Books for my 'Must Read' list?

[IrradiatedFish]

Well, I would recommend the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (mostly). Make sure you've got some spare time though, as each book consists of between 600 - 1000 pages. They're excellent books if you enjoy a large epic fantasy tale.

I will say something though, these books can be very, erm, descriptive. They're extremely detailed, which has actually turned off a few people I know from reading them. However, the majority of my friends who like the genre love the series, and here I am recommending them to you.

If you're interested, the first book in the series is "The Eye of the World". Do yourself a favour and look it up

EDIT: You can get an Audio version of the books too, if you'd rather 'listen' to them... But likewise, you're going to need a lot of spare time. The current play time for the series is about 17d 11h 30m

 

[ElTigreSantiago]

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.

Oh, and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

 

[Nouw]

Starship Troopers. Sci-Fi classic in my opinion.

 

[Vault101]

Clan of the cave bear is actually really good

the rest of the series isnt bad but...well it gets kinda rediculous (mainly because the author keeps having to remind us how AMAZING the main charachter is..It's like ok I get it! she's amazing ) But the first book is definetly worth a look

 

[RheynbowDash]

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Try the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R.Martin. It will take a while but is still insanely good.

 

[psychic psycho]

If you've played Deus Ex, I'd recommend The Man Who was Thursday, a Nightmare by G.K. Chesterson. Excerpts of the book were featured in Deus Ex. They were used for metafictional irony as the events in the game mirrored those in the book.

If you haven't played Deus Ex than I'd still recommend it as it's an excellent book. It's pretty short to; you'll probably finish it in a day or two. I'd probably call it science fiction, but I'm not really sure that's accurate. The book explores some of the ideas touched upon in Deus Ex.

Well I think I've pretty much run the tap dry here, and I haven't even hit £50!
A lot of the 'classics' (P&P, Tale of Two Cities etc.) I can pick up for £1 each from Waterstones so those don't really count for the list.

I'll check here in the morning for any last suggestions Before I hit the stores (despite BookDepository.com handling a lot of todays orders)

Amazon has FREE versions of pre-1923 books (The Man Who was Thursday falls into that category) compatible with Kindle. If you don't own a kindle you can get a free app that lets you read them on your PC. Though, it is kind of uncomfortable to read using a monitor so I understand opting for printed versions. Still it's nice to able to get some books quickly without having to go to the store.

Here's a link [http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_85650291_15?ie=UTF8&node=2245146011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=025ZTEQ3TR3G34594PVS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1278907302&pf_rd_i=1286228011] to Amazon's free book collection.

 

[onewheeled]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

Yeah, it's a high-school coming-of-age book. But the way it's written, the way it captures EXACTLY what it's like to be in that awkward stage of youth, just makes it enthralling. It's my favorite book of all time.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Well it's freezing cold outside and rainy as hell (Love the English weather) but I suppose in a tick I'll be going down to Waterstones to pick up the rest of the books.
I actually found my copies of Picture of Dorian Gray and Fight Club, so I have those covered already! Which is nice...
Nobody I ask around campus though seems to KNOW any books, let alone have read them.

 

[Shameless]

a Game of thrones by George R Martin is just brilliant I highly recommend it, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank redemption by Stephen King is also great.

 

[Squidden]

Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley was one of the best books I've ever read, even if you aren't a fan of war books.

 

[TheWwwizard]

Breakfast of Champions... Slaughter House Five... Sirens of Titan.

 

[Sterling|D-Reaver]

Out of The Silent Planet - By C.S. Lewis and the two sequels

Really anything by Lewis is worth reading, he is an amazing writer whether you agree with him or not there is a lot to learn from the way he writes, accessible yet intellectually challenging.

You have a list there with mainly serious books try to lighten it up sometimes with Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams.

 

[VladimirSirin]

The Modern Library has a list of the 100 best novels. It's a good list.

Though Faulkner is for masochists, and Joyce's novels are just post modern wank.

And Nabokov wrote a lot of novels that are much better than "Lolita". In fact, pretty much everything he wrote is better than "Lolita".

