, by Mark Twain. One of the best satires I've ever seen.