the book recommendation thread

I have a few recommendations that I really really hope you guys enjoy absorbing as much as I did.

Survivor - Chuck Palahniuk


Survivor is my favorite book that Palahniuk has ever written. In fact, it's my favorite book, period. It's the story of the lone survivor of a religious cult that commits mass suicide and starts the book relating the story into the blackbox of a plane that he has just hijacked and is about to fly into the side of a mountain. The story is related in flashbacks and satirizes everything from pop culture to organized religion. Definitely one you all should read.

The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis


While most of you may actually know Lewis from his Chronicles of Narnia books, not a lot of you may have read his books pertaining to his more allegorial religiously themed material. The book is written as a series of letters from an old devil (Screwtape) to his nephew (Wormwood) who is currently busy trying to capture the soul of a young man during WW II. I don't consider myself the most "spiritual" person on the planet, but Screwtape's commentaries on humans are piercingly painful and beautifully written. Definitely not just for the religious crowd.

Thanks to Minion for recommending this book and thanks to Alice who finally saw that I would have ignored Minion on his recommendation and force-fed sent it to me.

How ya doing, buddy?

Re: Screwtape Letters

This book is infinitely better than the Narnia series, which I couldn't stand. As a non-christian, I can definitely say that this book is a genuinely inciteful piece of entertainment, and not bible-pushing as so many assume.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)

It's about a teenage boy with asperger's and his trifles and such.

...just go wiki or amazon it. ^__^"

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I was debating whether or not I should recommend this book but then decided it was just too original, and strange not to. That book is “The House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski.

Simply put, it is a book, about a book, about a documentary, that doesn’t really exist. Did you follow that? Anyway, Johnny Truant notices an elderly man from his apartment complex has not been seen in a while and when he goes to investigate, Johnny finds the man dead in his apartment with deep animal-like claw marks in the floor next to him. All the window’s and vents in the apartment were sealed shut. His name was Zampano, and in his apartment, Johnny discovers manuscripts Zampano had written about a documentary called “The Navidson Record”. This documentary was meant to depict a family’s journey from the city to the suburbs only there was something wrong with their house. It was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

“The House of Leaves” is basically “The Navidson Record” with the addition of lengthily footnotes from Johnny Truant about his reaction to the book and the strange things that start occurring to him. There are many appendices which include various correspondences, poems, pictures, etc.

Parts of the book are pure genius; other parts pure horror. Some parts, however, are just plain tedious to get through.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/037...Fencoding=UTF8

I was speaking idiomatically.

The 'Song of Ice & Fire' series by George RR Martin is as good as fantasy gets. It steers away from your typical high-fantasy dragons, elves, and wizards nonsense and instead deals in an amazingly detailed landscape of power-struggles, political intrigue, backstabbing, deceit, and war. It's a pretty big time investment (currently at 4 books and counting), but it honestly doesn't get any better.

I'm currently reading 'The Once & Future King' by TS White, which is by far the best telling of the King Arthur legend I've ever read. It's not an easy read (his perspective of Arthurian Camelot through present day - well, 1940's anyways - eyes is sometimes a bit jarring), but well worth the effort.

Originally Posted by ava lilly

I recommend Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay if you're into science-fiction/fantasy type stories.

I've seen this book recommended over and over again. I guess one of these days I'll actually have to break down and buy it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Gratch

The 'Song of Ice & Fire' series by George RR Martin is as good as fantasy gets. It steers away from your typical high-fantasy dragons, elves, and wizards nonsense and instead deals in an amazingly detailed landscape of power-struggles, political intrigue, backstabbing, deceit, and war. It's a pretty big time investment (currently at 4 books and counting), but it honestly doesn't get any better.

I second that. Highly. Extremely. AMAZING series.

How ya doing, buddy?

Most people probably wouldn't expect it to be any good, but Dreamspawn, the second book in the Nightmare on Elm Street novel series and written by Christa Faust, is actually a decent read. It's got its cliche characters (Goth, Punk, Jock, Princess, Crazy Bitch who Cuts Herself) and quite a few parts are pretty predictable, but rather than have Freddy out and about killing people for the whole book, he's only referenced in foreshadowing dream sequences and his appearance is more or less saved for a climactic bloodbath in the last 4/5 or so of the book, favoring character development for the rest. It also gives an interesting take on his past, before he was murdered by the Elm Street parents.

