So, I’m looking for a new book to read and I’m open to suggestions. I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series (which was pretty good), and now I’m stumped. Anyone want to be helpful and give me some good book recommendations?
Some of my favorites:
His Dark Materials
A Prayer for Owen Meaney
The Dark Tower Series
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Catcher in the Rye
Hitchhiker’s Guide
The Ender’s Game Series
Cat’s Cradle
Never Let Me Go
Life of Pi
And the funny writers like Chuck Klosterman and David Sedaris (but not Dave Eggers because his pretentious self-involvement gets on my nerves after awhile)
Some terrible books (in my opinion):
The Road
On the Road
LOTR
Remains of the Day
Most Classics that kids are forced to read (with a few exceptions)
Every British Period Novel that I’ve ever tried to read.
Also, there was a book that I read once that I know I really enjoyed, but I barely remember it. All I know is that I think it was by an Asian author. A girl was the main character. It was mysterious with possible weird time travel involved. And the end takes place at a cabin (I think? possibly by the ocean?) and there’s a painting in the cabin that spurs some sort of memory or realization. …if this sounds familiar to anyone let me know. I’d really like to figure out what it was.
Try Connie Willis. If you like funny there’s Bellwether and To Say Nothing of The Dog. The Doomsday Book is excellent but deals with the Black Plague — so not cheerful. I haven’t read her two latest yet but she has one of the more interesting takes on time travel. Random Bellwether review: http://www.rambles.net/willis_wether.html
Have you ever read Terry Pratchett? Some of them are entertaining.
I’ll try Connie Willis. I haven’t heard of her, but after wiki-ing her she sounds great! Thanks!
I tried Terry Pratchett, but couldn’t get into the first book in his series. I’m told that if I keep reading it’s worth it, so maybe someday when I’m really hard up I’ll try again.
It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I enjoyed _The_Sparrow_ by Mary Doria Russell. The story is that we discover life on a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri (I think) and the Jesuits send a mission there and then it doesn’t go so well . . . sort of sci-fi and sort of nature of god, meaning of it all, why does life suck book. It’s got a sequel too: _Children_of_God_.
And if you like historical narratives mixed with murder, definitely check out _Devil_in_the_White_City_ . . . about the the 1893 world’s fair in Chicago as well as a serial killer that was murdering people at the same time.
I don’t know anything about the tattoo book, but it does seem like the cool book to read. Anything else you can add other that “pretty good”?
If you are up for some epic fantasy, check out George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice and Fire series, starting with A Game of Thrones. It is a commitment to read all of them, but it is very much worth it. I was able to convince two of my friends to read the series and they both loved it! HBO is even making a tv series based on the novels, it is called Game of Thrones, and debuts Spring 2011.
@Jeff – I’ve read it! I’d actually list it under my top ten favorites, but I’ve gotten pissy about it. The first three books were utterly amazing, then I waited 5 years for the next one to come out and it was pretty disappointing. It might just have been that it had been 5 years of waiting and I wasn’t that into the series anymore, but I thought it wasn’t nearly as good as the other three. And now it’s been another 5 years and the next one isn’t out yet. Meanwhile, Martin is dicking around with other silly projects instead of writing it. I wash my hands of it!
I didn’t know about the series, though. That’s awesome. I’ll finally be able to find out what happens to the characters without waiting 20 years for stupid Martin to get his ass in gear. I hope it’s good! I don’t think I handle any more disappointment with these books. It might push me over the edge…
@ Elvis – The Sparrow sounds really good. Maybe a little like the Ender series? I’m adding it to my list (thanks!). The historical narrative doesn’t sound as appealing to me. I’m always more of a fan of novels that take place either in modern day or alternate realities. I’m not sure why. Just a weird preference I have that I don’t understand.
