Community Book Recommendations Thread

[Papasmurfer]

Thought it might be helpful to start book thread so people can get the word out about books they've enjoyed reading.

I really dig scifi/fantasy, so that's how I'm going to start this off. Feel free to recommend books in other genres, of course!


1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - I've said it before, and I'll say it over and over again: this is my favorite book of all time. It's difficult for me to describe just how amazing I think this book is. Rothfuss's prose is concise, eloquent, and damn near perfect. The story is narrated by a man named Kvothe, a mysterious hero in hiding. It's an autobiography of sorts, with everything you'd expect in a good fantasy novel.
- My #1 pick. Read it if you've not yet done so.
-It's the first book of a trilogy that hasn't been finished yet (the next book comes out in early March).

2. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Book One of The Stormlight Archive)-
Coming in at just over one thousand pages, this book is a beast. It's a thoroughly entertaining read, with a large cast of characters and a really interesting setting. Sanderson's writing has really improved over time, and I feel that the methods he uses to develop this story are superior to those in his other works. This is probably going to be Sanderson's magnum opus, or whatever, as he plans to write at least ten books in the series. So... read it!

3. Codex Alera (series) by Jim Butcher *starting with The Furies of Calderon-
This series was a pleasant surprise for me. While I hadn't really enjoyed what I'd read of the Dresden Files (Butcher's other, more popular series), I found myself hooked only a few pages into the first Codex book. These books have a lot of action, and the magic system is really quite interesting and unique. The "boy shepherd becomes world hero" trope may be getting old for some, but I feel that Butcher pulls it off nicely and makes it feel fresh.
The books are definitely quick reads, and very enjoyable.

4. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe- This is actually not one book, but four (now in an omnibus edition, I think... so it may be one), and starts with Shadow and Claw. I'll admit that this book is not for everyone, as the language used in the books may misdirect the reader (this is the author's intention). An AMAZING story, though. Definitely worth the effort it takes to really understand what is going on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_New_Sun

5. The Prince of Nothing Series by R. Scott Bakker - Not for the faint of heart, to be true. This is a cerebral dark fantasy with plenty of action and violence. It takes a little while to dive into it, but once you do, you're faced with a bleak world with protagonists that could just as easily be antagonists (well, not all of them). The story revolves around a man named Anasurimbor Kellhus, a warrior monk and the last of an ancient royal blood line, and a holy war that he just happens to pop into the middle of. The writing is among the best I've laid my eyes on.

I'll pop in and recommend a few more books later on!
Post yours!

 

[A2]

I like fantasy, scifi and mystery-ish books.
I'm finishing the Percy Jackson series (last one left). Oh and Dan Brown is <3. Read all his books.
Also in addition to that, I still have one book of Artemis Fowl left, to complete the series.

 

[Daphinicus]

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - I've said it before, and I'll say it over and over again: this is my favorite book of all time. It's difficult for me to describe just how amazing I think this book is. Rothfuss's prose is concise, eloquent, and damn near perfect. The story is narrated by a man named Kvothe, a mysterious hero in hiding. It's an autobiography of sorts, with everything you'd expect in a good fantasy novel.
- My #1 pick. Read it if you've not yet done so.
-It's the first book of a trilogy that hasn't been finished yet (the next book comes out in early March).

I can't back this up enough. There is simply no other author I have yet read that possesses the same simple mastery of language. Anyone with even a passing appreciation of fantasy must -- must -- read Rothfuss. It'd recommend his work over anyone else's, and that includes fantasy kings like Tolkien, Herbert, and Salvatore.

I was saying to Papa the other day how uncannily his literature preferences seem to match my own; I have no patience for a lot of authors I try out, and the number of unread tomes on my bookshelf is constantly increasing, started and cast aside because the writing just wasn't up to snuff. I can't wait to try one of the recommendations above.

For my part, I'd recommend The Warded Man and its sequel, The Desert Spear, both by Peter Brett. While Brett's language isn't quite of Rothfuss's caliber, and his pacing feels a little too fast once or twice, his story of a young boy growing up in a world where the night is haunted by demons and humanity hides itself indoors to await the coming of the sun is fantasy simplicity at some of its most enjoyable. His characters can at times fill you with awe, revulsion, pride, and contempt, and at least for me, it's pretty dancing rare for an author to be able to play with my emotions so effortlessly.

