Recommended reads (fiction and non-fiction)

[TransAm]

Ok then, anything you've read of late that you'd think others might enjoy you can add to this thread:

1. A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson (Non-fiction)

This book gives a laymans view of a lot of interesting and complex scientific topics. Bill is a great writer too.


2. The English by Jeremy Paxman. (Non-fiction)

Jeremy is the political TV presenter who ripped Tony Bliar (sic) apart on TV just before the election. The book is a bit boring in places but overall it is an interesting read for anyone with an interest in the country or it's people.

3. Mr Nice - Howard Marks. (Non-fiction)

An autobiography by an infamous drug dealer (now retired I guess). I was interested to see how he got from Oxbridge to where he ended up...

[gucom]

I enjoyed all Dan Brown books ive read so far (all non-fiction). The most famous one, the Da Vinci Code, was IMO the best.

There are just so many great books i've read, i'll try to make a list of the absolute highlights some time

[komotar]

Ok, now you gave me something to talk about.

I love anything about history, specialy 19th,20th century and 1st and 2nd WW.
My dad got me into it. My living room is full of history books.

My dad had a thing for history too. He was born in 1933 and got to see the 2nd WW. At the end, when the germans left this place, he found bunch of army stuff. Not weapons but emblems, small things, army crosses and awards.... Interesting shit.

If anybody's interested, I can take a pic of all the stuff...

Anyway, right now I'm writing a book called The Age of Extreems. The writer is ERIC HOBSBAWM. He's a freaking genious of a historian. If anybody is into history, the development of capitalism, comunism and stuff like that. Politics over the last couple of centurys, check this guy out. This is his third book I'm reading...

I like biographies of any kind. I like to read about the big and important people that made a difference.

And then there's Jules Verne. I think I have read all of his sc fi stuff.
The things that went on in his mind were just out of this world.....

Modern sci fi novels are nice, but nothing compared to the pioneers of the whole sci fi novel era.....

If anybody knows a good early sci fi writer, tell me about it.Thx.

And the history freaks, check out Mr. Hobsbawm. It's a demanding read, but the amunt af stuff you learn about the past is just mind blowing...

[topgeartom]

Indeed, i lost sooo many hours of sleep thanks to 'The Da Vinci Code'

altoguh if you have read TDVC, then i suggest you get your hands on some of Robert Crais' novels.

I have read L.A. Requiem, which, although a little more 'trashy' than TDVC is still a very entertaining and gripping read.

[666fast]

Finished "A Portrait of a Killer" by Patricia Cromwell not too long ago. Very good book about Jack the Ripper and who he could be. After reading the book, I'm convinced that the person in the book is indeed Jack the Ripper. I also didn't realize just how brutal and disgusting the murders were.

[TransAm]

@ komotar - what about Aldous Huxley and HG Wells for pioneering SF authors. Iain Banks is supposed to be good as well. SF is not my thing, but my best mate is well into it.

@gucom and Tom - Funny you mention Dan Brown - I went on a business trip recently (UK) and bought a couple of Dan Brown books, Deception Point and Angels and Demons. I intended to get TDVC but could only find a hardback version. Anyway, I started reading A&D and I couldnt get into it at all. Maybe I was a bit too tired on the journey.

[TT]

Hehe Dan Brown is the big hit of the moment obviously and I guess most of us did already read The Da Vinci code ;) I have Angels and Demons too, but on the shelve for now.

A different read I am finally achieving after years is the Black Tower saga by Stephen King.. I read the first book when it first came out.. then it took a fucking lot to complete the 6 books opus! Finally I am reading the 5th one and although it is totally different from the usual King's work, it's a nice read IMO

[ARMAN]

Anyway, right now I'm writing a book called The Age of Extreems. The writer is ERIC HOBSBAWM.


First I thought "holy jump, he's writing a book" :shock: then realized a mistype :mrgreen: :wink:

Well I read educational books only 8)

[Patricio]

Hehe Dan Brown is the big hit of the moment obviously and I guess most of us did already read The Da Vinci code ;) I have Angels and Demons too, but on the shelve for now.

yep I read both of those and 'Deception Point' a few months ago, all of which are a pretty good read

[stradale]

@ komotar and all others who are interested in books on WWI and WWII, try Antony Beevor and John Keegan's books as well. Especially Beevor's book 'Berlin 1945, The Downfall' left me in awe. I'm reading his book 'Stalingrad' now.

Of the fictional category I liked Harry Mulisch' 'Discovery of Heaven' and 'Siegfried' very much. I think they have been translated to many other languages as well. Thrillers by Martin Cruz Smith ('Gorki Park', 'Havana Bay', 'Wolves Eat Dogs', 'Rose' and 'Tokio Station' I can recommend) are good too. Stephens Fry's books are a bit weird, but very funny. As far the rest I read Dutch books mostly, so I doubt many of you will know them.

[TransAm]

Stradale, I have a Hugh Laurie book called 'The Gun Seller' that is a good read...