 

[theevilsanta]

This is copied from another thread, but it lists a lot of my thoughts and favorites, I've edited it a bit to make more sense:

I just read Song of Kali by Dan Simmons, that one is pretty remarkable. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephonson. I'm into his critically acclaimed Cryptonomicon. It's pretty great so far, but a huge read, and you really have to be a math major to totally enjoy it.

Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan - so derivative of Tolkien it makes it hard for me to form an interesting opinion, but I hated them. For original, strong fantasy try Ursula Le Guin and the Wizard of Earthsea books or the two Mythago Wood books by Robert Holdstock (these two only if you have an interest in mythology). Also, The Song of Ice and Fire series beginning with A Game of Thrones by George RR Martein is an incredibly entertaining read if you don't mind a lot of sex, violence, politics, and jumping povs. I'd recommend Song of Ice and Fire to anyone.

Stephen King - He is amazing and you should try any of his popular ones for some good horror, but most of his books are pretty formulaic. An excellent novelist but don't limit yourself to one author. I should state I'm almost finished with the first of the Dark Tower series and can't wait to continue. Lovecraft is the perfect place to start for horror. The short stories are great. A Shadow Over Innsmouth (is that a novella more than a short story? and the Colour out of Space are my favorites).

Jim Butcher and the Dresden books for some fun magical mysteries. Also consider the Prey series by John Sandford if you like the mystery and a cool protagonist, or John Scalzi and the Old Man's War books if you like the fairly light SF. These are all great easy to read gems.

If you do like distopian/speculative fiction/commentary on society and where it's going-type books, be sure to check out Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, 1984, Animal Farm, and Margaret Atwood (in particular The Handmaid's Tale, though Oryx and Crake and The Blind Assassin are good too).

As far as standard high school English class reads (I'm looking at you 1984) - keep reading past those. They're a great base, but more contemporary books are important too. There's a whole world of literature out there that's very worth your time. Sample from different genres too, don't get stuck.

Edit - I should also mention Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett for some excellent humor books that remain great novels more than just a collection of jokes.

 

[VladimirSirin]

Amazon has FREE versions of pre-1923 books (The Man Who was Thursday falls into that category) compatible with Kindle. If you don't own a kindle you can get a free app that lets you read them on your PC. Though, it is kind of uncomfortable to read using a monitor so I understand opting for printed versions. Still it's nice to able to get some books quickly without having to go to the store.

Here's a link [http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_85650291_15?ie=UTF8&node=2245146011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=025ZTEQ3TR3G34594PVS&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1278907302&pf_rd_i=1286228011] to Amazon's free book collection.

Project Gutenberg has a fantastic collection of books, in a great many languages and formats.

 

[marygoodden]

Read The Road. It is amazing. Also Animal Farm if you have not read that book.

Everyone here has such good taste!

I suppose a lot of people here know that The Road was a direct influence on Fallout 3.

If you like epic sci-fi that actually has really good characters (I love sci-fi, but often I find that character takes second place to plot/invention), I can't recommend Dan Simmons enough. His books Ilumn and Olympos are a science-fiction take on the Iliad and the Odyssey. Awesome if that's your kind of thing.

But people here have made such good suggestions you probably don't need any more... And your original choices are excellent/varied too (not that I'm any kind of authority )

I love the Escapist.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

As do I, thanks to the suggestions I now have a fantastic reading list
And I'm now over 60 pounds lighter in pocket, huzzah! Better than buying from Barnes and Noble I suppose, or I'd be looking at close to 150..

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

Ohh Enders Game, I'll have to look into that one.
Despite the whole controversy around the authors pledge against gay marriage and whatnot.

Also, A Clockwork Orange? Worth reading or will I be as traumatised by it as it sounds?

A Clockwork Orange is friggin' brilliant, specifically because of the writing. for the first 2 pages you won't have a clue what he's saying, but then you'll begin to understand and it will blow your mind. just be sure to get the unabridged version. most American versions excised the final chapter so as to be more "hardcore", but it's just a cop-out. the final chapter gives meaning to the whole rest of the book.

 

[Skoldpadda]

"The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit" by Werner Holzwarth.