Right now I'm reading Gaijin, by Marc Olden. It's about an Englishman who defects to Japan and becomes a yakuza boss and an accomplished thief and his ex-CIA mother who try to defeat him. I also suck at synopses, so check it out on Amazon for better reviews. It's actually a lot more interesting than how I put it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by ^___^

Been meaning to get into Tolstoï and Dostoïevski, but I'm not sure where to start. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I have heard good things about almost all of their novels, especially Tolstoy's War and Peace and Dost.'s the Brothers Karamazov. This is all from my friend's word of mouth.

I have also read the House of Leaves, and would recommend it to those interested in "thriller" mind fucking type novels. It was lent to me by, literally, the guy everyone thought was a freak when I was a senior in high school. I was a chatter in class, and my teacher had to sit me in one side of the room alone with him (since he also can't keep his mouth shut, but not because he talked to his friends). He had this rather large book with him, and curiousity took a hold of me as he lent it to me. It's mind tripping and rather psychologically disturbing at times.

As usual, I recommend The Count of Monte Cristo. Such a brilliant classic and tome to read. I would recommend either the Penguin publisher since I've heard good things about the more modern translation. But the version I read was Modern Library, which uses the traditional and classic translation that's been in print for over 100 years. I would recommend this to those who enjoy an older approach (but still love my copy scrawled with underlined passages of sheer poetic brilliance!). I never had the liberty to read this in high school, but then again, I'm glad I was not forced to because then I probably would not have understood a lot of themes that go on in this book. Despite the swashbuckling amateur appearance, this book has some mature themes and heartbreaking moments.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

'Sphere' by Micheal Crichton. It really opens your eyes to how limited the human imagination is. He makes several interesting points in the novel apart from the VERY good and riveting story. The characters aren't terribly cliche...mayble cliche compared to his other novels, IDK. But its definitely a good read.

I'd also recommend reading Jurassic Park, by the same. The book explains so much more than the movie, and you just understand a LOT more of what is going on both up front and behind the scenes during the movie. It's just more interesting having a clearer picture of how things work.

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American Gods, by Neil Gaiman.

I'm not really sure what the genre would be. I'd prolly just clasify it as fiction, but you could make a case for taking that extra step towards fantasy, I suppose.

It's probably one of the best books I've read in the last few years. Basically, it asks the question "What happened to all the Gods people brought with them to America and then (more or less) forgot about?" An incarnation of Odin is one of the main characters. He was brought over with the Norse when they came to North America and has been here ever since, losing power as his believers dwindle. So, you have all these old Gods and folk heroes, non-human entities (Odin, Kali, Wisekejac, etc.) from old belief and religion. But now there are new Gods being born, like the Gods of Internet and TV, and there's a power struggle going on between the old and the new. In the middle of all this is a man named Shadow, an ex-con whose wife just died. He joins Odin and tries to gather the old Gods to help fight the new ones. The ending is a bit of a surprise, and the plot is really good, with a few side-stories that are pretty great. One of my favourite aspects of the book was trying to guess who all the old Gods were, because you're not really told outright for a lot of them. Also Shadow, like Neil Gaiman, is very sexy.

Also, kudos to whoever recommended Good Omens; it was the second one on my list, after AG. <3

Honestly, I'd recommend anything by Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett. I'm completely in love with them. Gaiman's fiction tends to be darker, but every bit as good as Pratchett's. The Discworld series (Pratchett) has become a part-time obsession for me, and there are enough books in it (30+) to keep you involved for a long without ever getting bored. There are several different series' that take place within the Discworld, so you don't have to feel like you need to get and read all 30 odd books in order. There's a Witches series, City Watch, Rincewind, and lots of stand-alones, as well as really good Children's books like The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky. Honestly, there's a little something for everyone.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

my current recommendation would be a series of books by neal stephenson. it's called the baroque cycle (quicksilver, the confusion, and the system of the world) and it's so much different from anything else i've read. on the surface it looks like a plain historical fiction taking place mostly in the 17th century. but then there is so much wit and comic moments that surprisingly don't ruin the books' sociological, political, economical, philosophical, and even scientific events. a series that uses such "characters" as isaac newton, gottfried wilhelm von leibniz, and even king louis xiv himself takes a risk and stephenson goes for the gold by making the characters truly his own. some points can be blatantly gruesome but they were gruesome times. in short, if you have lots of time (they aren't small books) it's worth a read.

also just about anything by vonnegut and palahniuk is pretty damn good. vonnegut for people who like absurdity and laughing and palahniuk for anyone who likes twisted weirdness.

i'm also a shakespeare fan.

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include the title, the author, the genre, and a brief description/review of the book so that people will have a better idea of what kind of book it is and what it's about.