 

[Redvan]

The Time Travelers Wife was a great read. Movie was terribad.

Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed. Great book on aviation development (SR-71, U-2, F-117 primarily) and the spy program during the cold war.

 

[Darklord]

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (Author of Codex Alera) are also fabulous, much more so as you get farther in and things become more intertwined between books. About a wizard in modern day america who works as a private investigator.

The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (starting with Hyperion) is another great one, a sci-fi epic with fabulous writing and characters. Very difficult to describe, especially since it spends enormous chunks of the book telling the stories of how the characters each got to the point they were at, each of these stories is an amazing short story in its own right.

Otherland by Tad Williams is an enormous epic series, extremely detailed and interesting. Warning: spoilers are required to explain it at all, so if you trust me just try the thing without reading the next sentence. Circles around a hyper-realistic 'Otherland' that is indistinguishable from the real world and is used by the hyper-rich to create simulations and fantasy worlds of whatever they want, for an agenda

I'm not going to give any more info on the books here, since I hate spoilers, if you want to know more go read wikipedia or reviews somewhere. Also, have I mentioned that I love these forums? I hit back by accident and it saved what I had written...

 

[Poponfu]

I just finished reading Eon (original) and Eternity (sequel) by Greg Bear and cant say enough about how much I loved them...

Very very hard core sci-fi written during the cold war about a seemingly empty asteroid starship that arrives in earths orbit with quite the secret about who its inhabitants were and where they went... that really is just the beginning but I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

 

[Homingun]

Haven't read many books lately, but here are the ones that were memorable. And not surprisingly, they are all part of other's lists. Also, thanks for the recommendations, I might get back into reading books regularly.

The Name of the Wind- Awesome read, I believe I had read this book 2 times just to understand and enjoy the depth of the prose. The story itself is also an awesome adventure through Kovoth's early life. Can't wait for the sequel coming in March.

The Warded Man and The Desert Spear- These books are fast paced and twist and turn all over the place. The biggest thing I liked about these first two books of the trilogy was how the many characters and factions correlate to stuff in real life. Also, there are very few boring parts.

Also, I will edit this list if I remember more books from the distant past.

 

[SeymourGore]

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson- It chronicles the romance between an ex-porn star with horrific burns and a kooky schizophrenic. Romantic stuff!

 

[Siantlark]

My recommendation would have to go to the "The Foundlings Tale" series (Used to be known as The Monster Blood Tattoo series). It might seem like a childish book from the first look but if you get past the cover and the first few chapters it really is a very mature series that hides more serious and deeper meanings and conflicts behind Rossamund and his naivety.

Also Otherland is a very good series too. It has a very nice (and confusing) plot and fleshes out characters more than any other series I've read.


And The Wheel of Time. The plot is like a labyrinth, it has way too much filler for any book to have and it gets really boring when he goes on about the fashions and customs of every little stupid town they go to but if you can get past that the scope and range of the books and the characters with their many vices, virtues, flaws and motives are very interesting and are really the work of a master.

If you can get past the filler. I wish I could burn those filler things with balefire.

 

[Buhlitz]

I recommend this book to anyone, it's an easy afternoon or two read and if you don't already have an open mind towards how you view spirituality or possible answers or alternatives to questions like our purpose, the speed of light, math, god concepts etc then this book will help you along the right path.

The Title is : God's Debris

God's Debris espouses a philosophy based on the idea that the simplest explanation tends to be the best (a corruption of Occam's Razor). It surmises that an omnipotent God annihilated himself in the Big Bang, because an omniscient God would already know everything possible except his own lack of existence, and exists now as the smallest units of matter and the law of probability, or "God's debris", hence the title.[/QUOTE]

It's told from the point of view of a UPS delivery man having a conversation with an elderly customer. It's very sharp.