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a Swedish crime novel trilogy. The first book was especially good, I thought. There’s a mystery that one of the characters is trying to solve (that sounds cheesy the way I worded it). You get little pieces to the puzzle along the way, and the whole book keeps you wondering about it and wanting to read more to find out what actually happened. It takes a little while to get into, though. The mystery’s wrapped up at the end of the first book, so you don’t have to keep reading the other two to find out about it (which is nice). The next two were good in their own ways, too, but I wasn’t as captivated by them. People love the trilogy though, I think it’s a current best seller. There’s also a movie version (subtitled) that’s supposed to be really good, but I haven’t seen it yet. To wrap up my rambling review: It was good! I’d recommend it as a fun read, but it didn’t make it onto my favorite books list or anything!
I can’t make a comparison between [b]The Sparrow[/b] and the Ender series. It’s been a long while, but I’ve only read [b]Ender’s Game[/b] and I didn’t really care for it .
Of course, my favorite series is The Wheel of Time, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone I thought was a good and decent person. B-) Soon to be fourteen books and the fact that Jordon died without finishing it, makes me hesitate recommending it. Sanderson has done a great job stitching together the scenes in the last few books that Jordon did complete and filling in the details, but it’s not [i]quite[/i] the same.
However, since it seems you do like some sci-fi / fantasy stuff, Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy is excellent and all three books are out in paperback so you can zoom through it without a large investment of time and money.
Ender’s Game itself wasn’t that great, but one of the series that it started is really good. The books actually branch out in two different directions after Ender’s Game. The good one includes the books Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. Reading Ender’s Game gives you some background history for those, but you don’t have to have read it before you read them.
I did try to read The Wheel of Time once, but I didn’t like it for some reason. It was during a time when I tried a bunch of different fantasy series, so I don’t remember what I didn’t like about it. I’m thinking there might have been too many heaving bosoms and too much magic, but I might be getting it confused with Terry Goodkind (or someone of the like).
Is Mistborn more sci-fi or more fantasy? I’m actually way more of a sci-fi fan than I am fantasy. Fantasy done right can be awesome, but for me those are kind of few and far between.
Try the Queens Thief series.
Funny, your reading taste was looking a heck of a lot like mine, except I really like classics and most especially historical British fiction. LOL.
Here’s what I read: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/SunnyLea
Little heavy on the children’s fiction because, well, that’s what I do for a living.
Things I’ve enjoyed recently that aren’t classic or British include Fever Crumb, Leviathan, The Hunger Games, The Gendarme, Stiff : The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, and The Irresistible Henry House.
I’m a book and a half into the ‘The Dresden Files’ series (Jim Butcher), though I’ve been warned to read only the first three books. It’s a light read…bordering on guilty pleasure. ‘The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie’ (Alan Bradley) is another entertaining, light read. I heard ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ is very good, but it’s been sitting in my pile for a while. I enjoyed ‘The Hakawati’, but others I recommended it to weren’t impressed. Disclaimer: I’m not too picky when it comes to books.
@ Sunny – Oh, we do have similar tastes! Especially in your “5 Star” books (I forgot about What is the What. That was really good). Both The Irresistible Henry House and The Hunger Games sound particularly good. I’m going to have to check them out. Henry House just sounds like it has such an interesting situational plot.
P.S. You and your stupid Brit lit! Always forced upon teenagers! Always being made into soppy movies! Curse you!
@ Nate – Dresden Files sounds either really good or really cheesy, I can’t tell which! Looking at the description on Wiki, this sounds really intriguing “[it's a ] balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction,” so I might have to give it a go. I’m definitely adding Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie to my list. I read the first page on Amazon, and I already want to read more (Thanks!) The other two don’t intrigue me as much. Mostly because of the writing styles rather than the plots.
The Dune series is pretty good and iconic. It gets heavy into concepts of government and religion as it progresses. If you haven’t read much Stephen King outside of the Dark Tower, I would recommend some of the novels he took characters from like the priest from Salem’s Lot.
Nice topic here though, now i know what to read next.
@ Boots – The ‘The Dresden Files’ series definitely has more than a whiff of cheesiness, but the author makes up for it by making the ‘magic’ pretty low key (and all the more interesting because of it). It reads like a cheesy mystery novel with decent fantasy thrown in; it has an awkward charm to it. It’s no 5-star series, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “Everything is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer. Super random, quite tragic, and extremely entertaining
@ Torok – I tried the Dune series (years ago) and couldn’t get into it. My tastes might have changed by now, though. Although I did see the movie version, and I worry that I wont be able to get Kyle MacLachlan out of my head when I read it. I’ve actually read a good amount of Stephen King (which helped make Dark Tower so good!). I think my second favorite of his is The Stand. Salem’s lot is one that I haven’t read though. Is it really good?