Title: Native Tongues
Author: Charles Berlitz
Genre: Facts
Description: This book is a collection of interesting linguistic facts that have been compiled worldwide. Facts such as the absence of an official language for the US, and the creation of simpler global languages such as esperanto, are provided tidbits of info that one probably would not normally have known. If you are into Linguistics or interesting facts, then Native Tongues is a combination of the two.

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The last three books I read (for recreation) were...

Title: Watchmen
Author: Alan Moore
Genre Graphic Novel
Description: Watchmen is drama that incorporates moral philosophy, popular culture, history, art, and science. It is set in 1985 in an alternative history America where costumed adventurers are real and the U.S. is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. It follows the story of the last remaining superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own.

Watchmen presents superheroes as real people who must confront moral as well as personal issues. It is one of the first superhero comic books to present itself as serious literature, and also popularized the more adult-oriented "graphic novel" format.

Title: V.
Author: Thomas Pynchon
Genre: Post-Modern
Description: V. is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whole Sick Crew, and the quest of an aging traveller named Herbert Stencil to identify and locate the mysterious entity he knows only as "V."

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Genre: Great American Novel
Description: The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925. The novel would prove to be Fitzgerald's most accomplished novel, and was an immediate critical success. Despite the favorable reviews, the sales for the novel were disappointing.

Within the novel, Fitzgerald uses the character of Nick Carraway as the first-person narrator. It is through Carraway's eyes that we see the other characters and the world they live in. Carraway is the only character in the novel to exhibit, and hold onto, a sense of morals and decency throughout the novel. Symbolism is heavily used, and can be found in both the characters actions and the physical objects.

Through the novel, Fitzgerald puts across the idea that the American dream has been corrupted by the desire for materialism. We see that Gatsby had a pure dream, but became corrupt in his quest towards that dream.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

First off, let it be said that nothing beats "The Great Gatsby." Nothing. That being said...

"Vurt" by Jeff Noon. It could fall into the cyber-punk genre I guess, but it's more fantasy than science. It's set in the near-future where the drug of choice is Vurt, which causes a VR-like experience. Except with a twist: the Vurt world is some sort of alternate dimension, an actual place you can go to, and not just some sort of technological virtual reality. The main character's sister gets stuck in the Vurt world during a freakish trip and he tries to rescue her throughout the novel.

The thing that really sets this book apart isn't the setting or story, though, it's the language. The kind of language that makes you stop and re-read the same sentence over again, not because you didn't understand what the reader was trying to convey but because you can't believe you've witness such a finely crafted piece of narrative or dialogue.

"Sometimes it seems like the whole world is smeared in Vaz..."

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by speculative

First off, let it be said that nothing beats "The Great Gatsby." Nothing.

I can think of hundreds of things that beat The Great Gatsby. Most overrated novel/author of all time (if we don't count Hemingway).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Spike

Name: His Dark Materials Trilogy
Book I: The Golden Compass
Book II: The Subtle Knife
Book III: The Amber Spyglass

Author: Philip Pullman

Don't be fooled when it's categorized as "young adult" or "youth." It can definitely appeal to younger audiences, but it has some mature themes in it. It's sort of science fiction, sort of fantasy, set in modern day UK that's slightly different than the UK we know. It's easily and by far the best books I've read as they are very engrossing and never slow down. You'll love the characters and the development they go through throughout the trilogy. I highly suggest these books.

Amen to that. Very awesome books with an amazing story and some very well created characters. It's one of those stories in which no matter how old or young you are you can really enjoy it and no matter who you are you can connect to and relate to it in some way or another, and it's probably safe to say it's the most original modern sci-fi/fantasy story out there. There were so many ideas in that thing, particularily the daemons, that I really haven't seen elsewhere.
The story starts out with a young girl, Lyra, who stumbles across some information she really wasn't supposed to see and one thing leads to another and she ends up in the middle of a conspiracy that threatens quite literally all heaven and earth. It's one of the memorable books I've ever read, as there are very few parts with little in the way of memorability.
And aside from being an awesome sci-fi/fantasy story, it's also got it's fair share of tragedy, romance, and comedy. There are times when you'll want to drop the book because you're laughing so hard, have to dry tears from the pages, and other times when the sheer scale and scope of the opposition is realized you want to read on just to see how something so seemingly hopeless and beyond any control can be accomplished.
I really can't compare it to much of anything, and the few comparison to be made didn't come into existence until a while after these books were published. If nothing else, the sheer uniqueness of it warrants giving it a chance.
It's of an epic scope the proportions of which have not been seen in literature since Lord of the Rings and if you're any sort of a fantasy or adventure fan not giving His Dark Materials a chance is one of the biggest mistakes you could ever make in your book reading life.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Title: The Alchemist
Author: Paolo Coehlo
Genre: Religious/spiritual fiction

I loved this book so much. It's a very short read, but I found it to be thought-provoking and a generally feel-good story. It made me look at the world and what's been happpening in my life lately in a completely different light. Honestly, I feel like a better person for having read it. The Fifth Mountain, also by Coehlo, is along the same lines. I loved that book as well, but not as much as The Alchemist.