(Hugh Laurie was a comedy double act with Stephen Fry for many years)

[ZfrkS62]

hmm..i haven't read much outside of BMW training manuals in the past year :lol: only 2 books i rememeber reading are both fiction.

my ex let me borrow her copy of 'Shanghai Baby' by Wei Hui, which was banned in China for its liberal standpoint of the main charcater's (female) sexual exploration throughout the book. Though alot probably got lost in translation it is quite an entertaining read.

Other one i read was 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' by Ernest Hemingway (yes, it was a book before a song, what do you think inspired Hetfield? :P ). If you didn't read it in high school, go get it. Few authors have ever mastered the art of character development and setting the way Hemingway did. Granted there are parts that seem to drag on, but you can clearly visualize everything that is being said.

[TT]

About fiction books (obviously as said by brembo, the best by far beeing the LOTR) a marvellous one wich I adored and read at least twice when I was around 18, was Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock. It is not the "bestseller" fantasy like Shannara or the other famous sagas, but it's for sure really nice! The hero is a bit different than your typical hero! Check it out if you like fantasy and want something different :)

[komotar]

Anyway, right now I'm writing a book called The Age of Extreems. The writer is ERIC HOBSBAWM.


First I thought "holy jump, he's writing a book" :shock: then realized a mistype :mrgreen: :wink:

Well I read educational books only 8)


:oops: :oops: :oops:

@TransAm2001

thx man. I've read half of Ian Banks's "business" and then I stopped because the owner took the book home( vacation ). He wrote some good stuff, and I'll go to the library tomorrow. Thx for reminding me 8)

Never heard of Aldous Huxley , but I googled him and he looks like an interesting guy....maybe after Hobsbawm and Banks...


@stradale

I've heard of Beevor but never read anything that he wrote.
I'll check him out in our library. Thx for the hint :wink: :D

As for Joh Keegan, I just googled hime and I can see he wrote a bunch of stuff on WW2 and War in general. I have to get hiss stuff in my hands.

Thx a bunch to both of you!

This thread rocks! 8)

[zondaland]

If you are hugely into WW1 then you can always go for the official war history's, guys like Bean.

I read Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and it was absolutely stunning, it was just mindblowing to read about the passion with which the Russian soldiers fought.

Also for Sci-fi make sure you read Orwells 1984 if you havent already.

On a favourite recent book I would have to say A War Against Truth by Paul William Roberts. It is just an incredible book about the invasion of Iraq by US forces. Regardless of your politics or your thoughts on the war this should imo be compulsory reading for anybody living in a democracy. Make no mistake this guy is no friend of Sadaam Husseins but some of the things that he relays are just incredibly touching.

From almost countless breaches of the Geneva conventions to US soldiers trading food with him for a quick phone call back to their loved ones. Whatever notion you have of this war from the mainstream media this book will blow you away.

Check out http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=7010 for a slightly better written review.

[komotar]

If you are hugely into WW1 then you can always go for the official war history's, guys like Bean.

I read Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and it was absolutely stunning, it was just mindblowing to read about the passion with which the Russian soldiers fought.

Also for Sci-fi make sure you read Orwells 1984 if you havent already.

On a favourite recent book I would have to say A War Against Truth by Paul William Roberts. It is just an incredible book about the invasion of Iraq by US forces. Regardless of your politics or your thoughts on the war this should imo be compulsory reading for anybody living in a democracy. Make no mistake this guy is no friend of Sadaam Husseins but some of the things that he relays are just incredibly touching.

From almost countless breaches of the Geneva conventions to US soldiers trading food with him for a quick phone call back to their loved ones. Whatever notion you have of this war from the mainstream media this book will blow you away.

Check out http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=7010 for a slightly better written review.


Thx a bunch dude.

I'll check it out. 8)

[irrational_i]

I read a huge amount. But I will try list my favourite authors.

Physics/Science/Mathematics:
John Gribbin
Douglas Hofstaedter

Thriller/Spy:
Robert Ludlum
Trevanian
Alistair Maclean

Murder:
Agatha Christie - old but still very enjoyable!

Fantasy:
Terry Pratchett
Anne McCaffrey
Tad Williams
JRR Tolkien

Sci-fi:
Iain M Banks
Greg Egan
Isaac Asimov

Other Fiction Novels:
William Horwood

Cartoon/Comic:
Tintin
Asterix
Calvin and Hobbes
Sandman

I know I am leaving some out, but these are my favourite authors I can quickly think of.

[ZfrkS62]

if we're adding comics to this, then i say Calvin and Hobbes and Zits :D

[antonioledesma]

hmm, I don't have a thing for "new" books such as TDVC, A&D, etc. because I'm waiting for the years that give that strong character to a book, so I only read books that have more than 5 years... if they're in english. and 2 years if they're in spanish

the last books I read

a clockwork orange, trainspotting and another book by Irvine Welsh but I don't lnow the name in english, generation x,
of course the fantastic I, robot by Assimov,

some books written in spanish by Luis Sepulveda, García Márquez, etc.

