Recommended reads (fiction and non-fiction)

[komotar]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[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

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]

Originally Posted by sameerrao 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)

[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...