If anyone posting here has already read those two, can you recommend any other titles that might have the same effect? I haven't read anything lately that I've been able to really get lost in. Nothing I've found life-changing or thought-provoking. I've been told to try Chasing Rumi and The Lovely Bones (which I heard is Peter Jackson's next project). I plan to read those two, but I figured I'd post here first and ask for some more recommendations before I take my trip to Barnes and Noble.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut
Science Fiction (but it's a classic author)

Basically, the trials and mistakes of a shallow, good-for-nothing guy who is bounced across the solar system and used as a pawn in a bigger picture he isn't aware of of. Like all of Vonnegut's books, it's based on the failures of the human race and redemption. Also recommend Galapagos and Cat's Cradle.

The Eden Express
Mark Vonnegut
True Story, autobigoraphy?

Story of Mark Vonnegut, and his descent into manic-depression. Very in-depth, very detailed look inside the mind of a mentally ill person. Fantastic read.

American Gods
Neil Gaiman
Science Fiction

A man named Shadow is released from prison, only to find that he no longer has a life waiting for him or a home to return to. He is then met by a mysterious manwho calls himself Wednesday, and is hired to be a bodyguard. The book goes across quite a bit of North America and gives iteresting historical anecdotes. Excellent descriptions and a fascinating dramatic story.

Out of curiosity, has anyone here read 'Interstellar Pig'? I forget the author.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Yamamanama

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - Blackly humorous science fiction

Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time and revisits portions of his life, such as being a POW of the German Army and witnessing the firebombing of Dresden, being in a Trafalmadorian zoo, his marraige after the war. So it goes.

It manages to be absolutely hilarious, tragic, and profound, and it woudn't be half that if it had a different subject matter. Anyway, read it. My review can not do this book justice. So it goes.

Honestly, I found this to be the second worst of the Vonnegut books I've read (the worst being Breakfast of Champions). I wouldn't recommend that to someone who's never read Vonnegut.

How ya doing, buddy?

I think I recommended some books on another thread some time ago (or maybe it was on another forum), but I'll reiterate for this one:

Gates of Fire
by: Steven Pressfield
genre: Historical Fiction

This is an amazingly well written book that tells the tale of Three Hundred Spartans who stood against the multitudes of Persians at Thermopylae. Putting real faces to a historical story, Steven Pressfield makes you believe that this is how it really happened, and these characters where the ones that were there.

Jumper
by: Steven Gould
genre: Modern Fiction

What if you discovered that you were the only one in the world that had an amazing power? Would you use it for good or evil? Gould tells a classic "boy grows into a man" tale with a new sort of twist; a young adult discovers he can "jump" to places that he's been before, instantaneously, and how hard it really is to be a "superhero".

A Song of Ice and Fire series
by: George R. R. Martin
genre: Epic Fantasy

This is Epic Fantasy at it's pinacle. Magic and myth takes a back seat to character and story in this epic tale of warring kingdoms. Martin has begun a series that dwarfs all other fantasy stories in scope and character. His characters are believable, his world you breath, his history seems like it truly happened. Tolkein, Jordan, Williams, all other fantasy writers pale in comparison. Book 4 is out, and it is rumored to actually stop at 7 (unlike a few others, there is an end in sight! ). Seriously though, if you like fantasy, this is the series to get.

This Present Darkness/Piercing the Darkness
by: Frank E. Peretti
genre: Modern Biblical Fiction

This is an odd recommendation from me. I normally don't recommend a book (or two in this case, as it comes in a two-book volume) if it is steeped in a religious point of view, as many will either love it or hate it not by how it's written, but by the denomination that it follows. This is a well-written exception. It is almost fantasy-like in how it's written, so if you are not a follower of Christianity, it probably won't kill you . What if demons and angels were real, and warring constantly for your life all the time? How are you affected by something that you cannot sense? How can you affect them? A well written duo about the war between heaven and hell where angels and devils fight in modern times on a plane that cannot be seen by normal people, and how their fight affects how we live. I cannot recommend it enough.

There's a few to get you started.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

my favorite author is Harlan Coben
my favorite book by him is Tell No One...it's the best book i have ever read and i think that if you read, you will not regret it... it is suspense material, heavy suspense, full of surprises and feels like you are closer to the protagonist then any other book i read...

I was speaking idiomatically.