The book subscribes to the Lakoffian point of view, in that the mind is viewed as a "delusion-generator" rather than a window to true understanding. As George Lakoff said: "Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature." The philosophy espoused can also be construed as a form of pandeism, the concept that God created the universe by becoming the universe

 

[Darklord]

So I read The Name of the Wind and The Painted Man and The Desert Spear over the last week, they were all fabulous, I would highly recommend both series. I'm starting the Prince of Nothing now.

 

[Daphinicus]

I started The Way of Kings last week; phenomenal page-turner. Well worth a buy, and then some!

 

[Shanks]

I can't back this up enough. There is simply no other author I have yet read that possesses the same simple mastery of language. Anyone with even a passing appreciation of fantasy must -- must -- read Rothfuss. It'd recommend his work over anyone else's, and that includes fantasy kings like Tolkien, Herbert, and Salvatore.

I was saying to Papa the other day how uncannily his literature preferences seem to match my own; I have no patience for a lot of authors I try out, and the number of unread tomes on my bookshelf is constantly increasing, started and cast aside because the writing just wasn't up to snuff. I can't wait to try one of the recommendations above.

For my part, I'd recommend The Warded Man and its sequel, The Desert Spear, both by Peter Brett. While Brett's language isn't quite of Rothfuss's caliber, and his pacing feels a little too fast once or twice, his story of a young boy growing up in a world where the night is haunted by demons and humanity hides itself indoors to await the coming of the sun is fantasy simplicity at some of its most enjoyable. His characters can at times fill you with awe, revulsion, pride, and contempt, and at least for me, it's pretty dancing rare for an author to be able to play with my emotions so effortlessly.

I've read both of the warded man books, and the name of the wind. Both fantastic.

Also the way of kings is amazing. If you are enjoying the beginning/middle of the book be prepared to be glued to it towards the end. It picks up in pace and level of interest pretty substantially towards the last quarter of it.

I'm starting a song of ice and fire by George R.R. Martin right now to prepare for the HBO series coming out this spring. Pretty difficult to get into so far, but from what i've heard its worth it : \.

 

[Darklord]

Shanks, in response to the PM you sent that I missed, I'm only a few pages in, so no opinion yet.

I'm putting off the George RR Martin stuff because I don't want to have to wait an eon for it to get finished if I like it. There are so many options out there, if there is a long series with just one or two books left, I generally like to just let it sit for a few years until it finishes. Especially with that one, since the next book is like a decade overdue or something absurd.

And I forgot to mention Terry Pratchett and Discworld in my initial post. They absolutely brilliant and awesome. Hilarious, thought provoking, and great stories/writing. The earlier ones aren't as good as the latest, he has gotten even better over the years.

 

[Daphinicus]

Yeah, I started up Song of Ice and Fire a few years ago. I got through the first book and about half of the second, and then realized that he never lets up. It just go so exhausting to read, I had to put it down, and I haven't felt any inclination to go back to it since, especially since -- as DL pointed out -- he's in the midst of the worst case of writers' block the world has ever known.

I've heard so much about Discworld over the years; it really is something I need to take a look at sometime.

 

[Darklord]

Cmon, when the world is a giant disc resting on the back of four elephants who are standing on a giant turtle swimming through space, how can you NOT want to read the books!?

I would recommend starting at Going Postal or The Wee Free Men. Technically The Color of Magic is the first book, but I would definitely recommend you don't start there, it isn't nearly as good as the newer books and the characters presented aren't really what they become. There are lots of story threads to follow, each based around different characters or groups of character.

 

[Jordahan]

I recently finished up Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and it was a great read. Enjoyed it from start to finish. Right now I'm rereading the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri which is phenomenal, definitely check it out if you haven't read it yet.

I'm also dabbling in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, it's the first comic book/graphic novel I've read in a long time and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

 

[57thRomance]

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I got all seven books in one publication. I'm rereading them, on the second now. They're pretty awesome

 

[SeymourGore]

I'm also dabbling in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, it's the first comic book/graphic novel I've read in a long time and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

So good. That novel helped kick start my new love for comics.

 

[MightySheep]

books are like movies to me, I know lots of good ones I just can't remember what they're called

though I definitely remember the Terry Prattchet ones after reading almost all of them

They are fantabulous