The Book Recommendation Thread

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-11-11 09:23pm

Yeah, it's been a while since we've had one of these, and hopefully this one will get stickied. I seem to recall a thread like this that was stickied, once...perhaps I'm hallucinating.

Anyway, recommend any books; fantasy, nonfiction, sci-fi, modern day, romance, comedy, historical, etc. Just try to make sure they're *good* books.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2003-11-11 10:20pm

Shogun, by James Clavelle.

I have been trying to read the next book in the series Taipan, but it just pales in comparison to Shogun.

It's simply one of the best books I have ever read.

lukexcom · Post by **lukexcom** » 2003-11-11 10:40pm

Click here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
top 21-100 are listed
voting for top 20 is still on, see here for choices:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/vote/

That should be enough for you to read over a few years.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2003-11-12 06:35am

lukexcom wrote:Click here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml
top 21-100 are listed
voting for top 20 is still on, see here for choices:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/vote/

That should be enough for you to read over a few years.

Not one Terry Pratchett in the Top 50?
Harry Potter in 22,23,24 ?
Something fishy going on there is you ask me!

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-11-12 06:39am

It's because most Terry Pratchett fnas are mature and literate enough to relaise that his books, while very good, are not the masterpieces that many of the top 20 are.

I've recently finished Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel, which was good, but beware any book that makes me think it's a pile of profeminist bull.

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2003-11-12 06:57am

InnerBrat wrote:It's because most Terry Pratchett fnas are mature and literate enough to relaise that his books, while very good, are not the masterpieces that many of the top 20 are.

I said none in the top 50 so there's still 30 places to fill, some of which are taken by:

22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian

Those are the ones that i have read and consider to be inferiror comapred to most Discworld novels, especially the ones nominated.

And Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is classed a s a masterpiece now? Pleeeeease!

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2003-11-12 07:05am

Read!

Blindness, Jose Saramago
Battle Royale, Koushun Takami
The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks

BoredShirtless · Post by **BoredShirtless** » 2003-11-12 07:09am

The Neverending Story. That's all you need.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-11-12 07:14am

Any of the Culture books by Iain M. Banks for sci-fi, his fiction work is an acquired taste, but he does have some good non-Culture sci-fi novels too.

Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. 'Nuff said.

The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins for excellent explanations about how life came about, how it works and where it's going plus brilliant rebuttals to Creationist fallacies.

1984 by George Orwell, the definitive dystopia future state scenario.

Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck, an amazingly real story about American drifters looking for work during the great depression.

The Terminator Trilogy (T2: Infiltrator, T2: Rising Storm & T2: The Future War) by S.M. Stirling. Definitive and very true to the original sequels. What T3 should have been.

Prey by Michael Crichton, a sci-fi thriller with a team of scientists working on nanotech only to make an artificial organism of nanoswarms. Slow to get going and pretty technical, but a good overall story.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-11-12 07:21am

2000AD wrote:
InnerBrat wrote:It's because most Terry Pratchett fnas are mature and literate enough to relaise that his books, while very good, are not the masterpieces that many of the top 20 are.
And Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is classed a s a masterpiece now? Pleeeeease!

please note the word 'many'
Also please bear in mind the method of voting - you can only vote for one book.

I am a huge Pterry fan, However I voted for 1984 because it's just better than anything Pterry's written.

The five books you've listed were all childrens books, and were almost certainly voted for by children who had never read any better books.

Understand yet?

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2003-11-12 08:23am

Just when was the vote to decide which got into the Top 21? Whenever i looked at the site there was only stuff about discussions and reading groups.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2003-11-12 08:36am

1984 by George Orwell, the definitive dystopia future state scenario.

i have to buy this book... Saturday... *writes in a trip to waterstones on work diary* i keep forgetting to look for it

Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck, an amazingly real story about American drifters looking for work during the great depression.

did that one in year 9 at school, good book, shame trying to read it was constantly ruined by prats who didn't like the subject.

Prey by Michael Crichton, a sci-fi thriller with a team of scientists working on nanotech only to make an artificial organism of nanoswarms. Slow to get going and pretty technical, but a good overall story.

i was so hooked on this book, i started reading it at 6pm on a school night expecting it to send me too sleep, by starting slow like most crichton books, I was still up at 4 am!!! needless to say, my school day wasn't particularly productive.. i did however finish the book

Post by **Gandalf** » 2003-11-12 09:37am

I'd like to recommend Lord of The Rings.

