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About LinkBacksOther than what has been mentioned, anything from Philip K. Dick would be a good read
Other than what has been mentioned, anything from Philip K. Dick would be a good read
If you're into fantasy and you liked LOTR you should really read the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan.
That's exactly what i was going to sayOriginally Posted by Grey M@a
Other than what has been mentioned, anything from Philip K. Dick would be a good read
I recently read this, absolute genius - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Me-Cheeta-Au...0857283&sr=8-1
If you like your hardcore Sci-fi, Dan Simmons Hyperion is a must.
Love Bill Bryson stuff too.
I'm currently finding A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking, a fascinating read. I'll second Bill Bryson, too, I thoroughly enjoyed A Brief History of Nearly Everything.
lately i've taken to reading first hand accounts of war. If it's a subject you have an interest in then good reads are Sniper One by Dan Mills about the war in Iraq, a real eye opener and really gripping story.
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, Just about the best first hand account of war i've read. Just check out the customers reviews for both on play.com.
I am Legend by Richard Matheson is an excelent read too.
Or some classics:
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell (It's about socialism)
Lanark: A Life in Four Books by Alasdair Gray (Insanity, Scotland, and god knows what else)
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (military madness, survival)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (The great depresion in the US)
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (Excess, 1920's, prohibition)
I'm sure you must of read it already, but Animal Farm. Not very long, but to this day remains one of my favourite books.
Only other suggestions that (I think) have yet to be mentioned:
Bravo Two Zero Andy McNab
The Game Neil Strauss
As others have said, anythign by Pratchett.
I decided to come back to see what people suggesed. And also to suggest anything by Isaac Asmiov. He's Sci Fi. I like him ^^
If ya check 4 posts up you`ll see I mentioned it
The dexter books are pretty good at least the Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter and dexter by design are. Dexter in the dark didnt sit right.
Sergei Lukyanenko quadrilogy of books Night watch, Day watch, twighlight watch and the last watch are brilliant books. The films didnt do justice to them even though they where big hits in russia.
If you're into wasting 12 years of your life reading books with 14 main characters that gets increasing larger, go for it.If you're into fantasy and you liked LOTR you should really read the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan.
I did. They ARE good books. Just exceedingly long and detailed.
I kind-of agree, and kind-of don't.
They are not, IMHO, a good place for an inexperienced reader to start, though.
The basic concept is extremely good. And I enjoyed them (or the ones we've had so far anyway). But buying them to read wasa mistake I won't make again, because I didn't realise I was buying into a series that was going to go on for what seems like forever. And, despite having been reading them for 10 years, or 12 or whatever it is, they still haven't all been written yet. I seriously do not like having to wait a decade and a half to find out what happened in the end. By that time, I've forgotten most of what happened earlier.
Oh, and when the author goes and dies before finishing and they have to be completed by a stand-in author well, thatr just tops it for me. Because while that stand-in might do a great job, he also might make a spectacular cods of it.
My advice, matty ...... work out what you're out to get from reading books. Are you after knowledge, are you after insight, are you after escapism, light relief, a grounding in culture? Or a mix? What?
Having got some idea of what you're seeking, use a thread like this as a menu, and sample things.
But don't be seduced or misled by other people's opinions of books.
For instance, if you're after an entertaining read rather than a literary masterpiece, give something like the DaVinca Code a try. Because you might enjoy it. I certainly did. And just because other people regard it, rightly or wrongly, as literary drivel doesn't make any difference to the fact that some people (a LOT if sales figures are anything to go by) did enjoy it, and you might well be one of them. So personally, I don't give a left-handed flying fig whether it's literary drivel or not.
On the other hand, if you're after an edifying way to expand the bounds of your knowledge, or a cultural classic, it'd probably be the wrong place to look. If you're after highbrow literary art, you might try Joyce's Portrait of the artist as a Young Man ..... if you've got a sufficiently wide masochistic streak.
Personally, I'll give virtually anything a try. It's the ONLY way to find out what I like. That's why you'll find Portrait, and several other Joyce books, on my bookshelves. You'll also find the Aeneid, Paradise Lost, the complete works of Shakespeare, Dickens and others, as well as most of Dan Browns work, just about everything Asimov ever wrote as most of Heinlein's too, and Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson, Ian Rankin and a host of modern crime and mystery writers, and a collection of histories, biographies and autobiographies, and some quirky oddities like the utterly wonderful Longitude by Dava Sobel.
If you like a sci-fi and fantasy cross, one series I didn't see mentioned (and apologies if someone did and I missed it) is Julian May's Saga of the Exiles series. Personally, I found that series well-written, entertaining, deliciously offbeat and hugely entertaining.
But it ALL depends on what you're after, which is why you shouldn't take anyone's word for what's good, and what isn't. At least, not yet. If you try something someone recommends, and enjoy it, it suggests your taste and their may coincide, so anything else they recommend may well appeal too.
Oh, and one more thought. Novels seem to have followed a tendency to bulge over the years. While many many have been 250 pages a few decades back, 500-1000 pages isn't rare now. So, with sci-fi for instance, Asimov's Foundation and Robot series are good places to start, not only because they classics in the genre, but because they're easily digestible sizes, as are most of Heinlein's work.
Also, don't be afraid of wandering into the 'kids' section, i've had some great reads from there...
My personal choices tend to be quite violent and or warped...
But:
Darren Shan - The Demonata (10 book)
Darren Shan - The Saga of Darren Shan (12 book)
Justin Somper - Vampirates
K.J Parker - Shadow
Steven Erikson - Malazan Book of the Fallen
I need to pick up reading again, i haven't read any book of my choice since i started college :/
But as Sara says, you need to find your own reads and decide what you like.
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The Game by Niel Strauss was good. About journalist Niel Strauss joining the world of Pick up artists. I enjoyed it.
his dark matters trilogy is a brilliant set of books especially for a beginner. they are teen books but very well written.
Oh for sure. The Young Bond series are great book by Charlie Higson.
Neil Gainman- Neverwhere, fantastaic Comic/graphic novel.
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