Good Reads, Looking to Amp up my Library

crm3137 said:
A second vote for Robert Heinlein. I'm not a big fan of science fiction but there's no better guilt-free genre for philosophy and social commentary.
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A third vote :)

My elementary school library had copies of several of his "juvenile" works. Books like "Have Space Suit - Will Travel", "The Star Beast", "Glory Road", "Space Cadet", and "Tunnel in the Sky". These led me to his more adult books, before I was aware of the distinction...

I still credit/blame a lot of my non-standard moral compass to probably-far-too-early readings of things like "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Farnham's Freehold", and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".

It didn't help that by the time I had caught up to reading his currently-published stuff like "Time Enough for Love", "The Number of the Beast", and "To Sail Beyond the Sunset", he reportedly had a blood-flow problem to half his brain which made his writing a bit... "odd" is probably a kind term. :)
 
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Jonathan T said:
....if you have not read the Game of Thrones series, it is a must read for anyone that even slightly enjoys Fantasy novels.
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Agreed, but I would advise getting the audio books narrated by Roy Dotrice, he makes the carachters really come to life....EPIC.

The
Robert Heinlein recommendation is great too for sic-fi. I also enjoy Peter F. Hamilton for hard sci-fi....start with Fallen Dragon.

Try On a Pale Horse for a fantasy read.

Catch-22 is a classic.

I saw that Daemon was recommended....awesome recommendation!.....must read.

I am currently working on Permanent Present Tense which is about a famous memory patient known as H.M.....if you had Psych in college he is famous for bein unable to form new memories after a brain surgery for epilepsy.

Douglas Adams is great, you either love his stuff or hate it,..read about 10 pages, if he cracks you up you will love it, if not don't bother to keep reading.

If you like to geek out you might try Clifford Pickover, this guy blows my mind every time I pick something if his up....I got "The Math Book" and it is fascinating, it is about 250 milestones in mathematics...pretty hard core geeky.

The Master and Commander series is great if you have time, I think it has 19 "episodes."
 
I've read a lot of Koontz novels. Velocity was the first book of his that I read and I was hooked. I like the way he writes. I haven't read Fear Nothing or Seize the Night, but I have read a few of the Odd Thomas series and enjoyed them. I'll have to look into more of his work.

There are a lot of great sounding suggestions in here, keep them coming!
 
I recently read Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy. I found it interesting and still relevant.
It's not everybody's idea of poolside reading, but it is mine,
And it's a free download if you have a Kindle (or something with a Kindle app).
 
Heinlein is dated but I did read him some, way back when...... "Stranger in a strange land " has got a lot to teach about society, human nature, and religion; entertaining to boot. Great read, lots to "grog" in his writing ( insider's joke).

Game of thrones is a great series. The television series is very well made, and I raise my hat to those involved in its production. Rarely does a television series based on books, come so close to the feel of the novels. I still recommend the novels. A lot more to the story....

Clancy, the Jack Ryan novels :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Reading ..... What a passion:emmersed:

Oh!.... And that Adams fellow (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Book series) had my in stitches. His humor is a taste to acquire. British style of humor à la Monty Python. Don't know if I'd still enjoy his novels though.
 
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Noxious Fumes said:
Heinlein is dated but I did read him some, way back when...... "Stranger in a strange land " has got a lot to teach about society, human nature, and religion; entertaining to boot. Great read, lots to "grog" in his writing ( insider's joke).
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Quoted for posterity. Can you Grok it?
 
I'm surprised no 1 has mentioned Tolkien. I love my lord of the rings collectors edition Which is 1 book not 3 and my pocket version of the hobbit which is my favorite book to take with me well anywhere. He has also written several other books that are great reads....FYI The Lord of the rings was originally written as just 1 book...check think geek to see if they have anymore of the limited editions they are absolutely beautiful.
 
I've read all of the Tolkien books, all the way through The Silmarillian. I really like the way they were written, the nerd in me comes out when I talk about Tolkien.
 
In that case, The Worm Ouroboros by ER Eddison. Despite some quibbles, Tolkien judged him to be "the greatest and most convincing writer of 'invented worlds.'"
 
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I generally gave up on John Grisham a long time ago but if you are into high school football (and who in Ohio isn't!?) I recommend Bleachers.
 
Lora7 said:
I've read all of the Tolkien books, all the way through The Silmarillian. I really like the way they were written, the nerd in me comes out when I talk about Tolkien.
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In that case, I will reiterate the case for Guy Gavriel Kay. His first work was putting The Silmarillian together. His Fionavar Tapestry trilogy draws a lot from Tolkien and Arthurian legends.
 
If anyone wants to read a good zombie series, check out "Adrian's Undead Diary" by Chris Philbrook.:thumbup:
 
Michael Crichton: Jurassic Park, Lost World (i.e. Jurassic Park 2), Congo, Sphere, Andromeda Strain. All phenomenal books. Some of them were pretty dang good movies, but all the books were terrific.

Tom Clancy: the whole Jack Ryan series & The Teeth of the Tiger

I've kinda stopped reading much, but stick to non-fiction when I do, primarily military history (recent at that):
We Were One: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Marine Who took Fallujah by Patrick O'Donnell
Into the Fire by Dakota Myers
 
Lora7 said:
I'm looking for some new book recommendations. I'm not too picky when it comes to books, I like to read a vast variety of literature. What books have you read recently and what would you suggest for the avid reader? Any and all recommendations are welcome.
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I may be wasting my effort, but if you are serious, you need to have read:
1. Essays by De Montaigne
2. Lives by Plutarch
In recent past you were considered uneducated if you had not read these.

Fiction:
3. Shane by Shaefer (many layers to unpeal and a great many successful authors attribute their success to studying this book).
4. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Lee
5. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

If you need more, pm me

(I teach Literature :) )
 
To Kill and Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby are two of my favorite literary classics. :thumbup: They were on the elective reading list in high school, I've loved them ever since.
 
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