@ Nate – I can deal with cheesy if it’s good cheese (evidence: I love Buffy and even Angel). Added to my list! For when I need something entertaining and not too thought provoking, I guess. Thanks.
@ Cris – I forgot about Everything is Illuminated. That one used to be on my “to read” list, but I never got around to it. Maybe I should make my “to read” list an actual written out list, instead of one in my head.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close sounds good, too. Is there one that you thought was better?
The disk world series by Terry Pratchett. These are an awesome blend of fantasy and humor (I realize someone already mentioned them but give it another try).
@ Andrew – Ok, you’ve convinced me to try it again. There’ve been a lot of people now who’ve told me it’s really good. You just pushed it over the edge.
I know you mentioned Brit classics, but have you tried reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes? It’s available for free on the Kindle store and it’s really a great read once you get past the language. I really recommend it. It’s short stories too, so you can sort of sit back and get a story or 2 in and not have to commit to an epic or anything like that.
I like your book list and your shirts are incredible (snow angels is great). Have you read The Shadow of the Wind (Zafón)? I’ve got a friend with similar tastes to mine that raves about it but I haven’t had the time to start it. Any Nick Hornby? A Long Way Down and High Fidelity are good. I’m a big fan of The Stand and Misery (especially if you haven’t seen the movie yet).
Do you remember any other details about that other book (girl/cabin/ocean)? just curious
@ AP – I tried in high school (don’t ask how long ago that was), but I couldn’t get into them. Something about the stuffy language just turns me off. I suppose giving one of the short stories wouldn’t hurt though. I’m sure I’d like the actual story. You read me right though, I’m too much of a boor to get into the language.
Actually, I think I’ve seen Sherlock (the book not the man) on my parents’ bookshelf. Maybe next time I go over there, I’ll walk off with it.
@ Tom – Thanks for the compliment on the shirts.
I haven’t even heard of The Shadow of the Wind. Off to Wiki it now! …Wikied it! It sounds really good actually. I was scared when I heard “post Spanish civil war, yada yada” but the actual plot sounds awesome. Another one for the list (thanks)!
I thought High Fidelity was good, but not great. I liked his writing style a lot, but it the story and his commentary weren’t all that relatable to me. Maybe I’d like A Long Way Down more. I might give that one a try. The Stand is my favorite Steven King (after Dark Tower), but I haven’t read Misery (mostly because I saw the movie years ago).
Girl/Cabin/Ocean: Now that I’m thinking about it, it might have been a young boy (who was maybe looking for a sister?). The book starts out with a school field trip to the woods where all the children suddenly fell unconscious, but that doesn’t have much to do with the actual plot of the rest of the book. It’s written by a really famous modern (I’m pretty sure Japanese) male author. Someone along the lines of Kazuo Ishiguro, but that’s not him. There’s a lot of weird metaphysical stuff in it, so it’s hard to follow the plot sometimes. And I remember the characters being really interesting. An old man and a transvestite (or transexual maybe) come to mind. If I could just remember the author, I know I’d be able to find the book, but I’ve only read the one by him and his name is escaping me.
Extremely Loud was my favorite of the two, but really any of them will make you want to read the other. Happy readings!
try reading Christopher Moore.
Lamb and Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings are my two favorite of his.
The Dark Tower series is easily some of the best reading I have done. Highly recommended.
I’m going to second the recommendation of Mistborn. I picked it up when I heard that Brendan Sanderson was going to finish Wheel of Time (yeah, yeah, I’m a Wheel of Time fan). I wanted to read some of his stuff because I hadn’t yet, and I wanted to see what it was like.
Let me just say that Mistborn is fantastic. It is definitely more fantasy than sci-fi, but it is the most creative use of magic in a book that I have ever read. I can’t explain it… you’ll have to read and find out. Oh, and it has my favorite character in possibly any book ever.
