One of the best SciFi book I’ve ever read. Definitely in my top five.
Don’t mind the title, it’s got nothing to do with God or religion.
The story is a very interesting take on man meeting his first alien specie. There are lot of fresh, new ideas in that book about space travel, space combat, evolution, etc.
Another great book. This one is actually the first of four books, usually referred to as the Hyperion Cantos
The first two books form the first story; the two last books are another.
Note that I had the first book for a long time before I managed to read it all the way through. For some reason, it took me while to get “hooked” by the story, but once I did, what a ride it was.
Shadowdivers
“Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown
They should make this book mandatory for American history classes.
I have “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” on my night stand most all the time.
I am re-reading “Hamlet” now. Good to immerse yourself in his particular insights into humanity. I find myself re-reading passages again and again.
I must have spent fifteen minutes last night re-reading the lines: “He was a man. Take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again.”
Who would not want such a thing said about them?
My favorite books are, in no particular order:
The Sicilian by Mario Puzo
The White Dragon by Anne McCaffery
The Bible various contributing authors
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas pere, Robin Buss (Translator)
You may be thinking of “Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder” by Sam Fussell
[quote]lesotho72 wrote:
In no particular order:
Sozaboy (Ken Saro-Wiwa)
Poisonwood Bible
Tortilla Flats (loved the part about the old guy and the dog)
The Novel (by James Michener)
Dubliners
Also…
Can’t remember the name but it’s about a skinny Brit who becomes a bodybuilder in NYC, moves to Cali,
takes roids, quits lifting, becomes skinny[/quote]
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius- Eggers
Corrections -Franzen
does anyone know of any really scary books they have read?
I got one and it was all erotic and I threw out window–I just wanted a mainstream scary story. Thats good.
juila87- try anything by Michael Slade. One of my favourites is Ghoul.
hmm, my favorite book…does archie count?
Dweezil (or anyone else who enjoys fantasy)
I just read the first book in Song of Ice and Fire. I thought it was pretty good. As a kid I was a big fan of the fantasy genre. Haven’t read much (fantasy) since with one big exception.
I stumbled on a series called Malazan, Book of the Fallen by Steve Erickson (Canadian). To me, it is hands down the best in the genre. Also one of the most suspensful and gripping stories I’ve ever read in any genre.
Not your typical read. The story spans thousands of years. The author has a background in Anthropology and Archeology and really layers the history of many different societies in there. Explores the ideas on myths and legends and tells the same story from multiple points of view. Inspiring characters on all sides of the MANY conflicts. Each book ends in an epic battle with at least 3-5 major plotlines converging.
First book is rather convoluted but once you get the hang of his style and a feel for the “world” it doesn’t let go.
Released in the U.S.
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Released in Europe and Canada:
Midnight Tides
Bonehunters
Next up Reapers Gale.
Whole series is 10 books. I’ve read the first 4.
For what it’s worth.
Oh yeah, not a good recommendation for kids to read for you parents out there.
[quote]Dweezil wrote:
That’s a tough question, so I will answer by genre.
Overall, if I had to pick one book which I thought was completely epic, and if I had the option of picking one book that all people would be forced to read it would be The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.
As far as satire goes, Candide or Catch-22.
For fiction, it’s hard to call, but The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini grabbed me more than any other fiction. A close second would probably be Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky.
Autobiography = Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington.
Sci-fi would probably be The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, though sci-fi isn’t really my thing, for fantasy or whatever you want to call it the A Song of Ice and Fire series has made everything else seem like shit to me (including Tolkien) so it wins definitively.
Non-fiction would be a three-way tie (yes, it’s an easy way to not have to pick one, but they’re all so different) between Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.[/quote]
[quote]bluepulse wrote:
Shadowdivers
http://www.robertkurson.com [/quote]
That is a really good one, especially if you’re a diver.
While I have lots of favorites, I would have to say that the Iliad by Homer is one of my favorites along with Livy’s History of Rome.
House of Leaves
Cat’s Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
The Sprawl Series (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive) - William Gibson
The Universe in a Nutshell and A Briefer History of Time - Stephen Hawking
[quote]TheWookie wrote:
Philip K. Dick wrote some great existential science fiction too. Valis, Flow My Tears the Policman Said, and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer come to mind.[/quote]
VALIS!!!
The World of Tiers series by Philip Jose Farmer is awesome.
Book on SF:
Age of Wonders: Exploring The World of Science Fiction by David G. Hartwell. Really excellent overview of SF.
His newer one, Ascent of Wonders: The Evolution of Hard Science Fiction is supposed to be excellent too (as well as HUGE).
Hard-Boiled Classics:
The Big Nowhere by James Ellroy (prequel to L.A. Confidential)
The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald. The first Travis Mcgee.
[quote]TheWookie wrote:
Look for an H.P. Lovecraft collection. He is one of my favorites.
[/quote]
Speaking of collections, Stephen King’s books “Night Shift” and “Skeleton Crew” are collections of short stories. Scariness varies, but most of the stories are pretty entertaining.
Someone mentioned “Gates of Fire”.
They’re making a movie that appears to be based on the book by Pressfield. Not sure if it’s based on the book yet, but one of the characters in the trailer says, “then we will fight in the shade”, which is straight from the book.
It’s called “300”.
I saw the trailer the other night.
Non-Fiction:
Undaunted Courage - Stephen Ambrose (man those guys were tough)
April 1865 - Jay Winik
(My favorite Civil War book)
Fiction:
Les Miserables (abridged English version)
A Place to Come To (Robert Penn Warren)
All the Kings Men (Robert Penn Warren)
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Most of Steinbecks Short Stories (nice contrast to his novels - very funny and light hearted)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)