Unparalleled.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-11-12 10:04am

"The Elegant Universe" - Brian Greene

Its what I'm reading now, good stuff. It's a little more involved than a typical Hawkings book but should still be understandable to people with a little scientific background, and gives more details (also good), which is not surprising in that its 448 pages of small text. Flipping ahead I see diagrams of various modes of string vibration, complex spacial geometry diagrams... sweet.

The cover says:

Superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory.

Pullitzer prize winning finalist.

BlkbrryTheGreat · Post by **BlkbrryTheGreat** » 2003-11-12 10:22am

Lets see on the top of my list of fun/interesting books I;ve read are:

World War Invasion Series by Harry Turtledove (there are good, but the follow up, colonization, kinda blows)

Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Servant of the Shard by R.A. Salvatore (my favorite book written by him)

Post by **Dalton** » 2003-11-12 03:57pm

Terry Pratchett's latest, Monstrous Regiment, gets weirder and weirder.

I also like Neal Stephenson books.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-11-12 04:13pm

The Kama Sutra, because you never know when you might get laid and it'll be nice to surprise your partner with some original techniques.

Rogue Warrior: Green Team - Richard Marcinko. Things get blown up and people get killed, and there's lots of fucking swearing. An eery prediction of the Islamic fundamentalist terror to come.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-11-12 04:25pm

Zoink wrote:"The Elegant Universe" - Brian Greene

Its what I'm reading now, good stuff. It's a little more involved than a typical Hawkings book but should still be understandable to people with a little scientific background, and gives more details (also good), which is not surprising in that its 448 pages of small text. Flipping ahead I see diagrams of various modes of string vibration, complex spacial geometry diagrams... sweet.

The cover says:

Superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory.

Pullitzer prize winning finalist.

Have you seen his series? I'm two episodes in and the guy is great at explaining this stuff unlike most scientists.

El Moose Monstero · Post by **El Moose Monstero** » 2003-11-12 04:42pm

If you're looking for something relaxing and mindless, yet still with a decent plot and enjoyable characters, then I really enjoyed David Edding's Belgariad lot, very similar to Lord of the Rings in premise and in some of the myth, but a thoroughly enjoyable work nonetheless.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-11-12 05:15pm

Every time we have one of these threads I recommend Lord of the Flies, but why break with tradition?

Anyway, recently I had the pleasure of reading Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, which is an extremely strong work and I would heartily recommend it to any and all comers.

I would also have to recommend Dracula, and Tender is the Night.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-11-12 05:27pm

Alastor by Jack Vance. Probably obscure as hell, but I personally liked.

lukexcom · Post by **lukexcom** » 2003-11-12 06:05pm

"The hows and whys of touching yourself" by Aerius.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-11-13 07:40am

Frankenstein is a lot better than the movies make it out to be.

Mark S · Post by **Mark S** » 2003-11-13 06:43pm

I just read 'Mirror Mirror'. It wasn't too bad.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-11-13 09:41pm

Lord of the Ring and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Look to Windward and Excession by Iain M Banks

Dune by Frank Herbert

Path of the Fury by David Weber

Series to read:

Any of the Horatio Hornblower novels by CS Forestor:

Midshipman Horblower
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower and the Hotspur
Horblower in the Crisis
Hornblower and the Atropos
Beat to Quarters
Ship of the Line
Flying Colours
Commodore Hornblower
Lord Hornblower
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies

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Any of the Gaunts Ghost's or Eisenhorn novels by Dan Abnett:

The Ghosts Novels:

First and Only
Ghostmaker
Necropolis
Honour Guard
Guns of Tanith
Straight Silver
Sabbat Martyr[/i]

The Eisenhorn Trilogy:

Xenos
Malleus
Hereticus

[/i]

The main Honorverse:

On Basalisk Station
The Honor of the Queen
A Short Victorius War
Feild of Dishonor
Flag in Exile
Honor Among Enemies
In Enemy Hands
Echoes of Honor
Ashes of Victory
War of Honor[/i]

the Honorverse anthologies

Worlds of Honor
More than Honor
Changer of Worlds
Service of the Sword

[/i]