I’d also recommend the Dragonriders of Pern series. The earlier books in the series are more fantasy, but they sort of turn into sci-fi later. Good stuff.
Um… I realized that I probably turned you off to Mistborn by telling you that it is fantasy and has magic… and possibly by telling you that I like Wheel of Time … but seriously, Mistborn is really awesome. And it has really awesome characters. I think it could fall into your category of “fantasy done right.” I even got my mom to read it and she doesn’t like fantasy or sci-fi, and she loved it.
Hey Rebecca, you definitely promoted the Mistborn series better than I could have. and so I’m curious, who was your favorite character?
@Elviswind: Kelsier, of course. Though Vin is pretty great too, but Kelsier is most awesome =)
Huh, I wouldn’t have guessed that. Not because I am presuming anything about you, but that in the first book he . . . . .
My favorite character in the first book was probably Vin, second: Sazed, and third: Spooks.
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So, I started purchasing shirts from Woot about a year and a half ago mainly because I started watching the main site a few months prior and was intrigued, but also because I realized all my t-shirts either referenced a place of vacations-past or beer (always of a country of vacation-past or from the Yesterbeer booth at the local beer fest) or my preferred establishment of higher education or just plain worn out. I have amassed quite a collection from Woot, but I think the style and topic of the average shirt has drifted somewhat since I first started and so I find myself purchasing a lot more shirts from Tilteed to which I only started paying attention in the last six months or so.
So, Boots, you clearly have an audience, and I have a, perhaps, loaded question: which site is printing the kind of designs that you do or want to purchase?
How about making a new post for all us fans and hangers-on within which we may discuss? This thread is too loaded with good discussion of literature to taint it with the stench of t-shirt art politics.
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Random post is random . . . .
I’m a teen librarian, so all of my suggestions are going to be young adult, but they’re still (IMO) pretty good. Someone already mentioned Hunger Games, which is awesome, and the first of a trilogy. Another trilogy I really enjoyed was the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness. The first book is The Knife of Never Letting Go. If you like dystopian fiction, this trilogy is incredible.
Wow, I was totally about to post this and decided on a whim to see if anyone else had mentioned it. That’s two votes for “Lamb,” So you have to read it now. Don’t worry, it won’t take you long because you won’t put it down.
“”12.13.10 MT says: try reading Christopher Moore. Lamb and Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings are my two favorite of his.”"
Is the book you’re thinking of Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami? Also, you should check out Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
Aha! Someone finally suggested Oryx and Crake. Genius book. If you hated The Road, you’ll love Oryx and Crake. Now there’s a real post-apocalyptic sort of thing.
Oh, and add one more vote for The Sparrow.
Also, Pratchett is decent, but the book that really does it for me is Good Omens which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. Which is my opinion of Gaiman as well… enjoyable on his own, but just fantastically funny when combined with Pratchett.
@ Christi – I’ll check out Chaos Walking. I never mind reading young adult books if they’re good. His Dark Materials is one of my favorite series. And recently I found a bunch of my old Christopher Pike books from when I was a teenager (young adult horror). I reread some of them and they weren’t bad (although really cheesy). Thanks!
@ Phil – Yes. FINE! I’ll read Lamb now. I can’t pass up something that a bunch of people recommend.
@ Angie – Yes! Yes! That was it! Thanks. You saved me much headache. Although, now I have a bunch of books on my book list, so there’s no need to reread that one anytime soon I guess… And I think I read something by Margret Atwood once, but I didn’t enjoy it. Did she do a dragon series?
@ Darla – Maybe I’ll have to think about Oryx even if I didn’t like the book of hers that I read. If it’s unlike The Road, it must be fantastic. And I’d to check out the Pratchett-Gaiman Combo. It’d be like killing two birds with one stone!
@ Mancho – I really want to read it again someday (after I’ve forgotten it). Dark Tower is easily one of my favorites (although, it doesn’t start to get super awesome until the middle of the series).
@ Rebecca – Vote for Mistborn noted! It actually does sound like good fantasy (not too many heaving bosoms).