I HATE those books like "who took my cheese?", all those personal superation, moral evolution like... "the monk who sold his ferrari", "the knight with the rusted armor" , "7 habits of ...",etc (sorry if I'm incorrect with the names of the books, but I read them in spanish)
are for air-heads whom don't like to read strong words, don't like to be challenged by a book and make them think a little more than the neccesary

and for comic books....
calvin and hobbes as irrational and Zfrk say. It was another comic that children could not really understand. When I was younger, I thought hobbes was a real tiger :mrgreen:

peanuts, even when it has some days when the strip isn't that good (do a daily strip and you won't last more than a year without more writters). Of course another "child's" comic that you need to be old enough to understand them

300, Batman: the dark knight returns, Sin City by Frank Miller. Excellent reading material
Akira, by katsuhiro otomo. Unfortunately VERY long and not very clear trama. Try seeing the animated movie
and many more

[sameerrao]

I am really into fiction ... The genres and authors that I like are:

Thriller:
- Clive Cussler: I am Dirk Pitt fan. It also helps that Clive is a car nut and features some fabulous classic cars in all his novels.
- Robert Ludlum: I like the older novels
- Jeffrey Archer: the finest short story writer
- Michael Crichton - the older novels - the last couple novels were crap by comparison
- John Grisham
- Tom Clancy: again the older novels - the new ones are more documentaries than fiction novels

Humor:
- Roald Dahl: Awesome wickedly funny humor
- P G Woodhouse: The most original creator of unique similies and metaphors. His books are timeless
- William Thurbur

Secret Agent/Detective:
- Ian Fleming - the books are 100X better than the movies.
- Leslie Charteris - The Saint - awesome reads
- Arthur Conan Doyle

History:
- Sir Winston Churchill - I've only read 2 of his novels but you get the sense of peering over the shoulder of one 20th century's greatest leaders. He writes very well. Churchill has his flaws but his books are awesome despite this. His short take on the civil war was amazing.

Western:
- Louis L'Amour: - my all-time favorite author - his books are timeless works of art.

Hunting/Wild animals:
- Jim Corbett: The maneater of Kumoan is an awesome read.

[irrational_i]

I am really into fiction ... The genres and authors that I like are:

Secret Agent/Detective:
- Ian Fleming - the books are 100X better than the movies.
- Leslie Charteris - The Saint - awesome reads
- Arthur Conan Doyle


I have to agree here! I have a few Ian Fleming books. Just started looking for the complete set in 2nd bookshops. I also have Leslie Charteris. Only 6 Saint books so far, but quite a fun read. From a different era entirely!

[flat6]

Hunter S. Thompson stuff is lively, especially Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Catch-22 by Heller is just a comic masterpiece about war. Maybe funniest book I've ever read.
O'Toole's Confederacy of Dunces is also a nice piece of humor/satire/commentary.

Depraved 'travel' books are nice... Kerouac's On The Road, and the darker Tropic of Capricon by Henry Miller.

I liked Kurzweil's Age of Spiritual Machines for its broad vision, and correct general ideas - even if the details are a little out of place.

Thoreau was a good kid.
Dostoyevsky is always excellent for drama on an epochal scale, especially books like The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov.
I liked Turgenev's nihilistic Fathers and Sons a lot.

And some philosophy like Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Russell, and others can be very good. But extremely hard to decipher and then fully understand. But that can be true of many great books.


I need to read more, I haven't really read anything for a year or so :? Damn school...

[sameerrao]

I forgot to add Ed McBain - good police / detective stuff...

[BADMIHAI]

I'm currently reading Bill Bryson's Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe and it's fucking hilarious. It's so funny I sometimes burst out laughing while reading it. 8) :lol:

[bmagni]

Love in the times of colera by Gabriel Garcia Marques
and
Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton - this one is a really good critic to society

[Retro11s]

Recently have read the following:

Nick Mason:
"Into The Red"
Great book about some of his car collection, including his F40. Excellent photography. My copy also came with an audio cd of engine sounds from some of the cars featured in the book.

Nick Mason:
"Inside Out: Personal History of Pink Floyd"
Great tale of Pink Floyd from the beginning to the current place, wherever that may be. He writes with a great sense of humour and detail, while the pictures are both excellent and historical (check out the one with Hendrix)

Jenna Jameson:
"How To Make Love Like A Pornstar: A Cautionary Tale"
Wild book on her life. Amazing she is still alive. The part where she talks about her addiction to meth makes your skin crawl.....

Stephen Williams:
"Invisible Darkness: The Horrifying Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka"
Extremely graphic account of the two infamous Canadian serial rapists/killers. If you read the book, you will come to realize that the bumbling by the police contributed to the deaths of the young girls the Bernardos abducted. Requires a strong stomach as the account is very detailed...