I’m glad that was it! I read Kafka on the Shore about 5 years ago and remember about as much as you do. I don’t think Atwood has ever done a dragon series, but maybe a bigger fan could tell you that. I’m not partial to most of her stuff, but Oryx and Crake was amazing and is one of my favorite books.
No dragons for Margaret Atwood. Maybe you’re thinking of Anne McCaffrey?
And yes, Oryx is significantly different–in my opinion–from her other works. Also of note, if you don’t consider audiobooks “cheating,” the audiobook of Oryx is read by Campbell Scott, who is just really, really quite spellbinding to listen to.
Another “of note” entry: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Saying that this is another book about a girl’s senior year in high school is like saying that Apocalypse Now” is just another war movie. Really cool, unique writing style. (Also another awesome audiobook.)
@ Angie – I know, right? I remember really liking it, but it had such a weird plot that it was hard to remember it.
@ Darla – Actually maybe I’m thinking of Dragonlance. I think that involved a writer named Margaret something. I also think I may have stupidly avoided Margaret Atwood all these years because of that. I’ll have to check out Oryx now.
I was just cruising by your blog all stalker style, and I was compelled to throw in my 2 cents. However, my thunder has been stolen, as it seems Christopher Moore has already gotten multiple recommendations.
“Lamb” was awesome, but I also highly recommend “A Dirty Job”. His Vampire trilogy (you suck, blood sucking fiends, and bite me) is also a must read as far as I’m concerned.
@ motor – Thunder stolen! Bam! Actually, though, more people recommending something bumps it up higher in the list. It’ll be one of the first ones I read now. Mission accomplished (if your mission was to make another person read “Lamb” as quickly as possible).
It’s nice to know the world will likely see another Christopher Moore convert… Well that is assuming you have a soul. Sadly this is no consolation in regard to the failed completion of my true mission.
By being the first to recommend something awesome, I was going to be another step closer to the 72 previously unreleased vinyls of awesomely obscure bands waiting for me in hipster heaven. Pffft, now I’ll be lucky to end up in BRO heaven (aka:hell) drinking Natty light, listening to Nickleback and gang raping sorority sluts.
@ Boots Pratchett has a bunch of different characters. Some are more readable than others. I find the Guards stories work better for me than the wizards.
Am now going to have to read Good Omens. The Christopher Moore I tried didn’t take, but I might pick up another one. Dresden Files always sounded fun. Just picked up Monster by A Lee Martinez at the library this afternoon. Looks interesting, funny + passed the first page/paragraph test.
@ Michelle – Maybe I’ll skim though a few different Pratchetts in the bookstore and see which one I like best. That’s a good idea, I think.
@ Motor – Don’t sweat it. Hipster heaven isn’t that great. You have to hand roll your cigarettes, and there’s nothing to drink but that crappy PBR. And everyone’s always telling you that they discovered those 72 vinlys WAAAAAY before God did.
LOL, at least I can rest assured that I won’t spend eternity drinking PBR. In every heaven there must be a little bit of hell, but there are some things that shouldn’t be compromised. Quality beer is one of them…
FWIW I also read Good Omens, and it was good book. I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did, because the person that insisted I read it kind of sucks. By “kind of sucks” I mean she wouldn’t like Christopher Moore, and she thinks Lilo, and Stitch was a funny movie.
Speaking of Christopher Moore I’m reading FOOL right now, and it’s hilarious. It’s a satirical version of King Lear through the Jester or “Fool’s” perspective.
I have so much to read now that my head is about to explode! KABOOOOM! “Fool” sounds good too. Dammit! It’s all too much!
Did anyone say “The Book Thief?” I loved it because of it’s unique narrator – similar to Curious Incident…
@ Erin – I can’t remember what everyone said anymore! I had to make a list of everything (which I am consulting before making all future book purchases). Curious Incident is one of my favorites, so anything similar would be great. Mostly because it was kind of like Catcher in the Rye, but… with autism.
I put in another vote for the Mistborn books. They’re in the top five books I generally recommend to friends.
Also, Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. Absolutely my favorite fantasy book of the decade.
For sci-fi, I highly recommend the Vatta’s War series by Elizabeth Moon. The first book is called Trading in Danger.